Minato's POV
The cool morning air bit at our skin as we, Class 1-A, lined up on the sprawling, multi-purpose training ground known as Ground Beta. The vast expanse, designed to simulate various urban environments, stretched out before us, hinting at the rigorous training that lay ahead. The nervous energy that had filled the changing room now intensified, a palpable hum of anticipation among the twenty students.
Aizawa-sensei stood before us, his hands in his pockets, his posture slouched, and his eyes still heavy-lidded, as if he'd just rolled out of his sleeping bag. He surveyed us with a gaze that seemed to pierce through any pretense, assessing each of us with a quiet, unnerving intensity.
"Alright, Class 1-A," he began, his voice flat, devoid of any warmth or excitement. "Welcome to U.A.'s Hero Course."
A few students shifted, eager for the traditional welcoming ceremony, the inspiring speeches.
"Before we begin with any ceremonial nonsense," Aizawa-sensei continued, cutting off any hopeful thoughts, "we're going to conduct a Quirk Apprehension Test."
A collective gasp rippled through the lineup. "A Quirk Apprehension Test?!" someone exclaimed.
"What about the entrance ceremony?" another student blurted out, their voice laced with disappointment.
"And the orientation?" someone else added, clearly confused.
Aizawa-sensei's tired eyes narrowed, a hint of irritation flashing within them. "U.A. is a place where you hone your Quirks to become heroes. We don't have time for frivolous ceremonies. If you want to be a hero, you need to understand your abilities, and more importantly, understand their limits. This test will do just that." His gaze swept over us, daring anyone to argue. "You've been doing these tests since middle school, right? Physical fitness tests where you weren't allowed to use your Quirks. That's not logical. This school is about pushing beyond what's 'normal'."
He then explained the series of physical tests we'd be performing: a 50-meter dash, standing long jump, repeated side steps, ball throw, grip strength, seated toe-touch, and sit-ups. Each test, he emphasized, was to be performed using our Quirks. The results would be compiled into a comprehensive score.
"Minato Namikaze," Aizawa-sensei called, his eyes fixing on me. "What was your best record for the softball throw in high school, without using your Quirk?"
"Eighty-nine meters, sir," I replied, my voice clear and steady.
"Alright. Now, do it using your Quirk." Aizawa-sensei tossed a softball to me.
I caught it, the familiar weight in my hand. I took a deep breath, focusing my chakra.
A faint, blue aura began to shimmer around my body, crackling with barely contained energy. It was the Lightning Release Chakra Mode, dialed down significantly from its full power, just enough to manifest as a visible, electrifying enhancement. It wasn't the raw, overwhelming power of the Fourth Raikage, but a controlled, subtle display. My muscles tensed, infused with amplified strength and speed.
I gripped the softball, my fingers tingling with the suppressed energy. With a powerful, fluid motion, I wound up and unleashed the throw. The ball shot from my hand like a golden projectile, leaving a faint, shimmering trail in its wake. It soared through the air, a rapidly diminishing speck against the sky, before disappearing from sight.
Aizawa-sensei held up a device, its screen displaying the result. His eyes, usually so impassive, widened almost imperceptibly.
"Seven hundred and fifty two meters," he announced, his voice flat, but with an underlying note of surprise.
A collective gasp swept through the students.
"Seven hundred and fifty meters?!" Kaminari exclaimed, his jaw dropping.
"That's insane!" Mina shrieked, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "Minato-kun, your Quirk is amazing!"
"So manly!" Kirishima cheered, his fists pumping.
The class erupted into excited chatter, a wave of energy washing over the ground. They were impressed, energized by the display of raw power. This was exactly the reaction I wanted.
Aizawa-sensei, however, let the excitement simmer for only a moment before his eyes hardened, and his voice dropped to a chilling monotone that cut through the noise like a knife.
"You're all excited now," he said, his gaze sweeping over the now-silent students. "But this isn't a game. This is U.A. High. And if you think this is going to be a fun three years, you're sorely mistaken."
His next words landed like a physical blow.
"The student who comes in last place in this overall test will be expelled."
The air instantly went out of the collective lungs of Class 1-A. Faces that had been beaming with excitement twisted into expressions of shock, horror, and disbelief. A few students visibly paled, their bodies stiffening.
"Expelled?!" someone finally managed to squeak out, the word hanging heavy in the sudden, terrified silence.
"On the first day?!" another cried.
Aizawa-sensei's eyes, now glowing red as he activated his Erasure Quirk, seemed to bore into each of us. His long black hair floated around him, giving him an even more menacing aura. "Welcome to the U.A. Hero Department," he stated, his voice devoid of sympathy.
A new wave of exclamations, this time of fear and indignation, rippled through the students.
"That's not fair!"
"You can't just expel someone on the first day!"
Aizawa-sensei merely scoffed. "Fair? Life isn't fair. Villains don't play fair. If you're not ready to push yourselves to your absolute limits, to risk everything, then you don't belong here. This is a logical decision to ensure only those with true potential and resolve remain." He deactivated his Quirk, his eyes returning to their tired state. "Now, let's begin the tests."
He called us up one by one for each event.
For the 50-meter dash, I was up against a Lida his Quirk engine. When Aizawa shouted "GO," I activated my Lightning Release Chakra Mode again, a blue blur. My speed was overwhelming. I crossed the finish line in a second, leaving my competitors in a cloud of dust.
"Minato Namikaze! 1.2 seconds!" the robot timer announced.
The other students gasped. "One point two?!"
Kaminari, who had been watching intently, scratched his head. "Man, that blue lightning... it's like he's supercharged! I wonder if I could do something like that with my electricity..." A seed of an idea, a potential new application for his Quirk, seemed to sprout in his mind.
Next was the Standing Long Jump. I approached the line, focused my chakra, and instead of a conventional jump, I used a subtle burst of Body Flicker to propel myself forward. It wasn't a full teleport, but an extreme burst of speed that made my leap appear impossibly long, almost as if I'd skipped across the ground. I landed far beyond the sandpit, well into the grassy area.
"Unbelievable!"
For the Repeated Side Steps, I once again utilized the controlled precision of Body Flicker. I moved back and forth between the two lines with such blinding speed that my form seemed to blur, appearing in multiple places at once. It wasn't just fast; it was fluid, effortless, a dance of pure agility that left the other students gawking.
"He's like a phantom!" someone whispered.
"How is he doing that?!"
The Ball Throw came again. This time, I didn't have to do it again. Uraraka was last and with a delighted "Release!" she sent her ball soaring into the sky, where it simply kept going, disappearing into the clouds. The device read "Infinity." There was no beating that.
For the Grip Strength test, I gripped the dynamometer, channeling a controlled burst of chakra into my hand. The device groaned under the pressure, the needle shooting past the maximum reading. The digital display simply showed "OVER."
The Seated Toe-Touch and Sit-Ups were almost laughably easy. My body, conditioned beyond human limits by gravity seals and chakra training, possessed incredible flexibility and core strength. I easily maxed out both tests, my movements precise and effortless.
Throughout the various tests, I observed my classmates. Bakugo was consistently explosive, pushing his Quirk to its limits, though his temper flared whenever someone seemed to outshine him. Iida was a picture of perfect form and dedication, his engine legs propelling him with impressive speed. Midoriya, while not topping any charts, showed surprising bursts of potential, clearly has done some workout before getting the quirk from All Might. Mina was agile and quick, her Acid Quirk proving versatile. Kirishima was a rock, his hardening making him durable in every test.
Finally, the tests concluded. We gathered, panting and exhausted, as Aizawa-sensei brought up a holographic display, showing the overall results.
The list appeared on the screen, ranked from first to last.
Minato Namikaze
Momo Yaoyorozu
Shoto Todoroki
Katsuki Bakugo
A collective murmur went through the class as they saw my name at the top. Yaoyorozu, a recommendation student who had not participated in the practical exam but whose academic and physical prowess was clearly exceptional, was second. Todoroki was third, and Bakugo, despite his raw power, landed in fourth.
My eyes scanned down the list. Midoriya, he hasn't used One For All, has managed to pull off a decent job, landing in 18th place. Not last.
The last place, however, belonged to Toru Hagakure, the invisible girl. Her name, a stark contrast to her unseen presence, sat at the very bottom of the list. Her shoulders slumped, and a wave of dejection seemed to radiate from her.
Aizawa-sensei looked at the screen, then at us, his expression unreadable. "Alright," he said, his voice flat. "That concludes the Quirk Apprehension Test."
He paused, letting the tension build, letting Hagakure's despair hang heavy in the air. Then, a faint, almost imperceptible smirk touched his lips.
"Oh yeah," he drawled, his voice casual, as if remembering an afterthought. "The whole expulsion thing? That was a lie."
A beat of stunned silence.
Then, the entire class erupted.
"WHAT?!"
"A LIE?!"
"You mean... nobody's getting expelled?!"
Students shouted, some collapsing in relief, others in outrage. The emotional whiplash was extreme.
Only two students remained calm amidst the chaos. I simply smiled, a knowing glint in my eyes. I knew it was a ruse all along.
Beside me, Momo Yaoyorozu, ever the composed and intelligent one, nodded thoughtfully. She stepped forward slightly, addressing the bewildered class.
"It was a logical ruse," Momo explained, her voice clear and articulate, cutting through the din. "Aizawa-sensei likely intended to push us to our absolute limits from the very first day. By introducing the threat of expulsion, he forced us to give our absolute best, to truly understand the stakes of becoming a hero, and to see how we would react under extreme pressure. It was a brilliant, albeit terrifying, method to gauge our potential and resolve, rather than just our raw Quirks."
The class slowly quieted, processing her explanation. Aizawa-sensei simply watched, a faint, approving nod directed at Yaoyorozu.
"She's right," Aizawa-sensei confirmed, his voice returning to its usual monotone. "Now that you've all given your best, you can truly begin your training. Welcome to the U.A. Hero Course, Class 1-A."
The relief and renewed excitement were palpable. The first day had been a brutal, eye-opening introduction to U.A., but it had also forged a new understanding among us. We were a class of diverse Quirks and personalities, all pushed to our limits, and all, now, officially heroes-in-training. And for me, the stage was set for the next phase of my life.