Chapter 121: The winner.

At his master’s call, Salem ran over happily and then leaped onto his master’s shoulder. At that moment, a black Jian sword formed from his fur—though the lazy cat wasn’t actually controlling it; in reality, it was simply a “light show” executed by Sage, who was flying in [In] mode alongside her master as his faithful companion.

Upon seeing Kai take up his sword, Momo clenched her fists, feeling both nerves and excitement in equal measure. At the same time, the back of her armor opened to let several devices emerge from it: triangular drones of metallic red with golden details, which promptly flew around her, soon numbering a dozen.

“Let’s go!”

Kai announced in a loud voice at the same time his Conqueror’s Haki spread throughout the stadium, creating an almost electric air that weighed upon the audience. Some swallowed nervously, while those with weaker wills felt their legs give out and dropped into their seats, drenched in cold sweat, as if they were staring down a supreme predator.

“Hehehe, whenever you’re ready!”

From her side, Momo spoke with an excited laugh while she ascended into the air, prompting Kai to dash toward her at blinding speed. She swiftly sent her drones to intercept him, flying erratically around Kai and firing powerful lasers capable of piercing anything, while she herself flew around, shooting her own repulsor beams guided by Ares, her virtual assistant.

Assaulted by the drones, Kai had no choice but to continually change direction and dodge, since the beams they fired were genuinely dangerous, with a temperature many times higher than that of the sun. Meanwhile, Momo took advantage of the opportunity to gain several meters in altitude.

“So that’s how you want to play, hehe.”

Seeing Momo rising at high speed, Kai commented playfully before shooting off in her direction at a blinding speed. However, he was quickly forced to change direction by kicking the air, thanks to those pesky drones flying erratically around him and constantly firing beams, revealing to the audience his pirated version of Geppo.

“But what are we seeing?! Saito can even fly?!” Watching the aerial battle, Present Mic couldn’t contain his utter astonishment, to which Aizawa responded with a serious tone.

“In reality, what he’s doing is kicking with such force, speed, and precision that he compresses the air beneath his feet into a single point, using it as a platform to move in midair. All Might is capable of something similar, although he typically does it with his fists.”

“Oh, that’s right, the New Hampshire Smash! I’ve seen it a couple of times!”

Hearing that explanation, Present Mic spoke in realization, a sentiment echoed by much of the audience. At that moment, the 'rock-star' hero added in a genuinely impressed tone.

“That’s a very creative way to use his super strength and speed—it almost looks like he’s walking on the sky!”

“More than creative, it’s a testament to his absurd level of bodily control and strength. There’s a reason even All Might doesn’t pull off a trick like that so often. After all, a single miscalculation could send him plummeting or hurtling far beyond where he intends. And as you can see, Saito has insane command over his movements in midair—such a complex technique, it’s hard to believe someone so young could master it.” Aizawa replied in a grave, truly incredulous tone, a feeling shared by the more observant in the crowd.

While dodging at high speed the pesky drones that kept a safe distance to avoid being destroyed, Kai tried to get closer to Momo, though without success, as she focused on escaping while occasionally firing repulsor beams. Suddenly, Momo's metallic gloves opened, and from her skin emerged a massive Gatling machine gun, with ammunition extending from her exposed skin.

Wasting not a single moment, Momo opened fire on Kai, the barrels of her weapon rotating ominously before unleashing over 300 projectiles per second. Kai quickly evaded them, avoiding direct confrontation—while these projectiles weren’t enough to pierce his advanced Armament Haki, he also didn’t want to reveal too much. It was better to give a false sense of vulnerability, something Momo was exploiting.

Moments later, a storm of bullets slammed into the platform, whereupon they exploded in a series of consecutive blasts, completely obliterating it and shaking the entire stadium. The spectators went pale, and even the teachers and students couldn’t help but look on in horror at the girl hovering above the immense cloud of smoke her attack had kicked up.

“The Iron Maiden is terrifying!!! What is this power?! What the heck’s going on with your class, Eraserhead?!” Present Mic exclaimed in shock, prompting a grave-sounding response from Aizawa.

“Though ‘stronger’ doesn’t always mean ‘better,’ this is truly impressive…”

Quickly, Momo let go of her weapon, which dissolved into dust in midair, then shot skyward at high speed. This caused Kai to raise an eyebrow while he continued dodging the drones, feeling somewhat irked. He promptly unleashed a powerful flying slash that destroyed several drones, which exploded in midair, while the rest managed to swerve aside and avoid the attack.

Straight away, Kai kicked the air multiple times, shooting toward Momo at a speed far exceeding anything he’d shown before, causing the drones to do everything in their power to intercept him. Only to be destroyed by more flying slashes from Kai. At that moment, Present Mic couldn’t resist commenting again, already exhausted by what these kids could do.

“Seriously, what the heck is happening with your class, Eraserhead? Yaoyorozu turned herself into a ‘tactical bomber’, and Saito’s flinging flying slashes around…”

“Well, Yaoyorozu’s quirk is extremely versatile, so nearly anything is possible with her. As for those ‘flying slashes’, they’re yet another impressive demonstration of Saito’s technical prowess and precision. Essentially, they’re akin to what All Might does with his ‘Smashes’, but more precise and capable of cutting. If All Might’s ‘Smashes’ are about brute force, these flying slashes are pure technique—much more refined and accurate.” Aizawa explained seriously, inwardly nodding in approval.

(Kai really is worthy of being your son, Iron Palm—it’s almost like seeing what would’ve happened if you’d had that the power of that pesky All Might…)

Meanwhile, Momo, realizing Kai was getting serious, instantly pushed her speed to the limit, hoping to leave him behind. But suddenly, a slash appeared right beside her, forcing her to use her repulsors to fling herself to one side and dodge it, only for more slashes to come sailing in at high speed. She had no choice but to keep dodging, left with no chance to re-form her drones, which had all been destroyed by now.

As she zigzagged through the air, Momo’s face was set in a grim expression, watching the holographic panels in her helmet as her energy levels plummeted at an alarming rate, hitting a critical 10% before long. She had to switch tactics to buy time to swap batteries, so she swiftly disengaged the gauntlets of her armor. But right at that instant, Kai appeared before her.

Without warning, he aimed a powerful slash at Momo’s shoulder, which only managed to slice through her armor without grazing her skin in the slightest. Even so, the force of the blow sent Momo hurtling toward the ground. She quickly tried to use what remained of her armor to steady herself in midair, barely succeeding—only to see Kai appear in front of her once more.

With several rapid slashes, Kai shredded Momo’s armor, even destroying her helmet. Still, displaying impeccable precision, he didn’t so much as scratch her uniform. He then gently wrapped an arm around her waist in midair and, sporting a delighted smile, speak.

“You did really well. With the new update I’m working on, you’ll be much stronger.”

“Hehehe, I can’t wait to see it. Mom told me a bit about it.”

Momo replied with a radiant smile on her face. Although she was disappointed to have lost, she still felt proud of what she had accomplished. She had truly given her all and managed to cause Kai several troubles—a small victory in her book.

“Winner, Saito Kai!!”

With Nemuri’s announcement, Kai landed gently on the ruined platform, still carrying Momo. The crowd erupted in cheers, genuinely thrilled at having witnessed such a battle—a spectacle that, on its own, placed these youngsters among the most powerful in the country and would undoubtedly make them famous, despite how intimidating that blue-eyed boy was.

Meanwhile, Cementoss couldn’t help but cast an ironic, slightly judgmental glance at a grinning Midnight, who merely laughed in amusement. At that moment, Present Mic announced with enthusiasm.

“And with that, all the events are over!! The winner of the first-year Sports Festival is… Saito Kai, from Class A!!!”

…

…

…

After a short break and the match between Todoroki and Kirishima to decide third place, all the students gathered once more in the stadium. The press started snapping photos and trying to ask questions, but among them was one person who looked on the verge of being consumed by madness—something that only got worse whenever he heard the laughter of others—while Midoriya seemed to be desperately brainstorming a way to help him.

“Bakugo is really having a tough time…” Jiro, watching the blond boy, couldn’t help but murmur quietly, prompting Mina to nod solemnly.

“Yeah… but it’s partly his own fault. With Saito and Yao Momo around, taking first place was almost impossible…”

“But missing the podium entirely had to sting…” Tsuyu, who was nearby, added with empathy in her voice, causing the other girls to nod as well. Their conversation, however, was cut short when Midnight announced to the whole stadium.

“And now, we begin the awards ceremony!!”

With Nemuri’s announcement, three plumes of smoke went off as the floor opened up and three circular platforms of varying heights rose up. Standing on them were the top three finishers of the festival: Kai at the center on the tallest platform, labeled “1”, Momo on his right atop the second-tallest platform with a “2”, and Todoroki to his left on the lowest platform, marked “3”.

“Now we’ll begin handing out the medals, and of course, the one who’ll be awarding them this year is none other than the Number One Hero—All Might!!”

Midnight announced excitedly, and a muscular figure with the familiar “antennae” appeared above the stadium. At the same time, an iconic laugh, brimming with power and charisma, reverberated through the stands, stirring the crowd into a frenzy.

“I am here!!!”

All Might promptly leapt down from the stadium roof, landing perfectly in front of the platforms while proclaiming his 'battle cry', sending the stands into raptures. At that moment, Midnight approached him, holding an elegant tray on which lay the three medals to be awarded: bronze, silver, and one of pure gold.

“Todoroki-shonen, congratulations. I hope this is the first step toward becoming the hero you want to be.”

After picking up the bronze medal, All Might stepped over to Todoroki and spoke as he draped the medal around the young man’s neck. Todoroki nodded with a serious expression and a calm voice filled with both resolve and duty.

“I hope so too, All Might. Though there are some things I still need to work out, I really want to become a great hero like you.”

“Your gaze has changed quite a bit…” All Might noted with a trace of pride in his voice, then hugged the dual-haired boy before continuing in a warmer tone.

“I won’t ask for details, but I’m sure you’ll figure out exactly what you need to do.”

“Yes…” Todoroki answered in that same low tone, at which point All Might pulled away and moved on to Momo. He congratulated her with a smile while placing the silver medal around her neck.

“Yaoyorozu-kun, congratulations. That was an impressive demonstration of your capabilities.”

“Thank you so much, All Might-sensei.”

Momo answered, beaming as she proudly held her medal. Then All Might approached Kai, who stood with his hands in his pockets and with a somewhat curious expression, which wanted to seem indifferent, but was betrayed by a small smile.

“Congratulations, Kai-shonen.”

All Might congratulated him in a serious tone. Kai merely nodded impassively as he received the gold medal, causing a faint, somewhat bitter smile to appear on the Symbol of Peace’s face.

After All Might gave a spirited speech, the event drew to a close. Kai hopped down from his platform and was quickly joined by Momo, who was sporting a huge grin and showing off her medal with pride—an expression that clearly amused Kai, who remarked in a teasing tone.

“I’ll get you a brush and some metal polish so you can shine your medal every day, hehehe.”

“Oh, that’s a great idea! I’ll make sure to keep our medals really nice and shiny.” Momo replied happily, flashing an innocent smile that prompted Kai to shake his head as he extended his arm and said, amused.

“Come on, there’s something important we have to do before we go home.”

“What do we have to do?” Taking Kai’s arm, Momo couldn’t help but ask in confusion. Kai replied with a small, wry smile.

“We need to talk to Onee-chan, Shino, and Ryuko.”

“Oh, right, sorry. I was so excited that I forgot for a moment.” Hearing Kai’s words, Momo’s eyes went wide with surprise, and she spoke with a slightly guilty tone, to which Kai responded with a faint smile.

“Don’t worry, I get it. If you like, we can leave it for another day.”

“No, the sooner, the better.” Momo answered resolutely as she tightened her grip on Kai’s arm. He nodded and then, in a more serious tone, remarked.

“All right, then let’s go. I already sent the girls a message telling them I want to see them in the workshop.”

***

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