Chapter 52: Respective Battle

Renault was very aware of the gap between himself and Shinso Hitoshi, knowing that the other was definitely not his match. Especially after discovering that his opponent's Quirk had no effect on him, he chose not to use his own Quirk and instead relied purely on his physical strength to fight.

However, what Renault didn't expect was that with just one punch, Shinso Hitoshi lost consciousness. With such poor physical fitness, the entire set of planned moves that Renault had prepared beforehand could not be executed. Therefore, Renault had to retract his fist, grab Shinso Hitoshi's clothes as he fell, and then threw him out of the arena with a spin.

Meanwhile, Cementoss, who was sitting in the referee's position and had constructed the arena with its square appearance, was quick to manipulate the cement on the ground to form a barrier and catch Shinso Hitoshi, who was flying out of the arena.

Midnight promptly arrived at Shinso Hitoshi's side to check on him before officially announcing, "Shinso Hitoshi has lost consciousness. Renault wins!"

"OOOHHHH!!!!!!!!!!"

Although there was some disappointment that the first match was so simple and ended so quickly, Renault's previous display of speed and unexpected resistance to mental Quirks gave the audience an impressive feeling, resulting in extremely intense cheers.

After the match, Renault did not return to the locker room but instead went directly to the participant's seat to sit with the other Class A students, preparing to watch the next match. The second match was between two Class A students, Aoyama Yuga, and Ashido Mina.

As Renault sat behind them, Sero Hanta asked him, "Renault, who do you think will win the next match? The winner between these two will be your next opponent, right?"

"In my personal opinion, I think Ashido Mina has a slightly better chance of winning, about seventy percent," Renault replied.

"So high?"

Renault nodded and said, "We don't need to talk about the Quirks of these two individuals, as everyone already knows. But when it comes to physical fitness, Aoyama-kun is not very strong, whereas Ashido's physical prowess is outstanding even when compared to the boys. I don't think Aoyama-kun, who hasn't yet overcome his Quirk problem, can be a match for Ashido. The results should be out soon."

Everyone agreed with Renault's logic.

Indeed, Aoyama Yuga's Quirk was quite impressive, as it could be used for long-range attacks and to propel himself for displacement. However, Aoyama Yuga's Quirk had a very obvious drawback, the duration of his laser could not exceed one second, and he would suffer from stomach pain if he overused it, which easily led to a loss of combat effectiveness.

Therefore, as long as Ashido Mina seized upon this weakness, kept her distance from Aoyama Yuga using her physical fitness, and slowly approached him, victory would be hers as soon as Aoyama Yuga showed any weaknesses.

As predicted by Renault, the battle unfolded just as he had expected. Ashido Mina remained patient, relying on her physical fitness and acid Quirk to maintain high mobility while looking for an opportunity.

In the end, when Aoyama Yuga was suffering from discomfort, Ashido Mina corroded his belt with her acid, causing his orange orbs to fall out. Then, taking advantage of his confusion, she quickly closed the gap and delivered an uppercut, defeating Aoyama Yuga.

This final move to end the battle was just like what Renault had predicted.

Next up was the third match between Todoroki Shoto and Class B's Shiozaki Ibara, who had taken over due to the previous two individuals giving up. She was a pretty girl with long, emerald-green hair that looked like vines.

As for the result... Todoroki Shoto's expression, which had been grim since he appeared on stage, made it clear to Renault that Endeavor, his father, was behind this.

After the competition began, Todoroki Shoto mercilessly used his ultimate move and froze half of the stadium, leaving his opponent completely frozen and ending the match in an instant.

"Hmm, looks like he's in a bad mood," Renault sighed quietly.

He then looked towards the tall figure sitting in the spectator seats, Endeavor. Renault couldn't see Endeavor's expression clearly, but he was sure that he wasn't in a good mood.

Meanwhile, Todoroki Shoto didn't leave the arena after winning the match. Instead, he walked over to Shiozaki Ibara and raised his left hand, using his other half of Quirk to unfreeze her. It seemed like he had calmed down after venting his emotions. However, it was a bit of a shame for the girl who didn't show much of her strength and was defeated by a large margin.

After resolving the frozen state of his opponent, Todoroki Shoto walked straight into the player's tunnel and didn't return to his seat. It seemed like he was still feeling conflicted.

Although the previous match was confusing for the audience, the next match was even more so.

The fourth match was between Iida Tenya and Hatsume Mei from the Support Department. There was no suspense in this match as Iida Tenya had superior strength and even with Hatsume Mei's support equipment, she couldn't necessarily win against him.

However, no one knew what Hatsume Mei and Iida Tenya had said to each other. As a result of consultation with the referee, Iida Tenya ended up wearing the support equipment provided by Hatsume Mei.

For the next ten minutes, everyone watched as Hatsume Mei conducted a promotional event for the support equipment she had created, right there on the competition stage. After all the equipment had been displayed, Hatsume Mei walked out of the arena satisfied with her work and admitted defeat.

Renault, holding his chin, commented, "This girl is really a marketing genius. She'll do whatever it takes to achieve her goals. However, she has also thoroughly achieved her own purpose. After all, combat power is not the only criterion for Support Department students."

Midoriya Izuku, who was sitting beside Renault, listened to his assessment and took notes. He couldn't help but say, "Renault-kun, this isn't the time to evaluate our opponents like this, is it? Iida-kun was used by his opponent."

"Well, he's too straightforward. That disposition of his will eventually get him into trouble," replied Renault without hesitation. As he spoke, he noticed Uraraka Ochaco standing up and leaving silently from her seat beside Midoriya Izuku.

Seeing this, Renault kicked Midoriya Izuku and gestured in the direction Uraraka Ochaco had left. "Don't you want to go check on her?"

"Huh?" Midoriya turned around and saw a cup of juice left on the seat where Uraraka Ocacho had been sitting just moments before. She had disappeared.

"..."

Looking at his notebook, Midoriya Izuku said to Renault, "I'm going to leave for a moment."

After Midoriya Izuku left, Renault waited until the fifth match, Yaoyorozu Momo versus Tokoyami Fumikage.

It was a tough battle for Yaoyorozu Momo.