The park was almost empty at 3 p.m. Hiroshi arrived ten minutes early—he needed time to mentally prepare for what he was about to do. He sat on a bench under a cherry tree that had yet to bloom, watching the makeshift training area where the original Bakugo used to come to practice his explosions.
The borrowed memories showed him years of solitary afternoons here, perfecting control, increasing power, building the arrogance that would come to define Bakugo's personality. But they also showed something else: the underlying frustration of never feeling good enough, of always chasing an unreachable ideal of perfection.
Those emotions didn't belong to him, but he could understand them.
Izuku Midoriya showed up at exactly 3:15, running with a backpack that looked far too heavy for his small frame. His messy green hair bounced as he approached, and his wide green eyes held a mix of hope and fear that Hiroshi recognized instantly.
"Kacchan!" he called out, stopping several meters away. The caution in his stance was obvious. "Thanks for... for letting me come."
Hiroshi studied him silently for several seconds. This Izuku was different from the one that would appear later in the series. Smaller, more fragile, without the confidence that would come with One For All. But the determination was there, burning in his eyes like a flame refusing to die out.
"Sit down," Hiroshi said finally, pointing to the open space on the bench.
Izuku approached cautiously, like he was expecting a trap. He sat on the far edge of the bench, keeping as much distance as possible.
"Are you really planning to apply for U.A.?" Hiroshi asked bluntly.
Izuku's face flushed, but he held his gaze. "Yeah. I know you think it's stupid, but—"
"I don't think it's stupid." The words came out before Hiroshi could stop them.
Izuku blinked, surprised. "What?"
"I said I don't think it's stupid." Hiroshi turned to look at him directly. "I think it's impossible. There's a difference."
"I... don't get it."
Hiroshi took a deep breath. What he was about to do could change the entire timeline—but it could also save lives. A lot of lives.
"Deku, what do you know about the origin of Quirks?"
The question only confused Izuku more. "The origin? Well, they appeared about 200 years ago with the glowing baby in China, and since then—"
"That's the official story. But there are things the public doesn't know. Things only top-level heroes and certain academic circles are aware of."
Hiroshi stood and walked over to the training area. He extended his hand and triggered a controlled explosion—but this time, he used one of the enhancements he had developed that morning. The blast was more intense, more focused, and it left a burn pattern on the ground in the shape of a perfect spiral.
"Quirks didn't appear out of nowhere," he continued, walking back to the bench while Izuku stared at the remains of the explosion, amazed. "They evolve. They adapt. And in very rare cases, they can be transferred."
Izuku's eyes widened. "Transferred?"
"There are Quirks that allow powers to be passed from one person to another. Quirks that can store and accumulate power across generations. Quirks that can evolve far beyond what their original users ever imagined."
Hiroshi paused, watching Izuku process the information. He could see the gears turning in his head, connecting dots he didn't even know existed.
"Why are you telling me this?" Izuku finally asked.
"Because I want you to understand something important: just because you don't have a Quirk now doesn't mean you'll never have one."
Izuku sat frozen. "What do you mean?"
"I mean I know someone. Someone who might be interested in a Quirkless kid who dreams of being a hero no matter the odds."
It was a half-truth. All Might hadn't met Izuku yet, but Hiroshi knew that meeting was inevitable. The difference now was that he could prepare Izuku for what was coming.
"Who?" Izuku asked in a whisper.
"Someone who understands what it means to want to protect others, no matter the personal cost. Someone who would recognize a true hero's spirit when he sees it."
Hiroshi stood again, walking toward a nearby tree. He placed his palm against the trunk and activated his evolved Quirk. The explosion that followed was unlike anything he had done before: controlled, precise, and completely cold. The tree was left with a perfect geometric burn pattern, like it had been engraved by a laser.
"But there are things you need to understand before that happens," he continued, turning back to Izuku. "The hero world isn't what it seems. There are secrets, conspiracies, and forces working in the shadows that would make your head spin."
"What kind of secrets?"
Hiroshi returned and sat down again, this time closer to Izuku. "Have you ever heard of All For One?"
Izuku shook his head.
"He's a villain who's been around for over a century. His Quirk lets him steal the powers of others and give them to whoever he wants. He's been manipulating society from the shadows—creating villains, destabilizing governments, spreading chaos."
"That sounds..."
"Impossible? Too big to be real?" Hiroshi let out a bitter laugh. "That's exactly the problem. People can't grasp threats of that scale, so they ignore them until it's too late."
Izuku had gone pale, but he kept listening.
"All For One has a successor. A boy named Tomura Shigaraki. In a few years, he's going to start a war that will destroy entire cities and kill thousands of people. And most of today's heroes won't be ready to stop him."
"How do you know all this?" Izuku's voice shook slightly.
Hiroshi looked him directly in the eyes. "Because my Quirk evolved."
"What?"
"This morning, I woke up with a second Quirk. One that not only lets me improve my explosion powers, but also... see things. Future possibilities. Probable timelines."
It was another half-lie, but a necessary one. He couldn't explain reincarnation, but he could frame his knowledge of the future in a way that made sense in a world of supernatural abilities.
"Is that... even possible?"
"The rarest Quirks can do things that defy all logic. And based on what I've seen, you have a crucial role to play in what's coming."
Izuku stayed silent for several minutes, absorbing everything he had heard. He finally asked, "What am I supposed to do with this information?"
"First, train. Whether you have a Quirk or not, you need to be in peak physical condition. Second, study everything you can about heroes and villains. Knowledge is power, and you're going to need both."
Hiroshi stood and walked toward the edge of the park. "And third, keep this between us for now. If my visions are right, you'll soon meet someone who can help you in ways I can't."
"Wait!" Izuku jumped off the bench. "Why are you helping me? You always... I mean, you've never—"
Hiroshi stopped without turning around. It was a fair question. The original Bakugo would never have done something like this.
"Because I saw what happens if I don't," he said at last. "And I can't live with that."
He walked away without looking back, but he heard Izuku shout after him, "Kacchan! Will I see you tomorrow?"
"Only if you don't waste my time!" he shouted back, keeping up the aggressive front.
But inside, he was smiling. Step one was complete.
That night, back in his room, Hiroshi worked on his second Quirk evolution of the day. This time, he focused on duration: could he make his explosions retain their energy longer instead of dissipating immediately?
The process was more complex than the morning's tweaks. He had to visualize the molecular structure of his explosions, understand how energy dispersed, and then fundamentally alter that dispersion.
When he finally succeeded, the explosion in his palm lasted a full three seconds instead of the usual instant flash. It wasn't much, but it opened completely new tactical possibilities.
Mentally drained, he collapsed onto his bed. He had thirteen days left until the U.A. exam, and every single one of them had to be used to evolve his Quirk in ways that gave him decisive advantages.
But more importantly, he had to keep preparing Izuku for what was coming. All Might would soon begin looking for a successor, and when that happened, Izuku needed to be ready—not just to inherit One For All, but to survive everything that would follow.
Because unlike the original timeline, this time they had an edge. This time, they would know what their enemies were planning before it happened.
This time, they had a chance to win before the war even began.
He closed his eyes, already planning the next day's training—for both himself and Izuku.
The fate of the world depended on both of them being ready.