--Friday, July 3, 2172
"The exit door! We're almost there!!!"
As he ran at full speed, Midoriya finally caught sight of the exit through the massive hole created by All Might's initial strike, prompting him to speak with a mix of excitement and apprehension. At that moment, Bakugo, who was blasting ferocious explosions from his hands to propel himself through the air at high speed, refusing to fall behind Midoriya, and pushing his arms to the brink of breaking, growled in a rough voice.
"Don't start celebrating, damn Deku!! All Might won't take long to catch up!! When he does, I'll finish him with my gauntlets!!"
"Oh, I see. And how exactly will you do that?"
Right at that instant, Bakugo heard a calm but slightly mocking voice right next to his ear, causing his eyes to widen in disbelief as he whipped his head around in near panic. There, with a smile on his face, stood the Symbol of Peace, not a single scratch on his body. Without a second thought, Bakugo thrust his right arm forward to unleash another powerful explosion with his grenade-shaped gauntlet.
But before he could even fully aim, both of his gauntlets shattered into pieces. Bakugo saw All Might's fist right in front of him. Yet, in that split second, with adrenaline slowing down his perception of time, Bakugo witnessed something he never expected to see in his life.
At the same moment All Might casually destroyed his gauntlet with a punch, he sent another strike with his free hand toward Deku. But to everyone's surprise, the green-haired boy didn't panic. With a calm expression, he ducked under All Might's arm. Immediately after, with a smooth and clearly practiced motion, Midoriya slid beneath All Might's arm and delivered two devastating blows to his abdomen.
As powerful shockwaves caused the air to whip around them like a hurricane, All Might, with an even wider smile, clenched his right fist and launched a downward strike at the crouched Midoriya. But with the same fluidity as before, the green-haired boy tilted his upper body diagonally backward, narrowly dodging the punch.
With his hair whipping wildly from the air pressure of All Might's fist, Midoriya planted his right hand on the ground, using it to launch himself into the air. Taking advantage of the opening created by All Might's large movements, Midoriya spun mid-air, building momentum, before unleashing a kick to the Symbol of Peace's face while shouting with all his might.
"Smash!!!"
The kick created a brutal shockwave that struck the stunned Bakugo in mid-air, sending him flying back several meters. Yet, despite the power of the kick, All Might didn't budge a single millimeter from his spot. Under Midoriya's solemn gaze, he raised his left leg to deliver a ruthless knee strike to the defenseless young hero in the air.
The impact unleashed a brutal shockwave in all directions, while Midoriya was sent rocketing backward, crashing into a half-destroyed building in the distance. As he tumbled across the ground from the successive, terrifying shockwaves, Bakugo couldn't help but watch as the building Midoriya had collided with collapsed.
(How…? How is that useless idiot so strong…? How?!!)
"Hahaha, a little impressive, but that's all! Today, death is the only thing awaiting you, Heroes!!"
At that moment, All Might spoke with a dark, mocking tone amid a thick cloud of smoke and dust born from the furious exchange. Bakugo, with an expression blending disbelief, helplessness, fear, and lack of will, stared at the silhouette of the Symbol of Peace through the haze while on all fours, lacking the courage to stand and face the greatest hero.
"You bastard!!!!!!!!!"
But gritting his teeth, Bakugo shouted with all his strength and pushed himself up with his hands, launching himself at the Symbol of Peace with everything he had. Aiming both arms forward, Bakugo unleashed all his power, disregarding his physical limits and future consequences, releasing an explosion even stronger than when he used his grenade gauntlets.
"It's impossible to beat you without going all out, right, All Might?!!!!!"
The furious blast kicked up dirt and caught the unsuspecting Symbol of Peace off guard, managing to push him back a good distance. Letting out a scream of pain as his arms trembled violently, almost as if they might explode at any moment, Bakugo yelled with all his might, even straining his vocal cords.
"Deku!!! Run to the exit and do something useful, you trash!!!!"
In that instant, All Might, completely unscathed, charged at Bakugo, who, screaming with all his strength, aimed his arms at him and unleashed another equally powerful explosion, severely worsening the condition of his arms. At the same time, from the building where Midoriya had crashed, a green bolt shot toward the exit at a staggering speed.
Simultaneously, All Might, shielding himself from the explosion with his arms, looked up with his unshakable smile still on his face, noticing the green bolt. Kicking the ground, All Might launched himself at a speed several times faster than the green bolt, managing to position himself in its path in the blink of an eye.
Without giving the green-haired boy time to react, All Might sent a punch toward him, causing a brutal shockwave that sent him flying back toward Bakugo at a terrifying speed. Midoriya, with a grave expression as he shielded himself from the shockwave, looked at the ground approaching from behind and quickly concentrated a massive amount of One For All power into his right leg, kicking the air.
Demonstrating near-supernatural control over One For All, Midoriya rapidly shifted the focus of his power between different parts of his body while spinning, always on the verge of breaking before switching to another spot. This created a tornado from his spin, which deflected the force of All Might's punch and allowed Midoriya to land on the ground with relative safety.
Gritting his teeth from the pain in his muscles, Midoriya planted his feet and right hand on the ground, still sliding backward from the momentum while keeping his gaze locked on the Symbol of Peace in the air. At that moment, All Might, using Kai's technique to kick the air and 'fly,' hovered in place and remarked with a sadistic, malevolent smile.
"Working together, even if reluctantly, just to face me is truly wonderful, young ones, but… that's merely a prerequisite for the exams. Now that Bakugo-shonen is injured and Midoriya-shonen's speed isn't enough to escape me, you've lost all chance… This is the end."
…
"Kai, look! All Might copied your technique!"
In the observation room, as the students, much of Class 1-A, watched the screens with their mouths agape, their expressions torn between awe at Midoriya's incredible skill and fear that even something like that couldn't scratch the Symbol of Peace. Momo's cheerful and somewhat proud voice echoed through the room.
"Yeah, I spent years perfecting that technique only for someone else to copy the right answers…" Kai replied calmly while taking notes on his phone. Momo squeezed Kai's arm and responded with a proud smile.
"Fufu, don't look at it that way. It just makes you more impressive! The Symbol of Peace, the greatest hero of all, copied your technique because it's that amazing! How many people in the world can say something like that? None! You're the best! Now, every time All Might uses your technique, everyone will know how incredible you are!"
"That doesn't sound encouraging at all, and it doesn't erase the feeling that I've been blatantly plagiarized." Kai replied casually while Mina subtly glanced at him with stars in her eyes, clearly sharing Momo's sentiment. Momo responded with a smile.
"You've plagiarized plenty of people too, including All Might, to create your techniques! It's part of life!"
"…Touché." Kai could only reply after clicking his tongue in annoyance. At that moment, Sero, also in the room, asked in a serious tone.
"Saito, does Midoriya's strength come from the hellish training he went through…?"
"Where else? It's not like you guys didn't see what he was like at the start of the year." Kai replied with a slightly disdainful tone, causing several of those present to nod. With a serious expression, Sero looked directly at Kai and said.
"I want to get stronger… If that training is what it takes…"
Without even looking up from his screen, Kai responded in a calm tone while casually jotting down notes on his phone.
"You'll hardly get as strong as Midoriya. The guy has no backbone and is really annoying, but one thing is undeniable—he's got talent and an absurdly strong Quirk. A normal person could never improve that much in so little time. Even with my training, it would take years, and they still wouldn't be able to display that kind of power.
"But one thing is certain: training never betrays anyone, and Aizawa is clear proof of that. His Quirk doesn't give him any physical enhancements, yet today, his raw strength is undeniably superhuman, capable of lifting a couple of tons without issue. Meanwhile, his techniques allow him to fight someone several times stronger even without his Quirk.
"So, for someone like you, Aizawa is a better reference than Midoriya. And don't worry, you've already got a fully paid ticket to that training. The pathetic performance you put up in the exam can't go unpunished, right?"
Kai finished, glancing at Sero with a small smile that made the young man tremble all over. Even so, Sero mustered his courage and replied seriously.
"I'M READY!"
…
Seeing Midoriya's agile landing and hearing All Might's words, Bakugo gritted his teeth so hard they cracked, filled with deep hatred—toward Midoriya, but more so toward his own weakness. From start to finish, the only one who had been able to counterattack effectively was Deku, that same Quirkless loser who was supposed to stay beneath him forever.
"Shut up!!!"
But if there was one thing Bakugo hated more than Midoriya, it was losing. So, he shouted with all his strength, then grabbed the collar of the green-haired boy's suit and began spinning at full speed. As a surprised Midoriya tried to ask what was happening, Bakugo launched him flying toward the exit with a brutal explosion while screaming with all his might.
"Kacca---"
"Die!!!!!!"
"That's still not enough—"
All Might commented casually, then kicked the ground to intercept Midoriya once again. But at that moment, Bakugo, practically destroying his arms, propelled himself forward with a powerful explosion, charging head-on at All Might while shouting, fully prepared to crash into him.
"I don't like it, but this is the only way we can win!!!"
Fearing he might seriously injure Bakugo due to the tremendous speed he was traveling at, All Might kicked the ground to step back and dodge. Seeing All Might retreat, Bakugo quickly glanced at Deku, realizing his 'push' had gotten him close enough to the exit that, with a jump, the boy could make it through. But for that to happen, he had to buy time.
"Die!!!!!!"
Using an explosion to redirect his body in the air, Bakugo turned to aim at All Might and unleashed a full-power blast that shattered his right arm, tearing muscles and breaking bones. But All Might, seeing the damage the boy had done to himself, kicked the ground to dodge the explosion and reached Bakugo, grabbing his head and slamming him into the ground at brutal speed while speaking in a calm voice.
"I don't like seeing young students destroy themselves like this, so sleep, Bakugo-shonen."
But to All Might's surprise, Bakugo didn't fall unconscious on impact. Instead, he shakily stood up, speaking in a broken voice filled with pain and frustration. At the same time, small explosions crackled in his hands, almost as if he wanted to attack the Symbol of Peace landing in front of him, but lacking the strength to do so.
"Even if I have to tear myself apart… I'll win… I'll never accept that even this isn't enough… I'm going to win, no matter the cost…"
All Might couldn't help but look at Bakugo with surprise, somewhat moved by the boy's unbreakable resolve. But just then, the Symbol of Peace remembered Midoriya was near the exit, so he quickly turned to intercept him. At that exact moment, All Might saw Midoriya standing right at the threshold of the door, in a firm karate stance, preparing to throw a punch.
"Sorry, but I really can't leave my teammates behind…"
After speaking in a calm, somewhat self-reproachful tone, Midoriya gave the Symbol of Peace a strange smile before launching a basic karate punch at terrifying speed. Perfectly mimicking the movements Kai had shown him the first time he'd asked for advice and even visualizing One For All as the aura from the hologram, Midoriya poured every last drop of power he could into his fist—without destroying his body in the final second of the strike.
"SMASH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
As if All Might himself had done it, Midoriya's punch unleashed a colossal blast of air perfectly aimed at All Might, narrowly avoiding Bakugo, and forcing the Symbol of Peace to shield himself as he was pushed back. At the same time, Bakugo fell to the ground, nearly unconscious, and Midoriya was thrown backward, unable to withstand the power of his own attack.
[Izuku Midoriya & Katsuki Bakugo, passed!]
…
""Woooow!!!!!!""
Meanwhile, in the observation room, the vast majority of the students couldn't help but cheer loudly, filled with excitement over what they had witnessed. At that moment, Kai pocketed his phone and commented casually while looking at Momo.
"It's our turn."
Momo quickly nodded and began walking alongside Kai. Mina, who had been cheering wildly with the others, noticed the pair leaving and called out in an enthusiastic voice.
"Saito, Yao-Momo, I'll be rooting for you!!!!"
***
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