Chapter 48: Teaming Up (Part 1)
Midnight looked down at the students remaining on the field and licked her lips. "And now, the main event begins! The entire nation will be going wild over your performances! So give it your all, everyone!"
The slot machine on the screen behind her spun once again, revealing the next event—the Cavalry Battle!
On the screen, a four-person team consisting of All Might, Shota Aizawa, Thirteen, and Present Mic was displayed. The rider for the team was the muscular, two-hundred-plus-kilogram All Might himself.
"Allow me to explain. For this event, contestants will form teams of two to four people to create a 'horse.' The rules are largely the same as the cavalry battles you had in middle school. Each participant will be assigned points based on their ranking in the last round. The points increase by five for each rank, starting with five points for last place. And so on, and so on... which means second place is worth 205 points..."
"So the point value of a 'horse' depends on the members you choose..."
"That means we have to choose our teammates carefully..."
Midnight's brow furrowed. She had wanted to build the suspense, but these kids were already analyzing the game on their own. She cracked her whip impatiently. "Can you all just listen until I'm finished!? If you don't, you'll definitely regret it!"
Seeing that everyone was now looking at her, even if their minds were already racing to figure out who to team up with, Midnight gave a wicked smile. "I forgot to mention, the point value for first place is... TEN MILLION!"
Ten million!
While everyone else's point value was 205 at most, first place alone was worth ten million. That meant that as long as you took down the first-place team, you were guaranteed to win the entire event.
The breathing of the other contestants grew heavy. A red gleam appeared in their eyes as they all turned to look at the winner of the preliminary round, Izuku Midoriya. In that moment, Midoriya's green hair was no longer broccoli; it was a stack of crisp, green dollar bills.
A promotion, a raise, the girl of your dreams, and the pinnacle of life—it was all within reach!
Izuku Midoriya's sweat glands were already overactive, but now, sweat was pouring down his face. His heart pounded violently. The way everyone was looking at him... it was like a pack of starving wolves staring at a fat sheep that had wandered into their midst.
"Ha, ha, ha!" Midnight let out a queenly, three-part laugh. "This is a life-or-death battle of the underdogs, where the higher your rank, the more likely you are to be attacked! Now, get a move on!"
Afterward, using the "Hero Team" on the screen as an example, Midnight explained the specific rules of the match.
The time limit was 15 minutes. The total points of all team members would be the score for the entire "horse." The rider had to wear a headband representing the team's total score. Contestants had to steal the enemy's headbands before the time ran out, and the final winner would be determined by the total points of the headbands they had acquired.
It was important to note that any stolen headbands had to be worn from the neck up. The more you stole, the harder they would be to manage. During the battle, neither having your own headband stolen nor having your "horse" formation broken would result in a disqualification. This meant that until the very end, there would be a massive, chaotic brawl between multiple teams on the field.
Midnight specifically pointed out that while Quirks were allowed, it was still a cavalry battle. Any direct attacks on the "horse" itself would result in a red card and immediate disqualification.
Hearing this, Bakugo spat on the ground in frustration.
"That concludes the explanation! Now, you have 15 minutes to negotiate and form your teams! The countdown... starts now!"
As the target of everyone's combined animosity, Midoriya's mind raced. His point value was the highest. He didn't need to steal anyone else's headband; all he had to do was protect his own until the end. That meant he needed teammates with strong defensive capabilities.
Midoriya looked around, but everyone he made eye contact with immediately turned their backs to him and began talking to someone else, occasionally shooting him a meaningful glance. The message was clear.
Midoriya started to panic, but he didn't regret taking first place. His eyes lit up. He knew who he had to find.
"Class Rep, please help me!"
"Class Rep, please help us!"
In Midoriya's eyes, Kira had always been a reliable class president. He had helped heal him several times. Seeing the predatory looks from the others, Midoriya was even more certain that he had to go to Yoshikage Kira.
If everyone else was a wolf pack looking to hunt down their prey, then Yoshikage Kira's harmless gaze was like that of a husky that had wandered into their midst. It made Midoriya feel safe enough to ask for his help.
Yoshikage Kira didn't agree right away. "First, I have a question. Why not ask Tenya Iida? He should be the most suitable person for your team."
Midoriya and Uraraka exchanged a look and both gave a wry smile.
The moment Midnight had announced the team-up period, Uraraka had gone to Midoriya's side and offered to team up with him. This had moved Midoriya, who had thought no one would approach him, to a lake of tears.
The next person they had sought out was Iida. But after hearing their plan, Iida had said that he wanted to defeat Midoriya fair and square, and that he would not be teaming up with him this time.
"If Iida is being stubborn about it, then the Class Rep will definitely help us, right?"
And so, at Uraraka's suggestion, Midoriya had come to Yoshikage Kira.
Looking at their hopeful expressions, Kira finally spoke. "I don't have a problem with teaming up with you..."
"But I refuse."
"Eh?" Uraraka and Midoriya both turned to gray ash, completely shocked that the usually easygoing Class Rep Kira would refuse them.
"Normally, it would be fine. But Midoriya, you should know that this time, you're going to be everyone's target. Everyone is drooling over the headband on your forehead," Kira said slowly. "It's not that I don't want to help you, but I'm simply not strong enough. My Quirk is not suited for dealing with long-range opponents. If Todoroki-san were to attack, I'm not confident I could block it."
Midoriya's heart sank. As the second and third-place contestants, Todoroki and Bakugo were definitely aiming for him. If Todoroki created an ice attack, the only way to deal with it would be to dodge with mobility. But Iida had joined Todoroki's team as his "horse." Even with Uraraka's "Zero Gravity," it would be impossible to shake them off easily.
And there were bound to be many other teams targeting him. Todoroki was already difficult enough to handle, and if you added Kacchan and his team to the mix...
"Midoriya, I'm sorry I can't help you," Kira said with a sigh, delivering the final blow. "Besides, I've already formed a team."
"Eh? You have? Is it with Jiro-chan and... that person over there?" Uraraka pointed to a green-haired girl who was squatting not far behind Kira, staring at the grass. "But isn't she from Class 1-B?"
"I wanted to find teammates from our class..." Kira thought of the reception he had just received and sighed helplessly. "But she was the last one I could find."
That's right. Yoshikage Kira's teammates were Kyoka Jiro and the one who had just attacked him, Ibara Shiozaki.
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