"Those in first place being relentlessly pursued, and Class A students launching nonstop assaults—they really are all powerhouses. So... how many points does each team have now? The rankings seven minutes into the competition will now be displayed on the big screen."
Under Mic's passionate commentary, the spectators and media praised the action while turning their eyes toward the screen.
Then... they all froze.
"Oh? What's going on here? Other than Midoriya's team and Su Lin's team, has Class A practically been wiped out?"
The competition instantly became far more intriguing.
Only then did they realize that Neito Monoma had actually snatched points from Bakugo.
At the same time, Denki Kaminari's indiscriminate electric shock, combined with Todoroki's ice, instantly froze most of the teams to the ground.
As a thick wall of ice rose, Todoroki's team shut everyone else out, leaving themselves alone to hunt Midoriya's team.
"It seems like they've forgotten about us," Tsuyu Asui said seriously, tapping her chin.
With that, only three Class A teams still had the ability to move.
"Interesting. Being ignored like this... it seems they've forgotten who the hardest one to deal with really is." Yukino revealed an excited smile.
"Su Lin-chan, are you going to..."
"Of course. Watch me snatch that ten-million-point headband!"
Within the ice-enclosed area.
The audience's attention was focused entirely here, as was Mic's commentary.
"Ten million points, ten million points! Midoriya's team has been darting and maneuvering through this cramped space for a full five minutes. That's unbelievable!"
The audience erupted into enthusiastic cheers.
Shoto Todoroki, however, wore a grave expression.
Their clever positioning, Ojiro's terrifying giant tail acting as a shield, and every instant Denki Kaminari released an electric shock—Midoriya's team used Ochaco Uraraka's anti-gravity to leap into the air, minimizing the damage from the electricity as much as possible.
The two sides had fallen into the stalemate Todoroki least wanted.
"Everyone." Seeing that things were going wrong, Tenya Iida hesitated briefly before making up his mind. He slowly crouched down. "There's less than a minute left. Once I use this move, I won't be able to move at all. I'll leave the rest to you."
"Iida?" Todoroki was slightly startled.
"Hold on tight. I'm getting ready to make a grab, Todoroki." Tenya Iida looked utterly serious, and the red flames spraying from the engine ports in his legs instantly turned into a blinding blue-white.
"Piston Engine..."
Whoosh—
The instant acceleration made everyone on his back feel an incomparable force pushing them down.
"Explosive Rush!"
The moment the four words left his mouth, Tenya Iida had already shot past Midoriya's team. At the same instant, Shoto Todoroki's hand snatched the ten-million-point headband.
First place had changed hands!
"What just happened? That was too fast! Iida has that kind of super acceleration? He turned things around in an instant! Todoroki's team has become the final victors!" Mic's voice was starting to go hoarse.
The outcome was almost certain, but...
At the very instant he seized the headband, Todoroki's expression froze.
"How... is that possible?"
He had clearly been about to grab the ten-million-point headband in that instant, but... his hand was empty.
"You can't afford to let your guard down. You actually forgot about me?"
In that crossing instant, Yukino appeared beside them out of thin air as if she had used Teleportation, snatching the ten-million-point headband at the critical moment.
Then...
Whoosh—
Tenya Iida's engines propelled Todoroki's team past them, widening the distance between the two sides.
"What? No, no, it wasn't Todoroki! That was too fast! First place is actually Su Lin's team! What just happened? I didn't see it at all! That girl Su Lin turned into suddenly appeared there?"
Even Mic was completely baffled.
Several heroes in the venue sharpened their focus.
Because they had indeed noticed that Su Lin had not only sent out the girl as an avatar, but had also teleported to the scene.
The instant Yukino seized the target points, she bent her legs and sprang backward like a wildcat, trying to widen the distance from Midoriya's team.
But it would not be that easy.
"We can't let her take it."
Ochaco Uraraka unleashed all her strength, using anti-gravity to lift the entire team and charge toward Yukino.
Seemingly encouraged by his team's momentum, Izuku Midoriya also let out a roar. His entire arm... erupted with the radiance of ONE.FOR.ALL.
"Su Lin, I'm sorry, but I have to take first place!"
Here it came—
Yukino turned around and, in an instant, saw Midoriya rushing close.
ONE.FOR.ALL swung to the side, kicking up a violent gust. Yukino's body lost its balance, and before the headband could even settle on her head, it flew toward his.
"Roar~~" The stands exploded with shouts.
"First place!"
Midoriya's expression twisted to the extreme. His obsession in that instant seemed capable of infecting everyone.
It was right there!
"Tch!"
To everyone's utter surprise, just as Midoriya was about to grab the headband, another pale hand appeared out of thin air and gently seized the target at the critical instant.
"Midoriya, did you think... I only had one avatar?"
Sister Doma flashed into view and, under the pressure of ONE.FOR.ALL, forcibly took away the points. At that moment, Katsuki Bakugo also roared as he closed in from the sky, reaching out and mercilessly striking toward Sister Doma.
"Bastard, that headband is mine."
Just as Bakugo was about to snatch the headband, the off-balance Yukino flashed once more, appearing behind Sister Doma and, at the critical moment, catching her hand.
"Success!"
Without much hesitation, Yukino made several consecutive leaps, vaulting over the ice at an unbelievable speed and returning to Su Lin's main body.
"Time's up. The competition... is over!"
Bakugo's outstretched hand froze in midair, while Izuku Midoriya's expression went completely blank.
"We lost?"
Zero points.
But at that moment, Ojiro's hand reached over and slipped a headband around Midoriya's neck.
"Just now, at the very end, I snatched one from Bakugo... while he wasn't paying attention."
Tokoyami and Tsuyu's Questions
"Deku!!!!"
When he discovered that one of the headbands around his neck was missing, Bakugo's face immediately stretched absurdly long, rivaling Endeavor's durian-like expression.
"Ahhh, Kacchan, it wasn't me! It really wasn't me!" Midoriya waved his hands and backed away in terror.
"So it was clearly Ojiro who did it. Why is Bakugo staring at Midoriya?"
Yukino scratched her head in confusion.
"Kero~~~ Probably friendship between men. But Yukino, you were amazing. You actually got first place." Tsuyu Asui happily hugged Yukino's thigh and rubbed against it.
"Hey, hey, don't do that. I'm sensitive there." Yukino's face instantly turned crimson. She broke free from Tsuyu's embrace and jumped down from the "horse."
It had to be said that Yukino had found some excellent teammates.
Whether in character or strength, Fumikage Tokoyami belonged among the very best. As for Koji Koda, that introverted guy who was easily overlooked in Class A—despite his honest-looking appearance, he was incredibly reliable and almost never made mistakes in team coordination.
And Tsuyu Asui had a clear head and was cute too. Having her on the team was definitely no disadvantage.
"By this count, I've already used up two Yukino summons and one Sister Doma summon to seize the headbands."
That counted as exposing some of her trump cards, didn't it?
"TIME UP! The second event, the Cavalry Battle, has finally ended. Let's take a look at the top four teams!"
"First place, Su Lin's team!"
With Mic's roar, the enthusiastic audience focused their attention on the four people on the field.
Yukino Yukinoshita (Su Lin), Fumikage Tokoyami, Tsuyu Asui, Koji Koda...
Because of their final performance, everyone generously gave them applause.
"Overall, we were able to seize first place from several teams mainly because of Su Lin," Tokoyami stated truthfully.
"Her Quirk is just too unfair," Tsuyu-chan said with deep feeling.
The situation inside the ice mountain could not be seen from outside. They could only roughly pinpoint the target's location through sound. Then, by relying on dismissing and summoning avatars, they had Yukino appear out of thin air between the two competing teams through the ice Todoroki had created, seizing the headband at the critical moment.
An ordinary person could never have achieved that level of judgment. But Yukino's mind in that body was simply too clear, and she had forced it to happen.
"Second place, Todoroki's team!"
As second place was announced, Shoto Todoroki, Momo Yaoyorozu, Tenya Iida, and Denki Kaminari—with his "powerful warrior" expression caused by his Quirk's side effects—naturally drew everyone's attention.
"Hey, does that guy named Denki Kaminari turn into an idiot after using his Quirk?"
"Looks like that's right."
"He's so stupid, hahaha! He looks like the dumb pig my family keeps."
"Third place, Bakugo's team!"
Mina Ashido, Eijiro Kirishima, and Sero were fairly satisfied, but Bakugo alone let out a roar of impotent rage.
"Fourth place... Midoriya's team!"
Izuku Midoriya, Mei Hatsume, Ochaco Uraraka, and Ojiro.
Just as expected, these four teams advanced.
"So where's Shinso?"
Yukino's gaze swept through the crowd before finally landing on the general studies boy standing in a corner, his expression looking rather poor.
Because the strip Ojiro had snatched at the end was worth a relatively high number of points, Hitoshi Shinso had fallen directly to fifth place.
"Well, he doesn't look too good."
This competition might have been that guy's only chance to prove himself. After all, despite possessing a brainwashing Quirk that controlled people's minds, he had been placed in the general studies class because others looked down on him. He was bound to have some resentment.
Despite the terrible experiences he had endured since childhood, Shinso had retained his original desire to become a hero rather than becoming extreme and resentful toward society. That alone made Yukino think highly of him.
"Then, the four teams above will advance to the final event." Mic raised his microphone and gave his closing remarks for the morning's matches. "Everybody, we'll now have an hour-long lunch break. The afternoon matches will begin afterward, so you're dismissed!"
The people watching from the venue stood up and left one after another, preparing to enjoy lunch elsewhere.
Yukino, along with Fumikage Tokoyami and Tsuyu Asui, headed to the school cafeteria.
But while they were eating, they ran into Mineta.
"Ahhh, I'm so jealous of you! I'm so jealous of all of you! Su Lin's thighs are amazing! Her absolute territory is so white! Her skirt is so pretty! I'm so jealous of you all, ahhh!"
Before you continue