With Bakugo completely taken out and his Quirk pushed to its absolute limit, the battle ended without any suspense.
After Sero calmly finished binding the four defeated opponents together, Yaoyorozu Momo walked over to Igarashi Masata, brushing dirt from her sleeves.
"So… that means only one group is left now," she said. "Mina's team, right?"
"They won't be easy to find," Uraraka Ochaco added as she wiped sweat from her forehead. "Jiro's detection abilities are outstanding. And Kurosawa Yoru might have been observing us from the shadows this whole time."
Cha Cha wiped her forehead as well, clearly exhausted.
Her words made the corners of Masata's mouth curl upward.
"Actually," he said casually, "I think I already found them."
"Eh?!"
All three girls froze and turned toward him at the same time.
The fight just now had been intense—when had Masata found the time to scout? None of them had noticed anything unusual.
"Remember earlier," Masata continued, "when you asked me to knock down a few trees, Cha Cha?"
Seeing their puzzled expressions, he smiled and began explaining.
"There was one tree that felt strange. It was the thickest one around, but when I struck it, the feedback felt… hollow."
He walked over to a massive tree that would take three people linking arms to fully wrap around.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
The sound was completely different from normal wood. It echoed—empty inside.
"Could it be…?" Yaoyorozu's eyes widened as realization hit her.
Before she could finish—
"Take this!!"
A muffled shout came from inside the tree, followed by a sharp beam of light blasting straight through the trunk.
Wood chips exploded outward as the tree burst apart, and three figures leapt out through the smoke.
"Cough—cough—ugh, I almost suffocated in there!" a voice complained. "I'm definitely wearing a proper mask next time!"
The speaker seemed to appear out of nowhere.
It was Toru Hagakure.
After retreating from the main battlefield, Mina's group had come here. Using Ashido Mina's acid, they hollowed the tree from the top down, surveyed the surroundings from above, and then hid inside.
"So unlucky!" Mina said, hands on her hips as she stepped out. "We finally find a good hiding spot, and we still get discovered!"
Then she grinned sharply.
"But since we've been found—guess we'll just have to fight!"
Mina's combat ability among the girls was actually impressive. Her reflexes were sharp, and her close-quarters combat skills were top-tier.
"You won't get the chance!"
Before Mina could even take a step forward, Cha Cha rushed in, successfully touching her and activating her Quirk.
"W–What?! What's going on—hey, put me down!!"
Mina was lifted straight into the air, arms and legs flailing helplessly as she floated in place. Without a mobility Quirk like Bakugo's, Cha Cha's ability was extremely troublesome once it landed.
At the same time, Asui Tsuyu wrapped Kurosawa Yoru tightly with her tongue, immobilizing her before she could escape.
Jiro Kyoka fired a sonic attack toward Yaoyorozu—but it failed to have any effect.
Yaoyorozu had already anticipated it and calmly inserted earplugs before the soundwave reached her.
As for Aoyama Yuga—a boy widely regarded as having courage second only to Mineta—he fired a few half-hearted laser beams toward Masata, then immediately froze when magma began flowing across Masata's body.
Without hesitation, Aoyama raised both hands.
"I surrender!"
"The game is over!!"
All Might's voice rang clearly through the forest.
Every movement during the match had been monitored. Though this forest served as a training ground, hidden cameras were installed throughout.
Seeing that all teams except Masata's had completely lost their ability to resist, All Might officially declared the match finished.
This kind of team battle wasn't just about cooperation—it was also about adaptability. How quickly could students analyze an opponent's Quirk? How efficiently could they neutralize it? Those were the skills the exercise was meant to cultivate.
Unfortunately—
A monster like Masata had appeared.
With strength far beyond his classmates, he had bulldozed through the match without restraint, completely crushing the opposition. Even the multi-team chaos All Might had envisioned never came to pass.
It was… a small regret.
The following days passed quietly.
The League of Villains seemed to vanish completely, as if they had gone underground. The gene-enhancement drugs that had terrified professional Heroes also disappeared without a trace.
Meanwhile, Masata's peaceful life continued—under the beautiful yet exhausting arrangement of living with two others.
"Don't even think about sleeping until you finish these problems today!"
At the desk, Masata stared blankly at the towering stack of worksheets Yaoyorozu had placed in front of him, his head spinning.
Meanwhile, Momo-chan, thanks to her solid grades, had already gone to bed early.
One Hundred Essential Hero Knowledge Points.
What to Do First After a Building Collapse.
Three Key Techniques for Handling Indoor Villains.
The overwhelming number of questions dragged Masata straight into despair.
"Have mercy…" Masata groaned. "It's already eleven at night! If you don't sleep, your skin will get bad!"
From beneath the stack of papers came Cha Cha's muffled voice of agreement.
This routine had been going on for a while now.
Under Yaoyorozu's merciless tutoring, Masata's grades had improved rapidly—but he felt like his hairline was paying the price.
Maybe this was just the cost of becoming stronger.
"I haven't finished explaining this problem yet," Yaoyorozu said calmly. "And you still want to place in the top ten? You'll need more effort than this, Igarashi Masata."
She was dressed in loose home clothes, flat glasses resting on her nose, looking every bit like a strict private tutor.
But Masata suddenly felt something was off.
When he looked up, he saw Yaoyorozu smiling.
"Oh?" Masata narrowed his eyes. "So you're enjoying this, huh? Then don't blame me for fighting back later."
...
Hey everyone! Want to read ahead and unlock up to 100 early-access chapters? Plus, enjoy even more exclusive novels! Join my Patreon now and dive into the adventure!
patreon.com/Rawink00