บท 45: Chapter 44: Smash and Railgun

"Nice dream!"

All Might gave a thumbs up and laughed. "Young Kaminari, remember your words today. They will surely guide you through your future growth!"

"Yes," Kaminari nodded, acknowledging the praise.

"Raikage, huh?" Bakugo muttered to himself, thinking about the title. Finally, he scoffed and grumbled, "What a weird name." But the thought triggered something inside him. He began contemplating his future Hero name, "it had to be more impressive than Kaminari's!"

"How about... 'Explosion King'? Yeah, that sounds badass!"

At that moment, All Might signaled for everyone to get ready. Once the students had taken turns changing into their Hero costumes, they were instructed to meet in the school's 'simulated community' the "Beta Playground" for training. All Might left first to prepare the venue.

Fifteen minutes later, all twenty members of Class 1-A, now donned in their custom Hero outfits, stepped out of the dark corridor, emerging like heroes from a comic book panel. Every one of them exuded an aura of confidence and anticipation.

"Should I be playing 'Hero' right now?" Kaminari mused to himself, imagining a dramatic soundtrack to match their entrance. If only he had brought some music equipment with him, he might have actually done it.

"Not bad! Everyone looks sharp!" All Might's booming voice rang out as he observed the students, a sense of pride welling up in his chest. These young men and women, he thought, were the future pillars of the Hero world.

"Good!" All Might clapped his hands. "Then let's get started, fertilized eggs!"

"..."

Kaminari felt a vein pop in his forehead as he mentally cursed, "Did All Might just call us... fertilized eggs? Is this a normal thing for him to say?"

He glanced around and realized no one else seemed phased by the comment. "Maybe it's not an insult after all... I'll have to look this up later," he concluded.

All Might, however, had already begun explaining the details of today's lesson.

"Although most of what you see in the news are outdoor villain battles, statistically speaking, there's a much higher probability of dealing with villains indoors. Imprisonment, house arrests, underground trades... These all occur indoors, away from the public eye."

He paused for a moment, coughing slightly before continuing.

"Ahem. Anyway, the most cunning villains hide in the shadows. Today's exercise will be a two-on-two indoor battle scenario. You'll be split into two groups: Villains and Heroes. The villains will hide a 'nuclear weapon' somewhere in their stronghold, and it's the Heroes' job to locate and secure it within the time limit. The villains, of course, must protect it or capture the Heroes to win."

All Might paused again, giving the students time to process the rules before continuing. "The location of the nuclear weapon is up to the villain team, so make sure to consider your Quirks when deciding where to place it."

Kaminari nodded to himself. "Simple enough. Use Quirks to either defend or attack in a confined space. Got it."

The next part of the exercise involved randomly drawing names to determine the teams, which All Might had prepared in advance. He pulled names from two separate boxes, announcing the pairings.

Group A: Midoriya Izuku and Uraraka Ochaco

Group B: Shoto Todoroki and Shoji Mezo

Group C: Yaoyorozu Momo and Minoru Mineta

Group D: Bakugo Katsuki and Iida Tenya

Group E: Ashido Mina and Aoyama Yuga

Group F: Sero Hanta and Koda Koji

Group G: Kaminari Denki and Jiro Kyoka

Group H: Tokoyami Fumikage and Asui Tsuyu

Group I: Ojiro Mashirao and Toru Hagakure

Group J: Kirishima Eijiro and Tetsutetsu Tetsu

Kaminari glanced at his partner, Jiro Kyoka, and then over at Tetsutetsu, who had been paired with Kirishima. A smile tugged at his lips. "Those two hard-headed guys together? That's going to be something."

The students quickly gathered with their assigned partners, some of them shouting words of encouragement, others whispering quietly to discuss strategy. However, students like Bakugo and Todoroki remained silent, both exuding confidence that seemed to make them oblivious to their partners.

"Now, for the first match!" All Might announced with his characteristic grin, pulling out two number balls from the black and white boxes.

"Group A will be the Heroes!" He pointed toward Midoriya and Uraraka. "Group D will be the villains!" He gestured to Bakugo and Iida.

"The rest of you, head to the control room to observe!"

As Kaminari followed the rest of the class to the dimly lit control room, his gaze lingered on Midoriya. "This should be interesting. Let's see what your Quirks are really about."

"Kaminari," Jiro's voice interrupted his thoughts as she leaned in close to whisper, "You seem really interested in Midoriya."

"Hmm?" Kaminari blinked, momentarily distracted by her proximity before nodding. "Yeah, I am. Don't you think his Quirks are fascinating? He acts like he's got nothing special going on, but when he uses his power, it's like he's an entirely different person. I'm curious to see what he'll do in this exercise."

The screens in front of them flickered to life, displaying different angles of the simulation area. Kaminari watched intently as Midoriya and Bakugo squared off. Midoriya's early moves were impressive, showing quick thinking and an almost preternatural ability to predict Bakugo's actions.

"Midoriya's clever," Kaminari thought, feeling a sense of appreciation for the boy's tactical skills. "But how much of that comes from knowing Bakugo's moves ahead of time?"

Suddenly, one of the screens was engulfed in fire, the sheer power of Bakugo's explosion overwhelming the camera feed. Kaminari and the others could only stare, feeling the heat of the blast even through the monitor.

"Woah! He went all out!" Kirishima exclaimed, shaking his head in disbelief. "It's just training, man. Was that really necessary?"

"Yeah, what was he thinking? He could've seriously hurt Midoriya in such a confined space," Tetsutetsu muttered, his expression darkening. His opinion of Bakugo had already been low, but this just pushed it lower. "Reckless idiot."

"Hold on," Kaminari pointed at the screen, where Midoriya had reappeared, seemingly unharmed. "Midoriya's fine. Look, he's about to make his move."

And just as Kaminari predicted, Midoriya shone once again. This time, however, it wasn't just his fingers that were glowing—his entire right arm was charged with power.

"Smaaashhhhhh!"

The soundless shockwave from Midoriya's punch was displayed on the monitors, the sheer force obliterating the ceiling and much of the surrounding area. The building shook as if a bomb had gone off.

"...What the hell did I just watch?" Kaminari muttered, his mind struggling to comprehend the level of power Midoriya had just unleashed. It was similar to the destructive force of his own railgun—perhaps even stronger in terms of raw impact.

The room fell silent as they processed what had just happened. Jiro, who had been quietly watching beside Kaminari, suddenly spoke up.

"That... that's about the same as when you used your move with Tetsutetsu, right?"

Her words snapped the rest of the class out of their shock, drawing their attention to Kaminari. All Might, standing nearby, also seemed to recall that golden flash from Kaminari's practical exam.

Indeed, as Kaminari processed the comparison, All Might's gaze shifted toward him. "Kaminari's railgun back then was just as powerful as Midoriya's Smash. But while Midoriya can only unleash such force with One For All and suffer intense backlash... Kaminari managed that without any visible drawbacks."