Chapter 235 - 234: Baseline

"... I'm your homeroom teacher, Shota Aizawa."

Shota Aizawa stared at the twenty students standing in the classroom.

Aizawa said bluntly. "Put these on and head out to the P.E. grounds."

He pulled a blue gym uniform out of his yellow sleeping bag and tossed it onto the closest desk.

Step, step.

He just turned around and walked out the classroom door.

The students stood in silence for a few seconds.

"What about the entrance ceremony?" Ochaco Uraraka asked, looking around the room. "Or the orientation?"

Tenya Iida immediately chopped his arm through the air.

"Everyone!" Tenya yelled, walking toward the pile of folded blue uniforms. "The teacher gave us a direct order. Grab your assigned gym clothes and proceed to the locker rooms immediately!"

A few minutes later in the door of the boys' locker room.

Fourteen boys filed into the long room lined with metal benches and grey lockers.

Eijiro Kirishima tossed his U.A. blazer onto a bench. He pulled his red tie off and threw it inside his locker.

"Man, this school doesn't mess around," Kirishima laughed, unbuttoning his shirt.

Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu pulled his shirt over his head.

"It's a test of our raw guts, bro!" Tetsutetsu grinned, flexing his arm and turning his skin into solid steel for a second. "I'm ready for it."

Minoru Mineta ignored both of them.

HUFF-PUFF.

He stood near the back wall, pressing his face against the drywall and running his small hands over the paint.

"There has to be a hole," Mineta muttered, tapping the wall frantically. "The girls' locker room is right on the other side. Previous generations definitely left a legacy peephole."

Hanta Sero laughed, taking off his blazer. "Give it up, Mineta. This is U.A. High School. They probably scan the walls."

Izuku Midoriya stood near the corner lockers.

He unbuttoned his white uniform shirt and pulled it off his shoulders. He tossed it into his locker and reached for his blue P.E. jacket.

The atmosphere in the entire locker room suddenly died down.

"..."

"..."

Kirishima stopped talking. He stared straight at Izuku's back.

Sato paused with his gym shirt halfway over his head. Kaminari dropped his tie on the floor.

Izuku had his back turned to the room. His muscles were incredibly dense.

His back, shoulders, and arms were packed with lean, perfectly developed muscle groups.

Faint, jagged white scars ran across his ribs and trailed down his spine from three years of vigiliante.

Izuku didn't build that body by just doing push-ups.

Kuro regularly transformed into a humanoid-cat, world-class physical fitness instructor. The cat forced Izuku through a brutal, scientifically optimized regimen designed to push human biology to its absolute breaking point.

Izuku was still young and growing. He didn't have the heavy, hulking mass of a pro hero yet.

Right now, his physique mirrored a prime fifteen-year-old Richard Grayson. His entire body was a perfectly balanced weapon.

Izuku grabbed his blue gym shirt and turned around. His core was just as defined.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Whoa," Kirishima pointed at him. "Midoriya, what kind of training do you even do?"

Izuku looked at Kirishima, then noticed almost every boy in the room staring at him.

Mashirao Ojiro stood a few lockers away, his thick tail swishing behind him. Ojiro trained in martial arts for years, but he recognized the difference instantly.

"That isn't just gym muscle," Ojiro said, looking at the dense definition on Izuku's arms. "But a functional combat muscle."

Mezo Shoji nodded silently.

Shoji had massive mutant grip strength and natural bulk, but Izuku's body was forged entirely through insane discipline.

"So manly," Tetsutetsu muttered, staring at the white scars on Izuku's ribs.

"Noo.." Mineta bit a towel in pure jealousy.

Katsuki Bakugo slammed his locker shut.

CLANG.

The loud noise echoed off the metal benches.

Bakugo stood near the center aisle. He already pulled on his blue gym pants and a black tank top.

His own body was also muscled. He trained his ass off every single day for years just to beat Izuku.

But Bakugo trained alone. He didn't have an instructor.

His muscle groups were raw and aggressive, lacking the perfect, balanced symmetry Izuku developed under Kuro's guidance.

Bakugo glared silently at Izuku.

"Tsk.." He clicked his tongue in pure frustration.

Kaminari looked away from Izuku and glanced around the rest of the room.

He noticed Shoto Todoroki pulling his blue shirt over his head. Shoto's body was incredibly athletic and highly disciplined.

Kaminari then looked at Tenya Iida, who was buttoning his gym jacket. Tenya also possessed a strictly defined, powerful frame.

Because Kaito designed their Quirk Development plans to include heavy physical conditioning, Shoto and Tenya already looked like professional athletes.

"Hey, Sero," Kaminari whispered, pointing subtly around the room. "Look at the top scorers from the exam. Midoriya, Bakugo, and Iida. Even Shoto who passed the recommendation exam first place."

Gulp.

Sero looked around. He swallowed hard.

"They don't look like first years at all," Sero whispered back.

Aoyama patted Kaminari on the shoulder, giving a small dramatic laugh.

"We are completely outclassed, Messieurs." Aoyama admitted with a dramatic pose.

Tenya rigidly chopped his arm through the air.

Swish. Swish. Swish.

"Everyone! Stop staring at each other!" Tenya ordered the room. "We cannot keep the teacher waiting on our first day!"

Bakugo ignored him completely.

He grabbed his gym jacket, slung it over his shoulder, and walked out the door first.

...

The twenty students gathered on the dirt field behind the main campus.

White chalk lines marked different testing zones across the grass.

Shota Aizawa stood near a white chalk circle. He tossed a softball in his hand.

"Bakugo," Aizawa called out. "You scored the highest in the entrance exam. Step into the circle."

Bakugo walked forward.

Aizawa handed him the ball.

"Use your quirk this time. Just don't step out of the ring."

Bakugo gripped the seams of the ball. He walked to the center of the chalk circle. He lowered his stance.

He spun his entire body in a tight, fast circle.

FLICKER. FLICKER.

POP. POP. POP.

He ignited his left elbow for jet propulsion and threw the ball with his right hand, releasing a highly compressed blast from his palm at the exact moment of release.

BOOM.

"DIE!"

The shockwave kicked up a thick cloud of dust.

The ball vanished into the sky leaving a trail of black smoke.

Aizawa looked at the digital tracker in his hand.

BEEP.

He turned the screen around to face the class. It read 915.3 meters.

"Know your own maximum limit first," Aizawa said flatly. "That forms the foundation of a hero."

Denki Kaminari grabbed his hair.

"Nine hundred meters?" Denki yelled. "Seriously?"

Mina Ashido jumped in place, clapping her hands.

"We get to use our quirks as much as we want!" Mina cheered. "This looks fun!"

Aizawa lowered the tracker. His tired eyes narrowed.

"Fun?" Aizawa repeated. "You have three years to become heroes. Do you think it will be games the whole time? Fine. Whoever places last across all eight tests will be judged as having zero potential. I will expel them immediately."

"..."

The students froze in place.

"Expelled?" Ochaco Uraraka stepped forward quickly. "It's the first day! That is completely unfair!"

"Villain attacks are unfair," Aizawa replied bluntly. "Natural disasters are unfair. The world is full of unfairness. Heroes are the ones who correct it. Run, or pack your bags."

Izuku tightened his shoelaces. Momo Yaoyorozu stood near the back, keeping her face perfectly calm.

They both figured out the threat was a logical ruse to force everyone to go all out.

Aizawa pointed to the dirt track.

"Fifty-meter dash," Aizawa instructed.

Tenya Iida lined up next to Tsuyu Asui. A small robotic camera hovered near the finish line.

Tenya dropped into a sprinter's stance. A sharp blue flame hissed from the exhaust pipes on his calves, a direct result of his personalized engine-tuning training.

BEEP.

VROOOM.

Tenya crossed the finish line in a blur of silver and blue light.

"2.0 seconds," the robotic camera announced.

Mina gasped, watching Tenya stand up and chop his arm proudly.

Shoto Todoroki stepped up to the starting line next to Mashirao Ojiro.

BEEP.

Shoto ignited the left side of his body for propulsion and coated the dirt track with a slick layer of ice from his right foot. He skated across the finish line smoothly.

"3.1 seconds," the robot chirped.

Izuku walked up to the line. Bakugo stood in the lane right next to him.

Uraraka stood on the sidelines with Yuga Aoyama.

"He is next," Uraraka whispered."

Aoyama nodded. "His quirk was quite dazzling last exam."

Huff-puff.

Izuku took a deep breath.

BEEP.

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.

Bakugo blasted forward using rapid explosions from both hands. He flew over the place.

Izuku pushed off his back foot. He sprinted with raw acrobatic speed.

His legs blurred as he balanced his center of gravity perfectly.

Bakugo crossed the line first.

"4.1 seconds," the robot said.

Izuku crossed a second later.

"5.5 seconds."

Uraraka blinked. She looked at Aoyama.

"Well... He just ran normally," Uraraka said, her voice full of confusion.

The rest of the tests went by quickly.

Mezo Shoji clamped his massive hands on the grip strength machine. The screen flashed 540 kilograms.

Izuku grabbed his own machine. He squeezed the handles tightly. The screen registered 140 kilograms.

Minoru Mineta bounced rapidly side to side on his sticky purple spheres during the lateral jumps.

Izuku also moved so fast across the chalk lines, shifting his weight with perfect precision.

During the standing long jump, Izuku cleared the sandbox entirely and rolled silently on the grass to absorb the momentum.

The sun began to set over the U.A. campus.

The twenty students gathered around Aizawa.

"I will project the total scores," Aizawa said. "Look at the board."

He tapped his digital tablet. A blue holographic projection floated in the air.

Number 1: Shoto Todoroki.

Number 2: Momo Yaoyorozu.

Number 3: Tenya Iida.

Number 4: Katsuki Bakugo.

Number 5: Izuku Midoriya.

Denki rubbed his eyes. He pointed at the glowing letters.

"Midoriya got fifth place?" Denki asked aloud.

Tenya raised his hand rigidly into the air.

"Mr. Aizawa," Tenya spoke up clearly. "Midoriya held back his metal manipulation quirk during all eight tests today. Is it acceptable to hold back during an apprehension test?"

Mina and Eijiro Kirishima nodded. They also wondered why Izuku hid his powers.

Aizawa lowered the tablet. He looked at Tenya, then addressed the entire class.

"Midoriya does not have a metal manipulation quirk," Aizawa said bluntly. "He does not have a quirk at all. Every score he registered on that board today was achieved through pure human physical fitness."

"..."

"..."

"..."

The dirt field went completely silent.

Tetsutetsu's jaw dropped. Uraraka stared at Izuku with wide eyes.

"Wait," Kirishima stepped forward. "He placed fifth overall. He beat fifteen of us. We even use our quirks."

"Your quirks are just tools," Aizawa stated flatly. "Midoriya should have trained his body. The weapons he used during the entrance exam were a support gear. He is the first student in U.A. history to be enrolled having no quirk in the hero course. He also scored a perfect sixty Hero Points using only support gear and physical combat by defeating the type zero faux villain.

If Iida hadn't been in the same sector draining the villain points, Midoriya would have easily taken the overall number one spot."

Bakugo crossed his arms.

TCH.

He clicked his tongue. He had zero competition in his own sector, and hearing Aizawa praise Deku's perfect hero score irritated him deeply.

Shoto stared at Izuku. Momo also pondered.

A quirkless student just beat out kids who used a mutant quirks and emitter quirks.

They realized they absolutely needed every hour of their personalized training contracts from the Golden Manager to stay ahead.

Aizawa put his tablet away.

"Nobody is getting expelled today," Aizawa said, turning around to head back to the building. "It was a rational deception to draw out your upper limits. Go back to the classroom. We are done here."

"Aah?! THANK GOD!!" Mineta who placed last was so happy that he teared up a bit.

"It's pretty obvious at all." Momo replied.

...

Location: Naruhata - Kaito's Apartment

Time: Three Days Ago

Kaito sat at his wooden desk.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

He held a black pen and tapped it against his notebook. A blue holographic screen floated above his laptop.

BEEP.

[Boss,] Eve said.

The chibi avatar stood on the edge of the screen. She wore a tiny professor's jacket.

[I sorted the lesson plans. We have twenty lectures total for the academic year. You teach on the fifteenth and the thirtieth of every month. Three hours per session. Do you want to start the first day with PR Crisis Management?]

Kaito shook his head. He wrote a quick note on the paper.

"No," Kaito instructed. "Move the financial logistics to the front. We are covering collateral damage lawsuits, sidekick payrolls, and government stipend cuts."

[That is a heavy topic for the students,] Eve pointed out. She waved a small digital pointer.

"They need a reality check," Kaito said. "If U.A. teaches them how to punch villains. I am going to teach them how to avoid bankruptcy after a fight. Nezu hired me to teach them how to survive the business side of the industry."

[Understood,] Eve replied. The text on the hologram shifted. [The syllabus is formatted and saved.]

"Send a copy to Principal Nezu," Kaito ordered. He tossed the pen onto the desk. "Tell him I am ready."

...

Location: U.A. High School - Main Auditorium

Time: Present Day

The U.A. Main Auditorium was a giant indoor amphitheater.

Rows of elevated seating formed a massive half-circle around a central stage.

Today, only the Hero Course Department sat inside.

Students from Classes A and B across all three years filled the bleachers.

Mirio Togata walked down the concrete steps. He held a plastic water bottle.

Nejire Hado walked beside him, looking around the crowded room.

"Why did the teachers pull everyone out of afternoon classes?" Nejire asked.

Tamaki Amajiki followed right behind them. He kept his hands in his pockets.

Two years ago, standing in a room with hundreds of people triggered severe panic attacks for Tamaki.

He used to face the wall just to breathe.

Today, Tamaki scanned the crowd with quiet confidence.

During his first-year internship with Sir Nighteye, Sir Nighteye and Kaito Arisaka gave him a targeted mental conditioning and quirk development plan for free. That guidance changed his life completely.

"Look down there," Mirio said, pointing toward the bottom floor.

Tamaki looked at the main stage. A single wooden podium rested in the middle.

Principal Nezu stood behind the podium. The small principal wore his neat white suit.

Behind him stood the some of the U.A. faculty.

All Might, Shota Aizawa, Vlad King, Midnight, and Cementoss lined up respectfully.

They wore their standard teacher suits.

TAP. TAP.

Nezu tapped the microphone.

The loud noise inside the auditorium died down immediately.

The students sat quietly.

"Good afternoon, Hero Course students," Nezu's voice echoed through the speakers.

Nezu looked up at the hundreds of teenagers in the bleachers.

"U.A. High School produces excellent fighters," Nezu said cheerfully. "We teach you how to rescue civilians. We teach you how to defeat villains. Fighting is only one half of the job."

Izuku leaned forward in his seat in the first-year section. He listened closely.

"The failure rate for new pro hero agencies is unacceptably high," Nezu continued, his tone turning serious. "Many young heroes fail within their first three years due to poor management, legal ignorance, and financial collapse."

Nezu paused.

"The U.A. Board of Directors hired a special Guest Lecturer for this academic year," Nezu announced. "He will teach Agency Logistics, PR Crises, and Tactical Battlefield Survival. He will be here every fifteenth and thirtieth of the month for a three-hour session."

The students exchanged confused looks.

Nezu turned toward the dark tunnel on the side of the stage. He pointed a white paw toward the shadows.

"Please welcome the founder of Arisaka Consulting," Nezu declared loudly. "The Golden Manager, Kaito Arisaka."

Footsteps echoed from the tunnel.

STEP. STEP.

Kaito walked out into the stage lights. He wore a tailored dark grey suit and a crisp white shirt.

He walked across the floor with absolute professional authority and stopped next to the podium.

Makoto was also here. She was in the backstage assisting Kaito with everything.

"WOAH!"

"THE GOLDEN MANAGER"

The entire auditorium erupted.

The first-year and second-year students yelled in shock.

In the third-year section, Mirio, Nejire, and Tamaki sat up in sheer awe.

Every single student in thjs venue knew exactly who he was.

They watched the news.

And they knew he managed the top-ranking pro heroes not only in Japan but all over the world. If Hero X was a mythical Vigilante, then Kaito Arisaka was the Golden Standard in the new era of heroes.

The most expensive and powerful manager in the hero industry was now their temporary teacher.

...

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