Chapter 38

Training Time (訓練の時間) is the thirty-eighth chapter of the Assassination Classroom manga.

Short summary
The prime minister is irritated no one's been able to kill Korosensei for the past three months, and so, the government formulates a new plan. Karasuma narrates a training process report regarding the students' knifework, including getting caught off-guard by Nagisa. As soon as P.E. class is over, Karasuma leaves the class even after an offer to stay with them for tea. Recalling an earlier meeting with his chief, he was told someone would be sent over to the class to assist him. Sure enough, Akira Takaoka from the Ministry's Special Services Division appears and woos the students and Korosensei with sweets and drinks. Meanwhile, Karasuma and his agent harbor a dangerous premonition lying ahead with this new man, now replacing Karasuma as the P.E. teacher of class 3-E.

Long summary
In a meeting within the Japanese government, the prime minister is irritated that no one's been able to kill Korosensei for the past three months. A chief brings up a person from the Information Bureau who's formulated a plan, in opposition to Tadaomi Karasuma.

On the field, Karasuma is testing the students for their knifework while narrating a training progress report. He reports that Yuma Isogai and Hiroto Maehara are a good combination with excellent reflexes, having given them one point each on their scores. Next, he reports Karma Akabane, who appears to be lazy, but with a strong sense of mischief. He notes that Karma is attempting to humiliate him by dealing a decisive blow, but is doubtful that he will. He then reports some of the girls, including Hinata Okano, a former member of the gymnastics club who can catch people off-guard with her movements, and Meg Kataoka, possessing a momentum and constitution equivalent to a boy's, making the two of them excellent close-range attackers. Then, he starts to think about Korosensei, an ideal image of a teacher that no one should kill, only to realize Korosensei is standing right next to him and fabricating his thoughts by whispering to him, then telling him to get lost. Next, he notes the bratty trio of Ryoma Terasaka, Taisei Yoshida and Takuya Muramatsu, who lack enthusiasm but still have potential with their good builds. Finally, he notes that the class has been improving at an exceptional rate, although none of the others really stand out. However, he is taken off guard as a snake wraps itself around his neck. Panicked, he knocks the snake away, which turns out to be Nagisa Shiota. Karasuma apologizes to him for swinging too hard and asks if he can stand. Nagisa claims he's fine, to which Sugino laughs it off, claiming Nagisa didn't pay enough attention. Karasuma reports Nagisa as agile from his small build and a mild student with nothing else worth mentioning, apart from that strange presence he just felt. Meanwhile, Korosensei looks back at him, having finished a model of the Taj Mahal in the sandbox. Karasuma then concludes the P.E. class.

The other students are taken away by their inabilities to hit Karasuma. Kurahashi offers Karasuma to join everyone else in class to have tea after school. Karasuma refuses, noting that he's expecting a communication from the Ministry of Defense after. Karasuma walks back towards to the school building, to which Mimura notes that it's not just his body that he's separating from the students, but his own life as well. Yada feels like he's keeping them at a distance, as if separated by a wall. Kurahashi claims he just doesn't go beyond his own duty even though he takes care of them well. Korosensei disregards the students' doubts, claiming he's not just an agent sent after him, but a good teacher as well. In a flashback from not long ago, Karasuma had a meeting with his chief. The chief notes that his performance in the airborne forces, as a demonic instructor, and his espionage activities out of uniform were of high quality, but claims that since he hasn't been able to use his secret weapon, the students, he can't kill Korosensei alone. The chief notes they still don't know how to assassinate him and points to him cleaning the windows just outside their office. He concludes by announcing the arrival of one person to the class.

Back to the present day, Karasuma anticipates his arrival. Just as he is about to enter the building, sure enough, a man opens the door and greets him. Carrying some boxes and bags, the man is Akira Takaoka, a member of the Special Services Division of the Ministry of Defense. Takaoka walks over to the field, drops his boxes and bags and enthusiastically introduces himself to the students and Korosensei. The students note that the boxes and bags contain many pastries and drinks. Isogai asks Takaoka if it's okay for him to give the students all the expensive sweets he just brought, to which Takaoka claims it's alright. He encourages everyone not to think of him as a trap and wants to get along with them quickly. Eating a pastry himself and winking, he claims food tastes best when sitting and eating with everyone else. Yada notes that Takaoka knows his brands, and sure enough, Takaoka confesses loving sugar. He then gives Korosensei a piece of cake and jokes about killing him. The students quickly start to see him as more a father than Karasuma while Korosensei frantically starts to eat everything in a corner, to which Takaoka claims they're quite like family. Karasuma's agent appears with a message from the chief, saying he'd like Karasuma to focus solely on providing outside assistance to the students and that Takaoka will be handling students' training from here on. Karasuma is left stunned, as the agent claims that she worries for the students too, calling Takaoka a dangerous deviant.