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The shopping district.
A humanoid monster formed from dark green sludge was tearing down the main street.
Its tiny pupils were lost in huge, white-rimmed eyes that radiated madness.
“Where are the heroes?
Why isn’t anyone handling this?
This is an incident!”
“What do we do?
Someone hurry up and deal with it!”
People gathered near the supermarket entrance, worry spreading through the crowd.
This was only a small city.
Incidents rarely happened here, which meant few hero agencies kept a permanent presence nearby.
“I wonder when this will end.”
Unease rolled through the street.
“It will end.”
A deep middle-aged voice rang out from behind the crowd.
“If you’re wondering why…”
The automatic doors opened.
A man built from impossible slabs of muscle stepped through them.
“Because I am here!”
The crowd turned as one, then froze in shock.
“A-All Might?”
By the time they shouted his name, the man had already vanished.
Elsewhere, in an unknown tunnel.
Midoriya Izuku, still recovering after Bakugo had tormented him again over the career forms, walked with his hero notebook clutched in both hands.
He was trying desperately to encourage himself and never noticed the sludge beginning to seep from the underground pipes behind him.
‘Do I go or not?’
In the real world, Ren was carefully following Bakugo from a distance.
After school, he had not left right away.
Instead, he had watched.
Just as the story said, Midoriya had been harassed by Bakugo again, and his notebook had been thrown away.
That finally confirmed it.
Today was the day Midoriya Izuku met the world’s No.
1 Hero.
All Might.
Bakugo Katsuki was the one Ren was following now.
Soon, he would run into the first major crisis of his life: the Sludge Villain.
For Bakugo and Midoriya, this was the turning point where both of their lives began to move.
“Damn it.”
Bakugo suddenly turned left into a narrow alley.
Ren cursed under his breath and quickened his pace.
“Who are you?
Why are you following me?”
The instant Ren turned the corner, a fist carrying the smell of smoke shot toward his face.
Caught off guard, he could only raise both arms and take the hit.
Boom.
The explosion cracked through the alley.
The impact slammed Ren into a stained wall hard enough to send bits of grit and plaster raining down.
“Mikage?”
Bakugo frowned when he saw who it was.
He had noticed someone following him the moment he left school.
That was why he had not brought his two lackeys along.
He had wanted to draw the person out alone.
“Why the hell are you following me?”
Ren did not answer.
He lowered his head and stared at his blasted sleeve and the blackened skin beneath it.
A dull grief spread through his chest.
This was the power of a Quirk.
No matter how many years he trained, no matter how much effort he poured into his body, he still could not catch up.
The pain in his arms disappeared beneath the wave of loss.
‘I have to get a Quirk.’
‘I will get One For All.’
At that moment, Ren’s decision hardened.
He braced a hand against the wall and forced himself upright.
Then he raised his head and looked at Bakugo’s impatient face.
“Nothing,” Ren said.
“There’s just something important I have to do.”
“You…”
Ren’s sudden intensity made Bakugo take two steps back.
Then Bakugo’s face changed.
As if furious at the fear he had just felt, he kicked a discarded soda can on the ground.
The can clattered down the narrow alley.
Thick dark-green sludge spilled into the open air.
“That’s…”
The sound drew Ren’s attention.
His pupils contracted, and his expression changed.
“Damn it!
Move!”
Without waiting for an explanation, he grabbed Bakugo, who was still staring in confusion, and sprinted toward the mouth of the alley.
Ren knew the story.
Of course he knew what that was.
That was the Sludge Villain, the one All Might had captured.
It was also Ren’s target today.
But his plan had been simple: wait until All Might appeared, rush in, and make himself impossible to ignore.
With his current ordinary body, even after more than ten years of martial arts training, charging in too early would only get him killed.
Now all he could do was hope All Might noticed the disturbance and arrived in time.
“Mikage, what the hell are you doing?
Let go!”
Bakugo had no idea what Ren was thinking, but he could feel the powerful presence surging behind them in the alley.
Being dragged away like this only ignited his pride.
Unable to break Ren’s grip at once, Bakugo’s palm crackled with tiny explosions.
Boom.
He blasted Ren’s hand away.
‘Damn it.
His grip is still ridiculous.’
Bakugo stopped and turned to face the massive Sludge Villain in the alley.
A savage smile spread across his face.
“Good.
The annoying extra’s out of the way.
Now it’s just you and me.”
Bakugo Katsuki had never considered running from an enemy.
His pride and confidence would not allow it.
Bakugo was not worried about Ren, who had been blown some distance away.
After more than ten years, he knew exactly how stubbornly that guy refused to break.
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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.