Katsuki Bakugo stepped into the circle, his face a mask of volatile focus. He gripped the ball, his mind narrowing down to a single point: concentrate the blast at the moment of release.
"You damned twin bastards, just watch! This is the result of the hellish training I underwent to kill you!" Bakugo shot a venomous side-eye toward Wu Xuan before assuming a pitcher's stance.
"DIE!!!"
With a thunderous BOOM, a cloud of orange sparks and black smoke erupted from his palm. The ball traced a massive, screaming parabola across the clear sky.
Aizawa looked at his phone as the ball finally impacted the turf. He lazily turned the screen toward the class: 705.2 meters.
The class erupted.
"700 meters?! Are you kidding me?"
"This is going to be awesome! We can finally use our Quirks for real!"
"U.A. is definitely the place to be!"
Watching them treat the trial like a spring picnic, Aizawa's expression curdled. A dark, thin smile crept onto his face. "Interesting, is it?" He scanned the joyful faces of Uraraka, Kirishima, and the others. "In that case, the student with the lowest overall score across all eight events... will be judged as having 'No Potential' and will be immediately expelled."
The "lake" of the classroom was instantly struck by a boulder of dread.
"What!?"
"Expelled on the first day!?"
"That's crazy, even for U.A.!"
"If you want to spend your afternoons at McDonald's enjoying a 'peaceful' campus life, you can leave now," Aizawa sneered. "This is the Hero Course. Welcome to hell." He turned his bloodshot eyes back to the circle. "Wu Xuan. You're up."
Wu Xuan stepped forward and picked up a ball. Unlike Bakugo's high-velocity throw, he took an inexplicable, casual stance—almost like he was tossing trash into a bin from the bottom up.
Whoosh!
When the ball left his hand, the atmosphere among the top students shifted. Aizawa, Momo, Inasa, Todoroki, and Bakugo all narrowed their eyes. They noticed it immediately.
Wu Xuan hadn't used his Quirk.
Thud.
The ball hit the ground and skidded for a significant distance.
450 meters.
Aizawa's pupils contracted. Pure muscle strength? To reach nearly half a kilometer without an enhancer... his base physical ceiling is monstrous.
"Whoa! 450 meters without a flashy blast?!"
"What is his Quirk anyway? Strength-based like All Might?"
The regular students began a heated discussion, but the recommended students remained silent. They knew Wu Xuan was effectively handicapping himself.
"As long as I'm not last, it doesn't matter, right?" Wu Xuan said as he strolled past Aizawa, his voice dripping with indifference.
Is this brat not taking my class seriously? Aizawa wondered, his grip tightening on his phone. Bakugo, meanwhile, looked ready to grind his teeth into powder. Even though his score was higher, he knew he couldn't hit 100 meters without his explosions.
The 50-Meter Dash
The tests continued. Iida clocked a record time with his engines; Uraraka used zero gravity to lighten her load; Tsuyu used her frog-like leg strength.
"Last set: Wu Xuan vs. Izuku Midoriya!" the robot announced.
Midoriya stood at the blocks, sweat pouring down his face. I can't use One For All yet... it'll break my body. I have to do this with my own strength. He glanced at Wu Xuan, expecting to be left in a cloud of golden dust.
"Ready... GO!"
Midoriya lunged forward, pouring every ounce of his ten-month training into his legs. He expected Wu Xuan to vanish instantly, but to his—and everyone's—shock, Midoriya was in the lead.
He didn't dare look back. He just kept rushing.
On the sidelines, the class stood dumbfounded. Wu Xuan was literally strolling down the track, hands in his pockets, as if he were taking a walk in a park.
Midoriya Izuku: 7.02 seconds.
Wu Xuan: 22.31 seconds.
Momo rubbed her temples in distress. He's doing it again...
"HEY!" Tenya Iida shouted, his arms chopping the air in a robotic frenzy. "Wu Xuan! Such a lax attitude is an insult to the path of heroism! Take this seriously!"
Wu Xuan reached the finish line, yawned, and looked at Iida. "Why run when the result is already decided?"
A single relevant follow-up question:
With his "expulsion" threat hanging in the air, do you think Aizawa will call Wu Xuan out for his lack of effort, or is Wu Xuan strategically saving his energy for a specific test where he can't be beat?