"All… For… One…" Midoriya repeated the name, his mind already racing, processing the implications aloud in a terrified rush. "It sounds like the opposite of One For All. A Quirk that allows him to transfer Quirks? It's like how One For All is passed on, but from the name, we can assume all powers are gathered in one… Don't tell me he can use multiple Quirks? That's unreasonable! That's too much! How can he be defeated with all kinds of Quirks gathered in one person? There is no weakness! This isn't right, I must be overthinking…"
Hawks stared at Midoriya, momentarily stunned.
'This kid… his mind is very sharp. Just from the name alone, he inferred the Quirk of All For One. Interesting, really interesting. He's suitable to be a detective.'
All Might didn't hear them.
He winced and then violently spat blood.
COUGH! COUGH!
BANG.
The muscle form collapsed into smoke, shrinking back into his thin, skeletal frame. His knees hit the pavement.
"All Might!" Midoriya rushed to steady him, arm trembling.
"I think I finally realized why my gut was warning me and telling me to capture that young man!" All Might gasped, the news draining the strength from his legs. resting his hands on his knees.
"All For One… THAT BASTARD IS DEFINITELY BEHIND THIS VILLAIN LEAGUE! HE IS STILL ALIVE! I thought he died from our last battle, but it seems he survived! Damn it! I can't think of anyone else on the villains' side who knows about my injury better than the one who caused it!"
Midoriya's eyes widened, recalling the secret of All Might told him on the rooftop behind the devastating injury, the damaged organs and limited time, caused by an unpublicized fight years ago.
'That All For One did this to him!'
Everything suddenly fit together far too perfectly.
"All Might… are you okay?"
"Young man…" All Might looked at the boy, and a shadow of hesitation, doubt, and fear crossed his face. Should he truly allow this innocent boy to inherit a destiny tied to facing a monster like All For One? And if a new battle is imminent, maybe he should find someone who could immediately wield One For All's full power. Midoriya was too thin, The power 100% would explode him.
Izuku Midoriya, highly perceptive even in panic, immediately registered the shift in his hero's eyes.
All Might stood up, not daring to look at the young man's eyes, he can't allow him to see his idol showing this pathetic look.
his voice heavy and strained, each word dropping like a stone into still water.
"Young man… as you've already inferred… All For One is a powerful villain. To the current generation, he is almost a myth." His fingers twitched at his side, curling into a weak, useless fist. "He has existed since the dawn of Quirks. His ability… All For One… allows him to steal the Quirks of others. Use them himself. Or bestow them upon others like gifts from a devil."
Midoriya swallowed hard, a dry, choked sound. The sharp streetlight caught in his eyes, reflecting the tremor in his heart.
All Might's shoulders rose in a shallow, fragile breath.
"He is my sworn enemy. The one who killed every single user of One For All before me."
Midoriya's lips parted, but no sound escaped.
He'd known it was serious—but not this tragic. This is history, blood, and generations of sacrifice. The air felt colder, weighted by the sheer antiquity of the struggle.
"…And in turn," All Might continued, his voice cracking with the immense pressure of that lineage, "it is the responsibility of every One For All user to defeat him. To finish what the others could not."
A painful, echoing silence fell. All Might's head deeply bowed, his thin hair swaying gently in the night breeze. His voice was thick with shame, the confession like peeling open an old, festering wound. "Young man… I thought I had finished him in our last battle."
He touched his scarred ribs instinctively, wincing at the ghost of the injury.
"The fight that left my body… like this." Midoriya's breath hitched; he remembered every horrific detail All Might had shown him on the rooftop. "As the days passed," All Might whispered, "my condition worsened. I knew my time as a hero was running out. That's why I searched for a successor." The next words trembled, heavy with guilt and misplaced hope.
"That's why… I chose you."
A long pause stretched between them. The streetlamps hummed softly.
"But now…" His voice broke completely, raw and desperate. His hands clenched, shaking slightly. "I can't put your life, or the lives of your loved ones, in danger. I'm sorry…" His shoulders sagged, his entire posture shrinking inward.
The Symbol of Peace did not just deflate in size, he visibly shrank in spirit, collapsing beneath the weight of fear for his decision.
Hawks stood silently, That's why he said at the beginning that All Might needs to weight his decision, he thought All Might will stick to his previous opinion, but he didn't expect that All For One had left such a huge impact on the symbol of peace heart to the degree of making him changing his mind.
He looked at the green haired kid.
'Huh?' He expected to see the kid crying, after all, no body could stand such a roller coaster of emotions, from hell to heaven and from heaven to hell, but this is reality, it's always cruel.
Midoriya didn't move. He didn't speak. He didn't cry. He only stared at the man in front of him, the man who had reshaped his world, now trying to unmake it out of protection.
'He's giving up. Not because he lost, but because he's afraid of what I might lose.'
Finally, Midoriya stepped forward. His heart hammered a desperate rhythm against his ribs, his throat tight, but his resolve was iron. He took a steadying breath, then spoke quietly, a quietness that amplified the sheer force of his belief.
"All Might…"
All Might flinched, his shoulders recoiling slightly as if expecting a blow of anger or disappointment.
Instead—
"I don't care about your power." Midoriya's voice was steady. Unshaking. True.
All Might's widened eyes snapped up, searching Midoriya's face.
"I don't care how terrifying All For One is." Midoriya clenched his trembling fist, pushing down the tidal wave of fear with sheer stubbornness. "You beat him once. I believe… you can do it again." His voice thickened, emotions rising like a tide he refused to let drown him. "So please… don't lose your smile."
A tear rolled down his cheek, but he didn't wipe it. It was a testament to his seriousness. "The All Might I look up to—the Symbol of Peace… saves people with a smile." Midoriya lifted his fist slightly, a shaky but determined gesture, and his lips quivered into a broken, utterly brave grin. It was small. It was messy. But it was defiant.
All Might felt the world tilt. Midoriya's words struck him like a bolt of pure, cleansing lightning—splitting apart the internal storm of shame and terror, letting the light of his own faith pour back through the cracks.
'This boy… this boy…!'
All Might felt the words echo inside his chest like a heartbeat he'd forgotten he had.
Even Hawks, usually unreadable, usually aloof, found himself staring.
The kid stood there: thin, trembling, eyes still wet…
Yet an aura flowed from him, quiet but powerful, like a lantern lit in the darkest night.
A hope that refused to die.
A courage born not from strength… but from conviction.
Hawks finally understood.
So this is why All Might chose him.
Not because of muscle.
Not because of talent.
There was something in this boy, something you couldn't measure or define.
Something spiritual, raw, and unbreakable.
A light stronger than any Quirk.
A spirit that could move even heroes.
All Might stared. Truly stared. At Midoriya's trembling chin. At his watery eyes full of iron resolve. At the spirit burning beneath the tears. Something inside his core ignited, a forgotten furnace roaring back to life. His breath hitched. His fingers tightened, now with purpose. His spine straightened, a small, but monumental movement.
"I'm still…" His voice wavered, thick with choked emotion. "…pathetic." He pressed a hand to his eyes, ashamed of the moisture gathering there.
"Forgive me, young man… I shouldn't—"
A powerful pulse radiated from his core. He lowered his hand, his eyes blazing with renewed conviction.
"—I shouldn't allow fear to crawl into my heart." His muscles twitched, straining against the limits of his broken body. "Why…"
B A N G !!!
A thunderous, cracking sound ripped the air as steam erupted around him like a flash grenade. Sakura petals scattered violently in the powerful gust. All Might rose—tall, powerful, radiant—his muscular form bursting forth like the glorious return of a fallen titan.
For the first time, Midoriya saw it: A smile utterly serious. One meant not for crowds, not for cameras, but forged in commitment to him.
"BECAUSE—" The street vibrated beneath his booming voice, a powerful, heroic declaration that shook the night. "I AM THE SYMBOL OF PEACE!!!"
Steam hissed around him like a wave of thunderous applause.
Then—
Puff.
The mighty figure deflated instantly. All Might shrank back to his skeletal form, hunching over, coughing violently. "Ah— guh—" he wheezed, wiping the blood from his mouth. "T-too much emotion at once—!"
Despite the shocking deflating and the blood, Midoriya laughed, a wet, shaky breath of immense, freeing relief. All Might exhaled, a small, sheepish, but honest grin finally creeping onto his face.
Even now, even broken, he still radiated that invincible light.
"All Might, can you stop being emotional, please? Let me complete my words first!" Hawks complained, massaging his temples in mild exasperation.
"Ahem, ahem, sorry, Hawks. I couldn't control myself. Please continue."
Hawks let out a tired sigh, then continued, his focus back on the mission. "Since there is a huge chance All For One is the one behind this Villain League, I secretly stuck one of my feathers to the one called Kurogiri. It will act as a GPS. I can sense its location vaguely. I let my sidekick, who has a flying Quirk, follow its location. That's why I came to talk with you. We should capture that Tomura Shigaraki. But if All For One is truly behind him, we will need your power to confront him. I hate to admit it, but even if all the Top Ten Heroes faced All For One, we wouldn't be able to stop him from escaping or defeat him without heavy casualties."
All Might grinned, the adrenaline clearly back. "Nice job, Hawks! Is this why you avoided appearing and followed me secretly? That's a wise move. If they saw you and then later found the feather, they'd link it with you and change their hideout."
Midoriya, on the other hand, was totally immersed in excitedly noting the new function of Hawks' feathers.
"The feathers, besides transmitting vibration, can transmit their location! It's like a GPS locator. This is a strategic tool that can be used to track villains secretly. I wonder if Hawks can receive the vibrations and eavesdrop on the villains from long distances. That will be so cool! I need to ask him."
Hawks and All Might looked at Midoriya in startled alarm.
"Green-haired boy, your analysis is so frightening that I feel I should burn your notebook for fear it gets into the hands of a villain," Hawks deadpanned, half-joking, half-serious.
Midoriya quickly hid his notebook, looking at Hawks warily.
"The vibration transmission function has a distance limit," Hawks explained, needing to clarify. "It's like Wi-Fi signals. Once they get farther from my wings, I can't receive those vibrations in detail. The only thing I can do is sense their location vaguely."
Midoriya turned his back, guarding his notebook, and frantically jotted down the latest piece of information he received. This was an obsessive, compulsive disorder he couldn't stop.
All Might patted Hawks' shoulder, his expression deadly serious. "Hawks, I think we should go visit that black-haired boy and guard him. If he falls into the hands of the Villain League, or let's say All For One… I'm afraid we will be finished!"
"Huh?" Both Hawks and Midoriya looked at All Might in shock, not quite understanding the gravity of his statement.
Hawks crossed his arms over his chest, his golden eyes narrowed in assessment. "Aren't you exaggerating a bit, All Might? Sure, it's a dangerous Quirk… but what we saw hasn't shown anything close to a national-level threat."
He then turned casually toward Midoriya, a flicker of curiosity in his gaze.
"kid. You were closest to him, right? And you're… surprisingly good at analyzing Quirks for someone who's quirkless. Think you can figure out what his ability really is?" The irony wasn't lost on Hawks, but his tone held no mockery, only genuine interest in the facts.
All Might also looked at Midoriya, expectation shining in his tired eyes. He wanted to hear the boy's thoughts, hoping to either confirm or silence a suspicion of his own that felt too dangerous to voice.
Midoriya's heart fluttered violently. Two Top Heroes were waiting for his analysis. He swallowed his excitement, held back the tears of pride threatening to spill, and began speaking with the seriousness of a seasoned detective presenting a case.
"The black-haired boy's Quirk seems linked to that dark substance he emits. I believe he's an Emitter-type."
He raised his hands, unconsciously reenacting the fight.
"He can generate that dark energy from his body. When he defended us, I saw it gather in his right hand first. But from what I observed… it didn't enhance his physical power. He was blown away just like a normal person."
Hawks nodded slowly, his full attention now fixed on the boy.
Midoriya continued, faster now, passion overtaking his nerves.
"A few moments later, the Sludge Villain was completely coated in that black energy, almost like he was poisoned. Then he burst apart into pieces. At first glance, it looked like the boy imploded him… but I think the energy literally severed the connection between the sludge parts."
His pen shook with excitement as he gestured in the air. "If it were used on a human body, the effect could be catastrophic; the parts might be torn into tiny fragments. The Sludge Villain survived only because his body is a fluid mass." Midoriya leaned forward, his voice rising in conviction. "What convinced me is that the Sludge Villain tried to reform himself afterward—but he couldn't. As if something invisible was stopping his pieces from reconnecting." He inhaled deeply. "So if we were to name the Quirk… something like 'Shattering' or 'Severing' would fit."
He finally stopped, panting slightly, his analysis complete.
Hawks stroked his chin, eyebrows raised. "Damn… that actually sounds pretty solid."
But All Might wasn't nodding. He was shaking his head slowly, his gaze distant.
Midoriya stiffened. "A-All Might… did I get something wrong?" he asked timidly, the sudden disapproval hitting him hard.
Hawks eyed All Might sharply. "Pretty sure you're thinking of something else. Spill it, big guy."
All Might looked between the two of them, then lowered his voice, the weight of the moment heavy. "Hawks… if I tell you this, you must keep it secret. The same way you will keep the existence of One For All a secret."
Hawks' expression froze. He stopped fiddling with his feathers, his playful demeanor vanishing. "...All Might. What exactly are you about to say?"
All Might exhaled heavily, the sound ragged. "During the Quirk disappearance incident at morning… I was affected by it."
Midoriya's breath caught in his throat. He remembered the terror. Kacchan losing his Quirk. Mutant-quirk students vanishing like they'd been erased from existence.
All Might continued, his focus absolute. "I saw the cause. I saw the phenomenon itself."
Hawks' eyes widened. "You… saw the source? Then what does that have to do with the boy's Quirk?"
All Might answered without hesitation, his voice dropping to a harsh whisper. "It was a black light. Fast—almost impossible to follow. Everyone it passed, especially those with Mutation-type Quirks… disappeared." A cold, dreadful silence fell over the street, chilling the drifting sakura petals. All Might clenched his fist until his knuckles cracked. "And that black light… its color… its aura… its presence… was identical to the dark energy surrounding the boy's hands."
Hawks' mouth dropped slightly. "Wait—All Might. Are you implying that boy caused the Quirk disappearance incident? Come on. That doesn't match what we saw." He waved his hand dismissively. "His ability requires direct contact, and it's clearly destructive. If he was the cause, we'd have seen people exploding into pieces, not disappearing and reappearing later."
Midoriya jumped in quickly, defending the logic of the known phenomenon. "Yeah, All Might! The phenomenon felt more like… like The Underground hero Eraser Head's Quirk but massively amplified. It didn't destroy people, it erased the concept of their Quirks temporarily. That's why they reappeared later, when the effect wore off."
Hawks nodded. "Exactly. And the Sludge Villain wasn't 'erased'—he was physically torn apart. Two completely different effects."
All Might's eyes remained troubled. He exhaled long and slow, then looked firmly at Midoriya. "Young man… go home for now. Hawks and I will go check on that black-haired youth personally." He straightened his posture, his thin frame shaking with resolve. "If he is connected to the incident, as I fear… we'll know when we speak to him." He took a step away, his shadow lengthening.
If Adam overheard them, he'd immediately shout, "Wallahi, I'm innocent!"
All Might turned his back to Midoriya; his voice bore the weight of a command. "Sunday, 6:00 a.m. Takoba Municipal Beach Park. Don't be late."
Midoriya watched the two pro heroes' silhouettes recede until they disappeared.