Time rewound to ten minutes earlier—
Midoriya Izuku and Bakugo Katsuki were walking down a street inside the examination area.
"Stop following me!"
Bakugo strode ahead, while Midoriya kept trying to persuade him from behind. The constant talking only made Bakugo more irritated, his voice growing increasingly sharp.
"Didn't I already say everything? We need to avoid direct combat as much as possible! You can't beat All Might!"
Seeing his childhood friend so stubborn and determined to fight All Might head-on, Midoriya grew anxious.
"Before time runs out, we keep harassing him!" Bakugo snapped back. "When he's exhausted, I'll finish him off completely!"
Bakugo wasn't just talking nonsense—he had already thought through a full strategy. What he didn't realize was that such tactics simply wouldn't work on All Might.
Bakugo's words, combined with the pressure he'd exerted on Midoriya since childhood, made Midoriya instinctively lower his head.
Gathering his courage, Midoriya rushed forward and grabbed Bakugo's arm.
"Y-you have to think about it! No matter how much All Might holds back, you can't win with small tricks like that!"
He thought that if he spoke reasonably, Bakugo might reconsider.
Instead—
Bakugo's face darkened, and without warning, he punched Midoriya square in the face with a backhand.
"Shut up!! I'm sick of hearing your voice right now!!"
The bloodshot glare in his eyes made his rage unmistakable.
Midoriya, who had been struck for no reason, clenched his teeth.
"I'm saying this so we can pass the exam too! Why won't you listen to me, Katsuki?!"
As if deeply insulted, Bakugo suddenly exploded like a firecracker.
"I'M SAYING I DON'T NEED YOUR POWER TO PASS THIS EXAM AT ALL!! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!"
The cruel words were shouted at the top of his lungs. In Bakugo's eyes, Midoriya's power was completely meaningless.
Having been pushed down again and again, Midoriya finally snapped.
"Stop yelling like that! This is exactly why you can never communicate properly with anyone!"
Midoriya's sudden outburst stunned Bakugo.
But before either of them could say anything else—
"I'm coming!"
All Might's furious voice thundered from the entrance of the street. In the next instant, he drew back his fist.
"SMASH!"
The violent shockwave tore through the air, as if it were about to obliterate the entire street. The two who had just been arguing were blasted backward by the hurricane-like force, barely managing to regain their footing.
A towering figure emerged from the dust and debris.
"If this were real combat, you'd already be paying a heavy price!"
"I'm the villain right now!" All Might declared. "Heroes—show me your true strength!"
Like a missile, All Might launched himself toward the two still reeling in shock, clearly intending to end the battle in a single blow.
"Flashbang!"
Bakugo showed no fear whatsoever. As he clapped his hands together, an intense burst of light erupted, disrupting All Might's vision.
Meanwhile, Midoriya had already begun retreating. In his mind, fighting All Might head-on was completely irrational.
But All Might was far too experienced.
He shielded his eyes with one hand while, with astonishing combat instinct, he seized Bakugo by the head with the other.
"BOOM!"
An explosion still rang out.
Bakugo had never intended to break free—he detonated regardless of aiming.
But to All Might, such an explosion was nothing more than a mild sting.
Instead of letting go, All Might lifted Bakugo into the air and slammed him down with overwhelming force.
Bakugo lay on the ground, gasping for breath, unable to move for the time being.
"Next is you, Midoriya boy!" All Might turned sharply. "Are you planning to abandon your partner and escape alone?!"
In a flash, All Might was already in front of Midoriya, his gaze locking onto him. The pressure was suffocating—eerily similar to the aura of the Hero assassin.
Green electricity surged around Midoriya's body. Under that pressure, he unconsciously activated Full Cowling, forcing himself to leap backward, still trying to avoid direct combat.
But he failed to notice what was happening behind him.
Bakugo—who had been slammed to the ground—had forced himself back to his feet with sheer grit. Launching himself into the air, he charged straight at All Might.
By pure coincidence—
The two collided midair.
"Bakugo's self-confidence is seriously warped, isn't it?"
Watching the fight closely, Masata couldn't help commenting. "It's almost deformed."
Masata paid particular attention to their battle—after all, their opponent was All Might.
Midoriya's case was easy to understand. Ever since childhood, All Might had been a god-like existence to him.
Bakugo admired All Might as well—but in a completely different way.
What Bakugo worshipped was All Might's absolute spirit of victory—never retreating, never losing. And so, Bakugo demanded the same from himself.
Even if his opponent was All Might himself.
The image on the monitor shifted again.
All Might had grabbed a railing and hurled it forward, trapping Midoriya's escape route.
"Consider this a gift for trying to run!"
At this moment, All Might looked both disappointed and resolute. Midoriya—who was usually so brave—had suddenly become timid. Perhaps he hadn't realized that the source of his strength was still within himself.
Bakugo didn't get any mercy either.
All Might's arm cut through the air like a gale, slamming into Bakugo's abdomen faster than Bakugo could react.
The violent impact churned his insides. Acid surged up his throat as he spat it out uncontrollably.
Rolling across the ground, clutching his stomach and retching, Bakugo barely noticed All Might approaching.
"You're going about this the wrong way, Bakugo boy," All Might said sternly. "You know exactly what I mean."
"Power at level one and power at level fifty can't grow at the same rate!"
"Just like Midoriya boy—your potential is limitless!"
Having heard these words countless times as a teacher, Masata nodded in agreement.
With Bakugo's talent and relentless effort, he was destined to accomplish great things.
And Midoriya Izuku—the current bearer of One For All—had been extraordinary from the moment he received that power.