BOOM—!
The moment Masata's voice faded, a violent explosion erupted less than a hundred meters away. That was only the beginning. Explosions continued for nearly ten seconds straight.
Someone from Bakugo's group had clearly triggered Yaoyorozu's trap.
"Magma bastard! I finally caught you! Die already!!"
A furious figure burst out of the dense forest, propelled through the air by explosions—Bakugo Katsuki.
Right behind him, Todoroki Shoto surged forward along a rapidly forming ice path, dragging Kirishima Eijiro with him, while Sero Hanta swung through the air using his tape before landing nearby.
During their advance, the four had stepped on multiple traps Yaoyorozu had carefully concealed—mines, shock bombs, flash grenades, power nets. But anticipating exactly this kind of ambush, they avoided the ground entirely and pushed forward through the air.
That was the only reason they reached Masata's position without suffering serious damage.
"Die!"
Bakugo crossed his arms midair and unleashed a barrage of long-range explosions toward Igarashi Masata.
Seeing the incoming blasts, Yaoyorozu Momo, Uraraka Ochaco, and Asui Tsuyu instantly scattered to avoid being caught in the blast radius.
Masata, however, didn't dodge.
A thick layer of magma surged over his arms as he reached forward and grabbed toward Bakugo's forearms—completely ignoring the explosions.
"Damn it! You're like a damn hedgehog!"
Bakugo cursed, detonating explosions beside himself to twist his body midair. Riding the shockwaves, he narrowly avoided Masata's grasp and fired several smaller explosions directly at Masata's arms.
Puff. Puff.
Every blast hit perfectly.
But instead of flesh tearing or bone cracking, only dull impacts echoed.
The explosions merely burst bubbles in the magma, sending splashes of lava outward. Masata himself wasn't injured in the slightest.
"BOOM!"
The moment Bakugo pulled away, a massive ice wall surged upward, sealing off Masata's movement. Ice spikes shot out from multiple directions, clearly aiming to restrain him.
Sero glanced at Masata's magma-covered arms and scratched his head awkwardly.
"Yeah… I really don't want to fight him head-on. My tape would probably burn up before it even touched him."
"Then we deal with the others first," Kirishima said firmly. "Once that's done, we help Bakugo and Todoroki."
As classmates, Kirishima never believed the three girls were just support pieces. They were absolutely combat-capable.
"Bakugo and Todoroki are Masata's problem," Yaoyorozu said calmly. "We'll handle the two of you."
Three versus two.
She had no intention of losing.
"Move, Kirishima!"
Sero fired tape from his elbows, aiming to bind Yaoyorozu in one decisive move.
"You're underestimating me!"
Yaoyorozu snorted, pulling a heavy machine gun from behind her back. She slammed it onto the ground, braced herself, and pulled the trigger.
DADADADADA—!
The weapon didn't fire live ammunition—only shell rounds—but the sheer speed and impact were no joke.
The tape flying toward her was shredded instantly. The bullets continued forward in a dense stream, showing no sign of slowing.
"Hardening!"
Kirishima activated full-body hardening and leapt in front of Sero, crossing his arms to shield his face as he took the barrage head-on.
Clang—clang—clang!
The bullets struck him like hail against steel, bouncing off with crisp metallic sounds before falling harmlessly to the ground.
"Thanks, man," Sero said, sweat running down his face. He didn't have Kirishima's defense—those hits would've taken him out instantly.
"Don't relax!" Kirishima warned. "This isn't over!"
While Yaoyorozu suppressed them with gunfire, Uraraka and Asui attacked simultaneously.
Uraraka pressed both hands against a massive tree Masata had knocked over earlier. Making it weightless, she lifted it effortlessly, hugged it to her chest—and swung it like a club toward Kirishima.
"BOOM!"
Just before impact, she released her quirk.
The tree regained its full weight mid-swing and crashed down with terrifying force.
Meanwhile, Asui maneuvered behind Kirishima and Sero, clearly prepared to intercept any escape attempt.
"This is brutal! No mercy at all!" Sero muttered, sweat dripping from his chin.
"Don't hesitate!" Kirishima shouted. "Run! I can take this!"
Yaoyorozu's bullets hammered into him relentlessly, leaving him no chance to counterattack.
"Ah—! Got it!"
Sero reacted instantly, firing tape toward a distant tree to pull himself away.
But Asui wasn't going to let him escape.
Her tongue snapped out, wrapping around a thick branch and whipping it forward—smashing directly into Sero's tape and snapping it apart.
"Crap!"
Sero rolled desperately across the ground. The movement was clumsy and undignified—but it barely carried him outside the tree's impact zone.
The massive trunk slammed directly onto Kirishima's head.
CRACK—!
Kirishima didn't scream.
But the impact drove him straight into the ground, burying his lower legs completely.
His posture became awkward and extreme—arms braced above his head to hold the tree, chest enduring the nonstop barrage of bullets, legs bent and trembling as he fought to keep himself from being crushed.
"Kirishima!"
At that moment, Sero finally had an opening.
Gritting his teeth, he fired two strips of tape—one wrapping around Kirishima's left leg, the other around his right—and yanked with all his strength, dragging him out of the bullet storm.