All Might calmed down, put his hands on his hips, and said, "Okay, enough talk. It's time for combat training."
As soon as All Might finished speaking, Iida raised his hand and asked, "Teacher! Are we going to conduct a simulated neighborhood drill?"
Hearing this, All Might grinned, stretched out two fingers, and said, "No...this time, the training is going to a whole new level!"
"Although villain activity is mostly seen outdoors, statistics show the likelihood of dangerous villains appearing indoors is even higher."
"Imprisonment, house arrest, underground dealings... In a society saturated with Heroes, the truly cunning villains lurk in the shadows."
"You'll be divided into Villain and Hero teams, and you'll have a 2-on-2 indoor battle."
"Excuse me, what determines the victory?" Yaoyorozu Momo asked.
"The mechanism for determining victory!" All Might said, pulling out a sheet of paper from his pocket and reading it aloud.
"The scenario is that the villains have hidden a nuclear weapon somewhere in their stronghold, and the Heroes must eliminate this threat."
"The Heroes must either capture the villains within the limited time or successfully retrieve the weapon to win."
"The villains need to protect the nuclear weapon or capture the Heroes to win," All Might explained.
"Thank you for the clarification!" Yaoyorozu Momo replied.
"And how will the groups be formed?" Iida asked further.
"For the groupings, we'll draw lots. Professional Heroes often need to team up with others temporarily, so we're doing it the same way," All Might said as he walked over to grab an iron box.
And so, the drawing of lots began.
Akira opened the small piece of paper in his hand. A "C" was written on it.
As he looked around to see who else had drawn a "C", Bakugo Katsuki immediately pulled someone aside. "Ha! Are you with me?"
"What do you mean?"
"C!"
"Sorry, I'm D."
"What about you?" Bakugo continued asking.
"Me neither, mine's E."
Akira looked at the "C" on the note in his hand and frowned. He realized this wasn't a 2-on-2 match—it was more like a 1-on-3 situation.
"No need to look any further, Bakugo. You and I must be destined," Akira said, handing the note to Bakugo.
Bakugo took the note, paused, and then turned to All Might. "Teacher, are there any rules?"
"Nope, this time, complete freedom!" All Might replied with a smile.
"Complete freedom?!" Bakugo's grin grew wider, a dangerous excitement gleaming in his eyes.
Akira didn't mind. After learning that Bakugo had drawn "C", he already knew that he was going to be facing three opponents.
"Excuse me, who got an A?" Midoriya Izuku asked, scanning the crowd.
"I did! I did!" Uraraka Ochaco jumped excitedly, waving the paper with "A" written on it.
---
"Have you already found your teammates?" All Might asked.
Everyone nodded.
"Great! In that case, I'll draw the first round," All Might said, placing his hands into the boxes filled with lots.
"The first round is..." All Might dramatically revealed the paper in his hand. "Group A will be the Heroes, and Group C will be the Villains. The rest of you, please head to the monitoring room."
"Understood!" the class replied, scattering to the sidelines.
With that, only Akira, Bakugo, Uraraka, and Midoriya remained.
Bakugo froze. He couldn't believe his luck. Two of the people he most wanted to defeat were his opponents.
"Ha!" he laughed wickedly, excitement lighting his expression.
"Then, the Villains will go hide first. Five minutes later, the Heroes will infiltrate, and the battle will officially begin!" All Might explained.
"Clear!" the four of them nodded in unison.
As Akira and Bakugo went upstairs to prepare, All Might added, "Make sure to learn the thinking mode of the villains. This is almost like actual combat."
"Don't be afraid of getting hurt, but if things get out of hand, the battle will be stopped."
"Don't worry, teacher," Bakugo said, glancing at Akira from the corner of his eye.
But Akira remained indifferent. After nodding, he continued walking up the stairs.
"Tch!" Bakugo clicked his tongue and followed behind.
---
Meanwhile, at the gate, Midoriya and Uraraka waited for the five minutes to pass.
"We can't win," Midoriya said, his voice filled with determination after a long silence.
"Ah!" Uraraka was taken aback, confused.
"But that's what makes it interesting," Midoriya continued. "If it weren't challenging, what would be the point?"
"Huh?" Uraraka's confusion only deepened.
"Looking at you, you seem to be familiar with both of them!" Uraraka remarked.
"Yeah, I've known Bakugo since childhood. He's incredibly strong. And Akira, though we've only known each other for a short time, you saw his strength during the physical test yesterday. He was a powerhouse," Midoriya explained slowly.
"We're definitely unlucky," Uraraka said, a stiff smile forming on her face.
---
Backstage, a loud voice interrupted their thoughts.
"Teacher, come quickly!" Iida shouted.
All Might, confused, hurried over. "What's going on?"
"Akira and Bakugo are fighting!" Iida said, his voice serious.
"Ah!" All Might blinked, surprised.