Chapter 30: The First Obstacle
The world erupted in a single, deafening roar.
The moment the final light above the starting gate blinked out and the starting buzzer blared, the U.A. Sports Festival's first event began not as a race, but as a stampede. Hundreds of first-year students, each one a bundle of nervous energy, explosive ambition, and powerful Quirks, surged forward as one, a human tidal wave crashing into the narrow, tunnel-like passage that led to the stadium's outer track.
Rock Lee, by virtue of his unassuming presence, had been relegated to the middle of the pack, and was now caught in the chaotic, claustrophobic crush. Bodies pressed in on him from all sides. The air was thick with the scent of sweat and ozone from crackling Quirks. Shouts and grunts of effort filled his ears. It was pure, unfiltered chaos.
Yet, in the eye of this hurricane, Lee's mind was a tranquil lake. He did not push. He did not shove. His feet remained light, his body fluid, allowing him to ride the wave of the crowd without being trampled or losing his balance. He observed. He saw students using minor strength Quirks to elbow their way forward. He saw others trying to phase through the crowd, only to be solidified by the sheer density of bodies. It was inefficient. It was panicked.
Then, the temperature plummeted.
A wave of frigid air washed over the tunnel, so cold it stole the breath from their lungs. From the very front of the pack, Shoto Todoroki had acted. With a single, decisive stomp of his foot, he unleashed a glacier. An enormous, jagged wave of ice erupted forward, coating the floor, the walls, and the students in its path. It was a brilliant, ruthless move, creating a clear, private track for himself while simultaneously trapping dozens of his competitors, their feet frozen solid to the ground.
Lee found himself just behind the initial wave of ice, the path before him now a solid, impassable wall of his frozen, struggling schoolmates. They were shouting in shock and anger, trying to break free, but the ice was too thick, too strong.
"So cold!"
"Hey, I can't move!"
"That bastard! He trapped us all!"
Bakugo, never one to be contained, blasted himself into the air, flying over the frozen crowd with a furious roar. Others, like Yaoyorozu and Aoyama, used their Quirks to try and create a path or propel themselves over. But for the majority, including Lee, the race had seemingly ended just as it began. They were trapped.
Lee looked at the wall of ice. He looked at the frantic, struggling students. Then, he looked up at the sheer, vertical wall of the tunnel, now coated in a slick, glittering layer of frost. An idea, born from a foundation of impossible training, sparked in his mind. The ground is blocked, he thought, his gaze hardening with resolve. A hero does not stop when the path is gone. A hero creates a new one.
He closed his eyes for a single, centering breath. He focused his will.
"The First Gate: Gate of Opening! OPEN!"
A familiar, welcome surge of power flooded his limbs. The world sharpened. His body felt impossibly light, unbound by normal physical constraints. He took a running start, his feet pounding against the stone floor for three short steps, and then he leaped—not forward, but sideways.
His foot connected with the ice-covered wall of the tunnel, and it stuck.
To the astonishment of the students trapped below him, Rock Lee began to run. He ran vertically, his body parallel to the ground, his feet finding purchase on the sheer, slick surface that should have been impossible to climb. He was a streak of vibrant green against the stark white of the ice, a living, breathing defiance of the laws of physics.
"Here We Go!" Present Mic's voice screamed from the stadium's speakers, so loud it echoed even within the tunnel. "A CONTESTANT IS RUNNING ON THE WALL! HE'S RUNNING ON TODOROKI'S ICE WALL! IS THAT HIS QUIRK? A GRAVITY-DEFYING POWER FROM THE BUSHY-BROWED WONDER OF CLASS 1-A, ROCK LEE!"
The roar from the stadium crowd was a distant, thunderous wave. Lee ignored it. His focus was absolute. He pumped his legs, pushing himself faster, further, his form a blur as he bypassed the entire bottleneck. He reached the end of the tunnel and, with a final, powerful push, launched himself into the open air. He twisted his body, landing on the track beyond with a soft, balanced thud, not a single movement wasted.
He was out. He was free. But he was behind. Far ahead, he could see the figures of Todoroki and Bakugo, already approaching the first major obstacle. With a new burst of speed, Lee charged forward, his legs churning, eating up the distance with every powerful stride.
He rounded a wide corner and saw it. The first gate of hell.
It was the Robo Inferno.
Standing before him was a veritable army of the giant robots from the entrance exam. Not one or two, but dozens of them. The massive Zero-Pointers stood like steel skyscrapers, their single red eyes glowing ominously. Between them patrolled the smaller, more agile One- and Two-Pointers, their weapons systems humming to life.
Todoroki had already confronted the obstacle. With an elegant and contemptuous wave of his hand, he had frozen a Zero-Pointer in a clumsy, off-balance position, creating an opening for him to slip past. Bakugo was simply blasting his way through the smaller robots, a whirlwind of explosions and furious shouts. But many other students, who had just managed to break free from the ice, now found themselves facing this new, terrifying wall of steel. They froze, their faces pale with fear, the memory of the entrance exam all too fresh in their minds.
Lee skidded to a halt, his eyes scanning the battlefield. He saw his classmates, delayed and in danger. He saw the leaders of the race, pulling further and further ahead with every passing second. He knew, with an absolute certainty, that a simple fight would be a waste of precious time. The Fourth Gate was a tool for a protracted battle, for endurance. But what he needed now was not endurance.
He needed a miracle. He needed a single, decisive blow that would shatter not only the obstacle before him, but the very expectations of the world that was watching.
He looked at the largest of the Zero-Pointers, a true titan of a machine that blocked the main path. A look of grim, unwavering determination settled on his face. The ache in his bones from the USJ was a distant memory. The warnings of his master were a quiet whisper. The only thing that mattered was the path forward. And this mountain of steel was standing in his way.