"What?!"
Cold sweat instantly broke out across Gojima Ryōzō's forehead.
The opponent… hadn't even used his Quirk?!
Seeing his reaction, Koji Souta couldn't help but laugh.
"Surprised? Come on—I'm a second-year. Wouldn't it be embarrassing if I had to use my Quirk against a freshman? Besides, your Quirk is support-type anyway. That's all there is to it."
"So this is the strength of a senior…" Gojima took a deep breath, utterly shaken.
No matter how he thought about it, he had never imagined his opponent would be strong enough to defeat him without even relying on a Quirk.
In the monitoring room, Momo Yaoyorozu, who had watched everything unfold, was equally stunned.
"What was that movement? It was way too fast!"
Gojima might not have seen it clearly, but from the monitor, she had witnessed everything in detail. Koji's body had moved at an astonishing speed—agile like a cheetah—striking Gojima's weak point in an instant.
Let alone Gojima—she herself hadn't even had time to react.
Shota Aizawa spoke calmly, as if this were nothing unusual.
"Quirks aren't everything. The human body itself is incredibly powerful. With proper training, even an ordinary person can achieve impressive strength. Koji Souta's Quirk leans toward support as well, but his physical control is exceptional. He can completely overwhelm opponents at close range. Even so, at this level, he's only considered average among second-years."
"That can't be…" Momo was still in disbelief.
A student like that… was only average?
"It's impressive," Shina Etsuha murmured, clearly intrigued.
As expected of U.A.—the opponent's mastery over his body was already refined to a remarkable degree. That said, Gojima's Quirk hadn't been suited to take advantage of the situation. If it had been an offensive-type Quirk instead, Koji might have needed a different approach.
It didn't take long before Gojima Ryōzō and Koji Souta returned together. Gojima's face was swollen badly—almost comically so—but instead of looking discouraged, he was brimming with excitement, eagerly asking the senior for advice.
That attitude earned a rare look of approval from Aizawa.
It seemed Gojima had realized something important—if he kept improving, one day he could stand at that same level.
There was no shame in losing to a senior.
The others treated Gojima fairly well, but when their eyes fell on Etsuha, they were filled with hostility. It was clear that everyone wanted a chance to teach this arrogant freshman a lesson.
"The next match: Momo Yaoyorozu versus Tsuruta Yukina," Aizawa announced. "Yaoyorozu will defend. Same rules as before."
Tsuruta Yukina was also a girl. After seeing Momo's refined and elegant appearance, she couldn't help but smile.
"I'll go easy on you, Momo."
"Th-thank you, senpai…" Momo replied awkwardly.
Five minutes later, Tsuruta entered the building.
Unlike Koji Souta, she activated her Quirk immediately.
On the monitor, Etsuha noticed a smartphone in her hand. After tapping it a few times—
The entire surveillance feed went black.
"…What?" Etsuha's eyes widened. That Quirk… was interesting.
"Hacking," Aizawa explained. "Tsuruta Yukina's Quirk is quite unusual. As long as she has an internet-connected electronic device, she can instantly infiltrate any network. Just like now—she's taken over our surveillance system."
As soon as he finished speaking, the black screen flickered back to life.
But this time, the camera was pointed directly at Tsuruta's face.
She smiled into the screen.
"Sensei, I just need to knock her out, right?"
"…Yeah," Aizawa replied with a nod.
"She can talk to us?!" Gojima stared in disbelief.
The monitoring system was supposed to be one-way—how had she found Aizawa?
Aizawa silently gestured toward the upper-left corner.
Gojima followed his gaze—and saw a camera pointed straight at them.
"…She hacked that too? That's insane…" he muttered, finally understanding.
Through her control of the system, Tsuruta was able to track Momo's position the entire time. Using that advantage, she easily avoided detection.
Before Momo could even react—
Tsuruta struck.
The match ended in an instant.
"Next up… you, Shina," Tsuruta said with a playful wave toward the camera.
"Nice!"
The second-year students erupted in cheers.
They had been waiting for this moment.
One by one, their gazes locked onto Shina Etsuha.
It was obvious what they wanted—
To show this arrogant freshman what a "proper" upperclassman really looked like.