Bakugo searched for Deku as he recalled last year.
It had been a humiliating time—trapped by the sludge villain and rendered completely helpless.
When even a Pro Hero could only stand by and watch, Deku had rushed in to save him.
He’d thrown aside his bag and charged in, scooping the sludge away with his bare hands. It was a sight that terrified him.
No Quirk at all, yet Deku risked everything to save someone he wasn’t even close to?
Did he really believe himself to be some kind of saint?
Bakugo had known from a very young age that Deku was that kind of person.
And that was exactly why he hated him—why he bullied him.
After meeting Kirishima and coming to see the world a bit through his eyes, Bakugo realized that true composure belonged to the strong—and that his own unease at leaving Deku alone stemmed from his own weakness.
So rather than picking on Deku further, he had set himself the task of surpassing Kirishima.
Compared to Kirishima, who loomed like an ever-growing mountain, Deku seemed nothing more than a minor obstacle.
That, however, did nothing to diminish the simmering dislike within him.
The reason Bakugo despised Deku was essentially the same as why he abhorred and dreaded villains: they were creatures beyond understanding and empathy. To him, Deku was no different.
"Stop wasting time and get out here already! This is the time to prove ourselves—both you and me!"
Bakugo bellowed as small, deliberate explosions danced at his fingertips.
And just as he had declared, it was time for him to prove his worth.
It was time to show Kirishima—the rival destined to cross his path for life—how much stronger he had become and the way he fought.
Bakugo’s mind wandered back to a day long past.
It was another day when he had been utterly defeated by Kirishima.
No matter how many times he endured that bitter taste of defeat, the memory always left him glaring at Kirishima.
While he struggled to wash away the sour taste in his mouth, that arrogant bastard had sneered, "Bakugo, there’s a mountain so high that if you want to climb it, what’s the first thing you must do?"
Bakugo spat, replying, "What’re you blabbering about all of a sudden? Fine, I’ll play along. First, you’d need to get some gear, right? Or maybe gather a team? Wait—are you saying I need more training? That I should train harder?"
Kirishima immediately shot back, "No. Everything’s wrong. The only correct answer is to set your sights on the summit."
A faint smile played on Kirishima’s face as he spoke.
For a moment, Bakugo was left speechless, and then Kirishima continued, "In that sense, you’re doing well. At least you haven’t lost sight of your goal."
"So you’re saying you're the summit?" Bakugo retorted.
"Why ask the obvious?" Kirishima replied with a laugh, showing no sign of embarrassment at Bakugo’s scowl.
Bakugo gritted his teeth at Kirishima’s carefree demeanor, but he remained silent.
There were still many things he had yet to experience, and while the world was vast, if he had to pick the best among his peers, it would undoubtedly be that guy.
Returning to the narrow corridor, Bakugo muttered, "Kirishima, I’m still watching you. And I will continue to watch you."
At that very moment, Uraraka had advanced far enough to catch sight of Iida guarding the bomb.
Peeking around the corner, she overheard Iida muttering to himself.
"Bakugo is naturally ruthless, and in this training, that’s entirely appropriate. Then I too must be utterly remorseless—as ruthless as a villain! Yes, this is yet another trial to become a great human being who brings honor to the Iida name! Become one. To be a hero. Let yourself be stained by evil!"
He clenched his fists and spun around.
With eyes wide and voice booming, he looked less like a hero and more like a clown in ill-fitting clothes.
"I’m really terrible!"
Uraraka couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.
"Pfft. He takes himself too seriously," she mused.
Responding to her laughter, Iida declared proudly, "You’ve arrived, Uraraka."
Startled, Uraraka revealed herself fully, and he pointed at her with a finger.
"I knew Bakugo would head out alone the moment he rushed off—after all, his Quirk makes anything he touches levitate. That’s why earlier..."
He spread his arms wide and continued confidently, "I’ve cleared every object on this floor as a countermeasure against you. Your little tricks are now useless. You got careless, Hero!"
To the onlookers, Iida’s forced villainy was laughable, but Uraraka couldn’t bring herself to laugh.
With trembling eyes, she whispered, "That sounds convincing..."
Immediately, she contacted Midoriya. "Deku! How’s it going?"
"Uraraka, are you okay?" Midoriya asked.
"Iida’s onto me. He’s creeping closer right now..."
Watching Iida advance slowly, she explained the situation to Midoriya.
Midoriya listened and asked, "Where are you?"
"Right in the center of the fifth floor."
Thinking about the building’s layout, Midoriya muttered, "That’s almost directly above me. We don’t have much time left. If time runs out, they win. I don’t want us to lose now."
As Midoriya rose with his fists clenched, he sensed someone behind him.
When he turned, Bakugo was standing there, staring him down.
In a calm tone, Bakugo stated, "They’ve gathered."
After mumbling something that made little sense, Bakugo’s eyes gleamed as he continued,
"Why aren’t you using your Quirk? Is it because it’ll hurt you? Honestly, the Deku I know never worries about that. Or is it because you’re scared I might die?"
His voice grew rougher, until his final words sounded like a beast’s threatening growl.
Midoriya felt the sting of his words but refused to back down.
"Then what? Make me use my Quirk, Kacchan. Prove to me there’s nothing to fear."
Bakugo gave a cold smile as he reached toward Midoriya and said, "You know my explosions come from a nitro-like substance secreted by my palms."
Lowering his stance, he hooked a finger onto the pin of his grenade-shaped bracer.
"If the bracer is built to spec, it stores that energy inside."
Watching the scene on a monitor, All Might panicked and immediately radioed Bakugo,
"Bakugo! Stop! Are you trying to kill him?"
Even All Might’s frantic plea couldn’t make Bakugo stop.
"If it doesn’t hit, he won’t die!"
A massive explosion swept through the corridor.
As he watched, Kirishima ground his teeth and muttered, "That idiot! I told him to learn to read the room."
He longed to rush over and give him a piece of his mind, but there was nothing he could do at that moment.
Seeing the fierce determination in Kirishima’s eyes, Ashido flinched.
It was a rare sight—Kirishima, truly angry.
"I need to be extra careful today," she thought.
Amidst that resolve, All Might desperately called out to Midoriya, "Midoriya!"
Fortunately, despite the blast that had rolled him onto the floor, Midoriya wasn’t seriously injured.
Still, his stunned expression was all too evident.
In that moment, the long-buried resentment between two longtime rivals finally erupted.
Though he might not admit it himself, it was clear that for Bakugo, the rivalry was personal.
Wading through the smoke, Bakugo strode forward and declared, "Wow. Amazing. The more I load this bracer, the stronger it gets. Come on—use your Quirk, Deku. Give it everything you’ve got. Only then will crushing you have meaning."
Kirishima clicked his tongue.
He could understand it.
For the first time, Bakugo was experiencing combat by unleashing his Quirk, and its power exceeded his expectations.
Power intoxicated him all too easily.
That was, of course, if Kirishima hadn’t already taken notice.
With a bitter smile, Kirishima remarked, "You’re in for a hell of a training session, too. Just wait."
Meanwhile, Iida grabbed his radio and demanded an explanation from Bakugo about the massive shockwave that had just rocked the corridor.
"Bakugo! Answer me! Was that you? What on earth did you do? Explain yourself!"
The moment Uraraka’s attention wavered, she dashed forward.
Her mind was set: if she could retrieve the bomb, victory would be theirs.
Iida immediately bolted after her, shouting, "I won’t let you do that! Hero!"
Uraraka clutched her hands together and negated gravity, slowly lifting off the ground.
Iida watched in astonishment as she floated well above his height and then tumbled forward.
Touching the target was the condition for retrieval!
"So she can levitate herself too?" Iida wondered aloud.
As she neared the bomb, she deactivated her Quirk and fell while shouting, "This is a high-cost technique!"
Just as her hand came within reach of the bomb...
Iida, having explosively accelerated his legs, dove in, grabbed the bomb, and leaped away.
Uraraka reached out helplessly, rolled across the floor, and crashed against a wall.
As fragments of her dislodged helmet scattered, Iida’s voice cut through, "Your Quirk won’t pose a threat unless it makes contact! I’ve bought us plenty of time! Hahahahaha!"
Though his antics were still laughable, Uraraka gritted her teeth in frustration.
"Deku is really giving it his all!"
At that moment, Bakugo glowered down at Midoriya and growled, "Ha. Impressive, isn’t it? Deku, why are you just standing there? We never learned to fight by just standing still! You have to move, attack, bite down! Hurry up! I know you’re not the type to surrender because you’re scared!"
Instead of answering, Midoriya turned to ask Uraraka about the situation.
Watching this, Ashido cautiously whispered to All Might, "Sensei, shouldn’t we stop this? Bakugo probably won’t kill Midoriya, but it’s still way too dangerous."
"No..." All Might replied in a somber tone.
He seemed unnervingly calm—almost miserly.
"Bakugo, if you fire that again, I’m calling an immediate halt and marking it as a loss for you. In an indoor battle, a large-scale attack only damages the fortress you’re supposed to defend. For a Hero—or even a villain—that’s downright foolish! Consider yourself heavily penalized!"
Though his words sounded like a cool declaration of a penalty, his heart wasn’t entirely in it.
Unease and anticipation swirled within All Might.
I should have stopped this already as their teacher. But...
Bakugo scratched his chin at All Might’s declaration and muttered, "That’s just something he does when he’s in trouble. You know that too, Deku? Looks like I really made a mistake. No more big attacks, huh? Then let’s settle this up close!"
Using the explosive force emanating from his palms, Bakugo closed the gap to Midoriya in an instant.
When Midoriya reacted and reflexively tried to grab Bakugo’s arm as before, Bakugo thrust one hand to the ground and detonated it diagonally, vaulting over Midoriya.
Then, with his other hand, he exploded once more—circling around and getting behind Midoriya before blasting him in the back.
Watching the maneuver, Todoroki murmured, "He sets up the same situation to trigger a reflex, then alters his trajectory with an explosion, and uses another blast to twist his path and strike from behind... He doesn’t strike me as the type who’d overthink things, but he’s surprisingly precise."
Yaoyorozu picked up where Todoroki left off, explaining, "To counteract inertia further, he must finely adjust the explosive force on each side to the minimum."
The blond boy, Kaminari, commented in disgust, "What a talent monster. Ugh, I really can’t stand it."
At that moment, Bakugo charged at Midoriya as he was sent flying by the blast.
"Here I come! That’s not enough—River Shot, Deku!"
Bakugo swept his right hand in a wide arc, striking Midoriya in the upper right abdomen.
Although Midoriya managed to block the blow with his lowered arm, Bakugo seized his wrist in return.
Gripping Midoriya’s wrist, Bakugo unleashed another explosion with his remaining hand and spun like a raging storm.
Helplessly, Midoriya was thrown in a wide circle before slamming into the floor with a thud.
"Ghk!"
"He won’t even give me a second to think! As expected, he’s strong! I have no choice now!"
In the observation room, several exclamations burst forth at the sight of Midoriya’s brutal situation.
"He’s bullying him! Look at this—he could just tape him up!"
"That’s not a hero’s behavior..."
"I always thought Midoriya was impressive too, but in combat, Bakugo is the embodiment of raw instinct and skill!"
Listening to those reactions, Kirishima realized his mistake.
He had drilled into them the value of unwavering resolve and fighting even against the odds, but only mentioned adapting to circumstances in passing.
That approach might have worked for Midoriya, but Bakugo needed something different.
Kirishima had long assumed that Bakugo’s naturally aggressive, all-or-nothing style was just the way he was born. It was simply part of who he was.
"This is... my fault," Kirishima thought.
While Kirishima brooded, the situation continued to escalate.
Staggering backward, Midoriya heard Bakugo shout, "Why aren’t you using your Quirk? By now, you should understand that this isn’t over unless you do. If you’re not looking down on me, then use your Quirk! Considering you’ve always aimed so high against me, maybe you are indeed looking down on me, Deku!"
Midoriya, his face set in determination, retorted, "I want to win because you’re amazing! I want to beat you—to surpass you, you idiot!"
"Save your nonsense for after you've won!" Bakugo roared as he charged at Midoriya.
Midoriya’s rushing figure seemed to move in slow motion, as if time itself had slowed.
For some reason, the day Kirishima had told him to keep his eyes on the summit flashed back.
Back then, Kirishima had wiped the smile from his face and said seriously, "But Bakugo, sometimes don’t just look up—look down too. The place where you stand is the summit for someone else. Of course, there will always be people vying for it."
Bakugo couldn’t quite recall his exact reply—only that he had snapped, irritated that Kirishima had insinuated looking down might mean looking down on someone.
Watching Midoriya clench his fist and shout, Bakugo reached out.
The onlookers began to cry out to All Might in distress, "Sensei! This is dangerous!" "We should stop it!" "Sensei!"
Just when it seemed they might intervene, Midoriya shouted, "Uraraka! Now!"
"Yes!" came the reply from the pillar where she clung.
Iida stared blankly at her, not understanding what that meant.
Midoriya watched Bakugo’s outstretched palm hurtling toward his face and thought, "I still can’t beat him one-on-one! But..."
Twisting the arc of his punch with a swift uppercut that aimed for the ceiling, Bakugo flinched.
The Bakugo with razor-sharp battle instincts immediately understood Midoriya’s intent.
And then it hit him.
He was the only one who believed that battle was settled solely by brute force.
In that final moment, sensing defeat, Bakugo eased the strength in his hand.
"Looks like you’re seeing things differently this time, Deku."
As their hands collided, an explosion and a blast of wind erupted simultaneously.
The shockwave tore upward through the building, punching a massive hole in its facade.
Uraraka, seizing the moment, grabbed a broken pillar to reduce its weight, swung it with both hands, and shouted, "Iida! Sorry, here comes my improvised finishing move—Comet Home Run!"
"That’s not a home run!"
Stone fragments battered Iida, who shielded his head.
In that split second, Uraraka propelled herself through the air, clinging to the bomb.
"Retrieved!"
Her bright voice echoed throughout the building, and All Might’s triumphant announcement followed.
"Hero... Hero team, WIN!"
And just like that, the battlefield of old grudges came to an end.
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