All Might drew the first team for the Rescue Race before disappearing within the Field Gamma.
Meanwhile, the rest of the students gathered in front of a giant screen, showing each student on giant panels.
"This group has all with good mobility," Eijiro commented, seeing the five participants stretching before the race on the screen. "Midoriya… might be in trouble, though."
Momo, seated next to Kyoka, hummed in agreement.
"Every use of his Quirk leaves him at a disadvantage," she pointed out. "The entire setting feels against him this time."
Kyoka nodded. "I am not even sure what his Quirk is at this point."
Standing right behind them, Shoji asked Luke, "What do you think?"
Luke, for once, had utter confidence in Midoriya winning the race. However, he didn't say it out loud.
"Sero is at a clear advantage," Luke said, the girls looking over their shoulders to listen to his analysis. "Mina's Quirk is good, but she lacks control over it. Especially when it comes to successive uses at a great output. Tenya's full of spirit, but he still hasn't recovered fully.
"If we are to ignore Midoriya, then the only one who could give a challenge to Sero is Ojiro. He can use his tail to jump over the rooftops repeatedly. He will not be held back by stamina, either."
Then, somewhere, All Might pressed the button.
A loud siren buzzed across the massive field, beginning the race.
Hanta Sero shot out tapes from his elbows, immediately using them to hurl across the tall buildings. With so many pipes and tubes between different structures, it gave him ample surfaces to latch his tapes to.
Ojiro, as predicted by Luke, slammed his tail, easily crossing wider gaps. For the gaps he couldn't jump across, he also began using the pipes, using his tail as hooks.
Mina secreted acid from the sole of her feet, gliding effortlessly over the steel structures as well.
And, Tenya, contrary to all predictions, blurred, pushing his Quirk to max as well.
Meanwhile, Midoriya took a deep breath, smiling to himself.
"Full Cowl…"
He mumbled, taking a stance, clenching his fingers.
He had already laid most of the foundation for using One For All in the new way during the Summer Internship.
However, after the Summer Internship ended, and as guided by Gran Torino, Midoriya began working on improving it even more.
It involved running across the beach's length, naked feet, and with One For All activated.
Morning and Evening, hours of using One For All at repeated intervals, and the natural difficulty of running on sand had made him push himself even more.
All factors rose his initial mastery over Full Cowl from 5% to…
"… 10% !"
Buzzzzzzzzz!!
Red vein-like energy coursed through Midoriya's body as One For All activated at 10% of its capacity, distributing itself thoroughly.
With a great force that buzzed the surroundings, Midoriya threw his clenched hands down, generating gusts of wind.
Green bolts of lightning snaked around him, crackling.
His eyes and hair picked up the glow, too, shining a touch darker.
With a muffled boom, Midoriya pushed against the metal floor, crossing dozens of meters in a single jump.
Watching everything on the big screen, all the students' eyes widened.
Midoriya Izuku was bouncing over industrial buildings, his movements barely comprehensible.
However, even if they couldn't see his movements, they had sensed the resemblance they carried about them.
"Whoa…" Uraraka looked at Midoriya as he blurred across the buildings. "He's hopping like—"
Those moves… Bakugo wondered in shock as everyone looked at him. They are mine! … While I was spending my time, getting groomed… at that useless Internship… Deku… He… Ugh — Look at him! Dammit!!
Not only Bakugo, even Todoroki, who had seen Midoriya move like this before, was shocked. "He is…" Shoto realized, "… faster than before."
Watching from the Rescue Site, even All Might was shocked at the sudden turn of events.
Gran Torino had mentioned to him that young Midoriya had a surprise waiting for him when the new term started.
Still, seeing Midoriya using One For All without injuring himself like this…
Midoriya… All Might thought, his face gaining an unnatural smile and sadness. If you have grown this much, then — it's time you learned of All For One and the truth behind One For All, I guess.
Meanwhile, making sure that he didn't cross the 10% limit, with all his senses locked, Midoriya crossed all obstacles.
With his training of running in sand, strengthening his legs, toes, and overall grip, even when he was about to lose his footing on one metal pipe, he regained control before falling.
And, with another final jump, he landed right in front of All Might, green lightning crackling behind him like a cloak.
As All Might looked at him with a proud smile, Midoriya lifted his hand and made a fist. "I win!"
…
"What a performance!" All Might said through the screen as the first group left to join the rest of the students. "Everyone has improved across the Summer Break, I guess. Well done!!
"Alright! Next Group — Get Ready! Take your positions!!"
When Midoriya and others returned, the participants of the second group had already left.
"That was a nice performance," Luke said, sitting next to Momo.
Kyoka, Shoji, Bakugo, Todoroki, and Fumikage had gone for their turns.
The rest of the remaining students, including Nyx, had surrounded Midoriya, making him blush with all the questions and praises.
Momo raised her brows. "Jealous?"
Luke smiled. "A little…"
"What's the point?" Momo scoffed. "Using Nyx's Gigantification, you can still win easily. Quirks are all about playing with one's strengths and weaknesses. There's no point in comparing yourself with others' improvements."
Luke nodded. "Especially if those improvements depend upon someone else."
A light blush surfaced on Momo's cheeks.
He had already given her a list of ingredients, with a detailed composition of all, in the morning.
It was clear that he had been stocking up on all the ingredients that randomly generated in his mind.
Given that there was no certainty if any of those ingredients would even end up giving Nyx a Quirk, it seemed like a logical choice.
However, Momo didn't know why, but across the summer…
… she had been looking forward to meeting Luke and helping him grow stronger.
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