"Shotgun!"
This time, Igarashi Masata took the initiative.
He straightened both arms, palms raised, and in an instant, dense lava shells erupted from his hands, blasting forward like a storm of molten buckshot toward Bakugo.
"Magma bombs?!"
Masata's Quirk was terrifying in exactly this way—when he didn't act, nothing happened, but once he did, it was either catastrophic injury or outright destruction.
Even Bakugo could only dodge sideways repeatedly, narrowly slipping through the gaps.
"BOOM!"
While evading, Bakugo fired off continuous explosions toward Masata, trying to interfere with his aim. However, without the support of his combat uniform, his long-range attacks were noticeably weaker.
"What kind of attack is this, Bakugo?"
Faced with these distant explosions, Masata didn't even bother dodging. A layer of magma instantly wrapped around his arm, and with a casual swing, he shattered the blasts midair.
"What about the earlier attack? Keep them coming!"
"Even my long-range attacks are useless?!"
Bakugo grew increasingly irritated as he continued dodging the relentless shotgun-like barrage.
"Looking at that magma bastard completely relaxed like this… there's no way my stamina can last longer than his. I need to change tactics."
He fired explosions backward, accelerating himself straight toward Masata. Along the way, he used countless micro-blasts to adjust his trajectory, weaving between incoming lava shots with sharp precision.
"You're good at using your Quirk," Masata observed calmly.
"But if I can't hit you at that speed, continuing ranged attacks is just wasting energy."
With that, Masata stopped his long-range assault.
"So now it's close combat?"
Magma surged over his hand, forming a lava glove once again as he waited for Bakugo to rush in—ready to deliver a crushing punch.
"That move… it's the one you used on Kirishima!"
Bakugo immediately recognized it.
He had studied every one of Masata's fights closely. Masata's battles were always the most important to analyze, and Bakugo knew exactly how terrifying that punch was.
My body isn't as tough as Kirishima's…
Just as he was about to reach Masata, Bakugo detonated an explosion to his side, forcibly shifting his position midair.
"Too slow!"
"What—?!"
Before Bakugo could stabilize himself, Masata spun sharply and drove a punch straight toward his chest.
"Don't get hit—!"
In a split-second reaction, Bakugo raised his palm and blocked the fist head-on.
Thanks to his Quirk, Bakugo's palms had exceptional heat resistance. Otherwise, his hand would've been scorched the instant the lava touched it.
He could endure the heat.
But not the power.
Still, Bakugo triggered an explosion at the exact moment of contact, blasting the lava glove apart.
"Get away from me!"
As Bakugo was about to be launched backward, the magma on Masata's hand suddenly retracted, restoring his original palm. Masata grabbed Bakugo's arm instead.
"What—?!"
Everything happened in the blink of an eye.
Before Bakugo could react, his vision flipped upside down—followed by a massive impact slamming into his back.
"BOOM!!!"
Masata had shoulder-thrown him straight into the ground.
"Overwhelming strength!" Present Mic shouted.
"So far in this match, Bakugo hasn't landed a single effective hit on Igarashi! Meanwhile, he's being completely suppressed!"
The audience could see it clearly.
Bakugo had only launched two attacks so far—and both had failed. The rest of the time, he had been on the defensive.
Masata, meanwhile, hadn't even moved from his spot.
"Is this guy just pure muscle?! What kind of monster strength is that?!"
Bakugo rolled immediately after hitting the ground. It looked clumsy, but it saved him from Masata's follow-up punch, which smashed straight into the concrete floor.
Bakugo's eyes twitched.
"There's no weakness at all…"
Clutching his arm, he grimaced. The impact earlier had seriously injured it.
"The only thing I know is that his Quirk consumes physical stamina… but how the hell is this bastard still full of energy?!"
A prolonged fight was impossible.
I can only win with one decisive blow.
Bakugo made his decision.
He crouched and detonated an explosion against the ground. Thick smoke instantly flooded the arena.
"Hiding in smoke?" Masata said calmly.
"Planning a surprise attack?"
He halted his movement, fully alert.
"I'll kill you!!!"
The smoke dispersed—
But Bakugo wasn't there.
Instead, a furious roar came from above.
"Using the smoke as cover, Bakugo has leapt into the air!" Present Mic shouted.
"Can Igarashi still stay this calm?!"
"Maximum output—Howitzer Impact!! Die!!!"
Bakugo thrust his hands forward, palms forming a cannon-like shape as blazing energy gathered between them.
"BOOM!!!"
A blinding flash swallowed the entire arena.
A condensed explosion—compressed to the extreme—shot toward Masata. The reduced blast radius meant only one thing:
Unimaginable power.
"What kind of attack is that?! This already surpasses many Pro Heroes!"
Even Present Mic screamed in alarm.
"We need to stop this!" Cementoss shouted, but it was already too late—the attack was far too fast.
But Masata's Quirk had once been described by All For One as perfect.
"So this is your final move, Bakugo."
Masata stared straight into the oncoming explosion.
For the first time since entering the arena, his blood truly boiled.
"This is the first time… someone my age has made me feel real danger!"
"Then I'll answer you—with my strongest move!"
His roar shook the stadium.
Masata's right arm transformed instantly, becoming brilliant crimson magma, viscous and blazing.
"Heaven Dog!!!"
Since fully mastering elementalization, this was the first time Masata had used his most powerful single-target technique.
The transformation had fundamentally elevated all of his magma abilities—speed, density, and destructive power far beyond before.
Under the gaze of tens of thousands—
The blazing magma arm collided head-on with Bakugo's condensed explosion.