The Principal of the Thing

 is the 116th chapter of the manga and the third chapter of the Principal Kuno Intro Arc.

The students manage to capture the Principal, but he won't tell them where the coconut is unless they find his long lost son. The Principal shows them a photo of his son, and everyone soon realizes that it is none other than Tatewaki Kuno!

Finding the Principal's Son
Having found all the Coconuts they can, Akane begins splitting each of them open one-by-one. Eventually only one Coconut is left and everyone believes this must be the one with the rule pardon inside. By this time the Principal and Ranma have returned to the group and watch from afar (with the Principal noting Akane's strength, while Ranma thinks about how Akane always has to do everything the hard way). Akane then breaks open the Coconut, but it turns out to be a dud and everyone begins to panic about getting their hair cut, causing Akane to invigorate everyone by declaring that they'll just find the Principal.

The students quickly begin getting pumped up about finding the Principal and forcing an answer out of him, at that moment, the Principal swings over the students and tells them they'll have to catch him first. Unfortunately, Ranma swiftly knocks the Principal onto the floor. When the Principal asks Ranma why she betrayed him, Ranma satirically notes not ever remembering teaming up with him. The Principal continues by noting that it's too bad he's forgotten, but, through Hisoshi threatening to place some cement blocks onto the Principal's legs, he remembers and instructs Ranma to pull a nearby rope.

Ranma does as instructed and a large image of a saddened child with a folds down. The students ask the Principal who the boy in the picture is, to which the Principal reveals is his son who disappeared three years ago. Continuing, the Principal explains that if the students find his son then he'll show them where the pardon Coconut is.

Obviously, the students begin wondering just how they go about starting looking for the Principal's son. Ranma then wonders if anyone else thinks that the boy in the picture looks familiar somehow, an observation Akane agrees with. Just then Ranma takes out some dark paint and draws in the boy's hair, causing everyone to realise that the boy is Kuno!

The Reunion
Some time passes and Kuno is still hopelessly lost in the Principal's office jungle. As he cuts back the fauna, Kuno thinks to himself about how he'll find the madman who conceived the obscene hair cut rule and make them feel all his years of tortured memories. At that moment, Ranma appears (back in his male form) and declares he's found Kuno and subsequently knocks him unconscious.

Ranma quickly takes Kuno back to the Principal and prepares for their tearful reunion to be over quickly. Unfortunately, the Principal doesn't believe that Kuno is his son, despite the uncanny similarity between Kuno and the Principal's photo. He continues by telling them that his Tatewaki was only 14 and a lot shorter, prompting Hiroshi to remind him that was three years ago and sarcastically asks the Principal if he thought his son would stop growing during that time.

The Principal decides to shave Kuno's hair to see if he finally recognises him, but Kuno wakes up before the Principal has a chance to. Akane butts in by telling Kuno to look at the Principal and ask him if he's his father. Kuno looks deeply into the Principal's glasses, but notes his father disappeared three years ago and declares the Principal looks nothing like him. As the Principal dodges Kuno's strike, a photograph flies out of his clothes, which Kuno recognises as his father.

When Kuno demands where the Principal got this picture from, he replies that that is a picture of him from three years ago. Kuno, however, refuses to believe the Principal as his father's skin was lighter (meanwhile the other students look at the picture and note the likelihood that the Principal got a tan in Hawaii and is almost definitely the same person).

Kuno Family Feud
Kuno decides that he's had enough by this point and prepares to attack the Principal again. However, the Principal uses his Barber shears to leave Kuno's Bokken in ribbons. Seeing this technique, Kuno remembers it as the same one which took his hair three years ago and declares it as a secret Kuno family technique, "The Wooden Sword Shredder".

This technique is the final piece of evidence that convinces the Principal and Tatewaki that they are father and son! The pair run in for a passionate embrace, but Tatewaki decides that this is the best time to get revenge for his hair cut three years ago and goes in to attack the Principal, only to be blocked by the Principal's Barber shears.

Ranma quickly defuses the situation by kicking Kuno high into the air. He then turns to the Principal and tells him that now they've found his son, will he tell them where the pardon Coconut is? Unfortunately, the Principal reveals he can't tell them where the Coconut is unless he gets the map to it, which is on the back of Tatewaki's head. As the Principal explains he drew the map with special ink after shaving Kuno's head. Learning this, Ranma realises that the Principal's been planning this for three years and hits him for this. Meanwhile, the other students start their search for Kuno again (not noticing him unconscious in a tree being held by a snake)...

Cast in Order of Appearance

 * Akane Tendo
 * Hiroshi and Daisuke
 * Principal Kuno
 * Ranma Saotome (female)
 * Yuka and Sayuri
 * Tatewaki Kuno
 * Ranma Saotome (male)

Trivia

 * The english title for this chapter is a pun on the phrase "principle of the thing".