Three teams converged on the center of the field on a collision course that made the crowd hold its breath.
BOOM!
Bakugo's explosions propelled his formation forward like a missile. Todoroki's ice spread under his team's feet, giving them an acceleration that matched Inko's One For All. And right in the middle of it all, Tsuyu's formation held the ten million headband while green lightning crackled around Inko's legs.
"Give me that damn headband, you idiot!" Bakugo roared, stretching his arm toward the ten million points.
Todoroki created a wall of ice between Bakugo and Inko's team without saying a word. The frozen barrier rose three meters in less than a second.
CRASH!
Bakugo blasted through it with an explosion that shattered the ice. The fragments flew in every direction, forcing other teams to dodge or throw up their own defenses.
"Get out of my way, you damn half and half bastard!" Bakugo yelled. "Those ten million are mine!"
"They belong to whoever can take them," Todoroki answered calmly while creating another pillar of ice.
Above them, Ren's team floated five meters in the air, watching the chaos unfold below.
"Ren-kun, this is getting crazy!" Ochako said, gripping Ren's shoulder tight. "Everyone's going for the ten million at the same time!"
"Which means they're not paying attention to us," Ren answered. "Toru, you ready?"
"Born ready! Let's do this!" Toru's voice came from above.
Ren's gaze locked onto a team trying to flank Todoroki from one side. They had a combined total of three hundred points, which made them a valuable target. He focused his telekinesis on the rope and launched Toru forward.
Toru shot through the air, her invisible hands reaching for the enemy rider's headband. The rider never saw it coming; one second the headband was on her forehead and the next it was just gone.
"What the hell?! Where'd it go?!" the rider yelled, looking around in confusion.
Ren pulled the rope back with a mental command. Toru came flying back to the formation, laughing the whole way.
"Got it! That was awesome!" she exclaimed, waving the stolen headband in the air.
Momo took the headband and secured it around her neck right away.
"That brings our total to seven hundred and twenty points," she calculated. "We're in a solid position for the top four if we can hold this lead."
Below them, Bakugo's team finally broke through Todoroki's ice barriers and closed the distance with Inko's formation. Kirishima hardened his entire body, using himself as a battering ram to clear the path.
"Now, extras!" Bakugo ordered.
Sero shot tape from his elbows, wrapping it around Tsuyu's torso. He pulled hard, trying to destabilize the formation. Mina reacted instantly, spraying acid that dissolved the tape before it could tighten.
"Nice try, guys! But if you wanna beat the prom queen, you're gonna have to try three times harder. Keep it up!" Mina yelled with a grin.
Jiro extended her earphone jacks toward Bakugo's team.
A pulse of sound slammed into Satou's chest, making him stumble. The formation wavered for a second, giving Inko the opening she needed.
CRACKLE!
One For All exploded through her legs and channeled into a lateral movement that sent her whole team sliding three meters to the left. Bakugo's hand grabbed empty air where the ten million headband had been a second earlier.
"Damn it!" Bakugo roared in frustration. "Stop moving, you damn cowards!"
"We're not cowards, Bakugo-kun!" Inko answered. "We're just not stupid enough to let you take the headband!"
Todoroki saw his chance while Bakugo was distracted. His team moved with coordinated precision. Iida's engines roared at full power, launching them forward at a speed that made the ground blur beneath them.
Todoroki extended his right hand. Ice shot out, creating a frozen ramp that sloped upward toward Tsuyu's position. His team rode up the ramp, gaining height and momentum.
"They're coming from above!" Jiro warned.
Tsuyu's tongue shot out, wrapping around an ice pillar to the side, and pulled hard, swinging the entire formation out of Todoroki's path.
"Ribbit! Teamwork makes the dream work!" she yelled.
But Todoroki had anticipated the dodge. He created another ice structure in midair, redirecting his team's trajectory to match Tsuyu's movement. Kaminari charged electricity into his hands, ready to disable the formation on contact.
"Got 'em!" Kaminari yelled.
BOOM!
A massive explosion detonated between Todoroki's team and Tsuyu's, forcing both formations apart. Bakugo had launched himself into the gap with another blast, refusing to let anyone else claim the ten million.
"If I can't have it, no one can!" he roared.
The three teams collided in a tangle of ice and explosions while green One For All lightning cut through the air between them. Other teams tried to capitalize on the chaos, lunging in to steal whatever headbands they could reach.
Above all of them, Ren spotted another opportunity.
"There!" he said, pointing at a team trying to slip away from the main battle. "Toru, go!"
He launched her again. The rope stretched to its full length while Toru flew toward the target and her hands reached for the rider's headband.
The rider saw Toru coming and tried to dodge, but couldn't see her hands. The headband disappeared from his forehead.
"Not again!" the rider shouted.
Ren pulled Toru back, but this time something went wrong. A stray explosion from Bakugo's battle created a shockwave that caught Toru midflight. The force knocked her off course, sending her spinning.
"Toru!" Ochako screamed.
Ren reacted on instinct. He extended his telekinesis, wrapping it around Toru's body to stabilize her trajectory. He guided her back to the formation with careful mental commands, catching her in his arms.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Yeah, just got dizzy for a second," Toru answered, her breathing a little ragged. "Thanks for the save, Ren! You literally saved me from a super ugly landing!"
"That was close," Momo said. "We need to be more careful with the timing."
"Agreed," Ren said. "But now we've got seven hundred and ninety points. That puts us solidly in the top four."
Present Mic's voice exploded through the speakers.
"YEEEAAAAAAH! LISTENERS, PAY ATTENTION! TIME IS FLYING AND ONLY THREE MINUTES LEFT ON THE CLOCK! THIS BATTLE IS REACHING ITS MAXIMUM CLIMAX! EVERYBODY! EVERY TEAM IS LAYING IT ALL ON THE LINE AND GIVING IT THEIR ALL OUT THERE! WHO'S GONNA WIN?! WHO'S GONNA MAKE IT TO THE TOP?! DON'T LEAVE YOUR SEATS AND DON'T MISS A WORD, BECAUSE THIS IS GETTING... ABSOLUTELY CRAAAAAZY!"
Todoroki, Bakugo, and Inko's formations were still locked in combat at the center of the field. Ice rose and fell while explosions shook the air, and green lightning crackled with growing intensity as Inko forced One For All harder.
I have to end this, Todoroki thought. If I keep playing defensively, neither Bakugo nor I are going to get the ten million.
He created a massive ice wall behind Inko's formation, cutting off her escape route. Then he made another wall on the left and another on the right, boxing her in on three sides.
"Iida, straight ahead!" Todoroki ordered.
Iida's engines overcharged. The team launched forward, closing the distance to the ten million in less than two seconds.
Inko saw them coming and pushed One For All to the maximum. The green lightning around her legs intensified, crackling with power.
If I push it any higher, I'm gonna start breaking my own bones, she thought. But if I don't, we're gonna lose!
She channeled the power into a vertical jump. The whole formation launched upward, clearing Todoroki's reach by inches.
CRACK!
The ground beneath them shattered from the force of the jump. They hung in the air for a brief moment before gravity dragged them back down.
"Now, Kaminari!" Todoroki yelled.
Kaminari released a burst of electricity that arced through the air toward Inko's descending formation. The current spread out in a net pattern, impossible to dodge.
Mina reacted without hesitation. She sprayed acid upward, creating a chemical barrier that scattered the electric charge before it could reach them. The acid hissed and steamed, but it held.
"Nope! Not happening today, Sparky!" Mina exclaimed, throwing up a peace sign. "You're gonna have to try a lot harder if you wanna keep up with me, Jamming-whey! Wheee!"
They landed hard. Inko's legs absorbed most of the impact, but she felt the strain in her muscles, and her breathing was heavy with sweat dripping down her face.
I can't keep this up much longer, she thought. One For All is pushing my body past its limits.
Bakugo saw the exhaustion on her face and grinned like a predator.
"You're done!" he roared, lunging toward the ten million with one last explosive blast.
Inko's team was boxed in by Todoroki's ice walls with nowhere to retreat. Bakugo was attacking from the front while Todoroki closed in from the flank, leaving them no escape route.
This is it, Inko thought, feeling the walls closing in. If I don't do something now, we're going to lose everything.
Her vision narrowed while the sounds of the crowd faded little by little, until all she could hear was her own heartbeat thundering in her ears.
All Might trusted me with this power, she thought. He believed I could carry One For All forward. I can't fail him! I won't fail him!
Green lightning erupted around her entire body, more intense than anything she had managed before. The pain ripped through every muscle, but she didn't care.
"Everyone, hold on tight!" she yelled.
The base of her formation planted their feet. Inko channeled everything into her legs and unleashed the power downward in a single explosive burst.
BOOOOOM!
The ground beneath them broke apart. A five meter wide crater formed from the impact. The shockwave radiated outward, slamming into both Bakugo and Todoroki's approaching teams.
The ice walls around them fractured from the force, and chunks of frozen debris flew in every direction.
Inko's formation rocketed upward, launched by the force of her own power. They cleared Todoroki's ice cage completely, soaring over the barriers like a green comet.
"What the hell?!" Bakugo roared, shielding his face from the flying ice fragments.
Todoroki's eyes widened slightly, the closest thing to surprise his face usually showed.
She broke the lockdown with her power, he thought. She used the overwhelming force born of pure determination.
Inko's formation landed outside the ice cage, hitting the ground hard enough to crack it again. Her legs screamed in protest, the muscles tearing from the effort. Blood dripped from her nose.
But they were free.
"Inko-chan, you're bleeding!" Tsuyu exclaimed in concern.
"I'm fine!" Inko panted, though she could barely stay on her feet. "Keep moving!"
Above the battlefield, Ren watched the display.
Wow, he thought. That was pure shonen protagonist energy, and here I was thinking I was the main character. She really is All Might's successor.
His team had managed to steal another headband during the chaos of Inko's breakout, raising their total even higher. They were firmly in fourth place, with no real threats to their position.
But Bakugo had noticed their opportunistic theft.
"Hey, you flying bastards!" he roared, turning his head toward Ren's team. "You think you can just steal stuff while everyone's distracted?!"
Ren met his glare with a smug grin.
"That's called tactics, Bakugo! Maybe you should try it sometime!"
"I'll show you tactics, you smug piece of shit!"
Bakugo redirected his explosive charge toward Ren's team, abandoning his pursuit of the ten million in favor of violent revenge.
BOOM!
A barrage of explosions detonated around Ren's formation. Ren tried to dodge, but he was a hair too slow. One blast caught them on the edge, sending them spinning.
Momo created a shield on reflex, absorbing the worst of the blast. Even so, the force shook them, and Ochako lost her grip on Ren's shoulder for a second.
Her Quirk deactivated and they started to fall.
"Ochako!" Ren yelled.
Ochako put her hands back on his shoulder right away, reactivating Zero Gravity. They stopped falling two meters from the ground, close enough that several teams stretched their arms out trying to grab their headbands.
Ren shot them back into the air with his telekinesis.
"OOOOONE MINUTE! LISTENERS, PAY ATTENTION BECAUSE ONLY SIXTY SECONDS LEFT TO DETERMINE WHO ADVANCES TO THE FINAL STAGE! THIS IS IT, EVERYBODY! THE MOMENT OF TRUTH HAS ARRIVED AND THE TENSION IS THROUGH THE ROOF! DO YOU FEEL THE HYPE?! ARE YOU REAAAAADY?!"
Todoroki and Bakugo's teams were closing in on Inko again. Other teams sensed the end was near and made desperate plays for any points they could steal. The field turned into total chaos.
Ibara's vines spread across the ground, tripping teams and wrapping around legs.
Ren's vision swam as mental fatigue caught up to him fast. He could feel his telekinetic grip on the team weakening.
We need to get to the ground, he thought. If I pass out while we're in the air, we're toast.
"Ochako, take us down!" he ordered.
"Got it!"
They started descending toward a clear patch of ground near the edge of the arena. Other teams saw them coming and moved to intercept.
"Momo, shields!" Ren ordered.
Momo's arm glowed as she created two circular shields. She passed one to Ochako and kept the other, holding them up defensively while they descended.
A user with a whip Quirk lashed out at them. Momo blocked it with her shield while Ochako swatted away the hand of a student with stretchy arms reaching for Toru's headband.
They touched down. The moment their feet hit the ground, Ren felt the full weight of gravity return and his legs almost buckled from the sudden shift.
"Ren!" Toru's voice came from above him. "You don't look so good!"
"I'm fine," he repeated. "Just need to catch my breath."
But there was no time to rest. Two teams converged on their position at once, drawn in by their high score.
Ren focused his telekinesis on the ground in front of them, ripped up a chunk of earth, and sent it flying toward the first team. The improvised projectile forced them to scatter.
The second team kept coming. Their rider had a capture Quirk, hurling glowing ropes at Toru.
Ren intercepted the ropes with his telekinesis and deflected them, though the effort made his headache pound again.
Momo created a long staff and swung it at the approaching team, forcing them back. Ochako made them weightless briefly, letting Ren push them away with less effort.
"THIRTY SECONDS!" Present Mic yelled.
In the center of the field, Todoroki and Bakugo made their final plays for the ten million. Todoroki created an enormous ice structure that locked Inko's whole formation inside a frozen dome, trapping them.
"Got you," Todoroki said.
Green lightning and explosions detonated at the same time. The ice dome shattered from the inside as Inko channeled One For All at maximum power and Bakugo blasted through from the outside.
Both teams lunged for the ten million headband simultaneously.
Their hands clashed.
The headband stretched between them, neither willing to let go.
"It's mine!" Bakugo roared.
"Not today!" Todoroki shot back.
Inko's eyes went wide with panic. If they both pull at the same time, the headband's gonna tear! We'll lose everything!
She activated One For All, ignoring the burning pain in her legs. The power exploded through her whole formation, and she used it to create distance, yanking back hard.
The headband slipped out of both boys' hands and stayed on Tsuyu's forehead.
But the move put Inko's formation directly in another team's path. She tried to dodge, but her legs were too tired from the overuse of One For All.
The enemy team's rider reached for the ten million headband.
And that's when Ren noticed Inko wasn't going to make it.
He had been watching the chaos from his position at the edge of the field. His telekinesis was nearly tapped out and his body at its limit, though his team had successfully defended their points. They were safe in the top four.
But Inko was about to lose everything.
I've already gotten this far watching the canon play out. But letting Inko lose now... that'd be like skipping the most important arc, wouldn't it? I'll help her... but let's do it my way!
********
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