After finishing his unexpected meeting with Shigaraki, Izuku immediately returned to where he had left Ochako earlier. There, he could see Ochako who was still waiting for him. Seeing this, Izuku immediately ran over to her.
" Sorry about that, did I make you wait too long? "
Ochako just smiled when she saw Izuku, then shook her head and answered.
" not really "
" I see, thank goodness, then if you don't mind, should we get going now? "
" Sure "
Izuku held out his hand to Ochako. At first, Ochako was a little hesitant but immediately accepted it with a smile.
That day Izuku spent time with Ochako walking around the mall and visiting several shops. They were seen exchanging conversations along the way and laughing at each other's jokes. From the outside, they look like a couple who are dating, even though they haven't reached that stage yet.
They also occasionally ran into Ochako's classmates while walking around. Seeing Ochako with Izuku, her female friends would immediately tease her, asking where their relationship had reached. This of course made Ochako's face turn red and she frantically denied their question, while Izuku just laughed watching from the side.
They continued walking around until the afternoon and after parting ways, Izuku contacted Tsukauchi, telling him about his unexpected meeting with Shigaraki. Of course, he gets scolded for not saying it sooner, but Izuku gets away with saying that he put an observer on Shigaraki. Izuku was also asked to come to Tsukauchi's office to discuss the details of Izuku and Shigaraki's previous conversation.
Right after he met with the man whose identity he didn't know beforehand, Shigaraki left the mall and walked into a dark alley. The feeling of death that haunted him only disappeared after he left that place.
Thanks to that, the annoyance he previously felt turned into hatred. In his heart, he swore he would destroy that person no matter what and that added one more goal to his list.
With renewed determination and hatred he returned to the bar after rethinking his thoughts about the people Giran had brought with him earlier. And that was without realizing the figure dwelling in his shadow.
As soon as he arrived, the people Giran had brought were no longer there, leaving only Kurogiri waiting for him.
" You're back Shigaraki "
" Kurogiri, contact Giran and tell him to gather those people. "
" It seems you have made your decision "
" Yes, there is someone I have to destroy no matter what. "
" more than All Might? "
A man's voice came from the monitor screen which only said Sound Only. The two people's attention was immediately attracted to the monitor.
" It doesn't matter if you have someone you hate, but don't forget your goal. "
" Don't worry teacher, I won't forget, I'm just adding to the list of people I have to kill. "
" I see, I'm a little curious about who this person you hate is. "
" I don't know who he is, he just says nonsense like he's going to hunt me down and so on. "
" hunting huh, it seems you have attracted the attention of the other party, Shigaraki Tomura "
" What do you mean? "
" let's just say the other party has started to move "
" Teacher, there is something I want to ask. "
" What's that? "
" Nomu at that time, what are they? they seem different than the Nomu I use in USJ "
" Ah, those Nomu, that's just something new that doctor and I are working on to following recent developments, what do you think? "
" What to say if they are easily killed by all of those heroes? "
" Well, it can't be helped since they are still in the development stage, but I guarantee the next one will be more interesting, just stay tuned. "
Even without meeting face to face, Shigaraki knew that his teacher was smiling. Even though he doesn't know what he is thinking, Shigaraki is sure that whatever his teacher does is all to fulfill their goal, which is to create a world without All Might.
Once they ended their conversation, Kurogiri then turned off the monitor, unaware of the other people who were also listening in on the conversation.
Izuku suddenly broke the glass in his hand which shocked Tsukauchi who was sitting next to him. Seeing the steaming hot tea in his hand, Tsukauchi immediately took cold water and poured it on Izuku's hand, he also immediately asked what was wrong with him.
" What's wrong with you suddenly breaking the glass? "
" Ah! Sorry about that, it's just that I heard quite a disturbing conversation. "
" conversation? "
" Yeah, that... "
Izuku then tells what he heard through the shadow he placed on Shigaraki. After hearing the story, Tsukauchi also had the same response, although the reason he was surprised was different from Izuku.
" Wait, how do you know all this? "
" Ah... that's thanks to the supervisor I placed on Shigaraki. "
" Just what kind of supervisor did you put on him? "
" the most trusted supervisor "
" Fine, if you don't want to say, continuing our conversation earlier, you said where they were? "
" I don't know the exact location but I think it's in the Kamino Yokohama area, I might be able to take you there if you want. "
" No, we have received quite a lot of help from you, we will handle the rest ourselves. "
" I see, well since we already know they will make their move soon, we might be able to prepare for it. "
" you are right "
They continued their conversation. But at that time they did not realize the danger that appeared while they were talking.
In Shanghai, China, people are carrying out their activities as usual. But all that soon changed as the Shanghai sky turned dark and not long after, a giant black gate appeared in the sky.
The news of the appearance of this giant gate of course shocked the whole world, especially in surrounding countries such as Japan, Korea, and Russia. Looking at the size of the gate, it is certain that the monster that comes out is a high-class monster, which probably has the strength of the Kamish dragon that appeared in the first S-rank gate that appeared in America.
Several surrounding countries tried to offer help, including Japan, but all were rejected because they had a national-level Hunter, Liu Zhigang.
And as a result of their refusal, a major incident finally occurred. The raid carried out by 100 Hunter ranks B to S, which was also participated in by Liu Zhigang himself, failed, resulting in a dungeon break. Many Hunters and civilians were injured and killed in this tragedy, even Hunter Liu Zhigang was seriously injured.
As a result, China experienced greater destruction than they could have imagined. They didn't have time to recover since parts of China were already occupied by the giants that came out of the gate. All they could do was evacuate the residents while holding back the giants' advance with the remaining strength they had.
Izuku, who was sitting in his office, watched the presenter read about the damage and the current state of China with dark eyes. Day after day he had listened to news of destruction that continued to be broadcast on international news.
This of course made him uncomfortable, every day he heard the news of the death of many innocent people because of the selfishness of the higher-ups. Feeling he had heard enough, Izuku immediately turned off the TV but before he got up a voice was heard from behind.
" You still watch that "
" Didn't I tell you to knock first before coming in? "
" I did, but you didn't listen "
" Really? "
The person who came to Izuku's office was Touya. He took the remote from Izuku's hand and once again turned on the TV which was still broadcasting news about China. Touya, who was also listening to the news, could only sigh heavily.
" Well, no wonder you're still watching these things, considering how you like meddling in other people's business. "
" I'm not that bad "
" Right, and that's the words of the person who interferes in other people's family affairs. "
" That's because it's a special case. "
" Whatever, then are you going to do something about it? "
" I'm not sure either "
" Really? I thought you would immediately fly there to save them. "
" At first I thought so, but as you know I can't move without the guild master's orders. "
" I didn't think you would say that "
" Indeed, but thanks to the guild master I have no choice but to follow his words. "
" I see, it's true that only Ichirou-san can stop you. "
"And because of that, I also asked him to allow my team to visit abroad in exchange for my silence. "
Hearing that, Touya immediately narrowed his eyes in surprise at the request that Izuku made in exchange for him remaining silent. But it didn't take long for him to realize the meaning of his request.
" Visit abroad at a time like this?
wait, so that's what you mean "
Izuku just smiled when Touya realized his intentions. Seeing Izuku's meaningful smile, Touya immediately felt tired and could only sigh thinking about his friend's crazy actions.
" I guess things will get troublesome after this "
As Izuku said, the day after he and his team received permission to work abroad which was also accompanied by a request for help from China to the Japanese Dawn Guild. The request is of course to hire Dawn's high-ranking Hunters with compensation for mana stones from the giant dungeon.
The Japanese Hunter Association was initially a little difficult in the process of accepting the request because they refused it the first time. However, thanks to the willingness of the guild master and his vice, the process could be accelerated and the assigned team could immediately depart on the same day the request was approved.
That day, a total of 3 S-rank and 20 A-rank hunters from the Dawn guild would participate in the raid in China. Thanks to advance notification, their preparations were quickly completed and they were able to depart immediately.
The Japanese Hunters who arrived at that time did not immediately land in Shanghai since Shanghai was already controlled by giants who came out of the gate and landed at Zhoushan airport before continuing their journey by military car to Shanghai. Thanks to the situation having become quite urgent they didn't have the luxury of unpacking or calming down due to jetlag since there was a big fight waiting for them just around the corner. One by one the Hunters got into the car and when everyone was on board, they were immediately taken to the location where the battle would take place.
During their journey from the airport, devastation could be seen all around them. The gloomy atmosphere where many buildings were destroyed combined with the dark sky and the aura of death swirling in the air, made it hard to believe that this place was a big city. A similar atmosphere was felt among the Hunters who couldn't hide their tension.
Even though most of the participating Hunters had also raided the S-rank gate on Nabu Island before, the scale was still different from the scale of the gate that appeared this time. Moreover, their opponents are not insects but giants who are as tall as a multi-story building.
Not only the guild members, Izuku as the vice guild master also felt it. Even though he was the strongest among them, Izuku still felt uncomfortable with the destruction that reminded him of the sight of the Demon Castle that he had finished a long time ago.
Their journey took 2 hours until they finally arrived at the front line post of the Chinese defense. The Hunters who arrived were immediately greeted by the higher-ups who were also on duty there. Among the higher-ups, there were also several S-rank Hunters who were also tasked with guarding the front lines, and that included Liu Zhigang whose body was still wrapped in bandages.
Ichirou as the representative immediately came forward to greet them accompanied by Izuku his vice guild master. After a formal exchange of greetings, Ichirou and Izuku were taken to the meeting tent to discuss the current situation while the rest were asked to stand by.
In the meeting room, the Chinese then explained the current situation including the movement of the monsters, the number of casualties and damage, as well as the remaining Hunter power, and discussed the strategy they will use to deal with the giants. While they were listening to the explanation, Izuku could feel a sharp gaze coming from his side where Liu Zhigang was standing.
Despite how bothered he was by the stare Izuku decided to ignore it which displeased Liu Zhigang. And as soon as the discussion was finished, Liu Zhigang immediately approached Izuku.
" Oy, are you the vice guild master, the One Man Army Izuku? "
Thanks to the translation device made by the Youyorozu company, Izuku was able to understand Liu Zhigang's every word, despite his rather rude tone.
" that's right "
" I see, then I want to propose sparring with you. "
Hearing Liu Zhigang's statement and suddenly remembering their situation made Izuku raise his eyebrows in confusion. He once again traced the expression on Liu Zhigang's face which only had a firm, determined look.
" Don't you realize what kind of situation we are experiencing right now? "
" Of course I'm aware, it's just that hearing the rumors circulating about you makes me a little curious. "
Izuku was still looking at Liu Zhigang with a confused look, he also thought that the person in front of him was the type who liked fighting and it seemed that was true.
Not immediately getting an answer, Liu Zhigang immediately brandished his sword and challenged him to fight once again.
" I challenge you to fight vice guild master Izuku "
" I refuse "
Contrary to his expectations, what came back was a firm rejection from Izuku. And when he was about to ask the reason, Izuku had already left him to go to his guild members.
As soon as all the hunters gathered, they immediately moved onto the battlefield. When they arrived there a scene of destruction once again filled their eyes, but this time the enemy they were supposed to be fighting was also visible there.
' what a terrible sight '
Izuku muttered to himself as he looked at the enemy in front of him. Unlike the other members of his guild, Izuku decided to move alone since his abilities were equivalent to the strength of one guild.
" Well, whatever it is, in the end, they will only become my prey. "
While saying that Izuku's eyes were already emitting purple light which was also accompanied by a large surge of mana spreading from his shadow.
" Arise!... "
As the order was spoken the shadow troops who had been waiting for their master's call immediately rose to fill the rows behind Izuku with a view filled with black soldiers.
" Well, shall we start the hunt
my shadow, Attack!... "
.
