Chapter 49: Rage and Gravity
The roar of the crowd was a distant, secondary thing to the palpable tension that now filled the Class 1-A viewing stands. They had just witnessed two of their own, Uraraka and Kirishima, fight with incredible heart, and had seen them both advance to the second round. The screen above the field now showed the final matchups of the first round, the last hurdles before the quarter-finals.
Lee, having returned from the infirmary just in time to see the end of Kendo's valiant fight, sat with his teammates. He felt a quiet pride for her and for Uraraka, but his mind was already drifting to the challenges ahead. He looked up at the giant screen. The two remaining first-round matches were displayed: Mina Ashido vs. Hanta Sero, and Katsuki Bakugo vs. Denki Kaminari.
He watched his friends and rivals, a quiet intensity in his eyes. Every fight was a lesson, every Quirk a puzzle to be solved. He stood up, his movements still slightly stiff.
"Where are you going, Lee?" Kirishima asked, his own energy high after his hard-fought victory.
"The next round will begin soon," Lee replied, his voice calm. "I believe I will begin my own preparations now."
His words were simple, but they carried a weight that Izuku Midoriya, sitting a few rows away, felt instantly. Preparations… Midoriya's eyes widened. He immediately fumbled for his hero analysis notebook, the pages already filled with frantic, detailed scribbles. He flipped to a new, pristine page, his mind already racing. Lee-kun is already thinking ahead. His mindset is that of a true professional. I have to do the same. I need to understand everything I can… His eyes fell to a previous page, the one he had started after the USJ and filled in with more detail after the obstacle race.
The page was titled, simply, "ROCK LEE."
It was filled with detailed, almost manic sketches. There was a drawing of Lee running on the wall, another of him punching the robot, and a third of him wreathed in the brilliant blue aura. Beside them were meticulously written notes, a testament to Midoriya's obsessive analytical mind.
GATE 1: Kaimon (Gate of Opening):Baseline physical enhancement. Seems to remove the body's natural limiters on speed and strength. Allows for superhuman feats like wall-running. Appears to be his default state in serious combat.
GATE 2: Kyūmon (Gate of Healing):Less visible effect. Activated during the Cavalry Battle before his aerial maneuver. Seems to provide a surge of stamina or refresh the body from fatigue. A recovery tool?
GATE 3: Seimon (Gate of Life):The first major visual change. Skin turns red, steam is emitted. A massive increase in speed and power, enough to overwhelm Todoroki's initial ice defense. High stamina cost is visible.
GATE 4: Shōmon (Gate of Pain):The blue aura. A colossal power increase. The pressure is so immense it can be felt from a distance. Allows him to clash with Todoroki's full power. Severe physical backlash is obvious—exhaustion, visible pain, muscle spasms.
GATE 5: Tomon (Gate of Limit):Used only once. Turquoise aura (blue life force mixed with green energy?). Power is on another level entirely—purely destructive. Capable of obliterating a Zero-Pointer with a single blow. The cost appears to be catastrophic, causing immediate, severe internal damage. A final resort? A forbidden technique?
Midoriya stared at his own notes, a shiver running down his spine. This was not a Quirk. This was a system, a dangerous, sequential unlocking of human potential that seemed to defy all known science. He had so much more to learn.
Lee walked through the quiet, sunlit corridors beneath the stadium. The distant roar of the crowd was a muffled, rhythmic pulse, like the heartbeat of the festival. He wasn't looking for a place to train. He was looking for a person. He felt a sense of responsibility, of camaraderie, for the student whose tournament journey he had inadvertently helped to end. Yaoyorozu-san fought with great intelligence, he thought. Her loss was not due to a lack of skill, but a lack of time. I wish to offer her my encouragement.
He turned a corner, his mind preoccupied, and collided with something as solid and immovable as a stone wall. The impact sent him stumbling backwards, his tired legs giving way, and he landed on the floor with a soft thud.
"Watch where you are going, boy," a voice rumbled, a sound like grinding stones and simmering magma.
Lee looked up, and his breath caught in his throat. Towering over him was a mountain of muscle and flame, a man whose presence was so immense and oppressive it seemed to suck the very air from the corridor. The hero costume was a maelstrom of blue and orange, and the beard and hair were made of living, writhing fire. His turquoise eyes, burning with a cold, terrifying intensity, stared down at him. It was the Number Two Hero. Endeavor.
"Finally," the Flame Hero growled, a predatory smirk twisting his lips. "I found you."
Lee stared, his mind racing, unsure of what to do. He was still on the floor, looking up at the furious father of the boy he had just defeated.
"So," Endeavor began, his voice dripping with arrogant disbelief. "You are the one. The boy who claims to have no Quirk, yet you defeated my masterpiece. My Shoto." He took a step closer, his shadow falling over Lee. "Do you take the world for a fool? Do you think we are all so blind?" He let out a harsh, humorless laugh. "Enough of this nonsense. I will expose your damn trick to the world. I will find the source of your power and I will tear it apart."
His massive hand, wreathed in a small, flickering flame, began to reach down towards Lee.
In that instant, a silent gust of wind swept through the corridor. It was so sudden, so powerful, that it made Lee's hair fly back and caused the flames of Endeavor's beard to flicker and dance wildly. A figure, impossibly fast, had appeared between them. A strong, steady hand had clamped down on Endeavor's descending wrist, stopping it cold.
Both Endeavor and Lee turned their heads. Standing there, holding the Number Two Hero's wrist with an unbreakable grip, was All Might, his face not bearing its usual heroic smile, but a calm, deadly serious expression.
"Easy there, Endeavor," All Might's voice was quiet, but it carried an authority that was absolute. "What do you think you're doing to one of my students?"
Endeavor's eyes narrowed into slits of pure, unadulterated hatred. "All Might," he snarled. "This has nothing to do with you. I am doing nothing illegal. I merely wish to uncover the farce that is this boy's Quirklessness. Does he think I will simply believe him and let his absurd claim pass without question?"
All Might's gaze shifted to Lee for a fraction of a second, then back to Endeavor. His expression did not change. "You are right," he said, his voice still calm. "He is owed an explanation. But that explanation will come after the festival is over, through the proper channels. He still has matches to fight, and I cannot and will not allow you to approach him personally and interfere."
The heat radiating from Endeavor's hand intensified. The flames around his arm flared, and black smoke began to rise, the air filling with the acrid smell of burning. The skin on All Might's hand, where it held Endeavor's wrist, began to visibly redden and blister. But All Might did not flinch. He did not loosen his grip by a single millimeter. In fact, his fingers tightened, his own immense strength pushing back against the flame hero. Endeavor's eyebrows twitched, a flicker of pained surprise crossing his face as he felt the crushing, bone-creaking pressure.
For a long, tense moment, the two most powerful heroes in Japan were locked in a silent battle of wills in a deserted hallway.
Finally, with a low, frustrated growl, Endeavor relented. The flames on his arm extinguished. He slowly, deliberately, pulled his hand back as All Might released his grip. He turned, his back rigid with fury.
"Your life will be short, boy," he said over his shoulder to Lee, his voice a venomous promise. "You have no idea the controversy you have awakened in the world." And with that, he stomped away, his heavy footsteps echoing down the corridor.
All Might watched him go before letting out a quiet sigh. He turned to Lee, who was still on the floor, staring in wide-eyed shock. "My apologies for that, young man," he said, his voice gentle. "Please, forgive him. He can be… driven by his emotions at times."
The sight of All Might's hand finally broke Lee's stupor. The back of it was an angry, blistered red, the skin seared from Endeavor's heat. A wave of horror and guilt washed over him.
"Your hand!" he gasped, scrambling to his feet. "All Might-san, I am so sorry! This is my fault! We must get you to the nurse immediately!"
All Might simply looked at his own injury with a detached air, then placed his other, uninjured hand on Lee's shoulder. The gesture was warm and grounding. "Rock Lee, shonen," he said, his voice full of a deep, paternal warmth. "You truly are a rock. Do not let this, or the criticism that is sure to come, break you. Do not let them crush your spirit." He gave a small, proud smile. "And remember, I will always be behind you. Because you are a student of U.A. And because I am the Number One Hero."
He turned to leave, waving his burned hand dismissively. "I will visit Recovery Girl myself. You just focus on the festival. You have a world to surprise, after all."
Lee was left alone in the hallway, his mind reeling, his heart pounding with the weight of Endeavor's threat and the incredible, uplifting warmth of All Might's promise. The distant voice of Present Mic suddenly cut through his thoughts, announcing the start of the next match between Mina Ashido and Hanta Sero. He remembered his original purpose for being in the corridor. He shook his head, clearing his thoughts, and began to walk towards the Class 1-A waiting room, his resolve harder and more absolute than ever before.