Disclaimer: I obviously don't own My Hero Academia or Naruto.
This was an idea that won't just leave my head and it kept on writing itself. Currently, it's just a one-shot, but I may continue if you people like it. So please do leave a review.
Chapter-1
All humans are not born equal. That's a fact. Once upon a time, this fact was mostly limited to a person's appearance and inheritance. That's not the situation anymore in the current times where everyone and their mother was defined by one thing only.
Quirks.
They were extraordinary superhuman abilities that appeared out of nowhere some 200 years ago and their origin is still a mystery to the masses. That bioluminescent baby in China revolutionized the world in more ways than one. The next step in human evolution was here.
With the advent and spreading of quirks to the masses came the people who wanted to use their quirks for their personal use. With inspiration from old Superhero comics, these people were dubbed 'villains'. The increase of villains gave rise to vigilantism. These vigilantes were on the opposite side of the spectrum and fought these villains for the safety of the innocent.
After decades of unchecked and rampant vigilantism, although approved by the general public, was still a problem for the government with no person accountable for the failures or the mistakes of said vigilantes.
That led to the creation of the Hero society by the United Nations. Initially, only a handful of countries formed Hero societies of their own, spearheaded by the United States of America. Over the years after seeing the continuous success of Heroes most of the free world today depended on their Heroes to save them from calamities, be they natural or man-made.
Everyone today adored heroes. Children wanted to be them. Teens and youngsters wanted to be with them. And older people felt safe seeing them on patrol. Top heroes were more revered than the best of the actors and sportsmen in the world.
Like every other child, Izuku Midoriya also had the dream to become a hero ever since he was a toddler and saw the greatest hero in the World, All Might, rescuing hundreds of people from a massive fire single-handedly. A fervor adoration was created in his little mind towards the Hero who selflessly saved so many people just because he could.
Unfortunately for him, all his dreams were shattered when he went to a quirkologist to get his tests done.
Izuku was playing outside the doctor's office with two other children who were also waiting for the appointment when a nurse came towards him. "Izuku Midoriya?"
When his mother, Inko Midoriya, saw the approaching nurse, she stood up and came to her son and said, "Yes. I am his mother. What is it?"
The nurse, who seemed to be a middle-aged kind lady, smiled and replied, "It's time for some tests."
Inko nodded at that and offered a hand to her son, "Come along Izu so we can find out your quirk!" She finished excitedly.
Little Izuku grinned and clutched her hand tightly, "Come fast, mama. I can't wait." He tried to pull her along. Inko played along and was pulled to the testing room which had many machines inbuilt.
The nurse showed Izuku the place to lie down and he complied very obediently. Just then a doctor with gray hair, bushy mustache, and green round glasses came in with a lab coat and everything, "Hello young man. I'm Dr. Tsubasa and today I'll find out your quirk for you. Are you excited?"
Izuku nodded vigorously, "I'll be the best hero in the world." Tsubasa chuckled good-naturedly and turned to the nurse, "Prep the room for the X-ray."
The nurse turned to Inko, "You'll have to wait outside ma'am, to prevent any passive radiation." Inko nodded and turned to Izuku, "I'll be just outside Izu." He nodded dutifully.
The nurse ushered her out and waited with her there.
Inside the room the doctor said, pointing towards a tall man with dark hair who suddenly came out of a back door, "Izuku, meet Mr. Shigaraki. He'll be performing your X-ray today." Izuku smiled at the man and didn't find anything strange with that statement of the good doctor.
Mr. Shigaraki came closer to Izuku and placed a hand on Izuku's head and said, "My quirk lets me take an X-ray of the human body. Keep your eyes closed until I tell you to open. It may hurt a little."
Izuku tightly closed his eyes to fight off the pain that soon enveloped his own body. It didn't last very long and soon he was as good as new. He missed the glow that was being emitted from Mr. Shigaraki's hands and within seconds he was all good.
"All done. You may open your eyes."
Izuku opened his eyes and saw an X-ray film in Shigaraki's hands. He passed the film to Dr. Tsubasa, and said, "I don't think he'll need more tests Doc."
The doctor grimaced a little, "Indeed. Come along Young Izuku. We shall talk with your mother."
He didn't have a clue that the talk would turn his world upside down.
10 years later
A dejected Izuku was coming from the school premises.
"If you think you'll have a quirk in your next life… go take a swan dive off the roof!"
That statement hurt. A lot. Much more than the statement itself, it was the person who said it. Katsuki Bakugo. His once best friend. Although somewhere he still considered Kacchan his friend, that statement broke something within him.
Would any true friend say something like that? He held back his tears with difficulty and decided to cut loose Kacc… no! Bakugo from his life. He won't continue this clearly one-sided friendship anymore. Deep down he knew that K...Bakugo didn't consider him a friend, but he was the only one who gave him any attention, good or bad. Rest everyone ignored his presence as if he were an annoying bug.
It was right then that he decided not to care what anyone says. To keep his chin up and keep moving forward. Even if he had to walk all alone his whole life. He will become a hero come hell or high water.
He didn't take in much of his surroundings as he kept marching forward with forced confidence. The tunnel in the way was also steadily ignored. He just moved forward.
That is until he couldn't anymore.
Astonished, he looked down to see a weird slime-like substance covering both his legs and stopping any further movements.
He panicked, "Aaahhh!" He shouted at the top of his lungs and tried to parry off the dark green slime off of him. Unfortunately, that was a mistake as the sludge villain took that opportunity to climb up his hands as well and completely immobilized all his limbs.
"A plain-looking body to hide in. Perfect for the situation." An ominous voice came forth from the sludge surrounding him and his struggles increased along with his screams of horror.
"Don't resist, child." Sludge villain said as he covered most of Izuku's body sans his face, "It will only take 45 seconds at most and it will be all over. All your efforts are futile. I'm mostly fluid, you see."
With that, the sludge covered his face and soon Izuku knew no more.
He opened his eyes to see himself lying on a vast plain. Groggily, he stood up to find himself in a bland space with white surroundings everywhere. From floor to sky to the horizon. Everything was white and he couldn't distinguish between them from mere sight.
"Is this heaven?" He muttered sub-consciously.
"It is not."
Izuku turned towards the voice to find an old man with a possibly mutant type quirk from his horns and the three eyes, two purple and one red, levitating in the Indian style sitting position.
"If not heaven then that means it is hell!" Izuku freaked out, "Ohmygod! I couldn't even become a hero. Is that why I am in hell? But I didn't do anything bad. I swear. Mom will kill me. Please tell me this is a bad dream!" He begged as went down on his knees and prayed to every deity he knew of.
"You are not dead," The old man stated, "Not completely at least."
Izuku halted in his panicked mutterings and was somewhat mollified by that statement.
"Wait. Who are you? And where is this if I am not dead? And what do mean by 'not completely'!?" He shouted towards the end when his senses returned after the mini panic attack only to understand the implication of the old man.
The old man sighed, "I wished this day never came but for me to come to you…." He shook his head in resignation, "Pardon my manners. My name is Hagoromo Otsutsuki and you, Izuku Midoriya, are one of my descendants." Izuku was surprised to hear that statement but didn't object when the old man continued.
"This is an in-between place before a person's death. Although you're not dead, you came very close and I took the opportunity to explain a few things."
Izuku tilted his head to the side and said, "What things Gramps?"
The now dubbed Gramps chuckled at that, "You remind me a lot of another descendant of mine," His voice was full of reminiscence. "To begin with, I want to tell you about Chakra and the origins of what you know today as quirks."
Izuku's eyes widened at that. No one knew where the quirks came from. If he could know then…
"Reserve all your questions and observations for when I am done," Gramps ordered with an authoritative voice and Izuku could only nod meekly in acceptance.
"A few millennia ago, the world as you know today was much different. People didn't have quirks, but they had a power much greater in the form of chakra. Chakra is nothing but a power inherent to every life form on earth that I spread to humankind in my youth. It is a combination of the physical and mental energies of a person. A balance between them leads to a stronger chakra. I developed the practice of Ninshu to spread the teachings of Chakra throughout the world.
With chakra, the impossible could become possible, like, by focusing chakra on the sole of your feet, one could walk on a vertical surface or even on water. The elements of Fire, Water, Wind, Lightning, and Earth were available to humans on the tips of their fingers. Nothing was impossible if you had the chakra and the patience to work with dedication. Quirks today do not even hold a candle to the full capabilities of chakra."
Izuku was listening to the abridged story with rapt attention as the Sage began with some basic history of Elemental nations and how his son Indra corrupted the sacred Ninshu with his Ninjutsu. His conflict with his brother Asura and their subsequent reincarnations. The life story of a certain Kyuubi Jinchuriki. Machinations of Kaguya Otsutsuki to get all chakra and the eventual peace with involvement of two of Izuku's ancestors Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha.
"Naruto and Sasuke were the last people alive to have my very chakra running through them and Naruto used it to hold the nations together with everything he had. His death brought forth new conflict to the lands." The sage paused for a moment and said, "As you must know people are greedy and conflict is always there, it just changes forms. His death led to the biggest war ever in the history of elemental nations that decimated more than 95% of the Shinobi population."
Izuku's eyes widened astronomically as his jaw dropped open. The story till now was very engaging and he was liking Naruto Gramps more and more with every passing minute. Despite all odds against him, he was a true hero in Izuku's opinion. At a time when there were no heroes.
"How did he die?" Izuku asked for the first time in the story after gathering some courage.
"He was getting old." Gramps began, "Some enemies of his attacked Konoha and he sacrificed himself to protect the village he loved more than anything else. Don't worry much about his death. He would have died in a few years anyway. It was the power his words still carried even in his final years that his enemies couldn't risk him mobilizing an army."
Izuku felt very sad hearing the tragic end of a great hero.
"I could have saved the Elemental Nations if only I had given all my power to Naruto alone." Gramps said and Izuku looked up in confusion and said, "But…" only to be interrupted by the sage.
"Sasuke Uchiha lost his Rinnegan years later because he and Naruto both were severely weakened by losing their arms and a major portion of the power I bestowed upon them. While Naruto had a replacement arm, it wasn't good enough. All because, for Sasuke, revenge was greater than everything else. He became selfish and that doomed all the shinobi. No one could trust Sasuke with any sort of power even after Naruto's death."
"What about the tailed-beasts? What happened to them?" Izuku asked the sage.
Gramps sighed at that and said, "After the death of both Naruto and Sasuke, and the destruction of most of the Shinobi, the living decided to stop training chakra at all. The surviving shinobi were given strict instructions to comply and after some initial protests, they did comply. Their representatives approached the tailed beasts and requested them to go into hiding so no human could find them again. After some deliberations, all nine of them used a collaborative Jutsu and teleported to another planet to live away from humans. And thus ended the tale of chakra."
"Or so people thought." Izuku looked up sharply at that and raised an eyebrow. "W-what do you mean by that Gramps?"
"Chakra is energy, child," The sage explained, "As you must know energy cannot be created or destroyed…"
"...it can only be changed from one form to another," Izuku finished when suddenly the realization dawned upon him, "Chakra is the origin of Quirks."
Hagoromo nodded minutely, "Indeed. After several millennia, some seven centuries ago to be precise, the dormant chakra mutated into something more focused. While earlier one shinobi could learn hundreds of techniques, now their capabilities are limited and more instinctual. At the same time, it prevents them from harnessing chakra in its raw form and dramatically shortens the life of those who artificially harness more than one quirk at a time."
"But quirks didn't appear until 200 years ago!" Izuku almost shouted.
Hagoromo only smiled sagely and corrected Izuku, "Mutant-type quirks didn't appear until then. Emitter and Transformation types existed for centuries. Governments all over the world either hid these people from the general populace or…" Or terminated them went unsaid.
"That-that…" Izuku was at a loss for words. Quirks had become everything for so many people and here in front of him stood the progenitor of Quirks himself. He was equal parts amazed and disgusted to hear what the governments did to preserve the status quo.
"Alas, we don't have much time left, young man. So we must hurry." Hagoromo said with a little urgency. "You will regain consciousness soon and then we may not be able to communicate again." Izuku nodded as he had already deduced that there was a reason Gramps was telling him all that.
"I am giving you the power of my Rinnegan." He said plainly. Izuku was dumbstruck. The most powerful eyes in the world. The same eyes that almost killed Naruto Uzumaki when used by Nagato. The same eyes that led to the resurrection of Madara Uchiha and eventually Kaguya Otsutsuki. The same eye that was given to Sasuke Uchiha that he misused, according to Gramps.
"Why?" He asked slowly.
"It was said in the old times of Elemental nations that in times of disorder, one who wields the Rinnegan is sent down from the heavens to become either a 'God of Creation' who will calm the world or a 'God of Destruction' who will reduce everything to nothingness. I am entrusting upon you the responsibility to prevent the doom of the world." Hagoromo said ominously.
Izuku paled at that. "Wh-wha-what are you saying, Gramps?" His voice cracked slightly.
"I do not have the time to explain everything but the world needs a savior. In a few years, everything could be lost if someone doesn't step forward. So young Izuku, train with everything you have. Train your body, train your mind and train your chakra. I told you the story of Naruto so can learn something and become better than even him. As long as you remain quirkless, chakra is within your reach. Luckily, you don't have a quirk anymore so it is possible for you to do so." The sage said as he started fading slowly.
"Wait! What do you mean I don't have a quirk anymore!?" Izuku almost shouted.
Hagoromo shook his now almost transparent head, "It doesn't matter now. Remember to train every path of your eyes or you may regret it. You may find some hidden gifts from me there. I almost forgot, help Toshinori Yagi to..." His voice faded away in oblivion.
Izuku came back to the world of living to find someone slapping his face.
"Hey! Wake up, kid!" *Slap* *Slap* "Thank Goodness!"
Izuku opened his eyes to one of the most amazing sights in the world.
"Wha–!?" Izuku exclaimed intelligently. His memories after getting attacked by the sludge villain were hazy at best. He had some slight recollections of some levitating old man with three eyes, but he couldn't remember anything concrete.
But forget that. He was just saved by All Might of all heroes in the world. All Might was saying something but all Izuku could focus on was getting his notebook to see the autograph already there. He bowed repeatedly and thanked his hero profusely who turned around to leap in a long jump.
Without thinking Izuku grabbed onto All Might for the unexpected not-so-joyride.
His world crumbled to dust, just like that, all over again. His hero, his idol had trounced his lifelong dream to become a hero so casually. The worst part was that after seeing his injured state, Izuku silently agreed that being a hero while quirkless could lead to his early death and he could not in good conscience leave his mother to fend for herself all alone in this cruel world.
So he swallowed the bitter pill and silently moved towards his home in his mild depression. On the way, he heard some explosions. If only he was stronger. If only he had the power to save everyone.
"Another villain attack!" Some random civilian shouted. Izuku didn't have any wish to gawk at more heroes in action. He knew it would bring him more misery and a longing for the impossible. Nevertheless, his curiosity made him peek towards the scene which brought renewed dread within his body.
It was the sludge villain that All Might had definitely apprehended. All Might won't just let the villain go. He doesn't make mistakes like that. It means he accidentally dropped the bottle mid-air when Izuku grabbed his leg. His whole being soaked in oceans of dread at the realization.
'This is all my fault. Why? Why? Why!?'
His mental shouts of self-loathing were halted by a civilian's comment, "Poor explosion boy is being held hostage by the villain. Look, his quirk is going all haywire!"
His guilt soared and dread renewed within his body. 'Kacchan!'
"This guy can't be caught right now. We have to wait for someone with the right quirk to show up!" said one of the heroes on the scene, loud enough for the masses to hear.
Just then some of the sludge shifted a little from Bakugo's face to show his perpetually angry red eyes filled with unshed tears and quite prominent fear.
Izuku didn't know why but his feet moved on their own. He ignored the shouts and cries of the heroes and civilians alike. He only had one goal. Save Kacchan.
Suddenly he felt as if a dam of energy broke inside him as his vision sharpened drastically. He could see even the minute movements of the sludge villain and Bakugo. He could even predict where they would be moving next. Quickly he took off his school bag and threw it at the eyes of the villain. As he had calculated in mere seconds, the bag opened at the right time and the books and stationery hit the villain exactly where he had intended.
That gave Bakugo some breathing room and he shouted, "DEKU! Why are you here!?"
"I don't know Kacchan!" Izuku snapped back, "My feet just moved on their own. And you looked like you needed saving."
He didn't know what came over him but the strange energy focused in his hands and a single word left his mouth of its own volition, "Attract!"
To the surprise of everyone present there including Izuku himself, Bakugo flew through the air, freeing himself from the clutches of the sludge villain, and crashed into his most usual bullying victim. The force was great enough that Izuku flew backward, Bakugo still in his arms, and they crashed into some of the spectators.
"He actually saved him," said a bewildered civilian. Soon the area was filled with cheers from the crowd. Bakugo quickly separated himself from Izuku and glared at him angrily and was ready to shout. He stopped short looking at his eyes.
The heroes present quickly teamed up and the fires were extinguished within a matter of minutes. Then Kamui Woods and Death Arms took the opportunity to capture the villain and were successful.
The Police came and arrested the villain in a special container and took him to the holding cells.
"I must say kid, that quirk of yours is surely something." Kamui Woods said as came near one scowling teen and the other nervous one. Bakugo was about to snap at him to stuff it but stopped when he saw that Kamui Woods wasn't talking to him.
He turned towards Izuku who looked almost ready to shit himself when he said, "I didn't know I had a quirk. It was the first time I used it…" His voice lowered to a whisper as he suddenly remembered the conversation he had had with old sage Gramps while unconscious. His face rapidly paled as he remembered that something apocalyptic may happen in the foreseeable future.
"First time, huh? And so strong?" Kamui Woods mused, "In that case, I can ignore your public quirk usage provided you get registered soon." He raised an eyebrow in question.
Izuku nodded fervently, "Of course."
"Good," Kamui Woods continued, "That said, what you did was extremely foolish." His tone became harsher as he continued, "You didn't have a quirk until that moment. For all intents and purposes, you were quirkless! What do you think would've happened if a perfect quirk for the situation hadn't materialized out of the blue? You would be dead! And so would your friend!" He shouted at the end.
Izuku couldn't help but lower his head in shame. Kamui Woods wasn't wrong per se.
"Shut up, you extra!" Came a very angry and very recognizable voice, "Wasn't it you who said that you should wait for the 'right quirk'." Bakugo's face was showing unadulterated disgust as he tore the Wood hero a new one. "You fucking extras were sitting on your asses and the one who did anything is being berated? Fuck you!" With that said he pushed past the medic who was trying to check up on him and left the scene.
The surrounding heroes and even the civilians went silent at his outburst and were looking at the flabbergasted Kamui Woods. The cameramen present at the scene had recorded that whole rant completely.
After retrieving his backpack, Izuku stood up and bowed, "I'm sorry for my actions." With that, he turned around and ran in the direction of his house. He stopped a few blocks later and started panting heavily. He definitely needed to work out more to become a hero and to master his chakra better.
"Deku!" Izuku turned towards his frenemy and flinched back sub-consciously, "Hey Ka… Bakugo."
Whatever Bakugo was about to shout at him was halted for the moment, "What did you call me?" His voice was of confusion and mild anger. He himself didn't realize why the sudden name change by Izuku was bothering him so much.
"Bakugo?" He half-answered, half-asked, and flinched back when Bakugo took an aggressive step towards him with little explosions going off in his hands. He shook his head in frustration at his own cowardice. He explained further with faux confidence, "You made it very clear that a Deku like me should jump off the roof to get a quirk, right? Guess what! I didn't need to."
Now it was Bakugo's turn to flinch back at Izuku's tone. Never in his life had he thought that useless Deku can retaliate with such vehemence and hatred.
"I hope I won't ever need a hero like you in my life who only thinks about greatness and being rich! Hell, a villain would be better than you!" Izuku's tone held a great deal of anger stewed with years worth of abuse. "You disgust me Bakugo!"
"Then why save me at all, you shitty Deku?" Kacchan retorted with similar anger and took a couple more steps forward. Surprisingly he didn't raise his hands to blast Izuku's face as he usually did.
Izuku took a deep breath and said, "I told you. My feet moved on their own. Unlike you, I will save everyone, irrespective of who they are. I WILL become a hero despite what you or the world say. Even All Might cannot tell me to give up my dream." He finished passionately.
"Tsk, freaky eyes." Bakugo turned his back to Izuku and walked away slowly. "And don't think for a second I needed your help, or I'll kill ya!"
Confused by Bakugo's comment, Izuku took out his phone and checked his eyes in the front camera. He was surprised to see that his eyes had changed appearance.
Both his eyes were now completely green, not just his iris, and had concentric circles originating from the center. What's more, is that each eye had one comma-like shape that he somehow knew was to be called a tomoe. He also just knew that this wasn't some ordinary Rinnegan, but Rinne Sharingan.
"Hey, kid!" He looked away from his phone to find the original emaciated form of All Might standing right there in his oversized clothes.
"All Might!" Izuku exclaimed, then suddenly his face burned with shame, "How much did you hear?"
"Everything." He replied looking uncomfortable, "I know it wasn't easy for you to be quirkless your entire life, and my insensitive opinion without taking into account your feelings did you no good."
"No, All Might, it's ok…"
"It's not okay young Midoriya. I erred when I didn't take into account your heart and courage in the face of adversity. For that, I will always have deep regrets and humbly apologize. For you can become the best hero in the world and even surpass me one day!" All might said heartily.
Izuku didn't realize how but his eyes started getting blurry all of a sudden. He rubbed them to no avail. He gave up after a few times. He observed that even if his vision was blurrier, it was still much better than what he was used to before activating the Doujutsu.
"I was about to jump in to save you and your friend but you never needed my help. You, Young Midoriya, inspired me to become a better hero myself. Many heroes were there but none acted when the situation was not in their favor. That is the first sign of being a good hero. You work towards saving others altruistically." He shook his head in exasperation, "It's a shame most heroes nowadays are in the business for popularity and riches rather than helping others. But you gave me hope that the future is not all lost if heroes like you can save it."
Izuku's face was split with a wide grin. Although his continuously flowing eyes made it a real peculiar sight.
"I have a proposal for you young man." All Might continued in the same tone, "As you know I cannot be a hero for more than a few hours a day, for the rest of my time, I'd like to train you to hone your skills better, to master your quirk, and become ready for the entrance exams for any hero school you wish to apply to. Do you accept, young man?"
"Of course I accept, All Might!" Izuku exclaimed with all the excitement in the world. This was like a dream come true. No even better than that. This was the single best day in the fourteen years of his existence.
"Alright then, meet me at Takoba Municipal Beach Park, the day after tomorrow at 6 AM and we will begin your training then." With that All Might turned and walked away.
Izuku was feeling a little lightheaded as all the excitement of the day slowly washed away. He walked towards his house with a renewed purpose. He can finally share his newfound 'quirk' with his mom.
Hello people. So, was it good? Bad? Mediocre? Unoriginal? Whatever you think, I appreciate the candor as long as you explain why.
If you're here after reading my other story, 'How to become a god', then I must tell you that it will be very different from that one as it won't be focusing on relationships or lemons. It's still rated 'M' for language, violence, and other dark stuff. As far as relationships go, I'll keep this one Gen for the moment. In short, this one won't be as self-indulgent as that one.
The story may sound too close to the canon, but it will only be such for this chapter. After all what fun is it giving Izuku God-like power and still continuing with the same plot, right?
Most stories go like this, Izuku becomes most powerful, even then, he goes the same exam route where he either comes first or scores just a point or two below Katsuki. He befriends Iida and Uraraka because why do things differently? USJ occurs more or less the same because fuck originality. Sports festival is also the same three tasks where he is guaranteed to get 10mil points in the first round. In the meantime, every girl and their mother develops a crush on him and starts a catfight over who gets to be with him (we all know it's a harem anyway). After all that, he goes and takes the name Deku because yes childhood bully, torment me more for eternity every time someone calls me by my hero name. He fights with Stain irrespective of the hero with whom he is doing his internship because of course, they have the sudden urge to check things in Hosu even if they work in an entirely different part of the country. Even after everything, Bakugo or Izuku gets kidnapped from the training camp in the same manner and is rescued by allied heroes. After that most authors lose the will to continue because the story going forward won't make much sense and they can't think of what to do with the OP character they created.
With the rant over, I'll obviously go a very different route if I were to continue and I do have a plot in mind for the future. For example, if it wasn't obvious from the story, he won't be getting OFA or doing any of the things I said above.
Anyway, please review as I don't know whether I will continue this or not.
~TheLazyWarrior