Chapter 43: The Gathering of Outcasts
While Zoro still stood completely alone and time was rapidly running out...
"Zoro-kun!"
A voice broke through the heavy tension surrounding the green-haired swordsman. Izuku Midoriya skidded to a halt in front of him, panting heavily. He looked at Zoro, then at the massive digital clock counting down the fifteen-minute negotiation period.
"Let's team up!" Midoriya said, his fists clenched tight. "I know everyone is going to come for us, and I know it's basically painting a target on our backs... but if we're together, we can hold those ten million points! Please, let me be in your team!"
Zoro looked down at the trembling but determined boy. A faint, feral smirk appeared on his face. "You've got guts, Deku. Fine. I'll be the rider. But we need a solid base if we're going to survive an entire army."
"Right!" Midoriya nodded, his resolve hardening. He immediately turned around, scanning the chaotic crowd for his closest friend. "Iida-kun!"
Midoriya sprinted over to the tall, glasses-wearing student. "Iida-kun, join us! With your engine speed and Zoro's strength, we'll be completely unstoppable!"
"I refuse," Iida replied, turning to face him. His expression was uncharacteristically stern.
Midoriya froze, his hand dropping to his side. "What? But why? We always work together!"
"Ever since the entrance exam, I've been following you and Roronoa-kun," Iida said, his voice echoing with a new, sharp resolve. "But if I keep following you, I'll never grow. To truly test my own limits, I must challenge the very best. From this moment on, I am your rival, Midoriya-kun. I'm joining Todoroki-kun's team."
Midoriya watched in stunned silence as Iida walked away, taking his place beside the cold-eyed Shoto Todoroki.
Shaking off the shock, Midoriya frantically looked around for Uraraka, hoping she would at least stay by his side. But his heart sank when he finally spotted her.
"Hey, Round Face! You're coming with me!" Katsuki Bakugo barked, grabbing a very confused Uraraka by the shoulder. "Your 'floaty' power is exactly what I need! If you make these extras weightless, I can use my explosions to blast our whole team into the air to grab that ten-million headband, and you can give us a balanced landing! Don't you dare slow me down!"
Uraraka gave Midoriya an apologetic, helpless look as she was dragged away by the explosive blonde.
Midoriya felt a sudden wave of panic. He was losing his closest allies to the very people they had to defeat. He ran back to Zoro, running a hand through his curly hair. "Zoro-kun, we're losing everyone. Iida and Uraraka are gone. We need more people!"
"THERE HE IS! THE TEN-MILLION-POINT JACKPOT!"
Before Midoriya could even breathe, a pink-haired girl with strange, zooming goggles practically crashed into them. Hatsume Mei from the Support Course was grinning like a maniac.
"I'm Hatsume Mei! My 'babies'—I mean, my inventions—are absolutely perfect for a high-profile team like yours!" Hatsume declared, already poking at Midoriya's arms. "Think of the publicity! Every big company in the country will be watching the ten-million points! I'm joining you! You can't say no!"
Midoriya blinked, completely overwhelmed by her aggressive energy. "Uh, okay... but we still need a fourth person for a stable—"
"I said I'm in!" Hatsume insisted, already pulling out mechanical boots and jetpacks from her heavy bag.
Midoriya scanned the crowd one last time. The clock was showing less than two minutes. He needed someone with an absolute, unbreakable defense. That's when his eyes locked onto a dark, solitary figure standing in the shadows of the stadium wall.
"Tokoyami-kun!" Midoriya sprinted over, grabbing the bird-headed student's arm. "Please! We need you! Your Dark Shadow is the ultimate defense! We're going to be swarmed from every direction, and you're the only one who can protect our blind spots while Zoro attacks!"
Fumikage Tokoyami looked at the desperate boy, then shifted his gaze toward Zoro, who was radiating a terrifying, monstrous presence even while standing completely still.
"To guard the blinding light of ten million points while surrounded by a sea of shadows..." Tokoyami muttered, his arms crossed. "It is a poetic challenge. I accept."
The Formation
As the fifteen-minute timer finally hit zero, out of the forty-three students who had advanced, exactly eleven teams were formed on the battlefield. Ten teams consisted of the standard four members. Only one team—led by the multi-armed Mezo Shoji, with Minoru Mineta and Tsuyu Asui hiding inside his massive wingspan—operated as a unique trio.
Right in the center of the arena, Team Roronoa took their position. It was a formation built for absolute war.
Tokoyami stood at the center back, his powerful legs acting as the team's anchor. Midoriya took the right flank, his body tensed, while Hatsume took the left flank, her mechanical gear whirring as she attached stabilizers to their waists.
Zoro sat high above them, his boots resting firmly on their shoulders. He sat with the terrifying grace of an apex predator, his hand resting calmly on the white hilt of the Wado Ichimonji. Midnight walked over and handed him the glowing ten-million-point headband, which he casually tied around his forehead.
"Listen up," Zoro barked, his low voice instantly silencing his teammates' nerves. "Tokoyami, your Shadow handles the back and the sides. Midoriya, Hatsume, you two focus entirely on movement. Don't look at the other teams. Just move exactly when I tell you."
"But Zoro-kun," Midoriya asked, looking up nervously. "How will you know where they're coming from? It's going to be pure chaos!"
Zoro slowly closed his eyes.
A profound, chilling silence seemed to fall over him. His Observation Haki flared outward like an invisible pulse, mapping out every single heartbeat, every breath, and every muscle twitch in the stadium.
"I can feel them," Zoro said, a feral, battle-hungry grin stretching across his face. "Every single one of them."
The Hunt Begins
Up in the commentator booth, Present Mic leaped out of his chair. "HEY, ERASERHEAD! WAKE UP! The fifteen minutes are up! The Cavalry Battle is about to begin!"
Aizawa simply grunted, adjusting his microphone through the heavy bandages covering his face. "I'm awake. Just start the match."
Present Mic grinned, pointing at the field. "ALL RIGHT, LISTENERS! The target is set! Let's get this survival game going!"
3... 2... 1... START!!!!
"GET THE TEN MILLION!!"
Exactly thirty-nine students charged at once. A massive, terrifying wave of bodies, quirks, and shouts surged toward Team Roronoa from every conceivable direction.
"Tokoyami! Left side, mid-range!" Zoro ordered instantly, his eyes still closed.
Dark Shadow exploded outward with a ferocious shriek, violently knocking away a charging team from Class 1-B before they could even get within five meters.
"Hatsume, thrusters! Midoriya, jump right! NOW!"
With a blast of mechanical fire from Hatsume's boots and a massive surge of leg strength from Midoriya, the team soared diagonally into the air, narrowly dodging a barrage of attacks that crashed into the empty space they had just occupied.
As gravity began to pull them back down, panic flashed across Midoriya's face. But Hatsume just laughed. "Don't worry! My babies have perfect shock absorbers!"
Her heavy boots released a burst of compressed air just as they neared the ground. Simultaneously, Tokoyami used Dark Shadow to brace against the earth, cushioning their fall. The team landed smoothly, their formation completely unbroken.
Zoro opened his eyes, looking at the sea of frustrated attackers surrounding them. His grip tightened on his sword, his terrifying aura washing over the arena.
"Is that all you've got?" Zoro challenged, his voice cutting through the noise. "Because I'm just getting started!"
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For Advanced Chapters:
Chapter 51 is Available Now
The Fatal Distance and The Bad News
The festival's semi-finals have arrived. Midoriya vs Iida. Zoro vs Bakugo.
The sports festival is on fire
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