Five Seconds Earlier...
[Denki's POV]
The moment Midnight-sensei's whip cracked and she yelled "START!", I activated Raijin Drive at full power.
'No point holding back here. This is a race, and I'm a speedster. That's literally the most unfair matchup possible for everyone else.'
Yellow lightning exploded around me as the world shifted into Flash Time. Everything slowed to a crawl—students frozen mid-step, Midnight's whip still hanging in the air, even the roar of the crowd stretching into a low, distorted hum.
I glanced around at the 200+ students completely frozen in time and couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for them.
'It's kind of a shame I didn't bring my phone. Taking selfies while everyone's frozen would've been hilarious. Missed opportunity for legendary blackmail material.'
I started running and electricity crackling with each step.
The obstacle race stretched across four full kilometers and consisted of three major hazards that were probably terrifying for normal people.
First up is Robot Hell—a seven-hundred-meter zone packed with colossal robots towering seventy to eighty meters high, plus countless smaller machines designed to crush, smash, and generally ruin your day.
'In Flash Time, they're just really expensive statues.'
I simply ran past them, weaving between frozen mechanical limbs and paused laser targeting systems. One of the giant robots was mid-swing with a massive arm that would've flattened a dozen students. I ducked under it casually.
'Seriously, UA spent way too much money on these things just to have a speedster make them completely irrelevant.'
Next came the rope-linked cliff section—massive stone pillars standing tens of meters apart, forming a terrifying five-hundred-meter crossing suspended over empty space with only thin ropes connecting them.
This was the one place I had to be somewhat careful.
'Falling would be embarrassing. And painful. Mostly embarrassing.'
I lowered my speed slightly—from "completely ridiculous" to merely "physics-defying"—and used the electromagnetic fields around my feet to maintain perfect balance as I ran across the ropes. They barely had time to register my weight before I was already three pillars ahead.
Finally, the minefield—a full kilometer of loose sand hiding explosive charges.
I stopped at the entrance and crouched down, placing my hand on the ground. 'Let's see what we're working with here.'
I sent a minute bioelectrical pulse through the earth, using the metal components in the explosives to map out their exact locations. The feedback created a perfect three-dimensional map in my mind—every mine, every trigger mechanism and every safe path.
'Bingo.'
I picked the optimal route and started running again, my feet finding the safe spaces between mines with perfect precision. Not a single explosive triggered.
'I could've just triggered them all and make them blasts, but that seems unnecessarily dramatic. Plus, I should keep this somewhat 'fair' for the other students. They're already competing against a speedster in a race—that's basically cheating by default.'
The finish line appeared ahead. I crossed it, deactivated Raijin Drive, and checked my internal timer.
'Five seconds. Four kilometers in five seconds. Not bad, but not good enough.'
I needed to be faster if I wanted to match Prime All Might's speed, or counter All For One when he inevitably created a Nomu specifically designed to counter my abilities.
'He's definitely doing that, by the way. I vaporized his prototype anti-All Might weapon, so now he's going to make an anti-me weapon. Classic villain logic.'
If my plan with Nezu—which we created beforehand—works out fine, then we'll have a head start on them.
My thoughts were interrupted by Present Mic's voice exploding across the stadium speakers. "W-WHAT?! NO WAY!!"
I could hear him turning to Aizawa-sensei in complete disbelief. "What the hell just happened?!"
"Announce it," Aizawa said flatly, not even bothering to open his eyes. "That's your job. Let me take a quiet nap."
Sensei's priorities were, as always, perfectly consistent—sleep first, student achievements second, and enthusiasm nowhere to be found.
Present Mic grabbed his microphone with shaking hands. "WINNER OF THE FIRST ROUND IS KAMINARI DENKI FROM CLASS 1-A!!"
The stadium erupted into absolute chaos—half the crowd cheering wildly, the other half demanding replays because they literally didn't see what happened.
I stood calmly at the finish line, not even out of breath with electricity still crackling faintly around my body.
Looking back at the starting gate—where my classmates were still frozen in various stages of shock and confusion—I grinned. 'Sorry, everyone. But today is the day lightning outshines everything else.'
Then I turned toward the massive stadium filled with thousands of spectators and let my smile widen. 'Time to make an impression.'
I used a quick burst of super speed to zip over to a nearby vendor stand—still in Flash Time from everyone else's perspective—grabbed an orange juice and a pair of black sunglasses, left some money on the counter, and returned to the finish line.
I popped open the juice, put on the sunglasses, took a seat right at the finish line, crossed my legs casually, and settled in to watch the race.
'I can already hear them thinking this is unfair because of my speed. Well, yeah. Life's unfair, kids. Better learn that lesson now in a controlled environment than when actual villains are trying to kill you.'
The massive screens around the stadium started showing the race progress.
Todoroki and Bakugo were taking the lead among the non-speedster students, with Bakugo looking like he wanted to murder everyone and everything in his path.
'Though to be fair, that's just his normal everyday face. Angry Pomeranian energy 24/7.'
Midoriya was using what looked like 10% Full Cowling—way better control than the original timeline where he was still breaking bones left and right. The training I'd encouraged seemed to be paying off.
'Good for him. Character development is happening ahead of schedule.'
Then I spotted Momo on the screen and nearly choked on my orange juice.
She'd unbuttoned the top of her gym uniform, revealing her sports bra, and was using roller skates she'd created with her Quirk. She was gliding smoothly across the ice path Todoroki had created, using some kind of thruster device to maintain speed.
I smiled despite myself. 'The Batman gadget utility belt idea is working perfectly. She studied those designs I gave her in our date really well.'
Then my smile faded slightly. 'But she's showing way too much skin to the entire world. Millions of people are watching this. That's... that needs to be addressed. Her hero costume redesign just became priority number one.'
Minutes passed as students struggled through the various obstacles. Finally, everyone reached the minefield section.
I watched with interest as Midoriya suddenly stopped running, looked around at the other competitors closing in on him, and then did something absolutely insane. He started digging up mines.
'Oh, he's using the same strategy from canon even though he has better Quirk control now. Smart. Really smart, actually.'
Midoriya gathered several mines, placed a piece of metal plating on top of them, and then activated Full Cowling at what looked like 15-20% output. He slammed his fist down on the plating.
BOOOOOOM!
The resulting explosion launched him—and a massive cloud of smoke and debris—flying over everyone's heads like a green-haired rocket.
The crowd went absolutely insane.
'That's what I'm talking about! Using your brain with your Quirk, not just brute-forcing everything. That's the difference between a good hero and a great one.'
A few moments later, Midoriya landed and stumbled through the finish line in second place, covered in dirt and looking shocked that his plan actually worked.
Todoroki crossed third, ice still spreading from his right side and his expression is as usual unreadable.
Then, surprisingly, Momo crossed in fourth place, her face flushed from exertion but wearing a triumphant smile.
She was immediately followed by an absolutely enraged Bakugo, who looked purple with fury and ready to explode—literally.
'Oof. Getting beaten by the girl he probably considers "less worthy" because she's rich and didn't grow up fighting? That's gonna sting his ego. Bakugo's pride just took critical damage.'
Other students continued crossing the finish line one by one—Iida, Tokoyami, Sero, Kirishima, Ashido, and the rest.
...
[Third Person POV]
In the premium VIP seats, the Kaminari family was going absolutely wild.
"DENKI WON! DENKI WON!" Eri was jumping up and down so enthusiastically that Kenji had to hold onto her to prevent her from falling. "Did you see how fast Denki onii-chan was?! He was like zoom and then he was done!"
"That's our boy!" Narihisana cheered, tears of pride streaming down her face. "Five seconds! FIVE SECONDS for four kilometers! That's my baby!"
Kenji was trying to maintain some dignity but failing miserably, his face split in a huge grin. "I knew he was fast, but that was... that was incredible."
Megumi lowered her binoculars with a smirk, already planning how to tease Denki about his dramatic sunglasses entrance. "That little chaos agent. He couldn't just win—he had to win with style."
Beside her, Aki thought, 'That guy is still awesome.'
...
[With the Faculty - Observation Room]
All Might stood in his skeletal form, watching the replay of Denki's run with a mixture of pride and concern.
"That speed..." he murmured. "Young Kaminari covered four kilometers in five seconds. That's approximately 2,880 kilometers per hour, or roughly Mach 2.35." He paused. "And I don't think that was his maximum speed."
Nezu's eyes gleamed with interest as he sipped his tea. "Indeed. Based on the data from the USJ incident and reports from Edna Made, we estimate his top speed is considerably higher. Likely approaching Mach 5 when pushed to his limits."
"That's faster than most Pro Heroes," Cementoss observed. "Faster than even you in currently, All Might—at least in terms of pure running speed."
"Speed of that caliber combined with his electrical abilities makes him extraordinarily dangerous," Snipe added, his expression serious behind his mask. "If he ever turned villain..."
"He won't," Nezu interrupted firmly. "Young Kaminari has too much invested in becoming a hero. His mother, his goals, his relationships—all of it anchors him to the heroic path. Besides..." His smile became slightly ominous. "We're taking certain precautions to ensure he stays on that path."
All Might frowned slightly. "Precautions?"
"Nothing untoward," Nezu assured him. "Simply providing guidance, support, and opportunities that reinforce his heroic aspirations. Carrot, not stick."
On the screens, the replay showed Denki casually sitting at the finish line with sunglasses and orange juice.
"He's showboating," Snipe noted.
"He's marketing," Nezu corrected. "That image will be on every news outlet and social media platform within the hour. 'The Lightning Hero who finished so fast he had time for refreshments.' It's brilliant brand-building."
All Might couldn't help but smile. "Young Kaminari certainly has presence."
"Indeed," Nezu agreed. "Now let's see how he handles the Cavalry Battle. That will be the real test of his strategic thinking."
...
[With the Pro Heroes]
The Pro Hero section was buzzing with conversation.
"Did you see that speed?!" one hero exclaimed. "That kid is fast! Like, top-ten-hero fast!"
"His Quirk is incredible too," another added. "Lightning generation and manipulation, plus that kind of mobility? He's going to be a powerhouse when he graduates."
"I'm definitely sending a recruitment offer," a third hero said. "That kind of talent doesn't come around often."
Most of the heroes were enthusiastic, already planning how to court this obviously talented student for their agencies.
But one Pro Hero wasn't happy at all.
Endeavor sat in his section, flames burning hotter than usual as he watched the replay of Denki's performance with narrowed eyes.
'Another one,' he thought bitterly. 'Another talented student who will overshadow Shoto. First that Midoriya boy with his suspicious connection to All Might, and now this Kaminari with his flashy speed and electricity.'
His flames intensified unconsciously.
'Shoto needs to prove himself. He needs to show that my training, my methods, created the strongest hero of this generation. Not some nobody with a lucky Quirk.'
The hero sitting next to him shifted away slightly, uncomfortable with the sudden heat.
...
[In a Dark Room - Unknown Location]
Tomura Shigaraki sat in front of a laptop screen, watching the Sports Festival broadcast with barely contained rage. His hands scratched at his neck compulsively, leaving red marks.
"Sensei! Are you watching?!" he hissed into the darkness. "Did you see that?! That's HIM! The nobody who defeated us! Who destroyed Nomu!"
A deep, calm voice responded from the shadows. "I see him, Tomura. And yes, his Quirk is truly formidable. Even more than you described."
"He needs to die!" Tomura snarled, his scratching becoming more frantic. "He humiliated us! He destroyed our plan! He—"
"Patience," All For One interrupted gently but firmly. "Kaminari Denki is indeed a threat, but rushing will only lead to failure. We need to understand his capabilities fully before making our move."
"But—"
"Watch and learn, Tomura. Study him. His speed, his tactics and his weaknesses. Every hero has weaknesses." The voice became thoughtful. "And I have some ideas about how to counter someone who relies so heavily on speed and electricity."
Tomura forced himself to stop scratching, though his eyes remained locked on the screen showing Denki's confident smile.
"What kind of ideas, Sensei?"
"The kind that require patience and proper preparation," All For One replied. "Now watch. The next stage is about to begin. Let's see how he handles a different type of challenge."
...
**Back on the Field**
[Denki's POV]
I was halfway through my second orange juice when a certain blonde explosion enthusiast decided to grace me with his presence.
"You may have won the first round," Bakugo declared, stopping a few feet away with his arms crossed and his signature scowl, "but you definitely won't win the second!"
Then he turned and walked away without waiting for a response.
'Well... that happened. Did he really just come over here for a generic villain declaration? That's almost adorable in its predictability.'
"And they're all finishing the race one by one!" Present Mic's voice boomed. "Good job, kids! Go take a breather and get checked up if you have to! We'll be posting the results once everyone is finished!"
I stood up, tossed my empty juice bottle in a recycling bin (because even speedsters care about the environment), and walked over to where my classmates were gathering.
Momo approached with a smile. "Congratulations, Kaminari-kun. Though I suppose congratulations seem unnecessary given how thoroughly you dominated."
"Thanks, Momo," I replied with a grin.
Mina immediately latched onto my arm, whining dramatically. "That was so unfair! You didn't even give us a chance!"
"Life isn't fair, Mina," I said sagely. "Better to learn that in a controlled school environment than when actual villains are trying to kill you."
"Too true," Eijiro agreed, joining our group. "Though seriously, bro—five seconds? That's insane even for you!"
"I try to maintain brand consistency," I said with mock seriousness. "Lightning fast in battle, lightning fast in races. It's called cohesive personal branding."
Jiro snorted. "You sound like a walking PR campaign."
"I prefer 'strategically media-savvy,' but sure."
Before we could continue, Midnight's voice cut through the chatter.
"The first round is officially over! Let's look at the results!"
The massive screen behind her lit up, showing the rankings.
Denki Kaminari
Izuku Midoriya
Shoto Todoroki
Momo Yaoyorozu
Katsuki Bakugo
...and so on.
'Momo got fourth place! That's actually better than canon. The utility belt gadgets definitely helped.'
Midnight explained the next event, a Cavalry Battle. Teams of 2-4 people, with points assigned based on placement in the obstacle race. The goal was to steal headbands while protecting your own.
Then she revealed the point values, building dramatically to the final announcement.
"And the person who placed first in the obstacle race..." She paused for effect. "Will be worth TEN MILLION POINTS!"
Every single eye in the stadium immediately locked onto me.
'There it is. The target on my back just became visible from space.'
Midnight looked directly at me with a playful, almost flirtatious smile. "That's right! It's survival of the fittest for this round! A chance for those at the bottom to overthrow those at the top!"
She winked at me.
'Is she... is she deliberately painting an even bigger target on me? Because that felt like deliberately painting a bigger target on me. Midnight-sensei, I'm sixteen. Please save the flirting for when I'm legal. Though I appreciate the aesthetic.'
I took a deep breath, watching as literally everyone started eyeing me like I was a piece of meat.
"Don't worry, my friend!" Eijiro declared loudly, stepping beside me. "Even if nobody else joins our team, we can still win!"
"Our team?" I raised an eyebrow. "I don't remember asking you to join."
"Of course our team!" He grinned that impossibly bright grin. "Do you think we're your friends just for show? Even if every single team out there is gunning for us, I'm still joining your team! That's what friends do!"
'Damn it, Eijiro. How am I supposed to maintain my cool, sarcastic persona when you hit me with genuine friendship like that?'
"Alright," I said, genuinely touched. "Welcome aboard Team Lightning Target."
"That's a terrible team name," Mina observed.
"I'm workshopping it."
I noticed Todoroki forming a team with Iida, Yaoyorozu, and Asui—wait, no, Momo was walking toward me, not Todoroki.
Looking around, I spotted Mezo Shoji joining Bakugo's team since Eijiro was with me this time.
'Butterfly effect in action. Wonder what other changes will cascade from this.'
I approached Momo with a smile. "Yo, Momo, wanna join up?"
She looked slightly surprised that I asked—probably expected me to assume she'd join automatically—but quickly nodded. "Okay... though are you sure? Won't having me on your team make us an even bigger target?"
I took her hand gently. "Don't worry about the ten million points. I promise we won't lose them. Trust me on this."
She smiled, her cheeks tinting slightly pink. "Alright. I trust you, Kaminari-kun."
'She trusts me. That feels... really good, actually.'
Mina bounced over enthusiastically. "I'm joining too! If we're gonna have a target on our backs anyway, might as well go for first place, right?!"
"That's the spirit," I grinned.
So our final team was Me, Eijiro, Mina, and Momo.
'Decent balance. Eijiro for defense, Mina for mobility and offense, Momo for tactical creation, and me for speed and combat. We can work with this.'
Meanwhile, I noticed Midoriya forming the same team as canon—Uraraka, Mei, and Tokoyami.
"Alright, team meeting," I said, gathering everyone close. "Here's the strategy Eijiro, you're the horse rider. Your Hardening will protect against physical attacks."
"Got it!" Eijiro nodded enthusiastically.
"Momo, I need you to create rollerskates for Mina and yourself, plus a length of strong rope to keep us all connected when I move at top speed."
"Understood," Momo said, already mentally cataloging the molecular structures she'd need.
"Mina, you're on offense and mobility support. Use your acid to create obstacles and slick surfaces to slow down anyone chasing us."
"You got it, Denki!" Mina gave a thumbs up.
"And I'll handle the actual stealing and dodging." I grinned. "Though honestly, Plan A is pretty simple: I'm so fast that nobody will be able to touch us. But just in case, we have contingencies."
'I'm confident in Plan A, but I'm not stupid enough to put all my eggs in one basket. Multiple backup plans are essential.'
"Okay, get ready..." Midnight raised her whip.
I looked around at the other teams, all of them staring at me with a mixture of determination, greed, and challenge in their eyes.
'They're so consumed by the potential reward that they can't see the actual gap between us. Time to demonstrate exactly why speed is the most broken power set in combat.'
"...3... 2... 1... START!!"
The moment she said it, I activated Raijin Drive and the world slowed to a crawl.
'Time to collect.'
I moved alone at top speed, leaving my team safely in position while I zipped around the frozen battlefield.
In the span of about three seconds of real-time, I visited every single team and carefully removed their headbands with surgical precision.
Team Todoroki? Took their bands.
Team Midoriya? Yoink.
Team Bakugo? Don't mind if I do.
Team Shinso? Mind control doesn't work if I'm moving too fast for you to speak to me.
Every other team? Thank you for your contributions.
I returned to my team with an absolutely massive stack of headbands in my hands.
Then I deactivated Flash Time.
FWOOSH!
The world snapped back to normal speed.
Everyone blinked in confusion, then slowly started looking around, realizing something was wrong.
I held up the enormous stack of headbands with a cheerful smile. "You're all too slow!"
Their faces went through a beautiful progression of confusion to realization then shock and finally despair.
BOOM!
Bakugo immediately launched himself at us with explosive propulsion, his face twisted in rage.
"GET READY TO LOSE!!" he screamed.
'Did he seriously just announce his attack? What happened to the element of surprise? Oh right, that would require impulse control, which Bakugo has approximately zero of.'
He jumped toward us, his palms sparking. "DIE!!"
'And there's the signature catchphrase. Very heroic, Bakugo. Really selling that "future number one hero" image.'
But before he got even halfway to us, Momo had already created a large metal barrier that rose up just in time.
Bakugo slammed into it with his biggest explosion yet.
BOOOOM!
The metal heated and dented but held.
By the time the smoke cleared, we were already on the opposite side of the arena.
I smirked at all the teams staring at us in shock. "Catch me if you can!"
FWOOSH!
I activated super speed again, dragging Momo and Mina along smoothly thanks to the rope and skates setup.
The crowd went absolutely wild, chanting my name as we dominated the field completely.
For the next five minutes, I dodged every single attack with ease.
Todoroki tried to freeze the entire platform? I used electrical heating to melt the ice around us while Momo created plastic insulation sheets to protect the team from stray current.
Someone tried to use a binding Quirk? Too slow.
Bakugo attempted another explosion barrage? I created distance faster than he could pursue.
It was almost boring how easy this was.
'Almost feel bad. Almost. But not quite.'
Then I decided to implement the next phase of the plan.
I took the massive ball of headbands I'd collected and—FWOOSH!—threw it directly into the rushing mob of students.
Immediately, like piranha sensing blood in the water, they turned on each other, fighting desperately for the points I'd just tossed away.
Momo looked at me with an expression mixing amusement and exasperation. "You knew this would happen all along, didn't you?"
"C'mon now, you give me too much credit," I said with a knowing smirk.
'Of course I knew. It's basic psychology, give desperate people a reward, and they'll forget about the original objective. Classic misdirection.'
"Yeah, we totally contributed," Mina said sarcastically, gesturing at herself and Momo. "Not like we were just dragged around by you or anything."
'Someone's salty. Fair enough, I guess. This probably isn't the most exciting experience for them.'
The rest of the Cavalry Battle passed without incident. Nobody came after us anymore—they were too busy fighting each other for the scraps I'd thrown them.
When the timer finally ran out, we still held the ten million points along with some other points.
"TIME'S UP! The second round is now over!" Midnight announced dramatically. "Now let's reveal the top four teams to make it into the last round!!"
The screen lit up with results.
Team Kaminari
Team Todoroki
Team Bakugo
Team Shinso
Team Midoriya... And so on.
'Shinso made it through. Interesting. His mind control must've been effective against the chaos I created. Good for him.'
"Hey! Kaminari, congratulations on your win!" Hagakure's uniform bounced excitedly as she approached.
"Yeah, even if you only dodged, it was still awesome to watch!" Jiro added, though she looked slightly relieved.
'Is she worried I'm going to fight her like I did the villains at USJ? That's... actually kind of sad. I should probably address that misconception.'
Before I could respond, a purple-faced Bakugo appeared, practically vibrating with rage. "YOU BASTARD!! ARE YOU JUST TOO SCARED TO FIGHT?!"
'Oh for fuck's sake. What is his problem now? He literally attacked me during the game. Multiple times. I dodged because that was the optimal strategy, not because I was scared of his sparkler hands.'
"Calm down, Bakugo!" Eijiro tried to intervene, placing a hardened hand on Bakugo's shoulder.
"CALM DOWN?!" Bakugo shook him off violently. "THIS ASSHOLE WAS JUST MOCKING ME WHILE HE DODGED!"
He was really pissing me off now. I'd been patient and avoided confrontation. I'd tried to steer away from juvenile drama because I thought maybe, just maybe, I could help him develop into a better person without direct conflict. But clearly, that wasn't working.
'Fine. He wants a fight? He'll get one. Each time he's tried to start something, I've laughed it off or ignored it. But that approach clearly isn't effective. Time for a new strategy, make an example.'
I let my expression go cold—genuinely cold, dropping all the charisma and warmth I usually projected.
"I didn't fight back," I said, my voice cutting through the ambient noise like a knife, "because if I did, you would have ended up with broken bones or missing limbs."
The area around us went silent. Everyone was staring—not because of what I said, but because of how I said it.
Usually, I sounded passionate, charismatic, full of energy.
Now I sounded completely cold-hearted. Clinical. Like I was stating a simple fact rather than making a threat.
"You're giving yourself far too much credit. Let me make this clear—you're not worthy of my full power."
I didn't wait for his response. I just turned and walked away.
'I've been too naive. I thought avoiding confrontation would prevent escalation. But Bakugo doesn't understand anything except dominance and power. So fine. I'll speak his language.'
I started walking toward the bathroom to clear my head and cool down my frustration.
'Peace was never an option. Not with him. In the third round, I'm going to break him. Completely. Teach him the humility his parents failed to instill. Show him exactly how pathetic his arrogance is when facing someone actually stronger.'
"Was that really necessary?" Momo's voice came from behind me.
I stopped walking but didn't turn around. "Yes. I wasn't the one who started the fight."
"So what are you going to do to him?" Her voice carried genuine concern.
"I'll show him his place," I said simply. "Nothing permanent and cruel. Just... educational."
I could sense her nodding even without looking.
"I understand," she said quietly. "Just... don't go too far."
"I won't. Promise."
'I won't hurt him badly. But I will humiliate him thoroughly enough that his ego deflates and he's forced to actually reflect on his behavior. Sometimes people need to hit rock bottom before they can start climbing back up.'
...
After the confrontation with Bakugo, we gathered in front of the stage for the final event announcement.
I could feel Bakugo still glaring daggers at me from across the field.
'If glares could kill, I'd be dead several times over. Fortunately for me, his Quirk is explosion-based, not death-stare-based.'
Mashirao Ojiro and Nirengeki Shoda suddenly stepped forward and announced they were withdrawing from the tournament, spouting the same honorable nonsense from canon about not wanting to advance through someone else's manipulation.
Midnight called them naive.
'I actually agree with her. Yes, being mind-controlled sucks. But you made it to the finals. Use that opportunity to prove you're better than the circumstances that got you there. Withdrawing is just wasting the chance.'
But I stayed silent. Not my problem if they wanted to throw away their shot.
Midnight announced that two students from fifth place—Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu and Ibara Shiozaki—would take their spots.
"Now that we're done with that drama," Midnight said, cracking her whip, "let's reveal the final event format!"
The screen behind her cycled through several possibilities before settling on one, 1v1 Tournament Bracket.
"And here are the matchups!" Midnight exclaimed dramatically.
The bracket appeared: FIRST ROUND
Izuku Midoriya VS Hitoshi Shinso
Shoto Todoroki VS Hanta Sero
Ibara Shiozaki VS Mezo Shoji
Denki Kaminari VS Mei Hatsume
Tenya Iida VS Yuga Aoyama
Mina Ashido VS Momo Yaoyorozu
Eijirou Kirishima VS Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu
Tsuyu Asui VS Katsuki Bakugo
... And so on.
I studied the bracket carefully. 'Mei Hatsume. The support course girl who uses the Sports Festival as a marketing platform for her inventions. This should be... interesting. Either she'll put up an actual fight, or she'll just use me as a demonstration dummy for her "babies."'
More importantly, I noticed the potential matchups.
'If I win my match and Todoroki wins his, we'd face each other in the later rounds. That'll be intense.'
And further down the bracket...
'Mina versus Momo. That's going to be tough for both of them—they're friends. And Bakugo against Asui... honestly, I almost feel bad for Tsuyu. Almost. She's tougher than she looks, though.'
But the match I was really interested in was the potential finals.
'If everything goes according to likely scenarios, I could end up facing either Bakugo or Todoroki in the finals. Either way, it'll be a statement match.'
I glanced over at Bakugo, who was still radiating murderous intent.
'Patience, Explosive Boy. Your humiliation is coming. Just not quite yet.'
The crowd was going wild, already placing bets and speculating about outcomes.
Present Mic was shouting enthusiastically about the upcoming matches.
And I just stood there, hands in my pockets, electricity crackling faintly around my eyes.
'The Sports Festival is reaching its climax. Time to show the entire country exactly what the Lightning Hero can do.'
I smiled. 'Let's make this legendary.'