MHATG: Chapter 278/279

Chapter 278: The Expectations of Both Sides

"What just happened...?"

Inside the monitoring room, teachers and students alike stared in stunned silence at the massive screen, now almost entirely covered in thick smoke, far more than what had resulted from All Might's earlier punch.

"That… That explosion was insane… Even All Might… He wouldn't just walk away from that so easily, right?" Minoru Mineta muttered, his voice trembling in fear.

"Kaminari…"

Kyoka clasped her hands together tightly, her eyes slowly filling with worry and tension.

"Tch!"

From his spot in the corner, Bakugo gritted his teeth, his fists clenching in frustration as he glared at the screen.

He hated this feeling.

Because right now, he knew, he couldn't unleash an explosion of that scale.

Explosions were supposed to be his specialty. Yet, in a single moment, a guy who could use both ice and fire had completely surpassed him at what he did best.

It was infuriating.

It was unacceptable.

"I'm still too weak… Way too weak… Damn it!"

—

Meanwhile, inside the principal's office, all the teachers had frozen at the sight of such destruction.

Even though they were all Pro Heroes, not every one of them specialized in combat. After all, hero rankings weren't solely determined by battle prowess many heroes excelled in different fields.

"Uh… Principal, are we really not going to intervene?" Present Mic leaned back in his chair, speaking casually but with a hint of concern. "This is way beyond the level of a student exam."

"I have to agree," Midnight added, adjusting her glasses. "With the way things are going, there's a real risk of serious injuries."

"A true hero."

Principal Nezu, holding a white porcelain saucer in one hand and a teacup in the other, smiled as he gazed at the dark liquid within.

"We have to trust in All Might. He didn't remain the world's Number One Hero for so many years purely because of his combat abilities."

"A Pro Hero embodies every quality a hero should have. Not only is he lacking in none of them, but he also excels in all of them. That is what makes him the Symbol of Peace!"

Hearing Principal Nezu's words, Cementoss, Thirteen, and the other teachers exchanged glances before falling silent, once again turning their attention to the screen.

At that moment—

"Huh? Where's All Might?!"

This wasn't just a question from Snipe, but from everyone watching.

Even Todoroki, standing amidst the battlefield, was stunned.

The massive iceberg was gone.

The roaring flames had vanished.

All that remained was a shattered urban landscape, reduced to ruins the ground scorched and charred.

Todoroki, his body still crackling with residual golden electricity from Kaminari's earlier buff, scanned the desolate scene in disbelief.

"Where… is All Might?"

There was no way he could've been taken out by that explosion.

That was impossible.

—

Monitoring Room

"W-Wait… Did All Might… Did he actually get taken out by Todoroki's attack?!" Kirishima shouted in shock, gripping his red hair.

"…"

Everyone turned to look at him, their expressions blank.

Standing next to him, Tetsutetsu slightly shifted his body before sighing.

"…Are you an idiot?"

"Kirishima-san," Momo spoke up calmly, "have you forgotten what happened during the Sports Festival? All Might directly charged through Todoroki-san's Air Explosion and even blocked Kaminari-san's Raikiri."

"Oh… Right! That did happen." Kirishima scratched the back of his head awkwardly, letting out a sheepish laugh.

Fortunately, there were multiple surveillance cameras scattered throughout the exam area. After switching through a few different perspectives.

They finally found All Might.

—

"Hey, isn't Kaminari heading that way…?"

At that moment, All Might, clad in his Golden Age battle suit, stood not far from the exit gate, his expression slightly puzzled as he glanced around.

"Judging by the lack of an announcement, he hasn't cleared the exam yet. And given my speed, if he really ran this way… I should've caught up by now."

That's right.

All Might had already anticipated that Todoroki would handle defense using icebergs or firewalls while Kaminari would make a break for the gate.

He just hadn't expected Todoroki to unleash an Air Explosion so recklessly.

Still, in the end, it didn't make much difference.

But…

Something wasn't adding up.

This wasn't the outcome he had foreseen.

A smile slowly crept onto All Might's face, his excitement barely contained.

"Heh… Kaminari boy, you really are something else."

"I knew from the start you were the one I needed to keep an eye on the most!"

—

Meanwhile, behind the wall of a partially collapsed building, Kaminari stood, staring intently at the holographic map projected by 'Pikachu.'

The blue outlines marked the remaining structures.

But one massive red star stood out clearly.

All Might.

And he was less than thirty meters away.

"...So, he really got here that fast, huh?"

If he had followed Todoroki's original plan and bolted for the exit.

He would've been taken down instantly.

In fact, Kaminari had already run simulations with 'Pikachu' beforehand.

The results?

Three simulations.
Three failures.
A 100% chance of defeat.

The reason was simple.

All Might was too fast.

Even with Todoroki's strongest defenses, All Might would take him down in four seconds.

And then, he'd catch up to Kaminari in another four.

That was with Kaminari using High-Voltage Shock Mode and All Might wearing high-compression handcuffs.

The conclusion?

Following Todoroki's plan would mean guaranteed failure.

"Which is why…" Kaminari smirked.

"I'll do things my way instead, Todoroki-san."

He was confident.

Todoroki was a genius.

If he was still conscious, then he'd figure it out soon enough.

The new plan was simple—

Kaminari would stall All Might.
Todoroki would find an opening to escape and reach the gate.

Battle tactics were like that.

The more complicated a plan, the higher the chances of failure.

But keeping it simple and adaptable?

That was the key.

"How's the prep, 'Pikachu'?"

"Pika…"

The small electric creature nodded confidently.

Kaminari, satisfied, turned his attention back to the red star on the virtual map.

"Alright then…"

A grin spread across his face.

"Let the show begin!"

As he spoke, his fingers subconsciously brushed against his waist.

Out of the five Golden Poké Balls that should've been there…

Only one remained.

Leaning against the cold concrete wall, he tilted his head upward.

The sky was still a brilliant blue.

The memory of sitting on the bench with Kyoka, bathed in warm sunlight, flashed through his mind.

"It's a shame…" he murmured to himself.

"I can't see the sun right now."

--------------
Chapter 279: Surrounded!

"Aren't you coming out yet?"

All Might didn't believe that Kaminari would simply wait until the timer hit zero. No matter how he moved around in search, he always kept the exit gate within sight.

"Speaking of which, it seems that Todoroki boy hasn't shown up either. What are those two planning?" The Symbol of Peace was filled with doubt.

"Hmm?!"

At that moment, a dazzling golden light flickered in the corner of his eye. It was the sunlight reflecting off metal brief but noticeable before vanishing among the tall buildings.

"Found you!"

All Might lightly stomped his foot, and in an instant, the sheer force of his movement sent a powerful gust across the ground. His body transformed into a golden-blue blur as he shot forward at incredible speed.

Soon, he caught sight of his target's back. That familiar golden armor—who else could it be but Kaminari?

But… why had the projection cloak on his back changed from pure white to golden yellow? This thought surfaced in All Might's mind like ripples from a stone dropped into water.

Just then, the armored figure ahead turned and threw a punch. The golden-clad fist tore through the air with a sharp whooshing sound, hurtling straight toward All Might.

"Well done!"

All Might smirked playfully and casually threw a straight punch of his own, ready to meet the attack head-on. Naturally, he held back his strength.

However, when the helmet fully turned toward him, All Might's eyes widened in surprise. The face inside wasn't Kaminari's, it was a completely expressionless visage made of metal!

Boom!

His fist struck first, instantly shattering the golden armor on the opponent's hand. As the impact extended, cracks spread across the armored figure's arm.

Yet, despite the damage, the metal warrior didn't collapse. Instead, it clenched its left fist and swung at him again.

"Hmph… In that case, I won't hold back!" A sharp glint flickered in All Might's eyes.

Boom!!!

The next moment, with an attack too swift to follow, the golden-armored fighter was sent hurtling through the air like a cannonball, embedding itself into a distant building.

From the first clash of fists to the moment the armored figure was knocked away, less than two seconds had passed.

"This is…?"

Just as All Might was about to resume his search for Kaminari and Todoroki, he suddenly noticed several more figures each clad in similar golden armor emerging from his left, right, and behind.

"Am I surrounded? This Kaminari boy's battle suit is quite something." All Might studied the scene with an amused smile.

The armored figure he had just sent flying climbed out of the rubble, its chestplate visibly repairing itself at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Now, All Might was encircled. One stood before him, while three others positioned themselves behind, left, and right.

Just as he had noted, they all looked similar yet not identical. Though each wore golden armor covering more than 90% of their bodies and had identical golden cloaks, their armor designs, body shapes, and even the metallic faces inside the helmets had distinct features.

Meanwhile, hidden in the shadows, Kaminari could only watch with a mix of shock and exasperation. He had merely instructed 'Pikachu' to use gold sand to create a few clones for assistance.

But unexpectedly, his AI companion had drawn inspiration from Saint Seiya and produced four "Gold Saints."

'Pikachu' had done this entirely based on its own interests. As an artificial intelligence, it believed this design would make Kaminari more satisfied.

The one All Might had just fought was none other than Aldebaran of Taurus, now wielding a golden shield that had appeared from nowhere.

To All Might's left stood Shura of Capricorn, gripping a golden sword.

To his right was Aiolos of Sagittarius, armed with a golden bow.

Behind him stood Dohko of Libra, holding a golden staff.

Apparently, 'Pikachu' had deemed it more effective for these "puppets" to wield weapons rather than fight barehanded.

"Then I'll leave this to you."

Surveying the tense atmosphere, Kaminari spoke silently in his mind before slipping away toward the exit gate in plain clothes.

There was no other choice. The gold sand clones required 'Pikachu' to control them via electromagnetic fields, which had a limited range. That meant he had to separate from them.

"Just hold on for a minute, just a few minutes will do!"

Once he had put some distance between himself and All Might, Kaminari activated High Voltage Mode without hesitation.

Initially, he had considered having 'Pikachu' stall All Might as long as possible to buy time for Todoroki. But after witnessing that terrifying exchange of punches at the start, he had quickly abandoned the idea of direct confrontation.

"Todoroki?"

Kaminari ran across the dirt-covered ground where a cement road once was. Soon, he spotted a series of icicle formations extending straight ahead.

Sure enough, ten seconds later, Kaminari found Todoroki advancing swiftly, standing atop a path of rapidly growing ice.

"Kaminari?!"

Todoroki's eyes widened in surprise as Kaminari flew up beside him. He quickly asked, "Where's All Might?"

"I had 'Pikachu' hold him off!"

"How long can it last?"

"Who knows? Either way, we just need to make a run for the exit gate!"

"Huh?" Todoroki gave Kaminari a skeptical glance. He wasn't convinced, a mere battle suit holding off All Might?

Whoosh—!

Just as they were about a hundred meters from the gate, so close that they could already see the other side, an earsplitting noise tore through the air, making them instinctively cover their ears.

"Wha… what?!"

BOOM!!!!

The next moment, a golden-blue figure plummeted from the sky, crashing into the ground like a meteorite. A massive cloud of dust and debris erupted, forcing Kaminari and Todoroki to a halt.

"Who did you say was holding me back?"

Though the dust obscured their view, that familiar, commanding voice made both prodigies' expressions darken.

And as All Might strode forward through the thick haze, Kaminari's face changed drastically.

His eyes darted to what All Might was holding, 'Pikachu', dangling helplessly in the hero's grip like a defeated, limp yellow mouse.