In the commentary room, Mera sat up at the sound of the computer chime.
He looked at the screen with half-open eyes.
"Oh. Finally. First qualifier."
Then he looked at the numbers again.
"Sixteen were... eliminated?" He said it slowly, the way someone re-reads a sentence that refuses to mean what it appears to mean. "One person eliminated sixteen at once?!"
He raised his head toward the control room staff. "First qualifier. Send them to the waiting room."
Seconds later, in the alley furthest from the noise, Zoro took the last step out of the shadow and entered the open street.
Light found him after the long darkness.
He looked down at his chest. The three target points fixed to his costume glowed a steady blue. One quiet signal confirming his qualification.
"Qualified early." He read the street ahead of him. "I wanted more time. But it doesn't matter now. Let's see where this waiting room is."
The street in front of him was not empty.
Students crowded together, their eyes all fixed in one direction. Toward the rocky zone. From there, thick columns of smoke climbed between the buildings and the sound of collapsing stone echoed through the street. Midoriya and the others were still dealing with Shindo's group, from the look of it.
"Oh. Midoriya. Still struggling with that."
He said it without slowing, without changing direction. He continued through the gathered students.
Then the atmosphere changed.
Not gradually. In a single moment, the still air became currents cutting through the street from every angle, moving through the standing students, pulling at their clothes.
"What is this? What's happening?"
Zoro raised his head slowly.
Above one of the buildings, Inasa was standing at the edge of the rooftop with his head raised and his arms spread wide.
"Oh. Him." Zoro said it with nothing resembling surprise behind it. "What's he trying now."
The answer came fast.
The wind sharpened suddenly until it had weight and sound. The balls in the students' hands began sliding from their grips against their will, pulled upward, flying toward Inasa's raised hand.
"Wait! My ball!"
"He's taking our balls!"
"Only the balls? What kind of Quirk is this?!"
The balls gathered above Inasa like a spinning, colorful cloud. From the rooftop, the young man called down in his booming voice.
"I heard that someone eliminated sixteen people a moment ago! Very good! That makes me feel even more passionate!"
His grin was wide enough to be visible from the street.
"I love passion! Let me show you something beyond that!"
The students below looked up. Some realized what was coming too late.
"Shiketsu! Alone?!"
"What is he saying?"
"Wait, if he has our balls that means..."
Inasa pulled his arm back and threw with everything he had. "I look forward to this!"
The sky inverted.
The gathered mass of balls erupted in the air and fell downward as a thick, random rain, heading toward everyone on the street without distinction.
Faces changed.
"Get away!"
"It's coming!"
"Move!"
The air screamed between the buildings. Some students broke into a run. Others raised their hands in front of their faces.
Through all of it, Zoro kept walking.
One step. One step. One step.
He didn't increase his pace. He didn't change direction. The wind moved around him, and the black kimono moved with the dark red haramaki.
Three balls cut through the chaos heading directly at him. Then three more. Then more still.
His hand stopped above Wado Ichimonji.
Shhhk.
The white blade came out.
He didn't look up.
Boom.
One reverse strike with the back of the blade.
A short air burst expanded around him.
Crack. Crack. Crack. Crack. Crack.
All the trajectories shifted at once, as though an invisible wall had appeared in the air before him for one moment. The balls passed beside his shoulders. Over his head. Around his body. Not one touched him.
Click. The blade returned to its sheath.
His footsteps didn't stop.
Above the rooftop, Inasa froze.
"...What?"
His eyes widened slowly as he watched that figure below continue walking as though nothing had happened. "Who is that person? They're carrying swords... is it really...?!"
Below, several students had stopped running. Their eyes were fixed on Zoro's back as he walked away. Nobody spoke at first.
Then someone said in something close to a whisper, "Was he... just walking the whole time?"
"No, no!" another called out quickly. "I saw it with my own eyes! He didn't break the balls! He changed all their trajectories at once!"
"Wait." A third said it slowly, eyes fixed on the three swords at Zoro's right hip. "Didn't they say a moment ago that someone eliminated sixteen students at once?"
Silence held for a moment.
"...It can't be."
A girl who had been staring at the three swords widened her eyes. "The swords! It's the same person!"
Another student's voice came out unsteady. "What in the world... what kind of swordsman is this?"
"Even that Shiketsu student couldn't stop him!"
"Worse than that..."
Someone swallowed hard.
"...He never even looked at him."
In the commentary room, the alert sounded again. Mera sat up slowly and looked at the screen.
Then opened his eyes completely.
"One hundred and twenty were eliminated?!" He called out in a voice that had lost all of its usual exhaustion. "One person eliminated one hundred and twenty at once?!"
Above the rooftop, Inasa still stood. Despite the announcement confirming his own success, no satisfaction showed on his face. He raised his eyebrows and called down.
"You!"
Zoro continued walking without looking up.
"I wanted to stay longer." One step. "But I qualified early."
Another step.
"Next time... watch where you throw your trash."
Below, no one was looking at the sky or at the fading wind anymore. Every eye was fixed on one figure walking away at an unhurried pace.
"Impossible." Someone murmured, looking at a ball lying near their foot.
Above the rooftop, Inasa kept watching Zoro's retreating back. The wind around him gradually settled. Then suddenly his smile widened until it consumed his whole face.
"Hahahaha!"
He leaned forward with clear enthusiasm. "That's incredible! You!" He pointed a finger at the distant Zoro. "You completely ignored me!"
He tilted his head and his eyes lit up. "I love that kind of person!"
He made a tight fist. "Next time... I'll definitely make you look my way!"
.
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