Chapter 360: Elimination and Suggestions

Unknowingly, the time was approaching four o'clock in the afternoon. The sky was now painted in brilliant colors by the setting sun.

Sometimes it turned red, sometimes a pale blue, sometimes tinged with soft purples, and occasionally it shimmered with gold streaks against a crimson backdrop.

Unfortunately, the exhausted Class A students had no energy left to appreciate the beautiful scene.

"Phew, finally found it!"

When Kaminari was the first to emerge from the forest and spot the buildings in the distance, he let out a long sigh of relief. The journey had truly been exhausting.

Although there were no more 'Earth Monsters' blocking their way, a very practical problem still remained—where exactly was their destination, and which direction were they supposed to go?

Mandalay had only vaguely said at the beginning that their lodging was at the foot of a mountain, but which mountain was that?

Besides, since the pro heroes had launched their attack without warning, who had time to remember specific directions?

Early on, the constant appearances of 'Earth Monsters' had served as indirect guides for their path. But as soon as the monsters stopped showing up, everyone quickly became lost in the dense forest.

Kaminari had initially considered having Pikachu produce a map, but Momo stopped him.

She had said, "Finding our way through the forest should be part of the test. We should rely on our own knowledge and Quirks, not support gear, at least for the first round."

And so, on the way forward, combat-focused students like Kaminari, Todoroki, and Bakugo stepped back, while Kyoka, Koji, and Shoji—with reconnaissance-type abilities—took the lead.

Especially Koji, usually low-profile and quiet, had truly impressed everyone this time.

Birds, insects, and even small animals had all followed his commands to help find the path and the location of their goal.

If Mineta, Aoyama, Ashido, and Uraraka hadn't begged for rest breaks along the way, they likely would've arrived much earlier under Koji's direction.

But… Koji's voice was completely gone now.

"Too slow."

Class teacher Aizawa, dressed in black with his usual capture scarf and hands in his pockets, glanced at Kaminari, Todoroki, Midoriya, and the others with narrowed eyes and a heavy tone.

"If this had been a rescue mission, what hope would any of you speedy types have?"

"It's true, you were a little late," Mandalay said with a calm smile.

Everyone in Class A exchanged awkward glances, but no one dared to argue. They had, after all, arrived late. They could only choose to stay silent.

What they didn't know was that these three shady pro heroes had deliberately delayed them.

How?

Simple. Pixie-Bob had secretly modified the terrain—raising mounds, blocking paths, and subtly creating the illusion that certain areas were impassable.

That's why Kaminari and the others had gotten lost so easily and stayed lost for so long.

"You said three hours? How could anyone make it in just three hours?" Class Rep Iida cried out in frustration.

"We said it would take three hours if we were the ones walking it. Hehehe, sorry!" Mandalay said, grinning slyly.

"Showing off the power gap is too much," Kyoka muttered tiredly.

"Enough talk! I'm starving!" Kirishima collapsed onto the ground and sighed up at the sky. He'd only had one piece of toast this morning.

"Hehehe, but honestly, you guys arrived sooner than I expected. I didn't think my 'Earth Monsters' would get cleared so quickly," Pixie-Bob said in her blue dress, glancing at Kaminari through her eyepiece.

But to her surprise, Kaminari was looking back at her—and their eyes met, making Pixie-Bob freeze.

"Uh, what's going on?" Kyoka, standing beside Kaminari, tugged on his sleeve in confusion.

At that moment, Pixie-Bob suddenly struck a flirtatious pose, even licking her lips.

"Oooh? Interested in your big sis, are you?"

"Sure!"

The next second, she threw open her arms and lunged toward him with puckered lips. "I'm really looking forward to seeing what you'll look like in three years! Let big sis warm you up first!"

Szzzzzzzzzt—

Kaminari's expression shifted, and he immediately activated high-speed movement to dodge—only to find, to his shock, that she could keep up!

Thanks to training across multiple areas recently, his high-speed movement was far faster than when he first entered U.A.

Suddenly, in the manually cleared open space, two streaks—one golden, one blue—were chasing each other at lightning speed, leaving Midoriya and the others completely stunned.

"She always like this?" Aizawa pointed toward the blue blur and asked softly.

"Lately… she's been impatient around boys she likes. Probably due to her 'marriageable age,'" Mandalay sighed.

"Huh? Marriageable age? Isn't that—"

Bang!

Midoriya had only just started to speak when a blue blur appeared in front of him, and a large paw slammed over his face like a cat's muzzle.

"What's wrong with being marriageable?" Pixie-Bob growled by his ear, clearly annoyed.

"I-I was just wondering…"

Midoriya, face scrunched in pain, pointed at the distance. "That little boy over there… who is he?"

A child wearing a red cap was standing beside Mandalay.

When the others noticed Pixie-Bob had stopped chasing, they also looked in the same direction and spotted a small boy with an unhappy expression.

"Oh, he's my nephew," Mandalay said, waving her hand. She then gently told the boy, "Kota, say hello. You'll be living together for a week."

"Uh… I'm Midoriya from U.A.'s Hero Course. I look forward to learning together!" Midoriya walked up to the boy and reached out his hand with a smile.

"Humph."

But to everyone's shock, the boy named Kota punched Midoriya straight in the crotch, dropping him on the spot in agony.

Kaminari and the others stood there, dumbfounded.

"Midoriya-san!!" Iida, ever the class rep, rushed over to catch Midoriya before he collapsed. Then he turned furiously toward Kota, who had already begun to walk away.

"Why did your nephew hit Midoriya-san in the… s-system?!"

"I don't want to hang out with people who say they want to be Heroes!" Kota snapped, looking back with clear disdain.

"'Hang out'?" Iida caught on that Kota hadn't used any honorifics, and scolded, "Just how old are you?!"

"Precocious brat, huh," Bakugo snorted, covered in dirt. For some reason, he didn't really dislike Kota's attitude.

"Doesn't he kind of remind you… of yourself?" Todoroki said softly.

"No way!"

Then Kaminari's voice suddenly cut through the chatter, stopping Kota in his tracks.

"If you don't like hanging out with people who want to be Heroes, then why are you hanging out with people who already are?"

"Kaminari!" Kyoka and Momo tried to stop him, worried about where this was going.

"What did you just say?!" Kota turned and glared at him.

But Kaminari didn't flinch under the boy's glare. He simply curled his lip and replied calmly:

"No matter why you hate Heroes, my advice is: don't waste your time complaining about others. It's pointless."

(To be continued.)

***

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