Midoriya took an aggressive step forward, his jaw clenching as he opened his mouth to shout back at Shinso.
"Don't you dare insult him!" Midoriya yelled, his voice echoing across the silent stadium. "Ojiro-kun gave up his pride for this, you have no right to—"
Suddenly, his voice cut off.
It was as if an invisible wire had been snapped taut inside his brain. Midoriya's pupils shrank, and his entire body froze stiff. His mouth hung slightly open, but no words came out. His mind was plunged into a thick, suffocating fog.
Shinso's cruel smirk widened into a victorious grin. "I win."
Up in the stands, Ojiro slammed his fist against the railing. "I warned him! Damn it, Midoriya!"
"Now then," Shinso said casually, sliding his hands back into his pockets. "Turn around and walk out of bounds."
Without a single moment of hesitation, Midoriya turned on his heel. His movements were stiff, like a wooden puppet. He began a slow, marching walk toward the white boundary line behind him.
The crowd erupted into confused murmurs. Present Mic yelled into the microphone, "EH?! WHAT'S THIS?! MIDORIYA IS JUST WALKING AWAY?! HAS HE GIVEN UP ALREADY?!"
Up in the Class 1-A seating area, the sudden commotion and Present Mic's screaming woke Zoro up from a deep nap. He slowly opened his eyes, blinking against the bright sunlight, and looked down at the ring with a completely lost expression.
"Hah? What's all the yelling?" Zoro grumbled, scratching his head, completely clueless about what was happening. He looked at Midoriya, who was steadily marching away from his opponent. "Did he win already? Is it over?"
Iida, who was sitting intensely on the edge of his seat, chopped his hand through the air. "No, Roronoa-kun! Midoriya-kun has been caught in a mind-control Quirk! He is walking out of bounds against his own will! This is a critical situation!"
Zoro stared at Iida blankly for a second. He let out a massive, uncaring yawn and leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms behind his head.
"Whatever," Zoro muttered, closing his eyes again. "Hey, glasses. Wake me up when it's my turn."
Within two seconds, a small snot bubble formed on Zoro's nose as he went right back to sleep, leaving Iida staring at him in utter disbelief.
Down in the ring, Midoriya was only inches away from the white line. One more step, and he would be disqualified. Inside the deep, dark void of his own mind, Midoriya felt a surge of panic. He saw hazy, shadowy figures in the darkness. Suddenly, without him even making a conscious decision, his body reacted on its own.
SNAP!
A loud crack echoed through the arena as Midoriya's fingers violently flicked, breaking two of them. The sheer, sudden burst of agonizing pain shattered Shinso's brainwashing in an instant. Midoriya gasped for air, stopping his foot just a millimeter before it crossed the line. He stared at his own broken fingers, completely bewildered by what his body had just done.
Panting heavily, Midoriya didn't waste another second. He spun around and charged forward, his mouth shut tight.
"Say something!" Shinso yelled desperately, trying to trigger the Quirk again. "How did you break it?!"
Midoriya kept his mouth firmly closed, refusing to utter a single word. Shinso gritted his teeth. That monkey must have told him...
Midoriya slammed into Shinso, grabbing his uniform and pushing him backward toward the edge. Desperate, Shinso threw a solid punch right into Midoriya's face, then struck the broken fingers. Midoriya winced in agony, but his legs didn't stop moving. He kept pushing relentlessly.
Seeing he was about to cross the line, Shinso tried to shift his weight and reverse the push. But at that exact moment, Midoriya grabbed Shinso's arm, pivoted, and threw him over his shoulder.
Shinso crashed hard onto his back, completely outside the white line.
"S-SHINSO IS OUT OF BOUNDS!" Midnight announced, raising her whip. "MIDORIYA ADVANCES TO THE SECOND ROUND!"
The stadium exploded in cheers. With the first dramatic match concluded, the following bouts moved at a lightning-fast pace:
Match 2: Shoto Todoroki didn't even give Yuga Aoyama a chance to fire his navel laser. With a single, colossal wave of ice, half of the stadium was frozen solid. Aoyama was immobilized instantly.
Match 3: Tenya Iida vs. Mei Hatsume. Knowing the rules strictly forbade support gear for Hero Course students, Iida had initially refused. However, Hatsume manipulated him by presenting an officially stamped permit she had sneakily filed with the judges. Bound by his absolute respect for official authority, Iida complied, only to realize too late it was a trick. She used him as a mannequin to advertise her inventions for ten minutes. He won after she willingly stepped out of bounds, but he left the ring deeply humiliated.
Match 4: Denki Kaminari tried to end things with a massive discharge, but Ibara Shiozaki used her vine-hair to ground the electricity and trap him. Kaminari was eliminated in seconds.
Then, the air in the stadium shifted. A heavy, focused silence fell over the crowd as the fifth match was called.
"AND NOW! THE SCARY SWORDSMAN WHO TOOK THE OBSTACLE COURSE BY STORM! RORONOA ZORO! VS. THE DANCING QUEEN OF ACID, MINA ASHIDO!"
Zoro stepped onto the concrete stage, his three swords clinking at his side. Mina was already there, sliding on a thin layer of acid, her movements fluid and unpredictable.
"I've been watching you, Zoro-kun!" Mina shouted, a confident smirk on her face. "You're fast, but you can't cut what you can't touch!"
Zoro didn't reply. He stood perfectly still, his hands resting lightly on his hilts. He closed his eyes, focusing on the 'rhythm' of the stadium. He could hear the crackling of the torches, the breathing of the crowd, and the bubbling, corrosive sound of Mina's acid.
"START!" Midnight screamed.
Mina immediately lunged forward, spinning into a low slide and launching a rapid barrage of acid shots. Zoro didn't draw his blades. He tilted his body an inch to the right, then a fraction to the left. The neon-pink globs of acid hissed past him, missing by mere millimeters. To the crowd, it looked like the acid was magically curving around him.
I can only use the blunt edge of my swords against these students so I don't hurt them, Zoro analyzed calmly, side-stepping another acidic blast. But if I get close enough to strike her, that acid will melt right through the naked steel. I can't risk my swords for an exhibition match. I have to finish this from a distance, without hurting her.
Mina, frustrated by his lack of movement, increased her output. She sprayed a wide, horizontal arc of high-concentration acid, creating a thick wall of corrosive liquid. "Acid Veil!"
"Enough," Zoro grunted.
Instead of reaching for his hilts, Zoro completely let go of his weapons. Leaving all three swords safely sheathed at his hip, he stepped forward and crossed his bare arms in front of his chest.
If drawing my blade risks ruining the steel, I just won't use them, Zoro thought.
As the corrosive 'Acid Veil' closed in on him, Zoro's muscles bulged, and he spun his upper body with monstrous, blinding speed.
"No Sword Style..." He threw his arms outward in a fierce, circular motion.
"...Dragon Twister!" The sheer physical force of his arms tore through the air, generating a massive, spiraling cyclone of wind. The sudden tornado acted as an impenetrable wall of air pressure. It effortlessly caught the incoming acid, swirling it upward and safely scattering it into a harmless mist far above the stadium floor.
The powerful outward gust of the wind didn't stop there. The fierce gale hit Mina squarely.
"Wha—?!" She gasped as the sheer air pressure lifted her right off her feet like a leaf caught in a storm.
Carried by the wind, she was pushed backward across the arena. She tumbled safely and slid past the white boundary line, coming to a halt on the soft grass, completely unharmed but heavily disoriented. The arena floor remained perfectly intact.
The stadium went dead silent for a moment before erupting in an absolute uproar of awe.
"A-ASHIDO IS OUT OF BOUNDS! ZORO ADVANCES!" Midnight announced, staring in disbelief at the boy who just won a match without even drawing his weapon.
Up in the commentator's booth, Present Mic was practically pulling his hair out. "HE DIDN'T EVEN USE HIS SWORDS?! WHAT KIND OF PHYSICAL STRENGTH IS THAT, ERASER?!"
"To generate a cyclone capable of blowing away liquid just by flexing his arms..." Aizawa muttered, his eyes wide open. "That's not just raw strength. That's a terrifying level of martial technique."
In the shadowy tunnels of the stadium, All Might stared at a monitor, his eyes sharp with fascination. Such raw, devastating physical power... without a Quirk. Young Zoro's body is built like a fortress.
Watching from the upper stands, Endeavor crossed his massive arms, the flames around his face flaring slightly. He won without revealing a single real technique. Arrogant kid.
Meanwhile, in the Class 1-A seating area, Midoriya was furiously scribbling in his notebook. "He created an impenetrable wind barrier using only rotational force... it's like a shockwave, but with pure muscle control!"
Beside him, Bakugo gritted his teeth, small explosions popping angrily in his palms. "That damn moss-head... He thinks he doesn't even need his swords to beat us?! Don't look down on me!"
Todoroki watched the boy in silence, his eyes narrowing coldly. If he can generate that much pressure empty-handed... what happens when he actually draws those blades?
Down on the stage, Zoro didn't look at the cheering crowd. He glanced down at his three swords, making sure they were completely safe and untouched by the acid. His face, however, was grim.
My swords are in real danger right now, Zoro thought, letting out a quiet breath. Today it's acid, but in the future, who knows what kind of crazy powers I'll have to face. I have to find a solution to this problem as soon as possible, or I'll lose the swords that mean everything to me.
He gripped the white hilt of the Wado Ichimonji tightly, his eyes narrowing with deep determination. I need to go see Master Kenji after this. He might have a solution to this in that scroll about the secret of Haki.
As Zoro walked back to the tunnel, the rest of the first round concluded:
Match 6: Fumikage Tokoyami quickly overwhelmed Momo Yaoyorozu with Dark Shadow, giving her no time to create a defense.
Match 7: Eijiro Kirishima and Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu battered each other into a brutal double knockout. Midnight declared a tie, and robot stretchers hauled both unconscious boys away to Recovery Girl's office.
Match 8: Katsuki Bakugo faced Ochaco Uraraka. Despite her desperate meteor shower strategy, Bakugo's raw power was overwhelming. He advanced, though looking genuinely annoyed by her persistence.
Match 7 Tie-Breaker: Following Bakugo's match, Kirishima and Tetsutetsu returned to the stage to settle their tie with an arm-wrestling match. Kirishima won by a hair, finally securing his spot.
The screen flickered, updating the brackets for the Second Round:
Match 1: Izuku Midoriya vs. Shoto Todoroki
Match 2: Tenya Iida vs. Ibara Shiozaki
Match 3: Roronoa Zoro vs. Fumikage Tokoyami
Match 4: Eijiro Kirishima vs. Katsuki Bakugo
Zoro stood in the hallway, looking up at the bright board. His next opponent was the boy with the shadow monster.
"Tokoyami, huh?" Zoro smirked, a real grin finally spreading across his face. "Let's see what that bird-shadow can really do."
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For Advanced Chapters:
Chapter 57 is Available now
(The Stubborn Old Master)
Zoro will soon begin learning how to master Armament Haki. He will also learn some ancient secrets and information about his teacher, Kenji.
The Hero Slayer Stain arc is about to begin. Will there be a showdown between him and Zoro?
You'll find out soon in the upcoming chapters.
Pat re on.com/AZTh