At this moment, the five of them, led by Igarashi Masata, were gathered in the lobby of the police station, quietly waiting for the operation to begin.
On the large screen in the hall, a live broadcast of UA High School's public apology conference was playing. The moment it involved something related to them, everyone immediately focused their attention.
Representing UA were the principal, Principal Nezu, along with Aizawa Shouta and Vlad King—the homeroom teachers of Class A and Class B.
Usually, Aizawa-sensei looked sloppy and half-asleep. But now, his messy hair had been neatly combed, and he was wearing a formal suit. His eyes were sharp and focused, giving off an entirely different impression.
"Is that really Aizawa-sensei?! I want to record this and keep it forever!"
Kirishima covered his mouth, trying hard not to laugh.
Masata, however, looked completely serious.
He understood clearly—this press conference was a critical test for UA. One wrong answer could destroy the school's reputation.
Sure enough, as soon as the conference began, Principal Nezu and the two teachers stood up and bowed deeply toward the cameras, offering a sincere apology for the forest training incident.
Instead of calming things down, their sincerity only made the reporters even more aggressive.
"As far as we know, UA students have encountered villains multiple times this year. What explanation did the school give to parents before this incident? What preventive measures were taken?"
"I've also heard that teachers encouraged students to join the battle this time, especially Eraser Head. Could you explain your intentions?"
"These reporters are talking nonsense," Midoriya muttered anxiously. "They're making UA sound like a criminal organization."
Everyone felt uncomfortable watching.
The teachers had done everything they could to protect the students. But there were too many villains, and the battlefield was too scattered. If the students had not been allowed to fight, the situation would only have become worse.
Fortunately, Principal Nezu, Aizawa, and Vlad King responded calmly and sincerely, repeatedly apologizing and explaining the circumstances. Their attitude prevented public opinion from turning completely hostile.
But the reporters were not satisfied.
UA was the nation's top hero academy. A scandal of this scale was too rare to ignore.
More and more questions were thrown out, subtly guiding public opinion against the school.
Even with careful explanations, the teachers could not outmatch professional reporters who lived by twisting words.
The expressions of Masata and the others grew darker.
"This is ridiculous!" Kirishima suddenly stood up angrily. "Who do they think protects them?! Now they're smearing UA—don't they realize they're helping villains laugh?!"
His loud voice immediately attracted attention from everyone in the lobby.
Masata quickly pulled him down.
"Sorry… I got too emotional," Kirishima muttered, embarrassed.
Masata waved his hand. "It's fine. You might be right."
He lowered his voice.
"There could be people among the reporters who are connected to the League of Villains. Their influence is far greater than you imagine."
"What?!"
Even Iida exclaimed in shock.
"Think about it," Masata continued. "Only teachers knew where we were staying. Even we didn't know until the last moment. So how did the League find the location so precisely?"
The group fell silent.
Masata had assumed they had already thought about this.
Clearly, they hadn't.
"So… there might be a traitor?" Iida asked slowly.
After thinking carefully, he realized that the attack had indeed felt strange.
"No way," Midoriya shook his head. "The teachers are all professional heroes. We've been together for almost a year. How could there be a traitor?"
He valued emotional bonds deeply and trusted their teachers.
Masata sighed lightly.
"Don't panic. This is only a suspicion. It's also possible the villains discovered it by coincidence."
"And we captured some villains. The police might have already gotten information from them."
With modern methods, it was almost impossible for criminals to hide everything—especially with heroes who possessed hypnosis or mind-reading quirks assisting the police.
Meanwhile…
In a hidden bar somewhere in Yokohama, Shigaraki Tomura sat lazily on a chair, watching the same broadcast.
Bakugo, tightly bound, sat nearby.
"This is amazing," Shigaraki laughed, crossing his legs. "Why are they being condemned? Didn't the heroes do their jobs? Just not perfectly."
"Do these people really think heroes are saints?"
"Heroes must always be perfect," Spinner replied coldly.
No one knew what methods the League had used, but Spinner—who had been nearly beaten to death by Masata—was now able to walk again. Though still weak, his recovery was abnormal, likely aided by experimental technology.
"When protecting others becomes mixed with personal gain," Spinner continued, "heroes are no longer heroes."
As a devoted follower of Stain, he had inherited both his appearance and ideology.
"Hey, don't interrupt me," Shigaraki snapped, annoyed.
He turned his gaze back to the screen.
"Is this society really right? Our goal is to make people think."
"As long as they doubt heroes, we've already won."
He grinned.
"Just wait for tomorrow's news."
"Heroes… will fall by my hands."