THE FIRST HITMAN SUMMIT SATURDAY, JUNE 20th
Okay, today we have a new transfer student.
Today? More like again.
This class gets a lot of transfer students.
This is Eiji Rindou. Everybody, make him feel welcome.
Goodbye, tranquility.
Hello again, assassin.
- Whoa, he's huge! - He's really a seventh-grader?
And what's that screw in his forehead?
A fashion thing?
Wow, another character with a lot going on!
Oh, what's wrong?
Oh, no.
He's totally my type.
No way. Seriously?
Seriously!
I feel like I've seen him somewhere before.
REPORT
Even one assassin in a middle school would be completely insane.
Nice to meet ya.
All right, Rindou, take your seat.
But now four have infiltrated the school.
We can officially call this situation extraordinary.
Sensing the danger, Ogami called them together...
and held the first Hitman Summit.
From Yugang, the second-biggest Chinese outfit in the industry, Shin Kohazame.
And from JARDIN, the biggest organization in the business, the Rindou brothers.
So, you finally showed up.
The boss and I belong to Z.O.O.,
the old-school outfit ranked third in the industry.
I can't believe...
the three biggest organizations are all here because of Noren.
What'd you call us here for out of the blue?
You all know about each other by now, right?
Despite it all, let's get along!
Don't start any trouble!
I'm begging you!
Why's it so important to you?
Not that you had to tell me. I'm not about to start killing people here.
The Mitsuoka duel's on hold for now, too.
Same here.
But there's one thing.
I can't get along with them.
Especially the little one.
Years ago, he stole one of my targets.
Ah, that time.
That only happened because you were dragging your feet.
Don't give me that!
Not after the dirty trick you pulled!
He was a special target! I had to be the one to take him down!
Is that so? Then all the more reason you should've killed him sooner, you half-wit!
Don't, Eiji.
This is between him and me.
Cut it out! When I said "get along," I meant everyone here!
Were you even listening to me?
This is exactly what I mean by "trouble"!
For the record...
I'm disappointed in you, too.
Huh?
I lost the duel...
so I backed off from Noren for the time being.
But I heard...
FIRE HYDRANT
she was abducted from under your nose the other day!
Sure, she made it through safely, but with a performance that pathetic...
I can't entrust the woman I love to you.
I won't mention who abducted her.
I'll protect Noren!
Oh! There you are, Ogami.
We don't have club today, so let's walk home together.
Why are you all here?
Let's adjourn for now.
Don't worry.
First-years and third-years...
usually don't cross paths unless they go out of their way.
Good grief.
Huh? My shoes are gone?
No way! Why?
Noren...
I took the liberty of warming them for you.
It's early summer!
Wait, no... Are you Toyotomi Hideyoshi?
No, that's not the point, either! What are you doing?
Look out!
A June beetle.
It's harmless!
You're walking home with us?
And you're way too close! What is your deal?
I want to protect you, my precious Noren!
From now on, I'll be with you at all times! I've made up my mind!
Huh?
"At all times"?
At all times!
While you eat, while you bathe...
even while you sleep!
Huh? Like I'd go along with that! Are you stupid?
Ogami! Shin is being weird!
Sorry.
This is all because I failed you.
You failing me turns Shin into an idiot?
THE FIRST HITMAN SUMMIT
The first Hitman Summit results.
One... Three out of four participants started fighting.
Two... Shin Kohazame became a stalker.
Will this report get approved?
What was that?
You can clearly see me, jerk!
Sorry, I was kidding.
Don't pat my head!
Did you make that yourself?
Also, your lunch box is tiny!
If it's any bigger, I can't finish it.
Even your voice is adorable!
Everybody, stop patting my head!
Hello. I'm Mei Tamada.
I'm a second-year in the home ec club, which makes me Ogami and Noren's senpai.
Huh? You don't know me?
Well, I guess until now...
I've mostly just been darting around in the corner of the screen.
ANPAN
Still, I'm pleased to make your acquaintance.
As for my height, it's a little...
So cute!
But wait a second.
Huh? She's a second-year?
Actually, yeah. To be blunt, I'm the smallest person in the club.
Which is why I'm here today for advice.
Ogami!
Huh?
Oh, Tamada-senpai?
What's wrong?
I wanna get ripped!
What?
Why?
You don't want people looking down on you?
I mean, we've never done that before or anything.
It's not the home ec club.
I'm sick of always being the class's target.
But you're plenty charming just the way you are.
Easy for tall, sleek Noren to say!
You don't know the heart of the vertically-challenged!
Everybody goes, "Aww, you're so cute!" and pats me on the head...
but I'm not somebody's pet!
I know!
I know nobody's doing it to be mean!
If anything, they're doting on me!
But doesn't that come with the implication that they don't see me as an equal?
So, if I can't get bigger vertically...
I'll get wider!
I bought dumbbells!
How'd you decide that "getting ripped" is the answer?
Whoa, they're adjustable ones, too!
If only my shoulders...
If only my shoulders were broader!
Shoulders have nothing to... Wait, that mental image is nightmare fuel!
But what about the sewing and crafts you love, Senpai?
I'm not quitting those or anything.
I just also want melon shoulders.
Melon shoulders?
Okay, I get the situation, but why come to me?
Sorry. Actually, it's not exactly you I need.
I want you to introduce me to Tenma Tendo.
Huh?
If I'm gonna ask someone how to train...
it should be the man with the ultimate physical body, right?
You went from getting ripped to asking him for help?
But there's a very real chance that guy doesn't even know I exist!
DELICIOUS MILK
So, I figured you could...
I mean, I don't know what you expect me to...
Please!
I wanna get huge!
Fine, I get it! Just stop doing shoulder presses for your delts!
Ogami and a home ec club member? What's up?
Huh? You know me?
Uh, I don't know your name, but I know your face.
The home ec club people have, I dunno, a special vibe.
So, what do you need?
Let's sit down first!
Your crotch is right there!
You wanna bulk up so people won't look down on you?
Sounds pointless. I'd quit.
I mean, I can give you workout advice, sure.
But getting a little bigger isn't gonna change anything.
If Ogami or I got serious...
either way, it'd be a one-punch KO.
So, the problem probably isn't really that. Oh?
Huh?
Could you say it any worse?
Um, Tamada-senpai...
The people who actually see you for who you are don't look down on you.
I know that.
It's just, both my parents are short, too...
so when I think that...
I might spend the rest of my life being treated like a small animal...
unless I constantly assert myself... it seems like such a pain in the ass.
In that case, after school...
would you maybe come with me to my uncle's, no, aunt's shop?
OPEN 24 HOURS
Welcome, Juzo!
BAR JABAMI
So, this is the senpai from your club you mentioned? Nice to meet you!
S-S-So huge!
Even bigger than Tenma!
Forget being face-to-crotch, I could just walk under there like a bridge!
Um...
a giant warrior god?
Opening with that, huh?
I'll burn you to the ground!
Sorry, Mama. I know you're not open yet.
Oh, this time of day's totally fine.
BAR JABAMI
Well, anyway, come on in!
Thanks.
Am I getting out alive?
BAR JABAMI
What's wrong with that? Being tiny and cute is great.
But that's exactly what you hate about it?
What do you have to eat to get that huge?
Hell if I know! Meat, probably?
Well, sure.
I can't say people have ever really looked down on me.
And if they did, I'd beat 'em senseless.
Beat?
So, yeah, I've never felt the way you do.
I don't get it.
What do you think?
Jealous?
Yes.
But...
I'm jealous of you.
I would've much rather been born a cute girl...
than in this crazy strong male body nobody dares come near.
You've got something even invincible old me could never have.
So, quit whining like it's some horrible curse!
Table for two! We'll start with highballs!
Not regulars.
And how are they already wasted at this hour?
Sorry, we're not open yet!
Oh, c'mon! We're customers!
Wait, hold up!
Now that I get a good look, you're a kid!
What're you doing in a place like this?
Hey...
That's my ideal girl you're messing with.
Don't get handsy.
If you're that drunk, how about I kill you so you sober up?
Sorry about this!
Looks like I've gotta deal with some new customers for a minute.
Come visit again, okay?
Y-Yes, ma'am!
S-So scary!
What kind of place did you bring me to?
Sorry, that last part wasn't in the plan!
I got freaked out six different ways!
I can't! This is all so insane, I don't even know what else to do but laugh!
I heard, Ogami!
You took Tama to some crazy bar?
Sorry.
So, they went to that place.
No, but it was fun!
Thanks to that, I kinda stopped caring about a bunch of stuff.
Thanks.
I'm still gonna work out, though.
Lateral raises!
This happened after Tamada-senpai did her lateral raises.
HOME EC ROOM
Okay, then!
We'll be splitting into teams of two for a full-on ramen-making challenge!
And then we'll hold a contest to decide which team's ramen tastes the best!
Yay! Sounds fun!
What is it about ramen that just gets you excited?
Right?
What?
Ramen?
Noren?
Oh, my!
Well...
this is awkward!
Looks like my era has arrived!
She's getting crazy cocky already! What era is she talking about?
I feel bad for everyone else,
but I guess this is when the difference between amateurs and a pro will really show!
You're acting all high and mighty, but aren't you...
still just an apprentice at your uncle's shop?
So, the teams are set.
TEAMS: NISHIMURA-SHIRAISHI KOHAZAME-YAMAOKA TAMADA-KITO OGAMI-MITSUOKA
Presentations are one week from now!
Use that time to research, test recipes, whatever you need!
Oh, come to think of it, you like ramen, don't you?
Yes!
I'll do my best!
You like ramen, too, Noren?
- Huh? - Huh?
As it happens, I'm rather particular about Chinese cuisine.
I simply can't afford to cut corners.
I do love you, Noren...
but this time, well...
I'm sorry.
Oh...
Huh?
Wait.
Sorry for what?
Are you saying, "Sorry, but I'm going to win"?
Yes. I'm sorry.
What?
No, no, no, hold on a second!
I don't know how many thousands of years China's got on us,
but ramen evolved in its own unique way here in Japan!
At this point, it's a proud genre all its own.
So, don't go acting superior just because you got there first.
It is precisely because we got there first.
I acknowledge that ramen has evolved in its own unique way.
But in terms of depth and breadth, it still has a long way to go.
When something is still immature,
it shouldn't strut around pretending to be fully grown.
You're talking awfully big!
I can't wait to hear the excuse when you lose!
I apologized in advance because I won't lose.
That's not an apology!
That's trash talk!
I don't want to make you cry.
Please back down.
Very well.
Then this means war.
Noren?
It's a showdown!
If I win, you stop stalking me!
Calm down! That's not a prize, that's the bare minimum!
I accept!
And if I win, you must read me a picture book!
Your weird little fantasies are getting way too specific!
Now that that's settled, let's go, Ogami!
We're eating our way through ramen shops for research!
Me, too! Yamaoka, come with me!
Hey! Club's still in session!
- Might as well. - Yes, ma'am.
This has turned into a massive pain in the ass.
Okay, on to the next shop!
Wait...
Noren...
How many places are we hitting?
I'm about to...
explode.
What?
We're only on number eight!
Eight bowls is a borderline lethal dose!
Then I'll go by myself!
You head home!
How could she eat all that and still run normally?
One more bite, and I'll burst!
I'll rest for a minute.
THE OCEAN
Are you okay?
Y-Yes!
Thank you very much!
Good to hear!
Crap, I'm gonna puke!
U-Um...
I'm so sorry!
Are you all right?
Are you hurt?
THE DAY OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP
The home ec club ramen championship begins now!
All right!
By the way, to keep the judging fair,
a girl who just happened to be walking by will be the judge!
Sorry to spring this on you.
No, not at all.
I like ramen, so...
Then first up, the Kohazame-Yamaoka team!
Behold a ramen beyond your imagination!
BIANGBIANG NOODLES
Biangbiang noodles!
What? That kanji's beyond my imagination anyway! I can't read it!
It's a local dish from Shaanxi Province in China,
made with extremely wide, flat noodles...
somewhat like kishimen, tossed with sauce and toppings.
W-Wow! This is a real thing?
And to make it even more satisfying,
we made the noodles three times the usual width and thickness!
Now!
Please enjoy!
I can't...
enjoy this!
The noodles are too heavy to actually eat! Zero points!
Z-Zero?
All talk, Shin!
I can't stop laughing!
This match is mine!
Who are you right now?
Next up!
The Mitsuoka-Ogami team!
RAMEN NOTES
I have sampled every genre of ramen imaginable...
and at last arrived at the ultimate ramen!
"Arrived," have we?
Please enjoy!
Tonkotsu Iekei Black Soy Sauce Salt Miso Tantan...
Kitakata Seafood Pork Bone Chicken Paitan...
Garlic Veggie Extra-Extra Karame Abura Chomolungma!
Is that a curse? Isn't that mostly just ramen-shop ordering lingo?
Kill... me...
That isn't ramen anymore, it's a chimera! A violent assault of salt, sugar, and fat!
If I were in my original body, that thing would give me...
every lifestyle disease in the book!
Kill me!
Okay, time for the tasting!
I'm sorry!
I really can't!
I'm so sorry!
Yeah, fair! Sorry about that! Zero points!
CHEER CHEER
All right, moving on!
In the end, Big Sis and Nishimura won.
We did it!
Hell yeah! That's what senpais do!
ALL RAMEN WAS SAFELY CONSUMED BY THE STAFF AFTERWARD.
Thanks!
And sorry we dragged you into this.
No, I had fun.
M-More importantly, actually, there's something I'd like to talk to you about.
Huh?
Wait.
Aren't you the girl I helped the other day?
Yes, that's right!
A-And, um...
Ogami...
there's something I need to tell you.
Would it be okay if I let the other one take over and went to sleep?
Huh?
Excuse me?
Huh?
Wait, what?
What does that even mean?
Why did she suddenly fall asleep?
Thanks for waiting.