Chapter 60: A Fight and a Kick
Shoto stepped cautiously into the frozen building alongside Shoji, the thick layer of ice crunching under their feet. He paused right at the entrance, his breath visible in the frigid air. Shoji held up a hand and said quietly:
"Wait, let me check if it's not a trap."
They stood still for a moment, listening intently. Then they heard Aoi's calm voice echoing from deeper inside:
"You can come in. I wouldn't waste time setting a trap."
Trusting the invitation—or perhaps sensing no immediate danger—Shoto and Shoji proceeded into the main room where the mock bomb was located. There they saw Aoi casually sitting right on top of the bomb, legs crossed, looking completely relaxed. Momo stood beside him, ready for action, while a swirling barrier of blue flames enveloped the entire area, effectively blocking the encroaching ice and keeping their space warm and clear.
Aoi glanced at them with a small smirk and said:
"You know, Shoto, even though I can't produce actual heat, there are many ways I can use my fire to get rid of your ice. Like using my absolute control over my fire to make it vibrate at high speed, thus creating a barrier that destroys all your ice that tries to get close. In other words, it's thanks to the fact that my fire has no heat that I can use it in really cool ways, if I may say so myself."
Shoto gave a bitter smile, his expression a mix of admiration and frustration.
"Brother, you're a monster. Even developing a healing quirk to this level."
Aoi's face turned serious as he locked eyes with Shoto and asked:
"That's why I'm asking again, brother: do you really want me to fight seriously with you?"
Shoto stared at his brother's stern face, feeling the immense pressure radiating from him like an invisible wave. He took a deep breath, steadying himself, looked straight back, and said firmly:
"Yes. I want to see the distance between us."
Aoi nodded once.
"I understand."
In an instant, he vanished from everyone's sight. Before Shoto could even process or react, a powerful punch connected, sending him flying far away, crashing through walls and debris in a destructive path.
Aoi remained standing exactly where Shoto had been moments before, turning calmly to Momo and saying:
"Momo, I'm going to fight my little brother over there. Can you handle Shoji?"
Momo nodded confidently, already preparing her creations.
"All right. Leave it to me."
Aoi then began walking steadily toward the area where Shoto had been launched. Suddenly, a massive block of ice hurtled toward him at high speed. But just before it could make contact, it exploded into fine powder, scattering harmlessly.
Shoto, recovering from the impact, watched in surprise. After all, if his brother had simply dodged or shattered it with a punch, he wouldn't have been shocked at all.
Aoi, noticing his brother's reaction, explained casually:
"Little brother, did you already forget about the barrier I mentioned? It's the same principle. I make tiny flames vibrate at high frequency all around me, creating a barrier that turns into powder any attack that doesn't exceed my limit. In other words, in simple terms: if you're too weak, you're not even qualified to fight me or even touch my body."
Shoto stood frozen in shock upon hearing this.
Back in the monitoring room, the entire class was equally stunned by Aoi's explanation playing over the speakers.
Kaminari exclaimed wide-eyed:
"Isn't that cheating? That means any attack against him, if it doesn't exceed his limit, is completely useless?"
Jiro nodded slowly.
"That seems to be the case."
Bakugou growled angrily, clenching his fists:
"That's not a problem. Didn't you hear what that arrogant guy said? This power isn't a trump card or some secret technique. It's just something he uses so he doesn't have to deal with weak people who aren't worth his time. In other words, the real techniques and powers that are actually his trump cards—we're not even qualified to see them now. What an arrogant bastard."
All Might watched the screen intently and commented:
"It seems young Aoi has mastered everything about his quirk and can apply it in ways we couldn't even imagine."
Aoi faced Shoto directly once more and asked:
"So, are you going to give up already, brother?"
Shoto shook his head stubbornly.
"No. I still have a lot to try."
They then began exchanging intense blows, Shoto generating waves of ice to attack while using his flames to probe and attempt to breach Aoi's defense.
Upstairs, Momo fired stun weapons at Shoji in an effort to immobilize him, while Shoji deftly dodged and countered with his multi-arms.
Aoi observed the ongoing fights and said with a hint of boredom:
"Well, I'm already tired of this. It's not going anywhere. But before I defeat you, I'll have to show you a little bit of my power so you at least get an idea of how much you still need to train, brother."
In a flash, Aoi appeared behind Shoto and unleashed a kick at incredible speed, infused with his haki of flames burning bright blue, accompanied by the roar of an oriental dragon. At the very last minute, he tilted the kick slightly, allowing it to pass just over Shoto's head. The force destroyed everything in its path, rocketing upward into the sky and carving a massive hole through the clouds.
Everyone watching from the monitoring room was left in complete shock at the display.
Kaminari stammered:
"Hey, is this for real? He opened a hole in the sky with that kick? I've only ever seen All Might do something like that!"
All Might stared at the screen in genuine shock and thought to himself: "This power... it's already at least half of my power at my prime. Who would have thought young Aoi could achieve this strength at his age."
Inside the building, Momo—who had known Aoi for a long time—wasn't nearly as surprised as the others. She calmly took advantage of Shoji's momentary distraction from the spectacle and successfully immobilized him with a stun weapon.
Aoi turned to Shoto, smiled warmly, and said:
"Well, looks like you lost, brother. Looks like you still have a long way to go to surpass me."
He extended his hand to help Shoto up. Shoto took it gratefully, pulling himself to his feet with a tired smile as he said:
"Well, looks like I still have a lot to do."
At that moment, All Might's voice boomed over the microphone:
"The villain team wins!"