Hosu:
In the dark alleys of Hosu, a red-eyed villain in a dark combat suit, plated with metal armor across his body that holsters his weapons, a sleeveless torso, and yellow bandages from just below his shoulders to his wrists. He also wears long black wristbands and a watch on his left arm, and his knees are protected with metal pads; black boots with steel armor complete the costume. He dons a blood-red scarf, matching headband, and the tattered cloth he wears around his face as a mask.
On the ground, a hero in armor lays face-down while bleeding out as the villain growls, "Fame... money... that's what all you heroes are completely after... but you bastards are not heroes!" He then steps on and crushes his victim's cellphone that had a missed call on it, "The only ones that I'll allow to kill me..." He sneers, "All Might is worthy..." He extends in a deep breathe as blood drops from his sword, "The same goes for him... Fire Fox."
From top the building, Adult Shin and Kid Shin look down at him, observing his continuous murders of heroes everywhere in this city.
"This is his 6th one..." The latter trails, "Thus far, he's been killing heroes left and right without showing a hint of mercy."
"You don't say..." The former agrees and adds, "Whatever motivation he's carrying out, it's about time we recruit him to our scurvy league." He turns to the purple portal opening, "Ain't that right, Kurogiri?"
"I'll bring him to Tomura Shigaraki when the time calls itself." The warp villain said, "For now, we'll wait a little more."
"..." Adult Shin thinks about it but replies, "Fine, but not too long."
After the last match between Shoto and Boruto, everyone in the stands started murmuring in wonder on who actually won the fight, especially since the smoke veiled on who went out the ring first. Some others even wonder on who's gonna get the default win as one of them's gotta make it to the finals.
"Even though the match was a draw, it was still a spectacular battle." A man of average height with a slim and narrow build, along with blonde hair. He wears a black shirt with a wavy golden pattern, over a tan jacket with a high collar and slits over his shoulders that accommodate his wings; the insides and cuffs of the sleeves are lined with white fur, and black gloves. He has a red square-shaped lobe piercing in each ear, with a pair of yellow ear-protective headphones over them, "Just the type of heroes the society down the line."
"Heh, they would fit perfectly in agency." A dark-skinned woman of above average height with white hair and rabbit ears. Her costume consists of a sleeveless white leotard with dark purple trim around her shoulders and waist, a wide yellow crescent moon design over her chest, and a single thick metal plate wrapped around her midriff. She wears purple thigh-high boots to compliment her leotard, with more plating around the heel and toe areas, making her feet look like those of a rabbit. As well as a pair of thick, white gloves on her hands with long cuffs, "I got first dibs on the kids."
"You may want them, but it's still their decision to pick the agency that's suited for them." A tall, slim man with an unnaturally long and flexible neck, with blond hair covering his left eye. His costume consists of a pair of jeans, a denim waistcoat with two large breast pockets, and a denim dress shirt with a very high collar which covers his face up to just below his nose. He wears two belts, one around his collar and one around his waist, and short dark brown boots with thick gray shafts and soles.
"Just as he said, Mirko." A slim, muscular man with gray hair. His hero costume adapts the appearance of a traditional ninja. He wears a blue mask that covers his mouth, tied at the back of his head with red yarn. He sports red shinobi shozoku underneath a blue robe. His arms are covered in a thin, dark cloth that tucks into his white forearm sleeves. There are red straps attached to his belt and his robe that extend outward, "Though, I'd like them to work for my agency as it'd be honoring."
"We'll see when we send out the internship applications after the Sports festival is over." Kakashi said, having joined them in the stands.
"Yeah, now let's go to the next topic aside from Uzumaki and Todoroki shall we?" Hawks shrugs, "We still have the next match between Uchiha and Bakugo."
"Hmm... I don't think that fight will be too crazy, compared to the last one." Jeanist said.
"I'd rather watch first before being the judge of that." Edgeshot states.
"Whoever wins, I just hope the battle turns to be a bang like the last one." Mirko grins.
"So says you..." Kakashi sweat-drops.
Kage hero stands:
"Geez...!" Darui rubs his head, "That match was ridiculous. Either one of them could have took the W."
"No shit..." Kurotsuchi trails, "First match of the semifinal and we already get a tie."
"Now this makes you wonder... who's gonna get the bye-win to the finals." Chojuro said, finger under chin.
"There'll be plenty of time to determine the verdict since the ring is gonna take awhile to repair and both Uzumaki and Todoroki are out of commission, for now anyway." Darui said.
"Indeed, also..." Kurotsuchi asks, "Where's Fire Fox?"
"Isn't that obvious?" Gaara said, arms crossed.
"Oh, right..." She knows in realizing where.
In the nurses office:
"Agh..." Boruto groaned as he opened his eyes. He was lying on a bed, shirtless in the nurse's office, sitting up and blinking in surprise. He looked around and found bandages wrapped around his arms.
"Good, he's awake," Recovery girl's voice chimed in, as he saw her in a small chair, with Naruto standing there as well.
"Boruto, are you alright?" Naruto asks, concerned.
"Yeah... but I," Boruto utters, head lowered in grimace, "I lost the battle... I'm sorry, dad."
"Actually, nobody lost or won." He replied, causing his son blink in surprise.
"It was a tie. Both you and Todoroki fell over at the same time." Sakura chimes in.
Turning his head, Boruto looked over and saw an unconscious Shoto lying upon another bed while being tended to by Sakura. He had bandages all over his body, mainly his stomach area.
"So... how is he?" The young Uzumaki asked in concern.
"Well, he's sustained some serious damage from that match..." Sakura explains, "Most specifically his stomach. It's not in the best condition from that blue sphere technique you let off, so he won't be fighting again for awhile," She adds, "But with plenty of rest, he'll be fine..." She lets off a small smile.
"I see..." Boruto nods, before turning the other way, "So does that mean Sarada and Bakugo's match is the final?"
"Actually," Sakura takes out her communicator, "I was about to call Midnight to let you advance to the final." She reveals, shocking the whiskered teen in huge surprise.
"H-Huh?! Did I just hear that right?!"
"Yep." Sakura nods with a smile, "You're injures aren't that bad compared to Todoroki so you're still good to fight another round." She adds, "That is, if you want to?"
Not knowing how to say, Boruto turns to Naruto, who in response, "The choice is your to back, Boruto."
"..." Not looking down, he clinches the bed sheets. Part of him is saying that he shouldn't since he didn't outright beat Todoroki, but another part of him is saying that he can't waste this given opportunity to still claim the top spot. With a deep exhale, he gives his answer, "I'll do it." He continues, "Even though that match wasn't a true victory... I also don't want to waste this chance that was given to me by luck either. So I'll take it." He said, determined this time.
"Very well." Sakura nods, before giving the call to Midnight through phone. While she does that, Naruto gives a thumbs up to his son for his performance thus far, earning a proud smile from the whiskered teen.
Once he's checked out of the nurses office with some new gym clothes, he heads back to the stands to the others through the hallway, until, "UZUMAKI!" He perks ahead to see Izuku, Mitsuki, Ochaco, Sumire, Tenya, Tsuyu, and Minoru rush up to check on the blond classmate.
"Oh, hey guys." Boruto greets, but with a sweat-drop.
"So how are you feeling right now, Boruto?" Izuku asks, concerned.
"Better, actually." He nods, "Med-woman stated that my injuries weren't as bad as Todoroki's."
"That match was the craziest one here! First Midoriya, and now you?! Just how!?" Minoru exclaims, trembling frantically.
"You need to chill out..." Tsuyu mutters in a little annoyance, even using her tongue to slap his head.
"What about Todoroki? How's he doing?" Tenya asks.
"He's recovering fine too. Still unconscious from our last attacks though." Boruto replies in assurance.
"I see... Glad that you're both alright." Sumire mutters.
"Aside from that, you two put on quite a show." Mitsuki said, calm usual smile, "Shame that it was a tie. Either one of you could have one."
"I guess that the final match is between Sarada and Bakugo?" Ochaco wonders aloud.
"Yeah, about that..." Uzumaki proceeds to explain that Sakura contacted Midnight to move him up the bracket since he was still good to fight, plus the difference injuries.
As he said this, they hear Midnight make an announcement outside about Boruto automatically advancing to the finals, which made the crowd cheer loud.
"And there ya have it." He grins sheepishly as they walk down the hall.
"That's excellent!" Sumire's claps one time happily.
"That means you can still win this thing!" Minoru yells out, first raised.
"Undoubtedly!" Izuku adds.
"The question mark here is who you're gonna face, either Sarada or Bakugo?" Mitsuki said.
"Good point, since they're both strong fighters." Tsuyu trails, finger on cheek.
"Who do you guys think will win?" Ochaco asks.
"I've got my bet on Sarada taking it, but it won't be easy." Tenya replies.
"I'm with Iida. Bakugo's versatility is no joke while Sarada's flexibility so something to look out for as well." Mitsuki adds.
"I got Sarada taking it too, but we'll just have to see." Boruto said as they arrive to where the rest are.
Opening 3, "It's All in the Game" by Qyoto
Starts off with the main players of the U.A. Sports Festival(Boruto, Izuku, Katsuki, Shoto, Sarada, and Shinki). All six of them having serious looks of determination. The next shot zooms in on the arena as the title appears.
It then shows the crowd roaring with cheers of anticipation as to who will come out on top of the first-years tournament, including Class 1-A and 1-B. Shots of Naruto, All Might, Sasuke, Endeavor, the rest of the Kage Hero's, Shota and the other U.A. Teachers, Kakashi, Hawks, Best Jeanist, Edgeshot, and Mirko are shown.
Flashbacks of the 5 competitors are shown: Sarada, with her fist tight(Looking up to Sasuke as a child with her sweet smile), Shinki as he grimaces(Meeting and being embraced by Gaara after losing control of his quirk), Todoroki with a mad expression(Having flashbacks of his Mom, and Endeavor's brutal training), Katsuki being as angry as ever(Having flashbacks of bullying Izuku and Boruto getting in his way as kids), Izuku, with both fists balled up(flashbacks of his quirk given to him by All Might and friendship the young Uzumaki), and the last one is Boruto, with his left fist closed(shown training with Naruto and fighting off Bakugo from Izuku as kids.)
The next shot zooms to the battles in the arena ring, Izuku flicking a smash attack to repel Todoroki's ice, Sarada engaging Bakugo in hand-to-hand combat before dodging an explosion from the latter, and Boruto dodging a wave of Iron sand from Shinki and kicks some away before launching a trio of clones to attack.
The next shot is when the atmosphere becomes dark and the sky turns overcast as the Otsutsuki trio(Momoshiki, Kinshiki, and Urashiki) emerge from a portal above the Sports festival arena, which shocks everyone as the former grins wickedly and launches a large fireball upon every individual there, which creates an explosion.
Out of the scattered dust, Naruto, All Might, Sasuke, Boruto, and Izuku are the only ones who remain and the two U.A. Students charge and lung at the flying alien trio with a loud battle cry(Boruto doing a Rasengan and Izuku doing a Smash attack with his right fist surging with red lines) as the opening finishes.
Chapter 40: Sarada vs Bakugo!
"ALRIGHT LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! WITH BORUTO UZUMAKI MOVING UP AUTOMATICALLY AS OUR FIRST FINALIST! WHO WILL HE FACE OFF BETWEEN THESE TWO!" The screen shows Sarada and Bakugo, "THE SECOND MATCH OF THE SEMIFINAL BETWEEN TWO CLOSE RANGE FIGHTERS WHO'LL BRAWL IT OUT TOWARDS VICTORY!" Mic begins as the two combatants exit the tunnels toward the ring, "FROM THE HERO COURSE, SARADA UCHIHA!" He adds, "VERSUS, HER CLASSMATE, KATSUKI BAKUGO!"
"Unlike her other opponents, your daughter is against a tough one, Phantomaye." Chojuro turns to Sasuke after stating that.
"Yep. Out of curiousness, how will she do against the explosive Bakugo?" Kurotsuchi wonders, finger under chin.
"We'll see if she's not Bakugo's next female victim, like Uraraka and Kakei." Darui said, as a joke.
"..." Sasuke ignores the comments and simply looks downward at the match that's soon to start.
Aa the two stare each other down, "Alright glasses..." Katsuki began, glaring all the while, "Can those red eyes of yours keep up with my explosions?"
Seeing that as a challenge, "We'll just have to see and find out, won't we." Sarada gets in her battle stance, fists balled in addition, "Get through this guy and I'll face Boruto in the finalsto win."
Everyone was tensing up at this matchup. Just like the last match, this fight could go either way. After seeing how Katsuki proved his strength during his last matches,(especially against Sumire and Ochaco), some in the stands wonder how Sarada will pull this off without getting blown to smithereens, as does her classmates.
"READY? START!"
"You're dead..." Katsuki then turbo rushes her way via explosions.
Not wasting time, Sarada activates her Sharingan and begins to read his movements, "A right hook? No... a faint!" She backflips in the nick of time from his explosive right palm. Once the smoke cleared, "Phoenix Flower!" She hand-signs one time and shoots off mini-fireballs from her mouth, only for her opponent to propel himself around the air to dodge them all before charging at her next thing.
"HAA!" Bakugo rears his right palm back to attack again, but this time, Sarada ducks underneath to dodge the explosive before rearing her right fist in return and delivers a solid punch to the center of his face, "GUH!" He felt that upon getting sent flying, but regains his position after sliding the ground.
"BOOM! AN AMAZING RIGHT HOOK FROM UCHIHA! AWESOME WAY TO START OFF THE SECOND MATCH!"
"Lucky shot..." Katsuki growls, rubbing the impact he just took to the face.
"Is that all you got?" Sarada taunts, making him perk up, "Attack some more!"
"Be careful for what you wish for..." He sneers, readying himself again, "If you won't come at me, then I'll come at you!" He dashes his way toward his opponent before attack a leap and coming down with an explosion, making Sarada jump back.
However, She doesn't get time to recover as Katsuki is on her trail. She defends as he throws a left hook and dodges a right palmed blast before responding with her own fist attacks, which leads them to a round of close combat. She goes for a swift left fist, only for the hothead to lean back and use that opportunity to raise up his right hand and blast her in the back. "Agh!" She staggers.
"Being calm and observing the whole time won't get you nowhere!" Katsuki doesn't let up and strikes again, only for Sarada dodge and to tuck-in-roll a distance.
"This is the way I fight, so deal with it!" After positioning, she coats her right fist in chakra and smashes the ground, sending floating debris towards Bakugo, who slightly propels upward at the last second. As that happens, he sights Sarada taking a big leap at him for another blow that forces him to block with both arms, but the impact sends him flying down.
"!" Katsuki sees that he's heading toward the outside ring's grass and positions his hands on his sides that fires out a huge explosion to skyrocket himself back onto the platform.
"YOWZA! BAKUGO NARROWLY AVOIDS BEING LAUNCHED OUT OF THE RING! UCHUHA SURE IS GAINING THE BIG LEAD!" Mic exclaims though speaker as the crowd cheers.
"Way to go, Uchiha!" Izuku cheers.
"She almost won the match right there." Mitsuki said.
"If she can do it again, then she might take this..." Momo trails.
"Grrr...!" Katsuki growls, glaring his foe in the eyes.
"Gotta say, I commend you for not going down from that last hit..." Sarada states all of a sudden.
"Huh?" Her opponent narrows a brow annoyingly.
"However..." She widens her Sharingan that then flashes out a bright glow, "This is where it ends for you."
"?" Katsuki saw the flash in her eyes just now, but ignores it, "Whatever the hell's that suppose to do!?" He skyrockets with another blast, which seems to have hit her, "Got her!" He grins highly, however, it turns out to be an afterimage of Sarada as she vanished in thin air, "Wha-" He's suddenly kicked on the side of the face that sends him back, coming from the reappeared Sarada. Getting up quickly, "What did she just do?" He wonders, but shakes off that thought and growls to continue his attacks by firing another explosive, only for Sarada to vanish again, letting the blast connect at nothing. Confused again, he's then punched in the gut this, making him stagger, "I don't get what the hell is happening?!"
"You mentioned that I was clam and observant, right? Hate to break it to you, but it's better than being a hotheaded fool that charges in recklessly, Bakugo." Sarada taunts, to the latter's chargin before she continues on the offensive and appears beside him before landing a knee blow to his gut that makes Bakugo grunt in pain as she grabs him by the arm and slams him to the ground.
"She did the same thing I did during the battle trial...!" Izuku recalls back to doing the similar throw to Katsuki.
"Hey guys, is it just me? Or so far, Bakugo's been hitting nothing but air..." Sumire noticed.
"You're right, I noticed too." Fumikage nods, "Even though Uchiha's attacks are behind or beside him... it's like he seemingly attacks what's in front of him, like his senses are clouded."
"..." Momo then realizes upon thinking, "That's it! She must have casted Bakugo under an illusion."
"An illusion? How?" Mina asks.
"The Sharingan is one of the strongest visual prowess quirks their is." Momo explains, "Phantomaye, the number 3 hero, also uses it to cast his enemies under an illusion." She adds, "And since Sarada relayed to him..."
"Like father like Daughter, you're right." Shikadai said, "She's messing with his 5 senses to take control of the fight. Amazing."
"She must have done something to confuse his senses..." Kendo comments.
"Hmph, that looks to the case." Tsubaki said, watching closely at Sarada's movements.
Getting overwhelmed by his opponent, Bakugo pants raggedly as sweat pours out his head. Every moment he attacks, he ends up attacking an afterimage of his opponent and struck down by heavy blows that Sarada continues to contain. Right now, Katsuki is losing the fight, which begins to infuriate the latter.
"BAKUGO'S BACK IS AGAINST THE WALL! UCHIHA CONTINUES TO ATTACK WITHOUT REST! SHE JUST MIGHT WIN!" Mic hypes it up as the crowd roars loudly.
"Guh...!" Bakugo sneers in stumbling up after receiving another blow from his opponent.
"I can't afford to lose here, Bakugo." Sarada speaks, getting his attention, "My goal is to become the strongest Kage hero and winning this festival will be the first step toward that goal."
"Tch..." He scoffs.
"I'll end this right now." She proceeds to run around him and charge at him at his blind side while he glares at the afterimage of her in front of him as he's still under her illusion.
"Heh!" Katsuki grins all of a sudden at getting an idea and unexpectedly blasts himself in the gut, which makes him grunt a little in pain, surprising everyone.
Sarada's taken back as well, but proceeds to at him while the iron is hot. As soon as she got close for a chakra coated punch, Katsuki turns around and blasts her up in the gut, "Gah!" She felt that and topples on the ground before coming to a halt and standing up, "What?!"
"I figured out your petty little game." Bakugo reveals with a wicked grin, "The moment I looked at the flash of light in that damn Sharingan of yours, I begun to hallucinate. Attacking what I thought was you, which was nothing but a fake afterimage." He added, "Touch, smell, taste, sight, and sound... all of my senses were jammed. Hence, which was why I blasted myself to recover from that cheap trick."
"He snapped out of the illusion but inflicting pain on himself. Smart." Mitsuki noticed.
"Not surprised that Bakugo was gonna figured that out..." Boruto trails.
"Bummer..." Sumire sighs.
"Just when she had him on the ropes..." Ochaco adds.
Bakugo sparked with explosives in his palms, "You had me good this whole fight... but I'll kill ya now."
"..." Sarada keeps a clam composure but he is surprised that he figured that out. She remains firm and comebacks, "So you got out of the Sharingan illusion, huh? It wouldn't of been interesting otherwise I suppose." She balls his fist, "Now these next few crushing blows will put you down for the count."
"Ha... bring it!" Katsuki blasts his way at her, getting them to engage in close quarters yet again. Dodging a few punches form her while she misses a few explosions from him.
"Sarada is amazing!" Tsuyu said in surprise.
"She's using her Sharingan to anticipate his next moves like before." Kyoka adds.
"Yeah, but..." Izuku noticed something is strange this time.
"HA!" Katsuki's attacks are more fearsome as Sarada barely avoids blast aimed at her fast.
"!" She widens in noticing something, "He's starting to keep up? My Sharingan's not keeping track of him now..."
"The more sweat I build up, the more powerful my explosions are!" Katsuki reveals, continuing to attack and evenly finds an opening that he takes, blasting her in that gut.
"GWAH!" She shouts in pain, sent flying.
"Sarada!" Sumire and Izuku exclaim in fright.
"Damn..." Boruto mutters, "He started to react to her movements despite not doing so a few moments ago."
"Indeed..." Mitsuki nods, "It's gonna be bad if this continues."
"WHAT IS THIS?! BAKUGO HAS NOW TURNED THE TIDES COMPLETELY IN A SURPRISING TWIST! WHAT'S UCHIHA'S NEXT MOVE TO TRY AND BRING IT BACK?!"
As she stands with her gym uniform in tatters, "You can stay calm and smart all you want, but it won't do you any good!" Katsuki blasts the ring again as Sarada barely evades and as he comes at her again, she manages to duck an attack and kick him in gut, making him stumble a little, "Still got the fight in her huh? No matter, I won't drag this battle out!"
The battle continues as Sarada finds an opening and strikes him in the face, however, Katsuki refuses to budge from that and grabs her arm before kneeing her in the chest, making her spit out in pain as she's then thrown back by an explosive-amped throw by his opponent, making her topple on the ground.
"This ain't looking too good..." Kurotsuchi trails.
"It might be over for your kid, Phantomaye." Darui states in being sure.
"..." Sasuke only glances at the match, wondering how his daughter will pull things through.
"Huh... huh...!" Sarada stumbles and breathes heavily from the impactful attacks she's received, all bruised up, same goes for Bakugo as he still took damage from the right hook he received, which made his nose bleed.
"I suppose you put up a pretty good fight, Uchiha..." He admits, calling her by her last name as a sign of respect, just like Ochaco and Sumire, "But this last attack means the end for you!"
While panting, Sarada flashbacks to her child-self looking up to Sasuke in inspiration. Striving to becoming a strong hero as well, She remarks, "I'm not gonna lose this one..." She charges her right fist, infusing the chakra that she has left, "This drive to win means that losing isn't an option, Bakugo!"
She charges immediately with no holds bar, same with Katsuki as he turbo blasts his way at her.
"BOTH COMPETITORS ARE CHARGING AT EACH OTHER FOR ONE LAST ATTACK!" Mic exclaims through loudspeaker, "WHO WILL TAKE THE VICTORY?!"
"CHAAAA!"
"HAAAA!"
They both roar loudly as they connect their attacks on the other. A chakra-coated fist to the cheek and a large explosive palm that sends one flying back. The collision causes smoke to fill the ring as a result.
Once the dust clears, everyone is stunned what the similar outcome is. Sarada's sports jacket was blown off, revealing her black gym tank-top and her tattered stated with her glasses having been blown off in extension. Bakugo wasn't any better as his face is messed up from constant physical power and he's crashed against the wall in the process.
"They both out-of-bounce...!" Midnight announces, surprised just like the rest, "It's another draw!"
As both were unconscious and out of the ring, the audience is in disbelief once again.
Ending 4, "Beauties of Nature" by Kachou Fugetsu
Opens up with a yellow line floating across Boruto, who has his head lower with a shadow over his eyes while a green line floats across Izuku, who has his eyes covered by his hair. As the lines proceeds to expand, the protagonists open their eyes and gaze up while back-to-back.
The next panel shows Class 1-A conversating with one another in the classroom, with the exception of Katsuki and Shoto. The next shot shows the U.A Teachers doing paperwork and talking about what they plan to have their students do next.
The air then turns red, taking a dark turn with the 2 boys in the middle, Boruto opening his eye that activates the Jougan and Izuku surging with red lines/green electricity. They're gaze turns to the Otsutsuki Trio looming over them, in the forms of Momoshiki, Urashiki, and Kinshiki. The first two aliens looking down with menacing grins.
With their Hero costumes on, the protagonists express a glare of determination as the next panels zoom in to the Pro and Kage Heroes battle against the Otsutsuki clansmen: Gaara, Hawks, Darui, Mirko, and Edgeshot taking on Urashiki(who has his fishing rod ready to strike). Endeavor, Kakashi, Best Jeanist, Chojuro, and Kurotsuchi against Kinshiki(Who has a red-energized axe in hand). And finally, Naruto, All Might, and Sasuke lunging at Momoshiki(who grins down at them with his left-palmed Rinnegan activated).
The last shot shows Boruto and Izuku watching as the heroes(especially Naruto and All Might) fight on field against these villains. Turn to each other, they give determined nods before running to join the Pro Heroes in battle.
That wraps up this one, and yep, another draw like the first match. I was planning on making the top 4 unpredictable and here we are. Having Sarada use genjutsu mid-fight was to keep the intensity going and to clarify, her Sharingan is two tomoe for now.
In advance, one of them is automatically advance to the final just like Boruto so have fun guessing who. The final match of the Sports festival begins next chapter before 'you know who' arrives!
Until next time.