Reincarnated Into a Delinquent Manga… Where the Genders Are Reversed and Everyone’s a Girl - Chapter 38: Chiaki Haruna VS Uta Tanigawa

Chapter 38: Chiaki Haruna VS Uta Tanigawa

Chiaki Haruna and Uta Tanigawa stood face-to-face.

The place: beneath the bridge, by the riverside.

Only delinquents gathered there.

Not wanting to get in the way of either side, I kept my distance and simply watched.

“(Takuma-kun—do you think Chiaki can win?)”

“(I don’t know. I’ve seen Tanigawa fight before, but she’s impossible to read. Still… since Chiaki beat Yayoi, I think she’s at least on equal footing—maybe even stronger.)”

I couldn’t give Minato a definite answer.

In the manga Fist, Chiaki Haruna was the one who came out on top.

But here, the outcome wasn’t guaranteed.

My very existence was already causing irregularities.

The butterfly effect—tiny shifts leading to massive changes.

Since we were surrounded by Tanigawa’s followers, Minato and I whispered in hushed tones.

Up close, I could see her lashes trembling.

She must’ve been worrying about her comrade—Chiaki’s future.

Over there, the two of them stood locked in silence.

And yet the tension was so sharp it cut across the space to reach us.

I swallowed hard.

A fish leapt from the river with a splash.

“—ORAA!!”

And just like that, the clash began.
With blazing force, Tanigawa swung her fist.
Chiaki slipped past the attack with the barest movement, closing the gap in an instant to launch her counter.

“Tch!”

“You’re fast, I’ll give you that!”

“Can’t look lame in front of my crew!!”

In just a few heartbeats, they had already switched positions several times, trading blows and words in the same breath.

Tanigawa’s pride as someone who stood above others bled through in her declaration—a line that struck especially hard for a certain someone nearby.

When I glanced at Minato, she was grimacing, a wrinkle forming along her nose as her lips pressed tight.

Of course, the two weren’t just trading words.

Their fists spoke louder—each impact sending the sound of flesh-on-flesh echoing through the air.

Kicks slipped into the mix, turning the clash into a full-on battlefield.

If someone like me, just a plain old civilian, stumbled in there, I’d probably be pounded into the dirt before I could even scream.

“I heard you beat Akagi-san!”

“Damn right! Somehow!!”

“At first I couldn’t believe Akagi-san lost to some nobody—but if it’s you, it makes sense!”

“Why, thank you kindly! But maybe focus less on flapping your mouth—’cause you’ve been on the defensive this whole time, haven’t you!?”

The balance seemed to be tilting toward Chiaki.

She kept pressing forward, her strikes sharp and relentless.

Tanigawa’s counters, slipping through the gaps, looked weaker—lacking their usual bite.

But that was exactly what Tanigawa had been waiting for.

In the very next instant, Chiaki’s eyes flew wide.

Slipping past a fist that cut through the air, Tanigawa slid right into close range—

The perfect territory for an infighter.

For someone tall like her, it should’ve been the hardest place to fight.

Or at least, that’s what I thought.

“Damn it!”

Chiaki cursed under her breath.

That was how polished Tanigawa’s movements were—flowing as smoothly as a river’s current.

No gaps, no hesitation.

Chiaki couldn’t find a chance to counter.

All she could do was defend as Tanigawa’s pressure kept forcing her back.

“So all that earlier—were you holding back?!”

“Not holding back. I was watching your habits.”

“Habits, huh!?”

“I pick up on my opponent’s patterns and shape the fight into a situation that favors me. That’s what this is. Right now, you’re the one struggling to move, aren’t you?”

Chiaki really did look cornered.

Every time she pulled back her arm to throw a punch, Tanigawa instantly closed the gap.

Any desperate strike she managed to land carried no real weight—only serving to leave her wide open.

And Tanigawa punished every single one of those openings.

Chiaki managed to dodge the heavy blows—the kind that could’ve dropped her in one hit—but the flow of the fight was clearly one-sided.

Normally, Tanigawa’s way of speaking… well, to put it nicely, made her sound a little airheaded.

But in a fight, she was a genius.

In no time at all, she could read her opponent’s weaknesses and adjust her movements to exploit them.

Not only spotting them, but adapting instantly.

If that wasn’t genius, then what was?

Uta Tanigawa was a born fighting prodigy.

“You’re saying some pretty smart-sounding stuff now!”

“Of course! I’m the perfect, brilliant girl, no matter how you look at me!!”

“Go look in a mirror before you say crap like that!!”

Chiaki sucked in a deep breath and launched her fist.

A moment ago, that punch might’ve landed square.

But against the current Tanigawa, it was useless.

She slipped past with ease, twisting her hips to deliver a counter.

“Watch your mouth when you’re talking to your senpai!!”

“Woahhh!? Talk about petty!!”

The ground seemed to shake.

The air itself roared.

Tanigawa’s sheer presence was so overwhelming, even I—watching from a distance—felt like the world itself was trembling.

I couldn’t begin to imagine what Chiaki, standing right in front of her, must’ve been feeling.

And yet—

“………………”

Her mouth told the story.

Those lips were curled into a wicked, devilish grin.

Her sharp canines glinted as her eyes narrowed with fierce determination.

It wasn’t the face of a girl.

It was the face of a warrior.

The expression of someone who lived for the battlefield.

I couldn’t claim to know exactly what Chiaki was feeling inside—no one could read another’s heart perfectly.

But from where I stood, I knew one thing for certain.

She was having the time of her life.

“This is getting funnnn!!”

“Shut the hell up!!”