The sun was fully up now, casting long shadows across the wrecked canyon. Kenzou Rokujo stood before Crush-Fist, both still staring at the trench where the villain Junkyard lay unconscious, utterly defeated by a punch that was supposed to be a gentle tap.
"This is impossible, Rokujo," Crush-Fist said, running a hand over his face. "You just hit with what we'd call a Category 6 Shockwave—a hero's absolute peak output—and you thought you were holding back."
"But I felt the resistance!" Kenzou pleaded, his voice laced with pure desperation. "It felt exactly like when I had the Neutralization Suit on! I was aiming for just a dent!"
"The dent you aimed for was the end of his career," Crush-Fist sighed, pointing to the villain. "Look, we're out of time. The U.A. exam starts in three hours. We have to go with the only plan we have left, which is absolutely insane."
Crush-Fist leaned in close, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "The U.A. exam practical is always against robots. You can't use your controlled punch—it will destroy the robots, the testing area, and reveal your power level. So, you have to aim for zero points."
Kenzou stared at him, confused. "Zero points? But why? I need to get in!"
"You're not trying to pass the practical test, Rokujo. You're trying to pass the Heroic Intent test," Crush-Fist explained urgently. "You're applying with a supposed 'Passive Enhancement' that's difficult to control. You tell the examiners that your Quirk is too powerful for the robots, but you're willing to risk your life to save others. You score zero on the robots, but you must accumulate massive Rescue Points by saving every student you can."
Kenzou's eyes widened with understanding. The focus shifts from combat ability to his true motivation—selfless heroism. It was a perfect, if ridiculous, loophole.
"But... how do I save people without using my hands?"
"You use your speed, your brain, and your legs," Crush-Fist said, pulling a custom belt out of a small bag. It was the same material as the Neutralization Suit. "This belt generates a small, localized damping field. It won't stop your punch, but it will slow your running speed to a fast, but believable, Pro Hero level. Your movements need to look fast, not instantaneous."
Kenzou buckled the belt, feeling the immediate, familiar drag on his legs. It felt like walking through water, but at least he wouldn't accidentally run through the walls of U.A.
"Go, Kenzou," Crush-Fist said, clapping him on the shoulder. "Remember: Rescue is your Quirk now. Avoid punching at all costs. If you see the Zero-Point robot, run the other way. You hit that thing, and you'll put it into geosynchronous orbit."
Kenzou arrived at the famed U.A. high school grounds, his heart pounding in a mixture of excitement and terror. He was wearing his uniform, the anti-speed belt subtly hidden, and his determined face was set.
He was ushered into a small auditorium with about fifty other candidates, all possessing "unconventional" Quirks—mutant features, unpredictable energy types, or late-blooming powers. He was the only one in the room who claimed to be Quirkless, now veiled under the guise of an "unstable, highly destructive Passive Enhancement."
The exam was explained: 10 minutes, a faux city environment, and the objective was to defeat mechanized villains ranging from 1 to 3 points. Rescue Points would be awarded separately by an unseen panel of judges.
As the doors to the exam area opened, Kenzou took off, his mind laser-focused on his mission: Zero Points, Maximum Rescue.
The modified speed belt allowed him to move at a breakneck, but plausible, speed. He wasn't instantly appearing at a location, but he was fast enough to be a blur to the average eye.
Within the first minute, Kenzou was a whirlwind of non-lethal assistance. He didn't fight; he saved.
A student was cornered by a 2-point robot: Kenzou used his speed to pull the student away, leaving the robot untouched.
A pile of collapsed rubble threatened to crush a fallen examinee: Kenzou used his shoulder (protected by his incredibly dense flesh) to hold the beams up, clearing the path with pure, controlled physical strength, then immediately darting away.
He even used his body to deflect a laser blast from a 3-point robot, catching the impact on his unyielding back, leaving a scorch mark but no injury.
He was accumulating Rescue Points rapidly, but his score on the scoreboard remained a terrifying 0.
Kenzou was busy using his body as a shield for a small girl with a Telekinesis Quirk, diverting a charging 1-point robot with a massive shove from his hip, when he was stopped dead by a sharp voice.
"You! Quirkless zero-pointer! Get out of the way!"
A towering young man with a powerful, granite-like Quirk that encased his arms and legs in rough stone barreled past Kenzou.
His name was Kouji Bando, and he was already racking up an impressive 50+ points by simply shattering every robot in his path.
Bando stopped right next to the girl Kenzou had just saved. He looked at Kenzou's zero on the non-existent scoreboard, then at his plain face and lack of flashy Quirk.
"You're the one with the supposed 'world-breaking' Quirk that's too powerful to use, right?" Bando sneered, slamming his stone fist into the 1-point robot, obliterating it instantly. "Lies. You're paralyzed by fear, or maybe you just can't activate your power. You're wasting time blocking the rest of us."
Kenzou frowned. He wanted to defend himself, but he couldn't reveal the truth. "I'm focused on the rescue criteria," he stated plainly, moving to help another student trapped beneath debris.
"Rescue criteria is for weaklings who can't fight," Bando scoffed, grabbing a 3-point robot and tearing it in half. "You need to show raw, devastating power here. U.A. needs heroes who can win, not just run away. Don't worry, Zero, I'll cover your score with my real power."
Bando ran off, leaving Kenzou simmering with a mix of anger and frustration. He knew Bando was wrong—Deku proved that heroic intent mattered most—but the scornful "Zero" nickname still stung. Kenzou had to resist the urge to prove his strength, knowing a single tap would not just defeat Bando, but likely turn the street into dust.
Zero. I have to keep the zero, Kenzou reminded himself, and he doubled his focus on saving every single person he saw.
With two minutes left on the clock, a deep, rumbling alarm began to shake the entire artificial city. The ground cracked, and a shadow fell over the testing zone.
The Zero-Point Robot—a colossal, twenty-story mechanized monster designed to test the students' ability to retreat and prioritize safety—was emerging from the earth. Its massive, cannon-like arm was already rotating, aiming at the nearest street.
Panic erupted. Students, including the cocky Bando, immediately began to run for the exit, exactly as they were instructed to do. Kenzou, too, turned to run, following Crush-Fist's final, desperate warning.
You hit that thing, and you'll put it into geosynchronous orbit.
He ran for a few seconds, reaching a corner, when he saw her.
The girl Kenzou had saved earlier—the one with the Telekinesis Quirk—was trapped. She had twisted her ankle in the panicked rush, and her Quirk was too weak to lift the large steel girder that had collapsed near the exit ramp.
The Zero-Point Robot, focused only on maximum destruction, was stomping directly toward her, its massive shadow covering her small, terrified form.
Kenzou stopped instantly. He looked at the girl, then at the robot's shadow, then back at his own hands, which felt agonizingly weak under the speed-dampening belt.
Zero points. Save everyone. No punching.
He didn't have a plan. He only had the instinct to run to her. He sprinted back, tearing through the panicked crowd.
He reached the girl just as the robot's massive foot began to descend. He knew he couldn't punch; he couldn't use his hands. He couldn't even push the girder—his "controlled" push would likely send the girl flying, too.
There was only one thing he could do.
Kenzou positioned his body between the girl and the descending foot. He used his immense, unyielding core and back muscles, focusing all his mental control on limiting the outward force and maximizing his body's internal structural integrity.
He let the foot hit him.
BOOOOOM.
The impact was heard for miles. The entire ground beneath Kenzou buckled and collapsed into a massive crater. The Zero-Point Robot, despite its titanic weight, did not crush Kenzou. Instead, the force of the impact—the result of a near-unstoppable object meeting an utterly immovable object—was transferred back into the robot.
The robot's foot shattered against Kenzou's spine. The gigantic machine staggered backward, screeching, its complex stabilization systems failing as the tremendous kinetic force overloaded its joints. It began to tip backward, teetering over the cityscape.
Kenzou's speed belt, unable to cope with the sudden, overwhelming kinetic feedback, snapped and instantly vaporized off his waist. Kenzou was fine, not a bone broken, not a hair out of place. He had shielded the girl perfectly.
The girl stared up at him, tears streaming down her face. "You... you stopped it?"
Kenzou smiled weakly, trying to look like he was struggling, when in reality he felt no discomfort. "Don't worry. I'm Quirkless. I'm just… very stubborn."
The colossal robot, now completely unstable, began its slow, inevitable collapse. It was falling directly toward the already-panicked student Kouji Bando, who had stopped running to watch the destruction.
Bando, seeing the shadow of the Zero-Point Robot falling on him, screamed, trying desperately to use his stone Quirk to defend himself, but the mass was too great.
Kenzou knew the "normal" punch would defeat the robot, but at the cost of the entire city block. He had already proven his heroic intent. Now, he had to prove his control.
With his speed belt gone, Kenzou was uninhibited. He covered the fifty yards between him and the collapsing robot in a fraction of a second. He did not punch; he launched himself into the air and kicked the robot's chest.
He didn't aim to destroy. He aimed to redirect.
He performed the same, controlled, "Category 6" kick he had perfected on Junkyard. The colossal robot, mid-fall, shifted direction with a groan of tortured metal. Instead of falling on Bando, it sailed over his head and crashed harmlessly into the empty space of the training zone's central park, dissolving into a massive cloud of dust and steam.
Silence fell across the testing area. Kenzou landed lightly on the ground, his face exhausted, his hair covered in debris. He looked at the Zero-Point robot's wreckage, then at the girl he saved, and finally at the speechless Kouji Bando.
Kenzou's final score: 0 Combat Points.
But as the exam ended and the recovery robots streamed in, a small, hidden screen in the viewing booth of the U.A. teachers flashed a single message next to Kenzou Rokujo's name:
RESCUE POINTS: 100+ (Absolute)
And on the official form, Principal Nezu scribbled a note: Candidate requires extreme caution and specialized training. Admitted on condition of mandatory Quirk-dampening modifications.
Kenzou had passed, not in spite of his "Quirkless" status, but because of his unwavering, unyielding spirit, backed by an overwhelming, impossible power. He had achieved his dream while successfully keeping his greatest secret.
Kenzou is now admitted to U.A. What kind of absolutely bizarre, Saitama-esque training uniform or personal dampener will U.A.'s support department design for him, and how will his rival, Kouji Bando, react to Kenzou's inexplicable acceptance?