Chapter 46: Recipro Burst and the Final Heist
"Get ready, Iida," Todoroki said softly, his breath misting in the freezing air as the final sixty-second timer began to tick down. His dual-colored eyes were locked dead onto the white headband on Zoro's forehead.
"Make sure you get it, Todoroki!" Iida replied, his voice filled with absolute resolve.
Suddenly, the exhaust pipes on Iida's calves roared to life. The flames shooting out of them started as a bright yellow, but in a fraction of a second, the intense heat shifted, turning the flames into a blinding, scorching blue.
"Torque... Over!" Iida roared.
BOOM!
The ground beneath Iida's feet cracked. In less than a fraction of a second, Team Todoroki vanished from their spot. The entire stadium was shocked by what Iida had just done. It was a blinding flash of speed that no one could track.
But in Zoro's mind, the world shifted from sight to pure instinct.
His Observation Haki didn't let him see the future, but he felt the massive, explosive spike in Iida's intent. He felt the violent trajectory aimed straight at them. Zoro's right hand instinctively gripped his hilt, but he quickly calculated the kinetic impact: raising his solid steel sword against that velocity would shatter Todoroki's arm and destroy Iida's legs.
They're just kids chasing a dream. It's not worth breaking them for a game.
Zoro let go of his hilt. He allowed Todoroki's fingers to brush against the headband on his forehead and grip it tightly. But in that exact same microsecond, Zoro's hand shot out like a viper.
SWISH!
Team Todoroki skidded to a violent halt behind Team Roronoa.
"RECIPRO BURST!" Iida shouted, his engines letting out a dying hiss of black smoke.
"We got it!" Kaminari cheered, seeing the ten-million-point headband in Todoroki's hand.
But Midoriya's eyes widened. He wasn't looking at Todoroki. He was looking at Zoro and Tokoyami.
"You really think I'd let you walk away with everything?" Zoro smirked, tossing a headband in the air. It was Todoroki's original 615-point headband.
"WHAT?!" Todoroki gasped, reaching for his neck. But his shock didn't end there.
Suddenly, a dark, shadowy claw retracted from the side of Todoroki's formation. Dark Shadow emerged, clutching another thick stack of headbands that Todoroki's team had collected from other teams throughout the match.
"Excellent work, Dark Shadow," Tokoyami said calmly.
In that final, blinding exchange, Team Roronoa hadn't just defended; they had completely stripped Team Todoroki of every single point they possessed except for the one they had just stolen.
Meanwhile, Bakugo had finished his brutal revenge on Monoma, snatching every single point and leaving Class 1-B at zero.
"NOW FOR THE TEN MILLION!" Bakugo roared, soaring through the sky toward the center.
"TIME IS UP!!!" Present Mic's voice exploded alongside the buzzer.
Bakugo crashed into the dirt, missing the target by a hair's breadth. The dust settled, and the stadium went silent as the holographic board processed the final, chaotic thefts.
Present Mic nearly fell off his chair. "I-I DON'T BELIEVE IT! THE RANKINGS HAVE SHIFTED AGAIN IN THE LAST MILLISECOND!"
The board flashed:
1st: Team Todoroki (10,000,400 Pts)
2nd: Team Roronoa (2,150 Pts) 3rd: Team Bakugo (1,210 Pts)
4th: Team Shinso (840 Pts)
"SECOND PLACE?!" Bakugo's scream of pure, unfiltered rage shook the stadium. "HOW THE HELL DID DEKU AND MOSS-HEAD GET SECOND?!"
Midoriya fell to his knees, tears of pure relief streaming down his face. "Zoro-kun... Tokoyami-kun... we did it! We're in second!"
Zoro casually walked away, not even looking at the board. "The warm-up is over."
"ALRIGHT, LISTEN UP LISTENERS!" Present Mic announced loudly, his voice echoing through the entire stadium. "WE WILL NOW TAKE A ONE-HOUR LUNCH BREAK BEFORE WE MOVE ON TO THE AFTERNOON FESTIVITIES! THE FINAL EVENT: THE 1-ON-1 TOURNAMENT!"
Watching from a private monitor room deep within the stadium, All Might reverted to his muscular form for a brief moment, a massive, proud smile spreading across his face. "Young Midoriya... Young Roronoa... you both made it through! Excellent work!"
However, not everyone was celebrating.
Standing in the shadows of the stadium corridors, the Flame Hero, Endeavor, watched the field below with his arms crossed tightly. His fiery beard flared wildly, radiating a terrifying, suffocating heat.
He didn't care that his son had secured first place on the scoreboard. With his experienced, veteran eyes, Endeavor had seen the exact microsecond of the exchange. He saw the swordsman spare his son. He saw the shadowy bird rob them blind.
Endeavor's fierce eyes locked onto Zoro's retreating figure.
Shoto only won because that boy allowed it, Endeavor's teeth gritted, his jaw clenching so hard it threatened to crack. I won't let a Quirkless brat look down on my masterpiece. Shoto will surpass everyone... especially you.
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For Advanced Chapters:
Chapter 54 is Available Now
The Swordsman's Code
The final: Zoro vs Midoriya
The sports festival has ended
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