Big news!

I'm writing a story! ORIGINAL! Yes, you heard me. Consider fanfic production a bit slower from now on. Check out my pa-t-r-e-o-n / i4md47h to see the sneak peek. First intro is in the works and stuff.

What else, more brain meat. I'm thinking of ending the fight in another chapter or so and then begin Izuku's story arc, gonna consume a lot of brain juice from my end but I'll try to make do and make it work. Might need a capable editor/co-writer for this but I'll persevere.

Plan C was a desperate plan.

Garou never reneged on his promises, even when he promised to stand down and stop his unpredictable rampage across Japan, to let the heroes punish him and do whatever they wanted to him.

It was an opportunity All Might couldn't let go.

All Might made a desperate bet to take Garou down once Plan A and B failed, New Order could not subdue the Quirk-resistant demon, and he failed to overpower Garou's might.

He wanted to end Garou's oppression and bring him in, guiding the young man into the light and bringing a new era of peace. The world would be better with Garou supporting it on the side of good, even though Tsukihana called it 'conformation.'

She wasn't wrong, he wanted Garou to conform to what he thought was right, but he was willing to learn and grow from the experience, willing to evolve for the sake of the world… and himself. Speaking of the Shinjitsu, Ghin was probably, no, definitely cheering for Garou to destroy him.

He informed Cathleen Bate about his Quirk and his circumstances and explained to her as much as he could about the Hero Hunter without compromising Garou's greatest secrets.

Plan C was to transfer One For All to Star and Stripes to give her the power boost to take down the Demon Lord of Hosu at great risk… as much as he loathed to resort to that measure.

Garou was against Quirks because of humanity's overreliance on them, no, he probably believed that humanity was enslaved by Quirks to the point of being 'too weak.'

And, in a way, it was corrupting the good and hindering the true potential of mankind.

In a way… he was correct. All Might forgot the core essence of a hero until he saw Izuku's bravery in the face of danger, the willingness to stand against the strong despite their fear and weakness.

Garou's strength was beyond Quirks; even if Garou lied about not having a Quirk, he demonstrated skills that exceeded what his Quirk allowed.

If he weren't resistant to Quirks, he would've knocked out Stars and Stripes before she could lay a hand on him; All Might was sure of that.

The risk of discovery wasn't a problem; there was the risk of compatibility as well—Star and Stripe could die, exploding from the power if her body weren't strong enough to withstand the pressure of years of accumulated energy, the legacy of generations of heroes, and their hopes and wishes.

She managed to wield One For All without complications…

Then Garou destroyed all common sense with an accusation All Might had never heard.

All Might couldn't see Garou's face behind the mask, but he had never felt so much murderous rage from the young man.

All Might cobbled an alibi to explain Cathleen's power-up, but Garou already knew the moment she resorted to Plan C.

"...Eh?"

"You think you can hide the transfer of Quirks from me, you sack of shit? I wondered why you were ahead of the curve, but I didn't expect your secret to be this dirty. How many lives have you ruined to bask in the spotlight, meatbag?"

All Might realized that the only one known to transfer Quirks was All For One.

[...Oh.]

He heard the other past users of One For All arrive at the same conclusion, miens of fear and understanding mixed.

"You're wrong! You're making a mistake! All Might is-"

Garou cut the panicking Star and Stripe off.

"A lying piece of shit. I've been looking for All For One for months, you know? I've raided villain hideouts day and night to see if someone out there can steal and give Quirks. Now, it makes sense. The Number One Hero, the perfect disguise. You've fooled us all well, hiding in plain sight, building your reputation on the despair of the innocent."

As for All For One…

"Ahahahahahahaha!"

The enemy of All Might was holding his face, never laughing so hard in his entire laugh, the face All Might was making was priceless. All For One wanted to make All Might fall into despair and break his soul, but to see his enemy panicking in absolute fear and dread was even more delightful to see.

"Ku ho ho ho ho ho ho!" Doctor Garaki, the old, small doctor, laughed alongside All For One.

They were seated in Garaki's secret underground lab lounge, watching the scene with Kurogiri and Tomura. After returning from Hosu, Tomura had snacks, from chips to fries, on the table after his plan to take down Garou failed.

Kurogiri and Tomura were laughing as well. They thought watching All Might getting beaten up live was peak content, but Garou surpassed their expectations again, threatening All Might's years of earned reputation with a false accusation!

Tomura was conflicted on who to root for in this conflict, Garou was his biggest rival, but he couldn't stop himself from respecting the Demon of Hosu's ways. In a way, Tomura was learning so much from Garon by studying his track record, his methods, and how he came to power. He was more inspired by him the more he understood him, which furthered his self-conflict.

All For One was holding his face with a belly full of mirth.

"Ahahahahaha! All Might, you fool! You shouldn't have transferred One For All so sloppily! Your years of hiding your greatest secret have turned against you in your haste!"

To think that Garou would mistake his enemy as him! He adored this Hero Hunter even more now!

"Hahahaha… Sensei. I was wondering… Why didn't you expose All Might for his greatest secret?" Tomura asked a question after witnessing this, still laughing.

"A fair question. One For All is a Quirk I want to keep intact at all times. If the truth about One For All would spread, the chaos would force the wielder to change hands against their will. Think about it, Tomura, all villains worldwide would fight for the Quirk of the Hero that dominated the world. No, heroes would involve themselves as well. Not knowing that many of them aren't worthy to possess it. Wielding One For All carries a tremendous risk to the user, and if the new holder uses it unprepared…"

"The Quirk would destroy them," Tomura understood; his Sensei did not want to risk the Quirk self-destructing with the host.

"Yes, and One For All would be lost forever. And it would be troublesome to clean up the mess. Constant enemies vying for the throne are a hassle I don't wish to deal with."

Tomura nodded.

"But I never thought that someone would accuse All Might as you, Sensei. Let's see how he can escape from this."

Garaki chortled.

"Garou! No! He's not All For One! Please, you're making a terrible mistake!" Izuku was panicking, holding the TV with so much concern he could have a heart attack.

Garou didn't know All Might's greatest secret. He knew keeping One For All a secret might turn against Toshinori, but not like this! Izuku wanted to defend him, but how could he?!

"Who the hell is All For One?!" Bakugo was shouting at the screen, completely baffled.

"What is he talking about?!" Kirishima was confused.

The children were yelling to demand what was going on as those in the know were horrified.

"This isn't good."

Nezu grit his teeth as he held his mouse hands together.

"All For One… you know that All Might isn't what Garou believed, don't you?" Aizawa asked Nezu, broken from his mania upon hearing the accusation.

Nezu didn't answer, his silence was enough.

Midnight, Cementoss, every teacher at UA were concerned about the repercussions of this accusation. Even if the accusations were false, All Might's credentials as a hero would be destroyed once the truth of his Quirk came to light.

"All Might… Is this true?" Endeavour watched the television with his family.

They were at his wife's room in the hospital to watch All Might's moment of triumph, but they didn't expect to hear Garou accusing All Might to be the identity of the villain not known to the public.

Snipe, Thirteen, Ectoplasm, Present Mic, Recovery Lady, every teacher at UA knew that this would bring disaster to the Hero World if this wasn't handled."To think that All Might is him…!"

The new headquarters of the Silver Fang, moved from Hosu to another city due to the battlegrounds, was in an uproar.

The executives of Silver Fang, the managers, seated in a high class suite, Aaron Taronsasu, Kyorretsu Aku, Tenno Sukuito, Chisaki Kai, Dabi, everyone that was in management and elites that gathered at the day Hawks was captured, that was there during Garou's speech.

Crystal chandeliers, fine silk tablecloth, wine glasses filled with crystalline alcohol, plates full of the finest Japanese foods and silver tableware held in their hands, a wide screen television for them to see.

Even the small, mustached mayor of Hosu and his trusted, tall, redheaded secretary Stella were there as advisors and watchers were completely flabbergasted.

"...What are the repercussions if this is true?" Aaron Taronsasu, Ghidora Wyvern, heteromorphic siamese twins, two yellow wyvern heads sharing the same body, asked. The left head is Aaron and the other head is Taronsasu, their full names being two first names mashed together, no family name.

"Incalculable. No one would trust heroes ever again if true. Damage, unknown if false," Taronsasu, the other head, exclaimed.

Tenno Sukuito calmly rubbed his chin while being careful not to get pierced by his venomous fangs.

"What should we do? Should we initiate a campaign to attack All Might with rumors?" Tenno asked.

"Garou wouldn't allow that," Chisaki shook his head as he sipped his cup of sake. "But this requires investigation into All Might's background. We need to look for signs of multiple Quirks and cross reference reports of Quirks 'losing function' and All Might's timestamp. We can let the media piranhas tear him to pieces."

Kyotetsu Aku, the muscular four-armed yakuza that rivaled Rappa in height and width, hummed.

The Boss grimaced. Eri was watching beside him, confused by everything.

She wanted to see him fight, he said that it was a show as well as him training the strong man…

"Then how should we capitalize on the opportunity?" Tenno Sukuito, the golden spider, the man-spider heteromorph with golden chitin, six arms, two legs, and a face with eight red eyes stared at the screen as one of his left arms picked a piece of sushi and threw it into his insectoid mouth.

"Less trust in heroes means more profit for private security," Kyoretsu Aku, the Vajrayaksa, crossed his four arms as he calculated the gains.

"The idea alone is more than enough to stir the media in a frenzy, which is obvious," Chisaki didn't think that All Might was a Villain in plain sight all along. True or not, the idea fascinated him, the thought that someone that never followed justice could rise at the top of the Hero World was so ironic.

"But for now, let's watch and see how this will unfold," Chisaki was excited.

"Hey, is this All For One a big deal? What's so special about him to make Garou this mad?" Spinner asked around.

The grunts gathered in the large lounge.

Plastered walls of white, a massive red rug mat on the floor, a large number of couch cushions hosting the weight of many grunts of the Silver Fang watching the wall-wide plasma-screen television, bags of snacks, chips, and other Japanese snacks scattered around them.

"There are legends about a King of the Underworld that can take and give Quirks," one of the senior yakuza members of the Eight Precepts of Deaths sitting on a cushion cross-legged answered as he drank from a sake bottle in light glugs.

Every grunt was listening to this man.

"He is an immortal villain that has lived since the age of Quirks. All For One is his name… I heard from the Boss that Garou once looked for him, but even he couldn't find him."

"What? There's a badass supervillain like that?! That's so cool! No, that's cheating, he must die!" Twice, being himself, answered with dramatic approval and disdain.

"Ehhh? And All Might is himmm?" Toga pointed her knife at the screen, she was eating a plate of juicy steak and a Chinese bowl filled with solid pork blood cooked with scallions and scallions, slicked in delicious sauce, food to help curb her blood cravings.

"Don't know… but if All Might did transfer his Quirk, he's gonna have a lot of explaining to do," the yakuza nodded.

"That would make a great twist! All Might being the true villain all along, imagine that!" Rappa laughed heartily as he glugged a bottle of beer.

[In a way, he isn't wrong.] The First user of One For All offered his input.

[The Quirk that stockpiled power the more it is used originated from All For One. The connection between us is almost inseparable. Anyone not in the know would arrive at the same conclusion.]

[That isn't the point. Toshinori is recorded worldwide. The world will mistake him as your brother! I know he's out there laughing at this situation!] Nana reminded.

[I warned him against this idea, but he wouldn't listen! This is on your successor! What do we do, muscles?! You better have a way out or I swear I'll…!] The user of Blackwhip gritted his teeth.

[The best we can do is let Garou punish him unless he fixes this.] The second user of One For All, the wielder of Gear Shift, suggested.

[Good idea.] The user of Fa Jian agreed.

'No, wait, don't throw me to the demon like this! Wait, I thought you're all with Kathleen?'

[No time to explain, Toshi! Focus!] Nana pointed at Garou.

All Might returned to the matter.

"Garou! I understand how you came to that conclusion, but this isn't what it looks like!"

Garou's blade gleamed as he pointed it at All Might.

"It seems that crushing your balls isn't enough. Your ass is overdue for a colonoscopy. I hope you like the taste of Japanese steel in your ass."

"...huh?"

All Might couldn't process Garou's words for a moment when the imagery flashed through his brain. His sword… shoved right into…

Oh no.

"Oh shit!" Kaminari couldn't believe it.

"Do iiiit! Make his ass bleeeeed!" Ghin, the boy that grew close to Garou as a family, screamed to see All Might suffer.

"Ghin, no! All Might, do something, you dumbass!" Tsukihana screamed at the screen, livid that Number One Hero screwed himself with his recklessness. Again!

"He wouldn't!" Nighteye, Mirio, and everyone in his agency jumped to their feets.

"We have to get in there!" Mirio was ready to go in and assist All Might.

"Don't you dare! You don't know what Garou will do when he's this angry! We saw him kill when pushed, All Might might not come out with just his sphincter pierced!"

"[Garou just declared he will ram that sword up his ass after accusing him of being 'All For One!' We're looking into the background of this alias, and we'll update you viewers with a clear-cut answer! But All Might is screwed ten times over, I do NOT want to be him right now! He seemed to have pissed Garou off somehow! Will our Hero be able to literally save his own asshole?! And fuck censorship! This is too huge for guidelines, All Miiiight!]"

The woman of Yomeri News shouted at the camera, entirely in a manic frenzy, gripped like the audience for the conclusion.

Every Hero, Villain, and in between around the world watched, the viewer count was the highest it had ever been in history.

All Might was in danger. No meter or words could match the severity of Garou shoving a sword up his ass.

Garou was pissed. Very, very livid. The angriest All Might had ever seen at what he perceived as the greatest betrayal of everyone's expectations, for tainting the word 'hero' with his actions.

All Might was as pale and ghastly as the famous painting of a scared person holding his cheeks in horror - The Scream.

"I took it!"

Kathleen Bate screamed at the top of her lungs.

Garou slowly turned to Star And Stripe.

"...You?" Garou asked.

"...New Order can be any Quirk."

Star and Stripes matched Garou's gaze behind the demonic mask.

"I took All Might's Quirk. Once I touch someone, it doesn't matter how far away they are, New Order will always reach them."

Silence fell between them.

All Might's heart pounded against his chest as he waited for Garou's response.

"...You took his Quirk? Really? Then… Why now?" Garou asked Star and Stripe as he lowered his sword.

Thank God, All Might passed the first hurdle.

"It was All Might's idea. He's pretty smart, you know?" Star and Stripe flashed a toothy smile. "He gave me the green light. You're strong, Garou. We both know you're still holding back. Don't tell me you don't want to face the Number One Hero of America, with two Quirks?"

"Ohhhhhhhhh! How clever!" Garaki leaned in, pushing up his glasses.

"Can she do that with her Quirk, Sensei?!" Tomura asked, shocked by the clutch.

"I have no idea! And that is what makes it exciting!" All For One grinned, amazed by Star's bold lie.

Garou did not respond for a moment, digesting Star's explanation and taunting smile.

"...Ku… hahahaha."

Laughing, Garou tossed his sword aside, his weapon clattering next to his discarded metal bat.

"Hahahaha! Well, congratulations. Consider this my mistake. Fine, I'll hold off on the colonoscopy. For now."

'Oh thank god.'

All Might was so relieved that he dodged a nuke there. Star and Stripe saved his ass, literally. Honestly, he owed her a thousand autographs once this was over.

"So, how does it feel? Holding the Quirk of the strongest hero? Being the first hero to have two Quirks in history?"

Star and Stripe let her muscles bulge from the extra power. All Might warned her that the power was extremely dangerous, that if the body of the new user was weak, the power would rip them apart.

Or more crudely put: they go boom.

"Let's find out. Round Two, Hero Hunter."

Star and Stripes wanted to know.

How strong would she be if she were to use One For All with the boost from New Order?

Time to find out.

"Kathleen-"

Garou noticed it. Upon sensing something, he retreated a few steps, seeing the star-stamp that always appeared whenever the man-woman made a 'command.'

But he could tell that the New Order activated without the man-woman finishing her sentence. He had been subjected to the New Order more than enough to know that it was affecting reality.

As for Star and Stripes, she was caught off guard by One For All's power.

She only expected a simple power boost. It enhanced her physical stats to the level of All Might and also evolved her Quirk to another level…

She was curious.

She did not speak the words through her mouth but spoke with her mind.

She had applied super strength to herself.

She mentally gave herself superspeed; she could feel the change in herself.

Garou watched the man-woman shadowbox, throwing light, swift hooks at the air at high speeds.

She was testing her new speed limitations.

Garou entered the water stream stance, mirroring the old man's posture as he inhaled and exhaled.

"He's getting serious."

Ojiro noticed from behind the screen.

Everyone watching, from Hero to civilian to villain, all watched intensely for Star's next move, the first heroine with two Quirks.

Though in truth, she wasn't the first hero with multiple Quirks, but that did not matter.

Garou never fought someone with… Oh, wait, that thing. That four-armed abomination didn't count. It didn't talk, it moved like a meat puppet, and it ignored all pain just to fight against All Might, not a single shred of humanity from that thing.

That was why Garou killed it, it was no longer human, in mind and soul.

That thing was weak, even with more than one Quirk. From what he saw while standing atop a roof, the creature's Quirls were basic but enhanced, just a combination of substandard tools.

But this one…

He wondered what a hero with two of the strongest Quirks could achieve.

He still had no idea what All Might's Quirk was, just some Quirk that enhances his pow-

Garou immediately saw a large fist blocking every corner of his vision. Adrenaline kicked in, his reflexes reacting, he bent back in limbo.

All Might's punches could level the landscape and alter the weather, yet the damage didn't match its scale of destruction. It simply did not kill, only overwhelm, something Garou learned the hard way.

This punch was magnitudes above that of All Might's as he could feel the destructive shockwaves.

His vision upside down from limbo, Garou saw the land split and clouds divided in two, the man-woman's strength had surpassed All Might. Unfortunately, the woman's attack reached the other city.

He could see buildings uprooted, destruction in populated zones.

"...You stupid bitch, this is why I hate Quirks," Garou verbally lashed, still bent back ninety degrees.

"Fuck."

Star and Stripes cursed as she pulled back her punch, Garou straightening his back.

"Just got Quirk from your idol, and you're already messing things up. This is what you are without your Quirk, a useless woman in a costume - hurting those you're trying to save in your desperation."

His words were as heavy as his fists. As much as she hated to admit it, she needed to get her act together. Her opponent was getting angry at her for breaking the hero code, someone who was against Hero Society. There was no greater shame than that.

"...Why?"

Garou tilted his head at her unexpected question.

"I don't know why someone like you is like this. Someone with your power shouldn't-"

"You're only saying that because you're challenged. Don't tell me you missed your easy victories over the uselessly weak?"

Star and Stripes blinked rapidly at his accusation. She was being accused of enjoying bullying people.

"Eradicating evil and bullying the weak are two different things, and you know that! You know what I'm talking about!"

Garou scoffed.

"You're right. I'm saying you're a useless woman who is too used to winning easy victories with your Quirk."

Star stammered at his counter.

"Look at you. Thinking you're some great hero when relying on All Might's power to beat me. You think you're special because you have a great Quirk? And when it doesn't work as you hoped, you reach out for another Quirk. Is that what it means to be special?"

Star and Stripe blinked rapidly. She didn't know what he was accusing her of, but she could tell that it involved over relying on her Quirk.

"...You're mistaken." Star squinted. "My Quirk is strong, but that does not make me special. If that is all it takes to make me America's number one, I wouldn't be here. But you're right on one thing. I've been lax because of my over-reliance on New Order, and I'm paying the price. But that is not the point! Someone like you shouldn't be doing this! You should be with us, fighting for the sake of good!"

"What use would the world have for another costume added to the many?"

"Plenty!" Star and Stripe entered the verbal battle of ideals. She qualified to take this test.

"Evil profligates throughout society every day! The world needs more heroes now than ever before! This fight is pointless, you… you're strong."

Star and Stripe admitted.

"You're very strong. To be honest, you scare me. You broke free from New Order, the first one. You broke my confidence in my Quirk, and… showed me how lacking I am."

She confessed, knowing his ideologies.

"I don't know why you're doing this… no, I think I have a small idea. I owe you and your people an apology. I came here thinking that I am dealing with another villain. All I've seen before I came were videos showing you beating up anyone that challenges you and disrupting traffic in your arena. And I've seen how you started out…"

She had seen the videos of Garou piling the bodies in his earlier years. She was cemented in the belief that Garou was a bloodthirsty beast in human skin. However, All Might said otherwise, she did not know that Garou spared him and helped restore him to his prime.

"I heard you marched into my territory looking like an exhibitionist. You came here like a third-rate hero, it's too late to change my mind."

"What is a third-rate hero to you?"

"The one that deserves to be in the pile. Even more so that you're America's strongest."

Star and Stripe stared at Garou, knowing that his opinion of her was extremely low.

He was right. If she had challenged him head-on, one-on-one, she would've brought embarrassment to America and lost her license for nothing. He knew this and still gave her a chance…

"Well, then time to shift gears."

She would not let him get away with calling her 'third-rate.'

Garou froze. New Order's rule was placed on him.

He confirmed it. Somehow, All Might's Quirk evolved New Order to the point where Star and Stripes no longer needed a voice to activate it. From the looks of it, thought was the trigger this time.

The restriction was many times worse than ever. He gritted his teeth as he looked up, seeing Star pulling back her fist.

"Clench your jaw. New York. Smash."

Garou clenched his teeth as the uppercut made contact.

Garou had been sent flying past the clouds before. It was a painful experience, like he was hit by the earth erupting under his feet just to spite him. He didn't feel it at first, but when it finally hit him, he felt the cold, hard ground.

This man-woman, unused to All Might's power, reminded him of that time.

He could see the blue sky, the clouds closing in, nothing at first, before he felt the ringing in his skull, struck by a force of nature.

This time, he could almost see the darkness of space past the blue horizon, the shape of Japan's land mass beneath him.

It hurt. The punch rattled his skull.

It was the first time since his arrival that he felt… threatened. He grinned despite the pain; another few of those punches might down him.

But even if they did, he would not go down without a fight; even if his body was broken, his limbs gone, he would stand.

He grinned as he punched the air, rotating his body until he faced Japan.

It's time to see what the Number One Hero of America could do with All Might's Quirk.

Garou flew like an arrow.

Star and Stripe looked at her knuckle, surprised by the power she generated, greater than both New Order and One For All combined.

Her voice wasn't needed. Her thoughts alone could activate New Order.

She didn't think One For All would augment her Quirk to this point; she was now the strongest Quirk wielder in the world. The upper limit of enhancement commands had increased significantly, and her punch surpassed that of All Might's many times.

However, despite her new heights of power, Garou wouldn't stay down. She knew when he resisted New Order and nearly knocked her out.

The real fight was starting.

She looked out for the Hero Hunter, eyes darting left and right, hoping to find him. She could freeze him again, but she was afraid that would only build his resistance to her Quirk. All Might warned her about his dangerous growth.

His resistance was nurtured, not born, meaning excessive abuse of New Order's sure-kill move would make him completely immune to it. She did not want to deal with a Garou that could shrug off New Order like rainwater cascading an umbrella.

Her stomach exploded.

No, it felt like it exploded, the pain coincided with the sound of a loud heart beat as she looked down, seeing Garou standing, his fist lodged in her stomach.

It was the first strike before the storm.

Star and Stripe fought speedster Villains. They helped hone her kinetic vision and sharpened her reflexes, but none of her opponents wielded their speed with such refined control.

Her joints were struck before or during her attacks at the slightest twitch of her muscles.

All Might told her how he experienced Garou's 'martial arts.'

It was like fighting against the inevitable, irresistible flow of the water stream where he could rob and turn the power of his foes against them.

She didn't understand until Garou redirected her attacks.

It wasn't a forceful takeover of control of her power; it was like her power was turned against her whenever her fists made contact with the water-

Painful rapid jabs stabbed her arm for every punch, pinpoint strikes against her pressure points traveling from under her armpits to behind the elbow to her wrist for each right or left hook.

Her arms barely responded, muscles cramped and strained as Garou closed in.

A furious barrage began, hard, painful strikes, while she was helpless.

Throughout her career, she used her Quirk and physical prowess to finish off and arrest the villains of America, it was the first time she had to exert her combat prowess fully to this extent. She wasn't a pure-close combat type like All Might, and Garou surpassed her by far.

She did not have All Might's techniques… She could try it out, but she couldn't replicate All Might's Smash moves or his self-propulsion technique.

But first, she should even the playing ground.

Time to practice.

Though the bastard's reflexes were too good, jumping back at the first sign of New Order's activation on the ground. She was planning to have the concrete swallow him.

She increased the gravity on Garou as he crashed into the liquid concrete.

"So now you're playing dirty," Garou scoffed as he sank until his head was visible. His arms broke free as he stared at the encroaching fist and caught Star's plus-ultra punch.

He couldn't block it because his arms had to break free from the concrete.

Garou grimaced as he braced himself for the strongest face punch in history.

Outside the borders of Hosu, everyone daring enough to be present at the perimeter of the battlefield felt the earthquake. The flying cameras shook as the earth lifted itself, a towering splash of dust and stone rising so high one could mistake it for a nuclear explosion of pure power setting off in their country.

Le Brava squinted as she typed on the keyboards, trying to reconnect to the cameras and get a visual. Luckily, she found one camera intact. It was a miracle that the flying spherical cameras were still operational.

Gentle grimaced as he hoped Garou would pull through. Garou was the only one who offered his hand and supported his dreams. He showed him the right way of doing things while providing support and making a positive difference in this world instead of attacking Heroes for publicity.

"I got a visual!" Le Brava found a working camera.

The crater spanned all of Hosu and beyond that point, the land completely flattened and rounded in the crater of her punch, it was as if the world's greatest nuke detonated in the center of Japan.

"Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit, move those feet, damn it!" Yomeri's reporter cried out at the sight of the gigaton nuke.

She was running alongside her cameraman, the other reporters, and brave spectators, trying to outrun the seismic wave of uprooted Hosu about to crash down past the battlefield's borders.

In the eye of the destruction, Star and Stripes exhaled at the sight of the hold in the ground. She had never fought someone with this much tenacity in all of her… this amount of power would've killed even the infamous All For One, maybe.

Where Garou's head once laid, a hole replaced it, a deep chasm where the darkness would not reveal its depths.

She squinted and wondered if Garou was still alive down there… actually, she was scared to jump down and find out. The hole was as large and wide as ten cars in diameter.

She had never been so scared of a man smaller than her, villain or no villain; this man could destroy her confidence in her years of hero experience with a few exchanges.

Stepping into that darkness was similar to entering forbidden territory where her safety was not guaranteed.

However, within that dark chasm, Garou laid still.

His mind was blurry; he received the punch of all punches from Star and Stripe… Hosu must be destroyed at this point. The surrounding cities must be affected… this wasn't good.

His body was in pain, wanting to rest, but he refused to give into the darkness encroaching on his vision.

Her punch nearly knocked him out. His eyes opened as memories of his childhood…

He remembered those shitty memories that Tacchan… that bastard exploited his popularity and turned many against him and labeled him as an outcast. How he got him into trouble, how he turned the world against him, his parents didn't even know his struggles and abandoned him.

How that drove him into those mountains where the old man lived.

His motivation… his source of will.

Yes, he was pissed.

However, things have changed when he wore the mask.

He was no longer the monster he strove to become as he pushed himself from the rubble. This world gave him what he wanted… and taught him a lesson he never expected. The monster he wanted to become was far superior to the one he desired before, far more evolved.

This time, he knew what he was fighting for and what he should do.

He would become this world's demon, a mirror reflecting its ugliness back at them and showing them what they have become in a world where Quirks dominated everything, whether they liked it or not.

A world where Quirks have corrupted humanity's values.

His mask was cracked, the balaclava torn.

He ripped off the mask and balaclava.

His body was burning. He was hot, he could feel his heart hammering against his ears, his body burning hotter, as he drew strength from wells he never thought existed.

Suddenly, he felt a pain he had never experienced before as he fell. It was not like the pain he experienced before, it was more like his body was breaking down at a fundamental level piece by piece.

This agony that could shatter his mind, shatter anyone that dared to try to taste a fraction of, was beyond excruciating. Any other human would've screamed, but he bore through it.

Even if his body broke down, as long as he could move, he would never back down no matter what.

Star and Stripe had surpassed his expectations with All Might's Quirk as he raised his head to the heavens and screamed with all of his might.

All Might joined Star and Stripe as he looked down at the hole.

He was brushing off the clinging dust and pebbles off his hair and clothes, barely managing to overcome the shockwave of Star's strongest punch up to date.

[...Hey, muscles. Why didn't you go for the musclewoman instead of the kid?] The user of Blackwhip called out to All Might.

[I wouldn't have questioned your choice if I didn't see this with my eyes. She is more than powerful enough to defeat All For One in his prime.] The user of Smokescreen added.

All Might had his reasons.

'It is wrong to take a prominent hero from another country.'

Star and Stripe was the strongest heroine second to him in his prime, but her home was America, and he needed a hero to look after Japan in his absence. She was nearly perfect to be his successor because America would've refused and fought with all of its power to take her back.

As long as All For One and evil still ran rampant in Japan, All Might wouldn't let One For All go to any hero in this world, as selfish as that may be.

Now…

Garou was taking a long time in that pit.

"...He is taking a long time to get back up…" Star and Stripe muttered.

"...Ah ha ha… I am afraid that I might jinx us if I say anything…" All Might smiled.

"Yeah… Please don't jinx us."

Both of them knew.

Neither wanted to go down there and check.

In that bottomless, black-as-pitch pit… Star was surprised that her superpowered punch could reach that level.

All Might was afraid of ending up down there alone with Garou.

Star and Stripe did not want to jump into the darkness and be alone with Garou, unconscious or not.

[It seems our heroes have dealt a mighty, earth-shattering blow to the Demon of Hosu, and leveled Hosu in the process! And we got caught up in it; what the hell, Star and Stripe?! This is going on your permanent record! No way I'm letting you off in court for nearly killing a reporter, you bitch!]

The brown-haired reporter screamed at the camera, growing more crass as the excitement escalated into a sudden climax.

The daring spectators barely got away from the 'splash' zone. Most of the buildings outside of Hosu were covered in the soil and rock of the city itself, half-buried skyscrapers poking out of dust and rubble.

The cities around Hosu were affected by this catastrophe, but fortunately, the heroes and the government expected the collateral damage to reach outside of Hosu. From that moment on, whoever decided to stay in the danger zone was responsible for their own safety.

They were lucky they didn't get drowned, more fortunate that there were heroes on standby nearby just in case they did get buried.

"Come on, Garou! Rise! We didn't get this far to lose it all!"

Labrava and Gentle yelled at the screen in the camera room.

Screens were connected to screens and monitors adjacent to screens spread out before Labrava, each connected to the rotating cameras used to view Hosu.

The Silver Fang roared at Garou to come out and show the heroes why they fight and why they exist.

"...Should you… Use your Quirk to make sure he's down?" All Might asked.

It was extremely cheap to resort to such a measure, but Garou terrified him enough to use it.

"I did."

Star and Stripe placed a mental command on Garou to make sure that he was knocked out just in case. She was trying, really, really hard to down this undying demon once and for all. Once she got back to America, she was going to redo her training from the ground up, she needed to prepare herself in case she encountered another foe that could bypass New Order.

"...he's not resisting." Star and Stripe sighed in relief.

Her command worked on Garou this time.

She did not want to continue fighting this man. It was like fighting against a raid boss with almost zero ways to defend against, constantly pressured by her failing to meet the level requirement to take on.

She glanced at the camera drone descending from above.

She wondered how Garou's followers would react… This didn't feel like a heroic, well-earned victory. Nothing about this felt earned.

She still couldn't get used to All Might's Quirk, but at least they have brought down the Demon of Hosu.

"Kurogiri."

All For One was disappointed with the anticlimactic ending, but at least there was an opportunity.

All For One grinned at the chance for revenge. Garou had proven himself to be his strong rival, someone who could hurt All Might with his own power.

All For One lifted his right hand, his palms crackling with energy as his right arm swelled from his wrist to his shoulder with various Quirks he prepared just for this occasion when All Might was exhausted from the battle with the Demon of Hosu. He prepared multiple Quirks he cataloged and memorized, metal nails erupting from his skin, nut bolts emerging from his bones, his arm compressed and distorted as if it became a flesh piston generating pressure as lightning crackled from his fingers.

Despite being able to steal Quirks, there was the matter of Quirk compatibility. Regrettably, his body was incompatible with Quirks that activate via touch, like Tomura's Decay or Chisaki's Quirk. He had a bad habit of weakening his foes from afar using long-range Quirk combinations against his enemies.

Otherwise, he would have defeated All Might with contemptible ease, maintained his rule as the Dark Lord of the Underworld, and ensured that the hero industry would never have flourished this far. This might be a cheap shot, but this was the finest time to bring down All Might before he could adequately train Star and Stripe. Out of everyone that could be his successor, she was the most dangerous.

He planned to incapacitate All Might and capture him since One For All wasn't in his body anymore, forcing Star and Stripe to transfer his brother's Quirk to him.

There might be residual resistance from the transfer, but he was more than enough at his current peak to handle an All Might without One For All.

"Pierce Shoot, Springlike limbs, Impure Beam…"

All For One prepared for the ultimate assassination attempt.

One perfect shot behind All Might, one shot was all he needed.

Once All For One finished charging his attack, his charging laser, Kurogiri opened a dark portal.

Tomura and Garaki giggled maniacally as they watched the dark portal appearing behind All Might's back.

All For One stuck his arm into the dark portal and fired.

The screen turned white as he fired his Impure Beam.

It was a laser attack All For One developed during recuperation, a powerful beam attack that could take down one of his most powerful servants, Gigantomachia, in one shot.

If fired from a point-blank range at All Might behind his back, not even he could withstand it.

He might accidentally kill him…

But that was a risk he would take to down a nemesis in his prime.

The screen's whiteness faded soon, static dancing across the television as…

All For One stiffened.

Garou was standing between him and All Might.

And Garou was holding his wrist…

The camera turned left, showing All For One the destruction, the path his beam flew off course. Did Garou redirect the trajectory by deflecting his wrist at the last moment? Why didn't he feel the redirection?

All For One heard and felt a snap when Garou twisted his arm.

"Ahhh?!"

He was pulled down to his shoulder in the small Warp gate, unable to fit through by design.

Panicking, All For One pulled his arm back on reflex. However, he did not meet resistance in his retreat.

Because he did not just retrieve his limb.

Tomura, Kurogiri, and Garaki felt their heart freeze when All For One pulled Garou through the Warp gate.

Into their base.

Right at their location.

He landed in between them, standing eerily still as his head slowly turned towards All For One.

Worse, Kurogiri's Warp gate closed behind Garou. He didn't do it on purpose; he released the gate out of shock.

The demonic mask on Garou's face was gone.

What was revealed was a fearsome young man with blood-red hair.

Both eyes were red instead of one like in the pictures before.

He was scarier in confrontation than seen in the pictures.

All For One snapped his broken wrist back in place. It was a new experience, feeling pain from someone other than All Might.

All For One… felt a hint of fear for the first time. It happened so fast, yet Garou managed to infiltrate his base through human error, in that one infinitesimal moment.

"...There is no need for hostilities between us. My name is-"

All For One paused.

Since when did Garou get so close?