U.A. High School's Reinforcements Arrive

"No, that's not right. All Might must have weakened. That guy couldn't have lied to me... But the strength he's showing doesn't look like it at all..." Tomura Shigaraki scratched his neck in irritation. "If only the Nomu were here right now..."

As Tomura Shigaraki muttered to himself, Kurogiri, standing beside him, reminded him, "Look closely, Tomura Shigaraki. The injuries the Nomu inflicted are clearly visible on All Might."

"Their reinforcements should be only minutes away, but if the two of us join forces, we still have a chance to kill him."

"Yeah... We have to do this... We've got no choice but to go for it..." Shigaraki slowly lowered his hand, fixing All Might with the wrinkled eye visible between the fingers of the hand on his face. "...We have to kill him here."

Seeing that the enemies across from them still wanted to fight and that the enemies Shota Aizawa had knocked down were gradually getting back up, Shoto Todoroki said gravely, "We'll deal with these enemies and leave their leader to All Might."

"I hate to admit it, but that isn't a fight we should interfere in! Those two enemies are tough, but there's still something we can do to help All Might!" Eijiro Kirishima bared his sharklike teeth, hardened by his Quirk, and took a fighting stance.

"Deku... What are you planning?" Instead of taking a fighting stance, Bakugo turned to look at Midoriya, who stood there with his head down, lost in thought.

"..." Midoriya didn't answer. His eyes wavered intensely, and he seemed to be wrestling with himself.

"That's right. I'm the only one who knows about this danger!"

He raised his head and looked at All Might, smoke rising from his body, as he spoke with determination.

Kurogiri and Tomura Shigaraki charged out at the same time. Taking advantage of his formless body, Kurogiri flew low over the ground and spread himself out, trying to envelop All Might.

Midoriya assumed a sprinter's starting stance, the blood in his lower legs growing increasingly turbulent. Just as he was about to charge-

Suddenly, a piercing voice exceeding a hundred decibels rang out from the edge of the mountain zone:

"All Might, close your eyes!"

Ojiro, dressed in a taekwondo uniform, had somehow climbed onto a beam beneath the USJ's circular roof. Hearing the voice, he let out a shout without hesitation and hurled a cylindrical object down with all his strength. It fell straight from above, landing between All Might and the enemies!

Its tremendous gravitational potential energy converted into kinetic energy, causing it to bounce back up. It rose right in front of Kurogiri and suddenly exploded in midair, releasing a blinding flash!

All Might recognized the voice as his student Yaoyorozu's and closed his eyes without hesitation, trusting her completely. Kurogiri, however, didn't react as quickly. Whether he could even close his eyes was another question, and the sudden flash hit him full force, robbing him of his vision!

"Aaaah!"

He let out a wail and lunged wildly to the side, tumbling away. Before long, Denki Kaminari, who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, touched his metal plate again and blasted him with electricity, leaving him instantly weakened.

"I, Kaminari, am definitely the MVP this time!" Kaminari held Kurogiri's metal plate with both hands, a vacant grin on his face. He had only just recovered from his short-circuited state, and his brain was still a little addled.

Shigaraki paid Kurogiri no mind. Though he saw Kurogiri get captured again, he still charged at All Might!

He was almost there, just a little farther, just a little bit!!

Just as Shigaraki's hand was about to touch All Might, who was still standing there, gritting his teeth and watching him as though he had nothing to fear-

"Filthy darkness, you will not touch this symbol of peace!"

A black monster that seemed to have no physical form flew swiftly toward him, claws and teeth bared. It intercepted his outstretched hand, its head striking his palm. The tremendous force made him stumble and fall backward, but he reacted quickly, bracing one hand against the ground and flipping himself a short distance away.

The back of the monster's body trailed off into indistinct smoke. After attacking Shigaraki, it let out a scream and returned to its master, floating above his head. A closer look revealed that part of its head was missing and its body had grown listless.

"Who was that!? Who stopped me this time!?"

Most of the crow-headed boy's body was hidden beneath his cloak. Trembling, he lowered his head and said solemnly, "I am Fumikage Tokoyami, a man of darkness in pursuit of justice!"

-Fumikage Tokoyami, student of 1-Class A, had arrived!

Seeing his classmates gathering around him, Izuku Midoriya burst into tears.

"Everyone!!"

Tomura Shigaraki was furious. He had been just one step away, so why did people keep getting in his way?!

It was like building up a huge advantage early in a game, only for the enemy to somehow take out your team's main carry. You saw an enemy with only a sliver of health left and went in to finish them off, but the little minions you utterly despised kept getting in your way... Who could stand that?!

Still, the crow kid's monster looked as though it was on its last legs, so it probably couldn't attack again. Shigaraki wanted to attack All Might once more and had taken a stance to charge when-

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh-"

Several bullets struck Shigaraki's limbs at the same instant, making his knees buckle and dropping him to the ground!

"Ah, were we still too late...?"

Shigaraki looked up and saw a row of people standing at the entrance to the USJ training ground. They wore all sorts of strange outfits, and although they stood still, they made no attempt to conceal the anger in their eyes. One of them held a revolver and was dressed like a cowboy. He blew on the still-smoking muzzle of his gun.

"Students, I'm sorry we're late. I gathered everyone who could come immediately."

The gentle, easygoing voice came from the mouth of a white, molelike animal. Strangely, it had a reassuring quality.

Standing among the teachers, Iida shouted, "Vice class representative of 1-Class A, reporting for duty!"

When the enemies in the middle of the plaza saw the reinforcements from U.A. High School, they made no attempt to retreat. Instead, they each used their long-range attack Quirks against the teachers.

Mic stepped into the center of the stage and switched on the directional loudspeaker hanging around his neck as part of his combat suit. He took a deep breath-

"Aaaaaah-!"

A tremendous noise rang out at an utterly unbearable volume, producing sound waves powerful enough to damage eardrums. Fortunately, Teacher Mic directed them at the enemies. Otherwise, the badly injured Shota Aizawa might well have been left deaf without knowing what had happened.

A teacher wearing a brown trench coat, with a completely hairless head that looked as though it were made of metal, blew white foam from his mouth, directing it toward the enemies. As though they were clones, several figures identical to him took human form from the smoke and engaged the enemies in hand-to-hand combat!

The other teachers, under the principal's direction, went to help the students fight, and the situation was soon brought under control.

"Ah, so it's game over, huh? Damn it, Kurogiri's been caught again..."

A ring of people surrounded Tomura Shigaraki, shielding him in the middle. One of them asked in a panic, "Boss, what should we do?!"

"You haven't done a thing this whole time. Shouldn't you do something now?" Tomura Shigaraki looked at the ground and began muttering to himself. "If you still don't act, we'll have to declare this a total collapse. When I get caught, your situation might come out too, you know?"

"Tomura Shigaraki, surrender is your only option now!"

White smoke continued to pour from All Might's body, making him look somewhat indistinct, but he still wore a reassuring smile.

Just as All Might relaxed and all the U.A. students thought the outcome was settled, a bullet suddenly came from somewhere, flying toward Denki Kaminari as he held Kurogiri!

Kaminari's electricity had grown somewhat weak over the long battle. He was a little dazed and had let his guard down, so he failed to react to the sudden shot. Fortunately, Katsuki Bakugo, who was beside him, noticed it. He grabbed Kaminari by the hair and pulled him backward, rolling with him across the ground to dodge the bullet.

"Tch, there are still enemies...?" Bakugo looked up toward the place the bullet had come from, but no one was there.

Taking the opportunity, Kurogiri vanished in an instant, escaping the hands of Class A's students for the second time in the same way. He appeared beside Tomura Shigaraki and completely enveloped him!

Snipe's bullets arrived in an instant, but they struck only the thugs on the outside, hitting them in the legs. They fell to their knees, clutching their wounds and wailing.

Only a few hit Kurogiri, and one or two struck his metal plate. He let out a muffled grunt and forced himself to open a portal through the pain.

Snipe should have pursued them, but he hesitated. Looking at the thugs rolling around, he feared hitting a vital spot, and in the end, he sighed and lowered his gun.

"Snipe, let me!"

Thirteen's voice came through his voice changer. He aimed his hand at Kurogiri and activated his Quirk, Black Hole, despite the severe injury to his back, trying to pull Kurogiri toward him. But he was far too weak, and Kurogiri broke free.

He was powerless to stop the enemies from escaping.

"Symbol of peace, All Might! I'll definitely kill you next time!"

Kurogiri gradually vanished, leaving only Shigaraki's hateful voice echoing through the space.

Is it finally over... Looks like I'm not needed.

Jilan Jiyu's eyes remained closed. While no one was watching, the skull-shaped watch that had appeared on his wrist at some point opened and closed its jaws, then fell still.