A gripping silence descended upon the plaza.
Yaoyorozu, Jiro, and Kaminari's hearts felt like they stopped beating. They stared in horror at the dust cloud, imagining the worst that had just happened to their class rep. Aizawa gritted his teeth, guilt for failing to save his student slamming into his chest.
However, the dust slowly thinned and dissipated, blown by the wind entering from the shattered door.
There, in front of the pillar now reduced to its base, Nomu stood with its fist slamming into the wall… But there was no Fuse's body. Only empty air and debris. The strike had missed!
Shortly after, a soft clearing of the throat sounded from elsewhere.
Aizawa quickly turned to his side. There, All Might had appeared. The Number One Hero's breathing was slightly heavy. And beside All Might stood Fuse. All Might had moved faster than Nomu, snatching Fuse and relocating him to Aizawa's side in the blink of an eye.
Fuse, still clutching his stomach, smiled. The corners of his lips curved slightly, but his eyes twitched, holding back the pain.
"You're too late, Number One Hero," Fuse muttered softly, spitting blood from his remaining nosebleed. "But… the timing was dramatic enough. I give it a seven out of ten."
All Might glared sharply at Nomu and Shigaraki. Veins pulsed on his forehead. Without saying a word to Fuse, he bent his knees and…
ZRAAAASH! All Might vanished from sight, darting toward the sea of villains at a speed that tore up the floor. He swept through the front lines in seconds.
"Hey! Hey, are you really okay?!" Kaminari ran toward Fuse in panic, his face looking extremely worried.
Kaminari scanned Fuse from head to toe, ensuring no part of his class rep's body was missing or shattered. Seeing Fuse still standing intact, though his mouth full of blood, Kaminari let out an extremely long sigh of relief, rubbing his chest repeatedly. "Oh man, I almost had a heart attack."
"Why are you sighing so deeply like that?" Fuse snorted, wiping the remaining blood from his lips with the back of his dirty hand. His eyes still stared sharply at All Might's battle ahead. "Don't sigh in relief yet, Kaminari. A protagonist like me… just nearly died. The drama isn't over."
Suddenly, a strong gust of wind swept over them. All Might returned, this time not alone. He moved at light speed, gathering the scattered students near the plaza. He safely relocated Tsuyu, Mineta, and Midoriya—who had just landed in the water—to Aizawa's side with Fuse's group.
"You six, quickly head to the exit and get out of here!" All Might commanded, his eyes still fixed intently on Nomu turning toward him. "I have to entrust Aizawa to you! Get him to safety!"
"Eh!?" Mineta was shocked, his eyes rounding. He still couldn't believe he was in a safe spot. "Huh!? So fast… I didn't even see him move…"
Midoriya stood frozen. His eyes wide open, pupils trembling violently as he stared at All Might's broad and sturdy back. He could see thin smoke rising from the hero's body. Midoriya knew All Might's time limit. He knew the hero was pushing himself. All Might…
Aizawa, clutching his mangled elbow, forced himself to stand tall beside All Might. His face pale from enduring bone-piercing pain. "No," Aizawa said firmly, voice hoarse. "I'm not done yet. I can still move. My eyes can still use my Quirk."
All Might glanced slightly at his colleague, his expression disapproving. "Don't push yourself, Aizawa. Step back. You should leave this place with your arm mangled like that. If you lose focus from the pain, you'll just get killed."
But before the two pro heroes' debate, the sound of metallic footsteps approached.
Fuse limped forward, enduring the ache in his stomach, and stood casually beside All Might. He slipped one hand into his pants pocket. Blood still dripped slowly from his nose, staining his white armor.
"Let's work together," Fuse said, his eyes glowing red under the shadow of his visor.
He turned toward the muscular giant and paused, emphasizing the title. "Number One Hero."
All Might looked at the red-haired youth with a mix of surprise and warning. He had just saved this kid's life from instant death, yet the kid returned to the front line as if it were his rightful place.
"You…" All Might wanted to say something, intending to scold Fuse to retreat with the other students, "This isn't the place for—"
"You'll have trouble fighting that brainless artificial human alone. Trust me," Fuse cut in quickly and sharply, not letting All Might lecture him. "It has a Quirk that absorbs impacts and dampens physical shocks. Your pure punches, no matter how hard, will just feel like a ticklish massage to it."
Fuse slowly raised his right hand. The air around him crackled again. A large iron pipe, remnants from the villain weapons he had crushed earlier, floated up and orbited beside him with a threatening wunggg sound.
Fresh blood dripped from his nose again.
But Fuse didn't wipe it at all. He felt it was a futile action; for him, pain was the entry fee to this show.
At that moment, Aizawa, realizing the debate was wasting precious time, made a tactical decision. He saw Shigaraki standing somewhat far from Nomu.
"Then, I'll handle him!" Aizawa exclaimed.
Without hesitation, he charged forward, using his remaining strength, darting toward Shigaraki while preparing to open his eyes wide for Erasure.
Seeing Aizawa move and Fuse stubbornly insisting on fighting, All Might sighed in resignation, white steam escaping his mouth. He felt it was pointless to force this hard-headed youth away.
All Might turned back to Nomu. His leg muscles tensed like giant springs.
"Get ready, kid!" All Might ordered.
With one push that shattered the marble tiles into dust, All Might charged straight at Nomu, launching like a ballistic missile.
"Carolina…!"
All Might leaped into the air, crossing his steel-hard arms in front of his chest. He targeted right at Nomu's center chest.
"…SMASH!!!"
All Might slammed his attack in an X shape with his arm swing. From top to bottom, cleaving the air with tornado force.
DHUAAAARRR!!!
The strike hit Nomu's chest with a boom that shook the entire USJ dome. High-pressure wind swept the arena, blowing dust and gravel. The power behind it was enough to split a multi-story building.
But as the dust slightly thinned…
Nomu still stood in the same spot. Its massive feet hadn't shifted an inch. Its chest muscles rippled briefly, absorbing All Might's punch like a giant sponge soaking water. The monster suffered no damage at all!
All Might's eyes widened. Shock clearly etched on his face. The kid was right! My punch had no impact on it!
Before All Might could retract his hand, Nomu's large arm swung from the side, trying to grab All Might's head with a lightning-fast motion.
All Might ducked immediately, evading the deadly grasp with god-like reflexes, then leaped back to create distance, preparing a counterattack.
But Nomu didn't stop. The monster charged forward, giving All Might no time to breathe. Punch after punch, equal to All Might's power, rained down relentlessly. Buagh! Buagh! The air exploded each time Nomu swung its fist.
When one of Nomu's attacks was potentially fatal, Fuse's red eyes flashed brightly from afar.
KRAK!
Fuse immediately focused his magnetic concentration, attacking the metal bones inside or Nomu's wrist—trying to divert its attack. In an instant, an extraordinarily strong magnetic pull forced Nomu's arm to shift several degrees sideways.
Nomu's strike missed narrowly, nearly hitting All Might's body, only tearing the hero's shirt. The wind from the punch still blasted All Might, but thanks to Fuse's magnetic intervention, he avoided fatal injury.
"Good, kid!" All Might shouted, realizing the help he had just received.
In the air around them, Fuse began controlling hundreds of small irons. Concrete nails, sharp screws, and enemy weapon remnants flew circling them like an angry swarm of iron flies.
When Nomu launched another blind attack toward All Might, the iron cloud reacted immediately. Hundreds of nails and steel shards stabbed and held the giant arm briefly, providing physical resistance that disrupted Nomu's punch momentum, making it veer off target.
This unexpected teamwork gave All Might an opening. Realizing he no longer needed to worry about perfect evasion because Fuse provided support, All Might grinned ferociously.
If that's the case… I don't need to worry about dodging anymore! I just need to focus on pure offensive attacks! All Might thought.
"Take this!"
All Might unleashed a barrage of punches. His fists moved too fast for the naked eye, blurring into shadows. A hundred punches! Three hundred punches! He hammered Nomu's stomach, face, and chest at insane speed.
The sound of flesh clashing against flesh buzzed like a giant machine gun.
But despite All Might's brutal assault—enough to destroy a small city—Nomu didn't seem severely injured.
Instead, Nomu's body was full of sharp irons stabbed from Fuse's earlier attacks. It looked like a horrifying giant iron porcupine. Yet, the muscles under its skin continued to writhe.
Suddenly, a sickening tearing sound echoed. Because Nomu's Super Regeneration Quirk began working, its wounds healed at an abnormal speed. New flesh grew and forcibly pushed out the embedded irons.
The metals detached and clanged to the floor, covered in black blood.
However, not all fell. Some broken iron shards were too deep inside, trapped in Nomu's muscle layers.
Seeing this insane regeneration phenomenon, Fuse, standing afar holding his chin with trembling fingers, began understanding the monster's regeneration limits. Healing itself, huh… but it can't expel foreign objects lodged in its flesh if the wounds close too fast.
"Sensei! Back off now!" Fuse shouted loudly enough for All Might to hear amid the punch booms.
Fuse raised his trembling hand, holding the position with extra effort. "Attacking relentlessly and blindly on a shock-absorbing punching bag like that is just wasting your energy! Let me take control for a bit!"
All Might, who had just landed a hard punch to Nomu's face, glanced briefly at Fuse behind him. He saw the youth vomiting blood again, but his glowing red eyes radiated unshakable certainty.
Without much doubt, All Might halted his assault, leaping back twenty meters, creating a safe distance between him and Nomu.
In the short time after their brief combo battle, All Might gained a new understanding and respect for Fuse. This youth wasn't just an arrogant student with a big mouth; he had sharp combat instincts. He trusted that Fuse had a plan behind his madness.
As All Might leaped back, the space beside Nomu suddenly distorted.
A dark purple mist, Kurogiri, suddenly appeared at Nomu's side. Its yellow eyes glowed brightly, preparing to activate warp again. "You've interfered enough, Hero—"
But before Kurogiri could open its portal to swallow half of All Might's body as originally planned, Fuse grinned.
I knew it would appear to provide support. If All Might kept attacking carelessly like that, the horrific event from the canon story might happen, where his body nearly gets bisected.
Fuse snorted softly, blood dripping from his nose to his chin. If that's the case, as per script… next, that exploding baby will come to clean up the mess.
With a quick motion, Fuse snapped his finger toward Kurogiri.
He focused his remaining magnetic power, forcibly pulling the hidden iron neck support plate behind Kurogiri's mist. The metal creaked, twisted roughly, and forcibly halted the portal mist's expansion, while dragging Kurogiri's physical form slightly sideways. Directing it straight into the path of someone hurtling with wild explosions in the air.
It was Katsuki Bakugo!
Bakugo rocketed from above, his hands gathering extreme heat. He saw Kurogiri pulled right into his trajectory and grinned widely like a predator.
"Get out of my way, you weak smoke bastard!" Bakugo shouted triumphantly.
He landed hard right on Kurogiri's exposed metal neck protector due to Fuse's pull. With one hand pressing the neck to the rocky ground, his left hand exploded its palm right into Kurogiri's misty face.
BOOOOOM!!!
The massive explosion pinned Kurogiri to the ground, silencing its movement instantly. "Don't move an inch, or I'll blow your head into invisible pieces!" Bakugo threatened with a psychopathic smile.
Seeing Kurogiri's threat neutralized by his pawn, Fuse nodded in satisfaction at All Might. "Now, Sensei."
All Might understood the cue. He didn't waste time. His muscles bulged again. He charged straight at Nomu, this time not to punch blindly, but to deliver a single strike that would drain the monster's defenses.
At the same time, Fuse, with his fading consciousness remnants, controlled irons much smaller and sharper than before.
Before reaching the plaza, aware he couldn't carry too much iron weight and didn't want to stand out in Aizawa's eyes, he had secretly asked Momo Yaoyorozu to create dozens of pure iron projectiles—carbon-coated thick needles and spikes that were extremely sharp and dense.
Now, he summoned all those metals from their hiding spot in the arena's corner.
At that moment, the thick carbon spikes shot cleaving the air like light machine gun bullets, raining on Nomu's body from all directions. Hundreds of irons pierced its tough skin.
Because Nomu's Quirk regenerated quickly closing the slash wounds, all the sharp irons were trapped inside! Embedded between bones, deep muscles, and the giant's nerve tissues.
The next second, Fuse's optic nerves felt like burning, his vision dimmed, and his surroundings turned black and white.
But he forced himself to hold on as Nomu, ignoring the pain, tried to counter All Might's punch.
Right when Nomu's fatal punch was about to hit All Might's jaw…
Fuse's eyes widened, emitting a blinding red glow.
Instantly, Nomu stopped.
He forcibly controlled Nomu's arm from inside! He used the hundreds of iron spikes lodged and rooted in the monster's arm muscles as magnetic pivot points.
Nomu's arm jerked suddenly, twisted unnaturally, and the punch halted stiffly in the air. Due to the forced pull, Nomu's balance shattered. The massive body was pushed backward and fell flat on its back to the ground with a deafening Brak!
Meanwhile, All Might didn't waste a split second of that rare opening. He lowered his body, gathering all his remaining strength into his right hand.
"Here it comes!!!"
All Might darted forward, landing an uppercut that slammed into Nomu's lower jaw from below to above.
DHOOOOM!!!
The impact sounded like a large-caliber cannon fired from zero range.
Nomu flew into the air, its massive body soaring dozens of meters toward the USJ dome ceiling.
At that moment, Nomu suddenly floated straight up and then stopped, spinning aimlessly as if gravity had vanished from its body!
Below, with trembling hands raised upward, Fuse controlled all the irons embedded in Nomu's body, using the monster's form as a magnetic puppet, forcing it suspended in the air, stripping its regeneration and shock absorption abilities since it couldn't touch the ground.
With one rough downward arm swing, Nomu's body was forcibly pulled to earth. It plummeted faster than free fall, crashing into the plaza floor with meteor force.
KRAK-BOOOOM!!!
The marble tiles shattered utterly, creating a massive crater around Nomu's body. The monster couldn't move. Its bones crushed from inside due to the irons forced to move against its anatomy. It lay there, groaning hoarsely.
At the second of Nomu's fall, Fuse collapsed to his knees.
"Uhuk! Bwleegh…"
Fuse vomited a clump of thick blood pooling on the floor before him. His head drooped limply. The pain in his head was so severe he nearly lost his sanity.
However, amid his blurring vision. In the crater, Nomu began groaning again. Its crushed muscles writhed, its regeneration Quirk forcibly mending its broken bones. The creature was about to force itself to move again, targeting All Might who was at his stamina limit!
Blood from Fuse's mouth and nose flowed heavier. His vision grew blurrier, the edges of his eyes gnawed by darkness.
No… not done yet…
He couldn't stop like this! He wouldn't accept defeat in any form!
At that moment, a cold chill suddenly swept the plaza.
Giant ice chunks shot like frozen waves from afar, wrapping Nomu's legs, waist, and arms in the blink of an eye. The temperature dropped drastically. The ice froze Nomu's regenerating muscles, making it stiff and unable to move an inch.
It was Shoto Todoroki!
The youth with half-white, half-red hair stood calmly afar, his hand still emitting cold steam.
He arrived at the perfect time to lock the monster's movement!
Seeing the opening created by Todoroki's ice, All Might leaped high into the air. His foot push was so strong the ground he stepped on instantly shattered into pieces, spreading like a giant spiderweb.
Floating in the air right above the frozen Nomu, All Might pulled his right hand far back. White smoke began billowing wildly from his arm muscles. He struck an iconic pose, focusing his remaining Number One Hero power for one decisive strike.
"O villains!" All Might's voice thundered across the area, shattering the silence. "Have you never heard this phrase?!"
Below, Todoroki's ice began cracking. Nomu's muscles were too strong, and the creature slowly started breaking its shackles, preparing to rise and deflect the sky attack.
At that moment, Fuse, kneeling with a blood-smeared face and half-closed eyes, forced a sinister, terrifying smile on his lips. "A little spice to end it."
Far above, piercing the dome, gray clouds gathered. And from outside, a object emitting blinding blue light shot in.
Right above Nomu looking up, high in the sky, hurtled a beautiful yet deadly weapon. A massive, long, dense iron steel sword—created by Momo Yaoyorozu that Fuse had stored in the air. The sword rotated slowly but surely in the air, pointing vertically downward like an executioner's blade.
The sword was enveloped in millions of volts of static electricity—electricity previously injected by Kaminari and confined in Fuse's magnetic field! Yellow lightning bolts crackled wildly along its blade.
"Because I've been too busy bleeding out here," Fuse muttered softly, closing his eyes while directing one severely trembling finger at Nomu's position directly under the sword. "I haven't had time to think of a cool move name. But… for now…"
"I'll give this ultimate move a temporary name."
Fuse drew his last breath, snapping his finger with a crisp click.
"EXECUTION."
At that moment, the lightning-enveloped giant sword fell at supersonic speed, plummeting like Zeus's wrathful thunder, slamming straight into Nomu's head just as it was about to stand and pierce the ice.
JZAAAASSHHH!!!
The sword pierced Nomu's exposed brain and embedded deep into the ground. Millions of volts from Kaminari's electricity spread uncontrollably through Nomu's entire nerve network and muscles. The monster convulsed violently, its roar stifled by the voltage scorching its cell regeneration, making it collapse helplessly again, charred and stiff. It couldn't move anymore.
At that moment, All Might, still floating in the air, his eyes shone seeing his student's brilliant finish. He didn't waste their sacrifice. His power, reaching boiling point in his right hand, now directed straight at the paralyzed Nomu.
"Give it everything to go beyond the limit!!" All Might shouted, his voice tearing the sky. "PLUS… ULTRA!!!"
His fist shot down and slammed into Nomu's body, already impaled by the lightning sword.
DHUUUAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!
Instantly, a massive kinetic explosion occurred. The pure force of One For All struck the defenseless Nomu on the ground. The shockwave created a huge crater that obliterated tiles, rocks, and concrete in a hundreds-meter radius. Extraordinary high-pressure wind swept in all directions like a typhoon.
The dust and wind storm nearly threw Fuse, Todoroki, Bakugo, and the other students backward. They had to cover their eyes and brace their bodies firmly with their arms.
Then, suddenly, the atmosphere turned utterly silent. Only the distant evacuation siren wails and the heavy breathing of the remaining heroes filled the air.
The thick dust slowly cleared.
The tall figure amid the dust, All Might, stood with a smoking body. He slowly raised his left hand to the sky. His muscles still steamed. And on his face, he smiled widely.
It was the absolute victory of the Symbol of Peace!
Across the crater, Shigaraki stood rigid. His face behind the hand pale as death. He scratched his neck until it bled heavily, his rage unbearable. His perfect plan, Nomu, all utterly destroyed!
"Kurogiri…" Shigaraki clicked his tongue, voice trembling with frustration and hatred. "We retreat. This game is full of bugs."
Responding to his master's call, Kurogiri, who had used the distraction from the massive explosion, freed itself from Bakugo's grasp by turning back into pure misty gas. In an instant, it was at Shigaraki's side and immediately activated a massive Warp Gate vortex behind them.
Shigaraki's body began retreating, his feet about to be swallowed by the warp's darkness.
At that moment, Fuse, still slumped weakly, breathing raggedly. His eyes half-closed, had anticipated this moment from the start. He raised his severely trembling right hand. His index and thumb formed a pistol pose again, aiming straight at the escaping Shigaraki.
He smiled thinly, a deadly and arrogant smile, "Farewell greeting."
"Bang!"
Instantly, his last coin shot loose from his thumb.
ZWUSSH!
The coin pierced the air, creating a small wind vortex, and hurtled straight at Shigaraki, whose half-body was already swallowed by the portal. The coin was precise. It struck exactly the main hand accessory clinging tightly to Shigaraki's face.
Klang!
The impact knocked the pale hand loose from Shigaraki's face, flying away and thudding on the concrete floor, far from his reach.
Shigaraki's real face was exposed to the open air for the second time today. His eyes bulged. Shame, discomfort, and rage exploded on his wrinkled face.
Shigaraki's body was fully absorbed by the warp vortex. Before the portal closed, he glared at Fuse with eyes full of deep-seated grudge from hell's depths. From his face without the hand accessory, his mouth moved very quickly, but very clearly and readable.
"I will make you suffer!"
Fuse raised his hand limply, waving his blood-smeared finger lazily. "I look forward to it, Loser."
Swush. The purple portal shrank to a point and then vanished completely. They were gone.
The plaza atmosphere returned to total silence, filled only by distant evacuation siren howls and the heavy sighs of the remaining heroes.
As his adrenaline plummeted drastically, Fuse suddenly felt a tremendously spinning dizziness, as if his world was flipped a hundred times. His body swayed forward. His knees could no longer support his armor's weight.
He slowly collapsed to the cold concrete floor.
On the edge of consciousness, he vaguely heard many familiar voices. Sounds of footsteps running closer. His friends' voices. All Might's heavy voice. Aizawa's hoarse voice. They all shouted calling his name in panic.
"Fuse-kun!"
"Fuse! Hang in there!"
But those voices felt so distant, as if submerged in water. The next second, his vision turned pitch black, unable to see their worried faces clearly.
Ah… Fuse thought, sighing in satisfaction, letting himself sink into darkness. A perfect solo performance… The applause… later. And with a faint smile still on his lips, his consciousness faded, leaving his victory stage.
…
A/N: Alright, the USJ Arc ends here. Next, we'll return to daily life. Anyway, if you guys are too tired waiting for the next chapter… please check my Patreon, where I update much faster than on this platform! (Now there are already 3 chapters updated after this one!)
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