Huanli waited, time seeming to have slowed down to a crawl as she impatiently munched on a candy bar. It was one of those sweet cereal-and-chocolate energy bars her Master liked so much, even if personally Huanli preferred sweeter food.

"Should you really be eating?" Izumi asked, "I mean, I don't want to criticize or anything, but I thought athletes shouldn't go in with a full stomach."

"It's not going to be full." She replied, "And certainly not for long. I burn energy like crazy when I use the Zhandou Quan."

"Oh, that's why you eat so many sweets?"

"Well, that and I just like sweets." She replied with a wink. Izumi chuckled, and Huanli sighed. She really wanted to get her time to shine. The Qualifiers were fine, but this was the true one v one she had been looking for when she first saw the poster.

Back in her world, martial arts tournaments were common, but not as widely practiced as here. Moreover, they were your usual glorified spar, a way to see who was stronger in a safe environment. Useful, maybe, if you were practicing martial arts as a sport, but not what a warrior would want. She wanted more. Her Master had fought to the death against those that wanted to use Zhandou Quan for evil, had been inches from death many, many times, and the result of that had made her the strongest martial artist. No, in Huanli's mind, Master Itsuka wasn't the strongest martial artist, she was just the strongest. She refused to believe her when she claimed that, across the Multiverse, there was someone that could easily beat her. Yes, maybe some spell could kill her, but that was like saying a gun was stronger than the strongest warrior.

To Huanli, her Master's prowess was unmatched. And to become like her, she would put herself on the line.

"… And that's the end of the second match of today! The Japanese Juggernaut, Katsuki 'Kats' Bakugo, has managed to knock out of the battle the Queen of Thorns, Ibara Shiozaki. What a match folks!" The announcer shouted.

Izumi nodded, and Huanli did the same. In the first match, Tensei Iida had knocked out Hanta Sero, claiming victory, and now this 'Kats' had won against Shiozaki. Both were the expected outcomes to Huanli, from what she had seen in the previous rounds and in Epsi's files. And if her insight was as good as it had been so far, she would win.

With a sigh, she waited. Not two minutes later, the entrance to the Arena lighted up, and with a thumbs up from Izumi, she stepped forward. The light of the Arena started to shine brightly at the end of the tunnel, but as she walked through she could see him in the shadow.

Her other master.

'You are the heir of a great Legacy, Huanli. Keep training yourself and thinking you can become like that Master of yours, but your destiny is to become the next Master of the All for One.'

"I won't she." Mumbled with gritted teeth. The shadow retired, but she could have sworn she grinned as it did.

Huanli stepped into the Arena. The light shone on a simple, flat terrain. She hadn't asked much, only to replace the marble of the floor with earth for her match. It was better that way. Less chances of someone accidentally breaking their skulls, for one. Really, what were they thinking with a floor made of stone?

"And her opponent!" The Announcer declared, "The Singing Fighter that is part of the monster trio of Naruhata. Wherever she goes, her fans follow! Wherever she goes, laughter and happiness shine brightly! She is the idol that flies and bounces around the field, the butterfly and the bee! She is Kazuho Haneyama!"

Kazuho Haneyama, also known as Pop Step or the Singing Fighter. In her six months through the Multiverse, Huanli had run into a number of versions of her. Bee Pop, Pop Step, Haneyama the Bard, the greatest idol… She was many things, but wherever she was a fighter, she was a skilled, mobile opponent. So, Huanli would fight accordingly.

"When fighting a mobile opponent, there are two choices: either outpacing them, forcing them to expand more energy than they can and downing them in a decisive strike once they are unable to keep running, or using one decisive counter to stop their movement." She thought back to her Master's lesson.

That called back the other instructions. "A good counter for this is taking out the lungs. Crush them in one strike, and your enemy will be dying even if they can take the blow. If it's live capture you seek, crush the bones of the leg."

Huanli grimaced. She didn't want to kill, much less to ruin Haneyama's career for good. She would aim for a different strategy.

"Begin!" The voice shouted, and Haneyama shot forward like a missile. If Huanli hadn't immediately activated the Human Fist, Renlei Quan, to heighten her senses, she would have been struck in the chest by the dual fists Haneyama pointed forward like a warhead. Instead, Huanli bent really low, her head and back bent until they were at knee eight, parallel to the ground, and kicked upward. She struck, but Haneyama seemed to see it coming, because she kicked the ground and jumped, taking herself out of range, only slightly touched by Huanli's counter.

"You hesitated." The older Master commented. She ignored him as she stepped forward. Her mind was set. She wouldn't go berserk, not this time. She rushed forward toward where Haneyama was landing, and attacked with a discharge of fists, the Chapoin Suchen that made four fists look like one, over and over. Haneyama managed to dodge or parry most of them, using the back of her hand and knees to push them off mark, but Huanli expected that, switching to Shou Quan. She slowed down, but extending her Monkey Tail of Qi, she managed to grapple one of Haneyama's leg. It was a tenuous grasp, not something that could hold her if she noticed, but all Huanli needed to do was to slightly unbalance her.

She turned around, using the Ma Ti, the Horse Kick, her leg coated in Qi as she kicked forward. As expected, Haneyama tried to dodge out of the way and use the opportunity to gain some distance, but Huanli's Monkey Tail got in the way. The woman stumbled for an instant, and that was enough. The kick's impact struck true, and she felt her bones bend and… twist?

Haneyama was sent flying back, and struck a wall, but she bounced off it, spinning and landing on her two feet with a grin.

"I see." Huanli realized, "You are using magic to make yourself and the ground soft and bouncing off it. Did you learn it from a guy called Tobita?"

"You known Danjiro?" Haneyama asked.

"No, but it was the obvious guess." She replied, "No one in this world has different powers from the ones I've seen more commonly, so I have to assume any change is an addition." Her opponent smiled and jumped forward, and now Huanli could see the ground bend under her feet as she moved forward like a rocket. She dodged to the side and kicked upward with the Horse Leg, and Haneyama, for lack of a better word, bent like a puppet, the kick striking but only finding an unusually soft body.

'She can use it on herself and on what she touches.' Huanli noticed, 'So it's like fighting Izumi when she uses Bent but Unbroken.' She paused, 'Ah, actually, maybe Bent but Unbroken is her world's version of this magic.'

Meanwhile, Haneyama had elegantly landed on the opposite side of the arena, and was preparing to come forward once again. Her attack pattern, Huanli noticed, was simply charging using her magic to propel herself. However, this also meant that she had removed one of her Quirk's weaknesses, the inability to stop her fall if it was caused by some other power.

Huanli frowned, as Haneyama landed on a few air platform and skipped to the ground, before starting to jump back and forth, gaining speed. Huanli knew it was coming. Once you knew she had the same abilities as Danjuro Tobita, the so called Gentle in some worlds, you knew that she would start gaining more and more speed to attack.

She frowned. Renlei Quan wouldn't work if blunt damage wasn't an option. Axiuluo Quan was better, but she didn't know if trying it so soon was a good idea. Egui Quan had already sent her berserk once, she wanted to avoid it.

Shou Quan then. She moved her Qi and created the Claws of the White Tiger, the invisible appendages extending from her hands. She growled, and then Pop Step charged forward.

Huanli spun low, moving out of the way of her fist like she had done twice before, but this time her opponent expected it. She created a platform of hair in front of her, bounced slightly upward, created a second platform and in the span of a second was coming down towards her. Huanli's eyes went wide as both of her opponent's feet impacted her stomach and made her cough up blood, her insides on fire. She still managed to swipe her claws, wounding Haneyama and forcing her back, allowing her to roll back on her feet, but it was clear who had gotten hit the worst.

'My bad, I underestimated her.' Huanli decided, coughing. She had forgotten this Pop Step was a talented fighter for a second, and that was the price she paid for it.

She sighed. She quickly swapped toward Egui Quan, the Hungry Ghosts Fist, feeling the pain disappear and her instincts take over, roaring as she charged at Pop Step. As usual, she went fully berserk in this state. Punches and kicks were thrown without a limiter of any kind. She watched Pop Step dodge her fist, but she brought up her knee, hitting her in the flank, the woman gasped, not expecting the blow and thus not having prepared her body, and Huanli seized the opportunity, shifting for the Axiuluo Quan. The Ashura Fist allowed her to regain control of herself, and she charged forward, slamming down her weapon. The invisible bo slammed into Pop Step's face, and the woman, who hadn't figured out in time what was coming, got hit once more, shouting.

Huanli didn't stop. The Ashura Fist represented discipline and valor, but also controlled fury and violence. She was methodic, brutal, and efficient.

Really, looking at Revenant and Zombie, she was sure they both had the natural predisposition for it over any other style, though she doubted either wanted to completely change fighting styles just to get those techniques.

As those thoughts went on in her mind, her body was moving to the maximum of its efficiency. The bo shifted into an invisible hammer, and she brought it down on her leg. The knee this time bent but didn't break, the result of a well-used magic, but she didn't stop. Midway through the second swing she reshaped her Qi and brought down her bo once again. On Pop Step's shoulder. The girl hadn't expected it, having prepared for a hit to the head or body, and as she tried to limp back Huanly followed with a thrust of her weapon, that impacted her stomach.

"Can you see it yet?" She asked, before twisting the Qi weapon and switching back to Shou Quan. The Qi coated her arms as she attacked forward, and instinctively Pop Step prepared to protect from the invisible weapon she thought was coming.

She shouted as Huanli's claws cut through her thigh, leaving her to limp back. Huanli stepped forward, knowing she now had the advantage. Pop Step's greatest advantage was her mobility, but the cuts would make it harder to use her power now. Still, she couldn't stop, and switched back to Egui Quan.

The frenzy for battle invaded her, and she attacked. Uppercut, kick, elbow, knee, headbutt, straight punch, right hook, roundhouse kick, elbow, knee, kick. Her muscles would be aching, but right now she couldn't feel it. Haneyama could feel it though. She could feel the crack of her bones as her arms couldn't hold back the onslaught of hits thrown at full strength. She couldn't turn her arms to become soft? No, it seemed more like she didn't want to.

Ah, of course. She probably couldn't control a body part that was soft as accurately, without the bones being solid. It wasn't a problem to block a single attack, or an attack aimed for her body, but turning her arms would probably risk being unable to put them in the way.

Or that was Huanli's theory. She didn't really have a reason to question it, in her frenzy. She heard faintly her first Master telling her to kill and murder, and her second Master telling her to keep control, but right now she would listen to neither.

She would just win.

And then she used the special technique only someone that used the Egui Quan was numb to pain enough to use.

She punched forward, and her arm started to pop.

Disarticulate one joint. Then another. Then another. Shoulder, arm, forearm, wrist. Each of those extended her reach, but a normal person would have been in tears for just one getting disarticulated. Huanli couldn't even feel it as her first reached Haneyama's face, cracking her nose, splitting her lip, and sending her flying back, before she forced it back into place and charged forward again. Haneyama answered with a block, but it was a desperate attempt.

Because midway through her attack, Huanli switched again, moving into the Ashura Fist. A pair of short batons formed in her hands, and she slammed one on her head and the other on her arms.

Qi weapons were strong, stronger than normal weapons, if the user was well trained. It was an arduous training to complete, but once it was done, they could break any defense.

Haneyama crumbled to the ground.

"We have a winner!"

Huanli took a deep breath, as she returned to normal, feeling her arm start to burn where her joints had, briefly, dislocated. She held back a cry of pain as she walked out of the Arena, in a different direction from where some people were taking Haneyama, unconscious.

The moment she was out of sight, she slumped against the wall. 'Stupid Egui Quan.' She said. That accursed Shape would really make her do things she would never do with a level head. It was dangerously intoxicating, to let each step be led not by reason but by instinct. But those that only followed instinct paid the price, her Master always said.

She was right, of course.

"You know what you can do, Huanli." Her other teacher said, from her shadow, "It's easy, and you could have won far sooner. Sparing yourself this pain."

She didn't give the shadow a reply. She wouldn't use the Hell Fist.

She wasn't that desperate to win.

-x-

Deku cheered for Huanli as she and Izumi entered the room, but Revenant studied her. "You dislocated all your joints." He said matter of factly.

Deku and Izumi paled, immediately stopping their cheering, "You what?!" They both shouted, staring at her. He could understand them. Even for someone with high pain tolerance, dislocating a joint was hardly fun. It was a burning pain that stayed there even after you put it back in place, and dislocating multiple just for a single punch? That was reckless at best.

"I got someone from the infirmary to take a look at it." Huanli casually replied, "They say that tomorrow it might be a bit swollen, but by Sunday I will be fully healed and in good shape."

"You know that's not what I mean. Why did you do that? You were winning even without pulling something like that."

"I'm allowed to be reckless sometimes." She replied evasively, "I don't have to take the optimal choice all the time."

Revenant's eyes narrowed. Yes, and that was the problem.

He had already realized that Huanli's ability caused her to change mood. She fought in a very controlled manner one moment and was almost a feral beast another. In this very fight, she had gone from fighting like a martial artist, to an animal that seemed blood frenzied, to a calm and controlled warrior, all in the span of a few minutes. Most people might not have noticed, but Revenant could tell she changed posture each time she attacked with a different technique.

Still, he had learned something else from this, something valuable. Huanli had experience at fighting that woman. She clearly knew how to react to her attack, even if she took some trial and error to iron out the details. Once she decided for her final strategy, she had defeated the woman almost instantly.

"You knew her?"

"I 'know' almost everyone in this Tournament." Huanli replied, "I spent six months in the Multiverse. It wasn't just to play games."

Revenant hummed. So that was it. She hadn't fought this specific version of that woman before, she had fought enough variation to expect a certain fighting style.

Which raised the question: was he far enough from what other Izukus in the Multiverse fought like, or was he going to find out Huanli was not only prepared, but also knowledgeable about his tricks? She hadn't shown that – not during their training – but she would have been dumb to do that.

'I will need to keep an eye on her.' He decided. Not that he hadn't intended to, he thought as the following match started, but there was a difference.

He couldn't hide the fact he considered Huanli one of the likeliest candidates for the finals, right now.

Of course, that could change. After all, there were still a few fighters to watch out for. One above all… well, the Zombie.

Or should he really be called the Monster?

-x-

Deku watched as Yo Shindo came out victorious, and then waited until Fuyumi entered the field. The woman with an armor covered in pipes was already surrounded by steam, and she seemed ready to fight at any moment, but her opponent was a difficult one.

Because it was Tomura Shigaraki. Or well, Tenko Shimura. This world's Tomura was of course different from the man Izuku knew. There was no All for One to turn him into an evil man that would commit all the crimes he acted on. Whatever his story was, this Tenko Shimura was a good fighter and not a murderer.

Which raised the question of how he would fight. Would he have perfect control over his Decay? Or did he have some other ability. Fuyumi took position, more steam rushing out of the pipes, and then the fight begun.

Tenko rushed forward, blocked a swing of Fuyumi's arm, and then kicked upward. The kick impacted Fuyumi's helmet, and the object started to decay, large chunks falling off and turning into dust. Izuku held his breath, but the man really was different from Shigaraki. Fuyumi looked bewildered and slightly annoyed, but she was unhurt, and showed that by keeping up the offensive.

A melee fighter, Izuku knew, would always be inherently at a disadvantage against Tomura, because all the man had to do was hit you once to disable your ability.

Or just kill you.

For a short time, he wondered what was her plan, considering she seemed to be just attacking, but then he spotted it, thanks to the camera having been zooming on Fuyumi's arm at that moment. A small faucet opening up.

And steam shot out of it, hitting Tenko in the face and making him close his eyes and cough for a second, enough for a metal punch to follow up, slugging him in the face.

That was when it downed on Izuku that this Tenko, for the very limitations of those matches, was really not as dangerous. Not being a murderer meant he only had a potentially lethal Quirk he couldn't use to its maximum potential-

And then Tenko opened his hand and a sandstorm shot out of it.

Oh right, he could always just learn magic. Duh.

Izuku watched Fuyumi get tossed back by the sudden burst of wind and sand, and Tenko rush in and attack with a series of attacks. So that was why he had broken her helmet first, Izuku realized. While Fuyumi had a good chance of beating him, so long as she didn't have protections on her face, Tenko had a number of aces up his sleeve, and more importantly had a clear target.

Fuyumi's kick shot up, the steam shooting out of it sending her leg up into an upward kick that Tenko blocked with the back of his hands, though the loud creaking meant that the bones had been snapped. Fuyumi kept up the pressure, attack after attack storming on Tenko's defenses. The man launched another spell, this one a rain of cold water aimed at Fuyumi's furnace, luckily to try and turn it off, but it didn't work , and the follow up struck true, impacting him in the abdomen with an elbow, followed by a knee to the jaw.

Tenko wasn't done yet.

He grabbed Fuyumi, keeping one finger up thankfully, by the arm, and then pulled her in to the trajectory of a devastating punch. Fuyumi reeled back in pain, and before she could recover it was Tenko's turn to move to the attack. Fuyumi took the first punch, and retaliated with a steam powered fist of her own, that clashed with her opponent's and sent them both to step back. Fuyumi was the first to recover, no doubt because her fist was armored, and Tenko was left unable to use one of his arms. He put up a valiant resistance, but without a limb, Tenko was taken down.

Deku sighed in relief. He had expected the worse, given the name of Shigaraki, but he should have remembered in this world he wasn't the same Shigaraki. He wasn't the heir to the Symbol of Evil. He wasn't a man that had caused untold suffering.

"Pretty tame compared to the Tenko I know." Izumi commented, "Though, I suppose in my world his powers are different enough, aren't they?"

Deku nodded. He needed to remember that. The Multiverse was vast. Vast enough that you could never know the attitude someone had.

It was something worth repeating a thousand times, if Izuku had to learn anything.

He wasn't All for Deku. He was All Might's Heir, a future Hero, the wielder of One for All.

He was going to save his friends, his family, everyone else. And he would because it was his choice.

-x-

Izmird watched Lord Arkin frown and try once again to pronounce the spell correctly, failing a bit. He was glad they did rehearsal before the real thing, because from what he could see Arkin had a terrible pronunciation. It needed a lot of help even for basic expressions. And what was worse, Izmird had to pretend that he wasn't fluent.

"I have refined the wording." He explained, "Going through the texts, it seems this should solve the issue that summoned Superior. Asking for 'knowledge of other worlds' seemed to be too vague, so it was swapped for 'travelled from other worlds', which should also exclude people like Paladin. That said, it will probably take more refinement."

Arkin nodded, repeating the spell again, before sighing, "I hope for you that you are right."

"With due respect my Lord, I believe there are only advantages in proceeding like this. We have already seen that those versions of myself that have travelled the Multiverse have done so consistently. While it will likely take some trial and error, I expect it won't be long before we find another user of the Quirk we need. Once that is achieved, we can easily-"

"I am aware of my plan, thank you." Arkin coldly replied, and Izmird closed his mouth. Internally, he fumed. This bastard of a human thought it had any right to so much as speak back to him? Izmird felt the need to end this farce then and there, but there were still some final touches for his plan to be perfect.

From what he had seen in the man named Hawks' memories, the reinforcement that would face Arkin was coming in two days. Three maybe, if they spent one scouting properly. Enough time to let Arkin try some experimental formulas, for his work on the child to be complete, and for his spells to be set.

Izmird was a greedy man, after all. Powerful warriors capable of travelling the Multiverse were coming his way.

It would be a waste to not collect them too. The seal this world used was very valuable. While it was a modification of a spell he knew, the spell made the bond of servitude a lot stronger, even if it came at the cost of much more free will afforded to the individual.

Izmird liked that. Giving his servants some liberty was a valuable thing, so long as they didn't bit the hand that fed them, something the Seal prevented. Excellent magic. He would make good use of it.

Arkin returned to the main room, Izmird in tow, and the dragon observed him march up to Kai, only a few people still present in the room. Tenro the traitor, and Anubis.

The man with the head of a jackal was actually a transforming creature. In his normal form, he went by the nickname of Hound, to separate him from Mutt. The Hound Dog and the Mutt. Izmird had noted the coincidence, wondering what had influenced the summon. The coincidence seemed a bit too much to be just that.

Arkin ended his incantation, and Izmird waited. A portal opened, and a teen stumbled through. Taller than Piper, more similar to the Deku he had met. In fact, maybe a bit older than him. Common traits all present, from the green hair, to the freckles, to the green eyes.

The teen didn't miss a second before rushing forward, trying to evade Arkin's grip, but it was useless. Aside from the fact the Seal had already been placed on his hand, a rusted clockwork design appearing on the hand, there was also Anubis. The Magic user extended his arm and tendrils made of silk shot out, bandages that enveloped the Izuku's leg.

"Can you use One for All?" Arkin asked.

"I… Yes." The teen looked shocked at Arkin, and Izmird wondered what it was thinking. 'Why am I not punching him?' must have been near the top of the list, he noted with amusement. At least, that had been Piper's first thought

Still, the yes was good.

"Can you use Teleport?" Arkin asked, clearly thinking the same.

"I never heard of that Quirk inside One for All…"

"Useless!"

"Not necessarily, my Lord." Izmird pointed out, "We are on the right track. We should keep using this incantation."

Arkin nodded, "Yes Izmird, I concur. As for you…" It looked at the seal, "You are Clockwork now. Posted in the city in case of necessity. Is that clear?"

"Yes." The Izuku – Clockwork, Izmird supposed – was forced to reply. It would have questions, the dragon could tell. All of them had.

But with this, things were proceeding smoothly.

(XX)

First of all, big thanks to All_five_pieces_of_Exodia for allowing me to use Izuku from A Spanner in the Clockworks, aka our dear Clockwork Arkin has now added to his growing green bean collection. He didn't get to do much quite yet, but I'm sure he has something to bring to the table
As for the other guests, we really only have Revenant from Locked in Digital in this chapter, given that it's a rather short one, though eventful given its five matches within.

Good job, chapter.
The clock is ticking, the final battle approaches. As we reach Chapter 70, I can feel it looming closer and closer, even if it might not sound like it.

But before that, let's look at this chapter. Huanli's combat is always fun. She is a very eclectic fighter, after all, that switches between controlled and feral in literal instants. A very good counter to some people, but a very bad match-up to others. Revenant, of course, can spot Huanli's real skill, the fact she knows what to do against people she already fought.

At the same time, here we have Fuyumi, who got... a very simple match really. I wanted to illustrate the fact that Tenko Shimura, per se, is not that scary if he can't and won't murder. Not without danger, but if he has control he is a perfectly normal person, and this version of the character is just that. Aside from that, I wanted to give the Fuyumi side a bit of a twist by having her win easily compared to most matchups in this Tournament.

Finally, Izmird. That confrontation looms closer, and it seems our dear dragon is more than ready to put his own twist on this story.