Teaming Up (Part 1)

Looking at the students still remaining on the field at Midnight, he licked his lips. "Next up is the main competition. The whole country will go crazy for your performance. Do your best, everyone!"

The slot machine on the screen behind her started spinning again, announcing the next round's event—horseback riding!

On the big screen appeared a four-person team consisting of All Might, Shota Aizawa, Thirteen, and Mic, with All Might, who was all muscle and weighed over 200 kilograms, serving as the rider!

"Let me explain. The competition requires participants to form teams of two to four people to ride horses. The rules are roughly the same as the horseback riding battles you had in junior high school. Each participant will receive points corresponding to their ranking. The points will increase by 5 for each place they move up, with the last place receiving 5 points, and so on, up to the second place receiving 205 points..."

"So, the score for the warhorse varies depending on the personnel assigned to it, is that correct...?"

"Then we need to choose a suitable opponent..."

Midnight frowned. She had intended to keep them in suspense, but these guys had already started analyzing on their own. Frustrated, she cracked her whip. "Can't you guys even let me finish? You'll regret it if you don't!"

Seeing that everyone's attention was outwardly focused on him, but inwardly they were already considering who to team up with, Midnight revealed a sinister smile, "I forgot to tell you, the first place score is—10 million!"

10 million!

Even though everyone else's score is at most 205, the first place can get 10 million points. That means as long as you eliminate the first place team, you will definitely be number one!

Everyone's breathing became heavy, their eyes glowing red as they all looked at the first place winner of the preliminary round, Izuku Midoriya. At this moment, Midoriya's green hair was no longer broccoli, but rather represented by bright green US dollars!

Get a promotion and a raise, marry a beautiful and wealthy woman, and reach the pinnacle of life right now!

Izuku Midoriya already had very active sweat glands, and now they were flowing even more profusely. His heart was pounding, and the way the people around him were looking at him was like a pack of hungry wolves eyeing a fat sheep that had wandered into their midst!

"Ha, ha, ha!" Midnight let out a three-part queenly laugh, "This is a life-or-death battle where the higher the ranking, the easier it is to be attacked! Run!"

Then, at Midnight, the "Heroes Team" displayed on the screen explained the specific rules of the match.

The time limit is 15 minutes. The total score of the riders is the score of the "whole horse". The riders must wear the headscarf that represents the team's score. The riders must steal the headscarves from the opponents before the time is up. The score of the headscarves obtained at the end determines the winner.

It is worth noting that the stolen headscarves must be worn above the neck. The more you steal, the more difficult it is to manage. During the battle, neither having your own headscarf stolen nor your warhorse falling apart will be considered a negative result. This means that until the very end, there will be several warhorses engaged in a chaotic melee on the battlefield!

Midnight specifically pointed out that although the use of one's Quirk is allowed in the competition, it is ultimately a mounted battle, and attacking a warhorse will result in a red card and immediate disqualification!

Hearing this, Bakugo spat on the ground in frustration.

"Introduction complete. You will now have 15 minutes to negotiate team formation. Countdown begins!"

As the target of everyone's combined attacks, Midoriya frantically pondered. His score was the highest among them all; he didn't need to compete for other people's bandanas. His only goal was to protect his own bandana until the end, which meant he needed teammates with strong protection abilities!

Midoriya looked around, and everyone he saw turned away from him and started talking to each other, glancing at Midoriya every now and then, their intentions very clear.

Midoriya was somewhat flustered, but he didn't regret winning first place. His eyes lit up; he knew who he should be looking for!

"Squad leader, please help me!"

"Squad leader, please help us!"

In Midoriya's eyes, Jilan had always been a qualified class representative who had helped him with his treatment several times. Seeing the eager looks in the eyes of those around him, Midoriya felt even more strongly that he should go find Jilan Jiyu.

If the surrounding area was filled with wolves vying for their prey, then Jilan Jiyu's harmless gaze was like a husky mixed in with the pack, putting Midoriya at ease so he could ask him for help.

Jilan Jiyu didn't agree, but instead said, "First of all, I have a question. Why don't you go find Tenya Iida? He should be the most suitable person for you, right?"

Midoriya and Uraraka exchanged a glance and gave each other a wry smile.

Just as Uraraka was talking about forming a team at Midnight, she came to Midoriya's side and expressed her desire to team up with him. This moved Midoriya, who thought no one would come to him, to tears.

Next, they looked for Iida, but after hearing their plan, Iida said that he wanted to defeat Midoriya fairly and squarely, and this time he would not team up with Midoriya.

"If Iida has some kind of obsession, then the class president will definitely help us, right?"

So, at Uraraka's suggestion, Midoriya went to find Jilan Jiyu.

Seeing the hopeful looks in their eyes, Jilan Jiyu finally spoke, "I have no problem teaming up with you..."

"But I refuse."

"Huh?" Uraraka and Midoriya both turned pale at the same time, completely unexpected that the usually easy-going squad leader Jilan would refuse!

"Normally it would be fine, but Midoriya, you should know that this time, you'll be everyone's target. Everyone's eyeing the headscarf on your head," Jilan Jiyu said slowly. "It's not that I don't want to help you, it's just that I'm powerless. My Quirk isn't suited for facing ranged attacks. If it's Todoroki's attack, I'm not confident I can block it."

Midoriya's heart sank. As the second and third place finishers, Todoroki and Bakugo must be targeting him. If Todoroki creates ice to attack, there is no way to dodge it except by relying on mobility. However, Iida has joined Todoroki's team as Todoroki's "horse," and even with Uraraka's "Zero Gravity," it is impossible to shake him off easily.

Moreover, there are quite a few teams eyeing them, and Hitsugaya is already difficult to deal with, not to mention Kacchan and his team...

"Midoriya, I'm sorry I can't help you," Jilan sighed, delivering the news. "Besides, I've already assembled a team."

"Huh? A team? Is it Jiro and that guy over there?" Uraraka pointed to the green-haired girl who was crouching down not far behind Jilan, looking at the grass, and said with some surprise, "But isn't she a classmate of Class B?"

"I also wanted to find a teammate from our class..." Jilan sighed helplessly, thinking about the treatment she had just received. "But she's the last helper I could find."

Yes, Jilan Jiyu's teammates are Kyoka Jiro and Ibara Shiozaki, who just attacked her.