"Tetsutetsu, Kirishima, after seeing Bakugo's move just now, do you think your Quirks could ha?" Kaminari asked quietly, watg Bakugo as he stubbornly deed assistance from the transport robot, supp his exhausted body and slowly making his way into the corridor.

  Both Tetsutetsu and Kirishima fell silent.

  While their Quirks provided them with strong defensive capabilities, it didn't mean they were invincible. If they exceeded their Quirks' limits, they could still be injured… or worse.

  "You don't think you could take it, right?" Kaminari tinued, addressing the unspoken realization of the Css 1-A students around him. "Then maybe it's time to think about how you'd deal with attacks of that magnitude."

  Tetsutetsu and Kirishima exged gnces. After a moment, Kirishima fshed a determined grin, instinctively reag up to touch his dyed red hair.

  "For me, there's only oh forward," Kirishima decred fidently. "And that's to keep pushing my 'hardening' to new heights. I'm itted to this route!"

  "Just like my idol, the 'Hardened Hero' Crimson Riot!"

  "If I'm not tough enough, then I'll make myself tougher—tough enough to withstand anything that es my way!"

  He turo look at Tetsutetsu, who usually shared his goals and ideals. "That's the same for yht?"

  Tetsutetsu remained silent. If he'd been asked this question earlier, his answer would have beeical to Kirishima's.

  But after spending time with Kaminari and beiored by Daimon-sensei, his perspective had started to shift. He was no longer focused solely on pure "strength" and "defense."

  Now, he was thinking more about "teique" and "versatility."

  "Hey, Tetsutetsu!" Kirishima raised his voice, surprised by his friend's hesitation. "Didn't you tell me ohat you wao pete with me for the title of the stro 'hardcore' Hero iure?"

  At first, Tetsutetsu's challenge had bothered Kirishima. But over time, he'd e to appreciate having a rival, someone else with the same goals and vis.

  Yet now, Tetsutetsu was hesitating.

  What did that mean? Had he given up oh of being "hardcore"?

  If that was the case, then Kirishima couldn't help but feel disappointed.

  "I'm telling you, Tetsutetsu… to be the stro 'hardcore' Hero, you have to have the toughest defehat's the only way."

  Tetsutetsu's gaze grew resolute as he stood up, meeting Kirishima's inteare. "Being the stro 'hardcore' Hero doesn't mean having the hardest Quirk. It's about overall strength."

  Kirishima's face twisted in frustration, veins bulging on his neck. He grabbed Tetsutetsu by the colr, his grip reinforced by his Quirk.

  "What's the point of being a 'hardcore Hero' without being the hardest there is?"

  "Remember this," Kirishima said, voice thick with vi. "No matter what your Quirk is, if you're taking the hardcore path, there's only one way forward: make yourself harder and harder!"

  "That's the way Crimson Riot proved it!"

  Bang! Crack!

  With his body steeled by his Quirk, Tetsutetsu gripped Kirishima's hand firmly, prying it off his colr as he held his ground.

  "I'm going to walk my own path, Kirishima—not Crimson Riot's!"

  With that, he released Kirishima and turned, striding towards the exit. Their match was about to begin.

  "e on. I'll show you what my path looks like!"

  g!

  Kirishima, usually easygoing, was clearly unwilling to back dow came to this kind of principle. To him, the path of being "hardcore" was something sacred, not something you could just redefine on a whim.

  He ched his fists so tightly that the sound of metal g reverberated, and he followed Tetsutetsu toward the arena, his furious expression drawing worried gnces from their cssmates.

  "Kirishima…" Ashido called after him, but he cut her off sharply.

  "There's only one 'hardcore path'!"

  "He go his own way if he wants, but he doesn't get to call it 'hardcore.' The term 'hardcore' only be used to describe the path Crimson Riot paved!"

  With that, he strode toward his designated entry corridor, his focus intense.

  "Kaminari, do you think they'll be alright?" Kyoka asked, her voice ced with .

  "Yeah, they looked like they were really going at it…" Momo added, worry clear on her face.

  Kaminari gave a reassuring nod. "Don't worry, there will be three teachers watg over them during the match."

  Then he looked toward the field, his owement building.

  This… this is what you'd call a true battle of vis.

  Betweewo of them, Kaminari found himself more in agreement with Tetsutetsu. Taking a more versatile approach seemed more realisti than fog everything on just durability.

  But what exactly is Tetsutetsu's 'method'? he wondered, intrigued.

  By now, the t stadium, retly destroyed by Bakugo's battle, had beeored to pristine dition by the school's toss-sensei. At the same time, Present Mic's booming voice filled the air once more.

  "The eighth match of the first round—a showdowween two Quirks of raw, unstoppable power!"

  On the big s, both petitors' images appeared side-by-side, striking simir poses, which made the crowd chuckle.

  "Representing the unbreakable spirit of steel! It's Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu!"

  "And fag him, embodying the will of unyielding rock! It's Kirishima Eijiro!"

  But despite Present Mic's enthusiastitrodus, her Tetsutetsu nor Kirishima respohe tensioween them alpable, like a storm waiting to break.

  Kirishima's gaze was full of defiance, while Tetsutetsu's eyes remained calm aermined.

  "Begin!"

  BOOM!

  "You o show some respect for the 'hardcore path' and Crimson Riot!" Kirishima shouted, his arms hardened, as he charged forward, fury fueling his movements.

  Bam!

  With his entire body transformed into steel, Tetsutetsu charged forward without hesitatioing Kirishima's attack head-on.

  "Of course I respect him! But my choice is still the right one!"

  Uhe watchful eyes of 120,000 spectators, these two determined young men, each driven by their own beliefs, roared and cshed in the ter of the ring!

  BOOM!

  Their fists, one hardeo stone and the leaming like polished metal, collided with a force that sparked and crackled in the air.

  "Their strength is perfectly matched!" Present Mic excimed into his microphone, his excitement radiating through the stadium. The crowd erupted into cheers, thrilled by the sheer iy of the match.

  As soon as their fists separated, Kirishima, still fuming, swung again, driving his hardened fist forward.

  "What's this 'method' you keep talking about? Isn't this the real 'hardcore path'?"

  "Then I'll show you what I mean by my path!" Tetsutetsu shot back, his stance shifting as he readied himself.

  He took up a judo stance, watg as Kirishima charged in recklessly. Just as Kirishima closed the distao less than two meters, Tetsutetsu made his move.

  Sliding his right foot into position inside Kirishima's right leg, Tetsutetsu turned his body, dug under Kirishima's punch. Using his right hand, he grabbed Kirishima under his left arm and leaned into him, using Kirishima's momentum against him.

  Then, with a twist of his hips, Tetsutetsu hurled Kirishima high into the air, smming him down onto the crete floor.

  CRASH!

  As Kirishima's hardened back struck the ground, the arena floor shattered beh him, splintering like it was made of brittle tiles.

  Tetsutetsu exhaled a steadying breath, looking down at the stunned Kirishima.

  "To be the stro, you need more than just toughness. You o bieique,' 'strength,' and 'durability' into one."

  "I might not have the hardest Quirk, but I'll be the stro in history!"

  "Kirishima, remember this—I'm following the path of the 'unbreakable,' not just the 'hardest'!"

  ***

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