Kaito's blood ran cold. He looked across the field.
Todoroki's team, a powerhouse consisting of Iida, Yaoyorozu, and Kaminari, was cutting a direct path toward them.
Iida's Recipro Burst made them a blur.
"They've identified us as a stable, accumulating team," Kaito analyzed quickly. "We can't outrun Iida. We can't overpower Todoroki. We have to hold them off. Defensive formation! Kirishima, full Hardening! Uraraka, be ready to make us weightless to disrupt their charge!"
Todoroki's team slammed into them like a freight train.
Ice erupted, attempting to freeze their legs.
But Kirishima, at the front, shattered it with a hardened punch.
"Iida! Again!" Todoroki commanded.
Iida revved his engines. They were going to try and brute-force the headband from Jiro.
This was it. Kaito had to adapt. Hardening was useless against pure speed.
Hearing told him they were coming, but didn't stop them.
He needed something else. He needed to disrupt Iida.
He overwrote his Hearing slot. He needed the Quirk he'd archived for just such a moment.
He focused on the data from Kaminari, who was on Todoroki's team. 'Electrification'.
It was a dangerous Quirk. High strain. But he didn't need to unleash a massive discharge. He just needed a distraction.
As Iida charged in for another pass, Kaito waited for the last second.
He raised a hand, not at Iida, but at the ground in front of their own formation.
"Jiro, cover your ears!" he yelled.
He unleashed a controlled, localized burst of electricity.
It wasn't enough to stun anyone, but it created a brilliant, crackling flash of light and a deafening 'BZZZT' right in Iida's path.
Iida, moving at incredible speed, was momentarily blinded and startled.
His charge faltered for a critical half-second.
It was all the opening they needed.
"URARAKA, NOW!" Kaito roared, his body screaming from the electrical backlash.
Uraraka tapped them. They became weightless.
Instead of retreating, Kirishima, understanding the plan, pushed forward, launching their suddenly lightweight team directly under the stumbling formation of Todoroki's team.
It was a chaotic, desperate maneuver. As they passed underneath, Jiro, with incredible presence of mind, reached up and not only defended their own headbands but managed to snatch one of the lower-value headbands from Yaoyorozu's neck.
They landed in a heap on the other side, Uraraka releasing her Quirk. The crowd went wild.
Todoroki's team slowed, turning to face them, surprised by the unorthodox counterattack.
But there was no time for a second engagement.
"TIME'S UP!" Midnight's voice rang out.
The battle was over. Kaito collapsed to his knees, panting, the strain of using Kaminari's Quirk making his muscles twitch.
He looked up at the scoreboard, his heart in his throat.
They had held onto their accumulated points.
And thanks to Jiro's quick thinking, they'd even stolen a few more.
[4th Place: Team Chimera's Redoubt - 1125 Points.]
They had done it. They had qualified for the final round.
Kirishima whooped, pulling Kaito to his feet.
"That was SO MANLY! You zapped the ground! I've never seen that!"
Jiro grinned.
"Not bad, Copycat. Your ears came in handy."
Uraraka beamed.
"We're in the finals!"
As they celebrated, Kaito caught Todoroki's eye from across the field.
The dual-haired prodigy gave him a long, appraising look.
It wasn't the dismissive glance from before. It was a look of acknowledgment.
A look that said, 'You are a player in this game.'
Kaito met his gaze and gave a single, sharp nod.
The cavalry battle had proven his worth as a strategist.
He had led his team into the finals. But now, the tournament was individual. One-on-one combat.
He looked at the bracket that flashed up on the screen. Sixteen finalists.
His name was among them. And his potential first-round opponent...
His blood ran cold as he saw the matchup.
[Sōma Kaito vs. Todoroki Shoto.]
He was going to face the powerhouse of Class 1-A in the very first round.
The boy who could flash-freeze a stadium. The strategy that worked against a team would be useless here.
He had less than an hour to figure out how to beat a glacier with an ever-changing toolkit.
The ultimate test of adaptation was here.
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Check out my other novels "Awakening: Starting With The Villain System" and "My Infinite Mana System"