Chapter Six: A test

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Wizardwolf: See, this guy gets it. All for One is not nearly as much of a threat on his own as Palpatine. He literally controlled both sides of a conflict that nearly the entire galaxy was involved in while keeping his dual identity a secret from anyone, and making sure anyone who did find out didn't live to spread the word. All for One only really ruled in the early days of One for All, and we don't know enough about that era to say how well he fared.

When All Might himself stepped into the room, Izuku seemed to be the only one who was excited. Izuku did find it pretty unlikely that most citizens of the Republic would be able to recognize any hero, but if there was one they would know of, it would most certainly be All Might. He was the Symbol of Peace, the pillar of society that kept the morale of everyone on Earth high.

A man who could do that would be forever remembered, if not across the Galaxy, then certainly on his homeworld. Regardless, Izuku was doing his best not to fangirl in front of his new friends, though the urge was hard to resist. It was good training for resisting emotions the Jedi typically shunned.

"Greetings, little ones!" called the voice of the towering man. His smile shone like a star in the reflection of the sun's light hitting him from the pool of water they stood near.

The room they were in was a garden of sorts, and a massive one at that. It closely resembled a large forest on Earth, though the trees grew taller than almost any on Izuku's planet. As the sound of rushing water filled everyone's ears, no one spoke. "Judging by your reaction, I'd say you all are unaware of who I am?"

Izuku raised his hand calmly, controlling his emotions well by his own standards. All Might's smile widened. "Yes, young Midoriya?" Izuku was shocked to see that All Might knew his name. The Symbol of Peace knew who he was. Then again, his name had likely been in the news once his mom had to inform the school of where he had went off to, and no doubt it was a big story considering how few Earthlings had become Jedi.

"You're All Might, a pro hero on Earth. The greatest pro hero that has ever existed by every metric imaginable. You've saved the most people, defeated the most villains, and stopped the most disasters, leaving your permanent mark on society on Earth as a whole. You're impact cannot be understated," Izuku stated, his nerdiness coming out in a very clear way for once since he had arrived to Coruscant a couple of weeks ago.

The gaze of his fellow classmates seemed to gain a certain amount of awe. They had all heard of the superpowered heroes, so to learn they were in the presence of the strongest of them all was likely an amazing prospect, but no one saw it as a better opportunity than Izuku himself.

All Might was the reason he was here to begin with. He was what Izuku was aiming to be greater than one day, as unlikely as that would be. He wanted to be a great hero, even if he was taking a rather untraditional route to doing so. He was taking the path even fewer of his people could take, protecting not just the people of Earth, but the entire galaxy.

"I wouldn't word it that strongly, but yes, you are correct!" All Might confirmed, sounding proud of the answer.

Ahsoka was the first to speak about the man. "What's it like having a superpower?" she asked, an innocent smile on her face.

All Might pat her on the head, his hand landing in between her two montrals. "It's quite the experience. Granted, it's been a long time since I've lacked a Quirk. Yet as I'm sure you've been taught, power isn't the most important thing. It's what you do with what you're given that really matters!" he exclaimed, giving them a thumbs up.

The Jedi who had been giving them a lesson, walked up to All Might, who was almost the same size as the massive Knight. "Greetings, I am Jaro Tapal," he introduced, the Lasat raising a hand to be shaken. "I have heard of you, of the hope you inspire in the people of your planet. It is truly commendable!" he complimented, a rare thing for the usually stoic man.

"I try my best, but my reason being here is not about me!" All Might revealed, his expression shifting to a more serious one. "But if I am to tell you the nature of my visit, you must all promise that word of what I say does not spread." His eyes met each and everyone one of them, with only Alzarad seeming nervous in the slightest.

All Might nodded. "I'll take your silence as an agreement." All Might looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping, perhaps out of habit as the entrance to the garden was locked to keep out any unwanted visitors during their lesson. "The reason I'm here is actually about the Quirk you've all heard of now," he said, his muscles tensed under the stress of whatever he was about to say.

"What kind of big secret could you possibly have?" Vesuvus questioned cockily, not seeming to be impressed.

All Might let out a soft laugh, sounding almost impressed by how little Vesuvus seemed to care. "Quirks are passed through an Earthling's children in a typical situation, but my Quirk is one of the only exceptions. You see, my power was passed onto me by my teacher, who entrusted me with the responsibility of becoming the one to defeat an old foe."

Izuku was more affected by this than anyone else present. If Quirks could be passed on to anyone at any time, would that mean he could somehow get a Quirk? Not that it was a priority, but it would make accomplishing his dream easier to an enormous degree, especially if it were All Might's Quirk.

"My power grows stronger every time it is passed on, meaning whoever I pass it onto will be naturally stronger than I ever was," All Might stated.

Alzarad didn't seem all that interested. "Physical strength isn't important," he commented. "It's strength in the Force that really matters."

Jaro Tapal smirked. "Can't you all sense it? The presence emanating from him?" he asked, prompting Izuku to close his eyes and simply feel the Force.

It was as if his senses were overwhelmed. There was such a strong presence in All Might that it seemed almost unbelievable. It didn't even feel like one individual, in fact, he could detect multiple life forces within him. It was an... odd experience, to be sure.

Seeing the shocked expressions on their face, All Might laughed. "You all are a lot more open with your feelings than Master Ti!" he remarked. "I suppose the difference in experience is largely to blame."

With a grin, All Might pulled a piece of paper and a pencil for each of them from... somewhere. Izuku wasn't quite sure where they had came from. "So, here's a test of sorts."

Marra shook her head. "I'm afraid I'm not all that interested, sorry," she denied, instead walking away and returning to a meditative state.

Alzarad followed suit, leaving only Izuku, Ahsoka, and Vesuvus to take the test required for consideration. "I can't say I'm all that surprised," he admitted, his gaze carefully avoiding the two who had left.

"Before you begin, it is a good thing to know that this would be a big responsibility," Jaro Tapal reasoned. "Do not take this opportunity lightly, it could prove both a blessing and a curse."

All Might nodded. "Yes, when I first received my Quirk I didn't fully grasp the gravity of what I had taken on. I would warn against making the same mistake I did," All Might advised. Still, the decision of the three remained strong.

"Alright, get comfy because this might take a while!" All Might said, sounding as if he too were not particularly looking forward to this. Jaro Tapal began to teach Alzarad and Marra simultaneously, far enough away that they couldn't hear what was being taught.

Instinctively, Izuku put his name in the top left corner of the sheet.

"Wait," Izuku realized, "What are we even testing for in the first place?" he asked. All Might flashed him his signature grin.

"I would've thought that would be obvious, young Midoriya. I'm testing you all to see who is truly worthy of my Quirk!"

Quite frankly, All for One didn't trust Sidious one bit. Even as they sat in a lounge built into the factory whenever All for One took it over, he couldn't shake off the feeling that he was being used. But he had heard of what the Sith Lords had done to the Republic the last time they were in a war against them, which put more terror in his heart than anything else ever had.

He felt no other option was available to him other than to go along with what Sidious wanted, which he had yet to learn the finer details of. Sure, he knew that he wanted to wage war on the Republic and form a new regime from the ruins of it, but he had no clue as to how they were meant to accomplish that goal.

All for One didn't see that changing soon either, because Sidious had left not too long after he had arrived, leaving the man who came with him, Dooku, or Darth Tyranus, depending on what he wished to be called, to discuss what the partnership would entail. "Of course, you'll be expected to help confront the heroes you are so familiar with," Dooku began bluntly, not showing the usual formalities you would expect from a royal figure.

"That's to be expected," All for One agreed, his face devoid of any emotion. He always had a good poker face. Dooku could no doubt sense his emotions, though All for One did his best to block them out. "But I've yet to hear of what I'm supposed to be getting out of this arrangement," All for One mentioned.

Dooku grinned, which looked slightly unnatural on his hawkish face. "Yes, I believe you will be quite enticed by your side of the deal," Dooku said. "My master is a powerful foe, and I fear that he will be rid of you when you have outlived your usefulness," he explained, confirming a sneaking suspicion All for One had. "He is not the type to be loyal to his underlings, even his apprentice," he said, sounding as if he were not the first to learn under Sidious.

"What do you stand to gain by telling me this?" All for One asked, perplexed as to why Dooku would betray Sidious' trust.

"Well, I myself cannot defeat Sidious if he were to stab me in the back," Dooku said, waving his hand to pull a strange red triangle out from under his cloak. "Contained inside of this Holocron is the basic lessons on using the Dark Side, I believe that if we were to one day work together against him, we could overthrow his reign," Dooku stated, showing faith in a complete stranger, which impressed All for One greatly.

"Kurogiri," All for One began, summoning the man to him immediately. "Fetch Tomura, we have much to do."

Toshinori was expecting the three who had participated in the test to do well, but, perhaps due to the simple nature of the questions asked, he was no closer to narrowing down who to choose to possess One for All. However, he was starting to see what made each of them tick.

Vesuvus, in spite of what his Jedi training would suggest, was a brash boy. He was arrogant in a subtle manner. It wasn't obvious, but considering how he talked as if he were going to be the best candidate Toshinori would ever find, being humble wasn't exactly his strong suit.

Ahsoka was roughly the middle ground between Vesuvus and Izuku, which was a little odd. She wasn't necessarily arrogant, though she was a little smug, though at her core she was kind and caring. She wouldn't make a bad candidate for his Quirk.

Izuku was everything Toshinori hoped for. He had grown up idolizing heroes, and that showed through the way he answered the questions. He was selfless, that much was clear. He was a kind boy with a heart of gold, willing to do whatever it took to get the job done.

Still, Toshinori didn't wish to hand off his Quirk to someone who couldn't adapt. He wasn't all that interested in passing One for All on to Vesuvus, but the other two made suitable wielders for it. So, he motioned for those two in particular to come to him while the other three continued to train.

"Alright, you too did far better than Vesuvus on your tests," Toshinori stated bluntly, causing great joy to obviously form on Izuku's face. Ahsoka too was happy, although she showed it in a far more subtle manner.

In her state of lessened excitement, Ahsoka brought up a good question. "Wait, how are you gonna pick between us?" she asked, an eyebrow raised. Toshinori grinned.

"That's some good thinking on your point!" Toshinori complimented. "I haven't really thought that far ahead, truth be told."

Ahsoka glanced at Izuku. "I want you to give it to him."

"Ahsoka-!"

"No," Ahsoka interrupted, staring Izuku right in his eyes. "This is your dream, standing right in front of you. You said you always wanted to be a hero, right? Sure, you're still a Jedi, but Jedi are really just like heroes in the long run!"

Tears swelled up in the young boy's eyes. "But just think of what you could do with All Might's Quirk!"

Ahsoka shrugged. "I don't really care about that kind of power. Besides, who knows what would happen if I did even get it, my body might collapse in on itself!"

Izuku gulped loudly, sweat beading on his forehead as he wiped away his forming tears. He looked at Toshinori. "Can that actually happen?"

"Truth be told, maybe," Toshinori admitted sheepishly. "If your body isn't prepared for it, One for All can be devastating to the human body. However, I would make sure your body would be fully prepared for my power."

"See, you're meant for this!" Ahsoka laughed, punching Izuku on his arm. "So quit being such an idiot and say yes!"

"Wait," Izuku said, turning to face All Might. "Does that mean you're offering One for All to me?"

Toshinori laughed, the noise echoing throughout the vast jungle. "I would've thought that was obvious." Toshinori held out a hand. "Do not take this lightly, young Midoriya!" he exclaimed, drawing the attention of all in the room, including Jaro Tapal. An orb of brilliantly shining, multi colored light appeared in the empty space in his palm. "I offer to you One for All, the power of eight generations combined in one!"

Izuku stared at Toshinori, almost unable to speak. His eyes were as wide as dinner plates and his jaw dropped. Ahsoka nudged him gently, and he remembered he had yet to give an answer.

"Yes!"