The astonishment following Kenzou's 750-meter throw—achieved in his heavy, cumbersome Zero-Effort Safety Suit—faded quickly, replaced by a lingering, confusing awe. Kenzou, however, was already deep in thought, reviewing the failures of the day.
My speed is too slow in this suit, but if I remove it, I'm too fast. My controlled punch is still a Category 6 blast. He was a hero with zero usable combat settings.
Later that afternoon, Shota Aizawa entered the classroom and, after explaining the results of the assessment, moved straight to the next challenge.
"Today, you'll be doing a practical battle simulation: Hero vs. Villain, two-on-two team battles," Aizawa rasped, holding up a box for the team lottery. "The objective is to secure the mock nuclear weapon or capture the opposing team. This is about strategic application of your Quirks."
Kenzou felt an immediate knot of dread. Capture? I can't even touch anyone without causing internal damage, even in this suit. His entire strategy revolved around not fighting.
The teams were drawn. Kenzou held his breath as the results were announced:
"Team A is Bando and Tsubasa (Villains)." (Kouji Bando, the granite-Quirk user, and Tsubasa, the winged speedster).
Bando shot Kenzou a look of pure, granite-plated antagonism.
"Team B is Rokujo and Aiko (Heroes)." (Aiko, the density manipulator).
Kenzou sighed. He was paired with the thoughtful Aiko against the destructive power of his chief rival, Bando, and the high-speed mobility of Tsubasa.
"All right, Team B," Aizawa announced. "Your mission is to infiltrate the building and secure the weapon. You're up first."
Inside the monitoring room, Kenzou stood with Aiko, reviewing the blueprints of the training building.
"Okay, Rokujo-kun, I'll go high," Aiko suggested, her thick, dark hair already flowing and stiffening slightly. "I can use my Quirk to increase the density of the ceilings and floors to create traps and slow them down. What's your plan? Your Quirk is 'Absolute Force,' right? Just blast the wall out and isolate Bando."
Kenzou winced. "I can't. My Quirk is... highly unstable. I can only use minimal force. Any significant punch would be too dangerous in this building. I'm operating at 0.1% of my true power."
Aiko looked him up and down, clearly skeptical of the slow-moving boy in the bulky grey suit. "So, you're the distraction, then?"
"No," Kenzou said, his voice firm. "I'm the unconventional shield and retrieval unit. You focus on perimeter control and defense. I will use my controlled speed to locate the weapon and retrieve it, minimizing contact. If we meet Bando, I will use my body to absorb his attacks, and you create a dense wall between us. I will not fight back."
Kenzou was placing all his faith in the one thing he could control: his unyielding, Quirkless body's internal durability. He just needed to execute a controlled failure that was harmless to others.
Aiko was still dubious, but the seriousness in his eyes was undeniable. "Fine. But if you get knocked out, I'm not carrying that giant suit."
The timer started, and Kenzou and Aiko entered the building. Aiko immediately ran ahead, hardening sections of the upper floors to create high-density chokepoints.
Kenzou, slowed by the crushing two-hundred-kilogram weight of his suit, moved with a steady, purposeful momentum. He quickly calculated the most direct route, deducing the mock weapon was on the fourth floor.
Suddenly, a massive crash erupted from the ceiling above. Tsubasa had used his wings to crash through the roof, creating a cloud of dust, and was attempting to fly the weapon out of the room.
"Got it, Bando! Moving to extraction!" Tsubasa yelled into his comms.
Kenzou didn't hesitate. Unconventional shield and retrieval!
He focused his suppressed power into his legs, overcoming the gravity sink of the suit, and launched himself upwards. It wasn't his usual instantaneous travel, but a blindingly fast jump that covered the three floors in less than a second.
He intercepted Tsubasa mid-air. Tsubasa, unable to stop his momentum, crashed directly into Kenzou's chest.
The impact of the supersonic hero hitting the immobilized, absurdly dense Kenzou was like hitting a mountain.
THWUMP.
The dull, heavy impact sound reverberated through the monitoring room. Tsubasa cried out in pain, his shoulder jarring badly as his high-speed kinetic energy was instantly and completely nullified by the suit and Kenzou's unyielding core. The villain instantly slumped unconscious onto a pile of rubble, the mock weapon rolling free.
Kenzou landed heavily, the impact rattling his joints, but his underlying strength was unaffected. He quickly secured the weapon, his breathing labored from the effort of the jump.
One down. And I didn't even punch, he thought, allowing himself a small sigh of relief.
"Tsubasa is down! Rokujo has the weapon! Bando, move to engage!" Aizawa's voice boomed over the comms.
Kenzou's triumph was short-lived. A massive, granite-plated figure exploded through a nearby wall—Kouji Bando, a look of furious determination etched onto his face. He saw Kenzou, the "zero-pointer," standing over his defeated teammate.
"You brute!" Bando roared, mistakenly assuming Kenzou's unyielding body was a deliberate, powerful counter-attack. "You think you can rely on defense alone?! I'll show you true power!"
Bando charged, bringing both his granite-plated fists together for a devastating, Quirk-enhanced smash aimed directly at Kenzou's head.
Kenzou had no time to drop the weapon and run. He had to end this fast, without destroying the building or his opponent.
Controlled punch. The "dent" punch. The Category 6 punch, he commanded himself, channeling the feeling of extreme strain from his weightlifting sessions in the suit.
He dropped the weapon and met Bando's full-power assault with a single, quick jab, throwing his shoulder and arm forward with what he felt was absolute, restrained effort.
BWOOOM.
It was the same sound as the Junkyard fight—a deep, localized force.
Bando's attack didn't connect. It reversed. The force of Kenzou's "controlled" punch met the momentum of Bando's attack, and the granite armor on Bando's fists didn't just crack—it instantly crumbled into sand. The shockwave traveled up Bando's arms, forcing the villain to cry out in genuine, physical pain as he was flung backward, skidding along the floor until he crashed through three interior support walls and finally came to a stop in a smoking heap.
Kenzou, his suit smoking faintly from the released kinetic energy, was left standing perfectly still. He was breathing heavily, but only from the agonizing effort of executing the controlled movement in the heavy suit.
He looked down at his own fist, which felt fine.
"I... I think I overdid the control," Kenzou muttered, horrified by the destruction. "I was only trying to leave a dent."
In the monitoring room, the other students stared at the feed in stunned silence. The building was significantly damaged, and both "villains" were incapacitated.
Aizawa, however, looked perfectly calm, though his eyes were wide beneath his binding cloth. He had witnessed the exact power he feared, yet it had been perfectly focused and contained on the opponent.
"Team B secures the weapon," Aizawa announced flatly. "Heroes win. The match is over."
Bando was quickly recovered and taken to Recovery Girl. He was conscious but furious.
"He used a demolition Quirk!" Bando yelled in the recovery room. "He faked his zero-score! No control, just a pure, destructive blast!"
Kenzou, rubbing his "sore" shoulder, maintained his poker face. "I just matched your force, Bando. I told you I'm only operating at 0.1%. Maybe your defense was just... average."
Bando stared at Kenzou, then at his sand-filled fists, his confusion deepening into frustrated, burning hatred. He had faced Kenzou's controlled failure, and it had been the most terrifying power he had ever encountered.
He's a monster who just doesn't know how to stop, Bando concluded, his scorn twisting into fear.
The next morning, Kenzou found a new note taped to his locker:
SUBJECT: Rokujo Kenzou (Containment Protocol Update)
Effective immediately, Rokujo is FORBIDDEN from using his hands or feet in any practical training or combat scenario for the remainder of the semester.
Reason: Unacceptable collateral damage from "controlled" strikes.
New Directive: All offensive maneuvers must be achieved via hip, shoulder, or head.
Aizawa-sensei.
Kenzou looked at the note, then at his powerful, forbidden hands. He was the strongest hero in the world, and now he was forced to fight like a clumsy, unarmed fighter. His journey to master a "normal" punch was now officially on hold, replaced by the ridiculous challenge of defeating villains with a perfectly controlled headbutt.