All Might stood in the entrance, his presence filling the entire USJ.
"I couldn't shake the feeling that something had gone wrong here when I saw when Thirteen didn't answer my calls," All Might said, his voice carrying across the plaza with perfect clarity. "So, I hurried over, running into young Iida along the way. He told me of the villainy at work here."
His eyes swept across the devastation, scared students scattered across the plaza, Aizawa beaten and barely conscious, Megumi collapsed with Nomu standing over him.
His expression hardened, the smile disappearing completely.
"Have no fear, students."
He took off his blazer and tie, power radiating from every inch of his frame.
"Because I am here!"
Shigaraki had stopped scratching his neck, his entire body frozen in disbelief. "After all this waiting… the heroic piece of trash shows up. Heh…"
"Holy crap. It's All Might. I've never seen the guy in person before."
"I didn't expect him to be so huge!"
"Hmph… This is no time to talk, you idiots! If we strike now, we can kill him!"
All Might moved.
One moment he was at the entrance. The next, he was simply gone.
The remaining low-level villains near Bakugo and Kirishima barely had time to register the blur of yellow before they were unconscious, taken down in passing by strikes too fast to see.
Aizawa was on the ground, barely conscious and bleeding badly. All Might scooped him up with one arm without stopping.
Across the plaza, Nomu had turned back toward Megumi's collapsed form, fist raising for a killing blow.
All Might appeared beside them before the punch could fall, grabbing Megumi and vanishing from Nomu's reach in an instant.
Nomu's fist slammed into empty concrete, cratering the ground where Megumi had been a fraction of a second earlier.
All Might blurred across the plaza with both injured heroes cradled in his arms.
Bakugo and Kirishima barely had time to process what was happening before All Might was standing in front of them, the entire rescue sequence having taken perhaps three seconds from start to finish.
"I'm sorry, Aizawa. I should've been here." All Might said quietly, setting Aizawa down carefully. "Rest now."
He turned to Megumi, who was barely conscious, blood dripping from his nose.
"Megu… Young Fushiguro," All Might said "Can you move?"
Megumi tried to respond, but his voice came out as barely a whisper. "Shock... absorption..."
"The villain…" Megumi managed, forcing the words out through sheer willpower. "It's quirk is Shock absorption... it nullifies attacks that carry the force of several tons."
He coughed, tasting blood. "And regeneration. Hyper regeneration. Any damage you do... it heals. Its brain heals slower than its body. Inflicting simultaneous damage slows the healing slightly. But it's not enough."
All Might's expression grew more serious, listening intently. Understanding flashed across All Might's face.
"Thank you, Young Fushiguro," All Might said, and there was genuine respect in his voice.
He looked at Bakugo and Kirishima, who were still processing how fast everything had just happened.
"Young Bakugo, Young Kirishima," All Might said. "Take Young Fushiguro and Aizawa. Get them to the entrance. Keep them safe."
"But…the villains…" Kirishima started.
"Don't worry about them," All Might said. "I need you to protect them. Can you do that for me?"
Kirishima nodded immediately, understanding the responsibility being given. "Yes sir!"
Bakugo was silent, staring at Megumi with an unreadable expression. Finally, he grabbed Megumi's arm without a word, slinging it over his shoulder. As they started moving toward the entrance, Bakugo's jaw was clenched tight. His eyes kept flicking between All Might preparing to fight and Megumi's battered form.
'He fought that thing alone,' Bakugo thought, the realization bitter in his mouth.
And now Bakugo was being sent away. Being told to evacuate while All Might handled it.
They reached the entrance where other students were gathered. Kirishima was supporting Aizawa, who was unconscious but breathing.
Bakugo set Megumi down against the wall, he didn't say anything. Just stared at Megumi for a long moment.
Then he turned away sharply, arms crossed, watching All Might face down the Nomu. Biting his lip in frustration.
Back in the plaza, All Might stood facing Nomu, Shigaraki, and Kurogiri.
Shigaraki was scratching at his neck again, studying All Might with unsettling intensity.
"Of course, a government hero relies on violence. Heh… I wasn't prepared," Shigaraki muttered. "I couldn't even see him when he moved, but he's not as fast as I thought he would be, not as fast as he used to be."
"I guess it's true, after all." Shigaraki's scratching intensified. "Hehe… All Might really is getting weaker.
All Might's eyes locked onto Shigaraki, the ringleader with hands covering his body, clearly orchestrating this attack. The hero's tactical mind made the calculation instantly: take out the leader, and the rest would fall.
He exploded forward with devastating speed, launching himself directly at Shigaraki. The very air tore apart as he moved. His target was clear. End this in one strike.
"Carolina...!" All Might called out his attack, his hands formed like blades as he slashed toward the villain leader.
But the Nomu moved to intercept.
The creature's massive form shifted into position with impossible speed, placing itself directly between All Might and Shigaraki.
"SMASH!"
The moment of impact was cataclysmic. All Might's hand blade strike, meant for Shigaraki, instead collided with the Nomu's body. The creature absorbed the impact completely, its shock absorption quirk nullifying what should have been a devastating blow.
"Seriously?"
Without hesitation, Nomu countered with a massive punch aimed at All Might's head.
All Might evaded, twisting away from the strike with decades of combat experience guiding his movements. He immediately delivered a punch of his own, his fist slamming into Nomu's torso with enough force to crater concrete.
But the creature simply absorbed it. No damage. No effect.
Windows that had somehow survived the earlier fighting finally shattered from the shockwave. The ground beneath them cratered.
All Might's eyes widened slightly. This thing had matched his speed. Matched his power. And it could nullify his attacks completely.
"No effect at all?!"
From the sidelines, Tomura's voice cut through, dripping with satisfaction. "The shadow boy was right. Nomu's Quirk is shock absorption." He scratched at his neck, chunks of skin flaking away. "He was made to fight and kill you, All Might."
They grappled, Nomu's massive hands shooting out to grab at the hero. All Might twisted, dodging one grasping hand while simultaneously countering with a devastating hook. The creature was fast, inhumanly so, blocking and countering with movements that shouldn't be possible.
The exchange accelerated. All Might's fists became blurs: jabs, hooks, uppercuts, each one powerful enough to demolish a building. But Nomu met every strike, its body absorbing them with mechanical efficiency.
They separated, circled each other for a moment, then clashed again.
Punch. Block. Counter. Dodge.
All Might's fighting style was different from what anyone had seen in videos. He had always been able to defeat anybody with one or two hits. This wasn't the showman hero who smiled and posed for cameras. This was a warrior, technical and efficient, every movement served a purpose.
But something about this fight felt familiar in a way All Might couldn't quite place. The Nomu's speed, its raw power, the way it moved without wasted motion. It reminded him of something. Someone.
'It's been a while,' All Might thought as he dodged another strike, 'since I've fought someone on this level.'
Not since that man. The one who moved like death itself.
He pushed the thought aside. This wasn't the time for memories.
All Might's tactical mind was already working through the problem. Shock absorption meant single hits wouldn't work. But every quirk had limits. Every defense could be worn down.
He would wear down the villain. Like he always did.
All Might saw an opening and took it instantly. His hand shot out, catching Nomu's arm mid strike. Using the creature's own momentum against it, he lifted the massive body off the ground, his muscles straining against the tremendous weight.
He pivoted with practiced precision, preparing to drive Nomu down into the concrete with devastating force. A technique that would crater the ground and pin the creature, sealing its movements and ending its ability to fight back.
The Nomu's body arced through the air as All Might executed a powerful suplex.
The impact should have been devastating. Dust and debris exploded outward, obscuring the battlefield.
Inside the smoke, Kurogiri's portal had opened directly beneath them at the last possible moment. The warp gate had disrupted All Might's technique perfectly. Instead of burying Nomu's body in the concrete as intended, All Might had sent half of Nomu's body through the portal meaning the Nomu was now between him and the ground.
And then Nomu's hand shot forward, finding its target with terrifying precision.
All Might's stomach. His weak point.
The creature's grip was iron strong, fingers digging into the old wound, the injury that had nearly killed him years ago. Pain lanced through All Might's body as Nomu squeezed.
"UGHHH!!"
"So that's how it is…!!"
"Nice. You were trying to bury him in the concrete so he couldn't move around anymore." Shigaraki said as he watched as the Nomu was making the Symbol of Peace bleed. "Sorry, that won't work. Nomu's as strong as you are. That won't stop him."
"ARGH!" All Might screamed as the Nomu dug its fingers even deeper into his wound.
"Hahahaha… Nice work, Kurogiri. We've got him just where we want him now." Shigaraki said with enjoyment as he watched the pain on All Might's face.
"Ngh… If this is your best, then you picked the wrong place to attack! You should just give up now!" All Might said as he let go of the Nomu and tried to pry the Nomu's fingers off of his midsection.
"Kurogiri."
Kurogiri's mist began to return to his body, the warp gate slowly sinking the Nomu into the portal, "Normally, I wouldn't want blood and viscera flooding the insides of my warp gates, but I'll make an exception for a hero as great as you."
"You see, it's Nomu's job to get around that blinding speed of yours and hold you down," the villain explained, "And it's my job to close the warp gate on you while you're halfway through and immobilized."
The portal began to tighten around All Might's midsection as he was sinking into the portal. Leaving him vulnerable.
"Thereby cutting you in two."
At the entrance plaza, students had gathered, watching the battle unfold. The sound reached them even from this distance. A massive impact that shook the entire facility.
"How'd a suplex make an explosion like that...?!" someone wondered aloud.
"Yet he's a newbie as a teacher, with those cheat sheets and all," someone muttered.
"All Might's in a whole different league!!" another student shouted.
But not everyone at the entrance was celebrating the earlier display of power. Midoriya stood apart from the others, his face tight with worry. 'They might have a way to kill him...' he thought quietly. His mind was racing, analyzing every detail. 'Meanwhile, we're stuck here, helpless.'
'Even worse... we'd only slow him down if they took one of us hostage.' But the doubt gnawed at him, 'No reason to speculate about the villains... I just gotta trust in All Might!'
Other students were arriving from different disaster zones, emerging from the Landslide Zone, the Conflagration Zone, scattered and battered but alive.
"Ah! It's Deku and those guys!!" someone called out in relief.
"Nice!! They totally underestimated what All Might's capable of!!"
Midoriya's expression remained dark, his mind piecing together something no one else understood.
The memory flashed through his mind. Thirteen speaking earlier in the day, making a subtle gesture with three fingers raised. 'When Thirteen was saying how All Might wasn't at USJ yet...It was subtle, but he raised three fingers.'
Midoriya's daily routine gave him information no one else possessed. 'I check the hero news every day... in real time on my way to school.' He tracked All Might's appearances, his schedule, his pattern of activity. He knew the hero's movements better than anyone.
Around him, students were relaxed now, confident in their teacher's victory. "Guess we were worried for nothing... he's unreal..."
But Midoriya carried a secret burden. The truth about All Might that no one else could see. He understood what All Might was hiding beneath that perpetual smile.
He remembered All Might's words, spoken to him in confidence. "The reason I smile is to stave off... the overwhelming pressure and fear I feel."
Midoriya's eyes locked on the battle, remembering the steam rising from All Might's body growing thicker as he kept fighting.
All Might was on a time limit. And the clock was ticking.
But when the smoke cleared, something was wrong.
Then Midoriya saw it. The portal closing around All Might. Kurogiri preparing to bisect the Symbol of Peace.
His legs moved before his mind could catch up. He was running, sprinting from the Flood Zone entrance toward the plaza, his broken body screaming in protest. He had no plan, no quirk he could fully control, nothing but the overwhelming need to do something. Anything.
His mind screamed at him even as he ran, desperation overriding logic. 'There are still so many things...'
'So Many!!
'That I need you…'
'To teach me!!'
"All Might!!"
His feet pounded against the ground, each step bringing him closer. He had no idea what he could do, but he couldn't just stand and watch.
But Kurogiri noticed. The villain's misty form shifted, a portal opening directly in Midoriya's path.
"Foolish." Kurogiri's voice echoed.
The portal expanded to swallow Midoriya whole.
But then the ground beneath Midoriya's feet turned into liquid shadow.
Megumi's hand was extended, trembling violently. His face was deathly pale, blood pouring from his nose in thick streams. More blood leaked from the corners of his eyes like crimson tears. His entire body shook with the strain of pushing his quirk far beyond its limits.
The backlash hit him like a sledgehammer. Every cell in his body screamed in agony.
But he didn't stop.
The shadows consumed Midoriya, pulling him down and away from Kurogiri's portal at the last possible second.
Midoriya sank into darkness and vanished.
A moment later, he emerged from Megumi's shadow right next to him, stumbling and disoriented but alive.
"What..." Midoriya gasped.
And then Bakugo erupted from the same shadow portal, propelled upward by the shadows.
The moment both students were out of the shadows, Megumi collapsed.
His legs gave out completely. Blood gushed from his nose, his ears, his eyes. His vision went white, then black. The backlash of overusing his quirk while already exhausted slammed into him with devastating force.
He hit the ground hard, unconscious before he even landed.
But he didn't get to finish.
Because Bakugo was already moving.
The explosion was massive. "DIE!!" Bakugo roared as he descended from below, his palms blazing with concentrated firepower. The blast hit Kurogiri's metal neck brace dead center, disrupting the villain's physical form.
Kurogiri's mist destabilized, the portal around All Might flickering and weakening.
Bakugo landed hard, immediately grabbing the neck brace and slamming Kurogiri down to the ground. His hand crackled with explosive power, pressed directly against the villain's weak point.
"Got you, you misty mook!"
…
A few minutes ago...
Megumi's eyes were half closed, his breathing labored. But then he saw it through the entrance, across the plaza. All Might fighting. All Might struggling.
His eyes snapped open.
He pushed himself up, his arms shaking from the effort.
"Fushiguro, don't!" Kirishima grabbed his shoulder, trying to ease him back down. "You're in no condition to..."
Megumi shoved him away with more force than his exhausted body should have been able to muster. "All Might needs our help." His voice was hoarse but determined. His eyes locked on the battle below. "I'm not going to stand back and watch him."
Bakugo's expression was grim, his jaw set. For once, there was no smirk, no condescension. Just cold, hard determination. "He's right." Bakugo's fists clenched, small pops of explosion crackling between his fingers. "Plus, I still haven't gotten my turn."
His eyes blazed with fury as he looked at Megumi.
Kirishima looked between them, seeing the absolute resolve in both their faces. He swallowed hard, then nodded. "Then let's move. All of us."
They had gone back into the plaza together, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
…
Shoto arrived at almost the same moment, ice already erupting from his right side. The temperature plummeted as a wave of ice raced across the plaza, spreading with terrifying speed and precision.
The ice caught Nomu's legs, climbing up the creature's body and encasing it. But the ice carefully, deliberately avoided All Might by only freezing the Nomu's right side.
Shoto's expression was cold. "One of the weaker criminals revealed the Villain's plans to me." His eyes met Megumi's form for a moment. "He was right. They're here to kill All Might."
Thanks to the ice restricting Nomu's movements, the creature's iron grip on All Might loosened just slightly.
Just enough.
All Might didn't waste the opening. He exploded into motion, breaking free from Nomu's weakened hold. His hands grabbed the creature's arms, and he threw it back with tremendous force, simultaneously tearing himself free from Kurogiri's destabilized portal.
Steam rose from his body in thick clouds as he landed, ready to continue the fight.
Tomura turned his attention to Kurogiri being pinned down, "You've pinned down our way out. Well… This is a problem…"
Bakugo's grin was feral. "You slipped up, you bastard! And it's just like I thought!" He pressed his crackling palm harder against the neck brace. "The parts you can turn into that foggy warp gate are limited and you're using that misty crap to hide your real body, yeah?! Am I right?!"
His eyes gleamed with satisfaction as he remembered their first encounter that he had lost. "If your whole body was mist and physical attacks didn't work… You'd never say, 'That was a close one' !!"
Kurogiri tried to escape but not before Bakugo blasted at the brace.
"DON'T MOVE!!"
Bakugo's voice dropped to a threatening growl. "If I decide you're doing anything fishy… I'll blow you straight to Kingdom Come!!"
For a moment, silence fell across the plaza. The students had managed to disrupt the villains' perfect plan. All Might was free. Kurogiri was pinned. Victory seemed within reach.
Then Shigaraki started laughing.
It was a high, manic sound that sent chills down everyone's spines. "Not only have you beaten our level, but you're at full health…" He clasped his hands together as he watched calmly. " Ah... today's kids really are something… Our League of Villains should be ashamed…!"
His hand gestured toward Nomu. "Nomu. Take out the explosive brat. We need our escape route back."
The ice encasing Nomu's right side began to crack.
Then it shattered.
The students watched in horror as Nomu broke free from its ice prison with brute force. The creature's frozen limbs, which should have been damaged beyond use, began to regenerate before their eyes. The damaged tissue rebuilt itself at a visible rate, flesh knitting back together in seconds.
The creature's legs, now fully regenerated, propelled it forward with devastating acceleration.
Directly at Bakugo.
The speed was impossible. The distance closed in a heartbeat.
Bakugo's eyes widened. He was pinning down Kurogiri. He couldn't dodge. Couldn't block.
The impact came like a thunderclap.
But Bakugo didn't feel it.
Because All Might was there.
All Might appeared between Nomu and Bakugo in a burst of speed that exceeded even the creature's impossible velocity. His body took the full force of Nomu's charge, arms raised to block the devastating blow that had been meant to kill the student.
The collision sent shockwaves through the USJ. Sending all of the students in the vicinity flying backwards. All Might's feet skidded backward, digging into the concrete. His muscles strained against the impact, absorbing force that would have instantly pulverized Bakugo.
Blood sprayed from All Might's mouth.
But he was still standing. Still protecting his student.
"This guy doesn't know how to hold back."
Tomura's eyes widened behind his hand mask. "Anything to save a comrade, right? Just like earlier when, uh… That one…" His voice was filled with genuine hatred. "The plain one. He came at me with everything he had. But violence in the name of saving others is admirable? Isn't it, hero?"
He began to pace, his movements jerky and erratic. "You know what, All Might? That pisses me off!" His hands gestured wildly, scratching his neck between words.
"Heroes and villains both thrive on violence, but we're still categorized. 'You're good.' 'You're evil.' That's how it is!!"
"Symbol of Peace? HAH!! In the end you're just a tool for violence, made to keep us down! And violence only breeds more violence. I'll show the world by killing you!"
"What a load of hooey." All Might said seeing through Shigaraki.
"Idealistic criminals have a different sort of fire in their eyes. But you're just enjoying yourself, you big liar."
"You got me. Saw right through." Shigaraki said as he sneered at All Might's words.
"It's three on five," Todoroki said.
"Kacchan showed us the mist man's weak point...!!"
"These are some brutal dudes," Kirishima called out as he stepped forward, "but with us supporting All Might...we can beat 'em back!!"
"NO!!" All Might's tone left no room for argument. His face was serious, intense, the perpetual smile completely gone for a moment.
"GET OUT OF HERE."
All Might stood tall despite the damage, steam rising from his body more heavily now. His expression shifted. The perpetual smile remained, but something darker flickered beneath it. Something honest.
Todoroki spoke up calmly. "Things wouldn't have gone so well if I hadn't just stepped in."
"All Might, and I think you're bleeding... your time's u-" Midoriya said before being interrupted by All Might
"Right, you are Todoroki!! So, thanks for that!!"
All Might's expression shifted back to that confident smile, even as blood dripped from the corner of his mouth. "But fear not!! Sit back and watch a Pro get serious!!"
Shigaraki's scratching reached a fever pitch. The swirling motion of his hand against his neck was frantic, desperate. "Nomu. Kurogiri. Take him. I'll handle the kids."
The moment hung between them, heavy with implication.
Then All Might's expression hardened into pure determination, steam billowing from his frame. "I won't let you hurt my students."
Even with his powers declining rapidly, even with the time limit crushing down on him like a vice, All Might stepped forward.
Nomu met him head on.
What followed was beyond anything the students had ever witnessed.
All Might and Nomu clashed in a ferocious fistfight that transcended human limitations.
SLAM!
Their fists met in midair with devastating force.
"He's got shock absorption..." Shigaraki muttered, "You already saw it yourself,"
"That's Right!"
SLAM! SLAM!
They moved at speeds that created afterimages, their forms blurring as they traded blows across the USJ.
"A head on assault?!"
Each impact generated shockwaves that rippled outward, forcing the students to brace themselves or be blown back. The sound alone was deafening, like continuous thunder echoing through the facility.
WHOOSH!
All Might ducked under a devastating punch and countered with an uppercut.
"It's 'absorption,' not 'negation'!!".
"So, he must have a limit, no?!"
"Built to counter me, you say?! Made to withstand everything I've got?!"
Blood sprayed from All Might's mouth with each exchange.
"Then I'll just go beyond that!!"
GRAZE!
A punch grazed All Might's face, tearing skin.
But All Might's expression showed no pain, only absolute determination. His bloodied face turned toward Nomu, and he spoke through gritted, blood stained teeth.
"A hero's always ready to smash through trouble!"
All Might went beyond one hundred percent. He pushed past his limit, past what his declining body should have been capable of. He was vigorously bypassing the limit of Nomu's endurance through sheer, overwhelming force delivered faster than the creature could regenerate.
They collided again and again. The concrete beneath them shattered. The walls cracked. The very air seemed to compress with each strike.
No one else could get near them. The shockwaves created a barrier of pure kinetic force that kept everyone at bay.
"Tell me, villain. Do you know the meaning of these words?"
He pulled his fist back one final time, muscles bulging, power gathering for one last strike.
"GO BEYOND! PLUS ULTRA!"
The final punch was delivered with every ounce of strength All Might had left.
The impact sent Nomu flying.
Not just flying. Launched like a rocket, shooting upward with such velocity that it punched through the USJ's reinforced ceiling, through the roof, and disappeared into the sky, still rising.
DAKOOM!
The sound of Nomu's exit echoed across the facility.
The creature was sent flying out of the USJ, defeated.
Silence fell.
All the students watched in complete awe of All Might's strength. Their mouths hung open. Their eyes were wide with disbelief and wonder.
"Like straight outta the comics."
"He just smashed his way through the absorption. The ultimate bruiser..."
"And against that power... the regeneration wasn't able to keep up with that rush of attacks..."
"Yep. I'm slowing down," All Might muttered.