When the smoke and dust on the field finally cleared, what stood before everyone was a sight they could never have imagined.
Midoriya's two hands were gripping that huge hand of the towering figure so tightly that the opponent's arm was forced into an impossible angle and pinned firmly behind him. Midoriya was drenched in sweat, as if he'd just staggered out of a downpour.
The giant figure had dropped to one knee—Midoriya had put almost all his weight onto that knee. The huge noise a moment ago had been the sound of that knee hitting the ground.
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Flashback — Weekend Training
"Know the human body," Midoriya panted, squinting slightly in the dappled weekend sunlight.
"Naturally. If you don't know human anatomy, how are you going to pull off joint locks?" the girl standing before him shot back, arms folded and clearly annoyed.
"Listen—this is real martial arts. I worked hard to learn it, so pay attention and don't daydream," she added.
Midoriya glanced at the full anatomical diagram on his phone; his face drained of color. He looked up at the girl and muttered weakly, "I don't really need to learn this, do I? I mean, with just strength and speed—"
"You're so shallow," she snapped, rolling her eyes. "Do you think you're some cosmic powerhouse? He can explode and tear the world apart—what do you have?"
She softened her tone, but only slightly. "I'll admit, when you're up against absolute strength, technique doesn't always help. I get the idea of using power to break skill. But do you actually have absolute strength yet? From the way you've only just started to control your quirk, once you master joint locks, unless someone's far stronger than you or has a special ability, they won't be able to move when you lock them. Do you really want to keep wrecking your own fingers or a hand every time it matters? You might not feel the pain—I do."
She flexed her wrist, stood, beckoned him with a mischievous grin, and added, "Fine—since you don't want to memorize pressure points and bone structure, I've got a fast-track method. Don't worry, I'll take care of you."
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Back to Present
Gasping for breath, Midoriya shifted his eyes to Konata Izumi, who was being held like a sack of grain in the giant's other hand—slung over the shoulder, arms and legs hanging limply. Even though Midoriya was pouring every ounce of strength he had into holding the man, he could feel the person beneath him slowly moving. It wouldn't be long before the opponent broke free.
What scared him the most was that the enemy had been fighting him with only one hand—the other hand and one leg were utterly still. Midoriya had only meant to force the man to release Konata, but he never anticipated such a reaction.
"He's subdued!" Iida shouted from the side, eyes wide.
Iida—one of Midoriya's closer classmates—knew exactly what Midoriya used to be like. If Midoriya had gone all-out and crippled his own fingers again, it wouldn't have surprised him. But this was only over the span of a weekend—what had changed in Midoriya?
It wasn't just Iida who was stunned. Aside from those who'd already seen some of Midoriya's growth—Uraraka and Jirou—everyone else watched in complete disbelief. The silent, immense figure who'd taken the class's strongest in one grab, cleared a huge area with a single stomp, and driven back Bakugo and Todoroki had been restrained by Midoriya alone.
On the rooftop of a distant building, Aizawa watched the scene, notebook and pen in hand—he was grading the students' performances as they acted.
All Might's staged "attack" hadn't been kept from Aizawa or Thirteen. Aizawa had originally been reluctant to let All Might run the stunt, but he'd consented in the end—after all, he wasn't the one who'd be taking the beating.
"Still not mature enough—standing around watching during a critical moment," Aizawa muttered, shaking his head.
At that moment the situation shifted again.
"Deku, you bastard—I'll settle with you later, now die!" Bakugo roared, charging forward. Flames coalesced in his palms as he lunged and slammed toward the masked giant's face.
"Ridiculous—did you forget I've still got another hand? In that hand…I have the perfect hostage," All Might growled.
"Not anymore."
A sheet of ice spread outward from Todoroki's feet across the entire circular clearing. Todoroki cradled Konata—still limp from the earlier grab—in his arms and exhaled a faint cloud in the cold air.
Bakugo's frontal assault had drawn attention; Tsuyu's throw and Uraraka's added zero-gravity allowed Todoroki to move with perfect timing. Their teamwork was flawless in that brief window Midoriya had created.
All Might glanced down at his immobilized right foot and smiled beneath his mask. The hostage had been rescued; the test could end. They hadn't disappointed him—especially Midoriya.
But just as All Might moved to lift his mask, Bakugo suddenly stopped mid-charge, a villainous grin spreading as bright flames built in his hands.
At the same instant Midoriya let go and fell back—and a sheet of ice crawled up his left leg, freezing him in place.
"Die!" Bakugo yelled.