Chapter 70: Unexpected Advancement
Midoriya flexed his arm. His solid biceps bulged, showing off the lean, powerful physique he had built through long hours of training.
After his bone fragments were dealt with, Recovery Girl had given him a passionate kiss. Perhaps because his arm had temporarily turned into a tentacle, he didn't have the kind of scarring that Recovery Girl had mentioned before.
But for some reason, looking at his fully recovered arm, Midoriya had a feeling that, if he met certain conditions, he could turn it into a tentacle like that again.
"Sigh. Midoriya, although you were spared the full consequences of your injuries because of Ryanne's recklessness," Recovery Girl said meaningfully, "you should know that if you still can't control your Quirk, you'll destroy your body sooner or later."
Perhaps because Kira was present, she didn't speak more plainly.
Midoriya nodded heavily. "I understand!"
Kira checked his watch. Twenty minutes had passed since Uraraka and the others had left. His match against Iida should be starting soon.
"Since Midoriya is fine now, I'll be going," Kira said, heading for the door.
"Class Rep!" Midoriya suddenly called out. "I know this is rude to Iida-kun, but I know he's no match for you."
Kira stopped. "And?"
"In your match against Todoroki-kun, I want you to go all out!" Midoriya said, his head lowered and his fists clenched. "Todoroki-kun used his fire in his match against me, but I know he still hasn't resolved his inner conflict. I think—"
Kira cut him off. "Midoriya, do you know what you're saying? I just want to win. What's the benefit for me in taking on a more powerful opponent?"
For the first time, Izuku Midoriya did not lower his head when meeting Kira's gaze. His eyes shone brightly, like a sky full of hopeful stars. "Because you want to be a hero! And the essence of being a hero is to meddle in other people's business!"
"Kira, you're back! Your match is up next!" Denki Kaminari, holding a popcorn and soda he had bought from the Management Course stalls, waved at Kira while stuffing his face.
Kira sat down next to him and casually grabbed some popcorn. "Looks like I'm not late."
Uraraka, who hadn't been paying much attention to the matches, heard Kira's voice and turned to ask, "Class Rep, is Deku-kun okay?"
Kira was silent for a moment. Midoriya's arm had recovered; that was a fact. But when he had looked at it, he had felt like the space around his forearm was slightly distorted. Not the arm itself, but space.
Yoshikage Kira did not share this observation with anyone.
"Ah, Midoriya is fine. He might even come back in a little while."
"That's good." Uraraka let out a long sigh of relief and then cheered him on. "Class Rep, you and Iida-kun both have to do your best in the next match!"
Uraraka, Midoriya, and Iida were one of the closest groups in the class. She wouldn't play favorites.
Kira nodded, then suddenly asked, "Where did Iida go?"
In the waiting room.
After drinking a bottle of motor oil to replenish his energy, Iida let out a flavored burp, and his mood grew heavy.
In his eyes, Yoshikage Kira was a formidable opponent. Although he had never shown his true strength, he always gave off a reassuring feeling, making you believe there was more to him than met the eye. To be honest, Iida wasn't very confident he could win.
"For the honor of my family, and so as not to bring shame upon my brother, I must achieve a good result!" Iida vowed. He would not tarnish the name of his brother, Ingenium.
Suddenly, Iida's body began to vibrate intensely, like a phone on silent. He took his phone out of his pocket and answered the call.
"Yes, Mother... Kira-kun is busy, so my match has been delayed..."
"It's not about that?"
"What's wrong with my brother?"
"The Hero Killer..."
At that moment, the cheers in the stadium erupted for the raven-headed boy still on the stage, Fumikage Tokoyami.
In his match against Ibara Shiozaki, he had keenly seized the moment she had clutched her chest in pain, using Dark Shadow to ensnare the defenseless Ibara and throw her out of the ring.
"LET'S CONGRATULATE THE BOY WITH THE RAVEN HEAD, FUMIKAGE TOKOYAMI, AND HIS PET, DARK SHADOW, ON THEIR VICTORY! THE NEXT MATCH WILL BE THE HERO COURSE'S KIRA VERSUS THE HERO COURSE'S IIDA—EH? OKAY, I UNDERSTAND."
Present Mic received a message from the staff. He was silent for a moment, then sighed. "WE HAVE A SUDDEN DEVELOPMENT. DUE TO UNFORESEEABLE CIRCUMSTANCES, CONTESTANT TENYA IIDA HAS DECIDED TO WITHDRAW FROM THE COMPETITION. HIS OPPONENT, YOSHIKAGE KIRA, WILL ADVANCE DIRECTLY TO THE NEXT ROUND."
The entire stadium began to murmur. He was only a few steps away from victory, why would he choose to withdraw? What could have happened?
Outside the stadium, the faces of some gamblers changed. A competition as big as the U.A. Sports Festival was bound to have underground betting. Many places had opened odds on the final rankings of the contestants.
Every year, many bookies would manage to get their hands on some of U.A.'s internal student data. The final winner was always one of a handful of people. They controlled the odds so that no matter who won, they would make a profit.
But no one had ever expected a contestant to withdraw mid-tournament, let alone one of the favorites to win the whole thing.
Some of the smaller bookies were already starting to pack up and run. There was no way they could pay out on such a huge upset.
Yoshikage Kira's expression shifted. If Iida had used the move from the cavalry battle, he wasn't confident he could have dodged it. With Iida's normally serious personality and his knight-like pride, he would never withdraw from a match. But he had. This gave Kira a very bad feeling.
Don't tell me... something happened?
Bakugo was annoyed that Kira was getting a free pass, the irritation plain on his face.
His last opponent, Eijiro Kirishima, on the other hand, didn't seem to care at all. He cheerfully slung an arm over Bakugo's shoulders. "What's wrong? Annoyed that Kira got such an easy win? Or are you just tired from our long fight?"
In the match between Bakugo and Kirishima, although Kirishima had lost, it was only after a drawn-out, several-minute-long battle of offense and defense, where he had lost due to exhaustion and being unable to maintain his Quirk. The match had earned both of them the respect of the entire audience.
Kirishima was an optimist. He wasn't bothered by his loss and had already started to cheer for his opponent.
"Don't worry, Bakugo! I'm sure you can win, whether you're up against Kira or Todoroki! After all, you're the man who beat me! Hahaha!"
Hearing Kirishima's hearty laugh, Bakugo turned his head away, annoyed, and looked toward Shoto Todoroki.
Although he wouldn't admit it, in his heart, he had always considered Todoroki his greatest rival in the class. Now that he had unlocked his fire, he was even more troublesome. He had already started to think about how to deal with his dual ice-and-fire Quirk.
Todoroki wasn't looking at Bakugo. His gaze was fixed on Yoshikage Kira, who wore a similar, placid expression. He slowly raised his index finger in front of him.
There can only be one winner between us.
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