"Begin!"
The referee's voice echoed through the arena.
"I hate people like you—people who are already famous."
Kuji Ayato adjusted his glasses, his tone dripping with venom. His narrow eyes gleamed with resentment as he glared across the ring at Lock.
Lock tilted his head slightly. "So what?"
He wasn't rushing in yet—he wanted to hear what this guy had to say.
Kuji clenched his fists tightly, his nails digging into his palms.
A lifetime's worth of frustration and bitterness bubbled to the surface.
There are always those people—the ones born talented.
The ones with powerful Quirks, sharp minds, good looks, and athletic bodies.
The ones everyone admires: teachers, classmates, colleagues.
They always stand in the light.
The winners.
But Kuji Ayato?
He was the other kind—the one who watched from the shadows.
Mediocre. Forgettable.
He wore glasses that made him look smart, but his grades were average.
He was plain-faced, unpopular, and ignored by girls.
He'd once dreamed of becoming a Hero—someone who could be admired, loved, cheered for.
The Heroes on TV seemed larger than life. They were everything he wasn't.
Then he discovered his Quirk.
Spatial Rotation.
A non-combat ability. It allowed him to swap positions with any object or person within sight—but only once per hour per target.
Useful for rescues, maybe. But not flashy. Not powerful.
Not the kind of Quirk that gets you remembered.
He'd applied to U.A. High… and failed.
The practical exam chewed him up and spat him out.
He settled for a lesser Hero Academy, then kept trying for years.
And every year, he failed the license exam.
This was his third attempt since graduating, and he could count his failures on more than one hand.
He'd thought about giving up—about taking some meaningless desk job.
But the idea of living as another faceless salaryman terrified him even more than failure.
He wanted to be seen.
He wanted to matter.
But even if he did become a Pro Hero, he'd still be nothing compared to people like Lock.
A boy who, at just fifteen, had already become a national topic.
Who'd made headlines after the first exam by singlehandedly eliminating thousands of candidates.
A boy who shone so brightly that people couldn't help but watch.
And Kuji hated him for it.
Lock's voice broke the silence.
"You say you hate famous people…" he said, brow furrowing slightly, "but it sounds to me like what you really want is to become one."
Kuji froze. His breath caught in his throat.
Lock smiled faintly. "So you're not jealous—you're desperate, aren't you?"
That single, casual remark hit Kuji harder than any punch.
His chest tightened. His jaw clenched.
Even from across the stage, Lock could hear his sharp inhale.
Got him.
Lock exhaled softly, almost pitying. "Although you're not really my type of opponent."
He smiled coldly. "Jealousy's a sad motivation."
Kuji's composure snapped.
"So what if I am?!" he roared, pointing straight at the hovering broadcast camera. "This exam is my shot at fame—and I'll use you as my stepping stone! Beating you is all it takes!"
Lock's calm smile didn't waver. "You talk too much."
Kuji's teeth ground audibly as he took several steps back—then suddenly jumped out of the ring.
Gasps rippled through the audience.
"What's he doing!?"
But Kuji wasn't retreating—he was activating his Quirk.
"Spatial Rotation!"
Instantly, the world warped.
Lock felt the air twist around him, the scenery bending violently.
Weightlessness tore through his body.
His perspective spun— p became down, and down became up.
From the sidelines, Mt. Lady and the others looked up in alarm.
"Lock!"
Kuji laughed, his voice echoing over the speakers.
"Fall for me, Lock! Fall out of bounds—then you can look up at me for once!"
He grinned madly. His plan was simple:
Use his Quirk to swap their positions, dropping Lock outside the ring.
No confrontation, no fight. Just a technical knockout.
A clean, humiliating win.
But the smirk vanished when he saw Lock's expression.
The boy wasn't panicked. He was smiling.
"…So that's your plan," Lock murmured. "Clever trick."
He raised a hand, forming a sigil in the air.
"But I've got a trick too."
His fingers curled into a magic seal. The word left his lips, soft but commanding:
"Wing."
A crimson-black magic circle flared behind him.
A burst of black light illuminated the sky.
In the next instant, a pair of enormous dragon wings erupted from Lock's back.
The sudden shockwave rippled across the entire arena, sending dust and heat waves outward.
He hovered effortlessly above the ground, fire crackling along his scales.
"As long as I don't touch the floor outside the ring…" Lock smiled, "…I'm not disqualified."
"Wh—what…?!"
Kuji stared up at him in horror.
Lock soared higher, the wind roaring beneath his wings.
He looked down from above, eyes burning like molten gold.
"I hate looking up to others," he said quietly. Then, louder—
"But I love making others look up to me."
His voice thundered across the entire exam venue.
For a moment, time itself seemed to stop.
Every candidate, every examiner, and every viewer watching the live broadcast stared up at the black-winged boy suspended in the air.
"That's—That's insane!" Kuji choked, trembling.
"Wings? That's too broken—it's cheating!"
But it was too late.
Lock folded his wings sharply, propelling himself downward like a flaming meteor.
"The Iron Fist of the Fire Dragon!"
His arms ignited with roaring flame, and his body became a streak of crimson light.
In the blink of an eye, he was in front of Kuji—his fist colliding with the man's chest.
The impact shook the arena.
A shockwave exploded outward, rattling the stage as Kuji's eyes rolled back.
He was sent hurtling across the ring and crashed hard into the ground below—unconscious before he even landed.
Lock landed lightly, folding his wings back as the flames died down.
He looked at Kuji's motionless body and exhaled.
"Try building your fame the right way next time," he muttered.
"Lock wins!"
The referee swallowed hard before announcing the result. His voice quivered slightly.
The crowd erupted into cheers and shocked murmurs.
The scoreboard flashed: 1–1.
Lock's victory had dragged his team back from the brink.
Next up—the final match.
A five-on-five team battle that would decide everything.
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A/N: New Fanfic Is Out " Naruto: I'm Boruto Uzumaki"
A/N: Advanced Chapters Have Been Uploaded On My Patreon
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