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In a quiet corner of U.A., All Might leaned against the wall in his full heroic form, looking far too pleased with himself.
“Aizawa, you liar.”
Aizawa turned his head weakly, looking as if he might collapse where he stood.
“Oh.
It is you.” His tone went flat.
“You saw that?”
Then he looked away again, faint irritation creeping into his voice.
“Do you have nothing better to do?”
All Might acted as if he had not noticed the look at all.
“A rational deception?
April Fools’ Day ended a week ago.
Last year, you expelled an entire class of first-years.
Once you decide someone has no future, you cut them loose without hesitation.
And now a man like you takes back his own words?”
He grinned and pointed at Aizawa like a detective revealing the culprit.
“In other words, you saw his potential too.”
“His?” Aizawa asked.
“Whose?”
All Might froze for half a second, then coughed awkwardly.
“W-Who else?
Young Midoriya, of course.”
“Oh.”
Aizawa’s head drooped again.
He sounded almost bored.
“I thought you would be more interested in my student named Ren Mikage.
I did not expect you to care more about the kid who barely reached my passing line.”
“Cough.
That is not what I meant.”
All Might denied it at once, but inwardly he groaned.
Aizawa had called Ren his student.
Midoriya, meanwhile, was just “the kid.”
Still, young Ren was…
All Might sighed deeply and looked at Aizawa.
“Young Ren is a true genius.
I even felt something from him I have almost never felt before.”
“What?”
“Defeat.”
Aizawa studied All Might’s low expression and frowned.
He and All Might did not get along, but the man was almost impossibly optimistic.
Aizawa had rarely seen him look like this.
“Is his talent really that impressive?”
“It is not just impressive.” All Might shook his head.
Even the V-shaped tufts of his hair barely moved.
“You know he reproduced One For All from me, yes?”
“Nezu told me.”
“Do you know how long it took him to control it after he obtained it?”
Aizawa heard the heaviness in All Might’s voice and looked up.
Sure enough, the No.
1 hero wore an expression caught somewhere between laughter and despair.
“Two minutes,” All Might said.
“Two minutes.
Do you understand what that means?
He did not even injure himself.
What exactly am I supposed to worry about with him?”
“So that throw was control, not luck.”
Aizawa understood now.
“And that is why you are only worrying about Izuku Midoriya?”
“What else can I do?” All Might asked helplessly.
“With young Ren, I cannot feel any sense of achievement as a teacher.
And there is something else.”
His headache deepened the moment he thought about tomorrow’s class.
“He has one flaw.
“A flaw?”
Aizawa looked skeptical, so All Might explained Ren’s particular brand of enthusiasm in detail.
When he finished, he added, “So tomorrow, during my class, I have no idea which poor student will be unlucky enough to face him.”
“Oh?”
After hearing the full explanation, Aizawa gave a rare smile.
“A hungry wolf dropped into a flock of sheep.
That might be interesting.”
There was real anticipation in his voice.
Then he turned and left.
Now that he had learned what he wanted, he did not plan to spend another second standing around with All Might.
“Interesting?” All Might stared after him.
“Too much shock can break a student for good.
Why did I tell you any of this if you are going to support it?”
“If a small blow is enough to make someone give up on themselves, why should I force them forward?” Aizawa did not stop walking.
Something unreadable flickered in his eyes.
“Letting people chase impossible dreams until they destroy themselves is far crueler.”
“So that is your version of kindness, Aizawa?”
Watching him leave, All Might could not help smiling.
“Still, we really do not fit well together.”
At that same moment, Ren was in the U.A.
library, studying like his life depended on it.
Books rose in stacks taller than he was.
He sat between them, flipping pages at a scanning pace while light flickered in his pale pupils.
Several titles lay open nearby.
Introduction to Atomic Structure.
Molecular Composition and Bonding.
Principles of Energy Generation.
The model student was under construction.
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I hope this chapter pulled you deeper into the story.
Stick around, because there’s still a lot waiting just ahead.