Izuku woke up the following morning with his body feeling a bit sore. He bit his lip as he noticed that it was quite late. The night before he had been working on his kicks, and then him and Izumi had trained together with him using Blackwhip to try and catch her, the same training he used to do with Kacchan.

'Right, Kacchan…' He sighed. At this point, he had been away from home for weeks. All for Deku was there in his place, probably scheming to bring down the world just like Izuku was working to save it. Putting everyone around him, all of his friends, in danger.

He looked at the ceiling. The temptation to try and rush back to fight All for Deku now was strong. Alien King too, if he was really with him. But he knew that was doomed to fail. All for Deku had beaten Mirio and every other Hero that had faced him, and Alien King was strong too, according to Itsumi. There wasn't much of a chance that he could succeed in fighting them both, or even less of a chance he could beat them if the League of Villains joined them.

And yet, despite all this, that sensation of fear was still there. That idea that he was abandoning them by not rushing in was hard to fight at times, especially times like this. He had found himself wishing that Teleport didn't exist. At least not inside One for All. It was a fantastic Quirk, , useful, powerful, fascinating, but it also was a Quirk that was keeping him away from everything he cared for. His family, All Might, Kacchan, Ochaco, Todoroki, Iida and everyone else at UA were just… gone, until he could fix everything. Even worse, they were all in danger because of him.

He closed his eyes. He could try. His mental image of his home was far stronger than any other place. He could imagine the living room like he had just walked in it. A single spark of his Quirk, and he probably would be there, hugging his mother.

"Mister Izuku!" Epsi shouted, and Izuku blinked, suddenly aware of what he was about to do.

Of how Full Cowling was covering his entire body in sparks and he could feel himself ready to Teleport at a momentary thought.

"S-Sorry Epsi, I was just…"

"I know, I know. It must be hard for you. All this, I mean." She offered him a reassuring smile, one that showed him how human the AI was. He couldn't imagine a simple machine was capable of showing that level of care for someone. "I can only cheer you on, mister Izuku, but trust me when I say that I will do so with all my might."

"You have done more than that. You have been really useful in this journey. You and Izzzuku both."

"But…" She sighed, "I know mister Izzzuku is more useful than me. He can offer you knowledge I can't, first-hand accounts of various journeys and all that."

Izuku quickly shook his head, "No Epsi, that's not true. You are both equally important! I mean, you have a lot of useful information Izzzuku just never had, isn't that important?"

"I… Suppose so. Sorry, I guess I just felt a bit worried. You and Izzzuku often talk without me being able to offer much of an input, and I feared that you weren't really happy to have me." She looked to the side, "Especially because I don't think I can help in what you asked until I know the full roster of this tournament, that won't be published until tomorrow…"

"Epsi, I told you before. You aren't just an AI on my wrist. I think you are a friend. If you need time to help me, I can understand that and wait."

She smiled at that, a genuine smile, and then chuckled, "I feel the same, mister Izuku. Thank you."

He nodded, and sighed in relief. Maybe this journey also had its positives. He would have never met Itsumi, or Epsi, Izumi and Huanli, or Izzzuku, if he hadn't made that training mistake. Maybe there was something good in all this, even if it came with all its bad.

-x-

The rest of the day was quite a blur for Izuku, given his nerves. Him, Huanli and Izumi met up in the mess hall like the day before, ate together and went back sparring. This time around, Izumi faced Huanli, wanting to find out one thing.

She dodged an incoming attack, brushing Huanli's leg as she pushed away her kick, and immediately the girl grinned before shouting out loud. "Zhandou Quan, a martial art that allows the user to control Qi. Using it, they can apply them in a variable amount of ways." She grinned, "Yes! It works!"

"What works?" Huanli asked.

"Overzealous Databook works with other types of magic! I was wondering if that was the case when I noticed it didn't with Quirks or with Izuku's spell, but I think that spell only affects the user, so I never actually touched it." Her smile grew larger, "This is excellent! It means I have another tool against magic!"

"Yes but… Isn't the description a bit vague?"

"The description I shout out isn't the full data I receive from Overzealous Databook." She explained, "The real power of Overzealous is accumulating Deal Knowledge – or, as it turns out, magic knowledge – inside my mind." She frowned, "Though, it is rather vague. Is it possible that Overzealous can only go so in-depth on an alien technique before it fails to analyze it fully?" She turned to Huanli, "Let's continue. I think I'm figuring something out."

Izuku leaned back on the bench he was sitting on. After Huanli, he was going to go up against Izumi, and use Dancing Lights to try and make her activate her own power. He did wonder how it worked exactly. Could she touch his shoulder while he was using Tongue and find out about it? And did she have to touch any spell, or would touching the caster count? "So many possibilities…"

The rest of the training went by well and without accidents. It seemed the excitement for the tournament was getting to Huanli now, with the girl's eyes sparkling with anticipation and her nervousness being clear in her rather sweet-less lunch.

Finally, the lunch gave way to late afternoon, and they started to change. Izuku felt stiff. The Sport Festival had been a thing, and he thought he could handle it, but there was definitely something to say about standing in front of other people.

"It's time." Izzzuku said suddenly, barging into the room. Reflexively, Izuku threw an Air Force at him, before gasping.

"I'm sorry!"

"Gee, do all you Izukus just attack me when I enter your room?"

"What?"

"Nothing. Anyway, I'm going to be in the VIP lounge with Kiruka." He explained, "The joy, spending time with bored billionaires from other worlds coming here to bet on the fights…"

"Wait, how does Kiruka get to stay in the VIP lounge?"

"The League for All always gets a ticket for it. We are friendly with the Organizers, since they don't commit any crime and let us do our job gladly, even giving us full information and support. Sure, they also cause trouble whenever someone gets lost because of them, but..." Izzzuku shook his head, "Nothing we can do about it. But hey, good news, I think I found you someone."

"What, really?!"

"It's a bit early to say, but I think he is going to be on your side. He is-" Izzzuku paused, "No you know what, you should see for yourself. I bet it's going to be a fun reaction."

"Izzzuku…"

"Don't worry, I already spoke with him, he won't just rush away even if he loses. I'll just give you a hint: it's an Izuku."

"You know, I feel like that should help but somehow it doesn't."

"Figure it out by watching the show. It was your plan anyway, wasn't it?" Izzzuku winked, and with that he rolled in midair and left the room through a wall. Izuku sighed, but couldn't help but smile. So Izzzuku had decided to help him, uh? 'Well, I guess I shouldn't be that surprised. He was always pretty supportive in his own way.'

And with that thought in mind, Izuku left the room.

-x-

Shoto walked down the stairs, observing the common room as he went. With most people gone, he had to admit the Headquarters of the League for All were rather desolate. Right now, the only ones in the facility, excluding the Zuzus and the prisoners, were Himiko Hatsume, Isaac, Mariah, Uraraka, Bakugo and himself, and considering Isaac came and went, Hatsume was always hidden in the labs and Mariah was out, there were only three people that were really around, himself included.

"Morning, Half-and-Half." Bakugo waved, while the man walked in, "You are growing a stubble." He added, after looking at him for a moment.

Shoto passed a hand on his cheeks. That was true actually, and he decided that later he would shave. He had no problem with beards, but he knew his beard looked weird, considering it was also half white and half red. He had honestly been surprised when he saw Prince Shor with that mustache, but he supposed another world's fashion wasn't something he could judge.

"Bakugo, morning. You are… unusually in good humor today."

"I might have a way home." He explained, and Shoto stared at him.

"For real?"

"Yeah. Apparently one of their Patrollers has returned from a number of Universes, and one sounds exactly like mine. Down to All Might and Bakugo having recently disappeared."

Shoto blinked, "Uh, well, congratulations."

"Wow, watch out to not sound too happy Half-and-Half!"

"No, no, I…" He sighed, "I was just hoping you would stay to help us fight. You helped Itsumi a lot, I hear."

Bakugo paused, then groaned, "Fuuuuck, I forgot about that."

"About what?"

"I had to finish some extra stuff for Itsumi whenever she comes back. Tch. Guess I'll have to talk to her about it."

"Her?"

"Me!" A woman walked into the room, short purple hair and black eyes above a getup that reminded vaguely Shoto of Thirteen before he realized that it was a more slender space suit. Not quite skin-tight, but definitely far less cumbersome than Thirteen's model. She waved, "You must be Shoto, right?"

"Uh, yes, and you are… Jiro, correct?"

"Bingo, Captain Kyoka Jiro, League Founder and Patroller, at your service." She said, extending a hand as she walked closer. When she got close enough, Shoto noticed she had earrings shaped like earphone jacks but no elongated lobes, and around her neck she wore a purple choker that glimmered faintly. "I heard about your problem from Uraraka."

"Oh. And…"

"Well, I'd be on board to help, though I'm not sure how much I can contribute." She sighed, "The One for All lost most of its weapon back in the early days, when we and the All for One's crew were playing cat and mouse."

"The One for All?"

"She has a spaceship called One for All that works on bullshit physics." Bakugo explained.

"It's not bullshit! It's just stuff that is so ahead of our development curve we don't really understand it." Jirou defended, sighing, "Look, I have spent years studying those spaceships, as have both the Terrans and the Martians, so can we not call it 'bullshit' just because it's hard to comprehend?"

"Alright, alright…" Bakugo sighed, "Look, I'm in a good mood today, I'm not getting angry."

Shoto stared at him like he was looking at some sort of horrible nightmare. Admittedly that wasn't nice, but a happy Bakugo was a sight to behold. To stop looking at that, he turned to Jiro, "Any form of help is welcome."

"Yeah, I figured. Anyway, I'm sticking around for a couple of days to write down the full reports, since there have been some… troubles, and I'll be back for more after Bakugo here makes it home, so we should be able to discuss this more." She smiled, "It was nice to meet you, Todoroki."

"Same here." With that, she walked away, and he returned to Bakugo. "So, I guess you are going home in a couple days."

"Yeah, that's already better for you three. I'll finish what I can for Itsumi before I leave, and I had an idea for Ojiro too. I guess I'll leave the rest to Hatsume." He chuckled, "Ah, I probably should try to figure out what they want to do with All Might."

"Oh right, you have that issue. What do you think?"

"I think that if they can keep him here they are doing me a favor." He grinned, "If I get that fucker out of my world entirely it's the best gift I could have ever asked for."

"Is it? What…" Shoto paused, unsure, "What did he do."

"Oh boy, sit down and let me tell you Half-and-Half."

Shoto did so.

"So, for starters, you might have figured it out already, but I come from a world where Quirks are rarer. In fact, I don't have one."

"Yeah, you mentioned that." Todoroki replied. He had only talked to this Bakugo a few times before, but during those times he remembered talking about Quirks. He had generally a good opinion of them, though he seemed to always try to figure out how to take them out rather than how they could be used to help.

"So, as you can imagine, having a Quirk and not having one makes a lot of difference. A lot of powerful ones out there that could kill hundreds or thousands of people with a flick of their thumb. So, to avoid that, we came up with a group called the Suppression Squad. Or, as the public is so fond of calling us, the Punishers. Pretty dumb if you ask me, the Punisher has too many differences from us to count. For one, some of us have superpowers. It's like calling us The Boys because we go after Quirked people, even if we don't really have anything against them."

Shoto nodded, but internally winced. That sounded a tad too close to his world's Hero Suppressors in spots, at least when it came to the name and job. "What do you do?" He asked, slightly worried.

"We keep Quirked criminals in check. We are a mixed team of Quirked and Quirkless people, the defenders of the world, so to speak, capturing those that commit violent crimes and throwing them in jail."

"I see. So you are essentially Heroes." He replied, not without some relief. The story early on was starting to sound a bit too much like a mix of his own world and the Dark Age of Quirks he had studied in school, but Katsuki was bringing it up more as a crime-fighting group than the absolute nightmare some of the things that had happened during the Dark Age of Quirks were.

"Correct. I pride myself with quite a few successes under my belt, including the capturing of the smuggling ring known as the Orca-Kraken Syndicate, whose bosses were both Quirked. With that in mind, you can see why me and my team were sent to take down him." He pointed to the floor, "All Might is an odd one. He started off all goodie goodie, you know, like he wanted to make a positive difference, but whenever he would get to deal with some of our Quirk users, like General Todoroki or Captain Takami, he would always act like he was doing them a favor by giving them the time." He shook his head, "And then things got worse. The criminals he was bringing in were increasingly in worse condition. One thing the Suppression Squad prides itself with is 'Using all the force necessary, and only the force that is necessary'." He took a deep breath, "I have killed people, I won't deny that, but I never harmed someone beyond what needed to be done."

"I take things eventually went south, right?"

"You can say that again. All Might killed a few people, including civilians, during a fight, and well, that was a big crime. But when a Suppression Squad went to try and peacefully have him surrender, he massacred them and ran. And so, that's when we went in."

"And you ended up in the Multiverse."

"Yeah, not my best moment. I got the big bastard in a chokehold while he was restrained and wounded, and in response, he just did that asshole move of jumping world." He looked down, to the glass of water he held in his hand, "Frankly, I thought I was dead, but then we got captured by the people of that world. And the rest is history."

"It is." Shoto nodded. The story was an interesting one, he had to admit, but from what he had found the Multiverse rarely wasn't. "Well, thanks for that story, it was educational, especially the part about not ending up in your chokehold, but I think I will leave now. I have to go on a few errands today."

"That whole recruitment drive you are going on?" Bakugo nodded, "It's a good plan, Half-and-Half. Keep it up and you can win this." He grinned, "Just make sure to find another me or two and you can definitely win this."

The arrogance was definitely Bakugo's alright. Shoto nodded and stood back up, walking down the stairs. Back in the entrance lobby, he found Uraraka busy talking with someone else. A tall, lean man with glasses and a camera around his neck.

"And I insist the public should be allowed to know what is going on in this building." He was saying.

"Nothing goes on in this building, mister Tokuda, it's a simple private facility."

"That doesn't actually explain anything." He dropped a folder on the desk, "You know that since I took an interest in it I've been investigating. Look at this list of people. They all have somewhat muddled document trails, and all of them seem to sprout out of thin air, usually in London. I did some research, and they all seem to have in common somewhat regular visits to this area of the city. Add to it that this is the only location in the area whose purpose is unclear..."

"And you just waltzed alone in the facility that you think is behind it and asked for an explanation?"

"I'm not sure why I should be afraid." The man replied smugly, "I'm not dumb after all." He explained eloquently.

Uraraka sighed, "Look, just scram before I get security to do it for me."

"Oh, you have security? Interesting." The man said, picking back up the document, "I'll be sure to take note of that." And with that, he walked out of the building, not without sending a look at Todoroki.

"Who was that?" Shoto asked.

"Teruo Tokuda, the grandson of a famous Japanese investigative journalist called Taneo Tokuda. Apparently, he took on his grandpa's mantle, but is a lot less nice than the man."

"You met him?"

"Well, I met another world's version." She paused, "You know, you are right, I shouldn't assume. Maybe this version of Taneo Tokuda wasn't as nice." Uraraka shook her head, "Whatever the case, he doesn't have proof, just speculation. Let's just get going, we have a lot of errands to do, and I feel safer with Kyoka back, she can certainly look after this place."

"Sure." Shoto nodded.

'Let's do this.'

-x-

Izuku smiled, fidgeting with the mic to settle down his nerves. It was always an emotion, to be the one in the spotlight. Of course, he was only in the spotlight until the battles started, but it was still quite the emotion.

He put on his backpack and a moment later he heard a knock at the door. "It's time sir." A voice said from behind, and he looked in the mirror. The light make-up to look better on camera was perfect. He smiled, made sure it looked genuine, and moved his ring slightly on his finger. And then walked outside.

His steps became increasingly fast as he made it through the corridor of the Arena and toward his spot of his entrance. Not running, because sweat would risk ruining everything, but a calm pace that made him move faster. Like every year, he would make a different entrance. This year, he was flying. Fitting theme for the hundredth anniversary of the JTO, and their first Champion, the Flying Fairy, Nana Shimura.

With a hop and a jump, Izuku reached the entrance and started the backpack. The engine inside roared to life and Izuku took flight. It had taken a few months to get down the jetpack's working down to perfection, but he had done it. As such, he took his time, twirling and turning in the air as the spectators cheered. He paused and his arms spread wide, the signal that made the fireworks shoot from the sides of the arena and the evening sky lit to life.

"Good morning everyone!" He finally shouted in the mic, and the people roared in response, the approval and excitement brimming and making him smile even more. "My name is Izuku Midoriya, and I will be your chief commentator for this edition of the tournament!"

He smiled, "You know, as someone that never got to be a great fighter, it's amazing for me to be here." He felt the people from the crowd nod. It was the same for a lot of them, after all. Everyone wanted to be a fighter, but only one person every few thousand ever made it to a level worth mentioning. Everyone was here for his same reason: They loved this. They loved the fight, loved the thrill unique to two men facing each other in combat, their hearts and souls carried in their fists, spells, and weaponry as they clashed. "But I got to, and I'm glad to see so many are here today to see the first step those brave fighters will take toward the title of Master of Battle. So, without further ado, let's go over the rules of the Qualifiers, before we start the first fight!"

He quickly ran through the basics of the fight. Unlike for the fighters, many of which were from outside the Universe, the crowd knew already, so he only had to run the basics for children, new viewers from other countries and the fighters themselves, that were watching the matches from the waiting room.

He spun in the air once the explanation was finished, taking in the crowd once more. "Alright! This year, we have a very unique selection. Well, as unique as it can be when so many me are running around the field."

The crowd laughed, and he grinned sheepishly. He knew well that in recent years the meme 'How many Izukus will fight in the Tournament this year?' had exploded, once people had realized that every year there were at least two. He knew full well that betting was still open, even now, on the exact number, though it would close in a few seconds.

"Alright folks, the time has come. One hundred and sixty to sixty-four, sixty-four to thirty-two, and then a mad dash to the top. Who will win the tournament?! Who will be left in the dust?! It is a tale of Heroes and Villains, of Scientists and Soldiers, all of them Fighters! We are here to watch it, and so, without any more wait, let's."

"Start."

"This."

"TOURNAMENT!" The crowd roared with him.

Izuku looked at the screen of his watch. Of course, the match was rolled a few instants earlier for him than to the general crowd, because he needed time to prepare. It was still the harder part of the whole presentation, having to come up with hyping descriptions for all those participants. He had spent the whole day before discussing with his crew what each should be called. They had also started working on the full introductions for each of them, but of course, that had to wait for the top 64.

Although, as the crowd roared, he knew why. The first match had always one man in it. The Champion of ten years in a row of the JTO, that had gone on to crush the worldwide competition.

He looked at the screen and smiled as the music of the speakers changed to the rhythmic, deep drumming of a theme he knew to heart. The Master of Battle was always the first to walk onto the field.

"And the first to enter, with a height of 196 centimeters, the man that has arrived ten years ago in our world and has ever since stood at the pinnacle of the JTO Fighters! The legendary Master of Battle from another universe! The man, the myth, the legend! Kendoooooo Rappa!"

And with that, a hulking figure rushed into the ring, before stopping in his assigned side and rising his fist. The crowd roared and even Izuku felt his heart beat faster and louder in his chest.

Kendo Rappa, the Master of Battle in their world and the Battlemaster in his own. A warrior fierce and proud that had defeated hundreds of opponents both in and outside tournaments.

The strongest man in the Multiverse.

-x-

"Fuck, he really is here." Izzzuku commented.

"You doubted that, mister Izzzuku?" Rikiya asked with a frown. The man was one of the leaders of the JTO, the head of the Organizers. And was currently seating next to Izzzuku, having invited him and Kiruka to watch with him.

"One never knows. Are you still building him up as some sort of superhero?"

"Why not?"

"Uh, because he has attacked hundreds of world, defeating Heroes and Villains alike in his mad quest for strength?"

"That's your narrative." Rikiya casually replied, sipping a drink, "My narrative is that Kendo Rappa is an incredible sportsman that fears no challenge and will actively search for it, the pinnacle of everything the JTO stands for."

"One narrative is accurate." Kiruka pointed out, "The other is propaganda."

"Does it matter?" Rikiya asked, "Narrative is just narrative. Reality is more muddled. The Multiverse might perceive him as a violent brute, but for us, that man is the embodiment of everything we aspire to achieve. Strength of mind and strength of body." He smiled, "Yes, we are all quite fond of our Master of Battle."

Izzzuku groaned. He hated this world so much at times.

-x-

"From the city of Chiba, give a cheer for Eijiro Kirishima, The Red Beast!" Izuku shouted once more into the mic. He looked down. Eijiro Kirishima walked in, his number tied to his chest, taking his spot. On the other sides of the ring were two people he had never heard of before, who he had already deemed as Redshirts, and finally, with a grin, he got to introduce his first new Guest Fighter.

He smiled. As a Recruiter himself, he was always in competition with his fellow Recruiters for who would bring in the more successful Guest Fighters. This year he was confident he had a good lineup, but the others were no pushovers either.

Ten recruiters, six fighters each, bringing in a total of sixty fighters from the Multiverse. Some for money, some for the thrill, some for information, anything went as an offer so long as they consented to take part in those matches.

And starting with one of his was a good sign, he hoped.

"And finally, our first Guest!" He shouted, and the whole Arena went still in anticipation. Guest fighters were outrageously popular, thanks to the Master of Battle being one of them, and the JTO knew that. "Give a cheer for the Lady of Steam! Give a cheer for the fighter from the world our friends from the League for All call J-617, the Steamverse! Give a cheer for Fuyumiiiiiii Todoroki!"

The cheer was noticeably louder than before, and when Fuyumi entered he grinned.

Her armor of brass and iron showed with two large pauldrons that were surmounted by a large tube each, from which steam erupted as she entered the field. More tubes sprouted from her back, leading to a surprisingly small and – he knew – light furnace, and her legs, and one more was on the helmet she was currently wearing over her head. He grimaced slightly, because he knew she would have been more popular with her face in sight, but maybe it worked this way. An allure of mystery to her appearance would work to get the crowd intrigued.

"And with that said and done. Let's. Get. This. Started!"

All the fighters took position.

"Begin!"

-x-

Deku watched the match with eyes glued to it.

And that was why he could see how fast it was.

Rappa rushed into the ring, reached the center, and said something to the four people that were still studying each other. It wasn't hard to guess he was taunting them.

Two people rushed in. Kirishima took him from the front, the body of the man that shared his name with his dear friend covered head to toe in his Quirk.

And from the side came the woman introduced as Fuyumi Todoroki, covered in armor and surrounded by emissions of steam from her whole body, shooting out of the pipes of her armor creating a soft mist around her as she moved in.

Kirishima made first contact, his punch hitting Rappa in the shoulder.

The man grinned, and then punched back with a straight. A moment later, Kirishima was impacting the wall on the other side of the arena, rolling on the floor before slowly getting back up, not unconscious but clearly hurt.

Fuyumi didn't miss her chance, her right pauldron erupting with steam as her fist impacted Rappa's face at superhuman speed, like a rocket shooting out of a launcher. The man leaned back, letting the momentum of the fist drive his head and upper body back, and then threw a sudden uppercut with his left hand, so fast that Izuku only realized it had happened when Fuyumi flew into the air. Her armor was clearly strong, given it didn't break apart, but she still fell harshly on the ground and slowly wobbled back up, steam now only slowly coming out of the pipes.

Rappa smiled – the camera made sure to zoom in - and turned to the other two fighters, the ones that hadn't moved. One of them said something, Izuku was sure of that, some sort of plea it seemed, pointing his sword at the two injured fighters with a shaking hand, while the other, wearing a karate gi, seemed on the point of running.

Rappa shook his head and rushed forward. Once again, it happened in an instant. Both contestants were raised up into the hair by their neck, and then unceremoniously plummeted back to the ground when Rappa planted them both into the ground of the arena. The crowd roared at the feat of strength, but Izuku heard Izumi gasp and cover her mouth. That could have killed them if it wasn't for the fact that Rappa was clearly holding back.

Without a word, Rappa grabbed both their numbers and pulled. The 121 and the 13 were raised in the air, and he roared, followed immediately by the crowd, before turning to the two opponents that had finally stood up. The camera zoomed on him as he pointed his fingers toward them.

This time, Izuku could clearly read his lips, even without the sound.

"You were brave enough to come at me, unlike those two." A mad grin, and he continued, "I will wait for the winner at the top, if they can make it there."

The referee, meanwhile, was gesturing to Rappa to leave, and he did so, keeping the numbers up in the air for the crowd to cheer while the two defeated opponents were dragged away on a stretcher.

The remaining two, Fuyumi and Kirishima, studied each other, moving as instructed to opposite sides of the ring, and at a signal of the referee started the match for the place as a B-Lister.

From what he could see, they were both hand-to-hand fighters. Fuyumi was releasing steam from the openings in her armor to boost her own speed, somehow – her Quirk, or tech? The name of her universe seemed to suggest the latter – and Kirishima was taking and returning every blow, natural armor and artificial armor competing in a context of resilience as much as damage.

In the end, Fuyumi's leg erupted into steam from a small pipe on her heel, and she launched her feet upwards. Kirishima, up to that point having fought against her fists, was a fraction of a second too slow at reacting, and the kick hit him square in the jaw. His head went back, and the man collapsed. Before he could think of getting back up, Fuyumi grabbed his number.

"And that's the match!" The announcer shouted, "What a first bout, dear viewers! Our Master of Battle is as strong as ever, obtaining the title of A-Lister in only thirty-one seconds, and Fuyumi Todoroki gained her place in our Preliminaries as a B-Lister. We will now take a five minutes break, and then we can move on to the next fight. Stay tuned!"

Izuku breathed. The moment the match had started, his breath had caught in his throat, and he had only truly come back now. He watched Fuyumi bow and leave the field, and in that moment he realized how short the fight had been.

One minute and forty-six seconds of actual combat. Most of them spent on the B-lister fight.

That man was a monster. That man was… And then he realized another thing.

There had been no sparks and no clear signs of powers.

He hadn't used One for All, or any of the Vestiges.

-x-

"Uff, that was an interesting match to start." Izuku, the commentator, said with a grin as he took flight again, in the private speaker to the main control room.

"Yeah. I'm sending the second set right now, ready?" The voice of Kyoka Jiro from the room said.

"Go, I can't wait."

She assented and the screen of his clock came to life once more. He watched as the names rushed in. 'Tank, Bomber, Shuichi and-' He read the last two names and laughed, "For real Kyoka, another one of mine and another one of me?"

"Don't blame me, blame the algorithm."

"Alright." He said, as he heard the public mumble in anticipation as the names appeared on the main screen, switching back to his public mic. "Alright, let's start the second match! For this one we have quite the line-up. Two more Guests and three known fighters is quite the combo, isn't it?"

"Give a shout to a great fighter from the fighting firm Abenura Tenchu Kai, Tetsu Kato, the Tank Man!" He shouted, as a man with a rather anonymous look, compounded by black hair and dark eyes, walked on the field. "And next, one of the scariest man in the tournament. From the Garaki Augmentations Industries branch known as Fighter Factory, Kuro Akutani, the Bomber!"

He watched as the next fighter walked in. He personally wasn't a fan of Garaki Augmentations, but he couldn't deny the results. The people that went in did come out as stronger fighters, and there were apparently no side effects. He had seen the Noumu further in the Multiverse, those inhuman puppets, but they had apparently dodged that bullet. Here, getting modified by Garaki was merely a way to make your way up in the rankings easily.

The Bomber raised his arms. No eyes, replaced with other sensory organs that he knew gave him no disadvantage, as hard as it might have been to believe, large wings that gave him flight, strong claws that could cut steel, he certainly couldn't be called beautiful, even by mutants standard, but he knew that Kuro Akutani was as strong as he was dangerous. A rather vicious fighter.

"And from Kamino Ward, a fighter of the League of Fighters firm, Shuichi Higuchi. Give a round of applause for the Lizard Blade!" Shuichi walked on the field, and he nodded. Shuichi was an experienced fighter with a good history in the Tournament, having reached once the Preliminaries and once the Top 32. This year he was certainly aiming to at least the Top 16.

And then he smiled. Oh, the next two were going to get a real reaction from the crowd.

"Our fourth fighter is a Guest from another world. From J-298, the Queen of Delinquents, Izumiiiii Midoriya!" He watched gladly the crowd react in cheers, and knew the best had yet to come as the young girl entered the Arena. Izuku noticed that the wooden sword she had in the picture was different from the one she carried on herself now, and the Referee dutifully inspected it, but immediately he let her keep it. A last-minute replacement? Possible.

And then he grinned. Here came the real high point of the round.

-x-

"Let's go Izumi…" Izuku murmured. The girl had been called to the field just a minute after the end of the previous match, and both Deku and Huanli were now glued once more at the screen.

-x-

"And finally!" he twirled in midair, listening to the murmur going down, "This fighter is a Guest from another world, but is also someone all of you can see the influence on. Flowing white hair can't hide who he is, not with those cheeks covered in freckles." The murmur grew. He was hamming it up a bit admittedly, but screw it, he knew this one was going to make an impression, "The man that has fought for the rights of the Quirked during the dawn of Quirks. The man that wields as a weapon an item created not to attack, but to protect others. The man whose power comes from his resolve more than anything else. From J-099…"

A young teen walked on the field, his face covered by a helmet, and the crowd stared at him in a mist of surprise and stupified disbelief, murmurs and cheers of recognition already growing among the crowd.

The flowing white hair couldn't hide the fact this was an Izuku, proven by the green eyes and the freckles. But that wasn't what was capturing the crowd. His combat attire, from the winged helmet he was carrying under his arm to the green, red and black battle suit looked impressive, but he knew that like him everyone's eyes were glued on only a piece of it, the round object on his back.

"Give a shout for Izuku Midoriya." He said.

The round shield glimmered in the lights of the arena.

"Give a shout for Captain Kamino!"

The crowd roared.

(xx)

And here we go, let's start this Tournament!

First of all, let me give thanks to Tunafishprincess, author of Kamino's Ward, a Fic you can find on Ao3, who has allowed me to borrow for Deku-Into the Multiverse the character of Izuku Midoriya/Captain Kamino. It's a really good fic that I suggest to anyone. The worldbuilding alone in the odd chapters is worth the read, in my opinion, and the story really is interesting.

And so, after a Spider-Man Hero, here we have a Captain America-like Hero joining our fray. Makes you wonder who will be next...

Rappa the Battlemaster was... well, expected, I believe, at least by those that still remembered his first mention over 20 chapters ago. Still, I'm glad we finally get to meet the strongest man in the Multiverse (self-appointed, but well deserved).

Fuyumi Todoroki is also an interesting one. We have no idea what Fuyumi's canon Quirk is, but I've always been partial to her having Steam. So, when I decided to include the Steampunk universe known as Steamverse in the Tournament, Fuyumi was the obvious choice.

Meanwhile, Todoroki is going out again for his own recruitment drive. Makes you wonder who he will fish next. And I finally got to introduce Kyoka the Founder, at least a bit. There will be more of her, of course.