Chapter 224 : The Game of Kings

The second morning of the Joint Training felt hotter and more tense than the first. The summer sun was already scorching before nine o'clock, making the air above the vast Ground Beta shimmer. The students from U.A. and Shiketsu no longer stood as two separate camps; they had been melted down and reformed into two new, awkward factions, Team Alpha and Team Bravo. The tension from the unexpected student exchange was still very palpable.

Inside Team Bravo's strategy room, the atmosphere was cold. Tatsumi stood before the holographic table displaying the layout of Ground Beta, looking at the faces of his new teammates from Shiketsu. Inasa Yoarashi stood tall, his arms crossed, his expression serious. Seiji Shishikura looked at him with barely concealed scorn. The others looked at him with a mixture of curiosity and distrust. They were to be led by their enemy from yesterday.

"Their strategy will be predictable," Tatsumi began, his calm, analytical voice breaking the awkward silence. "Their commander is Momo Yaoyorozu. She is a brilliant and methodical planner. She won't take risks. She will send the bulk of her forces directly to the communication tower to build a layered defense. She will expect us to do the same—a frontal assault."

He looked at them one by one. "And we are not going to do that."

He enlarged the map, marking several points in the forest and industrial area surrounding the central hill. "We're not going to play her game. We're going to play ours. We will use guerrilla tactics. We will break up their forces before they even reach the tower. We will attack their small units, disable their key assets, and create confusion. We will make them feel like they're fighting ghosts. Only after we've damaged their formation and morale will we attack the tower directly."

Inasa was the first to respond. "AN UNORTHODOX, BUT HIGHLY LOGICAL STRATEGY!" he shouted, seemingly impressed. "I LIKE IT!"

Seiji just snorted. "A coward's tactic."

"It's a winning tactic," Tatsumi retorted coldly, unfazed. "And I know exactly how to execute it."

In Team Alpha's Strategy Room

On the other side, Momo Yaoyorozu was facing her own challenge: how to plan a defense against someone who knew her every strength?

"Tatsumi-san is our opponent," she said to her team, which now included a disgruntled Mine who was annoyed at having to work with her "enemies." "He will never make a predictable frontal attack. He will try to beat us with tactics and trickery. Therefore, we can't just sit in the tower and wait."

She quickly laid out her plan. "Todoroki-kun, I want you to create a series of ice walls on the main paths to the hill. Slow their advance, force them to take more difficult routes. Bakugo-kun, Mine-san," she looked at the two most explosive individuals, "you two are our main assault team. Your destructive power is the greatest. I want you to patrol the outer perimeter and hunt down their separated units. Don't let them group up."

"Tch. Finally, someone who understands how to use talent," Bakugo said with a smirk.

"I'll shoot anyone who looks suspicious," Mine added curtly, glancing at Bakugo.

"Uraraka-san, Tsuyu-san, and I," Momo continued, "will lead the main defense team at the tower. We will set up traps and prepare the final defensive position."

Her plan was solid. It was a battle between two young strategists, two chessboards that had been set.

BBZZZZZZZZT!

When the buzzer sounded, Ground Beta immediately came to life.

Team Alpha, as Tatsumi had predicted, moved with power and purpose. Todoroki, with one grand gesture, created several giant ice paths that allowed his team to slide quickly towards the central hill. Bakugo and Mine, a strangely effective duo in destruction, immediately split off, shooting towards the forest, looking for prey.

Team Bravo, in contrast, seemed to vanish. Under Tatsumi's command, they immediately broke into small two-person cells, disappearing into the diverse landscape—dense forests, an abandoned industrial complex, and even a small river system. They weren't heading for the tower. They were setting a net.

Tatsumi moved alone. He was the lone predator, the ghost hunting the hunters.

First Contact

In a dense forest area in the western sector, Uraraka and Tsuyu moved cautiously. Momo had assigned them to secure the western flank of the hill.

"It's been really quiet so far, Ochako-chan," Tsuyu said, her large eyes scanning the surroundings.

"That's what's worrying me," Uraraka replied. "It feels like the calm before..."

She didn't get to finish her sentence. Suddenly, from the tree canopy above them, a shadow descended without a sound. Tatsumi.

Both of them reacted instantly. Tsuyu shot out her long tongue, while Uraraka tried to get close and use her Quirk.

But Tatsumi had anticipated their every move. He knew the range of Tsuyu's tongue down to the last centimeter. He knew Uraraka needed to make physical contact. With a single flap of his partially manifested wings, he created a gust of wind that deflected Tsuyu's tongue. Then, he shot forward, dodging Uraraka's outstretched hand, and in one fluid motion, a length of capture weapon shot out and wrapped around Uraraka's body, tightly but gently.

The fight was over in less than five seconds.

Uraraka, now bound and unable to move, found herself pulled close until she was only inches away from Tatsumi. Her heart was pounding, not from the fight, but from the sudden proximity. She could see her own reflection in the visor of Tatsumi's now-formed helmet. She could feel the warmth radiating from his body. For a moment, the entire world around them—the exercise, the rivalry, the noise—disappeared.

"Sorry, Uraraka," Tatsumi's voice came through, low and a little hoarse from behind his helmet, his tone filled with sincere regret. The sudden use of her first name without an honorific in the middle of a tense moment made Uraraka's cheeks feel hot. "This is an exercise."

He didn't just tie her up and leave her. He carefully sat Uraraka down under a tree, ensuring she was in a safe position. He then looked at Tsuyu, who was now standing on guard. "I'm not going to fight both of you. My mission was only to disable one team," he said, a lie designed to create further confusion. He touched his communicator. "Team Alpha, I have 'disabled' Uraraka and Asui in the western sector. They are out of the game for the next ten minutes."

With that, he leaped back up into the trees and disappeared.

Uraraka sat in silence, her face still flushed. The defeat stung, but that brief moment... the look in Tatsumi's eyes visible behind the visor, his gentle voice... left a strange, warm feeling in her heart. It was the first romantic seed planted in the middle of a battlefield.

Elsewhere

"I FOUND ONE!" Bakugo shouted as he spotted Inasa Yoarashi in an open field.

"ME TOO!" Mine retorted as she saw Seiji Shishikura.

Without any further communication, both of them immediately attacked their respective targets, leaving each other without support. Major battles erupted in various corners of Ground Beta. Bakugo's explosions clashed with Inasa's windstorms, while Mine's energy shots were met by Seiji's flesh projectiles.

At the tower, Momo received the report of Uraraka's team's defeat. Her face hardened. "He succeeded," she whispered. "He's picking us off one by one." She looked at the map, trying to predict Tatsumi's next move.

At the top of a tall industrial building, far from all the battles, Tatsumi observed everything from a distance. The first phase of his plan had succeeded perfectly. Alpha's strongest teams were now busy fighting each other or had been disabled. The tower was now more vulnerable.

He looked at the communication tower in the distance, which was now surrounded by Todoroki's ice walls. "Good," he thought, his cold, analytical mind already planning the second phase. "Now they're all in one place. Just as I wanted."

The game of kings had just begun, and he had successfully moved his first piece.