The officer pulled up the faculty roster on the wall screen. Names, quirk classifications, combat ratings.
"Eraserhead's erasure capability makes him uniquely effective against quirk-dependent threats. Cementoss for large-scale containment. Vlad King, Blood Hero — blood manipulation, close-range combat. Present Mic for crowd suppression." He scrolled. "The UA faculty roster has more concentrated combat capacity than most regional hero agencies currently operational."
"That's a depressing sentence," A board director said.
"It's unfortunately sir but it's an accurate analysis."
'U.A huh.' The Director looked at the roster. 'Not just the teachers. The students are probably the next best thing the country has for high quality combat power.' U.A's first years had shown remarkable promise and gained considerable fame.
The second years were set to get their provisional licenses later in the year and the third years were practically Hero assistants at this point. 'Too bad they haven't graduated yet.'
"UA is a school," he said instead. "Its faculty are educators who hold hero licenses. They're not a rapid response unit and treating them as one creates liabilities we don't need on top of the ones we already have." He looked at the incident counter. Seventy-one. "What we have is Mirko, the regional agencies, and whatever the Commission's functional offices can coordinate. That has to be enough for now."
"And if it isn't," Board member Yoshida asked.
"Then we manage the shortfall when it arrives." The Director's voice was flat. "We don't solve hypothetical problems by creating real ones."
The table accepted this without argument.
Tsuragamae was looking at the wall screen.
"Deployment update," the Director said to Habara.
"Seventy-three confirmed incidents as of ten forty. Regional agencies have contained four of the six high-risk escapee sightings. The remaining two are in Chiba. Heroes are on scene." She scrolled. "Mirko has been briefed and is coordinating directly with the Tokyo regional agency. Best Jeanist's condition has been upgraded from critical to serious — he's stable for now. Though to avoid likely changes, Recovery Girl has been requested at Central Medical."
He paused. "The request was granted. She left UA at approximately not long ago."
The Director nodded. He looked at the table for a moment. Then: "All For One's remains. Where are we."
The officer with the tablet swapped screens. "NPA forensics completed documentation at the site at zero nine forty. Remains have been secured in a sealed transport container."
"Destination recommendation is Tartarus. It's the only facility with the containment infrastructure appropriate for ... " he searched for the right word " ... materials of this nature."
"Materials," Yoshida repeated.
"I wasn't sure what else to call it."
"Tartarus," the Director confirmed. "Classified route, classified timeline. No public announcement. No press access. The last thing we need is that body attracting more problems." He looked at the officer. "Security detail."
"SDF escort, four vehicles. Hero support has been requested with a minimum of two licensed heroes given the nature of the cargo and the current threat environment." The officer hesitated. "Given that the League of Villains is still operational, there is a possibility that the remains will be targeted."
The director frowned. "You mean they'll want to break out a corpse?"
"We're not sure sir. What everything that's happened they might not take the risk. Ultimately it depends on how close a relationship there is between All For One and the new defacto leader of the league after his death. Either that or All For One's very corpse could hold value of unknown origins to them."
"Considering we know what the Nomu are made from, I don't think the second scenario is too much of a stretch."
The Director looked at Tsuragamae. "Who do we have available in Tokyo who can handle that scenario."
Tsuragamae had been quiet for the past several seconds. "Snatch is in Tokyo. He came in from the Nagoya bureau this morning when the prison break calls went out. He's operational."
"One."
"Slidin' Go is at the Shinjuku agency. Operational." The reporting officer replied. "There are others but most of the Tokyo-based heroes with relevant combat ratings are either deployed to incident sites or in recovery." He looked at the Director. "Two heroes plus SDF escort is the realistic ceiling right now."
"It'll have to do," the Director said. "Coordinate the transport. Have the corpse transported incognito and set up a decoy to go in a different location. In case the league really does go after it, it means that corpse has some value to them and I bet it's not sentimental. I want it moving before thirteen hundred."
The reporting officer paused. The decoy vehicle likely wouldn't have any heroes on it. If it truly was attacked but the League Of Villains, ... Then those officers would likely meet their end defending something that wasn't really there.
However, he was in no place to intervene, not did he want to. "Understood."
"And Tsuragamae." The Director waited until the canine-faced officer looked at him. "Nobody outside this room knows the route or the timeline. Not the regional agencies, not the Commission's Minato office, not the press." He looked at the table. "That body goes to Tartarus and it disappears from the national conversation. Permanently."
Nobody disagreed.
The Director stood. "Deployment briefings will continue on the hour. Anyone without a critical reason to be in this room should be in the field or on a phone." He picked up his folder. "We're done here."
Chairs scraped back as everyone rose to depart.
[TOKYO – CLASSIFIED TRANSPORT ROUTE – 12:47 PM]
The convoy was unremarkable by design.
Two unmarked SDF vehicles at the front, one in the rear. Between them, a single heavy-transport truck with reinforced paneling and no markings beyond a standard commercial registration plate that would trace back to a logistics company that did not exist three days ago.
Inside the transport truck, the air was recirculated and ice-cold. The "cargo" was held in a specialized cryogenic suspension tank, bolted to the floor.
Beside the tank sat Snatch, the Sand Hero, arms folded over his chest. His posture was rigid, and his gaze was fixed on the reinforced rear doors.
A squad of police guards were in the truck with him, armed to the teeth. The silence was unnerving. He didn't say anything about it despite his displeasure.
He was a man of the Nagoya Bureau, used to wide-open spaces and the predictable flow of traffic. Tokyo today felt like a graveyard that had forgotten to bury its occupants.
Last night had been rough for everyone in the country. Knowing that not far away was the corpse of the monster who caused it was enough to worsen his mood.
"Status check," Snatch said into his comms, his voice gravelly.
"Route is clear, Snatch-san," the voice of Slidin' Go came through. The hero was in the lead SDF vehicle, his tone light—almost disturbingly so given the weight of all that happened hours prior. "Traffic is light on the bayside. There's no one around for miles. Smooth sailing to the bridge."
"Don't get complacent," Snatch grunted. "The Director didn't put us here to enjoy the view. If the League is as organized as the report suggests, they aren't going to let this 'material' reach Tartarus without a look."
"Relax! The decoy convoy is currently drawing a crowd of reporters near the Chiba border. Even if the league of villains is watching, he's watching the wrong truck. Besides," Slidin' Go added, a smirk audible in his voice, "who wants a body? The man's a legend of the past. The future belongs to the living."
Snatch didn't respond. He looked at the tank. Through a small, frost-covered viewport, he could see the silhouette of a head—or what remained of one—suspended in green-tinted fluid. It was hard to believe that this mass of tissue was the same entity that had just reshaped the skyline of Tokyo. 'How easy this would have been if they had just flown this to Tartarus.' Unfortunately, that couldn't happen.
With the movements of the league of villains unknown, any aircraft departing might easily be traced. If the League of Villains were to attack in the air, the heroes sent to guard alongside everyone else were more vulnerable.
"Let's just get it behind the gates," Snatch muttered. "The sooner this 'material' is out of the public conversation, the sooner we can start fixing the mess they left behind."
"Understood. Approaching the bridge now. Stay frosty."
The line went dead.
_
[ON THE HIGHWAY — 12:54 PM]
The convoy advanced.
To any observer on the ground, it was an intimidating display of state power. The SDF vehicles moved in a tight diamond formation around the central truck, their sirens silent.
They bypassed the standard toll gates, moving onto the elevated coastal road that overlooked the industrial docks.
The city around them felt abandoned. Most of Tokyo was indoors, eyes glued to the NHK broadcast, waiting for a government statement that hadn't come. The only movement was the occasional patrol of local police or the distant smoke rising from the eastern ruins.
Inside the SDF lead car, the driver kept his hands at ten and two, his eyes scanning the mirrors and occasionally, the transport truck behind them.
_
[CHIBA BORDER – ROOFTOP OVERLOOKING THE INTERCHANGE]
High above the Kanto Highway, where the sea breeze whipped through the steel girders of a half-finished construction site, the air began to churn.
A swirl of dark, ink-like mist coalesced on the edge of the roof. From the center of the void, yellow, glowing eyes flickered into existence.
Kurogiri stood perfectly still, his formal attire unruffled by the wind. He looked down at the city.
In the distance, the sun glinted off the black roofs of the SDF convoy. Eyes landing on the heavy transport truck in between.
'Right on schedule,' he thought.
"You've all received Tomura Shigaraki's favor." He turned his head slightly. Behind him, standing in the shadows of the construction crane, were four figures. All dressed in tattered, grey remains of prison jumpsuits, supplemented by stolen gear and makeshift weapons.
One was massive, his skin a jagged crust of stone; another flickered with unstable electrical arcs.
"The Symbol of Peace has fallen," Kurogiri stated, his gaze returning to the approaching truck. "The institutions that caged you are currently debating their own survival. There is no one left to stop the tide."
The four villains stepped forward, the stone-skinned man cracking his knuckles with a smile brimming with violent intentions.
"Now," Kurogiri whispered as he stepped aside and made an 'After you' gesture. "Please begin to earn your freedom."