Chapter 144: Killers' Time

With the class deadlocked over whether their teacher should be rescued or destroyed, everyone agrees to let a paintball contest render the verdict. Each student picks an allegiance, producing a save-minded blue force and a kill-minded red force, while Ritsu, Irina, and Karasuma step aside and declare themselves neutral.

Once the mock war starts, the shooting turns lethal fast. Takebayashi and Kataoka are picked off almost immediately by the sniping duo of Hayami and Chiba. Kanzaki answers by springing on Okajima and Chiba after they regroup, dropping both attackers at once.

The reasons behind each pick vary widely. Chiba and Hayami side with red, chasing the perfect killing shot, and Sugaya, Okajima, and Mimura join them to show Korosensei their artwork before his deadline. Kimura wants to earn an assassin's reputation fitting his name, Hazama refuses to weigh the world against her teacher, Itona credits his urge to kill for letting him bond with the class, and Okano signs up to be true to her feelings. On the blue side, Kayano regrets her earlier attempt on his life and craves more time with him, Okuda and Takebayashi trust science to spare him, Kanzaki wants his guidance forever, Yada aims to be honest, and Isogai and Maehara simply want him alive.

Sizing up the field, Maehara and Isogai note that red holds more boys and more combat specialists. Judging Nagisa short on such skills, Isogai advises him to operate on his own terms rather than follow the group.

Watching Nagisa and Karma line up on opposing teams, Kayano reflects on how the two have known each other since their first year yet still speak like distant acquaintances, forever tacking honorifics onto each other's names. The chapter belongs to Volume 17 and sits between Division Time and Claw Time in the division-war stretch.