Submerging his entire body in a wooden barrel, Todoroki alternated between flame and ice, carefully maintaining the water at a constant temperature in order to strengthen his control over his Quirk.
Bakugo plunged his hands into boiling water, forcing his sweat glands to expand under extreme heat.
Kirishima kept his entire body hardened while Ojiro relentlessly struck him with his tail.
Kaminari repeatedly absorbed electricity, then discharged it in cycles.
Meanwhile, Mineta's scalp had already begun bleeding.
The scene was nothing short of tragic.
Yaoyorozu wasn't faring much better. While continuously consuming high-calorie food, she kept creating various tools and devices nonstop, forcing her body to adapt to the strain of high-intensity object creation.
Uraraka had it even worse. She was stuffed inside a transparent sphere, like a hamster in a wheel, rolling endlessly along the edge of a cliff under zero gravity. This was meant to train her resistance to vertigo and extend her Quirk's sustained duration.
"Keep your eyes open and lock onto this area!"
"When help is needed, we'll appear immediately!"
"No matter where you are, we'll rush to you!"
"Cute Meow Bazooka!"
"WILDWILD! PUSSYCATS!!"
Just as Masata was about to apply to Aizawa-sensei for his own training assignment, the energetic voices rang out as the Pussycats made their flashy entrance.
"Hey, hey—this style feels completely wrong, doesn't it?!"
Although two members of the four-person team were already familiar to everyone, the other two newcomers felt… strange. They reintroduced themselves properly.
The North American Shorthair possessed the Quirk Earth Flow, capable of reshaping terrain for training.
Mandalay wielded Telepathy, allowing her to communicate mentally with people she knew.
Pixie-Bob had Search, enabling her to instantly grasp the location, condition, and weaknesses of anyone she saw.
Among them, the one with the most mismatched presence was Tiger—a walking mountain of explosive muscles. Technically a "brother," yet his gender was nearly impossible to identify. Combined with his Hero costume, the visual impact was… unbearable.
Due to the secrecy of this camp, U.A. couldn't deploy large numbers of staff. The Pussycats' Quirks were perfectly suited for training, so the four of them were assigned to oversee all forty-one students on-site.
"Our boot camp officially begins now! Students here for pure physical enhancement—gather around me!"
Tiger cracked his knuckles as he spoke. His training philosophy was simple: tear muscle fibers apart and rebuild them stronger.
"Igarashi, you're coming too," Aizawa-sensei said, glancing at Masata.
"Huh? I'm not an emitter-type?" Masata asked, confused.
He had originally planned to test raising the temperature limits of his magma.
"Do you want to destroy this mountain?" Aizawa replied flatly.
Masata fell silent.
Considering the sheer destructive power of his Quirk, Aizawa had no intention of letting him unleash it here.
"…Alright, that makes sense. I'll do physical training instead."
After thinking it through, Masata realized Aizawa was right. Losing control here would be disastrous. Seeing what professional Heroes considered proper physical conditioning might be useful.
"Punch me!"
When Masata reached Tiger's area, he saw Midoriya, glowing green, charging forward with a punch.
Tiger twisted his body into an impossible angle, cleanly avoiding the attack, then countered instantly—slamming Midoriya to the ground.
Tiger's Quirk, Soft Body, allowed him to bend and contort in ways normal humans never could.
If this Quirk belonged to a graceful girl, it might've been impressive.
But on a hulking man like Tiger, Masata couldn't help picturing something straight out of a nightmare.
"You there! Punch me too! Use your full strength!"
Several students were already sprawled on the ground nearby. Others hesitated after seeing their miserable states. Masata stepped forward naturally and was immediately singled out.
"Me? Sure! Perfect chance to test a pro Hero's strength!"
Masata's eyes lit up. He'd rarely fought professional Heroes head-on—U.A. focused more on training than combat. This was a rare chance to go all out.
Rolling his shoulders and stretching his body, Masata clenched his fists.
"You better be careful."
A confident grin crept across his face as he drove his fist toward Tiger's abdomen.
Since this was pure physical training, Masata didn't use his magma Quirk. Even so, his strength—refined through relentless combat—far surpassed that of ordinary students.
So fast… This kid's sharp, Tiger thought.
Before the punch landed, Tiger sensed the pressure wave. Drawing on experience, he twisted sharply at the last moment, sinking his chest aside.
"Your punches are strong—but you're still inexperienced!"
Tiger countered instantly, driving a clean uppercut toward Masata's chin.
"Heh… not necessarily."
Masata smiled oddly.
The arm that had punched straight suddenly swept sideways mid-motion—an impossible adjustment. Tiger was blasted away by overwhelming force.
BOOM!
Tiger's body smashed through two trees before finally stopping.
"Even… even that's possible?!"
Clutching his chest, Tiger stared in disbelief.
Normally, when someone commits fully to a punch, changing direction mid-strike is nearly impossible. Tiger had relied on that moment of stiffness to counterattack.
But Masata had broken that rule.
"He's strong… on par with me—no, maybe even stronger."
Pain radiated through Tiger's chest. As a physical training specialist, he knew strength better than anyone. The fact that a high school student had reached this level was genuinely shocking.
The massive disturbance drew everyone's attention.
When Class A and Class B saw the injured Tiger—and Masata standing there with an apologetic smile—they all felt as if they were dreaming.
...
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