"A pincer attack? Not bad."
Etsuha's gaze swept across the battlefield. Even without activating the Sharingan, his enhanced vision allowed him to clearly analyze every incoming trajectory.
The ice sword in his hand moved.
Without any unnecessary flourish, he slashed sideways—his blade striking the black shadow directly. The force behind it was overwhelming, smashing the shadow straight into the ground!
In that brief opening, Tenya Iida accelerated in from above. Spinning his body 360 degrees midair, he aimed to bring his heel crashing down—
But Etsuha was faster.
The moment Iida gathered force, Etsuha kicked upward. The impact struck Iida mid-motion, sending him crashing violently into the ground below.
"Gah—!"
Iida's body curled instinctively, his stomach convulsing from the sheer force. He couldn't stop himself from vomiting.
"You okay, Engine guy?!" Fumikage Tokoyami shouted.
"Instead of worrying about teammates who aren't dying, you should worry about yourself."
Etsuha's voice suddenly rang out right beside him.
"What—?!" Tokoyami's entire body went cold. He turned his head—
—and found Etsuha standing right next to him.
"When did he—?!"
The others who were preparing to attack froze for a moment, instinctively rubbing their eyes. Just now, Etsuha had moved like a cheetah—so fast he seemed to vanish entirely. One blink, and he was gone. The next instant, he had already reappeared behind Tokoyami.
"Dark Shadow—merge!"
Tokoyami reacted quickly, attempting to fuse with Dark Shadow and engage in close combat.
But before the shadow could respond—
Etsuha's elbow struck.
Thud!
The blow landed like solid steel.
Tokoyami was slammed straight into the ground.
"Are you serious?!"
Denki Kaminari arrived just in time to witness it. For a split second, he froze—then panic took over, and he unleashed his electricity at full power.
"Idiot, what are you doing?!" Eijiro Kirishima shouted, caught completely off guard as the electricity spread indiscriminately.
The current surged through the area, shocking both friend and foe alike.
Still—
It worked.
Etsuha couldn't fully evade the attack in time. A portion of the current struck his leg, briefly halting his movement. His hair stood on end from the electrical discharge.
"Now's our chance!" Kirishima roared.
"Uhhhhh…"
Kaminari, having overused his power, immediately entered his usual dazed state. Grinning foolishly, he raised his thumbs and began wobbling in place.
Kirishima froze for a moment, then muttered under his breath. Thankfully, his hardening quirk allowed him to withstand most of the current without serious harm.
As Kaminari collapsed, Kirishima hardened his entire body and charged forward, delivering a powerful kick toward Etsuha.
Boom!
It was a heavy, powerful strike—
—but too slow.
Etsuha, already recovered, stepped aside with ease. At the same time, he grabbed Kirishima's extended leg mid-attack and slammed him down violently.
Bang!
Kirishima crashed into the ground, leaving a deep crater.
Before he could recover, a massive block of ice dropped onto him, pinning him in place completely. No matter how much he struggled, he couldn't move.
He was out of the fight.
"Damn it… Is his physical strength that ridiculous?!" Bakugo snarled. "This isn't going to work! These idiots have zero coordination!"
Despite their numbers, their quirks interfered with each other. Everyone was acting independently, creating chaos rather than teamwork.
Kaminari was the perfect example—his attack had barely helped and had instead incapacitated his own allies.
At that moment—
Plop.
A cluster of large, purple, grape-like spheres stuck to the ground at Etsuha's feet.
Etsuha's expression shifted slightly—one of the rare moments he showed caution.
These were thrown by Minoru Mineta. Their adhesive properties were extremely dangerous. If caught, escaping would be nearly impossible—he might even have to tear off his own flesh.
"Aaaaaaah!!"
Mineta continued throwing the sticky spheres frantically, plucking them from his head one after another. Traps quickly formed all around Etsuha—but at the cost of tearing his own scalp, leaving blood running down his face.
"This quirk… is actually troublesome."
Etsuha stepped onto a rising pillar of ice, lifting himself into the air to avoid the traps below.
At the same time, countless ice spikes formed and shot outward toward Mineta—
—but before they could reach him, a laser beam fired first.
Then, Ochaco Uraraka rushed in.
She touched Mineta, activating her quirk, and immediately grabbed him—then hurled him away from danger. His small body floated up into the air.
"Don't let him pick us off one by one!" Shoto Todoroki called out. "Everyone, gather behind me! I can melt his ice with my flames!"
"Let me handle this."
At that moment, a boy with messy blue-purple hair stepped forward casually.
Hands in his pockets, he stood behind Todoroki and called out:
"Hey, Shina."
Etsuha turned his gaze toward him—
—and in that instant, his pupils shrank.
This person was…
Hitoshi Shinso.
"…Got you," Shinso said with a faint smile.
But in the very next moment, his expression froze.
At some point—
Etsuha's eyes had already turned a deep, blood-red.
..
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