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**Chapter 38: Chaos**
The tension in the arena was palpable. The final stretch of the Cavalry Battle had everyone on edge. Teams that once stood tall were now scrambling for any last points to secure their place in the top four. The roar of the crowd echoed through the massive hall, their voices blending into a cacophony of excitement and desperation. The pressure mounted with every second that ticked away.
Up in the announcer's booth, Yamada's voice boomed through the speakers. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are down to the last two minutes! And what a wild ride it's been! The game has reached a whole new level of difficulty—students are giving it their all, and only the top four teams will move forward! But who will make the cut? Anything can happen in these final moments!"
The stands shook with cheers and gasps as spectators across Japan watched in awe. In one small apartment, an elderly woman—Natsu's landlord—watched the broadcast with fierce intensity. Her fists punched the air as she yelled at the screen, "Come on, you blockhead! Push harder! Don't you dare give up now!"
Back on the battlefield, the weight of those final minutes was beginning to settle in. The tension was evident in Kaminari's voice as he anxiously glanced at the countdown timer on the screen. "Two minutes? Two minutes is all we've got left? How are we supposed to pull this off when we're sitting at zero points and dead last?"
Jiro, standing beside him, tried to find a silver lining. "At least we're not the only team with zero points, Kaminari."
But Yaoyorozu wasn't in the mood for jokes. Her face was tense with worry. "This isn't the time to make light of the situation. We need a strategy—and fast. We can't afford to waste any more time. We need to figure out how to get the ten-million-point headband back."
Natsu clenched his fists, his eyes burning with determination. "No. I want that specific headband. I'm not leaving without it."
Yaoyorozu shook her head, frustrated. "We don't have the luxury of choosing which headband to take! Time isn't on our side!"
She quickly glanced up at the scoreboard. "Only the top four teams will advance, and right now, the fourth-place team has 1,500 points."
Kaminari's face turned pale as the realization hit him. "Wait… that means we need more than 1,500 points in the next two minutes just to qualify? How are we supposed to do that when the field is in complete chaos?"
Yaoyorozu grimaced. "It's worse than that. By the time the game ends, the rankings will have shifted again. We're going to need closer to 2,000 or even 2,500 points just to secure fourth place."
Jiro's sharp gaze darted between her teammates. "That's logical, but we're wasting precious time talking about it. How are we going to gather that many points with only two minutes left?"
Natsu's eyes were locked onto Todoroki, who was steadily moving farther away, flanked by Iida. His jaw tightened with resolve. "I'm not going anywhere until we get that headband back."
Yaoyorozu sighed but quickly refocused. "Fine, but if we want to challenge Todoroki again, we need to gather at least 2,000 points first. Do you think you can lead us to that, Natsu?"
Natsu's gaze never wavered, his eyes still trained on Todoroki, now a mere forty meters away and growing more distant by the second. "Alright," he said finally, "where are the teams we need to take down?"
In the glass observation room, Yamada's voice was filled with excitement and disbelief. "It's incredible, folks! Natsu's team, once at the top, has fallen all the way to the bottom after their encounter with Todoroki and Iida. The question on everyone's mind now is, can they climb back up in time?"
Beside him, Happy sat on Yamada's shoulder, his small blue wings drooping as his face betrayed his worry. "Natsu," he whispered softly, his voice carrying a note of sorrow as he watched the dire situation unfold below.
But in the thick of the battlefield, Natsu's focus was suddenly interrupted by an unfamiliar voice.
"You don't need to worry about taking down any team," the voice mocked. "You're finished."
Natsu's eyes narrowed as he turned toward the sound. Standing to his right was a boy with purple hair and eyes of the same hue—Shinso. He wasn't from the Hero Course, yet here he was, leading a team of students, including Ojiro.
Yaoyorozu, Jiro, and Kaminari exchanged confused glances, their expressions a mixture of shock and disbelief. Why was Ojiro, a student from Class 1-A, teaming up with someone from the General Studies course? And who even was this Shinso?
The confusion on their faces was apparent. Yaoyorozu's brows furrowed in concern, while Jiro shot a questioning glance toward Kaminari, who shrugged helplessly. Even Natsu, for all his usual bluster, seemed momentarily taken aback.
Shinso's grin widened as he saw the uncertainty in their eyes. His voice dripped with condescension. "I was hoping to humiliate you in front of everyone—to make you the laughingstock of this entire event. But look at you now. You've already been reduced to nothing. First place to last in a matter of minutes. Impressive, really. You're a star, just like they say—the star of the USJ attack. But you're only good at falling, and even your falls are meaningless. You're worthless."
Natsu's eyes burned with a fierce light, his brow furrowing in barely-contained rage. His lips curled into a tight smile, the kind that appeared when he was on the verge of being pushed over the edge. "So… 2,350 points? I didn't think the team in third place would come looking for us. I guess we're lucky after all."
Kaminari and Yaoyorozu gaped at Natsu's calm response, their eyes wide with shock. They had expected him to explode in anger, but instead, he radiated confidence. It wasn't rage that drove him now—it was a quiet, unshakable belief in himself.
Shinso, however, simply smiled. "That's all I needed to hear."
In an instant, Shinso's eyes glowed with a soft, violet light, and Natsu's pupils flashed white. His body went rigid, his expression going blank.
Shinso's voice dropped to a low murmur, barely audible to those around him. "Brainwashed."
The shock was immediate. Jiro's heart skipped a beat as she stared at Natsu, her eyes widening in disbelief. "Natsu? What just happened?"
Yaoyorozu's voice wavered as she reached out to him, panic setting in. "Natsu, snap out of it!"
Kaminari's expression was frozen in horror. "We only have a minute and a half left! How are we supposed to win without him?"
The arena erupted into chaos. Teams scrambled to secure their positions, and in the midst of the madness, Bakugo's team surged into second place. Midoriya's team, fighting tooth and nail, managed to push their way into fourth, while Shinso's team now held onto third.
Every passing second intensified the frenzy. The top teams fought with everything they had, while Natsu's team stood paralyzed, their leader lost to Shinso's quirk. Time was running out, and the battlefield only grew more chaotic with each fleeting moment. Jiro, Kaminari, and Yaoyorozu were left speechless, their hopes dwindling as they watched the chaos unfold, knowing full well that Natsu, their strongest player, was no longer in control.
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