At first, Masata had been fascinated by flying.
That feeling of freedom was something running on the ground could never compare to.
But once the novelty wore off, all that remained were endless troubles.
Without relying on full elementalization, flying meant dealing with thin oxygen, constant weightlessness, and even skin tearing when moving too fast.
Without a strong physique, unprotected flight was nothing but torture.
Fortunately, Kaminari had no idea about any of this.
Right now, he had his own new problems.
"Ahhh! I finally changed back!"
As Shishikura fell unconscious, Kirishima—who had been kneaded into a meatball by his Quirk—finally returned to his original form.
His body twisted and reshaped itself, and he regained his freedom.
His face was filled with excitement.
"That guy was total trash! He got beaten by something like that so easily!"
Bakugo's mouth was as sharp as ever, completely ignoring Kirishima's feelings as he mocked him.
"Huh? Bakugo, weren't you trapped too? That villain wasn't weak at all!"
Although Kirishima had been turned into a meatball, he had still been conscious.
He knew Masata had appeared and knocked out Shishikura.
Of course, he wasn't about to admit anything that made Masata look good, so he immediately fired back at Bakugo.
Seeing that the two were about to start fighting, Kaminari quickly stepped in.
"Hey, stop it! Now's not the time to argue! Look behind you!"
"You're not the only one who got turned into a meatball!"
Hearing Kaminari's urgent voice, the two turned around.
On the overpass, the flesh lumps scattered everywhere had all reverted into human forms.
About twenty candidates stood there.
They had clearly recognized Bakugo and the others and were already approaching.
"Looks like they're not here to chat."
The three immediately grew serious.
Their bodies tensed, ready for another fight.
Meanwhile, Masata continued wandering through the battlefield.
Suddenly, a strong gust of wind brushed against his face.
"Huh? That feels artificial… interesting."
Anyone who had ever stood in front of an electric fan knew the difference between natural and artificial wind.
Natural wind came from pressure differences.
Artificial wind was produced by mechanical or Quirk-generated forces.
Since awakening his enhanced perception, Masata's senses had sharpened dramatically.
His skin and instincts both told him that this wind wasn't natural.
Of course, all that analysis was just an excuse.
What really caught his attention was—
There was a massive tornado in front of him.
No matter how you looked at it, this place couldn't naturally produce a tornado.
So it had to be someone's Quirk.
After walking forward a few steps, Masata spotted the source.
At the edge of a tall building stood a person, one arm raised high.
A hurricane spun around his palm, filled with countless small balls, swirling wildly.
"That guy looks familiar… Isn't that the passionate idiot from before? Yelan Inasa?"
That's right.
The person controlling the tornado was Yelan Inasa.
Because he was wearing an extremely flashy combat uniform now, Masata hadn't recognized him at first.
"I believe heroes are all about passion!"
"Everyone's fighting so fiercely! I love this kind of heat!"
Inasa shouted excitedly, his booming voice echoing across the area.
Below him, a large group of candidates had gathered.
This zone's terrain was complex and perfect for close combat, so many people had clustered here from the start.
Some even planned to take advantage of others.
But now, they were suffering.
The tornado had sucked away all the small balls in their hands.
Without those balls, no matter how strong they were, they couldn't pass!
"Huh? She's here too?"
Masata suddenly spotted a familiar figure in the crowd.
It was Himiko Toga.
Her JK-style uniform stood out sharply among the strange battle suits.
It was impossible to miss.
After officially enrolling at U.A., Aizawa had arranged for her to take part in the exam, likely to strengthen her identity as a hero trainee.
Because her Quirk was Transformation, she didn't have special uniform requirements.
She hadn't even brought her blood-collection tools this time.
At the moment, she looked confused.
She didn't understand why the small ball in her hand had suddenly floated away just as she was about to use it.
But Inasa had no idea what was happening below.
He was completely fired up.
"I sincerely invite everyone to join this intense battle!"
After shouting his line, Inasa leaned back sharply.
Then he swung his arm downward.
The tornado followed his movement.
Instantly, countless small balls were dragged down by the hurricane and hurled toward the crowd.
"Hey! If we get hit, we're definitely eliminated!"
"First a U.A. monster, now a Shishikura one—are all the candidates this year insane?!"
"Run! I don't want to be eliminated in the first round!"
Panic spread instantly.
The targets on their bodies were all placed in visible positions.
No matter how they dodged, they couldn't protect everything.
They weren't special cases like Masata.
Toga was no exception.
Although her close-combat skills and stealth were decent, she was helpless against such a wide-range attack.
She stared blankly at the storm of balls overhead.
She didn't even try to dodge.
It was as if she had given up.
After all, her real reason for coming to U.A. was to stay close to Masata.
She didn't care much about the provisional license.
So… why bother struggling?
"What are you doing, you silly girl?!"
But someone else didn't think that way.
...
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