Chapter 114: Fourth and Fifth Round of Battle (I)

Shoto, Tenya, Mashirao, Tetsutetsu, and Juzo are taken to Recovery Girl's office. Seeing the state of the students, the teachers agreed to postpone the post-match critique for later.

Denki expressed his dissatisfaction because Pony had forced a tie. However, Jurota thought otherwise and replied that fleeing and waiting for backup in a real-life situation is a valid and logical strategy.

After Shido repaired the entire place again, the fourth match started.

"Alright, up next is round 4!! Class A and B are neck-to-neck with one victory each! But can we really say that they're equally matched!? Class A's only win was thanks to Shinso! Are they truly equal to class B!?"

As per usual, Vlad King's started off the entire thing with a biased commentary.

"And what if class A won their next two matches? Would that mean that class B couldn't make out a tie even with Shinso on their team?"

"Oh? So you're saying that class A would definitely win this round?" Vlad King grinned widely at Shido's provocation.

"I didn't imply anything; I'm just saying. Despite being number three, Bakugo's talent for fighting and battling is number one. No one in my class can match up to his fighting talent."

"We'll see how this match goes first, then." Vlad King didn't say anything and waited for both teams to get to their position. Hearing his very biased words, class A's students weren't too happy and started booing Vlad King.

However, like any shameless and thick-skinned person out there, Vlad King just stood proudly, ignoring all the booing around him.

Aizawa, hearing the noise made by his class, told them to cut it out.

"Can you afford to make the same mistake twice if this was the real deal? Class B has definitely taken much more tactful measures. That's the reality of this. I guess Vlad is a better teacher than me."

Hearing Aizawa's self-decrepitating words, class A's students were saddened.

Monoma didn't help out and started rubbing salt in the wound by taunting them. All Might was impressed with Class 1-B's performance but still surprised to see Class 1-A on the ropes.

Class 1-B's fourth team discussed how they should deal with Katsuki's team. Kojiro and Yosetsu believed that their opponent's team was perfectly balanced, but Togaru just wants to tear them to shreds while Setsuna suggested that their team take them down early.

For Class 1-A's part, Katsuki discussed the strategy with his teammates. Katsuki wanted to take the lead and charge ahead with the others serving as back up, saying they had to make the first move to win.

He ordered Kyoka to listen for the other team while trailing them. Katsuki also gave each of them one of his grenades and told them that he'll save them if they get in trouble and asked them to do the same for him.

As both sides made their way through the field, Katsuki yelled for his team to hurry up. Kyoka told Katsuki that she was trying to listen to sounds as she went only for Katsuki to say to her and the rest of them to just follow him while he went on the offense.

When Katsuki spotted someone, Kyoka tried to pick up soundwaves, only to realize it was a trap, as the team was ambushed by Setsuna and her Lizard Tail Splitter quirk.

Splitting her body into several pieces, she bombards Katsuki with them. Although their individual strength did not amount to much, they were annoying to deal with because they are too small of targets.

Hanta used his Tape quirk to create a barricade to block the split parts, only for the team to get covered and trapped in Kojiro's Cemedine quirk. Togaru used his Razor Sharp quirk to drop a pipe on the team. Rikido was prepared to sacrifice himself and catch the falling pipe so that Hanta and Kyoka could stay in the game when suddenly, Katsuki destroyed the glue-covered pipes and barricade with his explosion.

Seeing that Katsuki managed to do all that while still being relentlessly assaulted by Setsuna's lizard parts, Shido gave an approving nod. At least he cared for his teammates now. If it was in the past, Katsuki wouldn't even have bothered with them. He would have gone on to fight all of them by himself.

Togaru tried to get the drop on Kyoka, but Katsuki suddenly appeared and blew him away. Katsuki's unexpected action surprises Class 1-B. Even Neito Monoma has a hard time believing Katsuki's development.

Katsuki then declared, "I've already decided that no matter what, this is gonna be a flawless victory! We're going to win this, 4-0, with no injuries. A victory only fit for the strongest!"

As Kojiro made a retreat, Katsuki proceeded to chase Kojiro, but Yosetsu got the drop on Katsuki by using his Super Move: Swift Formation Weldcraft to trap Katsuki in place, only for Rikido to use his Sugar Rush quirk to free him, allowing him to continue chasing Yosetsu.

Yosetsu tried to protect himself by attaching multiple steel plates to his body, but it turned out that Katsuki was merely tricking him by blasting upwards, leaving him for Hanta and Kyoka. Kyoka managed to defeat Yosetsu by using her Super Move Heartbeat Surround before Hanta restrained him.

Setsuna supported Kojiro with her body pieces, and the latter counterattacked with adhesive. Katsuki had finally warmed up and started sweating more, allowing him to barrage Kojiro with a wide cascade of explosions, allowing Rikido to grab and restrain him.

"Just what on earth is this seamless teamwork...!! In a blink of an eye, my two precious students were captured!!" Vlad King cried out sadly.

Both Neito and Setsuna were left shocked by Team Katsuki's flawless teamwork and lack of a noticeable gap. Hanta told Katsuki that Setsuna's quirk allowed her to split apart into several parts, but it appeared that they drop dead after a certain amount of time, and it took her time to regenerate the spare parts. Katsuki listened to Hanta's explanation as he defeated Togaru with his Super Move: X-Catapult.

A desperate Setsuna tried to compose herself but realized too late that Hanta had taped the grenade Katsuki gave him to one of her pieces. This gave Class 1-A an advantage as they noticed an explosion from a not-so-far distance.

Just as Setsuna believed that she avoided the blast, Katsuki caught her off-guard and defeated her with a Zero Distance Stun Grenade.

"You've changed too much!" Setsuna screamed as the Zero Distance Stun Grenade hit her.

"I haven't changed at all. I still have the same goal since the beginning...I'm going to surpass All Might and be the number one hero!"

"In just five minutes...!! Thanks to their instinctive teamwork, Team A...has won 4-0!"

Standing in front of the four students, Aizawa gave them a rare thumbs-up gesture and complimented them, "You moved quickly and in succession to complement one another. Bakugo, you demonstrated great agility and attack power, which also worked well with the other three."

Vlad King did the same for his class.

Seeing that Setsuna and his teammates were dejected, Monoma started to encourage them after the former apologized to him for her defeat at Katsuki's hands and, therefore, ruined 1-B's overall chances of winning the Joint Training Battle. He says that they've not lost yet and explains that his wishes were simply for everyone to realize which class is more proper in their approach to becoming heroes.

Upon finishing his moral speech, Class 1-B team started to plan the match strategy, primarily dealing with Izuku, the main threat.

As the teams entered Ground Gamma, Izuku tested out if his quirk worked okay by leaping around the battlefield while Ochaco, Mina, and Minoru discussed their plan as they walked.

Class 1-A team advanced through Gamma Ground to face Class 1-B, with Izuku ahead of his teammates.

Izuku arrived near the area where class 1-B was located when he heard a scream identified as Ochaco's. When he turned, he saw Neito, who revealed himself from the shadows of the battlefield. Neito started taunting Izuku by asking him if the scream he heard was from the real Ochaco or was Shinso who had mimicked her voice with his voice changer.

Izuku knew he was trying to provoke him and chose to remain silent, suspecting that he may have copied Shinso's quirk. Neito prepared his copied quirks as Izuku lunged at him.

While all this was happening, Ochaco, Mina, and Minoru prepared to restrain 1-B's remaining fighters, with Minoru tying several of his Pop Off balls to a string and lays them throughout the area in the hope that they can act as something of a trap to snag an opposing member. Soon, he realized that something has gotten stuck in the trap, but it does not turn out to be a rival but a flying object of the many flying towards them.

They quickly realized that Reiko was using her quirk, Poltergeist, to throw at them a barrage of objects. Mina used her Acid to protect the team, but Yui Kodai uses her quirk, Size, to change their mass as a means of throwing their opponents off. And when Ochaco used her Zero Gravity to stop the onslaught of metal projectiles, Nirengeki used Twin Impact to add a second wave to the barrage.

Shido watched Class 1-A struggle as they had barely dodged 1-B's combined attack. Ochaco expressed shock that 1-B managed to find their location while worrying about Izuku's presence.

That was when a mysterious black power burst out of Izuku's arm, destroying his equipment in the process.

Izuku did not understand what was happening to One For All and had no other choice but to hold back most of its extreme energy surge. However, it overflowed, and black tendrils suddenly rushed at Neito below.

Neito swiftly dodged the tendrils as they forcibly dragged Izuku towards Hitoshi's hiding spot, where he found Izuku in despair as the latter begged Hitoshi to run away from this unstable energy.

He began to writhe in pain and despair while the black tendrils were acting out of control, tearing up the landscape and propelled him around against his will, even attacking the remaining contestants of team 1-B and his own teammates. That was when Ochaco realized that Izuku was in danger.

Izuku tearfully wondering why this had to happen now when he was so proud of the progress he'd made and desperately pleads One For All to stop.

While the onlookers believed that this may be a new ability of Izuku's, Shido thought otherwise and frowned.

The situation becomes bad enough that a horrified All Might begs Shota Aizawa and Vlad King to stop the match before anyone becomes gravely injured in the process.

Shido was already prepared to rush towards Izuku when he saw the signal, and he looked at Aizawa, looking at the situation with a grave expression.

"Let's go closer and check out the situation first. If Midoriya cannot truly control the power, Shido will stop him."

Although Vlad King and All Might frowned at his words, they nodded nonetheless and decided to place their trust in Shido's abilities and Aizawa's judgment.

Just as the darkness threatened Izuku, she dove in straight towards him, hoping to restrain him from injuring himself and the participants.

She realized that the black power wasn't Izuku's doing, so she turned around and found Hitoshi watching in bewilderment. Ochaco called him out for help and asked him to use his quirk on Izuku, hoping that his power would stop the rampage.

Hitoshi panicked and tried to think of a valid question he could ask Izuku. He quickly calmed down and reminded himself of his first clash with Izuku, realizing that he had come a long way since then and truly wished to fight his rival once again and use his abilities for others' sake.

"Midoriyaaaa!" He removed his Artificial Vocal Cords and shouted to Izuku with the brightest smile Shido had seen on his face, "Let's fight again!"

Izuku gritted his teeth and accepted, shouting out, "Yeah!"

Allowing himself to fall under Hitoshi's brainwash once again, he successfully deactivated the mysterious black power as he lost his consciousness.

All Might wanted nothing more than to immediately dash forward and help Izuku when he realized that Izuku had lost his consciousness mid-air, only to discover that Aizawa was holding him back.

"Aizawa-kun?!"

"Relax, Uraraka is there to help. Besides, Shido won't let him fall and die from that height even if Uraraka didn't manage to help him." Aizawa neutrally replied while Shido smiled. He had already prepared a small tornado to support his landing to the floor if he ever needs it, but seeing that Ochaco managed to keep him afloat, he dispersed the wind and continued watching from behind a pipeline.

As Izuku regained his senses, he realized that he had been caught in mid-air by Ochaco. Izuku freaked out and told her to get away from him, but she calms him down as they safely float back down.

Izuku was worried about Ochaco being injured, but Neito tried to take advantage of the situation and sneak an attack on Izuku, attempting to touch him and copy his quirk. He managed to knock Izuku over, and Ochaco tried to subdue him using Gunhead Martial Arts.

Reiko arrived in time and saved Neito by using Poltergeist to send flying projectiles to Ochaco. Yui and Nirengeki of the Class 1-B team regrouped but were immediately attacked by Mina and Minoru, and a battle broke out between the five of them.

Hitoshi sent his Capturing Weapon flying at Ochaco, but Izuku darted out in front of her and grabbed it, ready to face him again.

"What should we do, Eraser? What if an incident like that happens again?" Vlad King asked worriedly.

"All Might..." Aizawa looked at the battle scene and spoke, "Let's wait a bit and see what happens."

"Aizawa-kun..."

"Don't worry, and let the fifth match proceed."

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