Chapter 25: The Price of Victory
The observation room fell dead silent.
On the massive screens, Katsuki Bakugo was sprawled on his back on the concrete floor, coughing violently. Izuku Midoriya stood over him, trembling, but his stance was completely defensive.
"He read his moves..." Kirishima muttered in shock. "He actually flipped Bakugo!"
Zoro leaned against the cold metal wall, his single eye narrowing. The green kid doesn't know the first thing about martial arts, Zoro analyzed silently. His footwork is a mess, and his center of gravity is too high. But his eyes... he completely predicted that right hook. He's been studying the explosive kid for years.
On the screen, Bakugo scrambled to his feet. His face was twisted in absolute, unfiltered rage. The veins on his neck looked like they were about to burst. He lunged at Midoriya again, unleashing a barrage of fierce, heat-seeking explosions.
Midoriya backed away desperately, wrapping capture tape around his arm to block the scorching blasts. At the same time, the secondary monitor showed Uraraka finally reaching the fifth floor, where Iida was guarding the fake nuclear weapon.
"Bakugo is completely ignoring the mission," Mina Ashido pointed out nervously.
"He's acting like a villain seeking revenge," Zoro commented dryly, not taking his eye off the screen. "He let his pride hijack his brain."
The fight escalated rapidly. Bakugo backed Midoriya against a broken window. The blond raised his right arm, gripping the metal pin on his massive, grenade-shaped gauntlet.
"They're loaded, right?!" Bakugo yelled, his voice carrying through the monitors. "If he dodges, he won't die!"
All Might's signature smile vanished instantly. He recognized the lethal threat building up inside that gauntlet. The pro hero lunged toward the microphone on the control panel.
"Young Bakugo, stop! Are you trying to kill him?!" All Might shouted, ready to press the emergency termination button.
"Don't stop it."
All Might froze. He looked to his side. Zoro was standing right next to him. The swordsman's voice was low, cold, and carried a terrifying weight that made the number one hero hesitate.
"A real enemy won't stop just because the referee calls a timeout," Zoro stated, his sharp eye locked on the screen. "If the green kid can't survive this, he has no business being here. Let them fight."
All Might gritted his teeth, his hand hovering over the button. But before he could press it, Bakugo pulled the pin.
BOOM!
A devastating, blinding wave of fire and shockwaves ripped through the corridor. The entire camera feed shook violently. The concrete walls melted, and a massive portion of the building's side was completely blown out.
The students in the observation room screamed, shielding their eyes from the glaring monitors.
As the smoke slowly cleared, Midoriya was revealed. His costume was shredded, but he was barely standing. Bakugo charged through the smoke, relentless.
Now what? Zoro thought, his hand resting on the Wado Ichimonji. Are you going to die here, kid?
Midoriya raised his right arm. The same terrifying, vein-like red lines from the softball pitch erupted across his skin. But he didn't aim at Bakugo.
Midoriya aimed straight up.
SMASH!
The sheer air pressure from Midoriya's punch blasted a massive hole through the ceiling, tearing through every single floor above them. The entire building shuddered violently. On the fifth floor, the sudden shockwave threw Iida off balance, giving Uraraka the exact opening she needed to jump over him and touch the nuclear weapon.
"PAYLOAD SECURED!" All Might yelled into the microphone. "TEAM A WINS!"
Midoriya collapsed to the floor, his right arm completely shattered and purple. Bakugo stood frozen, staring at the massive hole in the ceiling, realizing that Midoriya could have killed him if he had aimed that punch directly at him.
The observation room erupted in cheers, but Zoro remained completely silent.
A few minutes later, Bakugo and a heavily injured Midoriya were escorted away by medical bots. The rest of the class gathered around All Might.
"Excellent work!" All Might announced, regaining his composure. "Now, who can tell me who the MVP of this match was?"
Momo Yaoyorozu raised her hand confidently. "It was Iida. He was the only one who adapted to his role as a villain. Bakugo acted purely out of spite, Uraraka lost her focus, and Midoriya..."
"They all failed," a harsh voice cut her off.
Everyone turned. Zoro pushed himself off the wall and walked toward the center of the room. He didn't look at Yaoyorozu; his intense gaze swept across the entire class.
"The loudmouth acted like an arrogant thug. He destroyed the building he was supposed to protect just to settle a personal grudge," Zoro stated brutally. "And the green kid is even worse. He shattered his own arm and blew up the entire structure to win a game of tag. In a real hostage situation, he would have killed the hostages, destroyed the payload, and left himself completely defenseless against incoming reinforcements."
The class went dead silent. Yaoyorozu lowered her hand, her eyes widening. She hadn't thought about it from a raw, real-combat survival perspective.
"It was a pathetic display of raw power with zero control," Zoro finished, crossing his arms over his white shirt. He slowly turned his head.
His gaze cut straight through the crowd, locking onto the tall boy with half-white, half-red hair standing quietly in the back. Shoto Todoroki's mismatched eyes narrowed slightly as he met the swordsman's intense stare.
Zoro smirked, a dangerous, hungry glint in his single eye.
"I really hope the rest of you offer a better challenge," Zoro said quietly, his voice echoing in the silent room. "Because right now, I'm getting bored."
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