In an instant, a wave of ice surged forward blindingly fast. The air cracked as the frost raced to the other side.
Renji didn't move. Not yet.
The crowd gasped—and the world froze.
All sound vanished and the wind stopped. Even the shards of flying ice halted mid air, glittering like suspended glass.
Renji stood in that silence, his hand knocking on the ice in front of him.
He looked around at the frozen stadium, at the unmoving sea of faces.
"Still not enough," he said softly. "Show me what you really got."
And with a theatrical snap of his fingers, Renji snapped back to reality.
BOOM!
The ice shattered, the crowd screaming as bits of the ice flew across the stadium.
Seizing the opportunity, Renji burst through the frosted cloud like a bullet, closing the distance in an instant.
"Your ice is too slow!" he shouted, fist slamming into Todoroki's guard.
The impact cracked the ground beneath them, shards of ice sprinkling the air like snow.
For the first time, Todoroki's determined gaze faltered.
Renji grinned. "That's better."
He spun, swinging another blow only for a burst of fire to explode between them, forcing him back.
The heat of the blast singed the edge of his uniform. The same uniform he had switched into after it got too heated the past couple of matches.
Across from him, Todoroki's left side flared brightly with flames hot enough to melt the ground beneath them.
Renji's grin widened even more. "Finally."
He stepped through the smoke, eyes gleaming against the fire. "Now it's a real fight."
—
Renji took a couple slow steps toward Todoroki only to suddenly vanish from his sight.
What—! Todoroki reacted immediately, forming a multi layered ice cocoon around him.
His head turned on a swivel, searching for any signs of his opponent.
The only thing he heard was a crack behind him, prompting multiple flames to blast outward in a fiery defense.
But instead, only the ice around him hissed as the heat met the frost, sending a thick steam into the air. Todoroki's breath quickened. His hand twitched, ready to raise another wall.
"Boring~"
The voice came from above.
Todoroki's eyes snapped up just in time to see Renji descending with a fist cocked back like a hammer.
The punch landed squarely on the top of the ice shell.
CRAAASH!
The entire cocoon erupted outward like shrapnel, vapor bursting into the air.
Skidding back, Todoroki braced his arm in front of his face as shards cut through his uniform.
The shockwave rippled across the arena floor, sending dust curling through the air.
Renji landed lightly, straightening his back.
He raised an arm, beckoning his opponent to try something.
"Come on, Todoroki." Renji said, eyeing him with a serious expression. "You need to get stronger quickly… there are monsters you couldn't even dream of beyond these walls."
Todoroki's breath came out in harsh, shallow bursts. His gaze locked on Renji's steadily.
"You talk like you've seen them." he echoed, voice low.
Renji's eyes flickered, just for an instant, as if something far darker awaited.
Then he smiled sharply.
"If I couldn't protect my loved ones, who says you can." He said simply, "You definitely won't be able to if you keep holding back."
The flames on Todoroki's left arm flared higher. "You don't know anything about me."
Renji's grin didn't fade. "Oh, I know a lot more than you think." He stepped forward, cracking his neck.
"You're afraid of what's inside you. Of becoming him." He continued.
That did it.
Todoroki's eyes widened just before a roaring wall of fire tore through the stadium.
Renji crossed his arms, bracing himself as the force hit. The temperature spiked so fast the air itself seemed to warp. The stage groaned, the flooring beneath their feet glowing faintly read.
Renji lowered his guard, grinning again. "Did I hit a sore spot?"
He let out a sharp laugh, pointing his finger somewhat behind him at the stand. "You're really are just like your daddy."
The flames roared even hotter, the ice on Todoroki's side struggling to keep up.
Even from the stands, students shielded their faces as the temperature surged higher.
On the edge of the stage, Midnight shouted a warning, but her voice was drowned out by the sound of Todoroki's fury igniting.
"Don't—" Todoroki's voice cracked through the inferno, trembling with years of suppressed rage. "Don't compare me to him!"
Renji tilted his head, unbothered by the molten air. "Prove it."
Todoroki's fire erupted like a living beast, consuming half the stadium in blazing light. The crowd gasped as the barrier shimmered from the force of the heat.
Inside the inferno, Todoroki stood at the center of it all, chest heaving with strain as his face twisted between fury and something dangerously close to panic.
But then, something caught his eye.
Through the blur of heat, high above the stand where Renji pointed just a moment ago, stood a familiar figure. Endeavor.
The Number Two Hero stood tall, arms crossed and a faint smile on his face. It wasn't warmth, not even pride. Expectation.
The same suffocating gaze he'd lived under his whole life, staring down at him now, at the peak of his accomplishments.
Todoroki's stomach twisted, his flames faltering for half a second.
Renji saw it immediately.
"There it is," Renji murmured, voice cutting through the firestorm. "That look on your face… you hate him, don't you?"
Todoroki's teeth clenched. "Shut up."
Renji stepped forward, the fire curling harmlessly around him. "You hate him for the burden he's put on you. Your family… Rei, was it?"
Renji's tone softened slightly, almost pitying. "Your mother didn't deserve that, did she?"
Todoroki's breath hitched.
Renji's eyes gleamed faintly, catching the flames ire. "You keep saying you're different. That you're not your father. But you still use his power as if it were his."
"Stop talking," Todoroki snapped, voice shaking.
Renji didn't. He kept walking through the storm, each step leaving an imprint beneath his feet.
"You're not afraid of losing control," Renji said quietly. "You're afraid that deep down, you already are him."
Something snapped.
Up in the stand, Endeavor's faint smile grew wider, flames crackling along his shoulders.
"Yes," he muttered to himself. "That's it, Shoto. Show them what I've made."
Back on the field, Renji's silhouette stood unflinching, steam hissing off the uniform. Good thing I tweaked my clothes.
"There it is," he muttered. "That's the power you've been choking back all this time."
Todoroki's voice tore through the smoke. "You think this power is yours to understand? To pick apart?!"
"No," Renji replied, the world suddenly stopping under his control. "But I'll make you understand it."
The fire froze mid motion.
Every flame, every scream in the audience went silent as the entire world locked still again.
Renji stood inside the suspended inferno, the glow painting his face orange.
He sighed softly. "Now that's more like it."
He turned toward the frozen image of Todoroki, flames still bursting from his arm mid roar. "You really do have his fire… but not his control."
Renji reached forward, brushing the edge of a flame that no longer burned. "Let's see if I can help you fix that."
With another snap—
Time resumed.
The explosion followed immediately, shaking the entire arena as Renji rocketed forward through the heart of Todoroki's inferno.