Chapter 26 - End of the Beginning
The sun was beginning to rise after the long battle that had occurred the day before. The sirens of ambulances, fire trucks, and police cars could all be heard in the distance, and multiple blocks within the city of Fajesta were roped off.
"The heroes began rescue operations hours ago… but the amount of damage dealt in this fight is beyond words." a newsperson reported, "Authorities estimate a moderate amount of casualties due to the scale of the destruction… but thankfully, they're much lesser than they could've been due to the intervention of five heroes, two of which have been identified as U.A. students. Further investigation is required before we learn why they were on the scene."
Turning around to face the scene which was hidden behind a stretch of police tape, the newsperson continued.
"The villains who caused this attack are theorized to have been robots of some kind, with multiple quirks which allowed them to stand up to the Symbol of Peace." The newsperson stated, "Who developed these villains is currently unknown, but authorities are looking into it. Rest assured, they will be brought to justice."
Meanwhile, in the Room of Authority, located within the Holy Land Mary Geoise's Pangaea Castle, those who orchestrated the attack on Fajesta earlier that day were facing problems of their own.
These men were the highest authority in the World Government, and subsequently, the world; they were the Five Elders.
"That woman needs to learn her place…" Saint Nusjuro, with a hybrid of a staff and sword in his hand, stated, "We can't just let her call us based on her whims."
"While I agree, we still need to keep her on a leash." Saint Mars interjected, a man with a large and thin beard, "She's far too powerful for us to let run amok."
"I agree." Saint Saturn, with a much thicker beard than Saint Mars, added. "The life fibers are an unknown entity with extraordinary power. If Mistress Ragyo decided to provide them to pirates, even the weakest Emperor of the Sea, Kaido, could easily create an army equal in power to the Marines. Her strength cannot be understated."
"Oh? I'm flattered you feel that way about me." a cold voice rang out from the entrance to the Room of Authority.
Along with the cold voice, a rainbow glow emerged from the room's entrance. Standing alongside it was a woman with white hair, who emanated a certain energy from her body without even meaning to… this woman was the President of REVOCS, Ragyo Kiryuin.
"Mistress Ragyo," Saint Warcury, with a mustache which looked like a pair of horns, began, "what a pleasure to see you."
"Don't bother with trying to get on my good side now." Ragyo interjected. The Five Elders quickly inferred that Ragyo heard what they had said about her prior.
"Don't take it personally." Saint Nusjuro remarked, as the continued smile on the Kiryuin's face was the only response she gave.
Standing directly opposed to the Five Elders, Ragyo began to deliver her questioning.
"So… have you reconsidered how you idiotically use the life fibers on those toys of yours?" Ragyo questioned.
"How we utilize the life fibers is up to us." Saint Peter answered, "Don't forget that it is only thanks to us that you can operate business on both the Grand Line and in the Seven Continents."
"Don't flatter yourself." Ragyo scoffed, her smile slowly vanishing.
"Whatever the case, you have some explaining to do yourself." Saint Mars stated, "Care to explain how a Goku uniform ended up in the hands of All Might?"
"Oh? That Japanese hero that you were intending to assassinate with the Pacifista?" Ragyo noted with a smile, "Can't say I know, though if I were to guess, that daughter of mine has something to do with it…."
"Don't play dumb!" Saint Nusjuro interjected.
"If all you have to dish out are bold accusations, then allow me to continue." Ragyo stated, turning her back to the Five Elders and walking away as she continued, "I will be continuing to withhold the delivery of the life fibers until you use them for a purpose befitting of their stature."
"Ridiculous!" Saint Saturn interjected, "You think that this partnership will last much longer if that is your attitude?!"
"You think you're the one in control here?"
Suddenly, a powerful blast of Conqueror's Haki began to be let off of Ragyo Kiryuin's body. The blast she let off was so powerful that even the Five Elders held their hands in front of their faces, trying to resist the raw power of her Haki… but, the room surrounding them wasn't so lucky. Windows began to shatter, couches began to shred to pieces, and even bits of the wall around them began to be chipped.
After she had made her threat, Ragyo returned the level of her Conqueror's Haki back to normal, which was still enough to knock out anyone with a weak will who got close to her.
"Fine. We'll comply with your demands." Saint Warcury announced, "The Life Fibers will only be used on the Seraphim project; we'll use the prototype blueprints for the Pacifista going forwards."
"Oh? You're not going to use them to create super-soldiers in the Marines?" Ragyo questioned.
"We don't need your power to create super soldiers." Saint Peter asserted.
After his claim, Ragyo simply laughed as she exited the room.
Exiting the room, the Five Elders were left by their lonesome in silence.
"Honestly… what a brazen woman." Saint Mars noted, "We'll just have to hope that All Might's Goku uniform was supplied by her daughter, as she claims... otherwise, Kizaru will have more difficulty than expected with his mission."
"Lady Satsuki… your tea is going to get cold if you wait so long to drink it." the butler of Satsuki Kiryuin told his master.
Leaning forwards from her chair, which was made to be an extremely comfortable one, Satsuki Kiryuin gripped her teacup's handle with an elegant and soft touch. Lifting her hand up gently, she was able to pick her cup up from the table which lay before her, and deliver a swift response to her butler at the same time.
"Thank you Soroi… I nearly forgot." Satsuki professed, bringing her teacup to her mouth and lightly sipping from it.
"Something must be on your mind… does it perhaps have something to do with that battle All Might partook in earlier?" Soroi questioned, as Satsuki lowered her teacup to answer, yet kept the handle in her hand so she wouldn't forget to drink from it again.
"You have a sharp mind." Satsuki asserted, "Yes… there are a number of thoughts I have about it."
"I must admit, I am quite interested in your thoughts on the matter." Soroi remarked, "After all… All Might was wearing your Goku uniform. Both the World Government and Mistress Ragyo will likely hear and respond to this incident."
"I doubt that, but regardless of that, this incident has done all I needed it to." Satsuki replied, "Not only has All Might wearing the uniform shown the world just how significant the threat of the life fibers are, but we've already found more trustworthy allies to recruit to our cause… Shota Aizawa, Tony Tony Chopper, and Tsunagu Hakamada, who will additionally give us connections to UA Academy."
"Oh? You're not looking to recruit that green haired boy?"
"For now, he will be more trouble than he's worth."
"Ah, I see ma'am." Soroi noted, "It seems that just like always, you have everything all planned out."
Satsuki flashed a slow and elegant smile at Soroi's compliment, as she sipped out of her teacup yet again.
After a long and arduous fight against the day before, Izuku, Aizawa, and All Might were all admitted into a hospital located within Fajesta.
Within one of the hospital rooms lay Izuku Midoriya, who was the first of the aforementioned three who participated in the battle against the Pacifista to awaken.
In the hospital room with Izuku was Tony Tony Chopper, who was currently crushing herbs in order to create more of the medicine he had previously formed with Recovery Girl's spit. By Recovery Girl's recommendation, he was allowed to create medicine for and talk to Izuku, so long as the doctors in the hospital were the ones to administer the medicine he created.
The pair were presently silent, but Izuku, looking over to Chopper, broke said silence.
"Is everyone… alright?" Izuku asked Chopper, who continued to crush herbs as he responded.
"There are estimated to be some casualties from the Pacifista, but thankfully, our intervention seems to have kept the damage to the minimum." Chopper said.
Saddened by the fact that there was even one person who had died, Izuku turned to face the ceiling, muttering a simple, "Hm" as he did so.
"You did the best you could…" Chopper assured Izuku, but the boy didn't see it that way.
"I still should have done more." Izuku interjected, "I was completely useless during that fight."
"Your intervention against the second and third Pacifista are the only reason I had enough time to get All Might into a stable condition. Plus, your actions against the first Pacifista were also the only reason I could focus on the fight back then." Chopper noted, "You did well, especially for being as unprepared as you were."
"...Thank you."
"Don't mention it."
Another brief silence filled the room. Izuku broke this silence as well.
"How… are All Might and Aizawa now?" Izuku questioned.
"Aizawa… his injuries are bad, especially paired with those he had at USJ previously. But, it seems that he'll be able to live. All Might though…" Chopper paused briefly, "His condition is critical. He pushed himself time and time again, even despite the fact that he had life threatening injuries. Even with the incredible medicine which exists in the Seven Continents… it's more than likely he'll die. At best, he'll make it out of here with his left arm permanently disabled."
"At... best?" Izuku muttered.
"Yes…" Chopper confirmed, "Now get some rest. You need to recover as much stamina as you can for Recovery Girl's medicine to do any good."
"Oh... okay."
Lying down idly on his bed in order to get some rest, Izuku still had thousands of thoughts flying about his mind.
"All Might… he won't die, right?" Izuku thought, "No don't worry about that now, instead think about... the Pacifista... why did it even come to the Seven Continents in the first place? Could they have gone rogue… no, that wouldn't explain why there were three of them... so why?"
A few minutes after Ragyo Kiryuin's discussion with the Five Elders, another person entered the Room of Authority. Currently the Fleet Admiral of the Marines, none other than Akainu had arrived.
"All the Celestial Dragons across Mary Geoise are knocked out." Akainu revealed, finding an audience in the Five Elders, "Was that Ragyo Kiryuin's doing?"
"Yes…" Saint Mars answered.
"Figures. That woman was always too big for her britches."
"Nevermind that, Sakazuki." Saint Saturn interjected, "You have mobilized Kizaru to the Seven Continents, correct?"
"Yes. All that's left for this first stage of the plan is to administer the bounty." Akainu stated, "Kizaru will also try to make contact with Shigaraki while he's there."
"Seems all is going as planned then." Saint Mars noted, "You're also willing to train Shigaraki, correct?"
"So long as he doesn't do anything stupid, I will do so." Akainu noted, "But I will kill him if he shows even a hint of rebelling against absolute justice."
"Yes… but make sure not to go too far." Saint Nusjuro noted, "He is to be a Warlord of the Sea after all… a position only held by rebellious pirates."
"I was never a fan of the Warlords system to begin with." Akainu asserted, "I'll do what I please."
"You will not!" Saint Peter shouted at Akainu, "Learn your place, Sakazuki!"
Akainu merely scoffed at the Five Elders, and turned his back on them. His cape rippling, he walked out of the Room of Authority.
Later that day, Izuku Midoriya was transferred to UA for his healing. In a bed beside him was additionally Aizawa, who woke up a short while after Izuku did, and was also transferred to UA.
Aizawa's injuries were worse than those he got at USJ, but unlike the ones he got during that attack, they weren't concentrated solely at his head; his ability to use his quirk going forwards was under no danger. Though, Aizawa was still in a dangerous condition. Having being bombed the the Pacifista and having multiple holes blown at his chest wasn't exactly pleasant, even if his will had allowed him to power through it. Due to all that, it seemed Aizawa wouldn't be able to be nearly as physically active anymore, as his left lung had been all but destroyed due to having a hole blown in it. The only silver lining with his condition was that Izuku seemed to not have any long-term ailments himself.
Hearing about the condition of their friend and teacher, the entirety of Class 1-A came to visit them both.
"Mr. Aizawa, it seems you're awake, kero!" Tsuyu interjected.
"And you're up too, Deku!" Ochaco cheered.
"Oh… hey you guys…" Izuku muttered, a woozy smile appearing on his face as he barely lifted his head off of his pillow.
"Woah… you seem tired." Kaminari noted.
"Recovery Girl's just used her quirk on him… so he is pretty tired at the moment." Chopper explained, having been the only person besides Izuku and Aizawa to have been in this room before 1-A entered.
"You gonna be alright, Mr. Aizawa?" Kirishima questioned, "You took a pretty heavy beating at USJ, and you took another in such a short time..."
"I'll be just fine. Don't worry about me." Aizawa interjected, his face yet again covered in bandages due to Recovery Girl's overkill treatment.
"Either way…" Ida began, before being cut off.
"You guys were so cool when fighting against that big bad villain!" Mina shouted, "And what was with that fire move of yours Izuku?! That one was awesome!"
"Oh… that." Izuku stated, recalling his 'Gum Gum Flare Gun', "Uh… I'm not too sure about that myself. Maybe that quirk of mine generated enough friction to light on fire… or something."
"That quirk of yours? What an odd choice of wording!" Ida noted.
"You being able to summon fire that way seems highly unlikely..." Momo added on, "But plausible enough, I suppose…"
"Have any of you guys gotten to talk to All Might?" Ryuko questioned, "He looked pretty rough the last we saw him…"
"All Might still hasn't woken up yet." Aizawa stated, "It makes sense. His injuries were far worse than ours."
"Woah… really?" Sato muttered.
"Those villains… they were tough." Aizawa noted.
"Either way… we brought you both some food in case you were hungry." Ida stated, placing a bag that was in his hand on a table beside both Aizawa and Izuku, "Get better soon…"
"Yeah! Give it your best!" Ochaco stated, punching forwards.
The entirety of Class 1-A then went to exit the room… but two people still remained, Chopper, who was there for medicinal purposes, and Katsuki.
"So… just how the hell were you able to convince Aizawa to take you both to the fight?" Katsuki questioned.
Izuku remained silent for a moment, unsure of what to say, but Aizawa answered for Izuku.
"We're recovering… we'll explain later." Aizawa stated.
Katsuki scoffed.
"Alright then, keep whatever secrets you want…" Katsuki commented.
Just before he went to leave the room, Katsuki stopped for a moment, feeling that something was off. Looking at Izuku, he began to approach him, staring at his rival's neck.
"Hey… did you realize that you had something on your neck?" Katsuki questioned.
"Huh? On my neck?"
Izuku then used his hand to feel around his neck. After a moment of checking, he felt the presence of a bit of metal along his neck. Quickly pulling it off, Izuku looked at just what it was… an extremely small metallic circle with a logo of sorts on it; it was a blue plus, with circles on each edge of the plus as well as the center.
"What is this?" Izuku questioned, holding up the metal object. Aizawa's eyes widened when he saw it.
"Midoriya… show me that logo."
Hearing his teacher's words, Izuku pointed the metallic circle into Aizawa's direction, who realized that the situation was just as bad as he feared.
"No way!" Chopper interjected, "Is that… the symbol for the World Government?"
"The World Government? Ain't those guys the governors of the Grand Line?" Katsuki questioned.
"Not just the Grand Line… they rule the whole world. They just have a greater influence on the Grand Line." Chopper explained.
"So the World Government planted a metal device on your neck…" Aizawa commented, before coming to a sudden realization, "Isn't it suspicious to you that the day after we went to Sabaody, that those Grand Line cyborgs arrived?"
Izuku's face was changed into one of shock, as he understood what Aizawa meant to imply. Meanwhile, Katsuki was confused.
"Hah?! Those villains were from the Grand Line?!" Katsuki questioned.
"It's a long story, Bakugo." Aizawa remarked, "Best you don't hear about it for now."
"Don't tell me what to do!"
"I mean what I say." Aizawa stated coldly, "This isn't a conversation you should be involved in."
Katsuki's face began to light up into one of rage due to not being let in on what seemed to be a massive secret… and seeing this, Izuku interjected.
"Bakugo… the World Government isn't what you think." the boy stated, "We're doing this to try and keep you safe… please."
Hearing Izuku's serious plea, Katsuki hesitated for a moment, his brow still furrowed in frustration. Scoffing once more after his hesitation, he turned around and walked out of the room.
"Fine... do whatever you want."
Once Katsuki had left, Izuku, Aizawa, and Chopper were free to follow up on their conversation.
"What you said earlier... it is definitely suspicious." Izuku noted, "Plus, the World Government never knew that I went to the Grand Line, and they couldn't have known the second time either… but if this device was on my neck…"
"Yeah, they could have easily inferred that you went." Aizawa stated, "I'm sorry kid… the only reason you went down there in the first place-"
"Don't apologize. Me and All Might were planning to go down there anyway."
"But… if they knew you went down there, wouldn't that be grounds for your execution then?" Chopper noted, "Is that why they sent the Pacifista?"
"I doubt it… I don't think they predicted that the three of us would join in on All Might's battle…" Izuku suddenly realized, "Wait, then were they going after All Might?!"
"That's weird though…" Chopper stated, "After all, Kizaru threatened to kill only you if All Might leaked information about the Sabaody Archipelago… why would they go after him?"
After Chopper said this, both Izuku and Aizawa stared at Chopper absentmindedly. Chopper stared back for a moment.
"Wait… THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A SECRET, WASN'T IT?!"
"Huh?! I was already under threat of execution this entire time?!" Izuku questioned, surprised. His expression returned to a calmer one a moment later, "Still, it does make sense… though still, wouldn't they target me in any case?"
"You're taking their words too literally." Aizawa stated, "We need a motive for them… why do they even want to keep the Grand Line a secret in the first place?"
"Well… because of just how twisted the Marines and society is on the Grand Line." Izuku answered.
"Exactly… now let's look at this rationally…" Aizawa began, "I don't know what bond you and All Might have, but it's one that the World Government clearly knows about. Now… All Might is the Symbol of Peace, and with that influence, what do you think he'd do if you died?"
"Well…" Izuku considered this momentarily, but his tiredness and self-deprecating thoughts got in the way of him drawing any conclusion, "I'm… not too sure."
"He'd more than likely tell the Seven Continents about the Sabaody Archipelago." Aizawa swiftly answered, "At the very least, that's what the World Government would more than likely believe."
"Then, killing Izuku is a no go." Chopper noted, "So was All Might the target?"
"It's only natural that we believe that. Fortunately for us though, All Might's still alive…"
Suddenly, Izuku began to try and get himself up out of bed.
"Woah! Izuku, you have to get some rest!" Chopper shouted, transforming from his Brain Point into his Heavy Point to hold down Izuku.
"If the World Government wants to kill All Might…" Izuku stated, "Then they won't stop at just a few Pacifista!"
"You're right. I'll go check on him later for you!" Chopper stated, "Keep in mind he's also the Symbol of Peace as well, he's gonna have at least some security!"
"Also keep in mind that the same security won't let you in... and let's say there is someone else from the Marines, in that case, you probably wouldn't be strong enough to beat them." Aizawa noted, "Anyways… do you have a reason to believe the Pacifista won't be their last resort?"
"The government… has a lot of secrets." Izuku noted, "For example, a friend of mine on the Straw Hat Pirates once had their entire island, combined with all their inhabitants, completely destroyed because they tried to research a period in history the government wanted to keep a secret."
"...They what?"
Time and time again, Aizawa's opinion of the World Government lessened and lessened. From his time as a Marine… he had never heard of anything like this. But now, after learning the truth, the pieces began to connect together in his mind from events he never found particularly noteworthy in the past.
"...Maybe you were right, Dragon."
Back at the hospital in Fajesta, All Might was resting in his hospital bed. He hadn't yet awakened, and was potentially even in a coma. As such, not a hint of movement was present in his body; even the faint beeping of an EKG Monitor seemed to be more alive than the hero.
Outside of it, numerous heavily armed guards stood outside the room where All Might peacefully slept. The door behind them had a keycode lock, a countermeasure in case any villain with a quirk involving mind control arrived, as well as being a measure to stall any villains in general who might try to kill the Symbol of Peace at his weakest.
Due to All Might being in critical condition, it was also imperative that nobody except medical professionals entered the room. Catching a disease in this state would be fatal to the hero.
Taking advantage of the lack of presence within All Might's room, a purple void of sorts began to materialize within the room All Might stayed within. This purple void swirled around, and exiting out of it was none other than the villain, 'All for One', his apprentice, Tomura Shigaraki, and the owner of the quirk which enabled such a void to be created, 'Kurogiri'.
"Honestly…" Tomura Shigaraki mumbled, as All for One shot an invisible blast out of his hand towards the entrance to the room, "That was almost too easy. You'd think with the giant window that they were just asking Kurogiri to find a way in here."
"Now, now Tomura." All for One stated, "Let us not insult them… for they are the only reason we've gained the privilege of being able to see All Might face to face."
"Hahahaha… that's true, master."
Shigaraki walked closer to All Might, stopping in front of him a moment later. He breathed in heavily, and then suddenly, placed four fingers on his face. He paused for a moment, basking in the opportunity that lay before him.
"One more finger down on your face… and you'd be dead." Tomura stated.
"Tomura, be careful." All for One ordered, as Tomura loosened his grip on All Might's face.
All for One himself now began to approach All Might, and he himself placed his hand on All Might's face. Nothing happened.
"Hm… I knew it wasn't before, but I'd be lying if I didn't say I was hopeful One for All still dwelled within you, All Might." All for One stated, "Such a shame."
"What's our objective here?" Kurogiri questioned All for One, "You simply provided me adequate coordinates to gather you and then come here alongside Tomura…"
"I believe I should leave that up to Tomura to decide." All for One stated, "So, what do you think?"
Tomura Shigaraki paused for a moment. Walking up to the window which had allowed him entry into this building, he considered just what to do.
"Well, we could kill him here and now…" Tomura Shigaraki thought aloud, "But dying in his hospital bed just doesn't have the same impact that I'm going for."
All for One, despite the fact that he lacked the ability to see, stared at Tomura with a fiery intensity. The boy's answer was pleasing the villain.
"22 years ago… the pirate, Gold Roger, was executed in this city, and started the 'Great Pirate Era' in the Grand Line." Tomura stated, "And creating a Great Era of Villainy just sounds so fun… so let's execute him in the same way! The Symbol of Peace will become a Symbol of Hatred and Villainy, how about that?!"
All for One smiled at Tomura Shigaraki when he gave his response… his hatred for society and All Might lived up to the expectations which were set for it.
"Very good, Tomura-"
Before the villain could finish, outside of the door which allowed one to enter into All Might's room, a massive, unexpected explosion occurred.
"The hell was that?" Tomura questioned.
"Not a clue. I set up a soundproof barrier at the door to ensure we would not be heard, but that goes both ways." All for One responded, "Be ready for battle, Tomura."
As the remains of the explosion slowly began to fade, a man walked out from the site of the explosion. He wore a suit, with yellow and orange stripes being run vertically up and down it. His pants followed the same color scheme as his shirt, but his dark blue undershirt and purple tie did not. His hair was short and curly, he had a beard on his somewhat wrinkly face, and he wore a pair of orange-tinted sunglasses on his face.
But… the one thing that All for One immediately took notice of was the white coat with golden highlights. It was the jacket given to high ranking officials in the Navy.
"A navy man… eh?" All for One noted.
"Oh? Now what a surprise." the man in the golden outfit stated with a relaxed tone, "I wasn't expecting anyone else to be visiting All Might at this time…"
"Who the hell are you?" Tomura growled.
"Me? Why, I'm just a passerby who's looking to have a chat with All Might myself." he said, as the last bits of the explosion faded away, revealing that all the armed guards were defeated behind him, faster than they could call for backup.
"Yeah? Well get in line, pal…"
"Now, now Tomura…" All for One began, "We mustn't be so disrespectful. Especially not to a man as powerful as this."
Secretly, despite his facade of confidence, All for One was fearful of the foe that lay before him.
"I wasn't expecting to come across the Navy man so early… I haven't even learnt the basics of Haki yet." All for One thought, "Judging by just how fast he took out those armed guards with barely any destruction of the land around him… he's very powerful too. I must be careful with how I proceed."
"Hm… you there with the broken face… you wouldn't happen to be a man named 'Shigaraki', would you?" the Navy man asked.
"Shigaraki? I myself haven't gone by that name in a long time." All for One remarked, "At this current moment… I go by the name 'All for One', a man who formerly ruled the world from the shadows."
"Ahhh. It seems like I've got the right guy then." the Navy man noted. All for One was confused, but he elaborated, "I'm an Admiral from the Navy… and I was actually sent to look for you."
"Hm?" All for One muttered, "For what purpose?"
"How would you feel about becoming a Warlord of the Sea, a government endorsed pirate who can do almost whatever illegal acts they want so long as they listen to Navy orders…" the Admiral questioned, "As well as gaining the opportunity to train in the art of Haki?"
All for One paused for a moment. This situation was far too good to be true.
"Haki would grant me overwhelming power… especially in the Seven Continents." All for One thought, "And the title of Warlord of the Sea would guarantee me security when it would be time to expand onto the Grand Line… however…"
"What do you gain out of this scenario?" All for One questioned the admiral. He scratched his head for a moment, as he didn't remember what his superiors stated for a second.
"Uh… what was it… oh, I got it." the Admiral recalled, "The Seven Continents… the government wants more control over them… rule over them for us, alright?"
The sudden nature of such a proposal shocked All for One. In the background, both Tomura and Kurogiri were also both confused as to just what was happening; they weren't as knowledgeable about the Grand Line as All for One was, only picking up tidbits of knowledge from what All for One had told them in the past… therefore, they had no idea just how powerful the admiral in front of them was, or what the Admiral's proposition actually entailed.
"His proposal… though I doubted its legitimacy before, it does make complete sense." All for One thought, "The attack on All Might must've been their doing, most likely because All Might knows something about the Grand Line. They likely threatened him first, and now, they've taken action against him… but even now, he's still alive. To them, All Might has been such a hassle to deal with, and their ideology as to how they govern the Seven Continents has crumbled right before them."
"An absolute dictator over the entire world…" All for One pieced together, "That is what your organization wishes to become, yes?"
"Uh… I'm not really in charge of stuff like that." the Admiral stated, uninterested, "I just came to give you the question, which I'll ask again. Do you want to become the Seventh Warlord of the Sea, and begin to be trained in Haki?"
The World Government had clearly done their research. Despite the fact that All for One was a cruel, cold, and calculating dictator, the World Government knew that was precisely why he couldn't betray them. The World Government was so monstrously powerful compared to All for One… and he knew that, which is why in most instances, he'd want to avoid them at any cost.
However, by having someone as dangerous and unpredictable as an Admiral confront him, as well as by giving him both short-term security in the position of him becoming a Warlord of the Sea, making him unable to be hunted by the Marines, and long-term security in Haki, which would make him much stronger in the long run, they were able to bait All for One into doing exactly what they wanted.
A grin broke into All for One's face; he took the bait, but believed that what was awaiting him was a full course feast… and with his cunning nature, he might just be able to turn his bait into one.
"Your proposition seems too good to pass up." All for One remarked, "Very well. I will accept your offer… and will become the Seventh Warlord of the Sea."
These words would have thousands of unknown consequences at the world at large, as in that moment, All for One became the very first person from the Seven Continents to become a Warlord of the Sea.
Glad that his mission was over with, the Admiral retained a lax smile on his face.
"Alright then, that's good." the Admiral commented, "But… even if you're a Warlord, I can't just let those two back there walk off scott free."
The admiral pointed to both Tomura and Kurogiri.
"Master…" Tomura began, but his words meant nothing.
Without a single instance of hesitation, All for One raised his right hand and fired a powerful air cannon at Tomura, blasting him directly out of the window behind him.
"Tomura Shigaraki!" Kurogiri shouted, jumping out of the window in order to follow the boy.
All for One turned around back to the Admiral without an inch of despair or grief on his face.
"Does that suffice?" All for One questioned.
The Admiral still maintained a lax look on his face, but was still somewhat surprised that All for One so easily casted aside who he assumed was an ally.
"Sure thing…" the Admiral responded, "Now… all that's left is to deal with All Might."
A week had passed since All Might had vanished from the Fajesta hospital without a trace. His disappearance was a calling for villains at large to make themselves known to not just Japan, but the world; it was a symbol that even unbreakable figures of justice could fall, and the beginning of a new era in the Seven Continents.
"WAHAHA!" a rampaging, giant villain yelled out, "WITH ALL MIGHT GONE… NOBODY CAN STOP ME!"
Standing against him was the pro hero, Airjet, alongside numerous other, much weaker pro heroes.
"Damn it! Do we really not have anyone else who can respond to this guy?!" Airjet cried, as his quirk wasn't good for fighting against large villains like this one without support.
"No, it'll take at least half an hour before anyone can!" a weaker pro hero shouted out.
Ever since All Might's disappearance, both Mustafu and Fajesta had become the sites for mass villain outbreaks. Fajesta since that's where All Might fought against the Pacifista and was declared missing, and Mustafu since that's where U.A. is located, and thus, was where All Might taught. Japan at large also had become a target, but those two locations were the hotspots.
"Tch… All Might's retirement is really putting the pressure on us…" Airjet mumbled, "Hold the villain back until-"
Suddenly, an unknown hero used an immense amount of speed in order to hit the giant villain's chin with an intense kick. Flipping to face the villain dead on, the unknown hero levitated above the ground for a moment, as two black tendrils appeared out of both of his wrists.
"Now Gum Gum…" the hero began, bringing both of his tendrils behind himself and stretching them out. The villain turned to face the hero, but before he could get anything out, it was too late.
"GATLING!"
At lightning fast speeds, the villain's body was continually hit by the black tendrils, which were able to hit hard through their elasticity. With just those blows, the villain was already almost knocked out, but they weren't so intent on giving up just yet.
"Why you-"
Before the villain could respond, the hero was already above them. Spinning in midair, they clocked their fist back once they finished.
"Now… a burst of thirty-five percent…"
"AIRJET…" the hero began, as they launched their fist straight into the villain's head, "SMASH!"
With just one attack, the villain quickly fell to the ground… completely and utterly defeated. A massive shockwave was caused by the villain colliding with the ground, which the pro heroes at the scene had to block in order to avoid getting swept away. Once that shockwave vanished however, only the hero at the scene remained.
"That guy was fast…" a nameless pro hero stated.
"He was just like All Might!" another joined in.
Airjet approached the hero who stood in front of the villain… but was shocked to see just who it was.
With green hair and eyes, it seemed odd that the boy also wore a green uniform with orange accents to match. Around his neck was the remains of a plastic mask, as well as shoulder pads slightly below that. White gloves covered his hands, and his arms were reinforced by a sort of black substance, alongside his legs. Around his waist was a red utility belt, and a cloth mask which could cover the top half of his face was laid down on his back.
"You… you're-" Airjet recognized, but the hero stopped him from responding.
"Yes… I'm Deku. Also known as Izuku Midoriya." the boy growled.
Airjet looked concerned upon seeing Deku, and Deku seemed to understand just why that was.
"Don't worry… I don't intend to take credit for this, or get you affiliated with me." Deku stated, charging up One for All in his limbs and taking off.
Airjet breathed in a sigh of relief.
"Jeez…" Airjet muttered, "That kid is something else."
Airjet then turned around to his affiliates, and shouted out,
"Come on guys! We gotta bring this guy into custody! There aren't infinite villains, so as long as we stay strong, we can beat them!"
Deku sped away from the scene, and without a place to call home for the moment, he simply looked around for the next villain attack.
Under normal circumstances, it would be odd for someone such as Deku to be acting as a hero… after all, without a license, he was no more than a vigilante. However, Deku didn't have much of a choice in this scenario.
Stopping on a nearby rooftop, Deku breathed heavily. While he wanted to be fine, he knew that he wasn't. His stomach rumbled heavily… he hadn't eaten in a day.
Opening up a pouch in his utility belt, Deku decided to pull out one of the last pieces of food he still had… an apple; leftovers from the food that Ida had brought for him and Aizawa just a week before.
Alongside the apple, however, a somewhat brown piece of paper flew out from out of Deku's utility belt as well. Utilizing his the wrist on his free hand, Izuku summoned a tendril of Blackwhip in order to catch this paper.
"Hard to believe that just about a week ago, my biggest concern was the Sports Festival." Deku recalled, "It all changed… because of this."
Grabbing the loose piece of paper in his left hand, it was revealed to be a bounty poster… but this wasn't just any bounty poster, because the contents of it bore a special significance to him. It read:
WANTED
DEAD OR ALIVE
IZUKU MIDORIYA
91,000,000 BERRIES
END OF CHAPTER NOTES
Here we are… we've finally finished the U.A. Saga of the story, which is the second major saga within it.
Now, we're moving onto my version of the Vigilante Deku story that was done in the original My Hero Academia… except, this is going to be QUITE different, and most of what'll be happening in the future will be my own ORIGINAL story beats. I hope you've enjoyed what's happened so far, because there's a lot more to go through!
Anyways, let me speak on Deku's bounty really quickly, since it might seem a bit high at first glance.
First off, Deku's bounty number is '91'. The '9' is there because he's the ninth wielder of One for All, and that's combined with the '1' because Deku's bounty is the 'End and the Beginning'. Very clever, I know.
Anyways… we all know that the 8-year old Nico Robin was given a 79 million berry bounty just for being the sole survivor of Ohara. This is because Ohara tried to research the Void Century, which had some details on the World Government's creation that they don't want the world to know about, for one reason or another.
Now, Izuku Midoriya has similar significance to the World Government. He is the only person in the Seven Continents who has been to the Grand Line, and knows about the horrors which go on in the Grand Line, therefore, the World Government has a similar reason to want to take out Deku as they previously did Nico Robin.
It's not higher for the same reason Nico Robin's wasn't so high in canon, that being because the World Government doesn't want to cause a panic within the Grand Line's residence. If Deku had a bounty of 1 billion berries, for example, people would fear Izuku Midoriya far more. The World Government wants people to think Deku is a dangerous villain, but not someone that will bring about the apocalypse. They want the Seven Continents to fear him, so that if he were to ever lose to someone, hypothetically, that figure would be more feared.
NEXT ARC SNEAK PEEK
Next time on Kill One Hero, with his bounty revealed to the world and All Might disappearing from it, Izuku Midoriya decides to take up his mentors duty, becoming the vigilante known as 'Deku'.
Meanwhile, at UA, the potential shutdown of the school is rumored, and Aizawa seeks to fast-track his student's education. Due to this and the paperwork already being filled out, the hero internships still occur, and all the students go off to their respective agencies... but a certain... hero killer, won't make it as peaceful as hoped.
Join us next time on Kill One Hero, where the Hero Killer Arc will begin, setting itself as the first arc of the Vigilante Deku saga!