Leaving aside what happened after Igarashi Masata and Yelan Inasa met, fierce battles were raging across the examination field.
At this moment, the team led by Midoriya Izuku was being attacked from all sides.
"Alright! It's finally time to use our special moves!"
Mina Ashido slid rapidly across the ground using her acid, then sprayed high-viscosity acid to form towering defensive walls. They looked remarkably similar to Masata's lava barriers.
Minoru Mineta swung the two sticky whips in his hands, trapping every ball thrown by opponents and instantly neutralizing their offensive power.
Midoriya used his incredible speed to dart across the battlefield, then employed his Shoot Style to kick the balls away, resolving multiple crises in an instant.
In no time at all, Class A had formed an almost unbreakable defensive formation.
"This isn't the same Class A from the Sports Festival anymore," Shindō Ryō said in amazement as he watched their performance. "They've really grown."
"Even the students who weren't highly ranked before have improved this much… so just how strong is Igarashi Masata now?"
Originally, Shindō had planned to seek Masata out for a proper match. As one of the top students at Shiketsu High School, he rarely found worthy opponents in his own school, so he naturally wanted to challenge UA's number one.
But now, he hesitated.
When he had seen Masata at the entrance earlier, he hadn't been able to gauge his full strength. Still, the faint pressure Masata radiated had left a deep impression.
"Everyone, fall back!" Shindō shouted. "Their defense is too strong. I'm going all out!"
Seeing that his teammates couldn't break through Class A's formation, Shindō finally took action. He bent down and pressed both hands against the ground.
His companions immediately understood his intent and retreated.
"Maximum output—Earthquake!"
The concrete floor in front of Shindō cracked violently. Tremors spread outward, splitting the ground beneath Class A's feet. In an instant, their footing collapsed.
This was Shindō's Quirk: Vibration.
He could make anything he touched vibrate violently. However, the stronger the vibration, the greater the backlash on his own body. If he overused it, he would quickly exhaust himself.
In another world, such an ability might rival legendary figures like Whitebeard.
But here, Shindō's physical endurance couldn't compare.
Shattering the ground was already his limit.
Still, the sudden attack caught Class A completely off guard. Their iron-like formation immediately fell apart.
Under Shindō's deliberate control, the students were separated, unable to regroup quickly.
"Currently, twenty-six people have passed!"
Murayama Ryo's voice echoed across the field through the broadcast system.
The announcement stunned everyone.
More and more candidates were passing. That meant fewer remaining slots.
With every passing minute, pressure mounted.
"Sero! Now's our chance!" Midoriya shouted.
Following Masata's earlier advice, Class A had developed coordinated tactics.
Sero's tape and Mineta's sticky balls were perfect for restraining opponents.
Sero reacted instantly. He fired several strips of tape, binding Mineta tightly.
"Hey! At least warn me first!" Mineta protested.
Despite his complaint, he quickly pulled the spheres from his head and reshaped them into whips.
"Haha, sorry about that!" Sero said with a grin.
He yanked hard.
Mineta was launched forward like a projectile, flying straight into the enemy group. Mid-air, he lashed out with his sticky whips, binding multiple opponents together.
By the time they realized what had happened, it was too late.
No matter how much they struggled, the purple adhesive only tightened.
Soon, they were tied into a single, helpless bundle.
Although their coordination was clumsy at first, the two quickly found their rhythm, becoming more efficient with every move.
Elsewhere, Class A was also dominating.
Tokoyami merged with Dark Shadow and charged into enemy lines, overwhelming his opponents.
Ojiro used his refined martial arts techniques to subdue enemies one after another.
Iida and Aoyama worked together flawlessly, combining offense and defense to hold their ground.
And in another area, there was an even more one-sided battle.
"Chacha! Where's our next target?"
Yaoyorozu Momo and Chacha had each already eliminated one opponent. One more each, and they would pass.
But after witnessing Class A's overwhelming strength, most remaining candidates chose to flee rather than fight.
Even when discovered, they stood no chance.
Using Chacha's aerial scouting ability, the two searched for opponents from above.
After circling the area, Chacha landed.
"There's a group about fifty meters ahead. Around ten people are fighting."
"Let's go," Yaoyorozu replied confidently.
At this point, Yaoyorozu was full of confidence in her strength.
At first, she had assumed that students from other schools would be roughly equal to her classmates.
But after defeating several groups with ease, she realized how much stronger Class A truly was.
And that was with her holding back.
Otherwise, those opponents wouldn't have merely fainted.