Midoriya Izuku was in serious trouble.
"Deku! Hand over your points!"
Ever since the obstacle race ended, Bakugo Katsuki had been like a powder keg ready to explode. And the one who lit the fuse was naturally Midoriya—who had taken second place in the qualifiers.
Now that Bakugo finally had a chance to vent his frustration, he immediately targeted him.
"Damn it… Bakugo's mobility is better than mine," Izuku thought anxiously. "If this keeps up, our headband will be taken any second!"
At the moment, Midoriya was serving as the rider, while his "horse" consisted of Tokoyami Fumikage and Kaminari Denki.
To be precise, Kaminari had only ended up on the team because no one else wanted him. His electricity was hard to control and often backfired, so most people avoided teaming up with him. In the end, he naturally paired up with Midoriya, who was short on teammates.
But right now, Bakugo kept leaping into the air and attacking Midoriya relentlessly. Each time, Sero Hanta would pull him back with tape, only for Bakugo to immediately launch another assault. The pressure was overwhelming.
"We can't keep going like this," Tokoyami said grimly. "If Bakugo continues, we'll definitely lose our score."
As the team's main defensive force, Tokoyami could clearly feel how disadvantaged they were. Bakugo's explosions flooded the area with intense light, weakening Dark Shadow and severely limiting Tokoyami's effectiveness.
"Want to shake off that violent guy?" a cheerful voice suddenly cut in. "Leave it to me! My baby can help!"
The pink-haired support-course girl—Hatsume Mei—had been watching the battle closely from nearby. Seeing the situation, inspiration struck.
"Here, strap this onto your leg!" she said excitedly, pulling a jet device off her backpack and handing it to Tokoyami.
Tokoyami didn't fully understand what she was planning, but with no better options available, he quickly fastened the device to his calf as Bakugo closed in again.
"Alright! Let the investors in the stands get a good look at my baby!"
The moment she spoke, compressed gas burst out from both the device Tokoyami was wearing and Hatsume's own equipment. Their speed surged instantly.
"We're heading toward Masata?" Midoriya realized, instinctively guarding his headband. "Are we planning to use him to draw Bakugo away?"
Bakugo, already furious, naturally ordered his teammates to chase Midoriya without hesitation.
"Deku! Stop running and face me!"
Kirishima glanced at Igarashi Masata, who stood ahead like an immovable fortress, and asked hesitantly, "Bakugo… if we keep going, we'll run straight into Masata. Are you sure about this?"
"Tch! Just charge!" Bakugo snarled. "I'll handle it!"
He had already made up his mind—to take advantage of the chaos and strike Midoriya decisively.
Bakugo suddenly leapt forward, detonating an explosion from his palm and using the recoil to propel himself straight toward Midoriya.
"DIE!"
Midoriya panicked and raised his arms instinctively.
"Hold steady!"
Suddenly, two vents opened on the sides of Tokoyami's backpack, blasting out compressed air. With perfect timing, Tokoyami twisted his body and pulled Midoriya sharply to the side, yanking them out of Bakugo's trajectory.
"What?!"
Bakugo's eyes widened in shock. He was already mid-air, and even with explosions, he couldn't change direction fast enough.
"Hey—look who it is. Little Bakugo."
Masata, who had been standing around bored until now, suddenly lit up with excitement as a familiar figure flew toward him.
"And he's flying right at me? What luck!"
"Momo-chan, give me a few hand grenades," Masata said cheerfully. "Let me greet him properly."
Flipping the small grenade in his hand, Masata grinned and casually slapped it straight into Bakugo's path.
BOOM!
Although the grenade had little destructive power, the shockwave was immense. Before Bakugo could react, the blast sent him spinning violently into the air.
"DAMN IT! You magma bastard—I'll kill you sooner or later!"
Bakugo roared as he was blasted skyward. In the distance, Masata waved at him with a bright smile.
Bakugo had already wasted too much time chasing Midoriya and hadn't secured a single headband. Knowing full well that he couldn't challenge Masata head-on yet, he let Sero reel him back and withdrew unwillingly.
"Alright! Let's check the current standings!"
Unknowingly, ten minutes of the cavalry battle had already passed, and Present Mic's voice echoed across the stadium.
The big screen flickered, displaying the updated scores.
"Wait—what's this?! A major crisis for Class A!"
On the scoreboard, only three Class A teams still held points: Masata's team, Bakugo's team, and Todoroki Shoto's team.
Midoriya Izuku's team had already lost their headband.
"Your Class A is surprisingly careless," Monoma Neito said calmly, several headbands hanging around his neck as he looked at Midoriya, who stood there in frustration.
"Our Class B analyzed the rules thoroughly," Monoma continued smugly. "After observing your Quirks, we all targeted this stage."
Midoriya lowered his head, guilt filling his chest. His momentary mistake had cost his team dearly.
"Now," Monoma said with a composed smile, turning toward Masata in the distance, "I'll crush the last pride of Class A."
"Oh?" Masata noticed the hostile gaze and chuckled. "Looks like someone's finally aiming at us."
He turned slightly and spoke to Ochaco.
"Chacha, if things get messy, I'll throw you straight into the air first. As long as I hold them off, we'll win."
"Leave it to me!" Ochaco replied confidently, clenching her fists. "I'll protect our score no matter what!"
At that moment, Monoma's team charged straight toward Masata.
"So direct?" Masata laughed. "That's exactly what I wanted."
Seeing that the opponent clearly hadn't learned from Tetsutetsu's lesson, Masata casually tossed another grenade forward.
"Chain formation! Defensive wall!" Monoma shouted immediately.
At the same time, a teammate beneath him inhaled deeply—and then exhaled forcefully.
BOOM!
The explosion dispersed harmlessly.
"An invisible air barrier," Monoma explained calmly. "That kind of attack won't work."
With that, he raised his arm and reached straight toward the headband tied around Ochaco's neck—