Chapter 45: Midoriya's Counterattack
Yoshikage Kira was only a quarter of the way from the exit. Up ahead, Bakugo and Todoroki were still hindering each other, but even so, they were only a sixth of the distance from the finish line.
A moment ago, Tenya Iida had suddenly activated his engines and charged forward like a madman, setting off a continuous chain of explosions behind him. This had temporarily scrambled Sheer Heart Attack's ability to get a clear reading.
(If I run fast enough, the bombs can't catch me!) Iida thought, a smug look on his face.
While this tactic allowed him to get through the minefield quickly, it also drew the ire of the other contestants who were caught in the collateral damage.
Mei Hatsume, seeing Iida steal her spotlight, pulled a capture gun from her equipment box while she was resting in a safe spot and fired it at him.
Caught completely off guard, Tenya Iida was instantly ensnared in a net, immobilizing him. Although it looked like he could tear through it if he struggled, he didn't dare to move recklessly with countless mines surrounding him.
He could only curl up and shout angrily at Hatsume, "Do you have a grudge against me, woman!? Why do you have to interfere with me twice!?"
Mei Hatsume ignored him and continued to explain her inventions to the drone. Several times, the drone tried to fly away from her, but she held it in place with a mechanical arm, like a selfie stick.
She was incredibly proud of herself. Her performance would surely get her noticed nationwide, and countless support companies would soon be knocking on her door.
What she didn't know was that the moment her goofy face had filled the screen, Erina Nakiri had already ordered the tech department to cut the feed from her drone. Everything she was saying now was falling on deaf ears.
At that moment, Kira suddenly heard a sycophantic voice from the skull. "Master, I've detected a large amount of explosives suddenly appearing at the back of the field. And some of the explosives are moving."
A large amount of explosives? Each mine only contained enough powder to set off the pink smoke; the quantity wasn't large. Could someone be piling the mines together?
Surprised, Kira glanced back. At the starting line of the minefield, a green figure was frantically digging at the ground with a piece of sheet metal. It was Izuku Midoriya.
He's planning to...
Kira looked at Bakugo and Todoroki, who were still tangled up with each other, and a smile spread across his lips. If you two keep that up, it's hard to say who will take first place.
Kira ran over to Iida's position and, to his grateful look, helped him remove the net. "Are you okay?"
"Thank you, Class Rep! I will never forget this kindness!" Iida bowed to Kira, then shot a pained, wary look at Hatsume. "It's because of that crazy woman! Otherwise, with my speed, I would have already reached the finish line!"
Iida had thought that with his natural advantage in a race, he would surely be at the front of the pack, maybe even in first place. But the strength of Todoroki and Bakugo had been unexpected. More importantly, he had been obstructed twice by the same person. At the speed the top two were going, even if he used his Quirk now, he wouldn't be able to overtake them.
Right now, only Todoroki and Bakugo were ahead of them, which meant the fight was for third place. But as Iida looked at Kira, who had just rescued him without a second thought, he hesitated.
"Class Rep, you go on ahead!" Iida said, his mind made up. "I will do my best to take fourth place."
Kira looked at Iida with some surprise. If Iida were to use his Quirk now, the chain reaction of explosions would make it impossible for Sheer Heart Attack to get a reading. There was no way Kira could get past him. But...
"It's alright," Kira said, shaking his head. "I don't think I can surpass you. Give it your all. I remember, you wanted to defeat Midoriya, didn't you?"
"Well, yes..." Iida was surprised that Kira would suddenly bring that up. "But Midoriya's Quirk isn't really suited for this event, is it?" he said tactfully.
In Iida's mind, Kira was an excellent class president who handled everything with ease. He was someone he respected, so sometimes he would confide in him.
He had once told Kira that Midoriya was his best friend but also his rival; a comrade he acknowledged but also a goal to strive for. One day, he wanted to defeat Midoriya in a head-to-head battle.
But he hadn't been thinking that way during this race. He knew Midoriya's Quirk was completely unsuited for this—in fact, it was a terrible match. To use one's own strengths to defeat an opponent's weakness was a dishonorable act. The knightly spirit within Iida firmly believed this.
Moreover, he hadn't seen Midoriya at all along the course. He had a bad feeling, and was worried that Midoriya might have gotten held up at a previous obstacle and been eliminated. He had been praying that Midoriya would pass this round so they could have a proper fight later.
"...Is that so?" Kira smiled. "You've underestimated him. So have I. And... it's too late to do anything about it now."
Just as Iida was puzzling over these strange words, he suddenly heard a deafening roar, as if dozens of bombs had gone off at once. He whipped his head around and saw a giant, pink mushroom cloud rising into the sky behind them.
And riding the massive shockwave, a young man named Midoriya, lying flat on a piece of sheet metal, flew toward them with a look of pure determination in his eyes.
Bakugo and Todoroki exchanged a look, the shock in each other's eyes unmistakable. They immediately stopped fighting. Bakugo started setting off his fireworks again, and Todoroki created a thick path of ice under his feet. The two of them, in a moment of tacit understanding, sprinted for the finish line.
"That's Midoriya! Class Rep, sorry, but I'm going!" Iida had no time to be surprised. He turned and activated his engines. The air around his exhaust ports was instantly compressed, and a second later, it transformed into a white jet stream that launched him forward at incredible speed. The mines in his path detonated one after another, but he left them far behind.
Looking at the thick pink smoke ahead, Yoshikage Kira covered his mouth with one hand and tried to wave the smoke away with the other. "He really is impulsive..."
Kira looked up as Midoriya flew over his head, then looked at the path of detonated mines that Iida had left in his wake. "Still, I suppose I can make use of this path."
Although using Sheer Heart Attack as a scanner had been fast, Kira had been holding back to give himself time to react, constantly checking for any missed mines and taking a roundabout route to find a safe path.
But the path Iida had just run was different. Although it was filled with thick smoke, it was a confirmed, direct, and, most importantly, completely safe route. There wouldn't be a single mine left.
"This will be Yoshikage Kira's escape route!"
Kira's entire body was enveloped in Hamon. Like an arrow released from a bow, he shot towards the finish line.
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