Chapter 22: A Millimeter of Death
Izuku Midoriya stood inside the white circle, his entire body trembling.
The weight of the expulsion rule crushed down on him. He was in last place. If he didn't get a good score on this throw, his dream of becoming a hero was over before it even started.
He gripped the baseball tightly. He closed his eyes, forcing the fear down. When he opened them, the raw power sleeping inside him rushed to the surface. Glowing, red, vein-like lines erupted across his right arm.
A few meters away, Zoro narrowed his single eye. There it is, Zoro thought. That heavy pressure.
Midoriya swung his arm forward with everything he had.
Whoosh!
The ball left his hand. But there was no shockwave. No massive display of power. The ball simply arced through the air and landed softly on the dirt a short distance away.
Beep.
"46 meters," the machine announced.
Midoriya froze, staring at his hands in pure confusion. "What? But I was trying to use it..."
"I erased your Quirk," a cold, tired voice echoed across the field.
Everyone turned. Shota Aizawa was standing there, his capture scarf floating, defying gravity. His black hair stood straight up, and his eyes glowed with a piercing red light.
Zoro's eyes widened slightly.
Wait... I've seen that before, Zoro thought, his mind instantly flashing back to the dirty floor of his dojo in Mustafu. He remembered Aizawa staring at him with those exact same glowing eyes, trying to shut down a power that Zoro didn't even have. That's his trick. He shuts down abilities just by looking at them.
Zoro's gaze shifted back to the trembling green-haired kid. But why did he use it on him?
"From what I can tell, you can't control your Quirk," Aizawa said, his voice dripping with disappointment. "Were you planning to break your bones again? Hoping someone would come and save you?"
Before Midoriya could answer, Aizawa's capture scarf lashed out, wrapping tightly around the boy and pulling him close.
"You can't be a hero if you just become a liability," Aizawa stated brutally, letting the boy go. His hair dropped, and his eyes returned to normal. "I've returned your Quirk. Take your final throw. And hurry up."
While Midoriya walked back to the center of the circle, looking completely devastated, confusion spread through the rest of the class.
"Are they giving him advice?" Tenya Iida asked, adjusting his glasses.
"Advice? He's probably telling him to pack his bags," Bakugo scoffed, crossing his arms with a nasty smirk. "Deku is Quirkless. He doesn't belong here."
"Quirkless?" Iida looked at the explosive blond in disbelief. "Are you blind? Did you not see what he did to that giant robot at the entrance exam?"
Bakugo's smirk vanished. "Huh? What the hell are you talking about?"
Zoro listened to the argument, pieces falling into place in his mind. The loudmouth thinks he's powerless, but the guy with the engines saw him use it. This kid is hiding something massive.
Hidden behind the corner of the school building, a giant, muscular figure peeked out from the shadows. All Might clenched his fist, sweating nervously as he watched his successor.
What will you do, Young Midoriya? All Might thought. You have to find another way!
In the circle, Midoriya took a deep breath. He looked down at the ball. He couldn't go all out. He couldn't hold back either.
He wound up his arm. The heavy pressure returned, but this time, it was completely different. Zoro watched closely, noticing how Midoriya's movements suddenly tightened.
He's not putting it in his whole arm, Zoro realized, a faint smirk forming on his lips.
At the exact millisecond the ball left his hand, Midoriya focused 100% of his power into a single point. His index finger.
SMASH!
A violent shockwave erupted from the circle, kicking up a massive cloud of dust. The wind pressure hit the front row of students, forcing them to shield their faces. The ball shot into the sky like a cannonball, leaving a visible trail of displaced air behind it.
All Might's eyes widened in pure awe. He focused the power at the very point of contact! Outstanding!
Midoriya stood in the circle, panting heavily. His right index finger was completely bruised and broken, but the rest of his body was fine. He looked at his teacher, clenching his injured hand into a fist.
"Aizawa-sensei..." Midoriya said, a fierce determination burning in his eyes. "I can still move."
Aizawa let out a low, impressed chuckle.
Beep.
Aizawa turned the screen around.
705.3 Meters.
The class erupted in shock.
"Seven hundred meters?!"
"He just beat Bakugo's score by a fraction!"
Zoro let out a short, quiet laugh. He sacrificed one finger to make the shot. Not bad, kid. You've got guts.
But Bakugo stood completely frozen. His crimson eyes were locked on the screen, and then on Midoriya. His brain completely short-circuited. The pebble on the side of the road... just used a Quirk. And threw it further than him.
First the green-haired swordsman, and now Deku.
Something inside Bakugo violently snapped.
"DEKU, YOU BASTARD!" Bakugo roared. A massive explosion erupted from his palms as he lunged furiously toward Midoriya. "TELL ME HOW YOU DID THAT RIGHT NOW!"
Midoriya flinched, raising his arms to block the incoming blast.
Aizawa sighed, his eyes flashing red as his capture scarf began to float.
CLICK.
A sharp, metallic sound echoed across the field.
It was the sound of a sword guard hitting a scabbard.
Before Aizawa could even blink, the air pressure on the field completely collapsed. A heavy, suffocating aura of pure, unadulterated bloodlust washed over the entire class. It felt like a massive, invisible weight had just dropped from the sky.
Bakugo froze mid-air.
The explosions in his palms sputtered and died instantly. His eyes widened in absolute terror as a cold sweat broke out across his neck. His body refused to move. Every single survival instinct in his brain was screaming at him to stop.
Less than an inch from Bakugo's throat was the blood-red scabbard of the Sandai Kitetsu.
Zoro was standing right between him and Midoriya. No one had even seen him move. His thumb rested on the sword's guard, pushing the cursed blade out by just a single millimeter.
That single millimeter of exposed steel was enough to radiate a terrifying, monstrous killing intent that made the surrounding air drop in temperature.
"Take one more step," Zoro whispered. His voice was dangerously low, cold, and completely devoid of emotion. His sharp eye locked onto Bakugo's trembling pupils. "And you lose those hands."
The entire class stopped breathing. Uraraka covered her mouth in shock. Iida stood paralyzed.
Even Aizawa's capture scarf dropped to the ground. The underground hero stared at Zoro, a drop of sweat sliding down his cheek. That speed... and this suffocating presence... he didn't even draw the blade.
Hidden behind the wall, All Might clenched his chest, his heart pounding. What... what is this terrifying pressure?! This boy... he's a true monster!
Zoro slowly pushed the sword back into the scabbard with his thumb.
CLICK.
The suffocating pressure vanished instantly. Bakugo gasped for air, his knees shaking so badly he almost collapsed into the dirt.
Zoro turned his back on the trembling blond, glancing lazily at the shocked teacher.
"Aren't we wasting time, teach?" Zoro grunted, crossing his arms. "Let's finish these tests."
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