The so-called 'U.A. High School Sports Festival' was originally just a normal sports festival at U.A. High School, but with the outstanding performance of generations of U.A. graduates, people almost came to a consensus that the winners of the U.A. Sports Festival would basically have good careers after graduation.
And the sudden appearance of All Might made people notice the special nature of the 'U.A. High School Sports Festival'. First, 'scouts' from some private agencies came here to find new talent, and then it was noticed by the general public, until it finally became a national carnival.
People all looked forward to a 'new hero' being born here.
"There are a lot of people, aren't there?"
Lancer, who was holding three cats, was undoubtedly very eye-catching, but he himself didn't care much. He was wearing makeup, and he was on U.A.'s turf. Nothing unexpected would happen, and no one would notice him.
The three cats in Lancer arms were all behaving differently.
Tigre was paying attention to the U.A. students who were walking by from time to time. Of course, rather than paying attention to them, it was paying attention to the snacks they were selling.
The original purpose of the 'U.A. High School Sports Festival' was to train students, and with the passage of time, it also had the meaning of a show. In recent years, as 'Pro Heroes' have become more and more commercialized, U.A. High School has also added a new subject called the 'Business Department'. Although it sounds a little strange, this was also a change that followed the trend of the times, and the performance of these students in the sports festival was measured by the money they made.
But compared to Tigre, who was looking around, Jack, who was leaning against it, was seriously looking at Shoto Todoroki, who was waving to the surroundings on the stage below.
There was no doubt that because of Lancer interruption, Class A did not reveal their strength too early like before, and their appeal to the crowd was only maintained at the level of previous years. However, Jack was more concerned about Shoto Todoroki's performance.
Indeed, Shoto Todoroki was Lancer disciple, but Jack's help to him was also not small. It could even be said that Jack was half his teacher. It was also looking forward to Shoto Todoroki's performance and would even look at Aru next to it from time to time.
"Meow~~"
And Aru? It was yawning as usual and puffed out its stomach to get more sunlight.
Seeing its friend's lazy appearance, Jack couldn't help but kick the other party's foot and then meow in a flurry, seemingly dissatisfied with the other party's attitude. In response, Aru simply turned around and faced its butt towards Jack.
If Jack was half of Shoto Todoroki's teacher, then Aru was half of Momo Yaoyorozu teacher. It taught Momo Yaoyorozu how to make and use many explosive devices and non-lethal traps.
On normal days, Jack and Aru's strength could be said to be on par. This time, Jack, who was feeling competitive, naturally planned to let its 'disciple' avenge its shame, but Aru himself clearly didn't care about it.
But no matter how the two cats interacted, in the eyes of ordinary people, it was just a strange man holding three pet cats and watching a match, and two of the cats seemed to be 'playing'?
"The match has started!"
And at this moment, Lancer quiet reminder also made Jack move its body upwards, and the seemingly indifferent Aru also turned its body around at some point and opened its eyes, which had been narrowed...
Since it was a 'sports festival' and not a 'world's strongest martial arts tournament', there were naturally many events related to 'sports', and the first few events were just that.
"An obstacle course? Hoo~"
At this time, Shoto Todoroki, who was standing at the starting line, was also a little nervous, especially when he thought of Lancer and Jack, who were waving at him from the front rows of the stands before, a hint of a smile couldn't help but appear on his face.
'My teacher and Jack are both here. I can't let them down.'
Shoto Todoroki probably didn't even realize his own change. This boy, who always had a stern face, would sometimes unconsciously show a hint of a smile. Although everyone was a little curious, no one had asked him about it because they weren't very familiar with him.
But Momo Yaoyorozu on the other side was looking at the venue with a very serious face.
Although her quirk was a jack-of-all-trades, it also required the user to use it properly. There were two key points in the first round of the match.
'Obstacles and running...'
First, she had already given up the idea of winning the first round. After all, Tenya Iida's quirk was undoubtedly the most suitable for this kind of racing event, and it was almost impossible to surpass him in speed. But for the sake of the subsequent matches, she still needed to have a relatively high ranking...
Preserving her strength but not falling behind the main group was the key for Momo Yaoyorozu in the first stage!
Although there was a rule against using quirks before the match began, it didn't affect Momo Yaoyorozu from thinking ahead. After constructing the things she needed to create in her mind, she also walked to the starting line with a face full of confidence...
Lancer, who was sitting in the stands, saw Shoto Todoroki take the lead by using an ice track and creating obstacles for the people behind him, and he couldn't help but nod. Shoto Todoroki's choice could be said to be within his expectations, but what surprised Lancer was Momo Yaoyorozu...
'Did she guess that Shoto Todoroki would create ice and make ice skates in advance?'
The ice track, which was a fatal trap for the other students, was a boost for Momo Yaoyorozu. And Shoto Todoroki must have also noticed Momo Yaoyorozu actions behind him, but he didn't have any intention of stopping. After all, his goal was only first place. As for the others? What did they have to do with him!
As time passed, the smile on Lancer face became brighter and brighter. As expected, Shoto Todoroki was in the leading position the entire time. While the others were nervously getting through all kinds of 'obstacles', his performance was perfect.
Whether it was his nimble dodging among the various machines like an ice dancer in the first obstacle, or his calm gliding on the suspension bridge, there was no doubt that the biggest winner of the first match was Shoto Todoroki, and everyone's eyes were drawn to him.
With his good looks and a cold but perfect performance, Lancer even noticed that many of the girls watching the match were already getting stars in their eyes for Shoto Todoroki, and he couldn't help but want to laugh out loud.
'What a sinful man~'
However, his relaxed state of mind was quickly put away, because the last obstacle was about to begin!
'Match-use minefield'
This was a minefield with the same light and shadow effects as a real one but with a reduced lethality for use in matches, and it was also one of the important turning points for 'Izuku Midoriya' in the original work.
'Will it be the same this time?'
With this thought, Lancer unconsciously straightened his body, and the three cats in his arms also looked at Lancer with a strange expression but then turned their attention back to the screen.
When he arrived at the 'minefield', Shoto Todoroki was also stunned for a moment, but then he didn't hesitate to create an ice track and rushed up again. And as the ice track was laid on the ground, the sound of explosions was endless.
"What's going on? We set it up so that it would only explode when someone steps on it. How did he..."
"Todoroki-shonen increased the density of the ice!"
All Might, who was sitting in the judge's seat, was the first to notice the ice beads on Shoto Todoroki's forehead. There was no doubt that this release of cold air, which was far beyond normal, put a lot of pressure on him, but his effort also paid off.
The ice road that had been laid in advance was blown up into a series of ice flowers, but it also showed him the way. However, this 'uneven' road was clearly not as easy to get through as before, but————————
'This is much easier than the obstacles my teacher set up.'
With a confident smile on his face, he jumped directly onto the first 'ice flower'. At this time, he had changed from gliding to climbing and jumping, and there was no doubt that his speed was much slower than before, but the advantage was that he didn't have to worry about 'traps' and could just focus on getting to the finish line.
But there was no doubt that this speed was much slower than before, and the second group, which had been following closely behind, had also caught up. The first one to catch up was Bakugo Katsuki.
"Damn it!!"
Bakugo Katsuki could be said to be the most special one in the entire Class A. His habitually aggressive attitude always made people feel that he was more like a 'villain' than a 'hero', but his strength could be said to be unquestionable, and unlike Shoto Todoroki, who rarely went all out, he was always striving for first place and was very active. Many people in the class even thought that he was the strongest person in the class.
And his quirk was also very direct————————'Explosion'.
After discovering the minefield, he didn't hesitate to jump into the air and use the thrust from his quirk to rush towards the finish line at an extremely fast speed. His 'wild' way of moving naturally detonated countless 'mines', but he himself seemed to be completely unaffected and moved forward at full speed.
After that were Tenya Iida and Momo Yaoyorozu. Tenya Iida's arrival was no surprise, after all, his quirk was 'Engine'. If it weren't for Shoto Todoroki and Bakugo Katsuki, two dark horses, his third-place position would have been truly surprising. But at this time, looking at the final 'sprint', he felt a little excited while also being nervous!
Although there was the impact of the explosions, there was no doubt that this place was more suitable for him than the previous venues.
As long as I go fast enough, my teammates' question marks... ahem~ To put it simply, as long as he went fast enough, these mines, which had been deliberately weakened, might not be able to hit him. He could completely rush past them before they exploded!
Tenya Iida, who was crouching on the ground, started to adjust his 'quirk', striving for a perfect performance!
And Momo Yaoyorozu, the last of the four, was hesitant as she looked at the 'minefield'. Shoto Todoroki had taken a different path, and Bakugo Katsuki and Tenya Iida planned to forcefully break through, so what should she do?
Should she just follow behind Shoto Todoroki like before? But the second group behind her had also caught up. If someone had a suitable quirk, she might not even be able to maintain her position in the first group...
'What should I do?'
A hint of cold sweat appeared on Momo Yaoyorozu forehead when the first person from the second group appeared in her sight.