When Izuku Midoriya tore himself free from the darkness, he realized he had been transported high above the flooded disaster zone.
"Damn it… that villain's Quirk is spatial teleportation!! Kill All Might? Why?!"Izuku took a deep breath before hitting the water, inhaling as much air as he could, then dove in with the posture of a professional diver.
If they came in, they must have deployed manpower everywhere. This place definitely isn't empty.
The moment Izuku turned his head, he saw a shark-like humanoid rushing toward him with its mouth wide open.
"Even though we have no grudge, farewell!!"
He can talk underwater?!
Just as Izuku was about to use One For All to repel the enemy, the shark villain was suddenly struck from the side. Tsuyu Asui kicked the shark-man away in one clean motion, then wrapped her long tongue around Izuku and pulled him out of danger. In her other hand, she was holding Minoru Mineta.
Twenty seconds later, the three of them reached the only boat in the flooded zone.
Izuku was gently placed onto the deck by Tsuyu, while Mineta was thrown aboard—because he'd been taking advantage of Tsuyu.
"Cough—thank you, Asui."
"Just call me Tsuyu-chan," she replied calmly. "But this situation is really bad."
"Yeah. Everyone's been scattered," Izuku said. "Tsuyu-chan, does your communicator still work?"
"It should… blegh."
Tsuyu began regurgitating, preparing to bring the communicator up from her stomach pouch.
"Then contact the others first."
"M-M-M-Midoriya!" Mineta suddenly grabbed Izuku's hand and pointed outward.
All around the boat, figures began emerging from the water—some looked like fish, others like octopuses. All of them were enemies.
"There's a big one!!!"
Mineta screamed, his face pale as all strength drained from his body. He collapsed onto the deck.
"Hey! Now's not the time to give up!" Izuku grabbed Mineta by the collar and shouted. "They're trying to kill us!!"
"I managed to contact the others," Tsuyu reported. "They're all still safe. But the communicator got waterlogged and stopped working. And it seems like everyone else is too busy to help us right now."
She tossed the useless device aside.
"Then we'll have to save ourselves," Izuku said. "First, let's gather everything we can use and analyze the situation. I don't think they know our Quirks."
As he spoke, Izuku removed the small pouches from his belt. The next fight would be brutal—there couldn't be even the slightest mistake.
"I agree," Tsuyu nodded. "If they knew my Quirk, they would've sent me to the fire disaster zone instead."
"Then while they haven't boarded yet, we plan our counterattack. Let's start by explaining our Quirks. Mine gives me overwhelming power—but it's a double-edged sword…"
For the sake of survival, Izuku laid his abilities completely bare.
"I can jump very high, cling to walls, extend my tongue up to twenty meters, and I can eject and clean my stomach pouch," Tsuyu explained seriously.
Both of them turned to Mineta.
He pulled a grape-like ball from his head and stuck it to the wall of the boat.
"Super-strong adhesion. If conditions are good, it can stick for over a day. They regenerate as soon as I pull them off, but if I pull too many, I start bleeding. I can jump without getting stuck to them myself."
After everyone finished explaining, silence fell for a brief moment.
Then Izuku looked up at Mineta.
"Mineta, how many times can you use your Quirk at most?"
"Dozens. Why?"
"I've got an idea…"
Izuku explained his plan to the other two.
"There's no way that'll work!!" Mineta immediately rejected it.
"I think it's doable," Tsuyu said calmly. "Mineta, don't be scared. You just need to keep throwing your grapes."
"Then let's begin."
Izuku jumped out of the boat and plunged straight into the water.
"Hmph, coming to die?"
"Once he's underwater, we'll—"
"YOU'RE THE ONES WHO ARE GOING TO DIE!! SMASH!"
Izuku concentrated all his power into a single finger on his left hand and flicked it forward like a forehead snap. The resulting shockwave generated a massive vortex underwater—a full-fledged water tornado that sucked in all the villains below.
"NOW!!"
Tsuyu leapt from the boat with Mineta in her arms.
"It's your turn, Mineta," she said, wrapping her tongue around Izuku midair.
"Screw it! I'M THROWING—THROWING—THROWING—THROWING!"
Mineta hurled grape after grape straight into the center of the water tornado.
"What is this stuff?! Why is it so sticky?!"
"Don't come near me!! We're stuck together!!"
After several dozen seconds, all the villains trapped by the adhesive formed a massive clumped sphere.
"Wow… Mineta's Quirk really is amazing," Izuku said, clutching his bruised, purple finger as the three of them climbed ashore.
"What do we do now?" Mineta asked.
"If the enemies are only this strong, then we don't need to worry about the others," Izuku replied. "They're all stronger than we are. Right now, we need to regroup with the teachers. You two head out first—I want to check on Aizawa-sensei and see if I can help."
"Alright. Be careful," Tsuyu said, grabbing Mineta and sprinting off along a side route toward the exit.
"Yeah, you guys—"Izuku turned his head—and froze.
Aizawa-sensei, who had been fighting moments ago, was now pinned to the ground by a massive creature.
"Hmph. I'm not the leader," sneered the man covered in hands."This specially developed Nomu, created specifically to defeat All Might, is the true leader of this operation. A Quirk that erases other Quirks is impressive—but what good is it? In the face of overwhelming power, you're nothing more than quirkless."
"Shigaraki Tomura."
The black mist materialized behind the man.
"Kurogiri," Shigaraki said. "Is Thirteen dealt with?"
"I've rendered them incapable of fighting. However, while I was engaging Thirteen, two students escaped the USJ. That means… the game is over."
"Game… over?" Shigaraki's hands clawed at his own neck violently."Kurogiri, if you weren't a 'portal,' I'd crush you to dust right now!"
"…Forget it. We're retreating."
Huh? Why are they pulling back so fast? Izuku wondered.
"But before we leave…"
Danger!
Izuku's instincts screamed. Without thinking, he dove underwater.
"Tch. Dodged it?" Shigaraki appeared by the water's edge, staring at the rippling surface in mild disappointment.
"Then we withdraw."
Just as the villains prepared to leave, the massive doors of the USJ burst open.
The Symbol of Peace stood there.
"There's no need to be afraid. If you ask why—because I am here!"
Shigaraki stared at the man whose mere presence sent chills down the spine… and smiled.
"Then the game continues."