Not all men are created equal...
It makes sense, considering a world where 80% of humanity has superpowers is the general norm. In this world, Superheroes and Supervillains, once something only seen in comics, were now as real as can be, with epic battles of good and evil commencing on the streets almost every day.
In a world like this, many people aspire to be Heroes with their Quirks. However, there are those who have Quirks that just aren't suited for the task and those who don't even have Quirks at all.
Izuku Midoriya fell into the latter category.
It had been a terrible day for the poor boy, to learn he was part of the unlucky 20%. His mother Inko, bless her heart, did her best to support him, especially with the recent death of his father, Hisashi. However, in a world of superpowers, those without were often mocked and ridiculed by those that did.
The poor young lad was sitting by himself at lunch that day. While his mom had packed him a bento with his favorite food, Katsudon, he had decided to get something from the cafeteria, finding a rather pretty-looking fruit that was all the colors of the rainbow and had spirals on it.
Lunch was a quiet affair but when Izuku bit into the fruit, he gagged. It tasted rancid, like cardboard covered in raw sewage. Quickly drowning out the taste with milk, Izuku went through the rest of the day as normal, trying his best to ignore the teasing words from his peers and be picked up by his mom.
Little Izuku had no idea how much his life was going to change...
When he went to sleep that night, Izuku started having weird visions. In them, he saw men and women harnessing powers that could rival even the strongest Quirks such as manipulating the elements, turning into fantastic beasts, and even shattering the air with their fists.
After waking up, Izuku hurried over to his computer to look up the people he saw in his dreams. However, no matter where he searched, it all came up empty. Despite not finding anything explaining his weird dreams, Izuku couldn't help but feel excited for some reason.
Little did he realize just how meaningful those dreams were...
"Stop it, Kaachan! You're being mean!"
Izuku was bravely standing in the defense of another boy as he faced his former childhood friend turned bully, Katsuki Bakugou.
"Oy, the Quirkless Wonder thinks he can be a Hero?" Katsuki scoffed, backed up by two other boys, one who could extend his fingers and one with red bat-like wings.
"I won't let you hurt him, Kaachan! Bullying people is not what Heroes do! You're acting like a Villain!" Izuku snapped back.
Unfortunately, those words only led to infuriate Katsuki, who lunged forward with his palms sparking with small explosions.
"DIE, DEKU!"
Izuku closed his eyes and crossed his arms, expecting pain to hit him only for nothing to happen. Slowly peeking one eye open, he saw something that amazed him.
A tall rectangular clear barrier had manifested, seemingly out of nowhere, and absorbed Katsuki's explosion and redirected the shockwave back at the blonde, launching him back and knocking him unconscious.
"Whoa, that's so cool!" The boy he was protecting said in amazement.
"Did I just get my Quirk?" Izuku thought, continuing to stare in wonder at what he had created.
Elsewhere, an old man was out grocery shopping when he felt something in the air and smirked, his interest having piqued as he had not sensed something like in years...
Inko was nervously waiting for the doctors to finish checking up on Izuku. She and her best friend Mitsuki, Katsuki's mother, had been talking at the park when they heard a cry for help. They saw Izuku defending another boy and Katsuki unconscious on the ground, as well as some kind of barrier wall in front of Izuku.
When questioned, Katsuki's cronies tried pinning the whole thing on Izuku but just one critical look from Mitsuki and they caved in, confessing to everything. Inko tried to apologize for what happened but Mitsuki laughed it off, assuring her friend there was no harm done, and dragged Katsuki off to give him a suitable punishment.
After two whole hours, the doctor soon came out and Inko quickly stood up.
"How is he, Doctor? Did you find out what his Quirk was?"
"Here's the thing, Mrs. Midoriya...I don't think this IS a Quirk." The doctor said honestly.
Inko was confused as the doctor let her into the room Izuku was in. The boy quickly hugged his mother as she turned to the doctor.
"Doctor, what do you mean? I thought he had some kind of Barrier Quirk."
"Believe me, so did we. But from the tests we took, your son has no Quirk Factor...but something else entirely. Something...bizarre."
"I don't understand, how bizarre are we talking about?" Inko asked, worriedly hugging Izuku closer.
"It means the brat has the Spirit of the Devil inside him!"
Inko and the doctor turned and their jaws dropped at who they saw. He was an old man yet a tall and muscular body with tanned skin. He had round glasses, a scar over his right eye, and facial hair arranged embattled across his lower jaw.
This was Silvers 'The Dark King' Rayleigh, the former #2 Pro Hero of Japan and the former sidekick to the former #1 Pro Hero, Gol D. Roger.
"Mr. Rayleigh! I-It's an honor to see you visit us!" The doctor humbly said, bowing. "W-What brings you here?"
"That boy doesn't have a Quirk, yes? But something different?" Rayleigh questioned rhetorically as he squatted down to Izuku's eye level. "Tell me, sonny; Did you happen to eat a strange fruit?"
Izuku nodded. "Yeah! It tasted gross but it looked really pretty, though."
Rayleigh chuckled and ruffled the boy's head. "That there was the Fruit of the Devil, a fruit said to hold all the powers of a whole other world."
"A whole other world?" Inko questioned as Rayleigh stood up to address her.
"To make a long story short, your son has all the powers of every warrior who ever used a Devil Fruit in that world. Also, if I'm correct, he has a basic understanding of how each and every power works."
Izuku closed his eyes and realized Rayleigh was right; He could recall an encyclopedia's worth of powers in his brain and how to use every single one.
"But how did you know about what happened to the boy?" The doctor asked curiously.
Rayleigh smirked. "You see, my Quirk is [Potential Sense], I can sense the potential of any individual and how to bring it out. I sensed Little Izuku's potential exploding outward and went to investigate. I theorized the reason was that he had found the Fruit of the Devil and when I overheard you talking, my hunch was proven."
"That would explain the results we got from the tests." The doctor realized as he took out a tablet and showed it to Inko, whose eyes widened at what she saw.
The results showed simulations of what Izuku was capable of ranging from manipulating poison to transforming into a giant gold Buddha to creating a dome of spatial energy that allowed him to manipulate anything within it like performing surgery.
Rayleigh smirked as he also saw the simulations and put a hand on Izuku's shoulder.
"My boy, how would you like to become my apprentice? Something tells me you'll need someone to show you the ropes on these things."
Izuku's eyes sparkled with excitement. He could get the chance to train with an actual Pro Hero. Turning to his mom, Izuku's eyes were just begging her to let him accept Rayleigh's offer.
Inko was rather unsure of all this but saw the sincerity in Rayleigh's eyes and just how happy her little boy was. Finally, she relented and nodded her head.
"An excellent decision, Mrs. Midoriya." Rayleigh sighed as he turned to Izuku. "Now kiddo, I'm not gonna gloss anything over; this training I'm gonna put you through will be Hell on Earth. Are you willing to push through to reach your dreams?"
Rayleigh saw the determination flash in Izuku's eyes and the furrow of his brow and knew right then and there that this kid definitely had what it took.
"Yes, I will, Rayleigh-Sensei! I'll never stop reaching for my dreams!"
And on that day, for better or for worse, the world would change...
This is just a little taste of what's to come.
I realized the reason my previous Devil Fruit Hero stories failed was because I put too many characters in Class 1-A (in hindsight, forty is a whole lot) so I'm gonna limit myself to four additional characters, one of whom will inherit One For All in Izuku's stead. The extras I'm including will be a surprise that will show up in the next chapter.
I really pray to God and the great and honorable Kohei Horikoshi that this version sticks. Otherwise, I'll eat out my left kidney and die.