Chapter 35: A Complete VictoryTomorrow Night.
All For One.
Sitting alone in the dark, All For One lets out a pained groan.
He's had 300 years, and this is the results of his efforts.
Blindness. Disfigurement. Reduced to little more than (a clone of) a crippled demonlord, at least, until he is truly forced to push himself. Because even if his Quirk practically handed him the world itself on a silver platter, and he's already whiffed it— and is only doomed to lose as more and more time passes— that silver platter was still placed right in front of him.
And All For One has never not collected a toy waved before his eyes.
Kinetic Booster x 4.
Strength Enhancer x 3.
Impact Recoil.
Energy Saver.
Endurance.
Durability.
Shock Absorption.
Forcible Quirk Activation.
And last but not least, Super Regeneration.
These are the Quirks that truly raise him to that of a Titan. But for All For One, both the man and the Quirk, the price for those gains is never paid. Not by them.
All of that power was built on greed and envy, on endless opportunity.
But now the Titan of Fear's reign comes to an end.
All For One, the man, snaps awake—
Right as All Might, his face without smile, slams through the warehouse wall. All Might's fist already pummeling his face into the warehouse behind him.
Because unbeknownst to All For One, the stage has already been set.
Nearly all of Kamino Ward evacuated right under his nose.
Kurogiri already apprehended by an elite strike team, including Midnight and Eraserhead. Already put to sleep and bound for... not Tartarus, but for a facility that will hopefully deprogram him, and recover the man that he once was.
"Johnny" already slashed to ribbons by Konan. Every Nomu with a clone of All For One, the Quirk, slashed to ribbons along with it.
All while a small team of heroes, personally selected by Nezu himself, raid Hosu General Hospital. Kyudai Garaki himself already under arrest. None of his nor All For One's Radio Wave failsafes allowed to activate, not when their opponent is infinite time itself.
Every Nomu of this timeline destined to be disposed of.
Every mole, every agent, every bribed hero and official (via Quirk or not) all on a list put together on Nezu's desk... and, as much as it grates on Seiki Yamazaki, a list of the HPSC's current moles sitting on the HPSC president's desk.
All of that information coming right from All For One's very own mouth.
Sent flying through the air, it isn't long before All For One feels himself strike water. His body quickly repairing the damage as he tumbles into Kamino Bay... and before he can sink, he prepares himself for the fight against his rival. Anger, hatred, and embarrassment already coursing through him as he finds himself caught completely off guard.
He starts to activate his Quirks.
SELF-TELEKINESIS.
LEVITATION.
PROPULSION RINGS.
He immediately rises above the water...
And All Might is already upon him.
And right before he takes another punch to the face, he activates three Quirks.
MOUTHS. OOZE. SHOCK ABSORPTION.
All Might's fist closes in on his jaw, only for that mouth to open wide. Layers and layers of teeth revealing themselves as his head stretches, his jaw now elongated enough to bite All Might in half. Ooze instantly generating from his unhinged throat, ooze that sizzles All Might's skin. Ooze that, thanks to another Quirk, starts to absorb almost all of the shock of the attack...
But it isn't nearly enough.
All Might's arm, now elbow deep in acid... strikes true. His fist pulverizing his many many teeth as it strikes the back of All For One's throat.
CRACK!
The overwhelming force rattling All For One's skull, sending him flying back... and before he can even react, All Might has already punched the air behind him. His rival was already beneath him, kicking off the water with an outstretched fist.
The Titan of Peace so strong that his punches of stockpiled power, that his punches of lifeforce practically bend reality. Allowing him to exert more physical strength than anyone else on the planet, more strength than even the Titan of Reality herself.
And with another burst of his brother's Quirk, All Might lands another hit on All For One's spine.
Launching him high into the air.
And even as Impact Recoil eats away at All Might, his rival simply bares his teeth and continues the assault. Punching All For One further and further away from shore.
And All For One doesn't understand.
Because this... this is not the All Might that he knows.
This is an All Might that has been taught how All For One thinks, how he acts. An All Might that was given a cheat sheet to knowing everything there is to both All For One, the Quirk, and All For One, the man.
Told that even if you take him seriously as a threat, to threat him as an "it." That if you treat him as nothing more than an obstacle to overcome...
It will piss him off to no end.
"WHERE'S YOUR HEROIC DRIVEL, ALL MIGHT?!" All For One screeches, throwing out a large spread attack of devastation.
Springlike Limbs, Kinetic Booster x4, and Air Cannon coming together to... to send water high into the sky. An attack that would ruin Kamino Ward... but over the bay, All Might is free to dodge with a punch. Free to instantly maneuver around it, free to land another punch to All For One's skull. All without saying a single world.
And All For One, the man, finds his thoughts growing hazy.
Because even if Super Regeneration can heal any and all damage, every rattle to his skull diminishes his consciousness. And if he is simply knocked out, that will be his end.
Because All For One, the Quirk, will not be "forced" to intervene on his behalf.
And so it continues.
Another punch. Another lashing of Quirks.
But even as Kamino Bay ends up covered in streaks of ice, in magma, of flames and earth— even as water rises to form a Tsunami that blocks out the night sky— all of it is simply punched away. The Titan of Peace not holding back one bit.
So All For One pulls out his final card. A card he didn't pull during their first battle... but one he'll make sure to use now, when this could very well be their last.
OMNI-FACTOR UNLEASH!
...Only for him to be unable to feel his Quirks, for just a moment.
Standing at the edge of Kamino Bay, Eraserhead is now on the scene, erasing his Quirks for just half a second. Ready to erase his Quirks the second he tries such a thing again.
And as he's pushed to a corner...
All For One, the man, feels cornered enough to call on a card that he'd been saving, one that he doesn't want to use here— but if he has to, he will.
Because right now, it's all he has.
"I FOUND NANA'S SON!" he screeches. "I FOUND HIM! WARPED HER SON INTO AN ABUSER, AND THEN MADE NANA'S GRANDSON KILL THE REST OF HER FAMILY! AND NOW THAT BOY, TENKO SHIMURA, HATES YOU MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE!"
And even if this isn't how he wanted it to go... All For One grins.
Because he can tell. His Lie Detection and half a dozen support Quirks letting him pick up on All Might's heartache, his hesitation. Even before All Might answers his question.
But only for a moment.
"You truly are a gross existence," his rival mutters.
Then All For One falters as he takes yet another fist to the face. His brain stuttering as his Quirks start to deactivate, but both Life Force and Super Regeneration continue to keep him alive. Alive enough that, even if he knows that he'll lose here... he doesn't think he'll die.
Then All For One, the man, falls to the throes of sleep.
All while All For One, the Quirk, is not given the chance to act.
And so ends the Titan of Fear's reign.
*
The Next Day.
Nezu.
"...And that's everything accounted for," Nezu says. Listing off all of All For One's assets, and how they'd be handled.
His rodent heart ached when he thought of what had been done with Oboro, when he thought of Tenko— or Tomura, as he now calls himself. Nezu didn't know whether or not reform is possible, but he's willing to let Toshinori try reaching through to the boy.
Same with Shota and Hizashi trying to reach through to Oboro.
"And you know... after everything you told me, I might've pulled some strings."
Seiki perked up at that. "Oh?"
"Yep. After the HPSC was given..." he let out a small chuckle, "my insights into both All For One, the man and the Quirk, they know that he's not to be trifled with. And since I am the leading expert that's provided all of this horrifying information, I've been given a lot more leeway into how they contain him. The word contain being a little loose in this context.
"The public is unaware, but two prisoners left Tartarus yesterday. Alabaster and King."
"Alabaster and King..." Seiki's eyes swirl. "Oh. Oh. You didn't..."
Nezu cackled. "I did indeed! Because even if they can read his vitals— even if they can make specialized ammo that can pierce his skull and kill him the moment he thinks of activating a Quirk— something that I'm fairly certain we can't make, not without a ludicrous amount of time and effort— we can always go nuclear. And if there aren't any Quirks capable of surviving a warhead detonating within Tartarus, well, All For One— man or Quirk— won't make it out. Not when a single blast of Radio Waves will just kill himself instantly."
"They actually sanctioned that?" Seiki asks in disbelief.
"They had no choice. Not when Yuuei highschool found itself unable to continue its operations off the coast of Japan, not when All For One could strike at any moment."
Seiki takes a moment to answer.
"You really did that, huh..."
"Yes, I did. While we do not know the limits that All For One, the Quirk, can reach... I feel that it won't ever be able to overcome this. Not with you knowing the very moment that it tries such a thing."
Seiki doesn't say anything.
"Only five people— Eraserhead, All Might, Sir Nighteye, Sir's mother, and myself— know the truth of your Quirk. And that's it. No one else knows of your involvement of All For One's defeat, not even All For One himself. And now you're free to live your life however you please." Nezu states. "And if need be, we can do this all over again... but to get this exact scenario— or at least to hit the general criteria— you will most likely have to interact with me. Which, unfortunately, will lead to me knowing of your Quirk.
"Not that I'll ever be your enemy... as long as you aren't stupid.
"So Seiki Yamazaki. Will you be keeping this timeline? And if you're leaving, please tell my other selves, when you meet them, that my Quirk is alive. Because knowing there's more to my Quirk, to everyone's Quirk, is a most fascinating discovery indeed..."
And Nezu, despite all of his efforts, can't tell just what Seiki is Yamazaki is thinking. And given just how many times the boy's eyes have swirled mid conversation, that was almost certainly done on purpose.
SAVE4.
And sitting in his mom's lap, Seiki mutters, "Fuck you and your cold reads, mouse man..."
LOAD2.