Chapter 225 : Siege of the Ice Tower

The sky over Ground Beta was heavy with the midday sun's heat and an almost unbearable tension. From the top of a tall industrial building, Tatsumi observed the battlefield below him through a digital scope. The hill in the center of the training area had now been transformed into a magnificent and terrifying ice fortress. Giant, jagged ice walls, created by Todoroki, surrounded the communication tower, glistening under the sunlight. It was a formidable defense, designed by a brilliant strategist. Designed by Momo.

Around him, his Shiketsu teammates had regrouped after completing the first phase of his plan. Their faces, once filled with skepticism, now showed a glimmer of reluctant respect. Tatsumi's guerrilla tactics had worked perfectly. They had disabled two members of Team Alpha without suffering a single loss and had successfully lured the enemy's strongest attackers—Bakugo and Mine—into indecisive battles far from the main objective.

"Your report on Bakugo's way of thinking was highly accurate," Inasa Yoarashi said, his usually booming voice now quieter, more impressed. "He attacked my windstorm with blind rage, completely unaware that it was just a diversion."

"Hmph. They certainly lack subtlety," Seiji Shishikura added, though his tone of scorn was now slightly diminished.

Tatsumi lowered his scope. His analytical mind processed the new information. "Momo Yaoyorozu now knows that her initial defensive plan has failed. She's smart. She won't let her forces be divided again. She has pulled everyone back to the tower. She's turning her fortress into a last stand."

He looked at his team. "And that is exactly what we want."

He pointed to the layout of the ice fortress on his datapad. "Their defense is strong, but focused. Those ice walls create blind spots and narrow funnels that we can exploit. Inasa-san," he looked at the spirited giant, "I need you to create the biggest distraction of your life. Attack the ice fortress from the east. Don't try to destroy it; use your wind to create a massive sand and dust storm. Reduce their visibility to zero. Make as much noise as possible. Draw the attention of Bakugo and Mine."

"LEAVE IT TO ME!" Inasa roared, ready for action.

"Shishikura-san," Tatsumi continued, turning to Seiji. "In the middle of Inasa's sandstorm, I need you to infiltrate through one of the drainage channels under the ice wall. Your Quirk is perfect for it. Your targets are not the fighters. Your targets are the traps that Momo has undoubtedly set around the base of the tower. Disable as many as you can."

"And us?" asked one of the other Shiketsu students.

"We," Tatsumi said, his eyes now fixed on the tower with the intensity of a predator, "will launch the main assault from the west, using Inasa's sandstorm as our cover and Todoroki's ice walls as a shield from enemy fire."

Inside the Communication Tower

Momo Yaoyorozu felt a drop of sweat run down her temple. The heat inside the control tower, made of glass and steel, was starting to become suffocating. She stared at several security screens, observing the faint movements outside her ice walls. The report from Uraraka and Tsuyu about how they were disabled by Tatsumi had confirmed her greatest fear: Tatsumi didn't fight like a U.A. student. He fought like an elite soldier, using efficient and deadly tactics.

"He's deliberately dividing us," she said to Todoroki who stood nearby, his hand occasionally touching the wall to keep its icy temperature stable. "He knows we're strong together, so he's picking us off one by one."

"He also knows our strengths," Todoroki replied calmly, his breath releasing a thin vapor. "He knows Bakugo and Mine will chase a fight. He knows you will prioritize defense. He's reading us like a book."

There was a note of frustration in Todoroki's voice, but also a note of challenge. Surpassing Tatsumi now felt like a true final exam.

"Then," Momo said, her determination hardening. "We won't give him another chance to divide us." She activated her communicator. "All units, return to the tower. Bakugo-kun, Mine-san, cease your pursuit. Return and take up defensive positions on the roof. We're going to turn this place into an impenetrable fortress."

The Storm Begins

Outside, Tatsumi's plan went into motion. On the eastern side of the fortress, Inasa Yoarashi unleashed the full power of his Wind Quirk. The dry earth and dust around him were lifted, forming a giant, roaring, swirling sandstorm that swallowed half of the ice fortress in a gritty darkness.

"DAMMIT! I CAN'T SEE A THING!" Bakugo shouted from the roof, as he and Mine were battered by the strong wind and stinging sand. They were forced to fire blindly into the storm, an act driven more by frustration than tactics.

Amidst the chaos, Seiji Shishikura used his Quirk, flattening his body into a thin sheet and sliding into a drainpipe, moving underground towards the base of the tower, undetected.

"Team Bravo, attack now!" Tatsumi commanded.

On the relatively calm western side, Tatsumi led his main assault team. They ran along the base of Todoroki's giant ice wall, its large shadow protecting them from the view of the snipers on the roof. They moved quickly and silently, a stark contrast to the storm Inasa was creating on the other side.

They arrived at the base of the tower, at a small service entrance. They were met by Team Alpha's last line of defense: Kirishima, his body hardened into Unbreakable, and Sato, who had eaten sugar and his muscles were bulging.

"You're not getting past, Tatsumi!" Kirishima shouted, a spirited grin on his face.

A brutal close-quarters fight erupted at the entrance. The Shiketsu students, experts in one-on-one combat, immediately faced off against the raw power of the U.A. defensive duo.

But Tatsumi did not join the battle.

His eyes weren't on the door. His eyes were on what was above. Towards the control room at the top of the tower, where the commander, the queen on this chessboard, was. He knew that destroying the pawns wouldn't win the game. You had to capture the King. Or in this case, the Queen.

"I'll take care of their commander!" he shouted to his fighting teammates.

Before anyone could react, Tatsumi leaped onto Todoroki's ice wall. Using small energy claws on his hands and feet, he began to climb the vertical ice wall with incredible speed. He was like a dragon-spider defying gravity.

In the control room, Jiro was the first to notice. "Someone's... climbing the west wall!" she reported in a panic.

Momo rushed to the window and looked down. Her heart felt like it stopped. She saw it—a black figure moving rapidly upwards, straight towards her.

She didn't have time to call Bakugo or Mine. She didn't have time to prepare a cannon. She only had herself and Todoroki.

Tatsumi reached the top of the ice wall and leaped towards the tower. With a single, momentary flap of his wings, he glided through the air and slammed into the control room window with the force of a missile.

KRAAAASH!

The thick safety glass shattered into a million pieces. Tatsumi rolled into the room, landing perfectly in the center of the control room, now filled with shattered glass and howling wind.

He rose slowly, ignoring Todoroki who had already taken a fighting stance between him and Momo. His eyes were fixed only on the commander. He stood there, surrounded by the destruction he had just created, looking straight at Momo Yaoyorozu who stared back at him with a mixture of shock, fear, and a strange admiration.

Amidst the roar of the sandstorm outside and the sounds of battle below, inside the ruined control room, he spoke two words calmly.

"Checkmate, Yaoyorozu."