She was slowly developing a strong interest in Ezaki Kitazawa. This was the first time she had ever been interested in a stranger.
However, she was secretly pleased. She was third overall. Even though first was split between first and second place, her score still put her in fourth.
Being fourth meant she had already secured a spot as a recommended student at U.A., and since Ezaki Kitazawa was also a recommended student, it meant that he would likely become her classmate if nothing unexpected happened.
...
"Let's see... is your fire stronger, or is mine better?" Ezaki Kitazawa said calmly.
Todoroki Shoto's face stiffened, and an unfamiliar feeling of pressure started building up inside him.
Even during his training with Endeavor, he hadn't felt this way.
"Damn it!"
Todoroki Shoto muttered darkly, immediately rushing toward Ezaki Kitazawa at top speed.
While swinging his right hand, a wave of cold air hit the ground, and massive ice spikes shot up, heading straight for Ezaki Kitazawa.
Seeing the ice spikes coming at him, Ezaki Kitazawa remained calm and raised his arm.
The flames surrounding him flared up even stronger.
The next moment!
"Boom!" he shouted.
A huge ball of purple flames shot from Ezaki Kitazawa's hand.
The flames collided with the ice spikes, hissing loudly.
The ice was instantly melted, and hot steam filled the entire arena.
At that moment, Todoroki Shoto pushed through the mist, charging straight at Ezaki Kitazawa to engage in close combat.
But it was clear that Todoroki Shoto's combat skills were no match for Ezaki Kitazawa.
Although his father is Endeavor and he went through strict training from a young age, Todoroki Shoto doesn't compare to Ezaki Kitazawa.
Ezaki Kitazawa, who couldn't use his Quirk effectively before, received far more intense physical training as a child to make up for it, far beyond what Todoroki Shoto experienced.
"Bang!"
When their fists collided, Todoroki Shoto's left side immediately started burning.
"Quirk against Quirk? Interesting!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Ezaki Kitazawa's whole body was engulfed in purple flames.
The next second, red flames and purple flames clashed, expanding uncontrollably.
The arena now looked like the sun itself, and the temperature inside the gym was rising rapidly.
"The Temperature is still rising! At this rate, it could hurt the audience. Should we pause the match?"
"Also, if they keep going like this, both of them might suffer backlash." Aizawa Shouta suddenly spoke up.
Endeavor, standing nearby, frowned deeply. He was annoyed at the person who gave him the list of information, which only mentioned using the flames to burn dry wood and make torches.
From the moment Ezaki Kitazawa released his flames, Endeavor could tell these were not ordinary flames.
"These two idiots must have known about this guy and wanted to see me embarrassed!" Endeavor shot a glare at the principal and Aizawa Shouta out of the corner of his eye.
But he was genuinely curious about how the so-called Ezaki Junsei had raised such a devilish son.
Suddenly, the principal turned to Endeavor and asked, "Endeavor, what do you think of this?"
Endeavor furrowed his brow, turned, and began to walk away, already accepting that Todoroki Shoto's loss was inevitable.
"This is your business, not mine."
With those words, Endeavor slowly disappeared from their sight.
"It seems like U.A. has recruited some very interesting students this year... Hahaha!" the principal laughed.
"Yeah, no need to pause the match now. The flames are starting to fade. The outcome is probably clear." Aizawa Shouta watched as the flames on the arena shrank, already guessing the result.
On the arena!
As the flames gradually disappeared, Ezaki Kitazawa and Todoroki Shoto reappeared in front of the audience.
However, Todoroki Shoto was now lying on the ground, staring wide-eyed at the sky.
"I... lost!"
"If Quirks had ranks, my flames should be above yours, so losing isn't something to be ashamed of," Ezaki Kitazawa said calmly.
Todoroki Shoto raised his head slightly, glanced at Ezaki Kitazawa, then lay back down, smiling.
"Maybe."
With those words, the voice of Present Mic echoed across the gym.
"Finally... finally, the match has a winner! This 1v1 battle was truly exciting, and the winner of this recommendation exam is... Ezaki Kitazawa!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd erupted in cheers.
"The match is over. Let's go," Ryukyu said, standing up and speaking to her assistant.
"Ha, oh, okay," the assistant quickly stood up. "What a surprise! I didn't expect that unremarkable guy we saw earlier to win first place in the recommendation exam. Even Endeavor's son couldn't beat him."
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