CAN'T EVEN SAY ANYTHING ANYMORE. YOU WIN. HERE'S THE CHAPTER AS PROMISED.
__
BOOM.
"YOU THINK IT'S OVER?! I'M TAKING THAT BACK!!"
The ice restraining team Bakugo was blasted away. And out came a feral blonde, red eyes gleaming with violent intentions.
Todoroki's ice spread across the ground again, converging from another angle.
His expression was cold—but his eyes burned.
Other teams were breaking free now, scrambling, desperate. Team Monoma, Team Tetsutetsu, Team Shoji,
"Dammit! Why won't this ice break?" Hagakure yelled in frustration.
"Here. Let me try." Jiro injected her earphone jacks into the ice. Sound waves shot out from her legs, shattering the ice.
Slowly but surely, everyone faced their direction.
'Well, they don't look too happy.' Yuta felt Hatsume tense on his back.
"Uh… partner?"
"Yeah. I know."
He crouched slightly, readying himself.
'Not over yet.'
Hatsume reached into her pouch and pulled out a cylindrical launcher—sleek, compact, spring-loaded.
"You sure about this?"
"Do it."
She grinned and began stuffing every headband they'd stolen—except the ten million—into the launcher.
Nine headbands.
Compacted.
Loaded.
"Hey. Is that allowed?"
"What's he doing with the headbands?"
"I thought the rules said you could only hide it in an open area."
Even Midnight frowned, wondering what they were up to.
Midoriya gulped. "I… I don't like how this feels…"
Iida adjusted his glasses with trembling fingers. "This is… highly concerning."
By now barely over two minutes remained for the calvary battle
Bakugo snarled. "DON'T YOU DARE—!!" But Yuta raised a hand, high enough for everyone to see. "It's been fun, everyone."
The charging teams hesitated. Bakugo slowed—just slightly.
All eyes turned to Yuta.
He adjusted his goggles.
"But the game's almost over. And I think I've had enough running around."
Hatsume raised the launcher high. "So now—you all have two choices." Yuta's grin widened.
"One: Try to catch us and win first place."
Hatsume's finger hovered over the trigger.
"Or—"
FWOOOOSH!!
She fired.
The launcher exploded upward, sending all nine headbands spiraling into the sky like confetti.
They scattered. Falling in different directions across the battlefield.
Yuta smirked.
"—try and get as many as you can."
He lifted the ten million headband to his forehead. "Pick your poison." Then promptly disappeared with Hatsume at extreme speeds.
Silence.
For one heartbeat.
Then—
Chaos.
"THE HEADBANDS!"
"GRAB THEM!"
"FORGET HIM—GET THE POINTS!"
Teams exploded into motion.
Some dove for the falling headbands.
Others hesitated—torn between chasing Yuta and securing a guaranteed spot.
Bakugo snarled, fists smoking.
"THAT CLEVER BASTARD—!!"
Todoroki's eyes narrowed.
'He split the field.'
Midoriya's team reacted instantly—Iida's engines roared as they shot toward the nearest falling headband.
Just theirs wouldn't be enough to guarantee a spot. Their combined points weren't that high to begin with.
Just like them, Shinso's team scrambled.
Even the frozen teams were breaking free now, desperate to grab something.
Present Mic's voice cracked with excitement.
"HE JUST—HE JUST TURNED THE ENTIRE BATTLEFIELD INTO A FREE-FOR-ALL!!"
"WITH ONLY TWO MINUTES LEFT, EVERYONE'S SCRAMBLING FOR THOSE HEADBANDS—BUT YUTA AKUTAMI STILL HOLDS THE TEN MILLION POINTS!!"
Aizawa's eyes gleamed.
"…Tactically sound. He reduced the number of threats by giving them an alternative target."
"THAT'S ONE WAY TO PUT IT! I CALL IT GENIUS!"
BOOM!
A loud explosion resounded in the chaos. Everyone turned, only to see Bakugo had taken to the skies.
"THOSE HEADBANDS ARE MINE!" He shot towards the nearest one.
"Dammit! He's not even letting them fall."
Todoroki's face changed.
"YAOYOROZU!"
"Right." There was no need for words. In their team, she was the only one who could retrieve the headbands before they landed.
Raising her hand, a long pole emerged, stretching forward until a headband was hooked.
The arena once again devolved into a warzone as everyone struggled for points. "Gotcha!" Bakugo caught two.
Then was caught by sero's tape pulling him back to their team to prevent him from touching the ground. "Damn. I have to say I didn't see this coming." Sero exclaimed as he shot out his elbow tape.
"I know right. Who would have thought .."
"SHUT IT IDIOTS. TALK ABOUT THAT BASTARD AND I'LL KILL YOU!"
"Hey. Take it easy. We haven't even said anything."
Yuta exhaled, watching the madness unfold.
Hatsume cackled on his back.
"YOU'RE INSANE! I LOVE IT!"
"Two minutes left," Yuta muttered. "Think we can last?"
"WITH MY BABIES? OBVIOUSLY!"
"Alright then, let's finish this."
There would always be those who would chase them regardless. However, that number had significantly reduced.
Those who had headbands were now under siege from others and didn't have the time to spare with him.
Those who tried to chase after them gave up as the seconds passed. Bakugo and Todoroki were still coming, but ultimately gave up after their headbands were stolen once by Monoma and Tetsutetsu's teams respectively.
"DAMMIT!!" Bakugo roared, as Monoma's squad made off with one of their stolen headbands. "GET BACK HERE, YOU COPY BASTARD!!"
Monoma's laughter echoed across the field.
"AHAHAHAHA! CLASS 1-A'S ARROGANCE IS THEIR DOWNFALL! DID YOU REALLY THINK YOU COULD—"
WHAM.
Tetsutetsu's team slammed into them from the side, ripping the headband straight from Monoma's grasp.
"WHAT?! NO—!!"
"THANKS FOR THE ASSIST, CLASSMATE! NO HARD FEELINGS!" Tetsutetsu bellowed, as he held the headband high.
Just then, a tongue shot over. He ducked just in time
"It's gonna take a lot more than that to ..."
"Hey there."
Someone called out.
"What ..? .."
The moment he replied, his face went dull. "I'll be taking that." Shinso swooped in with a grab.
The frenzy intensified elsewhere.
Team Midoriya had managed to snag two headbands—their original and one they'd stolen mid-air with Tokoyami's Dark Shadow.
"We've got enough!" Uraraka shouted. "Just hold on!"
"Agreed!" Iida's engines flared as they weaved between attacking teams.
But then—
"NOT SO FAST, MIDORIYA."
Hagakure charged forward.
"HAND THOSE OVER!"
"No way!"
"ONE MINUTE REMAINING!"
The crowd was screaming.
"FOLKS, THIS IS ABSOLUTE MADNESS! HEADBANDS ARE CHANGING HANDS EVERY SECOND! NO ONE KNOWS WHO'S GONNA MAKE IT THROUGH!!"
"FORTY SECONDS LEFT PEOPLE."
"NOW TWENTY!"
Bakugo's head snapped toward Yuta.
One last time.
'I could make it.'
His hands sparked.
'If I blast myself hard enough—'
"BAKUGO, NO!!" Kirishima shouted. "WE DON'T HAVE TIME—WE'LL FALL APART!"
Bakugo snarled. But he stayed. Because Kirishima was right. One wrong move—and they'd lose everything.
That bastard had been tricky so far. He could bet on a lot of things impulsively, but not this.
Todoroki had the same thought.
His ice could reach.
His fire could propel him.
But—
'If I go… we leave ourselves open.'
He exhaled frost.
And stayed.
"TEN SECONDS!"
"NINE!"
"EIGHT!"
The countdown echoed across the stadium.
Teams made their final grabs.
"SEVEN!"
Midoriya's team secured a second headband after losing one.
"SIX!"
Shinso's team stole one from Hagakure after losing theirs.
"FIVE!"
Bakugo and Todoroki both tightened their grips on their hauls.
"FOUR!"
Yuta stood perfectly still.
"THREE!"
Hatsume raised her arms triumphantly.
"TWO!"
The field held its breath.
"ONE!"
BZZZZZZZT!!
The buzzer blared.
"TIME'S UP!!"
Midnight cracked her whip.
"THE CAVALRY BATTLE IS OVER!!"
The crowd erupted in screams, cheers and an applause that shook the entire stadium.
"WHAT A BATTLE!! WHAT AN ABSOLUTE SPECTACLE!!"
Aizawa exhaled slowly.
"…It's over."
"NOW LET'S SEE THE RESULTS RIGHT AWAY!!"
The scoreboard flickered.
Then displayed:
FINAL RANKINGS
1ST PLACE: TEAM AKUTAMI — 10,000000 POINTS
2ND PLACE: TEAM TODOROKI — 1,275 POINTS
3RD PLACE: TEAM BAKUGO — 1,095 POINTS
4TH PLACE: TEAM MIDORIYA — 805 POINTS
"THERE YOU HAVE IT. WITH A LOT OF EXCITING PERFORMANCES, YUTA AKUTAMI AND MEI HATSUME TAKE FIRST PLACE WITH AN OVERWHELMING LEAD!!"
The arena exploded with noise.
Hatsume threw her arms up, cackling maniacally.
"MY BABIES DID IT!! HATSUME INDUSTRIES FOR THE WIN!!"
Yuta exhaled, finally letting himself relax.
'We did it.'
Across the field, Bakugo stood frozen, fists trembling.
"…Third place."
Kirishima patted his shoulder.
"Hey, man. We made it through—"
"THIRD PLACE!!" Bakugo roared, explosions crackling. "I WAS SUPPOSED TO WIN!!"
Sero whistled. "Not sure he feels that way."
Todoroki stared at the scoreboard, expression unreadable.
Second place.
"Honestly. That was the most intense thing I've ever experienced." Sato said, wiping the sweat off him.
"Indeed." Momo nodded. "It felt like we were skating on thin ice."
Todoroki didn't join the conversation. His eyes were fixed on Yuta with an unreadable intensity.
Midoriya collapsed to his knees, relief flooding through him.
"We… we made it…"
"Fourth place!" Uraraka cheered, tears in her eyes. "We're through!"
Iida nodded firmly. "Well done, everyone."
Tokoyami nodded. "Indeed."
The other teams—those who didn't make it—stood in stunned silence.
Shinso's team had placed fifth.
Just one spot away.
Ojiro looked devastated.
Aoyama was crying.
Shinso's expression was unreadable—but his fists were clenched.
'…So close.'
Midnight's voice rang out:
"CONGRATULATIONS TO THE TOP FOUR TEAMS! YOU'VE EARNED YOUR PLACE IN THE FINAL ROUND!!"
The crowd roared again.
[AKUTAMI RESIDENCE]
Eri was bouncing on the couch, eyes shining.
"He won! He won!!"
Aiko leaned back, arms crossed, a small smile on her face.
"…Yeah. He did."
She glanced at Eri.
"Guess we'll have to congratulate him when he gets home."
Eri nodded enthusiastically.
"Yeah!!"
As the crowd continued to cheer, Yuta finally stepped down from his stance.
Hatsume hopped off his back, still grinning ear to ear.
"That was the BEST," she said.
"Yeah," Yuta agreed quietly. "It was."
He looked up at the scoreboard.
1ST PLACE.
'Not bad.'
Then his gaze shifted—
To Bakugo, glaring at him from across the field.
To Todoroki, watching him.
To Midoriya, staring with a mix of awe and determination.
Yuta exhaled.
'Round three's gonna be rough.'
But for now—
He let himself enjoy the moment.
__
Enjoying the story? Want to read ahead?
Support the novel and unlock early access to unreleased chapters by joining my Patreon!
💧 WATER TIER (5$) – Read 3 chapters ahead of public releases
🌍 EARTH TIER ($7) – Read 5 chapters ahead, with bonus lore, author notes, and behind-the-scenes content
🔥 FIRE TIER ($10) – Read 8 chapters ahead, get full access to all extras, and vote in exclusive polls for bonus content
📎 Patreon.com/Future805
Even a small pledge makes a huge difference — thank you for reading