Did the cat eat the box, or did the box eat the cat?

Normally, if someone has faith in 'AFO' and has dedicated everything to the person they believe in, then no amount of cruel interrogation should be able to make them betray their faith.

This nameless remnant of 'AFO' is exactly the kind of person they are.

However, Saki Sakinagi Shushin's 'Quirk' was too strong, forcibly changing a person's mind.

Because of his 'Quirk', no matter how firm one's faith or how strong one's will, as long as Sakinagi Shushin appropriate language to ask questions, no one, regardless of who they are, will be able to lie or hide anything from him.

Of course, there are exceptions, such as those who happen to have a specific 'Quirk'...

Unfortunately, this nameless remnant did not possess such a 'Quirk'.

So he naturally told everyone he knew about the remaining forces of 'AFO'.

However, this intelligence meant that all of Uraraka Shige and the others had rendered their previous efforts futile, and their leads were almost completely cut off.

According to this unnamed remnant of 'AFO', members within the group are unaware of each other's whereabouts, and communication is almost entirely conducted through special means.

He was probably the lowest of them all, because he was always the one being contacted, so he had no way to proactively contact the others.

Of all the information he provided, the only information that would truly be useful to Uraraka Shige and the others was that a guy called "Doctor" had temporarily taken over leadership after "AFO's" death.

To be honest, Uraraka Shige doesn't remember much about that 'Doctor' anymore. He only vaguely recalls that the 'Doctor' seemed to have the means to create 'Nomu' and was very mysterious.

"So once we get rid of that 'Doctor,' we'll be completely free of worries, right?"

In the home of this 'AFO' cripple, Spinner, stroking his chin covered in blue scales, actually uttered this conjecture.

Naturally, this was immediately refuted by someone else in the next second.

"No, it can't be that simple... I think it might actually be the opposite. It's that guy called 'The Doctor' who's controlling the other remaining members of 'AFO,' consolidating and gathering their power, which is why our recent operations have gone so smoothly."

Sakinagi Shushin for a moment, then continued:

"After all... since 'AFO' died, the situation of his former subordinates can be described as being surrounded by wolves, and it's definitely not going to be good. Just think about 'Meta Liberation'; many powerful forces are searching for their whereabouts, and once they reveal any weakness, they will inevitably be met with fierce targeting from those powerful forces."

"Not to mention the police and the 'heroes' led by All Might. There are definitely a lot of people searching for them, and we're just a tiny, insignificant part of it... Hmm?"

At this point, Sakinagi Shushin suddenly uttered a questioning sound.

"Wait a minute... aren't we making a little too easy progress? Among so many guys searching for the remnants of 'AFO,' we're the only ones who've found this valuable clue so easily... Although the information this clue provides is quite limited, why haven't the other groups found this place? Why haven't they found this guy? If that guy Kurogiri Giran, has this kind of information, he wouldn't just sell it to us... But it's strange that no one else contacted this guy before us..."

Sakinagi Shushin silently calculated in his mind, then his face gradually darkened.

He looked up at Uraraka Shige and the others beside him, who seemed puzzled by his sudden change of topic. His lips trembled, and after a long pause, he spoke again, saying something he had overlooked before, something he only realized or remembered at this moment.

"Perhaps... it's not that we're making good progress... it's that we're being made to look good..."

Sakinagi Shushin's expression was grim, yet extremely grave.

"While it's possible that we were just lucky and everything went smoothly... it's more likely that ever since we got information about Dabi from Giran, and even after making contact with 'Meta Liberation,' we've unknowingly stepped into a vortex of conspiracy..."

"It's highly likely that we've unknowingly entered the sights of all parties, becoming pawns paving the way for them, with our every move exposed to their scrutiny."

"Even the path we're on might be orchestrated by someone else. While the forces searching for the remnants of 'AFO' are using us to test the remaining 'AFO' forces, the 'AFO' remnants are also using us to test those forces in return."

Sakinagi Shushin remained silent for a while, then began to seek opinions from Uraraka Shige and the others.

What do you think we should do now?

Uraraka Shige and the others were still somewhat bewildered, while Stain seemed to have figured something out and quietly observed them from the side.

Gu Yu was the first to respond.

To persist, or to give up.

Although Gu Yu's way of thinking was very simple... or rather, precisely because his way of thinking was very simple, he was the first to finish thinking and come to a conclusion.

Ultimately, it really comes down to only two choices: persist or give up.

No matter how many other options there are, they are all just extensions of these two choices.

Only...

That's not an answer at all...

Although Uraraka Shige didn't quite understand at first, after Gu Yu's words reminded her, she quickly figured it out.

"Well... no matter what, we weren't swayed by anyone when we made our choice, so of course we have to stick to it now!"

No! He didn't understand at all...

Then Spinner, seeing this, suddenly realized and echoed:

"That's right, now that we've come this far, we should definitely stick with it to the end!"

After everyone had finished expressing their opinions, Stein finally spoke:

"In this situation, the wise thing to do is to decisively stop and remain hidden in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity to strike. Besides, I have more important things to do..."

Sakinagi Shushin pursed his lips, squinted his eyes as if deep in thought, and remained silent for a long time before speaking again.

"... Since that's the case, let's continue on this path. Our situation may be dire, but it's not a certain death sentence. Perhaps we can use this opportunity to do something..."