—What have you noticed so far, Tomura?— All For One questioned his disciple.
—That iron sand is problematic, Master. The brat managed to move it across the floor and stab the scum we brought to the USJ. That implies he is stronger than what he is demonstrating here, in these fights. He can wrap, trap, immobilize, stab, and hit with great force, although nothing that the Nomu's absorption couldn't handle— Shigaraki detailed thoughtfully.
His neck was bleeding slightly as his nails scratched the same section over and over, but his eyes didn't stray for a moment from the screen where Tetsumaru was facing Tokoyami, the Satetsu blocking the shadow's charges with apparent ease.
—Is that all?— All For One asked. Shigaraki shook his head.
—He doesn't need to look at it to move it. In USJ he was able to move himself, his classmates, create platforms, and all while the Nomu was harassing him. He has a very good awareness of his surroundings to achieve that feat.
—And the weaknesses?
Shigaraki pondered the question. He could form a basic idea and one he wasn't entirely sure about, but if his Master was questioning him, it was because he had also noticed it.
—The most obvious one is water. I doubt moving his sand when it's wet and turned to mud would be so easy. We can also disrupt the magnetic field he uses to control it. But if we don't have water or equipment to destabilize the magnetism... the third weakness is his hardening.
—So you noticed— All For One praised.
—Yes. When he hardens his sand to create spears or barriers, he does it with all the sand he expels. If he keeps it as a floating cloud of sand, then all the sand stays in that state. That means he can't wrap anyone with his sand and attack with spears or defend with solid walls at the same time— Shigaraki explained.
He had been attentive to the UA sports festival, his attention focused on the brats who messed up his plans at the USJ. So far, Terumi Mei hadn't used her Suiton even once throughout the event, which confused Shigaraki.
But Tetsumaru had no choice but to show his sand, which allowed All For One and Shigaraki to take notes of his abilities.
With his resources, All For One obtained the Quirk registration for both siblings. From there they learned about the sand with an abnormal amount of magnetite that the black-haired boy handled.
Upon discovering the nature of that dark material, All For One's interest diminished considerably. He had been interested in such a peculiar Quirk, but was disappointed upon learning the truth.
Sure, it was a versatile Quirk, but sand was still sand. He found it almost comical that the boy's sister had a Quirk that counteracted his.
Aside from water, the fact that the Satetsu contained a large amount of magnetite made it clear how Tetsumaru's control worked: Magnetism. That would explain how he was able to preempt Kurogiri's attempts to transport him elsewhere.
But in a modern world with all kinds of technology, that Quirk becomes useless as long as that fact is known.
That's what the Demon Lord thought, and he wasn't the only one.
Back in the arena, Tetsumaru ended up defeating Tokoyami after a few minutes of blocking Dark Shadow's incessant assaults. A self-satisfied smirk almost escaped him when the audience began to murmur about his performance.
The plan was going well.
So far, Tetsumaru had demonstrated an ability far superior to his opponents in the individual battles, and had practically cruised through the first two events without any difficulty.
-Tetsumaru, that was incredible! - Mina cheered as the black-haired teen arrived at their class's rest area, but her excitement faded when the shinobi simply nodded and continued walking, heading for the exit.
—Tetsumaru, where are you going? — Momo questioned with concern.
—I have to go to the bathroom — he replied, waving his hand in dismissal.
—Isn't he going to watch Mei-chan's match? — Toru wondered quietly. Mina smiled awkwardly and scratched her cheek.
—Maybe he's confident in his sister. Mei is very strong, after all — she said.
After a few minutes of waiting, Tetsumaru showed no signs of returning and the next combatants were already in the arena.
Bakugo intensely stared at Terumi Mei while the kunoichi smiled gracefully and calmly, as if she wasn't about to face a great challenge. That only increased the blonde's irritation.
—Take this seriously, copper hair! — Bakugo roared. Mei rolled her eyes but didn't bother to respond.
With a crack of her whip, Midnight announced the start of the match and Bakugo wasted no time in leaping into the air with his explosions. He wasn't afraid of Mei, but the girl's speed was no joke.
Tracing an arc in the air, Bakugo aimed his hand at the girl's calm figure, ready to overwhelm her with sheer power before she could try any strange move.
But Mei was faster. She raised her hand, releasing a small amount of water from her seal and controlling it until it formed a ball that compressed at her middle and index fingertips, emulating a gun barrel.
The entire process lasted less than a second, giving Bakugo no time to begin his relentless assault.
The water ball was fired, traveling at ridiculous speed and intercepting Bakugo's forearm while he was still extending it, resulting in a sharp blow that left a mark on the blonde's skin while deflecting his explosion.
Bakugo gritted his teeth, both from the pain of the attack and the dismissive ease with which his own explosion was repelled, but that feeling didn't last long.
Mei didn't even give him time to land on the ground, sending a rapid succession of shots that peppered the blonde and made him groan in pain.
If someone travels in a convertible car at over 100 kilometers per hour in the middle of a storm, they would know how painful those harmless raindrops can be. Mei's water bullets, denser and larger, delivered greater kinetic energy with every impact.
—Die!!— Bakugo screamed before sending a powerful explosion toward the annoying girl. The ground cracked and a cloud of dust hid Mei's figure.
A smile of relief and disdain formed on Bakugo's face, but he was immediately shaken when a water ball shot out from the dust and almost hit him in the forehead.
Bakugo dodged aside and aimed more explosions at Mei's position. More dust rose and cement fragments flew.
Midnight and Cementoss narrowed their eyes, ready to intervene if necessary. It wasn't.
While the blonde sent more explosions, the water bullets continued to shoot out from the dust, relentlessly chasing Bakugo and preventing him from getting a moment's rest.
After a few seconds of the same thing, Bakugo began to notice something strange and stopped his explosions. The entire arena was equally confused, unable to perceive any of the action through the cameras due to the dust.
But it was the dust that puzzled Bakugo until he realized what was happening, and some heroes also noticed the same thing.
It wasn't just dust that was obstructing the view. It was mist.
—We're finally seeing Terumi Mei's Quirk in action, and what a demonstration we have!— Present Mic exclaimed, trying to avoid the crowd's discontent from being unable to see any of what was happening.
—Aizawa, what can you tell us about the Quirk of this student of yours?— he asked his co-commentator.
—Water Release. It allows her to expel water from the palms of her hands. That's how she sent those water balls at Bakugo, but this is a new application that even I wasn't aware of— Eraser Head explained.
Back on the battlefield, Bakugo sharpened his other senses and prepared to unleash a powerful explosion as soon as Mei decided to attack. At this point, the entire platform was covered in a dense mist that prevented him from seeing more than two steps in any direction.
—What are you waiting for, bitch?! Are you scared of me?!— the boy roared, earning thousands of frowns at the impolite behavior directed at the girl.
In response to his insults, Mei's lips twisted and she decided it wasn't worth playing with this annoying brat any longer.
Without Bakugo noticing or expecting it, Mei walked stealthily until she entered the limit of his visual range, right in front of him, the only place he didn't expect an attack from. The blonde's pupils constricted and he raised his hand to explode her face.
But he was too slow once again. At the same time he unleashed the explosion, a compressed water bullet landed in his groin, draining the strength from his body.
Mei, for her part, raised a wall of water, nullifying the explosion-the same tactic she used at the beginning when Bakugo kicked up all that dust. As Bakugo's legs gave out and his hands cupped his 'jewels,' Mei dropped the wall of water and blurred toward him in a rush of movement.
A brutal roundhouse kick slammed into Bakugo's chin, rattling his brain and sending him into unconsciousness.
With a huff, Mei dispelled her version of the Kirigakure no Jutsu and the sight the audience received was that of the kunoichi walking away gracefully and calmly, leaving an unconscious Bakugo lying on the ground.
No one saw her water walls.
—Terumi Mei advances to the semifinals!— Midnight announced with a crack of her whip.