Joint Training Battle/Round Five

The Fifth Round of Class 1-A vs Class 1-B is a battle fought between Izuku Midoriya, Ochaco Uraraka, Mina Ashido, and Minoru Mineta against Neito Monoma, Yui Kodai, Nirengeki Shoda, and Reiko Yanagi. Hitoshi Shinso of Class 1-C is added to Class 1-B's team, as he was previously added to 1-A's team in a previous round.

Prologue
Neito Monoma admits he's impressed with Katsuki Bakugo's explosive victory in the previous round. Setsuna Tokage apologizes to him for ruining Class 1-B's chances of getting the overall victory between the classes, but Neito tells her not to apologize, saying that they've not lost yet. He explains that his wishes were simply for everyone to realize which class is more proper in their approach to becoming heroes.

Nirengeki Shoda tells his team they should adopt a strategy similar to Setsuna's team, suggesting they use their technical Quirks to layback and lead the opponents into a trap rather than engaging in hand-to-hand combat. Reiko Yanagi believes that Izuku Midoriya is their most problematic opponent to which everyone agrees due to his similarities to the chaotic Katsuki. Hitoshi Shinso tells Neito they must work together to use his Brainwashing to stop Izuku.

As the teams enter Ground Gamma, Izuku tests out if his Quirk is working okay by moving around the battlefield. Minoru Mineta suggests his team try to neutralize Hitoshi first, but Uraraka argues that Class 1-B has plenty of other Quirks they should worry about, noting that they have multiple members who could attack from anywhere, at any time, without even showing themselves. Class 1-A's team realizes they're at a disadvantage, as all of them have more physical Quirks and are therefore vulnerable to Class 1-B’s long-range attacks. Mina Ashido suggests they try to catch them by setting a trap, and as Izuku regroups with his squad, he hears and volunteers to act as a decoy in an attempt to draw their opponents out.

Mina asks if Izuku’s Quirk is okay, as he said something unusual was happening with it before, but he says it's fine and he's feeling okay. He tells his teammates that, due to the nature of his Quirk, he knows the other team will be wary of him. Izuku recalls Katsuki's outstanding performance and promises to himself that he won't fail, telling his team that they’ll definitely win. The fifth and final set of the day begins.

Battle
Izuku leaps out ahead of his team, using One For All: Full Cowl to propel himself through the pipes at high speed. Some of Izuku's classmates recognize that his team's formation is similar to Katsuki's, but Hanta Sero notes that they lack a sensory type like Kyoka Jiro, meaning that Izuku will have to work harder than Katsuki to find his enemies.

Izuku cautiously advances through the battlefield, signaling to his companions that he will go ahead. He knows Class 1-B can't ignore him and stands out on purpose, fulfilling his act as a decoy. Suddenly a container flies towards him, although he dodges it and kicks it off. Izuku is aware that that attack is the product of Yanagi's Quirk, but before he can continue thinking about it, he seemingly hears Ochaco screaming. Briefly averting his gaze because of this, Izuku notices Neito on pipes below him, with a smuging smile.

Without wasting time, he shoots a Delaware Smash Air Force at him, although Neito easily dodges the attack by jumping into another pipe. Faking dismay at being spotted, Neito admits his team knows better than to ignore a powerhouse type like Izuku but adds that they might try crushing his team first. Without stopping to aim at him, Izuku knows Neito is trying to provoke him and remains silent, as he potentially could've copied Hitoshi's Brainwashing.

Neito continues provoking the idea that Izuku's team is in trouble, questioning if the previous scream came from the real Ochaco, or was it just Hitoshi imitating her voice with his voice changer in order to lure him out. Izuku refuses to give a signal to his team location, and fires several Air Force at him. Neito dodges the attacks, mocking Izuku for not showing apparent concern for his own, and uses Poltergeist to attack him with bolts and screws.

Meanwhile, Minoru uses Pop Off: Vineyard to tie several of his balls to a string and lays them throughout the area in the hope that they can act as something of a trap to snag an opposing member. When he returns to Ochaco and Mina, they confirm that the scream from earlier was from Hitoshi, and that it sounded nearby. Just then, Minoru notices that something has stuck to his makeshift rope and warns his teammates. This turns out to be Reiko is using her Poltergeist Quirk to levitate a barrage of objects around the area and throwing them at random. Mina uses her Super Move Acid Veil to protect the team. However, the destruction of several of these objects allows Nirengeki to locate their position.

With this information, Class B team begins their real attack. With Yanagi still controlling the items, Yui Kodai uses her Size to change their mass as a means of throwing their opponents off. Ochaco uses her Zero Gravity Quirk to stop the onslaught of metal projectiles and keep them in the air, but Nirengeki uses Twin Impact to add a second wave to the barrage. Class 1-B's attack has helped Nirengeki get a rough idea of Class 1-A's location, so he, Reiko, and Yui continue hiding together to prepare their next attack. Ochaco, Mina and Minoru attempt to run realizing Izuku wasn't able to lure them away, while Ochaco wonders how he's holding up.

Back at Izuku, he continues to shoot blast at Neito, who takes cover behind a large pipe while still taunting Izuku. With one final strike of his words, Neito asks how Katsuki can smile knowing he's destroyed the Symbol of Peace. His accusation infuriates Izuku, who preparesm to shoot him with another blast.

Before Izuku can ever release his Air Force attack, a mysterious black power suddenly bursts out of his arm. He tries kicking his own arm to contain the extreme surge of energy erupting from it, but it overflows and black tendrils suddenly rush at Neito below. Neito dives out of the way just in time, and the black tendrils begin to latch on to objects in the area, pulling Izuku through the maze of pipes to where Hitoshi's hiding. He yells for Hitoshi to run.

Onlookers believe this may be a new ability of Izuku, but he's actually struggling in pain to control this power. The tendrils pull Izuku into the air as he pleads with One For All to get back under control. The tendrils even threaten his teammates, which gains Ochaco's attention. Izuku believed he was improving since getting his Quirk and is dismayed that the power is raging again. Just as the darkness threatens to consume Izuku, Ochaco rushes to his side and floats her way up to him, grabbing onto him. She tries to help, but soon realizes that it is out of control. She spots Hitoshi nearby, and yells at him to brainwash Izuku in the hope that his power will subsequently stop.

Hitoshi panics and tries to think of a correct question he could ask Izuku. He quickly calms down and reminds himself of his first clash with Izuku, realizing that he's come a long way since then and truly wishes to prove it. He removes his mask and asks Izuku if they can have their proper rematch. Izuku confirms and allows himself to fall under Hitoshi's spell once again. The mysterious black power disappears as he loses consciousness.

Ochaco immediately shakes Izuku to wake him from the brainwashing. Ochaco calms Izuku down as they float in mid-air. Neito takes advantage of their guard being down and ambushes Izuku from behind while floating on an enlarged metal nut, attempting to touch him and copy his Quirk. He manages to knock Izuku over and Ochaco tries to subdue him using Gunhead Martial Arts.

Reiko arrives in time and saves Neito by using flying projectiles to distract his attacker. Ochaco dodges as everyone from both teams join the fray, the once technical battle turning into an all-out brawl. Hitoshi sends his Capturing Weapon flying at Ochaco, but Izuku darts out in front of her and grabs it, ready to face Hitoshi once again. Despite Izuku's chaotic outburst, all of the students are still eager to win the fight.

Izuku explains to Ochaco that he can't use his Quirk after what happened earlier, saying he'll have to rely on her powers to aid him against Hitoshi. Mina fires her Acid Shot attack at the other team, but Yui blocks it with an enlarged plate of metal. Nirengeki throws a projectile on the ground before increasing its velocity using his Quirk, and Minoru protects Mina from this attack using his Grape Buckler shield.

As it turns out, Minoru's plan the whole time was to get pushed into Mina's chest. Annoyed, she throws him at the other team using her Acid Layback and Minoru bounces off his own balls for a Grape-Pinky Combo Mineta-Bounce attack.

Neito throws a projectile at Izuku and Ochaco, but the latter deflects it with her wrist-guard. As Neito's touched Izuku and therefore copied his Quirk, he attempts to activate One For All but it doesn't appear to work, allowing Ochaco to jump on him and swiftly pin him down.

Hitoshi realizes his teammate's been caught and calls out to him, readying his binding cloth to use to support Neito, but Izuku uses Ochaco's Quirk to float up to his position above the battlefield, distracting him from his captured teammate. They both start grappling and Hitoshi reminds Izuku of their last bout, and Izuku knows Hitoshi is too big of a threat not to neutralize now. Hitoshi claims he's not the same as before and tries to bring the pipes down on Izuku the same way he did in round one.

Izuku recalls the short time he spent in One For All after falling under Hitoshi's brainwashing. He had spoken to a former One For All user and was told to use his new Quirk, Blackwhip, by keeping his heart under control. This man reminded Izuku of All Might, and that gives him enough heart to focus and use the black tendrils to suspend the pipes in the air.

Hitoshi is surprised by this new development and asks if Izuku was only faking being in pain before. Izuku suddenly gets some painful physical backlash for using Blackwhip, realizing his body isn't ready for its power yet and he must master One For All first. To avoid another outburst, Izuku adjusts full cowl to 8%.

Neito sends a metal pipe at Ochaco, who's tied him up and is floating him to the cell, with Poltergeist and she dodges it quickly. She turns to him, realizing that, as five minutes has passed, the time limit of his Copy should be up now so he'll soon lose access to his teammate's Quirks. Neito taunts her, saying that he could've extended his limit to ten minutes, and asks her if she thinks she could beat him one-on-one. Ochaco looks defiant but doesn’t verbally reply, and Neito realizes just how cautious the Class 1-A team has been because of Hitoshi's Quirk. He asks if Ochaco knows how many Quirks he can copy at a time, and, noting the number of clocks on his belt, she holds up three fingers, and he slyly asks what she would do if it was four.

As Ochaco starts to move Neito into the cell, he begins to explain Copy to her. He says that although he can only use one Quirk at a time, the effects of one Quirk will remain even after he activates another unless they directly affect his body. Ochaco doesn't understand what relevance that bears and pushes Neito into the cell. Neito laughs, knowing she doesn't get where he's coming from.

Ochaco successfully locks him up, but not before Neito uses Nirengeki's Twin Impact to hinder Izuku's pursuit of Hitoshi. Nirengeki subdues Minoru with a strong punch to his gut after reading his moves, and Reiko follows up with a metal rain attack on Mina. Class 1-B begins to gain momentum, but Izuku refuses to give up.

Izuku spins off a wall to completely evade Hitoshi's Capturing Weapon. He remembers his origin and this gives him enough courage to use his Quirk without fear. Ochaco chops Reiko's neck to subdue her from behind and then pushes Yui into a trap made of Minoru's balls, which gives Mina an opening to uppercut Nirengeki to save Minoru. At the same time, Izuku pins down Hitoshi, reminding his team of the claim for a victory that he made before the match began.

Class 1-A’s team manages to turn the battle around as soon Nirengeki, Reiko and Hitoshi have soon joined Neito in the cell.

Aftermath
By turning things around at the last second, the Class 1-A team manages to win the match with a perfect 4-0 victory. Midnight announces the final results, proclaiming that Class 1-A has won the entire exercise overall, and the winners celebrate their victory.

Hitoshi reveals to Shota Aizawa and a very surprised Vlad King that he knew the entire battle was serving his entrance exam for the hero course, also saying that he was disappointed in his performance as he apparently lacked the strength to do anything on his own after Neito was captured.

Shota questions Izuku about the new move he used, and the latter anxiously wonders how to reply without giving away the secret of his Quirk, eventually saying that he wasn’t sure about releasing his tendrils and describing how his power overflowed, spinning out of control. He says that Ochaco and Hitoshi’s teamwork was the thing that truly saved him, and he thanks the two for their help.

Mina points out that Ochaco grabbed onto Izuku to prevent him from damaging himself, this causes both Izuku and Ochaco to blush rapidly as Ochaco quickly explains that it was better to do that than nothing. Shota ignores this and instead praises her for her growth.

Hitoshi, on the other hand, claims that he didn’t save Izuku out of kindness nor because it was what Ochaco told him to do, rather admitting that he acted on his own desire to have a rematch with his old rival. Shota scolds him, much to everyone’s surprise, and goes on to explain that people can’t help others if they can’t act on their own, commending Hitoshi for acting like a real hero. Izuku follows up by also praising Hitoshi for his performance.

Vlad King announces that Hitoshi will be joining the Hero Department starting from his second year. Hitoshi appears bewildered, but also satisfied and proud of himself for accomplishing his goal.

Neito begins to rant about how, although they lost the match, his team didn’t lose in terms of substance, revealing his newfound knowledge of Izuku’s Quirk. He implies that he could easily beat Izuku if they were to rematch, Vlad King patiently explaining that, as class has already ended, they won’t be doing another joint training match anytime soon. Izuku wonders how Neito obtained the details of his ability.

Shota interrupts Neito's monologue by requesting him to come over Class 1-A's dormitories to visit Eri the following day.