The instant their feet left the ground, a shockwave burst outward like a ring-shaped explosion. Dust scattered. The arena lights flickered. Students shielded their faces while teachers leaned in, caught between panic and excitement.
Two forces slammed into each other—
One For All's raw, untamed power
versus
Ren's terrifying, razor-sharp calculation.
Their fists collide
Izuku let out a feral shout:
"FULL COWL—25%!!"
Green lightning snapped violently along his arms, shredding the air around him. Ren's gaze sharpened, pupils narrowing like steel needles. His entire body aligned with machine-like precision—no wasted effort, no hesitation.
Ren (calm):
"Predict. Counter. Overwhelm."
And then—
BOOOOOOM!!!
Their fists met with the force of a meteor impact. The arena floor split beneath them, dust launching upward into a swirling tornado.
SPEED DUEL
Izuku became a blur.
Ren matched him instantly.
Izuku's fist shot forward—Ren slid past, countering with a sharp elbow.
Ren's kick swept upward—Izuku blocked with a reinforced forearm, sparks bursting between them.
They clashed again.
And again.
And again.
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!
Movements too fast for the eye.
Air detonating from sheer speed.
The sound of two monsters fighting just below the threshold of breaking reality.
Izuku lands a clean hit
Izuku twisted mid-air, momentum snapping around him like a whip.
Izuku:
"Detroit… SMASH!!!"
His punch clipped Ren's jaw—
and the whole arena vibrated from the shockwave.
Ren skidded back, boots carving long scars into the arena floor.
He stopped.
Wiped the small smear of blood with his thumb.
And smirked under the mask.
Ren:
"You hit me… Good."
His neck cracked as he tilted his head, eyes glowing with something cold and surgical.
Ren strikes back
Ren vanished—
then reappeared on Izuku's blind side in a curved arc Izuku couldn't track.
His fist slammed into Izuku's ribs.
Izuku choked on the impact.
Before he could recover, Ren flipped over his shoulder and drove a back-kick into Izuku's upper arm, spinning him off balance.
Izuku turned in midair—
—and Ren caught him by the collar.
He threw him upward like tossing a spear.
Izuku counters mid-air
Izuku twisted mid-flight, gritting his teeth.
Izuku:
"ST. LOUIS SMASH!!"
He brought his heel down like a falling meteor.
Ren whipped up a metallic wire—
CLANG!
It wrapped around Izuku's leg with perfect timing and redirected the blow sideways—
straight into a marble pillar.
The pillar shattered into dust.
Izuku landed hard, panting, disbelief flashing in his eyes.
Izuku:
"He redirected my kick… again?!"
Final Charge — both go all out
There was no countdown.
No words.
No hesitation.
Both of them simply moved.
Izuku bolted forward with electricity streaming behind him, eyes blazing with determination.
Ren advanced with lethal calmness, every muscle controlled, every movement predicted three steps ahead.
They wound back their fists—
And the moment their knuckles met—
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
A massive shockwave erupted, ripping dust away from the center of the arena as if the world itself split open.
Green lightning clashed against cold silver aura.
Heart collided with mind.
Willpower fought against calculation.
And the force blasted both fighters across the arena.
They slid to a stop at opposite ends, panting hard, legs shaking but refusing to fall.
Slowly… they stood.
Dust swirling around them like smoke on a battlefield.
Their eyes locked.
The entire stadium froze.
Not a whisper.
Not a breath.
Just awe.
Two titans.
Still ready to keep going.
The arena was a cratered battlefield.
Cracks spider-webbed from where their last clash detonated. Dust hovered in the air like smoke after an explosion. The force of the shockwave had pushed students back, and even teachers braced themselves.
Ren rolled his shoulders once, calm as always—
but his breathing was heavier now.
Izuku wiped blood from the corner of his mouth, chest rising and falling in sharp, uneven breaths.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
The world felt frozen.
Then—
Izuku stepped forward first.
Limbs trembling.
But eyes blazing.
Izuku:
"I won't… lose.
Not when so many people are counting on me."
Lightning flickered around him again—
not as bright, not as strong,
but stubborn.
Ren tilted his head slightly.
Behind the mask, his eyes softened for a single second.
Respect.
Then the sharpness returned.
Ren:
"You always push past your limit.
That's why you're dangerous."
He lifted a hand.
A thin metallic thread coiled between his fingers, humming with energy.
Ren:
"But you're predictable."
Izuku lowered into a stance again, sweat dripping from his chin.
Izuku:
"Then I'll just…
change the prediction."
He stomped the ground—
the impact cracked the arena beneath him.
He kicked off with a burst of green lightning—
Straight toward Ren.
Ren exhaled once.
Time slowed in his eyes.
He traced Midoriya's path—
every angle
every muscle movement
every breath
every possible strike.
Mastermind Mode: Full Analysis Thread — ACTIVATED
Silver calculations shimmered faintly around Ren like ghostly lines.
Izuku launched a punch—
Ren dodged.
Countered.
Izuku anticipated that—
twisted his fist mid-motion—
converted the punch into a spinning kick.
Ren saw it.
Redirected it.
Grazed him by a hair.
Izuku pivoted again—
another hit—
another strike—
another burst of green lightning—
And suddenly, unexpectedly—
Ren missed one calculation.
Just one.
Izuku slipped past his guard and slammed an uppercut into Ren's chin.
BOOM!!
Ren flew back half a meter
—caught himself—
skidded—
and stopped.
The arena erupted in shouts.
Students gasped.
All Might clenched his fists.
Aizawa's eyes widened.
Even Bakugo leaned forward, eyes blazing.
Izuku stood there panting, shaking, smiling through the pain.
Izuku:
"I told you…
I can still change!"
Ren touched his jaw again.
Blood on his glove.
He stared at it for a long moment.
Then…
A low laugh escaped him.
Quiet.
Sharp.
Excited.
Ren:
"…You're really pushing me, Midoriya."
He lifted his hand.
Energy lines crawled across his fingertips—
glowing brighter than before.
Not deadly.
Not lethal.
But overwhelming.
Ren:
"Then I'll show you…
what happens when I stop holding back."
Izuku braced himself.
Green lightning roared again, climbing in intensity.
Students tensed.
Teachers stood from their seats.
The entire stadium felt like it was holding its breath.
Ren's aura sharpened
like a blade being drawn.
Ren:
"Midoriya.
Try to survive this."
He stepped forward.
The ground shattered beneath his foot.
And then—
Aizawa blinks.
His hair rises.
His eyes glow red.
Aizawa:
"That's enough!"
His Erasure quirk hits both of them at once.
Izuku's lightning sputters out.
Ren's calculations shatter.
They freeze for a split second—
And then—
Teachers rush in from all sides.
Cementoss
raises walls.
Midnight deploys gas.
Snipe aims.
Present Mic yells.
All Might leaps down in panic.
The fight ends.
Barely.
Just before another impact could have dusted the entire arena.
The war may be secret… but the consequences are loud.
The dorm common room buzzed with leftover shock.
No one was relaxing.
No one was talking normally.
Every single student kept glancing at Ren like he was a newly discovered volcano that might erupt again at any moment.
Ren sat on the couch, hood up, mask off, an ice pack held loosely against his jaw.
He looked completely calm.
Too calm.
Izuku sat on the opposite sofa, bandaged, bruised, and still buzzing with adrenaline.
Every breath made his ribs ache.
But he kept smiling nervously.
The silence was suffocating.
Then—
Kirishima:
"Bro…
What was that fight!?"
He sounded both terrified and impressed.
Kaminari:
"Dude, that wasn't a fight, that was like—
a storm punched another storm!"
Sero:
"You two nearly broke the school!"
Even Todoroki looked mildly impressed… and mildly concerned.
Todoroki:
"Midoriya, you pushed yourself recklessly again…
And Ren—
what was that combat technique?"
Ren didn't answer immediately.
He simply adjusted the ice pack.
Then softly, almost bored:
Ren:
"…Just testing something."
Everyone froze.
Just testing?
JUST TESTING?
Everyone mentally yelled at the same time.
Even Izuku flinched.
Mina whispered under her breath:
Mina:
"That wasn't testing…
that was two seasons of a shonen anime in ten minutes…"
Bakugo leaned forward from his seat, eyes narrowed.
Of course he had the strongest reaction.
Bakugo:
"Oi. Ren."
Ren looked up lazily.
Bakugo:
"You holding back on us or something?"
Ren's expression didn't change.
Ren:
"You tell me."
A quiet chill ran through the room.
Bakugo clicked his tongue and looked away.
He hated that answer—
because it wasn't an answer at all.
Meanwhile, Izuku kept wringing his hands like always, but he finally spoke up, voice small:
Izuku:
"Ren…
Thank you for not going all out.
If you wanted to, you could've—"
Ren:
"I didn't want to hurt you."
Izuku froze.
The rest of Class 1-A froze too.
Ren didn't elaborate.
He just went back to holding the ice pack.
Ochaco leaned toward Izuku.
Ochaco:
"Deku… you sure you're okay?"
Izuku nodded quickly.
Izuku:
"I'm fine! Really!
Ren's hits were calculated—
he never struck anywhere dangerous."
Ren responded without looking up.
Ren:
"…That was the point."
Iida pushed his glasses up like he was trying to restore order to the universe.
Iida:
"Ren! Izuku!
Your match was reckless and could have resulted in severe injury!
We must not allow—"
He stopped mid-rant, sweating nervously when Ren's eyes flicked toward him.
Iida (quietly):
"—uh… kindly… avoid such destructive outbursts… please…"
Momo cleared her throat.
Momo:
"Ren, is that fighting style something you developed yourself?
It looked like… tactical analysis in real time."
Ren did not confirm.
Did not deny.
Ren:
"…I trained it."
That was all he offered.
But it was enough to raise suspicion.
In the corner, Aizawa stood wrapped in his sleeping bag like a depressed caterpillar.
His eyes were half-open, glaring at both of them.
Aizawa:
"You two nearly caused a catastrophe."
Izuku bowed so quickly he nearly fell.
Izuku:
"Sorry!"
Ren didn't bow.
He simply said:
Ren:
"It won't happen again."
Aizawa stared at him for a long, heavy moment.
His eyes narrowed…
as if he sensed something deeper, something off.
But he said nothing.
He just sighed and walked away.
Class 1-A slowly went back to their rooms, whispering under their breath.
Izuku paused at the stairs.
Turned back.
Smiled softly.
Izuku:
"…Same time next training?"
Ren leaned his head back on the couch.
Smirked faintly.
Ren:
"Next time…
you'll need more than 25%."
Izuku's eyes lit with determination.
Then he hurried upstairs.
Soon the dorm fell quiet again.
Ren set the ice pack down.
The casual expression on his face vanished instantly—
replaced by something colder.
Sharper.
Calculating.
He checked his watch.
Ren (whisper):
"Time to return."
In a single smooth motion, he slipped on his mask
and vanished into the night—
Back to the shadows.
Back to VEGA Base.
Back to the mastermind no one at UA suspected