"It was terrifying! Mina, you have no idea how terrifying that fight just now was!"
The one speaking was Toru Hagakure. Earlier, their group had heard a series of violent explosions nearby. Since the noise was dangerously close, they had sent out Kurosawa Yoru, whose stealth abilities were the strongest among them, to investigate.
And Kurosawa Yoru hadn't disappointed.
Using her advantages, she slipped near the battlefield without being detected and witnessed the scene firsthand—Bakugo bombarding Tokoyami without mercy.
On one side were relentless explosions. On the other, sheets of freezing ice. Kirishima's furious roars echoed through the forest, while Sero's figure swung wildly between trees. The overwhelming combat pressure made Kurosawa Yoru's legs tremble, her combat effectiveness dropping sharply.
That was the scene she had just described.
After hearing her account, Ashido Mina and the others turned pale as well. Thankfully, they hadn't followed earlier. Their team was built around stealth and survival—not head-on confrontation. Against monsters like Bakugo and Todoroki, they wouldn't stand a chance.
If they had been discovered, they would probably have ended up like Mineta's team.
"Let's get out of here. Now," Mina said decisively.
As the captain, she made the call instantly. The others nodded without hesitation, quietly retreating under cover of the forest while the echoes of battle still lingered.
"Where did everyone go?"
When Igarashi Masata and his team finally arrived at the explosion site, all they saw was scorched earth and shattered trees—along with Mineta's team sprawled helplessly on the ground.
"So Bakugo and the others definitely ran into another group," Yaoyorozu Momo said calmly, scanning the scene.
Masata crouched down and looked at Kaminari Denki, who was wrapped tightly in tape like a rice dumpling.
"Hey, Kaminari. Where did Bakugo and the others go?"
Among the four, Kaminari was actually in the best condition. Aside from numb limbs from restricted blood flow, he hadn't suffered serious injuries.
"I don't know exactly," Kaminari replied awkwardly, his blond hair now coated in gray dust. "But Bakugo said he was looking for you. I heard it with my own ears."
"Looking for me?" Masata raised an eyebrow, then laughed softly. "No wonder that brat agreed to team up with Todoroki. He's had it out for me for a long time now."
Everything finally clicked.
From the beginning, Bakugo's actions had been too deliberate. Now Masata understood the reason clearly.
"Momo, come here for a second," Masata said, waving her over.
"What is it?"
"Make a loudspeaker. Let's call them over ourselves."
Yaoyorozu sighed, clearly seeing through his intentions, but admitted it was effective. She immediately began creating the device.
Meanwhile—
"Don't fall behind! Hurry up!"
Bakugo tore through the forest at full speed, leaving Kirishima and Sero far behind.
"You're too slow! Find that magma bastard already! I'll kill him, then I'll go crush that nerd next!"
Bakugo clenched his fists as he shouted, fury radiating from him.
Since the day he entered U.A., he'd constantly been overshadowed by Masata—mocked, provoked, and surpassed. On top of that, Midoriya had grown right behind him without his notice.
The feeling was unbearable.
Then—
"Oi, explosive tsundere brat, where are you running off to?"
"Bakugo the firecracker! Come out already~"
A booming voice echoed throughout the forest.
Kirishima and Sero froze, then slowly turned to look at Bakugo. The twitching at the corner of his eye told them everything—they were barely holding back laughter.
"Calm down, Bakugo," Kirishima said quickly. "That's obviously Masata trying to lure us in."
Veins bulged on Bakugo's forehead.
"Shut up, idiot! I'm perfectly calm!"
Grinding his teeth so hard his gums showed, Bakugo detonated both palms behind him and launched himself toward the sound.
It didn't take long before they arrived at the location.
But there was no one there.
"This is where we fought earlier," Sero said, looking around.
"Where are you, magma bastard?!" Bakugo roared, blasting a massive tree into splinters.
"Bakugo! Over here!" Kirishima shouted.
At Kirishima's feet was a small amplifier—clearly the source of the earlier voice.
"There was a note underneath," Kirishima said, handing it over carefully. "I pulled it out."
Bakugo snatched it.
BOOM!
The paper disintegrated in an instant.
"You're still playing hide-and-seek with me?! Don't let me catch you!"
Kirishima sighed inwardly. Masata's sense of humor was truly evil.
The original message had read:
"Little Bakugo, by the time you see this, I'll already be far away.
Don't worry—I'll be waiting one kilometer north of you.
Hurry up. I'll even give you a head start."
"There's no time to waste," Todoroki said calmly, already calculating the direction. "Let's move."
He took off first.
Back on Masata's side, his teammates stared at him with complicated expressions.
They had thought Masata was simply trying to draw Bakugo into a fight. But after setting up the speaker with a timer, he had calmly retreated with them and laid traps along the way.
Uraraka shuddered slightly just imagining Bakugo's face when he read the note.
"That's… just blatant provocation," she said.
"Do you think Bakugo will really fall for it?" Asui asked doubtfully.
Masata shrugged. "Hard to say. Todoroki's there too—he's very level-headed."
"But even so," Yaoyorozu added, "they're bound to trigger something. They don't know where the traps are."
She had hidden multiple explosive devices beneath leaves and fallen branches—many of them chained together. Step on one, and the rest would follow. Combined with the improvised machine guns she had prepared, she had nearly exhausted her stamina.
"They should be here soon," Masata said, stretching. "One kilometer doesn't take long."
He removed his coat and handed it to Uraraka.
"This might get interesting."