The annual U.A. Sports Festival, one of Japan's biggest events, is an intense tournament of physical and mental capability that gives Hero course students the once-in-a-lifetime chance to show off in front of the world. It's an epic event where everyone's shooting for gold, but, ultimately, there can only be one, sole winner. The festival is held in a colossal, state of the art stadium, on school grounds, packed with fans from all over the country, including Pro Heroes.

The event begins with preliminary elimination rounds, where those that pass get to compete in the main event. Thrown into the dreaded Obstacle Course Race, only the top students were strong enough to blow past the competition's opening hurdle, the "Robot Inferno."

"That all you got!" A voice triumphantly cried as the blurred figure shredded through the last zero-pointer, zipping back onto the ground as the towering machine erupted into a shower of sparks and flames. The new student brushed himself off, then turned to see his classmates running towards the next stage. "Nobody's leaving me out of this!" Son Goku grinned and took off to join them.

"Ochaco, hey, you holding up?" Mina asked as she and Tsu ran up to join the panting, short-winded girl, all three headed for the same direction.

Uraraka laughed and wiped her eyes. "If I can't do this much, then I'm no U.A. student!"

"Well said!" Tsu answerd with a ribbit. The three girls, all of a sudden, noticed that the students ahead of them were slowing down, stopping dead in their tracks. Uraraka realized that even some of the powerhouses in her class, like Stella Vermillion, were standing idle by. It was almost as though everyone was equally deterred by what lay ahead.

As she got closer, she stopped and glanced back at her friends. "Guys…"

"So the first barrier was a piece cake, yeah?!" The shrill voice of the Hero, Present Mic, echoed throughout the course. "Well, how about the second?! Ha! That's right, kiddies! Fall and you're out! You gotta crawl across if you wanna move on!"

Before the students, much to their dismay, lay a grand, expansive chasm. It was a massively open space with groupings of thin, elevated plateaus at a height of well-over three hundred feet above, rising up from what seemed to be a bottomless pit. Makeshift tightropes were attached to each individual plateau, creating a vast spiderweb over the drop and towards the other side of the course. It was a daunting task and, seemingly, the only available way across.

Into the microphone the loud commentator yelled: "This is the Fall!"

Without fail, Tsu easily leapt onto the nearest rope on all fours. "It's just a giant tightrope." Her frog-like appearance wasn't just for show, as she speedily began to make her way across the chasm.

"I guess that's one way of doing things." Mina sighed with Uraraka as their friend disappeared across the canyon. All of a sudden, a fit of laughter surprised the two remaining girls.

"Here we go. My chance to make a splash!" The chuckle belonged to a reasonably short girl, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with both Class 1-A students. She had salmon pink hair styled into thick dreadlocks that sideswiped to the right, a curvilinear, athletic figure, and tailored goggles that were straight out of a steam-punk novella. Underneath her gym uniform, she wore a heavy load of outrageous gear and gadgets, including a brown utility belt holding another wide variety of miscellaneous tools. Instead of typical sneakers, she had big robotic boots; and over her shoulders rested something resembling a jetpack.

She crouched down to adjust her footwear. "Time for my support items to get the spotlight! Take a look, all you National Support Companies, at the Wire Arrow and Hover Soles!" She referred aloud to her makeshift, custom gear for all to hear.

Uraraka exclaimed. "She's in the Support Course!"

"Wait." Mina glanced over. "She's allowed to have those things?"

The support student paused her continuous laughter to instead stare directly at the two girls. "You guys in the Hero Course also have practical battle training, don't you? In the interest of fairness, as long as they're items and costumes we developed ourselves, using equipment's just fine!" She stood up straight and raised her arms. "You might even say," she smiled as the Wire Arrow fired off a grappling hook into the air, "for the Support Course students, this is the greatest opportunity to show off our inventiveness and craftsmanship to the industry. It's a dream come true!"

The arrow made impact with the edge of a nearby plateau and the support girl bravely leapt off the edge, shouting back: "So, eyes on me, all of you corporations out there, and check out my affordable 'babies!'" The Wire Arrow made a clicking noise and swiftly drew her in, landing her safely over the dangers of the chasm.

"Wow!" Uraraka wasted no time to join in. "C'mon, let's chase her down!"

"So annoying! How's that any fair?" Mina whined as the two friends made their way onto the tightropes. All around them, tons of students traversed the second barrier as well.

Some traversed the wires at a time-consuming pace, trying to make it across as safely as possible; there were athletic students swinging from ledge to ledge like monkeys in a tree, desperately pursuing some from of momentum; and then there were the two 1-A students who were unknowingly leading the way, completely undaunted by everything around them.

"Not so fast!" Bakugou shouted as he fired off a jagged burst of explosions from his fingertips, rippling out of the air and landing onto plateau after plateau with undeniable skill, aggressively chasing after his target, Todoroki, like a mad dog. "You're not escaping me!"

"He's all fired up now. I guess he must be a slow starter." Todoroki thought as he continued to fly forward, the ice underneath his feet giving him an edge in speed.

"That kid in the lead is pretty amazing." Up in the stands, Bulma watched the race on the big overhead screen, along with the rest of Goku's friends. "It's like he can't be stopped."

Yamcha crossed his arms and nodded. "His quirk's pretty awesome, I'll give him that."

"He's also quite perceptive. It's obvious he trained hard." Tien added.

"You got that right." Master Roshi fiddled around with his cane, but kept a close eye on the transpiring event. "You know the Flame Hero, Endeavor? That's his boy."

"For real?!" Bulma shouted. "But he has an ice quirk!"

Oolong looked up from his popcorn. "I don't follow." He said before shoving in another mouthful. "Does that mean he's special or something?"

"Kid's got the blood of the Number Two Hero out there, after All Might. The Pros will likely be scrambling to get him as their sidekick." Yamcha smirked. "That is, if he wins. Should be interesting to see how folks react once Goku decides to get a little serious."

"Indeed." Tien nodded. "Those poor students haven't a clue to what's coming."

Master Roshi laughed. "If Goku decides to use even a quarter of his power, he'll floor em."

Back on the course, Ida was about halfway across the chasm when he caught a glimpse of his two classmates far ahead. He readjusted his spectacles and took a deep breath. "It's very likely that my brother is also watching…" He remembered his teacher's words from days earlier: "Show the Pros what you're made of here, and you'll make futures for yourselves."

Activating the exhaust pipes imbedded into his calves, he took off using jet propulsion. "I mustn't show him un unsightly performance!" He hollered, just as something flew past him at extraordinary speed, nearly blowing him off the wire. "Whoa!" He shouted as he regained balance. "What on earth?!" He noticed something indistinct zipping from rock to rock. Something fast. Too fast.

Meanwhile, sitting alongside his fellow administrators, All Might watched the race carefully, picking up on the object moving at a ridiculous speed. It was Goku. "Master Roshi's pupil is insane. He's so fast, even I am having a hard time making him out!" He thought and slumped further into his seat. "Just what kind of person did I bring into the Hero Course?!"

On the field, Todoroki finally reached the end of the Fall, sliding off the final rock plateau and landing back onto the solid ground of the race course. As he continued to run, Present Mic jumped onto the live commentary, riling up the ecstatic fans as he yelled:

"The leads keep breaking ahead, while the rest of the pack is bunched up! Our racers don't know how many will get to move on, so all they can do is aim for first place!"

He tried to ignore the voiceover of the famously loud hero, as the field holding the final obstacle entered his view. "Our leader has reached the final barrier! That is to say…" His frantic pace slowed as he caught a full perspective of what lay before him. "This minefield!" Present Mic screeched, dropping the weight of reality on Todoroki's shoulders as he continued on. "It's a deadly Afghan carpet! A quick glance is enough to reveal the mines' locations! So keep both eyes open and watch your step!" The young man scowled, then moved forward.

The field was a widened trap, just a little larger than a professional soccer field. The mines were also infuriatingly well-hidden, so it was up for game how you went about trying to get across.

Up in the commentator booth, Present Mic was having a ball with the racing course. "I-I should mention," he gripped his sides from uncontrollable laughter, "our mines don't pack a deadly punch, but they're loud and flashy enough that you might need a change of underwear when it's all over!"

"Depending on the individual, of course." Professor Aizawa, otherwise known as Eraserhead, sighed underneath his layers of bandage.

Carefully making his way across the minefield, Todoroki kept his eye on the ground while trying to predict the safest path to take. "It's all a big show. This puts whoever's leading at a disadvantage." Suddenly, the loud boom of several approaching explosions caught his attention.

"HAHA! This crap," an angry voice echoed over the loud noises as Bakugou swung over the former lead, glaring down at him, "can't slow me down!" Still flying midair, he swung back an arm, aiming a massive buildup of explosion right for Todoroki's face. The frigid student parried the attack with a blast of ice crystals, causing the two rivals to meet each other head on. "Deku and monkey-boy aren't your biggest concerns, snow-cone." Bakugou snarled. "I am!"

"Tch!" Todoroki swiped away the steam from their combined attacks, struggling to focus on both the race and the immediate, relentless attacks of his classmate. As Bakugou and Todoroki fought on, the remainder of the student body quickly entered the field, warring to catch up.

Present Mic's commentary shook the arena: "We have a new leader! Get excited, mass media! You guys love this sort of turnaround! But the rest are catching up! With these two grappling for first, can they hold on to their lead?!" Across the battlefield, the hidden mines erupted left and right, throwing students off balance and even sending others flying. Pink smoke engulfed the arena, adding another great unease to the already growing chaos experienced by the participants.

"Don't think so highly of yourselves!" Suddenly, a flaming broadsword cleaved through the fumes, forcing Todoroki and Bakugou to divert their attention towards an incoming attacker. A sharp pair of fierce, ruby eyes flashed at the two students, as Vermillion sent a crescent-shaped beam of fire flying with a slash of her sword. Her targets utilized their quirks to dodge the destructive attack, which struck the ground, slashing through the earth and melting everything, the test mines included.

Bakugou, finding himself airborne once again, fired off a stream of consecutive blasts to swing around the fiery maiden. "The hell's your problem, bastard?!" He growled, as he met her flames head-on with a direct barrage of deafening explosions. "Take this!" He roared as the field turned bright yellow from his unrelenting firepower. Stella brought her blade upwards in defense, meeting the arsonist's attack with a literal wall of flame.

"Your flames couldn't even keep a campfire going." She laughed. "Is that the best you have to offer?" She taunted as she repositioned herself into a fencing stance.

"You wanna go?!" Bakugou shouted as he landed back onto the ground, fuming with bloodthirsty rage. Sparks crackled around the palms of his hands as he stared the princess down. Interrupting their engagement, a series of large, sharply pointed icicles erupted from the ground, bringing back their attention towards the cool ice-user.

"C'mon, then." He instigated while keeping his usual, stoic expression. Todoroki raised a palm and waved back his fingers as to say, "bring it on."

All of a sudden, in the middle of all the action, a massive explosion sounded off from the far back of the minefield, sending a rocky shockwave throughout the bones of the students, collectively, ahead. "A giant explosion from behind?! What caused such a blast?!" Present Mic was sharp on the commentary as he continued: "An accident?! Or was it intentional?!" Overhead, the students looked up to see a mushroom cloud of pink smoke flood the air, covering the field in a thick blanket of smog.

Suddenly, way on high, a figure of some sort, hanging for dear life onto a shell of green armor, came soaring out of the sky, heading directly for the end of the field. Flying over the rest of the stupefied students, the three powerhouses of Class 1-A watched in disbelief as the mysterious individual descending towards them, finally came into view.

"Amazing! Class A's Midoriya rides the wave in hot pursuit!"

Earlier on, Midoriya had finally reached the minefield. For the majority of the race, he'd dragged along a leftover chunk of a zero-pointer as insurance for the obstacles to come. The plan was to somehow utilize the hardened armor, but all it had really done was slow him down. Now, most of his classmates were already far ahead in the field, fighting a number of enclosed skirmishes as they tired getting closer to the finish line. He glanced around the chaos, ignoring the other students running past him. "How am I gonna get in there?" He gasped, breathing hard from lugging around the strenuous weight of the leftover scrap metal.

"Think, Midoriya!" He said aloud, as he studied the ground his classmates were running over. The mines were designed to go off when stepped on. They weren't very strong, only really capable of tossing students around a bit, but the danger of getting thrown off course was also a very real problem. He had no time to slowly avoid them, since there were more closer towards the end anyways, and trying to slow down others was a guaranteed waste of time.

"Focus! Which spots are the people back here avoiding?" He looked around. "It's at the entrance that they'll be most on guard." A noticeable pattern immediately popped up, and Midoriya quickly realized that there were plenty of undisturbed mines left over. "Yeah! Yeah!" A plan came to mind and Midoriya started to dig into the ground with the piece of armored plating he thankfully had.

Jiro was running by when she noticed Midoriya excavating the ground around him. "What're you doing, Midoriya…?" She asked, out of breath, then continued to carry on, worrying more about finishing up the race than what weird antics her classmate was up to.

"Bakugou, Todoroki, and Vermillion are in the lead! They're about to cross the finish line…" Midoriya heard over the speakers as he looked over his work. "I'm taking a page out of your book, Kacchan!" He thought as he looked over the collection of mines he'd meticulously amassed. "Let's do this!" With the armor acting as a shield, Midoriya bellyflopped directly onto the mines.

The ensuing explosion skyrocketed him into the air like a cruise missile, where he could see the others from way above. With gravity, suddenly, pulling him down, the others looked up in awe as he easily passed over them. "Class A's Midoriya rides the wave in hot pursuit… or something!" Even the commentator was at a loss for words.

"Tch!"

"Midoriya!"

"No way!" In a matter of seconds, Bakugou, Todoroki, and Vermillion watched as their classmate achieved the impossible. "He's passed them!" Present Mic screamed as Midoriya, still holding tightly onto the armor, soared into the lead. Careening towards the ground, the others rushed after him, refusing to let him suddenly take the lead.

"Dekuuu!" Bakugou shouted as he gave chase. "Get the hell back here!"

Todoroki quickly followed. "This path'll end up helping the others," he muttered while creating an extended tract of ice to slide on, "but there's no time to worry about them…!"

"Crap!" Stella yelled as she too chased after Midoriya with her two classmates. Running side-by-side, the three closed in on their descending target, getting dangerously close to snatching back the lead. "Our former leaders have called a temporary ceasefire to chase down Midoriya!"

Making a speedy descent towards the field, after abruptly gaining the lead, Midoriya realized he was stuck. "Uh-oh!" He gasped as he felt the weight of the armor dragging him down; no longer did he soar through the sky. The minefield was coming closer and closer into view, and from behind, his classmates were rushing to take back first place. "I'm stalling…! Of course. It's coming away from me!" Urgency plagued him. "If I lose time on this landing, passing them again will be impossible!" To his right, Bakugou appeared, spraying explosions everywhere. "Crap!" Making matters worse, adjacent from him were Todoroki and Vermillion, easily keeping pace.

"No! Don't let go!" He shouted. "While I'm still ahead, this is my one chance! So, I've got to hold on tight!" Only a few feet from landing, time seemed to suddenly halt for Midoriya, almost as if everything froze. It was now or never. "If passing them again is impossible," he grit his teeth and flipped his body forward, "then I gotta stay in the lead!" Exploiting the weight of his spiraling momentum, Midoriya struck the ground with the zero-pointer armor like a sledgehammer, straight on a spot cluttered with mines.

"Look at that folks!" The commentator practically screeched. "Midoriya blows off the competition with no time to lose!"

Just as planned, the explosives erupted below him, shooting the young man forward like a rubber band. His three classmates were caught in the blast too, throwing them off the track, momentarily. Just enough time for Midoriya to get some distance.

"Where do you think you're going, Deku?!" The maddened voice of Bakugou called out from the pinks fumes, followed by his appearance, explosive sparks crackling in both hands. The smoldering hothead aimed for Midoriya, dead-set on lighting him up. "Like I'd let you get first—!" The words, suddenly, got caught in the back of his throat; a first-time experience for the young man.

SHWIP! Appearing straight out of the blue, the newest edition of Class 1-A watched Midoriya run towards the stadium, then turned around to look up, directly at a stunned Bakugou. His movements were a blur, so unbelievably fast that Bakugou was still trying to wrap his head around it all. "Yo!" Son Goku grinned through his bumpkin accent, his tail wagging behind in excitement. "Finally fighting?"

Bakugou growled and readied the payload stored up in both hands. "Get! Out! Of—!"

"Not bad!" In the blink of an eye, Goku snatched up Bakugou's wrists in both hands, holding the quirk user in a powerful, iron grip. "You're pretty strong." He laughed, then stared down his classmate. "Problem is, you ain't seein' what lies underneath!" The small, unreasonably strong boy flipped his arms fast as a propeller, spiraling Bakugou high up into the air. "All right!" Like a rocket, Goku jumped and flew after his disorientated classmate. Infuriated and stricken with panic, Bakugou tried to regain his composure and fly back to the field, but Goku was suddenly above him.

"What?!" Before he could react, Goku front-flipped, midair, and bicycle kicked him in the chest, knocking the air out of his lungs and sending him careening downwards. "GAH!" He yelled as he came crashing down on top of Todoroki, who was just recovering from the earlier explosions.

Present Mic exploded with excitement. "What just happened?! Class A's Son Goku just took out the two powerhouses, formerly in the lead! This class is unbelievable!"

"Son Goku!" A flaming figure shouted as she charged out of the smoke, her sword held up high. Vermillion swung for the monkey boy, just missing him as he performed a backwards somersault. She chased after him with an outpour of attacks, but Goku easily evaded her. "Don't underestimate me!"

Suddenly, her classmate stopped paying attention to their fight. "Wait," he looked genuinely confused, "ain't this a race?" He stopped moving and turned around, looking at the stadium.

"You let your guard down!" Stella shouted as she leapt from behind, her sword raised high, ready to bring down a devastating attack. Everything, however, happened so fast. The blade slashed down, but Goku simply stepped to side, dodging it flawlessly. He didn't even look. "Impossible—!" Without much thought, Goku threw back a balled fist, striking Stella clean in the jaw. "Gak!" The beautiful fencer saw stars as she fell on her back, unsure of what had just happened.

Exploding into a sprint, Goku, suddenly, disappeared from sight; and there was complete silence. Everyone, everywhere—from the countless fans in the stadium, Pro Heroes looking for potential interns, an ominous basement dweller plotting his vengeance, and a group of astonished, blissful onlookers in the Underworld—watched and waited to see what would happen next.

"The one who made it back to the stadium first…"

"Amazing! With the top three leaders down, Son Goku aims for the lead! But will he be able to pull a victory, with Midoriya so far ahead?!" The commentary frenzied over the stadium.

Two security guards stood outside of the UA principle's office, watching the race on their smartphones. Even though they were stationed at the school, they could still hear the ruckus coming all the way from the event. "That's crazy, man." One of the guards tapped his screen. "That kid is nuts."

His coworker shrugged. "He took out some high level classmates. So what?"

"You serious, dawg?" He replied, truly surprised. "Stella Vermillion is goddamn monster."

He coworker frowned. "The fuckin' princess?"

"The second princess, yeah." He crossed his arms. "You saw the tapes, when the villains suddenly attacked Class A. That fire shield of hers is practically impenetrable. Blades, bullets, explosives, you name it—barely anything can penetrate through or faze her, and that kid just knocked her sweet-ass out cold with his bare hands… like it was no sweat at all!"

Down the hall, a figure approached the two men, chuckling from what he'd overheard. "Yeah?" He looked young, only a little past twenty, with an average height and slim, fit build—the obvious results of an extended period of long, around-the-clock training. His feathery ash-blonde hair bobbed with each step, accentuated by thick lashes and golden, triangular eyes. Most notably, however, were the large pair of bright red wings covering his back, his quirk.

"Hawks?!" One of the guards gasped.

The pro hero smiled, glancing in the direction of the loud activity coming from the festival, across campus. "In your opinion, gentlemen, would that still make her a monster… or that kid?"

Closing onto the finish, Midoriya ran for dear life; as fast as he could physically muster. Last he saw, Kacchan and the others were being held up by Goku, giving him ample time to win. As he entered the tunnel leading to the inner stadium, he realized that he was stupid close to winning. Only a little further, just a tad more sweat and tears, and he'd get first! Midoriya tightened his core and booked it, the muscles in his quads and legs screaming as he got faster and faster.

That's when he heard it, the boom. He didn't look back, but sprinted forward, towards the light. He could hear the cheers of spectators, the explosions of fireworks, and his own heart pounding away in his ears like the march of a military. He was close, so very close!

"The one who made it back to the stadium first…" Present Mic started the announcement.

Midoriya appeared right out of the tunnel, just as a fuzzy illustration blew past him, sending an influx of air careening through the stadium. The young man was instantly blown off his feet, falling right onto his butt. Rubbing his head, Midoriya looked up to see Goku standing far off, way past the finish line, laughing and shooting his classmate a thumbs up.

"…is none other than Izuku Midoriya!"

The crowd exploded into a triumphant frenzy from the proclamation as fireworks and confetti, simultaneously, decorated the sky. Out of breath and in shock from the news, Midoriya looked up from Goku to his hero and mentor, far up in the stadium, All Might, and grinned with tears in his eyes.

Victory. Finally.

Somewhere far, far away from the events of the school festival…

Embarrassed and desperate to fix the confusion, Sirzechs Lucifer awkwardly chuckled as his wife reached over and painfully pulled his cheek akin to a parent scolding their child.

"Explain." Her icy words were enough to cause an early winter.

The current leader of the Underworld was a handsome man who appeared no less than twenty, despite his much older age. Likewise with his nervous father, he had shoulder length crimson hair and blue-green eyes. Known as the famed Crimson Satan, the leader of the Four Great Satans, ruling under the greatly acclaimed title of "Lucifer," with unbelievable destructive power, and a peerage said to be the strongest in the whole of the underworld, there was little he feared.

"Yes, dear." The exception being the women in his life.

He shyly glanced over at his little sister and her queen, both fuming and on the verge of bursting into tears, and sighed. He loved his sister dearly, and breaking her heart would leave a deep wound on him. "I'm sorry, everyone. I haven't been completely honest. I've known where young Goku's been for some time now, including his recent participation at the latest Tenkaichi Budokai."

He rubbed the back of his neck, trying to block out the sea of glares directed at him. "Master Roshi's actually kept me updated on the young man's progress throughout the years… and I may have attended his last tournament… that one time I 'disappeared' for few days…" There was a considerably awkward silence in the Gremory showroom after Sirzechs explained himself.

Rias, his beloved sister, finally stepped forward. "Idiot, I hate you!" She cried out, her lips trembling as she spouted her anger, then ran out of the room. Every bit as upset, Akeno followed after her, shooting Sirzechs an equally disheartening look.

"Wait, Rias!" She ignored her brother's cries, making her way to her room, where she and Akeno promptly locked themselves in. Inside, they shared a tissue box, comforting each other for a brief period of time, before they decided to speak on the subject matter.

Akeno wiped at her read eyes, sniffled, then smiled. "He's back."

"Yeah…" Rias tried to hold back the fresh tears, but smiled as well. "I thought we'd never see him again. I was so scared…" She hugged her legs, leaning her face downwards. "Do you think he remembers us…?"

Akeno moved to hug her best friend, embracing her in a soft, gentle manner. "Silly. I bet he misses us, just as much as we miss him." It'd been years since they'd last journeyed across the human realm with the mortal known as Son Goku, a boy who both girls loved passionately. "Well, Rias," Akeno patted her friend on the shoulders, "what now?" Her smile said it all.

"Yes, Akeno," Rias beamed, "I think it's time we visit UA!"

Back at UA, Principle Nezu, welcomed in his visitor as he took a seat at his desk.

"Tamaki," the principle smiled, "what do I owe the pleasure?"

Hawks grinned and shrugged nonchalantly. "Would you believe me if I said I was in the neighborhood?" He pushed back his yellow tinted visor, studying the small animal.

"I'd love to," smiled Nezu, "but I'm not sure that'd totally fit your character."

The hero laughed. "Ain't that the truth." His friendly demeanor, suddenly, took a serious turn, as he moved a hand into his jacket. "Tell me, boss, are you a fan of the Tenkaichi Budokai?"

"I'm not well-versed in the world of martial arts, per-say, as I've always been more of a hero guy, myself." The principle joked, waving a paw around. "But I take that it's urgent." He acknowledged the hero's concern.

"Not so much urgent, as it is a warning." Hawks responded.

The principle frowned. "Villains?"

"Worse." Hawks pulled out a photograph and placed it on Nezu's desk. "One of your security guards, back there, said it best."

The principle picked up the picture with both of his paws, studying the image of what appeared to be some sort of great behemoth, a giant monkey running rampage on tournament grounds. He looked back up at the pro hero, asking: "And what's that, exactly?"

"You've got a real monster on your hands." Hawks frowned. "And his name's Son Goku."