The Soul of the Team

From a rooftop above Hosu, Tomura Shigaraki watched the battle turn against him.

Stain stood farther along the roofline, coat moving in the night wind. Kurogiri remained behind Shigaraki, his mist shifting uneasily.

"Yuto Kanzaki," Stain said quietly.

There was no praise in his voice, but there was interest.

Shigaraki scratched at his neck until red marks appeared. "Don't say his name like that."

Stain looked toward the city below, his expression unreadable.

"I will judge him myself," he said. "I want to see whether Yuto Kanzaki is truly a hero."

Then he leapt from the rooftop and vanished into the night.

Below them, Yuto was already giving the next order.

"Honenuki, deepen the soft area when it pushes forward. Todoroki, don't waste ice trying to seal the whole body. Freeze the joints. Bakugo, hit when it tries to tear free."

"Shut up!" Bakugo roared.

He still fired exactly when Yuto told him to. The Nomu lunged.

Its leg sank. Ice caught its knee.

Bakugo's explosion struck its jaw and snapped its head back.

The creature absorbed most of the impact, but its next step came slower. Yuto's eyes sharpened.

"That one reflects some of the impact, but reflection isn't the same as immunity. Keep pressure on it. Force it to recover from ten wounds at once."

He glanced toward the left.

"Kamui Woods, your Nomu has Regeneration and Hardening. Bind it after Mt. Lady forces it off balance."

Then his eyes shifted to the right. "Momo, Ibara, Tokoyami, watch the flying one. Keep it grounded and away from civilians."

On the right side, Momo created restraint cables and metal stakes as fast as she could. Kendo enlarged her hands and drove the stakes into the street. Ibara's vines wrapped around the restraints, while Tetsutetsu and Kirishima blocked the Nomu whenever it tried to break through.

Tokoyami's Dark Shadow guarded the rooftop angles.

Iida carried civilians through gaps in the fighting.

Ochaco touched slabs of concrete and floated them away from trapped families.

The Pro Heroes saw it happen.

First-year students and Pro Heroes who had been fighting separately were suddenly moving like one team. Not perfectly.

Not cleanly. But with purpose.

And the battlefield proved it.

Shigaraki's fingers dug into his neck. "Again. Again. Again. Every time I build something, he ruins it."

Kurogiri said, "Tomura Shigaraki, the Nomu are being contained because he identified their limits faster than expected."

"I can see that."

Stain had already disappeared into the city.

On the street, Yuto heard the civilians cheering and ignored it.

The fight was not over.

The Nomu were still far from beaten.

The center one tore free of the softened pavement, its exposed brain pulsing harder. Its body had slowed, but its strength was still monstrous. One wild swing would kill anyone it touched.

Yuto drew Wado Ichimonji and Sandai Kitetsu. Then he drew Shusui.

Three swords. The air around him changed.

"Keep it still for three seconds," he said.

Bakugo laughed harshly. "Three seconds? Do it yourself." Todoroki's ice spread anyway.

Honenuki restored the ground under Yuto and softened the ground under the Nomu.

Bakugo rose into the air with a blast.

"You get one chance, Quake!"

Yuto smiled. "One is enough."

He bit down on Wado Ichimonji and settled into Three Sword Style.

The wind around him twisted.

"Three Sword Style: Dragon Twister."

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