"Masata! Hurry up and tell me about your experiences these past few days!"
"As the only boy, did you get any kind of special treatment?!"
On the day the forest lodging training was about to begin, everyone returned to the classroom. After more than a week apart, the atmosphere was lively, and the students greeted one another excitedly. The one currently tugging at Masata's uniform with sparkling eyes was Mineta.
"Special treatment…"
Masata pretended to think seriously before answering. "Does seeing swimsuits count? The beach really is a nice place."
"Oh, right. There was sunscreen too. Playing in the ocean, beach volleyball… all in all, it was honestly pretty great."
Mineta's eyes instantly widened, and saliva practically started dripping from the corner of his mouth.
"T-Then—then are there photos?!"
Masata's expression instantly flattened.
So this perverted little grape really can't change in this lifetime.
"No. Even if I did have them, I wouldn't show you," Masata said calmly. "Give it up. Also, answering your next question in advance—yes, the girls in our class are all in great shape. Now shut up."
With that, Masata casually pulled a strip of tape from Sero, leaned over, and sealed Mineta's mouth shut.
"Mmmph—!!!"
Watching Mineta struggle with bloodshot eyes, Masata suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of peace.
"It's good to see you're safe," Midoriya said as he walked over. "I saw on the news that the volcanic eruption happened near where you were vacationing, right? That was really dangerous."
"Yeah," Masata replied casually. "The eruption itself was spectacular. I don't know when I'll be able to pull off something like that."
He deliberately didn't elaborate. Some things only became more troublesome the more they were explained.
"That kind of thing is impossible," Kaminari said, glancing at Mineta, who was still struggling with the tape. "How could personal power ever compare to nature?"
As he spoke, Kaminari stepped forward and ripped the tape off Mineta's mouth in one motion.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!"
Mineta had been carefully peeling it off to avoid hurting his skin. Kaminari's sudden action left his mouth bright red and swollen—his lips puffed up like sausages.
"Hahahahaha!"
As laughter filled the classroom, Aizawa Shouta walked in with his hands in his pockets.
"Alright," he said flatly. "Go gather at the school gate. We're taking the bus to the forest lodging site."
The moment everyone had been waiting for finally arrived. The class immediately quieted down, grabbed their luggage, and headed toward the school gate. Along the way, they ran into Class 1-B, who had also just come out.
Since the Sports Festival, the relationship between the two classes had been tense. There was little conversation—especially with Bakugo openly radiating disdain, which thoroughly irritated the members of Class 1-B.
However, as class representatives, Masata and Kendo had interacted frequently due to their responsibilities, and their relationship was fairly cordial. Kendo and Yaoyorozu had also been assigned to the same internship location before, giving them shared topics to discuss.
"Hey~ hey~ isn't this Class 1-A?"
"Someone from Class 1-A needs extra lessons?"
Just as Masata and Kendo were talking about the lodging arrangements, Monoma suddenly jumped out and blocked Class 1-A's path.
Flipping his hair dramatically, Monoma widened his eyes and said in an exaggerated tone, "This is completely unscientific! Isn't Class 1-A supposed to be way better than us? Did someone fail the course?"
His loud voice immediately drew everyone's attention. Masata noticed Kendo's expression darken visibly.
Without a word, Masata flashed behind Monoma and delivered a clean hand chop to the back of his neck.
Monoma, who had been shouting just moments ago, instantly went limp.
"…Sorry about that," Kendo said awkwardly, lifting Monoma and carrying him back to her class. She truly didn't understand how someone could attend the same school and still mock others like that.
"So strong…"
"She's totally big-sister material."
Watching Monoma get taken down without resistance, Class 1-A couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.
Just then, the school buses arrived. Following their homeroom teachers, everyone boarded and headed toward the forest training site.
Even after getting on the bus, the noise didn't die down. The students chatted excitedly the entire way—even Mina and the others, who knew devilish training awaited them, were laughing cheerfully.
Aizawa had originally planned to nap, but the bus was far too loud. He glanced at his watch, looked at the excited students, and ultimately gave up on making any announcement.
"…Forget it," he muttered. "You can only be this cheerful for now."
"The stronghold storing a large number of experimental subjects was destroyed by a sudden volcanic eruption?"
"What a joke!"
Inside an unremarkable rental apartment, a man with an ordinary appearance slammed his mouse onto the desk, disbelief written across his face.
This man was Nishio Hunter, ALL FOR ONE's right-hand subordinate.
The ever-present smile was gone, replaced by anger and frustration.
On the large screen in front of him played surveillance footage—footage of Masata and the others entering the cave on the island. As an important base, constant monitoring had been mandatory.
"This is the kid my lord values so highly… Igarashi Masata."
Nishio narrowed his eyes as he watched Masata punch the flying lizard-like creature out of the air.
"That batch of experimental subjects was supposed to be released to multiple locations by Kurogiri the very next day," he muttered. "And yet something this big happened just one day earlier."
These genetic monsters had been created by combining the Doctor's latest research results. They were meant to test real combat effectiveness—but all of them were reduced to ash in the magma.
Months of work… completely wasted.
"It may look like an unexpected volcanic eruption," Nishio said coldly, "but it absolutely has something to do with this Igarashi."
An island that had been disaster-free for hundreds of years was destroyed on the very day Masata arrived. Combined with Masata's magma Quirk, Nishio didn't believe in coincidence for a second.
"But has this brat really grown to this extent?"
"Even a teacher at this level couldn't do this… No. He couldn't have suddenly become this strong on his own."
His fingers hammered rapidly across the keyboard.
"He must be getting help from somewhere. The original plan needs to be revised."
The room filled with nothing but the sharp clatter of keys.