Chapter 112: Ashido vs Todoroki.

“Iron Juggernaut!!”

Kirishima’s surprising speed was more than enough to leave Seto with no chance. He took the full brunt of the charge, was knocked unconscious, and at the same time sent flying through the air. But when he left the combat zone, he was caught in midair by what seemed to be a hand made of cement, which softened his fall. At that exact moment, Midnight exclaimed loudly.

“The winner, Kirishima Eijiro!!”

“I won!!”

A cheerful Kirishima couldn’t help but shout excitedly while waving to the thrilled audience. At the same time, memories of his training with Kai passed through his mind. Although it hadn’t been the most pleasant in the world, it had truly helped him a lot.

+++

In what looked like a field created solely and exclusively for fighting, Kirishima was kneeling on the ground, breathing heavily, with several bruises and scratches across different parts of his body. In front of him stood a relaxed Kai, stretching comfortably after giving a beating to the poor young man before him.

“Well, even though your punches have improved, you’re still too slow, so your only destiny is to be relegated to being a human shield. Therefore, if you face someone who isn’t willing to attack you head-on, you’ll have nothing to do, which basically seals off any path for you to become an independent hero.”

“…Really…Is there…No way?” Kirishima asked between heavy breaths, the result of his exhaustion, to which Kai casually commented.

“Well, you don’t have technique, nor agility, and much less speed, so all you have left is to use your head—not just to use your quirk creatively, but also to create opportunities for yourself.”

“…What do you mean?” Still obviously tired, Kirishima asked curiously as he sat down on the ground, to which Kai responded in a casual tone while picking up a leaf from the ground and tossing it into the air.

“Look, the worst opponent for you is one like this leaf.” Kai began swatting at the air, trying to grab the leaf, but each movement created a current of air that made it drift away, almost as if it were evading him. At that moment, he added in a calm tone.

“The one who tirelessly flees the fight, or in other words, the average villain. That’s why you have to be smarter, study how they act, and predict their next move.”

When Kai finished speaking, he delivered a slightly off-target punch near the leaf, but the wind created by his movement pushed it right into his hand, as if he had anticipated its trajectory. He then explained while casually playing with the leaf.

“What you need is to learn to predict your enemy. And of course, you also need a way to surprise them, which means you need a more creative way to use your quirk. Aside from hardening yourself, it also noticeably improves your strength, at least from what I’ve seen. But don’t get your hopes up—that doesn’t guarantee you anything. It only gives you an opportunity. And so Momo won’t say I never teach you anything, I’ll show you a little trick.”

With a calm motion, Kai rolled up one leg of his black sweatpants, showing Kirishima his incredibly defined calf muscle, which was quite impressive. Then he took a stance with his legs apart, putting tension on the exposed leg.

“Watch closely how this works. It’s not something especially difficult or complicated, but it can help you achieve something like a ‘charge’ or similar move to get close to an enemy.”

As Kai spoke, his calf muscle seemed to swell and contract, accumulating tension before releasing it all at once. He stomped on the ground with such force that it cracked, and immediately after, he shot forward at terrifying speeds, as if launched by a spring, stopping several meters away.

“You could try to replicate something like that using only your brute strength enhanced by your quirk. You could even attempt something crazier, but first study very well how your quirk works and don’t do anything stupid, or else Momo will drive me insane with her scolding. Understood?”

“Yes, I understand.” Kirishima nodded and responded thoughtfully, causing Kai to laugh for a moment, amused, as he adjusted his pants again.

+++

Meanwhile, in the stands, Kai couldn’t help but cover his face with one hand upon hearing the ridiculous name the redhead had given to the trick he’d shown him. It made him wonder if it was time to cross that idiot off his list of acquaintances. After all, Kai himself was already pretty bad at coming up with names, and hanging around with that idiot might worsen his problem.

“Did you teach him that, Kai?” Momo couldn’t help but ask curiously, seeing how Kai was acting. He answered evasively while turning his back.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t know anyone capable of saying those names out loud with so much pride.”

“Fufufu, alright.”

Momo commented in a somewhat amused tone, although her expression was filled only with love and pride. Then she rested her head on Kai’s shoulder with a warm smile. Meanwhile, Present Mic’s excited voice echoed throughout the stadium, which was roaring like crazy.

“This was a display of pure strategy and determination! Seto kept Kirishima at bay with those precise and calculated moves, but he didn’t count on the redhead’s cunning! Kirishima took advantage of the slightest lapse and unleashed his masterful blow! ‘Iron Juggernaut’! An explosive attack that broke through every defense! It’s incredible how Kirishima turned a tactical duel into a pure force charge, securing the victory! What an intense battle!”

…

…

…

Soon, the next battle began. This time it was between Bakugo—another of Class 1-A’s troublemakers—and Tokoyami, a strange guy with a black bird’s head who liked to speak in a sophisticated manner, very similar to how characters in epic anime speak. There weren’t many surprises, and Bakugo ended up winning since Tokoyami’s quirk, a sentient dark specter, was weak against light and therefore against the blond’s explosions.

“Now we continue with the next fight!!!”

After a short break, during which Mina walked toward the locker room, Present Mic announced with great excitement. This caused Momo to cling nervously to Kai’s arm, at the same time staring intently at the dueling platform. At that moment, the presenter hero announced.

“From the Hero Course, Todoroki Shoto!!!”

With the announcement, Todoroki stepped into the stadium with an expression full of hatred and eyes almost bloodshot. Present Mic enthusiastically announced again.

“Versus, also from the Hero Course, Ashido Mina!!!”

Looking visibly nervous, Mina entered the stadium and began waving to the audience, who cheered with all their might. She then walked to the combat platform, where Todoroki awaited with an expression that scared her a bit.

“Ready?!!!… Start!!!”

With Present Mic’s announcement, Mina quickly used her quirk to slide across the ground, trying to approach Todoroki. But at that exact moment, Todoroki lifted his gaze and spoke in a dark, hate-filled tone.

“My apologies.”

As he spoke, Todoroki stomped the ground forcefully, causing it to freeze at high speed. A huge amount of ice shot forward toward Mina, who barely managed to jump to the side using her agility. Even so, half of her body ended up frozen, and the ice didn’t stop there—it started forming a giant iceberg in the air.

But just as the iceberg reached the stands of Class 1-A, it exploded into a thousand pieces, creating a sort of snowfall over the stadium and leaving the enormous iceberg sliced in half. This caused all the spectators to turn their heads toward that place, quickly noticing a young man with black hair casually lowering his extended fist. Present Mic’s electrified commentary followed, making the stands go wild.

“What just happened here?!! A brutal ice attack was repeatedly destroyed by a single punch!! This is Class 1-A, this is the first year of U.A., ladies and gentlemen!!!”

Among those who looked on in surprise was Todoroki himself, half of his body nearly frozen by the brutal effort. He stared at the terror of Class 1-A with a deep look. But his gaze was interrupted when he was struck by a powerful kick covered by some sort of incredibly hard gel, sending him flying off the platform.

Alarmed, Todoroki quickly used his ice to create a barrier and avoid falling off. Then he looked back at the spot he had been just moments before, only to find a smiling Mina with a good part of her uniform corroded, revealing her attractive pink skin. That immediately gave him the information he needed: the girl had freed herself from his ice using her acid.

“Darn, I thought I had it!”

Mina commented with a tone full of excitement. She then began skating toward Todoroki at high speed, looking somewhat rushed. After all, she had seen in class what Todoroki’s frozen state meant—his power decreased, so she had to finish him off before he used his fire to melt the ice or else she’d be done for.

“What do we have here?!! This is unexpected! Todoroki seemed to have control, but what a surprise Ashido gave us! With an incredible kick and using her ingenuity to free herself from the ice, she’s put him on the ropes! What a way to seize every opportunity—her agility and speed are impressive! The pressure is at its peak, one of the most critical moments of the battle!” Present Mic quickly commented in a rough, almost rock-like voice, once again provoking a powerful roar from the stands.

Todoroki, for his part, still refusing to use his fire side, quickly froze everything around him to send attacks of ice shards toward Mina, who easily dodged them with her impressive skill and technique. She never stopped moving, skating rapidly closer to him.

Feeling his body failing him due to overcooling and the nearly paralyzing pain where he’d been kicked, Todoroki began running along the platform’s edge while sending freezing attacks—each weaker than the last—toward Mina. She started dodging them with almost acrobatic movements, jumping and sometimes using her acid like a whip to change her position mid-air, never once stopping her approach.

“What determination from Todoroki, staying strong despite his body beginning to fail! But Mina doesn’t fall behind, showing impressive skill while dodging every attack and closing in at full speed!” Present Mic commented excitedly, unable to hide his surprise at the impressive performance by the first-year girl.

Although Todoroki was fully aware that he needed to heat himself up to fight and win the battle, the look from his father in the stands was almost painful, making him even more stubborn about winning with only half of his power. But at that moment, Mina put her hands together and shouted loudly, then launched a high-pressure stream of corrosive acid in his direction.

“Acid Shot!!”

Since he couldn’t use his ice due to his nearly frozen state, Todoroki almost instinctively used his fire, managing to protect himself from the attack. But in doing so, he lost his internal battle, causing an image of his father’s mocking smile to appear in his mind, filling him with insane rage. He quickly sent an attack at Mina using his fire as well.

The abrupt change in temperature caused a brutal shockwave that hit Mina head-on. She barely managed to cover her body with a super-resistant version of her acid, but she still couldn’t avoid being sent flying off the platform. She then collided with the stadium wall and fell to the ground, at which point the acid became liquid once more.

“The winner, Todoroki Shoto!!”

Midnight quickly announced the winner and then ran to Mina’s side. Although she looked a bit dazed, she was in perfect condition, even if her acid had further damaged her already scant clothing, revealing even more of her appealing pink skin.

“What an unexpected turn of events! Todoroki, pushed to the limit, finally unleashes his true power in an explosion of rage that shakes the entire stadium! What an intense showdown, both fighting with everything they’ve got, but in the end, that last attack from Todoroki was devastating! This is what makes these battles unforgettable!”

Despite having won, Todoroki didn’t look satisfied at all. Instead, he just stood there, looking at his hands with hatred. But right at that moment, a powerful shout echoed through the stadium, accompanied by a burst of fire shooting into the sky.

“WELL DONE, WELL DONE!!! YOU FINALLY GOT IT!! YOUR FIRE IS THE KEY TO VICTORY! YOU, WHO CARRY MY BLOOD, WILL BE THE ONE TO FULFILL MY DESIRE!!!!”

Hearing his father’s words, Todoroki could only clench his fists in frustration, then walk heavily and painfully toward the stadium exit. Meanwhile, Nemuri reached Mina’s side and asked seriously as she crouched beside her.

“Are you alright? Can you stand up?”

“Yes, just a little dizzy.” Mina replied, sitting on the ground as she adjusted her hair, still damp with her acid. Nemuri nodded and then commented with a smile as she stood up.

“Alright, then head to the infirmary for a check-up.”

“I will.” Mina nodded, then tried to fix her clothes a bit and started walking toward the exit, where she found Momo waiting with a smile, holding a white blanket to cover her.

“Thank you, Yao Momo.” Mina thanked her with a moved smile as Momo covered her with the blanket. Momo commented with a small giggle.

“Don’t worry about it. What’s more, congratulations—you really impressed the audience.”

“Even though I lost…?” Mina asked with a disappointed tone. Momo nodded with a small smile, then cheerfully explained.

“Yes, even though you lost, Kai praised you—and you know how grouchy he is.”

“Really?” Mina asked, surprised, with a strange sparkle in her eyes. Momo nodded happily, then spoke as she began guiding Mina toward the infirmary.

“Yes, he said you did pretty well, although he complained that if you had used your acid correctly, you would have won with that first kick, hehe.”

“Hehe, typical.” Mina responded somewhat amused, but at that moment she spotted Jiro and Hagakure—the girl with earphone jacks and the invisible girl—which brought a smile to her face.

“You were amazing, Mina-chan!!” Hagakure commented excitedly as she approached, and Jiro nodded, commenting with a cheerful smile.

“Yes, it was really impressive…”