Chapter 14: Genius

**Chapter 14: Genius**

The moment Fulan passed Bakugo, time seemed to slow down. Fulan, surrounded by an aura of crackling purple electricity, zipped past Bakugo so fast that the air itself seemed to warp around him. The only sign of his incredible speed was Bakugo's hair, blown wildly in the wake of Fulan's acceleration. For an instant, it was as if Fulan had already won—his maximum speed left no room for doubt.

But Midoriya was still in the race, and the determination in his eyes revealed that he had a plan to stop Fulan. Even though his right hand's fingers glowed red with pain and strain, Midoriya's resolve was unwavering. His body was battered, his toes shattered from the earlier jump, yet he pushed himself harder. The agony was evident on his face, but it only fueled his focus.

Midoriya had prepared for this moment before Fulan's move, knowing that once Fulan accelerated, there would be no turning back. Now, as Midoriya plummeted toward the minefield below, he knew it was his only chance.

"It's now or never! This is the only shot!" Midoriya shouted to himself as he braced for impact.

**[One For All 100%]**

With a fierce battle cry, Midoriya unleashed all his strength into two fingers on his right hand, sending a powerful gust of wind crashing into the minefield beneath him.

**Smash!!!**

The explosion of air hit the ground with a force that triggered a chain reaction. Mines erupted in rapid succession, sending pink clouds of dust and debris into the air. But it wasn't just the mines that were affected—Fulan, who had been racing at light speed across the field, was caught in the crossfire. Despite moving so quickly that the explosions should have barely touched him, the wind from Midoriya's attack shifted the ground just as Fulan was about to pass through.

For Fulan, who moved at the speed of light, the problem wasn't his speed. The real issue was that his senses couldn't keep up with the world around him. While his body was a blur of motion, his sight and hearing remained as slow as any normal human's. In those critical moments, Fulan was blind to what was happening around him.

As he sprinted across the mines, the blasts ignited beneath him—but too slowly for him to even notice. However, Midoriya's wind altered the landscape at precisely the wrong moment for Fulan. The combination of mine explosions and sudden gusts shifted his path, sending him careening toward the right edge of the racetrack.

**Boom!!!**

The pink explosions weren't strong enough to cause serious damage, but they were enough to destabilize Fulan's footing. At the speed he was traveling, even the slightest disruption could send him off course. The blast threw him off balance, and for the first time, Fulan felt the race slipping out of his control.

His teeth clenched as the purple electricity around him flickered, the glowing charge in his eyes fading. Without that full charge, Fulan's speed dropped dramatically. Crystal thorns sprouted from the soles of his shoes, digging into the ground in a desperate attempt to stop before he slammed into the race's boundary wall.

Midoriya, still mid-air, watched the scene unfold below him. He was in agony, every muscle screaming in pain, but his plan had worked. He had disrupted Fulan's momentum, giving himself a chance to seize victory. As he fell toward the minefield, he thought with determination, *'I've sacrificed my toes… two of my fingers… I can't stop now. I'll win this and get medical treatment after the race. No giving up!'*

Meanwhile, Fulan was doing everything in his power to regain control. His crystal-thorned feet scraped against the ground, sparks of electricity sputtering out as he tried to slow his descent toward the wall. His eyes narrowed as he processed what had happened, thinking, *'So that's why Todoroki challenged him. This kid… Midoriya… he's something else. To make me falter like this…'*

Kaminari, who was clinging to Fulan's back as they raced toward the wall, finally spoke up, his voice shaky but serious. "Fulan! Maybe we should stop using your quirk here. The mines… we can't outrun them like this!"

Kaminari's hair whipped in the wind, and his expression was filled with concern. He knew the friction from Fulan's quirk was triggering the mines, causing explosions beneath them. But Fulan, still focused on Midoriya, dismissed Kaminari's suggestion.

"No, that's not it," Fulan said, his voice strained. "The problem isn't the mines. Midoriya planned this… he anticipated I'd use my quirk to pass through easily. That's why he aimed at me. He knew exactly what I'd do. Is he some kind of genius?"

Kaminari glanced back, his eyes widening as he saw Midoriya's next move. Midoriya had landed on one foot—his left foot—since his right toes were shattered and useless. Despite the pain, Midoriya used his quirk again, launching himself back into the air with a jump so powerful that it triggered even more mines.

Pink smoke erupted around him as the explosions propelled him upward, and for a moment, Kaminari could only watch in awe.

"He's using the explosions… to launch himself forward?" Kaminari muttered in disbelief. "Is this really the Midoriya we know?"

It was a risky move, but Midoriya's strategy was paying off. Each explosion pushed him closer to the finish line, the pain in his body overshadowed by his sheer determination. Inside his mind, he calculated every jump, thinking, *'Only four toes left on my left foot. That means four more jumps… I can make it to the finish line if I time them perfectly!'*

The stadium was now in an uproar. The crowd's cheers grew louder with every second, their voices mingling with the deafening sounds of explosions and quirk activations. The race had reached its final stretch, and even Bakugo, known for his fierce confidence, began to feel the pressure. Watching Midoriya and Fulan battle for the lead, Bakugo gritted his teeth, pushing himself harder.

"Damn it! How am I supposed to catch up to them?!" Bakugo shouted in frustration as he fired off more blasts to propel himself forward.

The UA Sports Festival's obstacle race had turned into a contest of wills, and as the finish line approached, every participant knew they were witnessing something unforgettable.

The race wasn't just about speed anymore—it was about strategy, endurance, and the unbreakable resolve of each competitor.

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