"What?! You didn't come in through the front gate?!"
When the smoke finally cleared, the figures that appeared were Igarashi Masata and Minoru Mineta.
But instead of forcing their way through the iron-bar–sealed entrance, they had blasted open a massive hole straight through the side wall.
"Hey, Momo-chan," Masata said smugly, magma still dripping from one clenched fist,
"Do you really think I'm stupid enough to walk in through the front door? I figured you'd have loaded that place with traps."
It was his punch that had shattered the ordinary concrete wall just moments ago.
"Villains! Your good times are over!" Mineta shouted beside him, striking what he believed was a heroic pose.
"…Damn it."
Yaoyorozu Momo clenched her teeth. So all the floating debris and traps at the entrance were useless…
"Chacha!" Momo called out quickly. "Prepare for a direct confrontation!"
"Got it!"
Uraraka Ochaco immediately pulled the pin from the grenade in her hand and hurled it toward the two intruders.
"A grenade?! That's way too rough!" Masata shouted—though his actions didn't match his words.
With his free hand, he grabbed a massive steel plate lying nearby and raised it in front of him.
BOOM!
The explosion collided with the steel plate, sending a violent shockwave through the room. Dust and smoke surged outward, obscuring everything once again.
"Cough—cough! Did it work?" Ochaco asked nervously, waving the dust away from her face.
"Of course it did—
completely ineffective."
A voice calmly answered from behind the steel plate.
Momo's eyes widened in disbelief.
At point-blank range, even someone as monstrous as Masata should have been knocked back at least a step. That kind of shockwave shouldn't have been blockable.
"The secret," Masata said, slowly peeking out from behind the shield,
"is this amazing 'shield' I'm holding! A double-layer, shock-absorbing super shield!"
"Mineta, your Quirk is ridiculously useful," Masata continued cheerfully.
"It's basically a super spring! If being a Hero doesn't work out, you should start a construction materials company."
At this point, the method became obvious.
The steel plate in Masata's hands had been created by Yaoyorozu Momo's Quirk.
Its material quality wasn't exceptional—but it was solid.
Masata had pressed Mineta's sticky spheres across the surface of the plate, layered another steel plate on top, repeated the process, and finally attached a handle.
The result:
A massive shield made of steel and elastic adhesive layers.
The shock from the explosion was dispersed upward through the elastic spheres multiple times over, making the impact almost meaningless.
The only downside was the shield's weight.
But for Masata, that wasn't a problem at all.
(Although Mineta's scalp was still bleeding a little.)
"Taste this, then!"
Unwilling to give up, Momo fired another cannon blast.
"Useless, useless! Just give up already!"
Masata pushed forward with the shield, completely ignoring the incoming fire.
The cannonball shattered the outermost steel plate—but the elastic layer beneath absorbed the force, keeping the structure intact.
Step by step, Masata advanced.
Forced backward by the shield, Momo-chan and Chacha were driven into the corner. No matter what they tried, they couldn't break through the defense—or reach Masata behind it.
Meanwhile, Mineta quietly slipped around behind them.
And just like that—
He secured the nuclear weapon.
"Winner: Hero Team!"
All Might's voice echoed through the headset.
Momo let out a slow sigh.
"Masata… you've grown stronger again," she said honestly.
"You didn't charge in blindly this time. You actually used strategy. That's a huge improvement."
Masata scratched his head, looking confused.
"I know you're complimenting me, but… why does that sound kind of insulting?"
Then his grin returned.
"Well, I was planning to just rush in. Those traps couldn't stop me anyway. But then Grape suddenly started crying, calling me his big brother and saying he wanted to be as cool as me…"
"So I generously thought up a way to use his Quirk, win the match, and not hurt you two. Is this what it's like being the protagonist of the world?! Hahahaha!"
"…He's getting excited again," Momo muttered flatly. "What an idiot."
After School — Post-Battle Discussion
The class gathered in the classroom for an indoor training review session.
"Mineta-san! Your Quirk is amazing!"
"Yeah! Using it with steel plates to make a shield that can tank cannon fire?!"
The moment Masata walked in, he saw Mineta standing proudly on his chair, arms crossed.
"Hmph! Of course!" Mineta declared arrogantly.
"You have no idea—Masata was terrified back there! He completely relied on my genius to overcome his fear and win!"
"…That's not what we saw on the monitors," someone said cautiously.
"You can't trust surveillance footage!" Mineta argued.
"If you really know Masata, you'd know he almost called me—"
"Big brother."
Mineta instantly snapped to attention as Masata walked over.
"Did you just perform a face-changing act from Sichuan opera?!"
The surrounding students stared, shocked at the grape's shamelessness.
"Masata! You're insanely strong!"
Kirishima Eijiro rushed over excitedly.
"Holding that huge shield like it was nothing—so manly!"
"If we team up in the future, I'll be your shield!" Kirishima flexed.
"I'll be the hardest shield ever!"
"…That sounds kind of wrong," Masata thought.
"Igarashi," a calm voice said.
"My name is Tokoyami Fumikage. If there's a chance, I hope we can exchange ideas."
Shouldn't you be discussing things with Iida? Masata thought, but still nodded politely.
After responding to classmates one by one, the group finally reached the school gate.
"Since no one's home at your place tonight," Yaoyorozu said casually,
"why don't we go have dinner together?"
"And we can train afterward," she added, glancing at Ochaco.
Masata blinked.
"…Is this what a peaceful school life is supposed to feel like?"*