A/N: Hey everyone, welcome back to The Crow's Atonement, because Chapter 17 is here.
Disclaimer: Like everybody else on fanfiction, I own nothing.
"Standard" - Normal Speaking
'Italics' - Thoughts
"Bold" - Super Moves
Hagoromo wasn't sure how much time had passed, not that it mattered much since everyone present was already dead, but he eventually found himself lapsing back into silence after explaining the circumstances around both of Itachi's deaths and the decision to grant the boy a second life so he could atone for some of the terrible deeds he'd committed.
En scowled, "You mentioned terrible deeds. What did Yaoyorozu-san do in his past life?"
"That's not my place to tell, and you'll probably never get to hear what they were, but some of them weighed heavily on Itachi-kun psyche and burdened him until he died at his brother's hand." He replied, solemn.
"His brother killed him?" Nana sounded shocked and looked appalled.
"Probably family issues or a spat between siblings that got out of hand," Hikage said, looking at Hagoromo for confirmation after briefly looking at Yoichi, "and it probably had to do with why the boy wants to atone with this life."
He received a nod in the affirmative.
Hagoromo then gestured at the human-sized mass of green and black that had spontaneously materialised in-front of the past users of One For All, gaining even their attention, with the only visible features being an unruly mop of green hair and the very top of a light-skinned forehead.
"And what is this supposed to be?"
Nana was the only one to move closer to the multicoloured mass, narrowing her eyes as she stepped around it, inspecting every inch of it.
"My best guess," she started, crossing her arms as she looked up at the Sage, "is that this is supposed to represent the progress of Midoriya Izuku. The young man is beginning to get the quirk under control and this is supposed to represent his progress in doing so."
One of the past One For All users who were facing away from them twitched.
Daigoro let out a gruff snort, bringing everyone's attention to him.
"What's so funny?" En deadpanned.
He gestured to the projection in the air and smirked.
"The 8th's brat clearly ain't progressin' much. Look, that kid with the red eyes is casually knocking him about. Feh, if I was mentoring that brat, he would've knocked this kid on his ass already." Daigoro claimed boastfully.
Nana scowled.
"Cut him a bit of slack. Didn't you see the Midoriya when Toshinori first met him? He was a skinny little thing. Obviously, Toshinori got him to bulk up so he wouldn't explode when he first used One For All after the transference, but the kid clearly has lots of progress to make. Give him time." She said, sounding fond every time she mentioned her predecessor.
Hikage scoffed, "If All For One finds about the child, he won't get time to develop."
Hagoromo let out a noise of interest, drawing everyone's attention to himself.
"Who is this 'All For One' and why don't you want him finding out about the child?" He inquired, recalling the name from when he'd fighting with them earlier.
Yoichi shuffled forwards, En and Hikage moving aside so the first user could get within a few metres of the floating, elderly man who patiently stared back at him, and he'd be lying if he said the purple, ringed eyes didn't unnerve him.
Yoichi felt like the unmoving eyes were trying to see right through him and uncover every secret he knew.
"All For One is my brother and the one who gifted what would become One For All to be," he said, watching Hagoromo's eyes widen slightly, "he gave an energy stockpiling quirk to me during a period where he ruled the Japan with an iron fist. I was ill and he wanted to better my life, but I didn't agree with his ideals."
"...So you ran away and he has tried to reclaim this power ever since." Hagoromo finished, finding himself smirking.
This was such a parallel to the relationship between him and his mother.
Yoichi was granted power by his brother, but because he didn't agree with what he was doing, All For One tried to take the power back and when Kaguya gave birth to Hagoromo and his brother, she threw a fit because she wanted her chakra back and was going to destroy the world if they didn't stop her.
The first user of One For All nodded, "Exactly."
"Still, why are there so many of you? Were you able to pass down this One For All from person to person?" Hagoromo inquired.
"Yes, that was my quirk: Pass On."
Nana nodded, "Everyone here is a past user of who failed to take down All For One. One For All stockpiles energy and gets more powerful the longer one holds onto it. Toshinori is the longest user at 40 years, Hikage-san is the second-longest at 18 years and Banjo-san is the third-longest at 12 years."
"I see
Daigoro crossed his arms over his barrel chest, "This was a great chit-chat an' all, but how the hell did you get inside One For All, old man?"
Hagoromo's purple eyes flickered over to him.
"When I gave Itachi-kun a second chance at life, I believe I may have left a chakra imprint on his soul," he said, "I truly have no idea how I ended up here, but my best guess is that Itachi-kun and Midoriya-kun made physical contact at some point and my chakra imprint merged with One For All and, well, here I am."
It wasn't the best explanation, but they seemed to buy it.
Izuku gasped as he crumpled to the floor and lay on his back, following a kick to the chest from Itachi, Full Cowling fizzling out as he ran out of energy to continue their spar. He'd tried to go Plus Ultra - just like All Might would! - but quickly realised it was a bad idea when he felt himself tiring more and more until he simply couldn't bring himself to defend himself.
His body felt like it was on fire and his arms and legs felt like they were simultaneously made out of jelly and lead.
"Are you alright, Midoriya-kun?" Itachi inquired.
Izuku shook his head, chest heaving as he greedily drew in oxygen.
He hadn't felt this worn out since his first few workouts with All Might, back when he was being physically built up to inherit One For All from his idol.
The clamour of other students in Gym Gamma continued as Itachi moved and sat next to his prone classmate, his eyes having returned to their usual onyx colour as they stared at him with slight concern.
Izuku knew he should've already been home, helping his mother with shopping and working out to further improve his body, but he was far too nice to turn down Itachi's request.
Still, he was just wondering how Itachi had so much stamina.
They'd sparred with each other for approximately 40 minutes. Izuku was almost completely wiped out, while the class Vice-President barely looked winded; he wasn't even breathing that hard!
If that wasn't a warning bell that he needed to improve his stamina and overall endurance, Izuku didn't know what was.
Plus, how would he properly surpass All Might and become the No. 1 Hero if he couldn't fight villains for more than an hour? Izuku had heard that, back in his prime and glory days, All Might had once gone on a countrywide patrol that lasted 2 weeks.
A lot of work was needed if he wanted-
"You're too stiff when you fight." Itachi voice cut through his thoughts like a high pressure jet of water slicing through flesh.
Izuku blinked and turned to him.
"Sorry?"
"You're too stiff," Itachi repeated, "and move like a puppet being guided with strings. you need to learn how to relax during battle. Don't tense up so much and don't overexert yourself when trying to land a hit. That's why you're as tired as you are right now. You put too much energy into simple movements."
Izuku nodded, writing that down in his mental notebook, "I see."
"Also, you lose focus whenever you get hit. Practice moving and maintaining Full Cowling at the same time. And you have a habit of choreographing your attacks." Itachi continued.
"Choreographing? But your Sharingan can-"
"That's no excuse," Itachi interrupted him, "you wind up your attacks too much. I'd be able to read them without using my Sharingan. Your build-up is what would give villains an opening to attack you or strike someone else."
Izuku mustered the energy to sit up and clench one of his fists.
"What should I do, Yaoyorozu-kun?"
"Admittedly, we won't be able to do much in time for the Sports Festival," Itachi started, "but I'd suggest that you take up dancing in your spare time. Learn how to relax when moving and develop a smooth flow. It will also help you build stamina."
Izuku made a mental note of that.
"What about the way I choreograph my attacks?"
"If they're available to do so, I'll invite Mashirao-kun and my sister to our training sessions. We'll help you improve your form and speed when it comes to fighting. It may be getting late now, so it'd be best if we both go home. Don't rush and call a cab if you don't think you can make your usual journey." Itachi replied, then stood up and begun walking to Gym Gamma's doors.
Izuku lay back down and watched Itachi walk away.
Just before he made it to the doors, the green-haired boy decided to speak once more.
"Yaoyorozu-kun. Thank you!"
Itachi stopped and tiled his head back enough so Izuku could see one of his eyes.
"You're welcome. And I understand that you idolize All Might, but you'll subconsciously hold yourself back if you try to copy him down to the T, and that includes your ridiculous costume. Developing your own look and style will allow you to advance yourself. Don't forget that you have legs too, Midoriya-kun, they are stronger than the arms after all. I'll see you tomorrow at class." Itachi said.
And then he walked past the doors and Izuku turned his head so he could gaze at the ceiling.
One second passed.
Two seconds.
Three.
"Oh my god, I HAVE LEGS!" Izuku yelled, causing all activity to stop as everyone stared at him.
His face turned red with embarrassment.
And then a third year student yelled, "Of course you do, dumbass! Have you only just noticed?"
"I need to show you something, All Might!"
"Holy crap, Young Midoriya's here!"
"All Might!"
"Young Midoriya, I'm glad to see you, but what's the rush. Shouldn't you be at home right now?"
"I really, really should, b-but I need to show you something."
"...Oh, and what could that 'something' be?"
All Might in his emaciated form watched his red, vein-like tendrils of energy ran up the body of his successor, briefly making his heart race out of concern, and then sunken eyes widened as cyan-coloured lightning began sparking all over Izuku's form.
"Y-Young Midoriya, what is this?"
"I call it One For AllL Full Cowling - 5%. Five percent because I can only muster that much out of One For All's full power right now."
"You can only muster..." Deep blue eyes widened in shock, "Young Midoriya, you managed to get One For All under control. That's amazing, how did you do it? Did you figure it out all by yourself?"
"No no, All Might, Yaoyorozu-kun helped me."
"..."
"..."
"I see... Did Young Yaoyorozu push you for any details about One For All during, before or after he helped you?"
"No, he only offered to help me stop breaking my bones. Yaoyorozu-kun didn't ask about One For All."
"...Okay, okay, that's good. If he started asking direct questions, then we'd have no choice but to tell him. But he hasn't, so we can hold off for a little longer."
"Right! Also, All Might, I need to develop a fighting style revolving around my legs!"
"Whoa, whoa slow down, Young Midoiriya. What's this all about, is this something to do with Full Cowling?"
"...A little."
"Right, well, focus on your arms for now, but, um, if you do well in the Sports Festival, I know someone who might help you develop a leg-based fighting style. By the way, is this something that Young Yaoyorozu said to you?"
"Yeah."
Arriving home after training with Izuku and helping him develop One For All so he wouldn't hurt himself every time he used the quirk, Itachi had barely been able to remove his backpack before one of the Yaoyorozu Manor's housemaids approached him, bowing as she stopped a few feet away from him.
"Welcome home, Yaoyorozu-sama. Would you like for me to take your bag?"
"No thank you, Akiko-san. I trust you've been well?" He inquired.
Akiko nodded, "I have. Your mother has requested to see you in her study."
"I see."
"Would you like for me to bring up a tea to your room? Yaoyorozu-sama? Cinnamon and apple?" She asked.
"That would be appreciated," Itachi replied, "thank you, Akiko-san."
The housemaid bowed and then hurried off to the kitchen to make the requested drink, while Itachi made his way through the manor, easily navigating the large, complex building and arriving at Maeko's study in less than two minutes.
He knocked on the closed door.
"Come in."
Itachi opened the door and walked in, shutting the door behind him. He stepped up to Maeko's desk, watching as she looked through papers and sorted them in various stacks; although, it didn't look as nearly as stacked as the Third Hokage's desk would be sometimes.
He stopped just short of her desk and gave a curt bow, waiting for her to acknowledge him.
After a minute or two of flipping through papers and occasionally signing them with a ball-point pen, Maeko set her stack of papers and pen aside, took off her glasses and gazed up at her son who stared at back at her, cool as a cucumber.
"I heard that you and your class were attacked by villains a few days ago. I've already spoken with your sister and your homeroom teacher about it, and seen most of the camera footage" She started.
"We were."
Maeko nodded, interlacing her fingers and resting her chin, "How are you handling it? Knowing you, you've already brushed it off."
"Better than I expected, considering I had to fight my way through a relentless crowd of villains at one point." Itachi admitted, but there was no need for his mother to know that he'd faced much more dangerous individuals in his previous life.
Some of them could probably give All Might a run for his money.
Especially Kisame and Kakuzu. Highly intimidating, absolute physical powerhouses who regularly snapped people in two as if they were twigs, and chakra monsters who could spam elemental ninjutsu for days and still have lots of chakra left over.
"The fact that you both made it out is what counts. Were you hurt at all?"
Itachi shook his head, "Nothing that wouldn't cause anything more than a few bruises. They'll pass within the week. I assume all the villains captured at U.S.J. will be transported to Tartarus?"
Maeko's lips twitched upwards, "Your sister asked the same thing."
"Will they?"
She shrugged.
"Everyone who was there had been banded together with the sole purpose of killing All Might, including that... creature. It has already been transported to Tartarus, but as for the rest, the police will run background checks on all of them. See the severity of their previous crimes and investigate to find out who willing joined the brat with the hands and those who were forced." Maeko said.
"I see. And those who were forced and were low-level thugs, I assume they'll go to a standard prison built to contain those with a quirk?" Itachi inquired.
"Yes. You're dismissed."
Two weeks passed at U.A. High School which saw Izuku training almost everyday after school hours with Mashirao, Momo and Itachi. He was nowhere near as proficient as they were at martial arts, but he was getting there, and after getting hit in the head by Mashirao's Tail one too many times, he never forgot to keep his arms raised to defend his head.
Getting knocked out and subsequently concussed really sucked!
So did being tazed! Every time he got close to Momo and lost focus because something else was on his mind, she was jamming a taser into his neck, almost as if she were punishing him.
Izuku would rather take the burn that came with doing hundreds of squats and push-ups over being tazed.
Now, exactly one week before the U.A. Sports Festival, at the request of of All Might who was preparing them for a Foundation Hero Studies session that would apparently last them past the school day, much to the dismay over several of the students, they were stood at Ground Beta once more in their hero outfits, waiting for their teacher to show up.
As his hero outfit had been partially destroyed and was yet to be repaired, Izuku was dressed in the standard P.E. outfit with the massive, white gloves that he wore at the U.S.J.
Katsuki, after being disallowed from being his grenade gauntlets to the U.S.J., was now allowed to use them again on the basis that he didn't directly use them against another student, otherwise he'd be expelled on the spot.
Itachi was dressed in a spare of the outfit which had been ruined at U.S.J., he had three spares and this was the first, but he had decided to forgo the cloak and replaced the vizor with contact lenses which wouldn't obstruct his Sharingan whilst still preventing dirt from getting into his eyes.
As they waited for the teachers to show up, the students were busy mingling almost themselves.
Izuku was with his group of friends which consisted of: Tenya, Ochaco, Tsuyu, and by extension, Minoru.
Shoto was stood by himself, staring off at nothing in particular, but his face looked like he'd smelt something bad. Fumikage was doing the same, but Dark Shadow was loudly yapping into his ear.
Katsuki looked pissed as he was crowded by Denki, Hanta, Mina and Eijiro.
Itachi was with Momo and Mashirao, and the remaining five just mingled amongst themselves.
"Another Hero Studies lesson so soon after the previous one? What do you reckon we'll be doing?" Mashirao asked, cupping his chin with his index finger and thumb.
"No clue," Momo said, arms crossed over her chest, "we'll just have to wait an see what All Might has in store for us."
Once glance at her told Itachi she was thinking the exact same thing as he was. Class 1-A was probably going to have the 1v4 training exercises that Class 1-B undertook. And if that were the case, Katsuki would fail the actual test right off the bat.
The explosive blond probably believed he could brute force his way through anything, no matter what kind of opposition he faced.
Then, there was a sudden burst of wind, followed by a BANG, indicating the sound barrier had just been broken, and All Might materialized in the middle of all the students, dressed in the same outfit he wore during the first Hero Studies lesson and posing, holding a ballot box in his left hand.
"I AM HERE... to carry out today's Foundational Hero Studies lesson!"
Tenya's arm shot straight into the air, "Sensei, what will we be doing today? More 2 on 2 retrieval battles?"
"Eager to learn as always, Young Iida," All Might laughed, "but you will not be doing the same thing as before. Instead, you will be doing 1v4 search and rescue battles with a one hour time limit. The theme of this class is a hero overcoming superior numbers of villains and hostage rescue. As such, the hero will be tasked with rescuing the hostage and taking out the villains."
Itachi and Momo smiled at each other.
Denki looked horrified, "1v4? But how would that work?"
"By thinking, Young Kaminari. Not every battle is solved through brute force. Sometimes, if not all the time, strategy and tactics are required. Now, come, your teams will be decided by this ballot box." All Might replied.
Tenya's arm shot up, but then he suddenly remembered what he did during the Battle Trials, and lowered his arm, stiffening as if embarrassed as All Might chuckled at him.
"All Might," Katsuki grumbled, "what's the deal with going home late? Last thing I wanna put up with his my stupid old woman's nagging and bitching."
The Symbol of Peace grinned, "Do not worry, Young Bakugo, everyone's parents have already been informed that you may all be home late today."
Once more, the costumed students gathered around Japan's No. 1 hero and pulled pieces of paper out of the box. Four pieces of paper had 'H' on them, whilst the other sixteen had four sets of cards with 'V1', 'V2', 'V3' and 'V4'.
"Does everyone have a card of their own?" All Might asked.
Everyone nodded, holding up their cards.
The hero vs villain matchups were as follows:
Match 1: Itachi Yaoyorozu, the designated hero, vs Tenya Iida, Minoru Mineta, Mashirao Ojiro and Yuga Aoyama.
Match 2: Tsuyu Asui, the designated hero, vs Izuku Midoriya, Mezo Shoji, Denki Kaminari and Eijiro Kirishima.
Match 3: Katsuki Bakugo, the designated hero, vs Shoto Todoroki, Fumikage Tokoyami, Rikido Sato, Kyoka Jiro.
Match 4: Mina Ashido, the designated hero, vs Momo Yaoyorozu, Hanta Sero, Ochaco Uraraka and Toru Hagakure.
A near-manic grin appeared on Katsuki's face as he stared daggers at Shoto who was ignoring him. He was fine with that, however. He just have to crush the icy bastard and put him in his place, after having shown him up during the 1st Battle Trials, though he would've preferred to have crushed Trench Face, Ponytail or that stupid fucking Deku first.
Mina bounced over to Ochaco and glomped the brunette who yelped, the two of them almost falling into Momo and Hanta.
"Ah, A-Ashido-san?"
"I'm gonna be fighting you guys. I'm really excited, no hard feelings thought, eh?"
Ochaco sweatdropped, "Ashido-san, why would there be any hard feelings between us/"
"'Cause I'm gonna kick all of your buts!" The pink-skinned student declared, grinning cheerily as she punched at the air.
Hanta chuckled as he stood off to the side with Momo.
"Well, she seems really confident," he said, "but you look like you already have a plan to handle her."
"That I do." Momo replied, "I'm going to counter her acid with alkalis. We'll use your trap to make it difficult for Ashido-san to manoeuvre around wherever we set up operations. Then, so she can't hamper us, I'll coat your tape and our outfits, sans Hagakure-san with an alkiali and prepare grenades full of alkalis. If we get the timing right, we should be able to clog her pores and stop her from secreting acid."
Hanta whistled, "Damn, you really had this all sorted out."
Momo nodded impassively, "Then, once we stop her from being able to effectively use her quirk, Hagakure-san, Uraraka-san and I will fight her in close quarters."
"Huh?"
"Being invisible, Hagakure-san can land surprise attacks, Uraraka-san requires physical contact to activate her quirk, so Ashido-san will be hard pressed to keep distance between them and despite her athletic ability, I'm sure I can take her to hand-to-hand." Momo stated, confident.
"Midoriya-chan."
The green-haired boy yelped, so distracted by his conversation with Mezo and Eijiro, didn't noticed the frog-like girl walking up to him and was subsequently startled.
"Ah, Asui-san!"
"Call me Tsuyu..." She croaked.
"Tsuyu-san, I wish you the best of luck regarding our upcoming battle." Mezo said, eyes narrowing slightly.
"Likewise, ribbit," the frog-like girl replied, not even blinking, "and Kirishima-chan, don't hesitate to hit me if you get the chance. I won't hold it against you."
The redhead nodded, flustered as he remembered the lecture he'd gotten after he and Rikido lost to Itachi and Mina.
"R-Right..."
"Same goes for you, Midoriya-chan," Tsuyu continued, turning back to the green-haired boy, "you might have that monstrous strength, but don't hesitate to use it on me if you feel the need to."
'I won't have to, thanks to Full Cowling." Izuku thought as he held up a fist and clenched it, nodding at Tsuyu as he did so.
Itachi acknowledged Tenya and Mashirao as they approached, the latter giving him a smile, but before either of them could speak, All Might coughed and loudly cleared his throat, capturing the attention of all the students who all stopped talking.
"I understand you may all be excited about who you've been partnered up with, but your hostages won't rescue themselves, now, please, can Villain Team 1 please make their way to this building," All Might held up with photograph which had a building with a large '1' painted onto it, "and once you're there, you'll be even 10 minutes to prepare before Young Yaoyorozu is allowed to begin his task of rescuing the hostage. Now, everyone else, please follow me to the Observation Room!"
Team 1 quickly made their way through the makeshift city, noticing another building was painted over with a large '2', until they made their way to the marked building and entered it. Sat cross-legged in the middle of the bottom floor was a periwinkle-haired woman with bright, blue eyes and she was dressed in heeled shoes, black trousers and a buttoned, white shirt which hugged her generous bosom.
She smiled as soon as she saw them.
"Hiya, are you the Class 1-A students posing as the villains?" She said, voice bubbly and free, sounding like a fairy.
Tenya saluted, "Yes, ma'am!"
The blue-haired woman let out a soft, melodic laugh, "There's no need for the formalities. You're villains, be as mean as you want. Come on, be meanies, but first, what are your names?"
Tenya shifted, "Iida Tenya, ma'am!"
Minoru was too busy drooling over her to answer, 'S-So curvy. She almost puts Yaoyorozu to shame, almost... I could just rip open that shirt and-'
"Ojiro Mashirao," the blonde-haired boy introduced himself, scowling as he slapped Minoru to break him out of his funk, "and this raging ball of puberty and hormones is Mineta Minoru."
"Cool, there's hair at the end of your tail. Do you brush it everyday? Do you shave it as well?"
Mashirao blinked, stumped, "Um-"
"And you, Mineta, did you always have those balls on your head, or did you have hair before your quirk manifested?"
"Well-"
"Iida, how did you choose the design for your outfit. From the knights of medieval Europe or your awesome, super cool older brother?"
"I wanted-"
"Aoyama Yuga," the Naval Laser-user posed, cutting off the other student who were befuddled by her rapid-fire manner of asking questions, "my armour makes me scintiller, and Mademoiselle, I must say that your hair is merveilleux."
"Merci," she replied, beaming as she did so, "and your hair is étourdissant. My name is Hado Nejire and it's a pleasure to meet you all."
"The plaisir is all ours," Tenya said, getting a look of confusion from Yuga, "but we cannot afford to stand around and chat. We have a hero coming to rescue you and we cannot allow him to do that. We need to have a plan if we are to succeed. You three, stand close!"
Mashirao, Yuga and a reluctant Minoru - who kept glancing wistfully at Nejire - inched closer to Tenya.
"What's your plan?" Mashirao inquired.
Tenya turned to Minoru, who blanched under the weight of his stare, before turning back to the tailed blond.
"My initial plan was to have you, Aoyama-kun and myself go and take on Yaoyorozu-kun; overwhelm his Sharingan together, but I don't trust Mineta-kun to do anything inappropriate to Hado-kun whilst unsupervised." Tenya said, his slightly distorted voice heavy with disapproval.
Minoru let out of noise of protest which went ignored.
"Oh, Yaoyorozu-kun? Itachi-kun is the hero of this exercise?" Nejire inquired, almost bouncing on the spot and beaming even more when Mashirao nodded.
"You'd rather stay here," Mashirao said, "so you can keep an eye on Mineta-kun and have all four of us take on Yaoyorozu-kun when he comes. Strength in numbers, right?"
Tenya nodded, beginning a series of stretches which looked rather comical in his armoured costume.
"That's correct. Against the four of us and trying to rescue a hostage, he won't be able to move around much in here, and he'll be forced to think on his feet, which could lead to him making a mistake, no matter how level-headed Yaoyorozu-kun is under pressure. You and I will pressure him, while Mineta-kun supports us by creating minefield with his quirk and Aoyama-kun, when he sees the moment of opportunity from a hiding spot of his choice, will snipe Yaoyorozu-kun with his quirk. There's no way he'll be able to react to Navel Laser if he's focused on fighting you and I." Tenya stated.
Yuga posed, literally sparkling as he let out a noise of approval.
Minoru seemed terrified at the prospect of doing anything that would draw the attention of 'Tall, Fit and Sexy's Brother'; towards him.
Mashirao nodded, "I've sparred with Yaoyorozu-kun for years. Sharingan or not, I should be able to keep him on his toes."
"Good, we just need to keep him away for Hado-kun." Tenya replied, then they turned towards the building's entrance as a loud buzzer blared through their ears.
Itachi was stood in-front of one of Ground Beta's main gates, thinking over his plan of attack as he recalled the directions on a map which had been given to him by All Light - every little feature had been copied down with the Sharingan.
If he wanted to, he could walk around the entirely of the training ground with his eyes closed.
He'd done something similar as a shinobi, when Shisui were playing truth or dare and the other Uchiha dared him to memorize every inch of the Uchiha Clan Compound and then navigate it, remembering every metre and landmark, with his eyes closed.
In regards to his current test, Itachi knew he could handle Yuga and Minoru without an issue, especially since the latter was a perverted coward who would no doubt fold under the slightest bit of intimidation.
Tenya and his Engine would be much harder to deal with. He'd seen how fast he could move during the 1st Battle Trials and whilst it wasn't anything significant, getting hit by someone clad in lightweight armour would be incredibly troublesome.
The biggest threat would be Mashirao. He and Itachi had been sparring since they were little children and, besides Itsuka, was the only person who could keep up with him and his win/loss record with the blond was 78 wins to 76 defeats. And not once had Mashirao used his additional limb during their spars, but Itachi knew getting hit by it would likely result in him failing the test.
He didn't have the same frail, physical body that he had as an Uchiha, but all the muscle on Mashirao's Tail wasn't just for show.
"Are you ready, Young Yaoyorozu?" All Might's voice crackled through his earpiece.
Itachi nodded as he began walking forwards, knowing he was probably being observed by hidden cameras, slowly increasing his pace into a power walk which quickly developed into a jog, "Yes, All Might-sensei."
"And you are aware of your objectives?"
"Locate the target building, incapacitate or evade the villains and rescue the hostage, then make my way to the Rendezvous Point." Itachi stated.
"Excellent, Young Yaoyorozu. Your test begins-" a loud buzzer blared, its noise ripping through the air, "-NOW!"
Itachi broke out into a sprint as red bled into the black of his eyes, his Sharingan coming to life.
A/N: And that's Chapter 17 for you guys. Just thought I'd throw in my own Filler of a Second Battle Trial Arc and I apologise to all those who were expecting the start of the U.A. Sports Festival. Hope you all enjoy and continue keeping safe.