Copy

Explosions continued to tear across the field.

Present Mic's voice rose over the noise. "Neito Monoma's Quirk is Copy! He copied Bakugo's Explosion, and now he is tearing through the battlefield. This is Monoma's rare and powerful Quirk! Can Yuto withstand this bombardment?"

Aizawa's eyes widened. "No matter how this ends, Monoma won't be able to fight in the next round after using his Quirk like this."

"Why not?"

"Overusing muscles tears muscle fibers. Running nonstop leaves you gasping for air. Quirks are the same. They're part of the body's functions, and everyone has limits."

"So Monoma is overloading himself?"

"Yes. He knows how strong Yuto is, so he opened with an attack beyond his normal limits."

The audience cried out.

"This is too strong. Are they really high school students?"

"That hits harder than some Pro Heroes."

"He is pushing past his body's limit."

"He is that desperate?"

"It must be for Class 1-B."

"Yuto might be done."

After the barrage, more than a dozen explosive shockwaves rushed toward him.

Monoma slumped against his teammates, breathing hard. He had pushed himself far past his usual limit.

"Yuto," he said through clenched teeth, "this is my gift to you. Class 1-B is the strongest. First place belongs to us."

The shockwaves were almost on top of Yuto.

Many people closed their eyes.

The audience held its breath.

Was he about to be eliminated from the Sports Festival here?

Even the Class 1-A students watching from a distance were tense.

Mineta wailed, "Yuto, stay cool! Don't lose!"

Tsuyu's eyes narrowed. "Yuto-chan can get through this, right?"

Mina clenched both fists. "Yuto-chan isn't going to lose!"

In the stands, Hitoshi Shinso watched with a frustrated expression.

After losing to Yuto, he had decided he could not rely on Brainwashing alone. His physical ability was still too low, so he had failed to enter the next round.

Now he gritted his teeth.

"Damn it, Yuto. Beat Class 1-B already."

The explosive storm came down.

Clouds of dust and flame rose like red plumes.

It looked ready to swallow him whole.

Then Yuto tightened both fists.

The white light around them grew brighter.

He punched into the incoming blast wave again and again, each strike carrying the force of a crashing sea.

"Air Shatter!"

The first punch tore open the air.

The second shattered the pressure in front of him.

The third crushed another layer of explosive force.

Every blow kicked up a violent wind.

Every blow carried the weight of a tsunami.

Every blow fractured the air itself.

Crack. The sound of breaking glass spread through the battlefield.

The atmosphere split around him.

As the seconds passed, his attack only grew fiercer. U.A. High School seemed to tremble beneath the force.

Monoma's all-out barrage was broken apart piece by piece.

With one final impact, he punched through the last blast. The shockwave erupted outward.

Monoma's team and the two teams beside him were blown out of bounds at the same time. It was overwhelming.

Dust rolled across the field, covering almost everything.

For a moment, the stadium went quiet.

When the dust finally thinned, a huge crater stretched in front of him. The audience stared.

Was that really something a fifteen-year-old had done?

Many Pro Heroes could not cause destruction on that scale.

It was a complete victory.

In the commentary booth, Present Mic had gone still.

At last, he found his voice.

"Monoma's all-out barrage was completely broken apart by Yuto Kanzaki. Monoma's team and two other teams have been knocked out of bounds. They're disqualified, and their points go to Yuto's team."

He took a breath.

"With terrifying strength, Yuto has defended Class 1-A's pride and given us an incredible fight."

The audience, silent for several long seconds, exploded.

"Yuto! Yuto! Yuto!"

The chant rolled through the stadium, loud enough to shake the stands.

"Monoma's desperate attack was destroyed head-on. That was violent. I loved it."

"So this is Class 1-A. Yuto is too strong. I want to see him fight Todoroki at full power."

"I want to see him fight Bakugo even more. If Monoma could do that much with a copied Explosion, what will the real Bakugo do?"

"Every time he fights, he exceeds expectations."

"His Quirk is brutal in the best way. Watching him punch through explosions got me hyped."

"He's way too cool. I'm officially losing it."

"I'm officially a fan now."

That battle sent Yuto's popularity soaring again. It now rivaled Todoroki's.

For the moment, the stadium belonged to him.

Ochaco nodded rapidly, eyes shining. "Yuu-kun, you got even stronger."

Mei looked almost wild-eyed with excitement. "Wonderful. This is prime exposure. My babies will catch the attention of major support companies."

Yuto nodded. "I could attack like that because all of you handled defense. This is a team battle. Without your help, I couldn't have gone on the attack like that."

His words steadied the whole team. Yaoyorozu's cheeks flushed.

Yuto added, "The match is still going. Let's keep moving."

"Right!"

Then, far ahead, a violent explosion rang out.

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