The ten months following the Sludge Incident were the most grueling of my life. I watched from afar as Midoriya spent his mornings clearing trash at Dagobah Beach with All Might. I didn't join them. My training was different. I didn't need to build muscle mass; I needed to build Elastic Potential.
I returned to the scrapyard with a new goal: Vulcanization.
I had read about it in the library. In the industrial world, rubber is treated with high heat to make it more durable and resistant. I began to intentionally push my body into the "Pink Zone"—the state where the internal friction of my movements caused my temperature to rise. I would hold that heat, forcing my body to move even as the rubber became soft, training my nervous system to maintain control under extreme thermal stress.
It was agony. It felt like my blood was turning into steam. But by the time the UA Entrance Exam arrived, I had achieved something incredible. I could maintain a "Gatling" barrage for nearly two minutes without my arms losing their shape.
The day of the exam finally arrived.
Standing before the massive 'H' shaped towers of U.A. High School, I felt a sense of vertigo. This was the place. The catalyst for everything.
I saw the familiar faces. There was the tall boy with the glasses—Iida Tenya—looking like he was preparing for a military operation. There was the girl with the bob cut, Uraraka, looking nervous. And there was Midoriya, standing at the gate, looking like he had swallowed a lightning bolt.
We were ushered into the orientation hall. Present Mic, the Voice Hero, took the stage.
"WHAT'S UP, EXAMINEES? CAN I GET AN HEY-Y-Y?"
Silence.
I sat in the back, my legs bouncing. My rubber body was coiled, ready. I listened as he explained the rules. Four types of villains. Points based on difficulty. And the Zero-Pointer—the "gimmick" to be avoided.
I looked at my slip. Battle Center B.
When we arrived at the simulated city, the atmosphere was thick with tension. Students were stretching, sparking, and muttering to themselves. I stood at the very front of the crowd. I didn't have a fancy costume—just a heavy-duty tracksuit and a pair of reinforced sneakers.
"Right, let's get started!" Present Mic's voice echoed from the towers. "There are no countdowns in real battles! Run! Run!"
I didn't wait. I didn't even use my legs to run. I reached out, my arms stretching forty feet to grab the top of the massive gateway.
"Gommu Gommu no... ROCKET!"
I flew. I bypassed the entire crowd in a single, violent retraction, soaring over the gate and into the heart of the city before anyone else had even taken their first step.
I landed in the middle of a plaza, my knees absorbing the impact like shock absorbers. Instantly, three One-Pointers rolled out of the alleys.
"Target acquired," they droned.
I didn't give them time to aim. I lunged forward, my right leg stretching back and then snapping forward like a whip.
"Gommu Gommu no... STAMP!"
My foot slammed into the first robot's head, crushing the sensors into the chassis. Without stopping, I pivoted, my torso twisting 360 degrees to build torque.
"Gommu Gommu no... WHIP!"
My leg became a horizontal blur, lashing out and slicing through the metal legs of the other two robots. They collapsed in a heap of sparking wires.
Three points.
I didn't stop to celebrate. I moved through the city like a predatory spring. I wasn't "fast" in a traditional sense, but my mobility was unmatched. I would "Rocket" to the top of a building, spot a cluster of robots, and then drop down like a kinetic bomb.
"Gommu Gommu no... PISTOL!"
CRACK. A Two-Pointer's chest was punched clean through.
"Gommu Gommu no... GATLING!"
THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD! A Three-Pointer was reduced to scrap metal in seconds as a barrage of fists hammered it into the pavement.
The "Heat" was building. I could feel the steam rising from my shoulders, but I didn't slow down. My heart was pumping with a steady, rubbery rhythm. I was at 45 points within the first five minutes. I was a demolition crew of one.
But then, the ground began to shake.
A shadow loomed over the city—a shadow so large it blotted out the sun. The Zero-Pointer. A mechanical titan the size of a skyscraper, rolling through the streets and crushing everything in its path.
"Run! It's the gimmick!" students screamed, fleeing back toward the entrance.
I stood my ground, watching the behemoth. I saw the rubble falling. I saw a girl—Uraraka—trapped under a piece of concrete in the robot's path.
And I saw Midoriya. He was running toward her, his face pale, his legs shaking.
He's going to do it, I thought. He's going to use One For All.
I had a choice. I could stay back and watch the canon play out. Or I could see just how far my "Vulcanization" had gone.
I didn't want to steal his moment—but I couldn't let him break every bone in his body if I could help.
I crouched, my legs stretching until I was nearly touching the ground. I felt the heat in my calves reach a boiling point.
"Let's see if I can take a hit from a god," I whispered.