He looked at the frozen robots. Todoroki's ice had made them unstable.
He didn't need to destroy one; he just needed to get past them.
He focused, overwriting the Tires quirk.
He needed the one Quirk he'd been practicing with for exactly this kind of situation.
He focused on the data he'd archived from Tsuyu. 'Frog'.
His legs bulged with muscle, his toes elongating slightly.
The strain was significant, but manageable.
He crouched, coiling the powerful muscles, and leapt.
It wasn't a graceful, arcing jump like Tsuyu's; it was a raw, powerful explosion of force.
He cleared the first line of frozen robots, landing awkwardly but safely on the other side.
He was gaining ground. The final obstacle was a minefield.
Ahead, he saw Midoriya do something insane, using a mine to catapult himself through the air in a reckless, brilliant move that propelled him into the lead.
'No. I can't do that. I'd shatter every bone in my body.'
But he could use the mines differently. He deactivated Frog, the muscle strain easing.
He had one slot open. He looked at the minefield.
He needed to cross it safely. He needed to know where not to step.
He saw a student from the Support Course with large, rabbit-like ears twitching, clearly using enhanced hearing to detect the mines.
'Sensory Quirk. Perfect.'
As he entered the minefield, he maneuvered close to the rabbit-eared student.
"Hey! The mines are pressure-plated, right? Can you hear the mechanisms?"
The student, startled, nodded.
"Y-yeah! They click!"
"Thanks!" Kaito said, brushing his hand against the student's arm as he ran past.
'Three... four... five.'
A new sensation flooded him, a hyper-awareness of sound. 'Hearing'.
He overwrote his empty slot and activated it.
The world exploded with noise. The crowd's roar was deafening, the crunch of gravel was like thunder.
He focused, filtering it out, listening for the faint, rhythmic 'click-click-click' of the armed mines buried just beneath the surface.
He weaved through the field, his path a slalom around the deadly patches.
He burst out of the minefield and into the final stretch back into the stadium.
He pushed his body to its limit, his lungs burning.
He crossed the finish line, stumbling to his knees.
He looked up at the giant screen, his heart pounding.
[42. SŌMA KAITO]
He'd done it. He'd scraped through by the skin of his teeth.
He'd used four different Quirks in a single event, constantly adapting to the challenges.
He was through to the next round.
As he caught his breath, he looked at the top of the leaderboard: Midoriya, Todoroki, Bakugo.
They had overwhelming power. He had something else. He had survived.
The next event was announced: A Cavalry Battle.
"Students will form teams of two to four people! Each person is assigned a point value based on their placement! And the worth of the headband for the first-place student is..."
The screen flashed.
[1st Place: Midoriya Izuku - 10,000,000 Points.]
The stadium erupted. Kaito's eyes widened.
It was a death sentence. Midoriya was now the ultimate target.
As students scrambled to form teams, Kaito stood still, his mind already analyzing the new puzzle.
This wasn't about individual speed anymore.
This was about teamwork, strategy, and defense.
He needed a team that could synergize with his adaptability.
He saw Uraraka, looking determined but worried.
Her Zero Gravity would be invaluable for mobility.
He saw Tsuyu, calm and reliable. He saw Iida, the fastest runner in the year.
But his eyes landed on someone else. Someone whose Quirk was perfect for the defense they would desperately need.
He walked over to the boy with spiky, red hair.
"Kirishima," Kaito said, his voice firm. "We're going to be the most unbreakable team in this whole thing. You, me, and one other. What do you say?"
Kirishima grinned, a sharp, eager smile.
"A team that's totally manly and can adapt to anything? Hell yeah! Let's do it!"
Kaito allowed himself a small smile. The first round was over.
The real game of strategy was about to begin.
He had secured his foundation. Now, he had to build a fortress around it.
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Check out my other novels "Awakening: Starting With The Villain System" and "My Infinite Mana System"