Midoriya's Worry

A flying slash. The huge sword wave looked like a blue cannon shell as it streaked across the ring.

It slammed head-on into Bakugo's explosive tornado.

The slash tore through the air and broke the tornado apart in a single collision.

The impact shook the arena.

A towering plume of smoke rose into the sky. U.A. High School trembled.

A violent gust swept across the stadium, ripping at the stands and sending loose debris flying.

Even some spectators were knocked off balance by the blast wave.

That one exchange left the entire stadium in rough shape.

The audience stared, eyes wide.

Could two fifteen-year-old boys really cause that much destruction?

The massive ring had turned into a ruined field almost instantly.

If they had not seen it themselves, they would never have believed it.

For several seconds, U.A. was silent.

In the commentary booth, Present Mic had been knocked to the floor by the blast wave. He scrambled back up, voice shaking.

"Unbelievable. Bakugo and Yuto's decisive clash caused this much destruction and destroyed the entire ring. This fight didn't disappoint. Now, what's the result?"

Every gaze turned toward the stage. The smoke slowly thinned.

A figure walked out. It was Yuto.

The match was over. Yuto had won.

Bakugo sat on the broken ground, battered and unable to continue.

Yuto, on the other hand, stood unharmed. He did not look as if he had just fought a major battle.

Bakugo looked up. "Yuto. Did you take me seriously?"

Yuto nodded. "Yes. I didn't hold back with that strike."

Bakugo smiled through gritted teeth. "Good."

The medical team entered the ring and carried him to the infirmary.

Before leaving, Bakugo asked, "Yuto. Are you going to win the championship?"

"Of course."

Bakugo's face twisted with frustration. "I lost to you again. You bastard. Next time, I'm going to win. Until then, if you lose to anyone else, I will destroy you."

Still unwilling to accept defeat, Bakugo left the field.

The audience had watched the whole exchange, but for a while no one could speak.

They were still trying to process what they had seen.

Present Mic was the first to recover.

"Congratulations to Yuto Kanzaki for advancing to the next round. And give Bakugo a round of applause as well. Both of them gave us an incredible match."

Aizawa snorted. "Yuto defeated Bakugo with one decisive move and still had room to spare."

Present Mic nodded slowly. "I can't read him anymore. He has too many moves in reserve. His offense is like a whole arsenal."

Aizawa shook his head. "That's why I said you can't judge Yuto by normal standards. Compared to the USJ incident, he has improved again. He keeps learning, keeps growing, and his talent is visible every time he fights."

Present Mic let out a dry laugh. "At this rate, in a few years he may reach a level that is hard to imagine." The audience finally recovered.

"Yuto was on another level. This fight had made that impossible to ignore."

"After this, who would dare question him?"

"Now I want to see full-power Todoroki fight full-power Yuto."

"Same. A true battle of talents. Those two will become rivals in the future."

"Why rivals? They could be friends too."

"Keep going, Yuto! Win the championship!"

The stadium roared again. "Yuto! Yuto! Yuto!"

The cheers swept through U.A.

At that moment, the stadium belonged to Yuto.

When he stepped down from the stage, his classmates reacted as if they had won.

Ochaco said, "You barely moved for so long that I really thought you might lose."

Yuto smiled. "But I didn't. So don't worry."

Tsuyu looked at him. "Yuto-chan, you are stronger than you were at USJ."

Kirishima clenched his fists. "Watching you fight Bakugo lit a fire in me. I can't wait to get on that stage."

The mention of the stage made Midoriya flinch.

Nearby, he looked pale and nervous, body trembling as he muttered under his breath.

"This is bad. I have to fight Kaminari. His Quirk is Electrification. It has so much power. His Indiscriminate Discharge can cover a huge area."

The more Midoriya spoke, the more nervous he became. Sweat ran down his face.

Yuto knew Midoriya had inherited One For All from All Might, one of the strongest powers in the world.

And right now, he was still so weak.

When would he truly grow into it? Yuto thought quietly.

One For All was one of the greatest Quirks in the world. Midoriya could become an incredibly powerful hero someday. If they stood together in the future, Yuto's agency would be much stronger for it.

And Midoriya was honest by nature. He wouldn't betray a friend.

Everything about that possibility looked promising. "Midoriya," Yuto asked, "when is your next match?"

Midoriya jumped. "The third match is me against Kaminari."

"Are you confident?"

Midoriya hesitated. "A little." In the seats behind them, people were already talking about Kaminari versus Midoriya.

"Izuku Midoriya? Who is that?"

"His results have been terrible. He stumbled his way into the final round."

"Now that I think about it, I have never seen him use his Quirk."

"Does he even have one? How did someone like that make it this far?"

"Kaminari wins for sure."

Yuto's calm voice cut through the discussion.

"I say Midoriya wins."

He looked toward the stage.

It seemed he would need to be a teacher again.

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