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My Mangekyo Sharingan Can't Save My Hero Academia: 57 Pride And Pragmatism 1
🕑 Added 2025-12-13 01:35:36 +0000 UTCSmoke curled from craters the size of cars. Shattered tiles and pulverized concrete covered the floor.
The heat haze from the explosions warped the air.
And in that silence, broken only by the sound of their labored breathing and the stadium's muted murmuring, Yuta's eyes lowered.
The red haze of the Sharingan faded momentarily, dropping back to normal before snapping back to crimson as he forced the focus.
'That... went better than I thought.'
Yuta's chest heaved as he surveyed the battlefield.
He had successfully withstood Bakugo's barrage, all with minimal chakra and no Body Flicker.
Truthfully, it was a better result than he expected.
'However, it's not enough. My chakra's nearly out. One more minute is probably all I can manage now...'
"You can't use it anymore, can you?"
The words cut through the silence like a blade.
Yuta's head snapped up.
Bakugo stood across the destroyed arena, chest heaving, sweat dripping from his jaw, expression dark, eyes carrying a terrifying glare.
"What are you .."
"That warp technique." Bakugo cut him off. "You haven't used it once."
Yuta's expression remained neutral, but his fingers twitched.
Bakugo's eyes narrowed.
"Against Half-and-Half, you spammed that shit like it was nothing. Blinking around the arena. Dodging his ice. Closing distance in a fucking heartbeat."
'I wouldn't really say I spammed it ..'
Bakugo took a step forward.
"But against me? Not. Once."
The crowd's murmur grew louder.
In the stands, Midoriya's pencil froze mid-note.
"He's right," he breathed. "Yuta hasn't used his warp power all this match."
Todoroki's expression remained cold.
'I knew something was off.'
"But .. why?"
"A number of reasons." Iida adjusted his glasses. "Perhaps it's a strategic choice? Conserving energy for—"
"No." Todoroki interrupted with certainty. "It's already the final. What else is there to conserve for?"
His words stunned his classmates. "You mean .."
He nodded. "He's not holding back. He's limited."
On the field, Bakugo continued.
"At first, I thought you were just underestimating me. That you didn't think I was worth the effort."
His hands sparked.
"But then I noticed. Your punches are weaker. You're only dodging and you've barely tried to close distance without me forcing you to."
Another step forward.
"Which means either you're the dumbest fighter I've ever seen..."
His expression turned feral.
"...or you CAN'T anymore."
The silence that followed was deafening.
Present Mic's voice crackled over the speakers, uncertain for the first time all day.
"UH... FOLKS, IT SEEMS BAKUGO HAS JUST MADE A RATHER BOLD OBSERVATION ABOUT HIS OPPONENT'S CONDITION—"
"He's not wrong."
Aizawa muttered through his bandages.
"I've been watching Akutami's movement patterns throughout the tournament. His combat style against Todoroki relied heavily on rapid repositioning and burst speed. This match? He's been purely reactive. Evasive."
His eyes narrowed.
"Something's clearly changed."
The crowd erupted into confused chatter.
"Wait, is he injured?"
"Did something happen after the Todoroki match?"
"He looked fine when he came out!"
In the Class 1-A section, the reactions were immediate.
"No way," Kaminari said. "He's been fighting this whole time while hurt?"
"That would explain why he's only dodging," Momo murmured. "If he can't use his mobility technique, direct confrontation with Bakugo would be..."
"Suicide," Jiro finished.
Kirishima leaned forward. "But if Bakugo knows that, why does he look so pissed?"
Todoroki's eyes never left the arena.
"Because Yuta tried to fight him anyway."
Yuta let out a slow breath.
Then, despite everything, a faint smirk tugged at his lips.
"Wow. You're all pretty perceptive today."
It wasn't a confirmation.
But in this situation, it might as well have been.
Bakugo's expression darkened immediately.
"So you admit it."
"I didn't say that."
"YOU DON'T HAVE TO!"
Bakugo's voice exploded across the arena, fury bleeding into every syllable.
"You came into this match KNOWING you couldn't fight at full power!"
His palms ignited, smoke rising from his clenched fists.
"You beat Todoroki, ACTUALLY BEAT HIM, with everything you had!"
He crouched into a combat stance.
"And then you thought you could take ME on with SCRAPS?!"
The crowd went silent.
Even Present Mic seemed at a loss for words.
"I... uh... folks, this is— what's happening?"
"Fascinating," Aizawa finished dryly. "Bakugo's pride isn't wounded because his opponent is weakened. It's wounded because that weakened opponent thought they could still win."
"IS THAT REALLY THE ISSUE HERE, AIZAWA?!"
"For Bakugo? Yes."
On the field, Yuta's smirk faded.
"And if I did?" His voice was calm, almost conversational. "Would that change anything?"
"WOULD THAT—?!"
Bakugo's hands trembled with barely restrained fury.
"YOU'RE INSULTING ME!"
BOOM!
He launched forward, explosions propelling him at maximum speed.
Yuta's Sharingan spun.
'Here it comes.'
Time slowed.
Bakugo's fist cocked back, palm already igniting. The trajectory was clear—a straight blast meant to overwhelm, not outmaneuver.
'Pure power. No tricks.'
Yuta's body moved on instinct.
He twisted, letting the explosion roar past his shoulder. Heat seared his uniform. The shockwave rattled his bones.
But he stayed standing.
Bakugo landed, spun, fired again.
BOOM!
Yuta ducked, rolled, came up on one knee.
"STOP DODGING AND FIGHT ME!"
Another explosion erupted.
Yuta sidestepped, but this time Bakugo closed the distance immediately, not giving him room to breathe.
BOOM!
At near point-blank range, the explosion was massive—a concentrated burst that swallowed everything in a sphere of heat and light.
The shockwave rippled outward, cracking the already-fractured ground.
The smoke swallowed everything.
“OH—! THAT WAS CLOSE RANGE!” Present Mic shouted. “DID BAKUGO JUST—?!”
The crowd leaned forward, straining to see through the haze.
Bakugo, chest heaving, locked his eyes on the smoke.
'Got him ...'
A figure burst from the cloud.
“—HE’S OUT!”
Bakugo’s eyes widened.
Yuta shot forward, his outline scorched, smoking and his uniform disheveled.
Bakugo instinctively reacted, throwing both hands up for a quick, defensive blast.
BOOM!
Yuta tilted his head just enough for the blast to sear the air by his ear. Bakugo barely had time to register the missing when a chakra-reinforced punch slammed into Bakugo's sternum.
"Guh—!"
The impact sent him stumbling back. Yuta didn't stop, closing the distance while Bakugo was still rolling.
"DAMMIT!" As Bakugo rolled, he desperately swiped his left hand low, triggering a ground-scraping explosion.
CRASH!
Debris and fractured concrete launched toward Yuta. He vaulted over the low-flying shrapnel, ignoring the small cuts from the dust.
Bakugo pushed himself up, fury blazing.
“GET AWAY FROM ME!”
His palms shot up fire a blast. However, Yuta's kick came down first.
BOOM!
The ground was shattered as Bakugo's blast was forcefully redirected.
'I can see it.'
Yuta pivoted midair, using the momentum to swing his other leg around
'I can see everything.'
The kick connected cleanly—a perfect crescent strike that caught Bakugo across the jaw.
Once again, those half baked martial arts classes were paying off big time.
And with perfect body control, even half-remembered forms became deadly.
WHAM!
Bakugo's head snapped sideways. His body lifted off the ground, spinning through the air before crashing hard onto the fractured concrete.
He rolled twice before skidding to a stop.
"OHHH! WHAT A HIT! BAKUGO'S DOWN!"
The crowd erupted at the sudden reversal.
Everyone in class 1A had their eyes widen.
'Could it be?'
'Would Bakugo actually ..'
'Lose?'
Yuta landed, feet barely making a sound.
His Sharingan spun, tracking Bakugo's prone form.
'This is it.'
He dashed forward. This was exactly what he'd been waiting for. The plan he had come up with while in the waiting room before the match began.
His win condition against Bakugo was never to run and wear him out. It was never to outlast him in a stamina war.
It was getting him into close combat, where Bakugo's explosions became a liability as even he wasn't immune to explosions too close to his own body.
And just when he was about to continue pressing, Yuta's body lost strength.
'Shit!'
His eyes widened mid-run as he nearly stumbled, his finely tuned posture dissolving. The crimson light in his eyes died and his sensory boost died with it.
'Dammit, outta chakra.'
Comments
Ozzie_Cheddar
Double KO!
Radiant Tiefling
Thank you for the chapter.
BraveHeart
Gonna be a tough ass final stretch and I'm going to love it
Luke Carmnine
An extra step just to piss Bakugo off? Jump out of bounds before he recovers, and "hand" him the win.
SpeedyG
Like probably choke him out or something
SpeedyG
I wish for a win hahaha even if he is running on scraps
Turles
Shit. Knew this was coming, but it still kinda stings ngl. He’s right there, but it’s a coin toss with whether or not he can manage to push out a win as he is now.
