Zongman: I sign in at the second dimension

"Wanna join in? Katou?" Tatsuki asked slowly.

"Your club?" Katou Megumi replied while carrying her shopping basket, deep in thought. Tatsuki wasn't in any hurry—after all, it was a matter for later, later on.

Megumi nodded and softly said, "No problem. I'll be waiting for your invitation, Tatsuki-kun."

"Hahaha, of course. But it might not happen right away—we might have to wait a while, Katou." Tatsuki grinned.

Megumi returned a gentle smile, "It's not urgent at all, Tatsuki-kun."

"Yeah, there's plenty of time…" Tatsuki began, when suddenly voices echoed from a nearby alley.

"You… you guys, watch out or I'll get my hands on you!"

"Hahaha, you little middle school newbies—what are we gonna do? We're not afraid of you! Don't you agree?" one voice jeered.

"Hahaha, exactly as our big boss said!" another chimed in.

"Come on now—just hand over the cash like obedient kids, or… hehe!" they continued.

"Enough already! Are you going to pay up, or do we have to handle you ourselves?" roared their leader, a cocky figure known as Mokudai, as his four cronies burst into laughter.

Tatsuki glanced into the alley, then at Megumi by his side. Megumi's eyes widened as she whispered nervously, "Tatsuki-kun, it seems there are people in there. Should we go check it out?"

Tatsuki's eyes narrowed as he replied, "Yeah, it looks like someone's being threatened. Katou, stick behind me—after all, you're a girl."

"Don't worry, Tatsuki-kun, I'll be careful," Megumi assured him with a determined nod.

"Alright then." Tatsuki reached into his backpack and pulled out a pair of nunchaku, tucking them discreetly under his jacket. With a burst of resolve, he and Megumi quickly slipped into the alley and rounded the corner. Peeking in, Tatsuki saw five tough-looking guys with multicolored dyed hair surrounding three frightened middle school girls.

Megumi, noticing the threat, asked anxiously, "Tatsuki-kun, shouldn't we help those girls?"

Nodding seriously, Tatsuki said, "Katou, stay here and keep an eye out—I'm going in to teach these guys a lesson!" His face lit up with excitement, practically screaming that he was itching for a fight.

"Okay, I'm right here. Stay safe!" Megumi replied.

With that, Tatsuki hefted his backpack over one shoulder and strode toward the group of rowdy toughs. They hadn't noticed him yet; they continued to harass the girls.

"Hurry up, we've got no patience!" one of the five barked.

"Hey, Kinri, why don't we just take their money?" a blue-haired girl suggested nervously.

"But then Sister Mio won't have any cash left for dinner!" fretted a green-haired girl beside her.

"Shut up, Kinri. Look, our safety is more important than dinner," Kinri snapped through gritted teeth.

Their leader, Mokudai, sneered, "Hurry it up, our patience is running thin…" His smarmy grin sent chills down the girls' spines.

"Hahaha!" the gang erupted in mocking laughter four times.

As Kinri's group inched closer, Kinri herself steeled her resolve and cried out, "Fine, here—I'll give you the money!"

At that moment, Mokudai's cronies paused, and their leader beamed, "See? Just hand it over already!"

"All right!" they chorused in unison.

Kinri reached into her pocket and extended her wallet toward Mokudai. But before he could snatch it, Tatsuki stepped forward.

"Hey, aren't you guys taking this too far?" Tatsuki called out firmly.

Mokudai turned, scowling at the interruption. "Kid, you've got some nerve meddling in our business!"

One of his cronies snarled, "Who do you think you are, trying to stop us?"

"Listen here, you lowlifes! Get ready to learn a lesson—so you know better than to mess with innocent people!" Mokudai roared, rallying his gang.

"Let's teach this punk a lesson!" his cronies echoed.

Without warning, they surged toward Tatsuki. At the corner, Megumi watched silently, whispering, "Just like old times, Tatsuki-kun…"

The first to attack was a thug with green-dyed hair. He lunged at Tatsuki, swinging a stick toward his face. Quick as lightning, Tatsuki raised his arm, slamming his backpack into the thug's face to block the blow, then kicked him squarely in the stomach, sending him stumbling backward.

The remaining three cronies rushed in. The green-haired thug, reeling from the kick, was caught by his companions. "Ouch! That hurt!" he grunted, spitting out a mouthful of foam.

"Greenie, you alright?" one of the gang asked, concerned.

"Fine!" he managed, breaking free and shouting, "Come on, brothers—let's finish him off!"

"Alright!" the others shouted in unison three times, re-forming their ranks and charging once more at Tatsuki. Mokudai stood back with his arms folded, watching.

In a shadowy corner, another thug named Nanzu whispered, "Kinri, should we try to run away?"

"No way!" Kinri retorted sharply. "We're right behind that jerk—although his attention is momentarily diverted, we can't risk making a break for it. We'd better stay put!"

Nanzu murmured, "Yeah, staying here is probably best… we really can't get away."

"Alright, I just hope someone saves us!" Nanzu said timidly.

"Hope, if not, we'll figure out another escape!" Kinri growled through clenched teeth.

"Fine, whatever," Nanzu relented.

Meanwhile, Tatsuki tossed his backpack onto a nearby heap of grass, slid his nunchaku free from under his jacket, and launched himself into action. With a determined glint in his eyes, he twirled his nunchaku in his left hand...