Katara Gymnasium

Being behind the reception counter, Ai saw a blue haired man enter inside her gym.

"Hello, Brain! I see you've become a regular here."

Remaining silent, the man only handed his sword to Ai, since her brother still refused to let him keep his weapon inside his gym. Then, he looked around, in order to find Zoro.

"Roronoa hasn't arrived yet." Ai told him, knowing what he was looking for.

Hearing this, Brain grumbled somewhat before heading towards some training machines. However, passing by the training arena, he saw Tairo training fiercely.

Seeming more motivated than usual, Ai's brother fought against several enemies at the same time and managed to defeat them without much difficulty.

"He seems to be more powerful than usual."

"That's normal." Ai stated, approaching Brain. "Now that we know the All-Star tournament is starting earlier than expected, he wants to practice more to make sure he's ready."

"All Star tournament?" Brain repeated. "I haven't stopped hearing about it since this morning! Will the guys who will participate in this tournament be as strong as that?"

"Of course!" Ai assured. "There's a good chance that all of the Fantastic Four will be participating."

" Fantastic Four ? "

"You don't know them? They are the most powerful fighters in this world! Representing Europe, there is first Natanael, the Icelandic ashura! For America, it is Fernando, the Argentinian specter! Zniper is the representative of Africa! And of course, All-Might is the most powerful fighter in Asia! These are the most powerful people on each continent."

"Are they all heroes?"

"No! All Might and Natanael are the only heroes! Fernando is a former commander of the revolutionary army of Argentina, who fought against the dictatorship established in his country! As for Zniper, he is a Moroccan prince whose lineage has reigned in Morocco for centuries."

"And against these four people, do you think your brother will be able to win?"

"Of course! After all, we have to win! No matter who our opponents are during this tournament, my brother will make sure that our team can win! Because we made a promise to our late father! We promised him that our gym will have an international reputation! And for that, we will defeat the Fantastic Four."

"Huh... hopefully none of those guys will be in this tournament."

"Even if that's the case, there are many other fighters who are used to participating in this tournament! Gregoire, the French white rose... he's Natanael's main opponent, for the title of best European fighter! As for All Might, he's often faced Salam, the Indian Buddha, who is the best fighter in all of South Asia! And there's also Manchou, the Chinese wall! It seems that he's the man with the best defense in the entire Asian continent! And there are still others... Don Johnny, the Texas minotaur ... Moha Medal, the Mexican boxer... Ela Rosa, the Bolivia strangler...! Even if All Might decides not to participate in this tournament, many other internationally renowned fighters will be there."

"Tssss! It doesn't matter."

Having just arrived, Zoro had passed behind the duo.

"Zoro-senpai…" Brain said, before bowing to him.

"Hi, Roronoa." Ai greeted him. "Have you heard about this tournament?"

"Tsss! Since this morning, I've heard nothing but talk about this! It's becoming annoying."

"What about you? Are you going to participate?" Ai asked. "From what I know, you're someone powerful! You might pass the preliminary test."

"No way." Zoro retorted. "This tournament has no importance to me! However, a few of my friends plan to participate! As such, there is very little chance that All Might can win this tournament a third time."

Tilting her head, looking surprised, Ai finally showed a mocking smile, declaring.

"I agree with you! All Might won't win! But the same goes for your friends! The winning team will be ours."

"Are you planning on participating in the tournament too?" Brain asked.

Losing her smile, Ai only showed her crutch.

"I'm the complete opposite of my brother! Tairo has two Quirks, while I'm one without a Quirk! Plus, I was born with a deformity in my left leg! Without my crutch, I wouldn't be able to walk! If my brother wasn't with me, I can't even imagine the life I would have had! I would have been seen as trash... just like my mother made me understand."

Japan Heroes Association

" What ? "

Standing before the main directors of the Hero Association, All Might stated.

"I don't plan on participating in the All Stars Tournament."

"Is this a joke? Do you know why we moved the date of this tournament forward?"

"Of course," the hero said. "It concerns the fiasco that took place within the Tomb of Darkness."

"Exactly! After what happened, the population risks living in fear knowing that an enemy has a power superior to that of the people supposed to protect them! To forget that, we have advanced the date of the tournament so that you can win it! If you prove to everyone that you are still the most powerful hero in the world, everyone will quickly forget the defeat that we have known! We will only have to pretend that Darkness won only because you were not there."

"But that's not true and you know it." All Might affirmed. "My presence there wouldn't have made any difference! The difference between Endeavor and me isn't that great! If he was humiliated by a Darkness general, I doubt I would have done much better than him."

"It doesn't matter whether it's true or not! The important thing is to give the Japanese the impression that you are still the best."

" And after?" All Might asked. "Let's say I win this tournament, what will happen when Darkness attacks us again and manages to defeat me? I might be the most powerful hero in the world, but I'll still be weaker than that demon."

"DAMN IT! It's just a detail." One of his superiors retorted. "Anyway, there's no proof that Darkness will attack again."

"Is this a joke? She slaughtered some of Japan's most powerful heroes without one of her generals being defeated! Why would she decide to abandon her desires for conquest?"

"Even if that's the case, why do you refuse to participate in the All-Stars tournament?"

"It's simple! During my fight against Nomu and during Hosu's invasion, I was forced to surpass the limits of my body! I temporarily became more powerful! But to achieve this result, the duration during which I can use my Quirk decreased."

Looking back on last year's tournament, he said.

"In the finals of the last tournament, compared to what you tried to make the Japanese believe, it was not with ease that I managed to defeat Salam, from the Indian team! His power was more or less equivalent to that of Endeavor! It has been almost a year since this tournament took place and I am convinced that, compared to me, he has trained as hard as he can to become more powerful! If I have to surpass my limits to fight him, I may win this tournament, but I may lose the use of my Quirk! Is that really what you want?"

Growling upon hearing this, one of his superiors growled.

"As if this is the moment for us to know that All Might is incapable of assuming his role as a hero."

"Sorry I got hurt saving Japan." The hero said sarcastically. "Besides, I thought you wanted to trust Endeavor, in order to replace me."

Remaining silent, his superiors preferred to forget about having given their trust to Endeavor, so that he would supervise the attack on the Tomb of Darkness. Understanding this, All Might affirmed.

"I hate Endeavor's behavior and I refuse to consider him a hero! However, I wouldn't have done better than him! Darkness... I don't even know if we can consider her human."

"In that case, what do you propose? Who could fight her?"

Remaining silent, All Might wanted to open his mouth. However, he hesitated. Who could beat Darkness? The only answer All Might had in mind was the pirate who had managed to defeat him a few days ago. The same person who had claimed to hate heroes.

Paris

While having lunch in a restaurant inside the Eiffel Tower, a man ate in an elegant manner, while his beauty lit up the room.

Standing in front of him, the manager of the French hero affirmed.

"Gregory... your popularity rating has never been so high."

Showing dozens of files, he said.

"Here are all your new contracts to appear in films or commercial advertisements! You are a real celebrity."

"And then?" the hero asked, sounding annoyed. "I'm so used to it that my life is becoming monotonous."

"Huh... it seems obvious to me that you will become the most famous French star, if you win the tournament! Imagine... I am sure that even American productions will want to sign contracts with you to participate in their films."

Finishing his meal, Gregoire took a handkerchief to delicately wipe his mouth, before affirming.

''I love being desired by my fans or being cheered on by a crowd of women! After all, why should I stop people from showing their love for me?''

Grabbing a rose, the man stuck it between his teeth.

''However, that's not why I'm participating in the All Star Tournament.''

Thinking back to last year's tournament, Gregoire couldn't help but feel frustrated.

''Last year, we lost in the semi-finals to the Calcutta Cobras team, and I myself suffered a humiliating defeat against Salam! And because of that, we were unable to face All Might's team in the finals! This year, if I'm participating in this tournament again, it's not for my fans or to be even more famous! It's for my own honor.''

China

Chewing a large amount of food, an obese man seemed to have a black hole in place of his stomach. Seeing him do this, while rubbing his hands, a small man assured.

"Manchu! If you want more food, don't hesitate to tell me! Nothing would please me more than to satisfy the desires of the most powerful man in China."

Swallowing a whole ham, Manchou began to smile. To him, his life of luxury was normal. The strong always dominated the weak. And when he won the All Star Tournament, he would surely be able to gain enough power to control the country.

Transylvania

Being inside his mansion, sitting in a luxurious armchair, in front of a fireplace, a man with the appearance of a vampire was reading a book, while drinking a glass of red wine.

Suddenly, knocking on his door, a butler entered the room.

''Dragula-sama… here are the answers you got.''

Closing his book, the vampire grabbed the many files his butler gave him.

"How many people responded to the ad?"

"23 people wish to become the fourth member of your team, Dragula-sama." His butler assured him.

"Perfect! I hope I found someone interesting among them."

India

Training intensively, a group of people were gathered in the courtyard of a temple. All wearing the same uniform, the group of men were training fiercely.

Watching them, Salam, the most powerful man in India was already in the company of the members who were going to compete with him during the tournament.

"Companions, this year let us honor our temple and win the tournament."

North Korea

Flying towards Katakuri, Shalltear tried to hit him again. However, letting his haki work, the man only tilted his body to the side to avoid her fist. Then, raising his leg, he covered it with Haoshoku haki.

However, anticipating this, Shalltear directed the palm of her hand towards her opponent's knee, before summoning black flames. Hitting Katakuri's leg, the flames created an explosion, which threw the man back. For her part, Shalltear let herself fly into the sky, before raising her arm in the air and creating a magic circle.

Looking up at her, Katakuri frowned.

"She's going to attack me from a distance."

Indeed. A multitude of dark bats appeared before flying towards the man. Then, barely touched him they exploded. Soon, Shalltear saw him disappear behind a huge cloud of smoke.

"You might be able to dodge my punches! However, I doubt you could do the same with a multitude of explosions."

"Indeed! It's more complicated."

Letting the smoke clear, Katakuri showed no injuries on him. Even his clothes didn't have any signs of burns. The only difference was that a large portion of his body was covered in Busoshoku haki.

"Huh?" Shalltear said. "From what I see, you're using a defense technique similar to the fishman's! That shows you're no ordinary opponent."

Taking a few seconds to think, she stated.

"Now that I think about it, my lady would very much like to learn how to use haki! How about becoming her teacher?"

" Huh ? "

"Teach her how to use haki and I'll spare you." The vampire said. "Admit that it's an excellent proposition."

Frowning again, Katakuri confessed.

"I don't know if you're serious or incredibly stupid! You show up here... you want to attack a yonko when you clearly don't have the level required to kill her... and now, you think you're capable of making me this kind of proposition when nothing indicates to me that you're worth me wasting my time with you."

"Hey, I suggest you watch what you say." Shalltear said. "Normally, I would kill any human who tried to hinder one of my missions! But right now, since I'm only fighting strangely powerful humans, I've come to realize that it's become more advantageous for me to try to negotiate with them, rather than become their enemy."

"To negotiate, you still need to have something interesting to offer me." Katakuri retorted. "If your lady wants to get something from me, she will first have to prove her strength to Mama, in order to obtain her permission to become her subordinate."

"What? You want my lady to become that fat woman's subordinate? Are you kidding?"

"Only the strong can dominate the weak." Katakuri stated. "It is the simplest law in this world."

"In that case, I hope Big Mom knows how to bow! Because that's what she'll do to my lady."

In response, Katakuri directed his arms towards Shalltear.

"I think it is necessary to make you understand the reality."

Then, two circles of mochi appeared in front of him and the man thrust his arms into them. Staring at him in surprise, Shalltear didn't see two more circles of mochi appear behind her. Having hardened his arms, Katakuri let them reappear and violently struck the vampire's back.

Unable to react, Shalltear crashed to the ground with force.

"I think you're the one who's going to learn to bow." Katakuri said. "But don't worry! I'm not planning on killing you! If you're part of the army that attacked us, I'll make sure mama knows the name of the person you're working for."

However, the man jumped to the side to avoid a fireball. Getting back up, Shalltear looked frustrated.

"Right now, everyone is telling me that I need to learn to think before I act! But how is it possible not to be angry when I hear a human speak like you do?"

Then again, she flew towards Katakuri.

"Your stupidity is truly ridiculous." The pirate stated, taking several steps back.

Following him, Shalltear tried repeatedly to strike him. Yet, she saw each of her attacks miss its target. Katakuri seemed to anticipate her every move.

"Left fist...right uppercut...left hook..."

Suddenly, stopping moving, Katakuri positioned both of his arms in front of him before covering them with Busoshoku haki. Hitting them with all her might, Shalltear created a shockwave that raised dust around the duo. However, she failed to break Katakuri's defense.

"Tsss! This is getting annoying."

In response, Katakuri raised both of his arms, before bringing them down towards Shalltear.

" SHADOW EVASION ! "

Letting her body retreat into her own shadow, Shalltear disappeared from Katakuri's sight, who only hit the ground. However, seeming to anticipate this, the pirate directed his gaze to the left, before directing one of his arms in that direction.

" MOCHI BLADE BULLET ! "

Shooting a mochi projectile with his finger, Katakuri managed to harden it with his haki. Propelled at full speed, the mochi bullet ended up in front of Shalltear, who had just emerged from the ground.

"What?" the vampire wondered.

Not having time to say more, the mochi hit her head, making her back away. Remaining still, Katakuri made her take a step back. However, remaining standing, Shalltear ended up staring at the man angrily. Then, with her mouth half open, she showed the projectile that she had managed to wedge between her teeth.

Trying in vain to break it, she ended up spitting it on the ground.

"Even if that bullet had gone through my brain, it wouldn't have killed me."

"Unfortunately, I don't have a silver weapon with me." Katakuri stated. "However, like I said, I want to capture you alive! So, I'll just cut off your arms and legs to prevent you from escaping."

In response, Shalltear flew towards him again, to strike him with her fist.

"Now that's really ridiculous." Katakuri said.

However, having a premonition, the man got into a fighting stance. Making a magic circle appear, Shalltear created many shadows that took on her appearance. Soon, Katakuri found himself facing a dozen Shalltear, who attacked him fiercely.

Dodging one of their fists, Katakuri saw a second clone created from black lightning, before throwing it towards him. Jumping to avoid it, the man found himself above the ground. Just waiting for that, two more clones appeared above him, while creating magic circles.

Combining their forces, the two clones created a gigantic fireball, which shot towards the pirate.

" MOCHI MOCHI GIGANT ARMS ! "

Appearing behind his back, four huge arms made of mochi shot out towards the attack. Covered in haki, the first two hit the fireball so hard that it created its explosion. Able to continue to advance, the other two arms violently struck the bodies of the two clones. Stunned, the two Shalltears who were hit spat saliva, before the body dissipated into a particle of darkness.

But already, several other clones were rushing towards Katakuri to attack him. Staring at them with contempt, Katakuri closed his eyes and began to concentrate. Sensing the presence of his enemies, he focused only on one of them.

"I found you! MUSO DONUTS !"

New, multitudes of mochi circles appeared and mochi arms came out of them. Finding themselves near them, the clones were violently hit, pushing them back or making them disappear. Paying little attention to this, Katakuri then propelled himself forward, while transforming one of his arms into mochi. Coming out of the white substance, a trident appeared and Katakuri grabbed it, before spinning it.

" MOCHI THRUST ! "

Seeing him propel himself towards her, while she was standing back, Shalltear placed a hand on the ground.

" EARTH WALL ! "

Immediately, a huge wall appeared in front of her. Continuing his run, Katakuri let his trident hit it. At first stopped, the pirate managed to take a step forward, before seeing his attack go through the wall, before pulverizing it.

However, once the wall disappeared, he noticed that Shalltear had disappeared. Standing still for a moment, Katakuri had another premonition.

" I understand. "

Suddenly, coming out of the ground, the hands of two clones grabbed Katakuri's feet. Being pulled, the pirate felt his feet and legs disappear underground, in order to be immobilized.

Then falling from the sky, Shalltear had a hand outstretched towards the man, as she created a magic circle.

" JUDAS BENEDICTION ! "

Simply raising his gaze, Katakuri saw a pillar of black light falling towards him. The next moment, the attack hit him before creating an explosion. The explosion of the attack was so powerful that it was felt all the way to the village next door.

Being able to see the fight, Bavarian appeared stressed.

"I didn't think there would be anyone strong enough on this planet to fight Katakuri."

"Don't talk nonsense." Custard growled. "It's obvious that Katakuri isn't fighting at his best! If that woman can't fight better than that, he'll win easily."

For her part, Big Mom appeared thoughtful.

"This woman... she doesn't have an ability that resembles that of the people of this world! Why does she decide to attack me?"

Looking skeptical, she wondered.

"Is she an ally of Kaido and does he want to betray me to kill me?"

Starting to laugh, she declared.

"MAMAMAMA! No! Kaido isn't stupid enough to send someone so weak to kill me."

However, she couldn't help but keep this idea in her mind.

Landing on the ground, Shalltear saw the huge crater her last attack had made. In the center of this crater, she could see the remains of two clones that had grabbed Katakuri's legs. Seeing them transform into dark particles, Shalltear quickly forgot about them and only tried to find Katakuri's body, or any proof that he had just perished.

"Where is he?"

"Are you looking for me?"

Standing still, Shalltear felt a shadow appear behind her. Standing behind the vampire, Katakuri didn't have a single scratch on him. It was as if he had managed to teleport when Shalltear's attack hit him.

"Do you understand?" the pirate asked.

Yet, remaining strangely calm, Shalltear only turned around and displayed an amused smile.

"You know! Before I only considered humans as a source of food! But I must admit that the humans of your world are much stronger than normal! After fighting you, it doesn't even annoy me anymore to know you are so arrogant."

"For someone to be as arrogant as you, I compare that to hypocrisy;" Katakuri retorted.

Then, suddenly, his trident spun before piercing Shalltear's abdomen.

" WHAT ? "

Getting up from her seat, Galadriel pushed back a hanzo who was kneeling in front of her. Feeling intense fear, the ninja had to do his best not to run away in anger.

"One of my colleagues that you sent to spy on the people in North Korea just contacted me! Apparently, Shalltear-sama just started a fight against one of Big Mom's generals."

"Is this a joke?" Albedo asked. "What possessed her to do that? And why didn't she warn us?"

Immediately, Galadriel directed her hand towards the magic mirror in the room. Then, making it fly towards her, she activated it. Seeing it show her the planet Earth, she zoomed in so that the mirror showed her North Korea. Continuing to zoom in, she located the village where Shalltear was spying on Big Mom.

Finally, she saw the vampire fighting Katakuri, not far from this village. And it was precisely at this moment that Galadriel and Albedo saw Katakuri's trident pierce Shalltear's body.

" What ? "

Seeming equally surprised, Katakuri had managed to pierce Shalltear without the vampire making the slightest effort to defend herself.

"Huh?" the pirate wondered, seeing the vampire with her gaze lowered.

Eventually, wanting to remove his trident from Shalltear's body, Katakuri was surprised to find that he was unable to free his trident.

" What ? "

Having simply placed her hand on the handle of the weapon, Shalltear used enough force to prevent Katakuri from taking his weapon back.

"A problem?" she asked, giving him a mocking smile.

Remaining silent, Katakuri struggled to retrieve his trident. Yet, even with two hands, he was unable to fight against the physical might of the vampire, who continued to use only one hand.

" How can she have such strength? "

Suddenly, directing her second hand towards Katakuri, Shalltear targeted his face and extended her nails in order to pierce his skull. Anticipating this, Katakuri tilted his head to the side to dodge it.

However, seeing Shalltear puffing out her cheeks, the man dropped his trident and jumped back. The next second, Shalltear created sound waves that eventually hit the pirate. Grimacing in pain, Katakuri felt like his eardrums were exploding. However, transforming his ears, he managed to plug them with mochi.

Seeing this, the vampire stopped screaming. However, continuing to smile, she removed Katakuri's trident from her abdomen, before twirling it in her hand. Despite the hole in her chest, Shalltear didn't seem to feel anything.

"Unfortunately for you, what you just did to me is useless! As an undead, I don't feel pain! Even if you pulverize my heart, it won't have any effect on me! However, I'll borrow your weapon."

"I understand... ultimately, what will determine the outcome of our fight will be our endurance! However, I sincerely hope that you know how to use haki as well."

"Huh? Why should I know how to use it?"

"I'll be honest with you." Katakuri stated. "Since a while ago, if you've been able to touch my body, it's because of my haki! Since you don't know how to use it, I just need to deactivate it to be invincible! However, recently, I suffered a defeat, and I'm trying to improve my haki! That's the only reason our fight is lasting longer! If I really wanted to, I would have made it clear to you a long time ago that you can't defeat me."

"Tssss! I'll make you understand that you're wrong! Everything we just did was just a warm-up! You haven't seen my true power."

" I hope so. "