Chapter Twenty-Three
After the hero team's victory, they returned to the observation room along with (Kirishima).
On the other side, All Might had gone and retrieved the unconscious (Bakugo).
(Suzuki)had gone over to him as well, checking his condition with a detached, clinical air.
Furthermore,he produced a medical data-sheet from a compartment on his belt, confirming that the anesthetic he used was non-toxic and caused no lasting issues.
All Might took the proffered sheet, his massive fingers surprisingly gentle as he held the flimsy paper.
His blue eyes scanned the technical jargon and chemical breakdown.
A wide,approving smile broke across his face.
"WELL DONE! THAT'S EVEN BETTER!"
His booming voice filled the room, shaking loose some of the residual tension.
The students of Class 1-A were now looking at the two winning students with a mixture of awe,confusion, and intense curiosity.
They had watched.
Two people—one with no superpower at all,the other with a power not suited for direct combat—had defeated two of the strongest fighters in Class 1-A.
And they'd done it with incredibly smart tactics.
(Kaminari Denki) couldn't contain himself.
He surged forward,a blur of yellow hair and excitement, and clapped (Suzuki) on the shoulder—a move that made (Suzuki) stiffen almost imperceptibly.
"DUDE! THAT WAS SO AWESOME!"
Behind him, (Mina Ashido) was beaming, her pink skin flushed with exhilaration.
"Yeah! That was, like, the coolest thing ever!"she added, her voice refreshingly bright.
(Suzuki), on the other hand, remained very calm.
He looked at them before speaking in a responsible,praise-filled tone that was a perfect mirror of a model student.
"This was truly a heroic battle. Your team won with a splendid strategy."
"That's right! What a victory! The other team didn't even have a chance!"
(Mina) replied quickly, laughing.
She had watched it,and it was fantastic.
The hero team had won with overwhelming ease.
True,they hadn't known most of what happened during the fight due to camera blind spots and smoke screens, but it was obvious it had been a crushing victory for the heroes over the villains.
"That's not entirely accurate. They were very strong. The two of us had to think a great deal before executing this plan."
After hearing this, All Might—who had finally finished ensuring (Bakugo) was just sleeping it off on a bench in the corner—returned to the gathered students.
He pointed at the hero team and looked at the other members of Class 1-A.
"ALRIGHT, YOUNG ONES! NOW THAT THE FIRST TEST IS CONCLUDED, IT'S TIME TO MOVE ONTO YOUR EVALUATION! IT'S TIME FOR YOU TO TELL ME THE REASON THE HERO TEEM WAS VICTORIOUS!"
The focus of the test shifted toward the group of students who hadn't yet spoken.
None of them spoke immediately.
They were all thinking,it seemed, replaying the events in their heads.
But (Tenya Iida), the bespectacled, responsible, and very intelligent class representative, shot his hand into the air with piston-like precision.
Snap!
"SIR! I AM PREPARED TO SPEAK!"
All Might gestured for him to proceed.
"PROCEED, YOUNG IIDA!"
The class's attention turned to (Iida).
He adjusted his glasses with a sharpclick and began to narrate the events based on his deductions.
"Firstly, the hero team used their intellect! They knew that (Bakugo)-kun would come to them and leave the bomb behind in order to swiftly deal with the heroes!"
He looked toward (Momo), who gave a single, graceful nod of confirmation.
(Iida),assured by this, continued.
"At that moment, they decided to split their roles! First, (Yaoyorozu)-san would go around the back and await (Bakugo)-kun's arrival, while (Suzuki)-san would act as the bait at that moment!"
As he said this, the class imagined the operation.
The minute-by-minute breakdown(Iida) was giving matched exactly what they had pieced together.
(Suzuki)served as the bait while (Momo) positioned herself as the attacker from behind.
The moment(Bakugo) was distracted, she struck with that capsule onto his back.
But as (Iida) was explaining this, (Tsuyu Asui) raised her hand and let out a soft, froggy croak.
Ribbit.
"But what was the substance you used to stop (Bakugo)-chan's Quirk from making explosions?"
Most of Class 1-A's students turned their heads toward (Suzuki) and (Momo).
On the other hand,(Momo) was prepared.
She took out a capsule she had obtained from(Suzuki) earlier and held it up, gesturing toward him.
"(Suzuki)-kun gave me this capsule."
After (Suzuki) gave a slight nod, she continued, her voice clear and academic.
"Inside this capsule is a compound that counteracts the explosive sweat secreted by (Bakugo)-kun. It causes the sweat to break down rapidly. Of course, this substance is not harmful and does not cause an explosion itself, but it temporarily nullifies the ability to ignite the sweat. The effect lasts for approximately three minutes or less, depending on the rate of sweat renewal. We used it—" she corrected herself, "—I used it quickly and struck from behind. After accomplishing that, (Bakugo)-kun's Quirk was temporarily halted."
The class was impressed. A murmur of understanding ran through them.
But(Izuku Midoriya), who seemed to be deep in thought about the whole affair, muttered a question in a low voice.
However,in this moment of relative quiet as everyone tried to absorb the information, his voice was clear to them all.
"But… how did (Kacchan) lose consciousness so quickly? I'm sure he would have closed his mouth rapidly. So it's impossible for him to have inhaled the gas for a long time or in a large quantity. Right?"
This logical question reached the ears of Class 1-A.
They looked at(Momo) and (Iida) for an answer.
But the two were silent.
(Momo)because she didn't necessarily know that (Suzuki) had used a gas at the end—at that time, she had been busy preparing the shaped charge on the second floor.
(Iida)because he, like everyone else, had been watching from the observation room. He didn't know most of the events that transpired in that hallway after the Quirk nullification, or the type of gas (Suzuki) used.
After this short silence, (Momo) looked at (Suzuki).
He,in turn, looked at them—at Class 1-A, at (Momo), and at All Might, who was also very interested in understanding how it happened.
So, (Suzuki) reached into his gauntlet with easy familiarity and pulled out a small vial.
He held it up for everyone to see.
The liquid inside was clear,almost like water.
"Inside this vial is a chemical compound that acts as an immediate anesthetic upon inhalation."
One of the students—(Sero), it looked like—opened his mouth, likely to interrupt and ask if the compound was dangerous.
But before he could,(Suzuki) continued, contemplating the vial as he spoke.
"This compound is not dangerous. But it is fast-dispersing. It can enter the human body very quickly, especially if that person is breathing heavily."
When he finished that sentence, everyone looked confused, as if asking, 'What's the point of that?'
But at the same moment,(Izuku Midoriya)'s green eyes lit up as if a crucial bulb had switched on in his brain.
He began speaking rapidly,not caring about the strange looks others gave him for his muttering.
"That's because Kacchan needs to be angry to create sweat! So his heart is always beating very fast, right?! That also requires continuous, heavy breathing to produce the sweat!"
Before he could continue, he paused, a new question forming as he found something illogical.
"But even so, the time he would have breathed it in was the same moment he was caught in the net, right? How could that brief moment be enough to knock him out to that degree?"
At this moment, (Suzuki)'s eyes were fixed on him.
Not just his,but the eyes of Class 1-A were on (Midoriya), amazed by his sharp deduction.
At the same time,they looked at (Suzuki) with these new questions.
(Suzuki) was thinking: (As expected. If this person had trained a little instead of being afraid for so long due to being Quirkless, he would have been much stronger. But his social anxiety hinders him greatly.)
He thought this in the same moment he answered (Midoriya)'s question.
"That's because he was breathing in this gas the entire time."
The students were baffled by this statement.
Didn't(Suzuki) only use the gas when he tied (Bakugo) up?
This question was in all their heads.Even All Might's.
But in the end,(Suzuki) began to explain.
"The holograms helped me accomplish this. The smoke I initially threw contained this compound in a very small, non-visible concentration. It was causing (Bakugo) to be affected by it gradually. In the end, when he was destroying the copies, he was inhaling a larger quantity of the anesthetic gas with each enraged breath. Finally, when I captured him, his heart was pounding at a high rate because he was trying to regain his ability to create explosive sweat. Therefore, he couldn't protect himself, and in the end, lost consciousness."
The members of Class 1-A let out sounds of awe—"Ooooh!" "Whoaaa!"—at this high-level intelligence, the intricate planning, and the utilization of every single factor.
At the same time,(Midoriya) was looking at (Suzuki) with sheer admiration, not knowing what to say.
He had used the very traits of his childhood acquaintance—his anger,his rapid breathing—in a reverse way to make him lose consciousness so easily.
On the other hand, All Might was the first to speak after that.
He placed his hands on his hips,his chest puffing out with pride.
"EXCELLENT WORK! THAT IS HOW HEROES CONDUCT THEMSELVES! YOU HAVE EARNED A PERFECT SCORE!"
The verdict was in. The analysis was complete.
The Quirkless strategist had not only won the battle but had also thoroughly schooled his classmates—and his teacher—in the art of tactical warfare.
The atmosphere in the room was one of dawning respect,punctuated by the soft, rhythmic snoring coming from the bench where a certain explosive blond was still catching up on his lost beauty sleep.
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End of Chapter.
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A Note from the Post-Match Analyst:
Don't forget to add the Power Stones, guys, in addition to your opinion about the class
I wanted to explain the scenario once again, so that I could also clarify my point of view:
In the end, I hope the class will be good