The silence that enveloped us after Muscular's defeat felt heavy and sacred. In the center of the crater of destruction, Izuku Midoriya's shattered body was a horrific yet inspiring monument to what it meant to be a hero. I knelt by his side, watching as Momo quickly and efficiently went to work. The fear and doubt that had momentarily paralyzed her at the beginning of the attack were now gone, replaced by the competence of a field medic. She tore a piece of her costume, using her Creation Quirk to produce compression bandages, sturdy splints, and disinfectant.
"Shoji-san, Ojiro-kun, help me lift him onto this stretcher," she commanded, her voice steady as she finished creating a light yet strong emergency stretcher. "We have to stabilize his arms before we move him."
I carefully lifted Kota's small body, still unconscious from shock, and carried him on my back. This child had just witnessed the person he hated most save his life by sacrificing his own body. I couldn't even imagine the confusion he would feel when he woke up.
As we were busy, Mandalay's new and more urgent telepathic message entered our minds, this time filled with a very serious tone. "Attention all students! I have just confronted one of the villains. From that confrontation, I have discovered one of their main targets! The student named 'Kacchan'—Bakugo Katsuki! Everyone, Bakugo-kun must avoid combat and not act alone! I repeat, Bakugo is the target!"
That message changed everything. This was no longer just a random terror attack. They had a goal. They wanted Bakugo. My mind immediately raced. Why Bakugo? Because of his overwhelming power? Because of his aggressive personality, which they might think could be swayed? Whatever the reason, it meant the greatest danger was now focused on a single point.
"We have to move," I said to my group. "Our mission has changed. We don't just have to get back to the lodge. We have to find Bakugo and Todoroki. Combining our strength is the only way we'll survive."
Momo nodded in agreement as she finished tying Midoriya's arms. "Tatsumi-kun is right. Being divided is what the villains want."
With a new formation—Shoji and Ojiro carrying Midoriya's stretcher, me carrying Kota, and Momo walking in front, ready to create whatever we needed—we began our slow and perilous journey through the Beast's Forest.
On the other side of the forest, the atmosphere was completely different. There was no silence or careful planning. There was only explosions and ice. Katsuki Bakugo, a savage grin on his face, was having the time of his life. He was blasting the remaining earth beasts with increasingly large explosions, his manic laughter echoing through the trees.
"Hahahaha! Is this all you've got, you extra villains?! Bring on someone stronger!" he roared.
"Focus, Bakugo," Shoto Todoroki said coldly behind him. He walked calmly, occasionally freezing a monster that managed to get past Bakugo's barrage of explosions. "We have to get back to the lodge. That's the order."
"Hah?! Who cares about orders?!" Bakugo retorted, turning to face him. "Our job is to crush all these damn villains! Stop getting in my way, you damn Half-and-Half!"
"You'll exhaust all your energy before we're halfway there, you idiot," Todoroki replied flatly. "Fight smart, not just hard."
It was then that Mandalay's telepathic message reached them. "Their target is 'Kacchan'... Bakugo Katsuki!"
Todoroki immediately looked at Bakugo with a wary expression. But Bakugo... he didn't look scared. He looked ecstatic. His eyes widened, and his grin became even wilder.
"HUH?! Those bastards have some nerve! They came for me?!" He burst out laughing, a laugh filled with arrogance and anticipation of battle. "GOOD! LET THEM COME! I'LL BLAST THEM ALL UNTIL THERE'S NOTHING LEFT!"
He began to move forward more recklessly, his explosions becoming more uncontrolled. Todoroki sighed in frustration. His job had now become twice as difficult: he not only had to fight villains, but he also had to keep their main target from foolishly handing himself over to the enemy.
Our group's journey was much quieter. Every sound—the rustle of leaves, the snap of a twig—made us all tense. Shoji was our most valuable asset. With several ears and eyes he grew on the ends of his tentacles, he became our walking radar system.
"Stop," he whispered suddenly. We all froze. "Vibrations ahead. To the right. Several people, moving fast."
We immediately hid behind dense bushes. As we waited in silence, I felt something else. The echo of my dreams. The instincts of a warrior honed in real combat. I noticed how the birds in that part of the forest had suddenly gone silent. I noticed an unnatural pattern in the shadows.
"They're not moving fast," I whispered to Shoji. "They're setting a trap."
Sure enough, a few seconds later, a small group of low-level thugs appeared on the path ahead of us. But they didn't keep walking. They began to spread out, hiding behind trees, clearly preparing an ambush. Thanks to the combination of Shoji's super senses and my newly awakened instincts, we managed to avoid their trap. We took a longer, roundabout route, moving as slowly and quietly as possible.
As we moved, I could feel my dragon's heartbeat pulsing calmly in my chest. It no longer just reacted to mortal danger. It was as if it was also reacting to my need for vigilance, sharpening my senses, giving me an edge I didn't have before. The echo of the original Tatsumi's soul, someone used to surviving in the wilderness, seemed to have merged more deeply with me tonight.
Suddenly, we heard the sounds of a fierce battle not far ahead. Explosions. Ice. And a horrifying, manic laugh. I signaled for my group to stop. I climbed the nearest tree, using the branches to get a better vantage point.
The scene ahead made me hold my breath. In a clearing filled with shattered pillars of ice, Bakugo and Todoroki were fighting one of the members of the Vanguard Action Squad. Their enemy was a horrific creature, his body as thin and dry as a skeleton, wearing restraints and a metal mask. From his back, dozens of long, flexible blades extended, moving like living tentacles, slashing and stabbing with incredible speed. Moonfish.
"Flesh!" he hissed, his voice muffled by his mask. "I want to see your fresh flesh!"
Bakugo and Todoroki were on the defensive. Todoroki's long-range attacks had trouble hitting the constantly moving Moonfish, and Bakugo's explosions were too wide, risking hitting his own partner. Moonfish's tooth-blades were everywhere, creating a zone of death around him.
In the main cabin, Aizawa paced like a caged tiger. He listened to the incoming reports via Mandalay's telepathy with growing frustration. Pixie-Bob was severely injured. The students were scattered. And now, Bakugo, the main target, was engaged in combat with one of the enemy's elite members. He couldn't just sit still.
"Vlad, you're in charge here," he said to the homeroom teacher of Class 1-B. "Protect the students who make it back. I'm going into the forest."
"Shota, you're still not fully recovered from the USJ!" Vlad King protested.
"They are my students," Aizawa replied in a cold voice that accepted no argument. With that, he leaped from the cabin's porch and disappeared into the darkness of the forest, his capture weapon waving behind him. A teacher was going to save his students.
I climbed down from the tree, my face serious. "Bakugo and Todoroki are in trouble," I reported to my group. "They're fighting one of the villain's elite members."
"We have to help them!" Ojiro said firmly.
"No," I said, making them all look at me. "Not directly. We're carrying four people who can't fight. Midoriya and Kota, plus the two students from Class B. If we enter that fight, we'll just become additional targets. That opponent... he's too dangerous for us to handle directly right now."
I looked at Momo. "But we can help." My eyes shifted to the battlefield in the distance. "That opponent relies on attacks from all directions to overwhelm them. He creates chaos. So, we have to fight him with order." I looked at Momo again. "Yaoyorozu, I need something big, strong, and able to withstand many slashes. A shield. Not just one. Several metal tower shields, as large as possible."
Momo looked at me, understanding my plan instantly. "To create a safe zone? A makeshift fortress?"
"Exactly," I said. "We can't win the fight for them. But we can give them a fortress to fight from."
Momo nodded, her face filled with concentration. She began to use her Quirk, the fat on her body glowing as metal began to form. Meanwhile, Shoji, Ojiro, and I prepared ourselves. Our fight might not be as spectacular as the one ahead, but our role was just as important. We were the support team. And we would make sure our main attackers had the stage they needed to win.
As the first large, sturdy shield was completed, I looked toward the flashes of fire and ice in the distance. 'Hold on a little longer,' I thought. 'Help is on the way.'