The heavy armor was cut apart, shattered into fragments, and reduced to powder.
Still, the status window did not appear.
My whole body was torn open as if divided into sections, blood spraying out with the pain of flesh being gouged and sliced.
"So this is... all you’ve got."
I had already blown my body apart and rebuilt it once before while modifying it.
Pain like this was nothing. As long as I stayed alive, as long as I could take my revenge, I could endure it a thousand times over.
I forced down the Quirk I could barely control with sheer willpower.
A cross-shaped wound appeared across my body, blood seeping from every line.
Since this body had been modified with [Overhaul], the bleeding was heavier than usual, but not enough to stop me from moving.
"Tenma boy!! What happened!"
I raised a finger toward All Might.
Whoosh.
"Guh!"
A diagonal wound opened across All Might’s chest.
My finger was cut a little too.
If I didn’t have a status window, I’d have to figure it out myself.
I tucked my chin and raised my fist.
While All Might was touching his wound, I threw a few light jabs in shadowboxing form.
Stab-like wounds opened on All Might’s body, and cuts appeared on my knuckles.
Simple enough.
A body-enhancement Quirk that hurt me too, but hurt the other side even more. A double-edged sword.
The power was enough that a casual punch thrown into empty air could wound All Might.
"Enough games. Tenma boy. No... ‘Tenma.’ Stop this at once."
All Might’s expression was no longer that of a teacher looking at a student.
Those blue eyes, that crushing pressure. It was the same wariness he’d shown a week ago when he saw me disguised as Raven.
So he’d noticed. I needed to act a little.
"Three minutes and thirty seconds. The exam isn’t over yet. And..."
I gestured toward the wall beside All Might and sent a slashing strike through it.
The wall became a perfect cube-shaped sculpture.
"Now it doesn’t look like anyone else will get caught in this. Are you trying to ‘give up’ on the exam?"
All Might didn’t rise to the provocation. Instead, he shouted, "...Maybe there won’t be any collateral damage. But a Hero doesn’t exist to defeat enemies. A Hero exists to reassure people!"
"I’ll continue the exam, but if you keep making those ‘Villain’ eyes, I’ll have to fight you and stop you!!"
He was getting ready to fight again—
In an instant, a fist that seemed to shake the space around All Might slammed into my face.
Without wings, I couldn’t sense it in time.
Boom!!!
Before I could blink, I was sent flying to the very edge of the out-of-bounds line.
No good.
Even with my enhanced body twisting every joint, this would still count as a fail.
And because I’d been launched through the air, there was nothing to grab onto.
Wait... it was childish and insane, but one way out came to mind.
I bent all ten fingers into hooks.
Whoosh!!!
With the sound of air being split apart.
Space itself was sliced.
As if a black hole had opened where it was cut, I was pulled by the force and landed on the ground.
High-speed movement—at this speed, it was almost teleportation.
"Something I saw in a weird comic when I was a kid actually works...?"
Remembering a stupid character with the power to erase space had turned out to be useful.
Behind me, my foot, dragged by friction, was barely touching the white boundary line.
I looked up with a grin.
"I’m not out."
The moment I said it, I tore through space again and rushed All Might.
"No way... you grew stronger in that split second?"
All Might was startled by my ‘growth’ and drove more force into his fist with a violent roll of his shoulder.
I slashed.
Not All Might— the space between All Might and me.
My body was dragged aside just enough to avoid the blow. So brute force and close-range brawling weren’t the answer.
I threw my whole body onto All Might’s right arm.
Red energy began spinning in my hand like a drill. Not a trace of ease remained on All Might’s face.
Wiiing!!!
Just before All Might could swing his arm, red blood sprayed everywhere from his right arm.
This wasn’t a joint lock. It was grab-and-grind.
"In the first place... your technique and body are already complete. And you’re still growing even now! If I don’t go all out too!!"
With all his strength, All Might slammed me into the cement floor despite my weight and struggle.
The ground shattered, and I coughed blood as I was driven into it.
"Tenma boy! Lie still for a moment!!"
I tried to raise my arm for a counterattack.
The shockwaves around me were slowing my movements...!
"Detroit Smash!!!"
Crack!!
My vision was ripped away from All Might.
My eyes were still open. I was being driven through the ground, smashing rock and earth as I went.
I barely lifted a hand and used my nails to split apart everything I could reach, reducing the momentum.
Even so, I was driven down into a place where not even light could reach.
I remembered the feeling of using [Decay].
"This should be far enough."
Everything in front of me was cut away and collapsed.
All Might began falling with a shocked expression.
"Why... no, that can’t be!"
He looked seriously shaken.
It didn’t seem to be just because I was fighting him evenly.
Separate from that, he was gathering both fists to bring them down.
Strange. His momentum was weaker than before. More than I’d expected, even considering his injuries.
I leaped, spinning red energy in only one hand to meet him.
The moment we were about to collide, I used my other hand to slash and rake through the opening.
For now, the best defense was to attack first and interrupt his attack.
All Might’s stance wavered slightly as he tried to dodge.
I didn’t miss the opening and used high-speed movement to shift to his side.
I drove straight into the spot he’d said was injured.
All Might’s body spun and shot upward, smashing through the ceiling above.
I followed him back up, but All Might still stood there like a mountain.
"I-is this really an exam...?"
"All Might... and Tenma too... please, just stay safe."
The students could no longer move.
Even Todoroki was trembling as he watched All Might and me fight, unable to say a word.
I kicked the floor a few times. Red energy began spinning around my legs.
Rather than fists, I’d use kicks. My accuracy would drop a little, but the power would go up.
"Thirty seconds."
"I’m ending this exam now."
All Might silently gathered strength into his fist.
For a moment, it looked as if rainbow-colored light was circling his fist.
"That nightmare from back then is coming back to me... but this is where it ends. Tenma boy, forgive me for not being able to win without this!"
"United States of Smash!!!!!!"
Just being near us was enough to tear and break the ground around All Might and me.
It was coming.
Right before my red leg and his foot collided.
Rumble.
The buildings around us could no longer withstand the battle and began collapsing.
Not just debris—an entire block was coming down.
"Damn it...!"
All Might immediately stopped, despite the overwhelming attack, and ran toward the students.
Ice, wind, and All Might protected most of them, but a shadow fell over the distant Yaoyorozu.
"Ah...!"
Yaoyorozu froze in panic, unable to move even as the building threatened to crush her.
"Yaoyorozu girl!!!"
All Might rushed like light, but unfortunately the shock from his leap made the collapsing building block his path, nearly the entire structure standing in the way.
Even All Might slowed, trying to avoid causing more damage around him.
Yaoyorozu moved.
"Yaoyorozu!!"
Midoriya flew in, and just as they were about to escape, they were a few steps short of getting clear and ended up in danger of being crushed together.
Slash!!!
The building was shredded by a crimson storm of [Gearshift] flying in from the side. Right on target.
"Tenma boy!?"
All Might’s voice was stained with shock, but his eyes never left Midoriya and Yaoyorozu.
"Hah!"
All Might arrived, grabbed the mountain-like building with both hands, and hurled it toward an empty area.
Beep!
As the dust settled, the alarm rang out, signaling the end of the exam.
"......The exam is over."
All Might stopped me in a low voice.
"Tenma boy... you didn’t attack me."
I casually brushed off the dust.
"The goal of the exam wasn’t to subdue All Might. Ten minutes are up now."
I had already learned All Might’s full strength from this fight. The conclusion was clear.
With my current [One For All], I couldn’t win. If we had kept clashing head-on, I would have lost.
And even with Quirk reproduction, I couldn’t be certain of victory.
"And this was supposed to be ‘cooperation.’ I couldn’t leave my own side in danger."
In that last moment, I might have been able to drive in only one finishing blow, but with the public enemy [All For One] still out there, there was no reason to risk a life-or-death fight with All Might.
Besides, it gave me a chance to put on the mask of an overenthusiastic Hero candidate again. There was no reason not to.
"...Yes, you’re right. Thanks to you, I was able to save Midoriya boy and Yaoyorozu girl’s lives."
All Might let out what sounded like a relieved breath, but his body was still rigid.
"Tenma boy... your strength and talent are greater than anyone else’s. But don’t forget the heart that lies at the core of a Hero."
There was no hostility in his voice, only worried admonition.
While I listened to his lecture, the sensation of the status window returned.
At the same time, the power of [One For All] began to fade.
I opened the status window again, just a little.
The first thing I needed to check was...
[One For All [Severance]]
A transformed copy of [One For All] born through Quirk reproduction. At the cost of being unable to communicate with the successors or use their Quirks, it can directly sever not only objects but also the ‘will’ and Quirks of human beings.
+The copied wills of the successors remain, so it cannot coexist with Quirk reproduction. One of the two must be switched in order to use it. (Switch cooldown: 10 minutes)
So that was why All Might’s attacks had been getting weaker.
[Quirk reproduction] was strong enough on its own, so I’d need to think more carefully about how to use it.
While I was thinking, All Might’s voice broke my concentration.
"...And what exactly is your Quirk? Why were you after my hair? It’s similar to the person I saw called Raven."
So he really had noticed and remembered. Empty excuses would only poison things. I needed to tell him at least part of the truth.
"...My Quirk can reproduce another person’s Quirk if I eat their hair. But All Might’s Quirk failed to reproduce."
"Failed?"
All Might’s eyes were still full of suspicion.
I continued with an innocent expression.
"Yes. According to my ‘status window’ Quirk, it said the ‘inheritance’ was rejected, so I used a Quirk I’d obtained before."
"This is the first time something like this has happened... inheritance? What do you mean by that?"
Hide your weakness, and strike at the other side’s weakness.
Fighting and talking were the same.
Just as I intended, All Might looked away.
"Ahem... perhaps my power is the kind that can’t be easily lent to others, and your Quirk interpreted it that way."
He was clearly keeping something secret, so he changed the subject immediately.
"Hahaha! I’ve kept you waiting long enough. Everyone passes the exam!!
Everyone did splendidly. And Midoriya boy!"
Midoriya flinched and didn’t know what to do, but All Might grabbed his knees and bent forward.
"A-All Might? Please lift your head! Or I should be the one bowing—"
All Might’s calm, serious voice spread through the room.
"That’s not it. I want to apologize."
"I don’t have much time, but I need to say this."
"I saw your news, the articles, and everything that happened today. What I said before was wrong..."
"You can be a Hero."
"Even if you’re Quirkless, if it’s you... I’m sure it’s possible!"
The moment he heard it, Midoriya’s legs began trembling violently.
In the end, he collapsed to his knees. The sound that came out of his mouth along with the hot tears wasn’t even a proper voice anymore.
Only when All Might supported him did the words finally come out clearly.
"This is... the best day of my life. Thank you, everyone. All Might, Tenma..."
All Might gently patted Midoriya’s back a few times, then helped him to his feet and hurried off, apparently having another appointment to keep.
When I approached Midoriya to talk, Yaoyorozu came over, trembling and clutching her arm. The traces of tears on her face showed she had wiped them away in a hurry.
"Th-thank you... I owe you my life."
Since there was still a little time left, maybe I should shake things up a little more.
"By the way, you’re using your Quirk wrong. I know the right way, though."
"W-wait! If you know the method..."
I pretended to be busy and led the confused Midoriya away while supporting him.
"I’m busy. Come on, Midoriya. If I had time to spare for you, I might be able to tell you."
I could hear sobbing behind me. It kept following even as I walked away, but to me it was more than enough of a result.
*****
After putting some distance between us and the exam site, I tapped Midoriya on the shoulder.
"Get a grip. I’ve got something to say."
"Sniff... y-yes...?"
"Give up the special admission."
Midoriya, still being supported, thrashed in shock.
"W-what are you talking about!! I, I really have to do that...?"
"Yes. You and I both do. To become the ‘legend’ of U.A."
And for my own business plan of buying Quirks with entrance exam ‘scores,’ too.
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