You again.
Don't say that.
This one was my fault.
Why...
are there so many here?
After I contacted Ume, he summoned them here.
Well, take a seat.
Sheesh. It is what it is.
Wait! Sakura-san, is that all?
Huh? What now?
I-I mean...
A-All Four Kings and their lieutenants have gathered.
Which means what happened yesterday was more important than we thought.
Oh, everyone's here already?
C'mon, dude.
You lack self-awareness that you're the rep.
Strange. You're usually the first one here.
Everyone has times like these.
Good morning, Ume! It's totally fine!
Did he oversleep?
Sakura, Suo, Nirei. Thanks for comin' so early in the morning.
So...
Let's get started!
TONPU SHOPPING STREET
SPRING VEGETABLES
EGGS
CIGARETTES
Anyone past this point, who causes pain Who brings destruction Who holds evil in their heart will be purged by Bofurin without exception!
BOFURIN
Here's Kotoha's special sandwiches!
Since it's so early in the morning, let's get things done as we eat!
There's coffee, too.
All right! I'll have the egg sandwich!
I'll have some coffee.
Is this why you were late? I guess that's... Well...
Aww Ume, you're so kind! You're a beast at being considerate!
Awesome! I haven't had breakfast yet.
Hey, what the hell is this?
You don't need to eat? They're gonna be all gone.
Hmm, a picnic, perhaps?
Thank you.
Here. I made you a ton.
Thanks, Kotoha!
Your sandwiches are the best in Japan!
Just shut up and take them already.
You're gonna have an important talk, right? You'll be late.
Thanks.
Oh, thanks.
Oh, Sugishita! Thanks, man.
I feel bad because you helped me carry these, too.
No, it's nothing.
S-Sugishita-san!
I'll do it!
Morning, Sugishita-kun.
I'm sorry!
You have the, "What the hell are you doing here?" look.
Th-Thank you very much.
- Thanks! - Hey!
Sheesh.
Damn you! Give me one, too!
- Sakura-san, take mine! - Hey! Where's mine?
Don't you have it in your hand?
God damn it, how the hell am I gonna drink anything with this cup?
You two really don't get along.
Hiragi was mumbling how it was a big mess on the first day.
Oh? Your first-years are feisty, huh?
Come on, Sugishita. Don't be so mean.
And you shouldn't waste cups, either.
H-He fixed it.
It looks like it'll fall over anytime now.
Good, good! You didn't waste a cup!
It's okay?
Gotta hand it to Ume. You are so forgiving.
How is this okay?
That's it! C'mon, I'll kick yer ass!
You guys, knock it off already!
Hey, Umemiya.
Food is great and all, but can you get to the main topic soon?
Yes, that's right.
Let's see, first off...
I...
I just have to explain what happened yesterday, right?
No, I already heard from Tsubaki.
Huh?
Kanji also gave me his thanks. A job well done.
Let me say this once again, too.
Thank you so very much.
N-No, I didn't do anything.
It was nothing, really.
U-Umm, if you didn't want us to explain ourselves, then...
What was the reason for summoning us up here today?
Hey, Sakura.
What'd you think of Endo after you met him?
What'd I think?
He's just an asshole.
An asshole, huh?
I heard from Tsubaki that he took quite a liking to you.
So that's why...
I thought it would be better for you to know more about Endo.
And to do that, I have to start the story with how Bofurin was founded.
BOFURIN
That's why I gathered all of you here.
H-How it was founded...
Furin was united because Umemiya-san's group entered the school,
FURIN
BOFURIN
and that became Bofurin. So the story goes.
Yeah, that's the basic gist of it.
What I'm going to tell you now
is something we left behind when we first created Bofurin.
A story of the shadow.
Nirei.
Y-Yes!
How much in detail do you know about the Bofurin story you mentioned earlier?
It was two years ago, on April 7th.
Furin High School was infamous as a prestigious school for delinquents.
Five students with a similar ambition entered the school.
Back then, Furin had faction wars, ranked matches,
and also turf wars with schools and teams coming in from the outside.
It was the epitome of chaos.
But when those five
entered the school, they challenged every main faction that existed within the school
and wrangled them down one after another.
Swiftly defeating one horde after another,
they raced up to the top of Furin at breakneck speed.
STOMP STOMP
Even their seniors, the second- and third-years, were unable to stop them!
They turned their defeated enemies into allies, and spread their influence throughout the school.
By doing so, conflict inside Furin gradually decreased.
Right when one year passed,
they did something that was never done before, and they fulfilled the unification of Furin.
BOFURIN
And those people who unified Furin became Bofurin, the ones who protect this town.
And the rest is history.
It was like I was listening to a rakugo story.
Wow, you spoke so eloquently!
You want to try doing that on our stage?
That's quite something.
Th-Thank you very much.
Man, thanks. Thanks a bunch.
Yeah. If you summarize things, I think that's how it went.
Huh? What?
Don't give me that crap! It wasn't that simple of a story!
Come on now. Ume looks more at the future than the past.
You spoil Umemiya way too much.
Looks like I'll get to hear a story that I haven't heard before.
Nire-kun's earlier nervousness has already disappeared.
While you were doing a one-on-one with a faction leader,
I was forced to take down thirty guys! I'll never forget that!
I got surrounded by scary upperclassmen so many times.
But Ume always praised me after.
So it was all worth it.
Was that so?
You little...
Oh no, I do appreciate it, okay?
I have absolutely no regrets in my life now.
Nothing less from a man who looks to the future.
He's exaggerating.
Agony always comes with a revolution.
Says you, who snapped each time your glasses broke.
Glasses are a different thing.
I'm the same as Ume-kun.
I only remember how I was drawing.
You really were drawing everywhere you went.
We went through a lot, but it was fun.
You're always like that.
I understand how Hiragi feels.
They sure went through a lot.
Hey man.
What part of that story has a shadow?
Th-That's Endo-san, isn't it?
Well, that's true, but...
Huh? "But"?
Then, Nirei. Next question. How much do you know about Endo?
I-If you aspire to attend Furin, then you'll definitely know about Endo-san.
He's a legend.
He's so famous, even I know about him.
Like Umemiya-san's group, he was a fellow first-year.
He created a faction of super brawlers.
They didn't know defeat even against second- and third-years.
But unlike Umemiya-san's group
which gained allies through fighting and expanding their power,
they were a small group of elites.
They supposedly weren't crushing just Furin guys, but outside teams as well.
I heard that after Endo-san's group has a fight,
nothing was left behind like it was burned to the ground.
S-So, if you catch Endo-san's eye, it's all over.
Because he was that kind of person,
he was the final and biggest obstacle to Furin's unification.
Even then, the hero defeated the legend.
And Furin was unified.
However, Endo-san's group, unlike the people in the other factions,
did not side with the unified Furin, and instead left Furin.
That's why he's the shadow, right?
Huh? Why would that become the shadow?
I-I mean, he rejected the unified Furin and left.
That means he didn't agree with the beliefs of Umemiya-san's group.
Because they think differently, they might antagonize each other.
That's why he harbors a grudge against Furin and makes him the shadow, perhaps?
What's with that? He just resents him.
You made it sound meaningful.
That's not true.
Nirei, there are two mistakes in the story you just told.
One. Those guys don't really act based on grudges.
That said, by listening to what you've told me,
I have no doubt that Endo is acting with Furin in mind again.
B-But...
No matter what happens from here, Umemiya-san's group has already won once.
We'll be all right again this time, right?
That's your second mistake.
They didn't reject the unified Furin.
They abandoned Furin on their own accord.
And they did so right before the first year was over.
You were able to unify Furin right after a full year passed, right?
If it's right before—
Th-That means...
We didn't...
BOFURIN
beat them.
Y-You didn't defeat them?
What do you mean by that?
As you know, we unified Furin, became allies with everyone,
and made protecting our town our goal.
But Endo's group...
They wanted the old Furin,
a place of chaos that always had faction feuds and challenges.
We fought against Endo's group multiple times.
It was a deathmatch every single time.
But in the end, we never had a clear winner.
Meanwhile, we kept fighting the other factions,
and gradually increased in number.
Thus, the atmosphere within Furin started to change, and it became more disciplined.
And then, in response to that...
Endo and his group lost interest in a proper, orderly Furin and left on their own.
Keeping the chaos and violence of the old Furin within themselves.
And that's the shadow left behind.
Right.
That shadow is approaching Furin once again.
I don't know the details as to why, but in the worst case scenario,
they might want to revert Furin back to how it used to be.
N-No way.
That's perfect.
If they're gonna come to us, that saves me the time of going to them.
Sakura-san?
What? You chickening out?
What we gotta do is simple.
No matter who it is, we just need to beat down anyone in our way.
It really makes me laugh.
The lowest of the low, hated by all others, and worth nothing but their fists...
Fighting to become number one is the best thing ever.
I used to say stuff like that, yet...
People, things, feelings...
You'll become what you want to be.
All the way to the top.
So, I'll do my best so I can keep up with you.
That's great, Sakura-kun! Well said!
That was kind of a relief.
We really like that about you!
...are like sons to me!
Thank you.
We're gonna protect what's dear to us, right?
Isn't that what we, Bofurin, are about?
That Sakura kid...
He heard about how Furin used to be, and that's why he came to this town.
He said it was perfect for him.
I didn't think so, though.
I see.
I hope we can be buddies.
What? Wh-What is it?
It's 'cuz you're sitting on the fence.
Sakura.
I really am glad you came to this town.
So, Sakura.
If push comes to shove, I trust you to handle Endo.
He rarely takes a fancy to another person.
But now that he has, he's gonna be thorough about it. Brace yourself.
That's great.
BOFURIN
Don't tell me later that I took your prey or some other BS.
Oh, no. Endo has no interest in me to begin with.
Even when he was in Furin, we never went at it one-on-one.
Wait, hold up.
You just said that you went up against Endo's group multiple times.
Yeah, I said that. "Endo's group."
There's one more legend.
Huh? The hell?
I've never heard of this.
I-I didn't know, either.
A legend means that there's one more person who's like Endo-san.
No. That guy is far stronger than Endo.
He's the one guy I never beat.
N-No way. Such a person...
Who is it?
His name is Chika Takiishi.
He's likely the strongest guy in Furin's history.
Come on, what the hell?
Hey, Takiishi?
I wanted to light some fireworks, but they were already here.
Well, that is their fault, yeah.
So, why are you piling them all up?
Obviously, it's better if fireworks launch as high as possible.
That one was pretty flashy!
It's still lacking something.
I thought it would go a bit higher.
I guess I need to pile 'em up higher.
STRENGTH FOR ANOTHER
Endo and Takiishi, huh?
I don't care if it's someone he couldn't beat in the past.
Come at us if you want. I'll beat all of you up!
We're here, too.
That's right!
This year's first-years really are reliable!
But they're not gonna leave me in the dust!