A fierce battle erupted inside an enormous structure of darkness. The shockwaves shook the forest, cracks spreading like spiderwebs on the surface, with the gigantic block as the point of origin, which seemed to sink with every impact.
Muffled roars reached the ears of the students, who were taking a brief break to admire the small mountain towering over the trees.
Some opened their eyes wide, wondering how the hell a student could cause such destruction. Others clenched their fists, unable to avoid feeling inferior in terms of strength.
Bakugo's jaw tightened, indignant at the idea of being inferior to Tetsumaru, who could not only create such a thing and make it float in the air but had also choked him with that damned sand early that same morning.
He gave his all during that training, but the bastard didn't even move from his spot, sending wave after wave of that hateful sand. And now, a boy whom Bakugo didn't even pay much attention to, turned out to be another bastard with enormous potential.
If Tokoyami managed to master that overwhelming destructive power...
Meanwhile, Jiro winced and stepped back further than the others. Although muffled for the rest due to the thick layer of sand, she was able to pick up the crashes and the thunderous roars of Dark Shadow.
—Man, that's insane— Kaminari whistled, vocalizing what was on everyone's mind.
—I guess Tokoyami-kun wasn't kidding when he said his Darkness was dangerous— Uraraka commented with an awkward smile.
Meanwhile, inside the Satetsu prison.
Massive waves of sand swirled and formed enormous fists, slamming mercilessly against Dark Shadow, whose limbs remained tightly bound.
The shadow received an endless bombardment of spears, balls, and punches, enraging him more and more. Roars of fury mixed with pitiful moans, his defiant gaze slowly turning fearful of the cold shinobi who was beating him like a dog
Those black and yellow eyes, similar to his own but less lively, didn't spare him a single look of pity as he continued to torture him.
A fist formed from the other end of the prison, shooting towards Dark Shadow and gaining more momentum with each second.
Just a few meters before impact, the restraints gave way, and the shadow crossed its arms in front of itself, receiving the force and being dragged to the other end, leaving a huge trench beneath it.
—Hnggh!— it grunted from the effort, its energetic yet solid form faltering under the overwhelming kinetic energy that shook its body.
—Dark Shadow, let's work together to defeat him or it will never end!— Tokoyami called to the entity.
—NO!— Dark Shadow growled, brushing away the sand with a sweep of its limbs. —I don't need you!
Suddenly, a pillar of sand descended from the top layer that acted as a ceiling, crushing the shadow's head against the ground and silencing its uncontrolled roars.
—Don't be arrogant, you stupid shadow. You are nothing but trash that I can casually trample whenever I want— Tetsumaru's cold voice resonated.
Before Dark Shadow could even roar in rage, more pillars shot out from the ceiling and walls, slamming heavily against the entity without giving it a second of rest.
When it tried to move to dodge, the sand enveloped it from below, holding it and ensuring it received every blow.
When it tried to block or destroy the pillars with brute force, they deformed in the air, diverting their trajectory, circling or evading the shadow's limbs, and impacting elsewhere.
And in the midst of it all, Aizawa unleashed his Quirk in brief bursts, constantly disrupting the shadow's coordination to make the task easier for Tetsumaru.
Otherwise, the shinobi would have exhausted himself much sooner than taking the lead so absolutely. Dark Shadow was that strong.
And it is because of that immense potential that they needed Tokoyami to improve his control over his Quirk.
But that goal was not something that would be achieved in a single attempt. Neither of them expected Tokoyami to make any breakthroughs today.
This first round was only to make a point clear to Dark Shadow: There are opponents against whom it can do nothing.
The one-sided beating continued for another twenty minutes. Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't take so many hits to make Dark Shadow retreat, but the absolute darkness of the environment had emboldened it.
In the end, Tetsumaru's chakra dropped to half, added to the expenditure from the previous night and the morning's training, leaving him with 30% of his reserves.
Aizawa had also irritated his eyes. Although he didn't keep his Quirk active for long periods, the constant interference ended up affecting him too, even having to activate his Quirk up to twelve times per minute.
Tokoyami was almost at his limit of endurance, and Dark Shadow itself had lost all interest in playing, even though this environment was perfect for it.
Who wants to play when they're being used as a punching bag?
With an internal sigh and his forehead soaked in sweat, Tetsumaru undid the sand prison, slowly returning the material to his seals.
The immense Dark Shadow had already shrunk quite a bit before the training ended, and with the sunlight soaking it as the sand retreated, the creature returned to Tokoyami's body with reluctance, casting fearful glances at the dark-haired boy who brutalized it indiscriminately.
—You both did very well— Aizawa nodded at his students, helping Tokoyami remain standing, who was panting and sweating profusely. —This will also help increase your stamina— he told the bird-headed boy.
Tokoyami turned towards Tetsumaru, who was still collecting the sand in an endless torrent that disappeared into his open palms.
With evident effort, he bowed at the waist, addressing sincere gratitude to the shinobi.
—I truly appreciate what you have done for me, Tetsumaru-san. Thank you very much for your help.
—Just Tetsumaru— the dark-haired boy said instinctively, earning a smile from Tokoyami. —Don't worry about it. I also benefited from this training.
—How so?— Tokoyami asked curiously.
—Maintaining the structure against your shadow's onslaught was not an easy task. Plus, I was able to improve my perception in the dark during this confrontation.
After that, Aizawa accompanied Tokoyami to the camp, leaving the shinobi alone, who still had an unbearable amount of sand to store.
Exhaustion also slowed down the mobilization of large quantities of sand, and the lack of chakra only hampered him, so Tetsumaru was forced to leave it on the ground everywhere and control mediocre amounts to direct it to his hands.
Back at the camp, everyone greeted Tokoyami with an endless sea of questions, despite the disheveled state of everyone.
Especially for those close-combat fighters, who not only had to undertake the grueling training to push their Quirk to the limit but also fell into the hands of Tiger, Vlad, and Mei.
The heroes and the kunoichi had a festival of kicked butts for anyone in Classes A and B who followed the traditional path of the fist.
Kirishima, Sato, TetsuTetsu, Shishida, Shoji, Ojiro, Kuroiro, Kendo, Kaibara, Tsuyu, and even Kamakiri ended up with sore bodies.
The day ended normally at the camp, with the students falling exhausted and the Heroes and the siblings returning to a briefing to analyze today's progress.
And while the other students remained engrossed in their own internal struggles, Aizawa, Vlad, the PussyCats, Tetsumaru, and Mei were immersed in anticipation and tension.
Because unlike the original work, UA had prepared much better for an imminent attack they were almost sure of.
However, just like them, the League of Villains had prepared much better, and the events were not going to end the same way as in the original work, even though Tetsumaru and Mei couldn't remember how that arc ended.
Even if they did, their presence had already caused ripples that were beginning to alter the course of events.