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“The pillar holding society’s peace in place?” All Might repeated.
“An interesting way to put it.
But you are right.
My eye for people was not wrong, young man.”
His gaze on Ren grew warmer.
The boy had a strong desire to perform and more than a few little schemes, but his sense of the bigger picture was excellent.
His emotional instincts were strangely comfortable to deal with.
In All Might’s mind, Ren would have been a nearly perfect successor.
Unfortunately, the Quirk Ren had awakened was too powerful.
Perhaps even more powerful than One For All.
That day on the shopping street, All Might was probably the only person present who realized Ren had not used his full strength.
The boy had been forcibly suppressing a force that surged far beyond the limits of his body.
All Might had read the police report afterward, too.
The main structures of every building along that street had suffered unknown damage.
Residents were advised to evacuate until reconstruction could be completed.
And that was only the backlash from the power Ren had held back.
The Sludge Villain was in even worse condition.
He was still unconscious in a cell.
As for when he would wake up?
All Might was a combat hero, not Recovery Girl.
Was U.A.
supposed to send Recovery Girl all the way to a prison for one villain?
Nezu would be the first to refuse.
Still, if Ren’s Quirk was a power-enhancement type, perhaps he could train alongside that other boy.
All Might, unwilling to let such a promising student slip away, suddenly had an idea.
His uncertain expression bloomed into a grin.
“Young man,” he said, “become my successor!”
“Huh?”
Ren jumped in place.
What was wrong with All Might?
Why suddenly say something like that?
Had he not already chosen Izuku Midoriya as his successor?
Did Ren’s overwhelming charm make All Might change his mind?
No.
Stop.
That line of thought was getting weird fast.
Under Ren’s suspicious stare, All Might hesitated for less than a second before laying out One For All and its transferable nature.
In his mind, Ren seemed tight-lipped enough.
Besides, the boy already knew about his injury.
Telling him this much was not a disaster.
“However, I have already decided to pass One For All to a Quirkless boy who longs to become a hero, so…” All Might coughed awkwardly. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
Even he knew how strange this sounded.
Worried Ren might misunderstand or grow jealous, he hurried to add, “In truth, you were my ideal successor.
Your Quirk is simply very strong.
Once fully developed, it may even surpass mine.”
All Might’s face grew serious.
That was exactly why he had stubbornly wrestled a special admission seat away from Nezu.
He believed in Ren’s potential.
Ren looked at him in surprise.
All Might really thought that highly of him?
He could have kept that to himself, but of course this was exactly the sort of thing All Might would say.
For no clear reason, Ren’s mood lightened.
Still, there were debts to settle.
“So what exactly do I inherit from you?” Ren asked, rolling his eyes.
He had not forgotten that All Might had scared him twice.
If Insight had come with that catastrophic illness, or if Ren had any congenital heart problem, he would have died of shock.
Cause of death: All Might.
“Hmm…”
“Hmm…”
All Might fell into thought.
A moment later, he clapped his hands, his face bright with inspiration.
“Young man, you can inherit my will as a hero!”
Ren stared at him.
Of course.
Only a man who had turned his whole life into the shape of a hero could say that with a straight face.
“Fine,” Ren said.
“But even without inheriting anything from you, I can obtain your Quirk, One For All.”
Since All Might had been so honest with him, Ren did not mind revealing part of his own situation.
“What?
Impossible.” All Might’s expression changed.
“Except for that man, no Quirk like that should exist.
Besides, is your Quirk not a strength-enhancement type?”
All Might’s first reaction was disbelief.
After thinking it through, he still did not believe it.
The world held countless Quirks, but according to everything he knew, since the day Quirks first appeared, no one aside from the man behind One For All had possessed anything truly similar.
“I knew you wouldn’t believe me.”
Ren held out one hand.
A small explosion popped in his palm.
“That…
is that?”
All Might’s eyes widened, and for a long moment he could not calm himself.
“Exactly what you think it is.” Ren paused.
“I just stole…
cough, learned that Quirk from a classmate.”
He gave All Might time to process it, then pointed at his own eyes.
Permanently.
As for the power-enhancement ability you mentioned, that is the core power my eyes gave me, but it has a serious drawback.”
“A drawback?”
“Yes.
Based on the force of the attack and how much power I use, it consumes my life force to different degrees.
At least, that is what happened last time.”
All Might stared at him like he was looking at a walking cheat code.
Ren spread his hands helplessly.
That was the cost of Insight’s core ability.
“Consuming life force?” All Might’s voice turned sharp.
“Then that power needs to be sealed.
Better yet, never use it again.”
He was not surprised.
Powerful Quirks almost always came with drawbacks and limits.
If power that strong, power that even frightened him a little, had no restriction at all, that would be the truly strange thing.
“But…”
“Relax.
Learning other people’s Quirks has no drawback.” Ren saw what All Might wanted to ask and answered before he could.
“Calling it learning is my preference.
More accurately, it is copying with room to grow.
If you do not believe me, you can observe a U.A.
applicant named Katsuki Bakugo.
His Quirk is the one I learned.”
“I believe you!” All Might said quickly.
His expression made it obvious he would verify it anyway, but Ren did not care.
Given that man’s existence, All Might being sensitive about this was normal.
The ringtone cut in again, sharper this time.
Ren pulled out his phone, saw the caller, and his face twisted.
“Mom.
I’m dead.
I forgot curfew.”
“I have to go home,” Ren said, bitterness all over his face.
“Seriously, do not call me out at night again.
I am finished.”
With that complaint, he ran toward home without looking back.
“That boy,” All Might murmured.
In the night air, a faint smile curved his mouth.
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