A Tyrant's Will

SS5: Hashimoto Masayoshi - The Next Player

Hashimoto Masayoshi stood alone. No one spoke to him. His former classmates shunned him, their eyes lingering on him with open disgust. In the hallways of the luxury cruise, whispers followed him wherever he went, and every glance carried the same silent verdict.

Traitor.

That was what he was known as now. But he didn't care.

The only thing that mattered was Class A. These three years would decide the rest of his life. If hatred was the price, he was willing to pay it. He had already prepared himself to be despised, so long as he reached his goal.

This was the right decision, he told himself. His current class had no chance of ever clawing its way back to the top. That truth became even more apparent after he witnessed what had transpired during the uninhabited island exam.

On the first day of the test, after Hashimoto familiarized himself with the rules and penalties, he headed straight for Class A to await further instructions. After shaking off the persistent Satonaka, he finally made his way to Ryuuen's base camp along the shoreline of the beach.

Once he arrived, Ryuuen laid out his plan for the remainder of the exam. Class A would strike a deal with Class C and pursue a zero-point strategy. Kaneda Satoru and Shiina Hiyori would be sent as spies, infiltrating Classes B and D respectively. If everything went according to plan, they would secure not only a substantial haul of private points, but also a minimum of 150 class points by the end of the test.

Albert, Ishizaki, and Ibuki were also selected to remain behind. Albert's primary role was to serve as Hashimoto's bodyguard, while Ishizaki and Ibuki were tasked with monitoring the cruise ship. The two of them took the second tent along with a transceiver and returned to the starting location, where they set up their post.

That was how Ryuuen learned of Kouenji's retirement. If anyone else attempted to withdraw from the exam early, Class A would know immediately. Whenever Albert was not escorting Hashimoto, the three of them rotated shifts, maintaining constant surveillance of the ship while occasionally venturing out in search of food.

Once Ryuuen returned after solidifying his deal with Katsuragi and Class C, he gathered Kaneda, Shiina, and Hashimoto together and laid out his plan to trick the other classes. It was a simple idea, yet deceptively clever.

Swapping wristwatches.

There was a crucial detail about the wristwatches used in this exam. They all came from the same vendor and were the exact same model. It was impossible to tell them apart. Ryuuen took full advantage of that fact.

He selected Condition 4, which caused Nomura Yuuji's name to appear on every student's wristwatch in Class A. Hashimoto, however, was in Class C, so his wristwatch remained blank.

Now consider what would happen if Kaneda and Hashimoto were to swap their wristwatches. If someone checked Kaneda's watch and saw that no class leader was displayed, they would mistakenly conclude that Class A had not selected Condition 4.

That was Ryuuen's trap for Ichinose and Class B.

The only problem was that students were not allowed to remove their wristwatches at any point during the exam. That was why Ryuuen conducted a small test beforehand, probing just how far he could push the rules.

He deliberately took off his wristwatch in front of Sakagami-sensei for a few seconds to see whether he would be penalized. Ryuuen suspected the school would overlook such a brief violation and dismiss it as a tiny malfunction, and he was right. With the results of this test, he concluded that students could get away with removing their wristwatches for a brief moment, so long as they put them back on immediately.