Gyro shifted his knees, relieving some of the pain from kneeling on solid concrete. He inched his head closer to the rotating Steel Ball. "Okay, something about Endeavor... and... Quirk Marriages?"

Johnny thought back to his early childhood. "My brother told me about those once. It's when people with strong powers get together to have stronger children."

The Neapolitan grinned. "So ol' Shoto is a human Thoroughbred." He giggled for a moment before returning to his eavesdropping. His smile vanished after a few long moments. He looked more focused than Johnny had ever seen him.

Must be something important, the jockey said inwardly. He considered asking just what it was Gyro was overhearing, but a part of him, deep down, surmised that his friend would demand silence.

Several seconds later, Gyro returned to his grinning self. "Heh. Now that's a mother's touch. Least he didn't go blind."

Johnny blinked, completely lost. Mother's touch? Blind? Wait a second... Suddenly, he could perfectly picture the red blot on Todoroki's face, and he realized that never before had he wondered where it had come from.

"The wrong son..."

He could not help but shudder, thus making Gyro let out another hiss of a "shh!" before going back to his improvised radio. "Damn, Shoto really hated his old man. Evidently, that's why he doesn't use his fire."

"How come you can talk but you keep telling me to be quiet?"

"Because I wait until they pause to fill you in. Now be quiet." Again, he refocused himself. "... Izzy's connection to All Might... Shoto refuses to use half himself out of spite... and they're leaving..." He was about to stand up, but Midoriya apparently stopped their exit below. They had undoubtedly moved away from their spots. Gyro had to practically press his face into the Steel Ball to listen in.

"I've always had help, Todoroki." Izzy sounded downright downtrodden. "It's been that way all my life. The reason I'm standing here is... is because somebody else has always had to save me."

Those words made Gyro Zeppeli think. In his mind, he saw the first Zero-Pointer he ever encountered. Izzy savridcing his legs to topple it. Uraraka slapping him square in the face. Gyro catching him after her release. Ah. Perhaps I did more harm than good?

Izuku, still entirely unaware of the three sets of ears listening to him, continued with the sun shining down on him and Todoroki. "All Might... ever since I could walk, I've wanted to be like him. But I can't do that if I always need somebody to pull me out of the fire." He looked at his hands for a moment. Shoto did not look back to him. "I know that, compared to your motives, it seems pathetic, but..." His stiffened. Drops of determination and truth infected his words. "I take your declaration of war in stride! I'm going to beat you!"

Clap...

Clap...

Clap...

Both youths looked back with confusion. Leaning on the wall, with a smirk on his currently human lips, Diego Brando made his hands collide once more. "Had I known you were Endeavor's son, Todoroki... I would still treated you the same. I'm a fan of his, I admit. He was proof that one, such as this Dio, doesn't have to be all so... gushy to achieve greatness."

Shoto remained silent. So he looks up to the scumbag. I'm not surprised.

"Diego..." Midoriya gulped. "How much of that did you hear?"

"I got here about thirty seconds ago," he lied flawlessly through his sharp teeth. "Then I drifted in and out. You know, I despise my father, too. But that's neither here nor there. What matters here that both of you will have to get past me first for the top spot."

Above them, Gyro grabbed his Ball and returned it to its holster. "Well, that was enlightening. C'mon, Johnny. Let's go feed our faces."

Joestar, not exactly caring much about anything at the moment, simply shrugged and followed his close friend. He didn't mind much that they were basically the last two in line. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Mineta conversing with Gyro's ladyfriend and Jirou. Seeing as they were not slapping him, Johnny assumed the shortest member of 1-A must have not been talking about filth for once.

As he randomly picked his food, he remembered how the tired-looking teammate of his had made Bakugo stop dead in his tracks with just one word...

"And so our midday break is over!" Present Mic, ever the enthusiast, declared from his and Aizawa's box seats. "Before we commence with the final event, there's some good news for those who didn't make it past the preliminaries! After all, this is still a Festival! And what sort of Festival doesn't have recreational activities?!"

Diego hardly paid attention as he sat down with his back on the wall at the fat side of the arena's field. Whatever was about to be said, it involved the losers. Thus, he hardly, if at all, cared.

"Splendid work out there."

Diego looked up, and was greeted with his mother's old man looking at him with that soothing smile of his.

"Thank you, Grandfather. I gambled. And I won."

"You failed to avoid the Iida boy's charge." DIO opted to cut to the chase.

"I'm aware. I think I was just tired. Or overstimulated."

Another voice spoke up next to him. "Whatever it was, you won."

Diego glanced to the source of the words. His uncle was leaning on the concrete noth three feet from him. "When did you get here?"

"I've been standing next to you for three minutes." Giorno was also not beating around the bush.

Deep down within his guts, Diego felt unease. Normally, he was far more aware of his surroundings. He forced himself to shrug it off. It's just the shock of Izuku beating me in the race. Nothing more. I need to get ahold of myself.

DIO looked to his son. "And you lost, boy."

Giorno, face as steely as ever, simply gave a nod. "It isn't the first time. I bet on the wrong horse, evidently."

Diego finally turned his head to look at his kinsman full on. "Was that a pun?"

Giorno thought back to his previous sentence, and saw what his nephew was referring to. "I wasn't intentionally making one, but yes."

Diego did not realize his own lips were curling upwards. "It... is kind of funny."

Before any of them could say another word, angry shouting reached their ears. All three blondes looked over and saw Kaminari and Mineta giving a thumbs up... and all the women of 1-A in cheerleader outfits. Most of them were slim, almost lithe. Except for one. Siri's getup exposed not a flat stomach, but a pack of abs. And her uncovered arms, previously kept hidden by either her uniform's blazer or Hero outfit's pink coat, made it known that she could probably punch a jawbone clean off.

"You tricked us, didn't you?!" Yaoyorozu angrily shook her pom-poms at the two resident perverts.

Neither gave an answer. They only kept smiling.

"You know," Siri said flatly. "For a genius, you sure are gullible."

In a heartbeat, Momo's rage was replaced with dread. She curled down. "I know. I even made these blasted outfits with my Quirk!"

DIO could not help but grin. The misery of others was oh so amusing.

"Pathetic," Diego commented. "Back in Egypt, I didn't need trickery to get the females to adhere to my will."

The two lechers, having somehow heard him and his attempt to one-up his uncle, were instantly in front of him and asking questions like a furious wind.

"What's your secret?"

"How many?"

"Is it because you're blonde?"

"Or your accent?"

"Have you felt boobs before?"

Kaminari opened his mouth to further the interrogation, but thought for a moment. "How do we know you aren't just bragging?"

Before an answer could be given, the gigantic screen flickered to life once more. What appeared on it was an image that would like remind of a set of roots from a tree, but it quickly became evident that it was brackets for a tournament.

"From the four top teams, sixteen of you made it the final event! And what better way to end this great event that with some one-on-one combat?!"

The lots were drawn without incident. Under each of the lowermost lines, the combatants' names were displayed. The order indicated who was fighting whom.

Todoroki Shoto vs. Kaminari Denki

Shinso Hitoshi vs. Midoriya Izuku

Yaoyorozu Momo vs. Brando Diego

Bakugo Katsuki vs. Uraraka Ochako

Joestar Jonathan vs. Sero Hanta

Ashido Mina vs. Bucciarati Bruno

Iida Tenya vs. Zeppeli Iulius

Kirishima Eijiro vs. Valentine Siri

Gyro groaned loudly. "Great! Now everybody knows!"

Johnny just kept staring at the massive screen. "Guess even foreigners have their last names said first here."

So the first match goes to me, Shoto observed. And it seems you and I shall be facing off in the second round, Midoriya. Sooner than I expected.

Bakugo read just who his first opponent would be. "Uraraka?" The name was unfamiliar to him.

"You've got your work cut out for you, Johnny!" Gyro cackled. "I'm sure you can win 'em all! Unless you take on me!"

Johnny barely responded. "I don't care about winning or losing. I just want to get out of the red and back to zero."

"Shinso?" Izuku had never heard the name before.

"Midoriya. That's you, right?"

The newest holder of One For All nearly jumped out of his boots. Standing behind him was a vaguely familiar face. The wild hair, the tired eyes. Wait... he's the one who said he'd pull us off our high horses.

He opened his mouth to reply, but somebody beat him to it. "Don't." Izuku turned his attention from the retreating Shinso to Johnny shaking his head. "Don't say a single thing to him."

Bruno saw that he would he taking on a member of 1-A in the first round. He was glad Monoma was not around to constantly tell him to humiliate the other first year class.

"Looks like Motormouth is mine," Gyro laughed.

"You shouldn't take this so lightly, Zeppeli!" Iida reprimanded, chopping his arms in his usual way. "Nor should you call your classmate such a derisive name!"

"And yet I am."

Diego grinned at his first victim. I haven't forgotten how you surpassed me during Aizawa-Sensei's Quirk apprehension test. Time for you to learn your place.

Johnny wracked his mind on how to survive this tournament. He felt thankful towards the various activities to still take place between now and the matches.

So, I just need to crush some more of them. Fine. No tricks. No surprises... Ah, yes. The two morons. Diego, not about to pass up an opportunity to display his superiority in all aspects of life, sighed and stood up. "I suppose a demonstration is in order."

"The Brando charm never fails." DIO watched his progeny strut towards the small group of young women. His words garnered the attention of Diego's classmates. If they had not been informed of DIO's relation to Diego, they would have easily thought the ageless man was a time-displaced version of their peer.

Okay, so Brando sounds exactly like his Grandfather. That's not weird at all.

Diego's walk and posture advertised confidence while his mind raced as the gap steadily closed. Which one do I flirt with again? The tall one? No... I called her exotic once, I think. The invisible one? Wait! The pink one! What's her name again?

"We might as well have some fun with it!" Hagakure seemingly sparkled as she rolled with her situation, flailing her arms and pom-poms about.

Jirou was in disbelief. "You're actually enjoying this?"

Mina was about to chime in her own two cents, but was cut off. "Ashido." She turned on her heels. Her yellow eyes met the cyan orbs of Diego Brando, which drifted downward for a moment before reestablishing eye contact. "That outfit is... very becoming." His voice was smoother than the finest mirror.

She grinned widely. "Thanks!"

He curled his index finger and gently pressed the joint into the underside of her chin. "Whatever comes in this combat tourney, I'd hate to tarnish something so beautiful. But this is the path laid out for us. Perhaps, when this Festival has concluded, you and I could get to know each other a little better?"

Mina was dumbstruck. "Uh... ah, yeah! Sounds fun!"

Having said his piece, Brando walked back to his apostles and kin.

Mina felt like jumping for joy. "I knew it!"

Tsuyu, however, thought aloud with her signature lack of emotion. "Didn't he basically call you a thing?"

No sooner had Diego rejoined the unlikely group did Kaminari and Mineta get down and wrap their arms around his legs.

"Teach us!" They begged.

"I don't think there's going to be time for that."

"Because of the final event?" Mineta was not giving up. "I can live with just the basic notes."

"Not because of the finals," Diego clarified. He pointed to his left. "But rather, because Gyro is going to kill you in about twelve seconds."

The two followed his indication. Sure enough, there was Gyro looking at the distraught Yaoyorozu. He turned his head to look at the duo grabbing Diego's limbs, and he was not smiling.

"Didn't Present Mic say something about recreations?" Kaminari could practically smell Zeppeli's rage. "We should do some of 'em!"

They ran off, with Gyro in hot pursuit. "I'm gonna shred you like mozzarella!"

Whilst others went off to do whatever strain-relief was available to them, Johnny opted just to sit and watch Cementoss form the battle platform for the tournament.

He did the math, guessed the outcomes.

If I'm ridiculously lucky, I'll have to face Dio. On international television. It's Luxor all over again. Why does this keep happening to me? I really am cursed, aren't I?

The literature teacher was painstakingly thorough in the composition and measurements of the giant slab that would act as the ring. The last portion to be formed was an elevated chair at the center of the left side.

He heard footsteps approach him from the side. "Joestar?"

Johnny glanced sidelong and found Midoriya standing next to him. "Yeah?"

"You said not to say anything to Shinso earlier. Why?"

Johnny returned to looking forward. "There's something... off about him. Your old buddy, Katsuki, was homing in on us. Then Shinso just said, 'stop.' And he did."

Izuku could not believe it. "He did?! Just like that?"

Johnny nodded. "Persuasion. Or mind control. Guess all I can do is wish you good luck."

With the final event about to begin, the spectators and fighters not currently engaged in a battle took their seats.

Down below in the walkway, Shoto turned a corner... and did not stop as he passed a very unwelcome face. Get out of my way."

Endeavor did not leave, nor did he block his youngest son's path. "You're acting without reason. Had you used your flames, you could have effortlessly crushed them all in the race and the Cavalry Battle. Why will you not open your eyes and focus? You aren't like your brothers or sister, Shoto. You are my masterpiece."

Those words made Shoto stop, but he did not look back. "I'll never use your power. Never. I'll win using only Mom's Quirk and nothing else.

"Our first match! Both of them coming from the Heroics course and fresh off of teaming up! Todoroki Shoto and Kaminari Denki!"

"I hope you don't get too made, Todoroki," Denki said with obvious confidence. "This match might be over in an instant!"

"Yes. It just might be..."

"Let's all give a cheer for our special proctor for this little tourney! All the way from America! Maaaaaandooooom!" Walking across what little space was left outside the fighting ring, Ringo gave a noncommittal wave as he climbed into the specially made chair. And the people did indeed cheer. Not because of Mandom himself (due to his tendency to avoid attention back in his home country), but rather Mic's infectious positivity. "The rules here are simple! You win by either getting your opponent out of bounds, making them unable to move, or getting them to say 'I give!' Don't be afraid to wound each other, though! We got Recvoery Girl waiting in wings! Just don't try to outright endanger each other's lives! That is an instant loss for you!"

As the talking continued, Gyro chuckled at the imminent slaughter about to take place. As his throat rested, he heard scribbling next to him. He looked over, and there was Midoriya, writing away in a notebook. "Whatcha doing, Izzy? Getting ready for the poetry slam?"

His joke of a question snapped Izuku out of his thoughts. "Huh? Oh! No, not at all. I'm just writing down some details about Todoroki. I saw his arm ignite so I figure it has to do with his Quirk."

On his other side, Ochako could not help but ask, "and you're writing it down, why?"

Gleefull that somebody was taking an interest in his hobby, he showed them the cover, written in his handwriting.

"Hero Analysis For The Future. Number 13?"

Izuku nodded. "This is the thirteenth notebook." He turned the pages, showing numerous notes and drawings of various Heroes and classmates. "I write down everything I can about Quirks. Stands are still sort of new to me, but they're in here too. I've even got a page about your Zero Gravity, Uraraka!"

He showed the page. She was at a loss for words.

Gyro peeked at the page. "Wait, you've got thirteen of these things around? Where am I?"

Midoriya quickly rifled through the pages. "Just a second... Kirishima, Valentine, Diego." At that last name, a caucasian finger pressed down on the parchment, preventing him from turning to the next.

"You've been taking notes on this Dio?" Brando leaned forward to the point where if he went any lower, his chin would be on Izuku's shoulder. Are you trying to find a weakness? Conspiring? Perhaps I should exert more dominance in the future.

"It's... yes, I have," Midoriya said.

Diego gazed into his eyes for a moment. He could sworn he heard somebody yell "start!" but he paid it no mind as he read the writings. "'Stand: Scary Monsters. Can turn himself and any animal he touches into a dinosaur (able to choose species is unknown). Can grow fangs, scales, and tail. Greatly increases reflexes and strength. Relies on motion to see when active. Best suited for close range combat and surprise attacks.' Accurate. Although in a little bit, you'll be adding another detail."

Izuku eagerly gripped his pencil. "I will? Why?"

Diego did not answer. Instead, he looked at the sketch his future subordinate had drawn of him. "You need to work on the spurs. It looks like I'm wearing snowflakes on my boots."

Gyro looked closer and found that it was true. "Speaking of snowflakes, did it get colder?"

They all looked to the ring... and saw that a massive glacier had spontaneously formed at the far end of it.

"My apologies," Todoroki said to the most frozen Kaminari. "I went a little overboard. I'm just... a little mad."

Kaminari was not amused. "Oh, you think?!"

"And the winner is Todoroki!" Present Mic seemed unconcerned with how short the match had been.

"Huh. That was quick!" Gyro slapped Midoriya on the back. "Guess you're up!"

Making his way to the ring, Midoriya thought about the conversation he and All Might had during the waiting period.

Five percent... he trusted me with his Quirk, and I can barely use it! How can I meet his expectations if I can't throw more than one good punch?

"Time for the second match! From the Heroics course, Midoriya Izuku! And from the General Educations course, Shinso Hitoshi!"

The exhausted teen spoke. "So, you and me, huh? Shouldn't be that hard. I saw you a few times during the Cavalry Battle. You didn't really do much of anything. You're just dead weight, a pawn to be sacrificed." Izuku could take the verbal abuse. After all he had dealt with it nearly his entire life. However... "Just like the Joestar." That caught Deku offguard. "I know about the Joestar family, and their legacy. Who doesn't? Hermit Purple. Crazy Diamond. Star Platinum. And then there's Johnny. I heard him say something about getting back to zero?"

"START!"

"I sort of agree with him. He's useless. Best he just accept it."

A fire ignited within Midoriya. Anger overtook him for but a moment, and it still cost him. "Don't talk about Jah-"

He stopped running. He stood still.

Shinso grinned. "I win."

Present Mic said, or more accurately, screamed what everybody was thinking. "What's going on?! The match has only just begun and Midoriya is standing still! Could this be a Quirk at work?!"

Gyro leaned forward out of his seat. "What'd he do to Izzy?!"

Johnny did not have an answer. He was too busy going to a very bad mental place. Me. He got trapped because of me. Just like Nicholas. He's gonna lose, and it's all my fault!

Diego stood up to make his way to the waiting rooms. "Who knows? But it seems victory goes to your old teammate."

Gyro's eyes narrowed. "You don't seem all that concerned about your friend, Dio."

"It's a fighting tournament," he replied nonchalantly. "Therefore, we're all enemies here."

His words, vile as they may be, were accurate. Gyro understood that he might have to throw his Steel Balls at Johnny before the day was over. He looked down at the ring. Izzy was walking towards the white line. His fellow classmates spoke up.

"What's Deku doing?!"

"He's gonna lose!"

"What the Hell is going on?!"

"My fault..."

Gyro found himself grinding his grills together. C'mon, Izzy! He hasn't even hit you and you're giving up?! It's gonna take a miracle here! All he could do was watch as his friend kept strolling towards defeat.

But then... something happened. A gust of wind blasted from Izuku's left hand. And then he stopped walking.

Johnny was, to say the least, shocked. "What... what just happened?"

Gyro, still out of his seat, squinted. The eye given to him by his father provided the answer. "A miracle." He flashed his golden grills. Izuku's index and middle finger were broken once more. "He must have snapped out of it with a healthy dose of pain!"

"I don't think pain is all that healthy, Gyro."

The Neapolitan laughed as Izuku, with a look of determination, started fighting back. As he and Shinso fought for victory, the latter yelled out a lot of words that Gyro did not bother hearing, followed by a punch to Midoriya's shattered digits. "Beat his ass, Izzy!"

His words became reality. Izuku, on the verge of being defeated, grabbed onto Shinso's chest and arm. With a swift motion, he hoisted him up, flipped him, and tossed him to the ground. The impact was palpable. Shinso recoiled before finally settling down on his back... with his legs beyond the white line.

Midnight raised an arm. "Shinso is out of bounds! Midoriya moves on the second round!"

Gyro stood up and clapped. Others followed as he led the cheering. "Nyoooooo hooooo! IZZAAAYYY!"

Johnny did not join in with the celebration. But he also felt the guilt slowly die down.

"Well, color me surprised." The Funniest Valentine said into his phone. "I personally would have put my money on the loser there."

The man on the other end laughed. "Surprises galore, it seems."

The Funniest nodded. "Mmhhmm. Speaking of which, I got that book you recommended, Rikiya."

"The Meta Liberation War?" He sounded excited. "What did you think of it?"

"Still in the midst of reading it. But from what I've gotten through..."

"What happened out there?" All Might asked as Recovery Girl worked her Quirk on Midoriya's busted fingers.

"I... I don't really know," Izuku admitted. "I was completely aware of what was going on, but I couldn't control my body. I was walking towards the out-of-bounds line, when I saw... something."

"What sort of something?"

"Well, in the archway, there were... people. Eight? Maybe nine? I couldn't really make them out, but one of them had your hairstyle. Could they have been the remnants of One For All's past wielders?"

All Might, for a wonder, looked freaked out. "Are you saying... you saw me as a ghost?"

Izuku's bewildered mood returned. "You mean you don't know?!"

The Symbol of Peace recollected himself. "Well, I actually did see something like that, back in my early days. I think they're just... imprints from the old users. I don't believe they have any sort of will, or a way to intervene. I'm thinking they were just an illusion and that it was your own unrelenting willpower that broke Shinso's Brainwashing."

"That... isn't really a satisfying answer..."

Seeing his disappointment, All Might gave his protégé energizing words. "Hey now, no reason to dwell on it! Do you want to sit here, or go and see your next possible opponents?"

Midoriya perked up at that and got out of his seat. "You're right! Thanks!"

Recovery Girl waved him off. "Its It's my pleasure!" The door opened and closed, leaving her and All Might alone. "He said he saw you in that vision..."

"That's a good thing."

Izuku ran back to his classmates sitting in the stands.

Iida and Uraraka noticed him first and smiled.

"Deku, you're back!"

Iida gestured to the spot next to him. "We saved you a seat!"

Izuku happily took it, putting him between Tenya and Johnny. "Thanks! Did I miss anything?"

Johnny shook his head. "No. And... I'm sorry."

Midoriya looked at him completely confused. "For what?"

"Shinso made you lose your cool by insulting me. I should have kept my problems to myself."

Deku blinked before giving the depressive American a reassuring smile. "It's not your fault. Not one bit."

Present Mic's voice filled the air. "Match number three, my good listeners. From the Heroics course, the recommended prodigy from a long line of Pros before her, Yaoyorozu Momo! And her opponent, also from the Heroics course, the British genius jockey-turned-dinosaur maker, Diego Brando!"

Nearly all of 1-A tilted their heads. "Jockey?"

Johnny sighed. "Yeah. You ever notice how he and I have a sort of history?"

Uraraka thought deeply for a few seconds. "Kind of."

"I'll spare the deeper details of the bloodfeud between our families. But me and Dio down there have known each other for years. We both have a thing for horseback riding. And we used to race against each other. And he never failed to beat me, to beat everybody. They call him 'The Emperor.'"

Hagakure was slightly confused. "But if he was such a big shot, why ditch it for UA?"

Johnny shrugged. "Only Dio knows what's he's ever truly up to. But he's not stupid. The 'genius' in his nickname is justified without a doubt."

Down in the ring, Diego crouched down. His fangs and claws returned, and his tail coiled beneath him. All those who stand in my way will know my wrath! I'll drag them through the dirt! And you, Yaoyorozu. You need to think about what needs to come out of you. So I'll suffocate you!

"START!"

Brando literally sprang forward, his legs and tails being put to good use. "Wryyyy!"

Momo had little time to consider what sort of weapon to use against him, and he was not giving her a micrometer. A metal staff emerged from her left arm. She grabbed it with her free hand as Brando closed in on her. She swung it towards his head, aiming to disorient him. Unfortunately for her, the motion of the attack meshed all too well with his dynamic vision. He twisted his head and caught the rod in his jagged teeth. With that problem taken care of, he tensed his arm, straightened his fingers, and slashed her.

Momo let out a short scream as instinct took over, making her back away. Diego wretched the staff clean out of her hand. She quickly formed a new on-the-fly plan and made a small steel shield. As she grabbed it, she could feel the blood dripping from her stomach drip down and deep into her shoes.

It isn't enough that I best you! Diego mentally declared as he used his tail to assault her shield.

Looking from above, Johnny said, "yeah, all too familiar. Diego uses every dirty trick and opportunity, and leaves zero breathing room for anybody else."

"Pragmatic," Gyro said as he clenched a fist.

Midoriya pulled out his notebook and began writing down what Johnny had just said. "But if you know him so well, you know how to get around it, right?"

Johnny would have laughed. Would have. "Shoot him."

Not hearing the sardonic tone, Midoriya wrote away, murmuring all the while. "Of course. He doesn't have any ranged attacks. At least not at first. If he can get enough animals converted into dinosaurs..."

Back in the ring, Diego yanked the shield out of the heavily bleeding Momo's hands, and, without missing a beat, smashed her over the head with it.

Pain screamed to make itself known to her. She could barely see. Her ears were ringing. Lights flashed on and off.

Taking the split second opening, Diego began to change even more. His skin turned blue and his nose vanished. His clothes seemed to merge with his flesh as his hair became protruding spines. His body stretched out like a shadow at dusk. Within an instant, a Utahraptor had taken Diego Brando's place. It screeched, "USHAAAAA!" and leapt. Its feet talons collided with Yaoyorozu's midsection, making her first injury even worse, and the momentum sent her to the ground.

With her on her back, the prehistoric predator pinned her there by planting one of its legs on her gut. It leaned in and opened its jaw wide, letting out a roar.

"I give!" Yaoyorozu shouted. "I give!"

The dinosaur let out a satisfied growl before getting off of her. Before anybody knew it, Diego reverted back to his purely human form.

Midnight made the declaration. "Yaoyorozu has surrendered! Brando moves on to the next round!"

"What a match!" Present Mic was practically pressing his face on the glass. "I bet that's the first time in a long time anybody has seen a living dinosaur!"

Despite her injuries, Momo stood up and gave a respectful bow to the victor. Diego did not copy the gesture. He simply stared at her, basking in the thunderous applause.