The battle between All Might and All For One wasn't merely a clash of strength; it was a clash of two philosophies that had shaped the world for generations. Every blow they threw not only shattered concrete and steel but also shook the very foundation of society's beliefs. In our hiding spot in the alley, the six of us could only be silent witnesses to this war of gods, feeling the vibration of every impact in our bones.
All For One fought with a horrifying grace, the calm of an artist painting upon a canvas of destruction. He never used the same Quirk twice in a row. He was a conductor of a deadly orchestra. First, he would use Air Cannon to maintain distance, forcing All Might to expend stamina just to get close. Then, as All Might charged, he would activate a Kinetic Booster Quirk combined with Springs in his legs, launching himself into the air with bewildering speed. From above, he would rain down bone projectiles fired from his fingertips, forcing the hero to focus on defense.
"You're always so predictable, Toshinori," All For One said with an amused tone, his calm voice echoing through the heroes' compromised communicators. "Always charging forward, always trying to solve everything with one big punch. You never learn. True strength isn't about how hard you can hit, but about how many options you have. And as you can see, I have all the options in the world."
"Options you stole from others!" All Might roared, finally managing to get close and land a devastating blow that sent All For One flying backward, crashing through a building until it collapsed.
In the alley, Midoriya was frantically cataloging everything in his mind. 'Quirk combinations... he used at least four different Quirks in the last ten seconds. His flexibility... it's nearly infinite. All Might only has one way to fight: forward and punch. This... this is a very disadvantageous fight for him.'
On the other side, Bakugo, whose usual anger had been replaced by a forced awe, stared with wide eyes. He was seeing the pinnacle of raw power, and for the first time, he was realizing how long a road he still had to travel. He looked at All Might, then at All For One. This was a level he had never even dreamed of.
Meanwhile, news of this battle was spreading like wildfire across the globe. At the Ryukyu agency, Nejire, Uraraka, and Tsuyu stared at the main screen with bated breath. Every time All Might took a hit, they all flinched.
"He... he looks like he's struggling," Uraraka whispered, her hand gripping Tsuyu's arm.
"All Might can't lose," Nejire said, trying to convince herself as much as anyone else. "He's All Might."
Ryukyu stood behind them, her face as hard as stone. She wasn't just watching as a hero. She was watching as a commander whose most valuable and unstable asset was just a few meters from the battle zone. She constantly monitored Tatsumi's tracker, watching the small dot remain motionless in the alley where he was hiding. 'Stay there, you foolish boy,' she thought to herself. 'Whatever you do, don't move.'
On a distant rooftop, Akame was also watching the broadcast on her stolen phone. She recognized All For One's fighting style. Not his techniques, but his philosophy. Using others' powers as his own, sacrificing subordinates without a second thought, looking down on everyone as a tool. It was a perfect reflection of Prime Minister Honest. It was the kind of evil she hated most—systematic evil that hid behind a mask of power. And she saw All Might, the only person standing against him, as an anomaly. Someone who possessed absolute power but used it to protect, not to conquer. The concept was still foreign to her, but she couldn't look away.
The battle in Kamino reached its turning point. All For One, seemingly growing bored with the game, decided to raise the stakes. "Let's see how great your spirit to protect is, Toshinori," he said. He turned his attention for a moment and fired a powerful Air Cannon toward a ruined building where he knew civilians were still trapped.
It was a cruel trap. All Might, without a shred of hesitation, shot in front of the building, using his large body as a shield to block the blast. It was then that All For One struck.
He combined several power-enhancing Quirks with an Impact Recoil Quirk, which could reverse the force of an opponent's attack. He focused all that energy into a single fist and slammed it right into All Might's old wound on the side of his body.
The entire world seemed to scream as All Might roared in pain, not a battle cry, but a roar of pure agony. He was thrown backward, and as he tried to get up, the unthinkable happened.
Thick steam billowed from his body. His mighty muscles, which had become a symbol of strength and security for the entire world, began to shrink rapidly. Like a deflating balloon, his heroic form collapsed in on itself. The smoke slowly thinned, revealing a sight that would haunt the memory of a generation.
There, in the middle of the crater he had created, stood a man who was not All Might. He was a gaunt, emaciated man, a living skeleton with sunken eyes and limp blond hair. His true form, his greatest secret, was now exposed before millions of cameras, before the eyes of the entire world.
Silence.
A total, deafening silence. In bars, in homes, in city squares, everyone stared at their screens in disbelief. The laughter stopped. The chatter stopped. Hope stopped. Their Symbol of Peace... was broken.
In our hiding spot, despair was a thick blanket that enveloped us. Midoriya let out a choked sob, a sound of pure heartbreak. Kirishima, always so spirited, now hung his head, unable to watch. Even Bakugo looked pale, his jaw clenched tight.
I myself felt a cold wave of primal terror. The dragon within me screamed in fear. The one pillar holding this world back from total chaos had just crumbled before our eyes. All For One laughed, a calm, horrifying laugh. "So, this is the end of the joke," he said. "Look at you, fake hero. Can't even maintain your own form."
It seemed like it was all over. But then, a small, trembling voice broke through the despair. From behind the rubble, a woman whom All Might had saved moments ago lifted her head. "Don't give up..." she whispered. Then louder, "DON'T GIVE UP! YOU CAN DO IT, ALL MIGHT!"
Her cry, captured by the news helicopter's microphone, seemed to ignite a fire across Japan. One voice became two, then ten, then thousands. All over the country, people began to shout. No longer cheers for a god, but a desperate plea for their wounded hero. "ALL MIGHT! ALL MIGHT! ALL MIGHT!"
In the middle of the arena, Toshinori Yagi heard their voices. He looked at his skinny, trembling hand. He felt the pain from his reopened wound. He saw the triumphant face of All For One. But then, he heard the cheers, and he remembered why he did all of this. He wasn't a symbol because of his muscles. He was a symbol because of his spirit.
With an effort that surpassed the limits of human ability, he began to straighten his body. He looked straight at All For One, and in his sunken eyes, the fire that had nearly been extinguished now reignited into an inferno.
"You're right, All For One," he said, his voice weak but echoing with a new power. "I do have a limit. This body is indeed fragile." He raised his skinny arm, and before the eyes of the entire world, the muscles began to forcibly expand again, powered no longer by the dregs of strength, but by pure will. "BUT A HERO'S SPIRIT... HAS NO LIMITS!"
His right arm returned to its mighty form, the only part of him that could still maintain his hero form. It was his final ember, and he was going to use it to burn away the darkness before him.
All For One stopped laughing. He felt the change. He felt the threat. He prepared his own attack, his arm morphing into a horrific weapon.
In the middle of the ruined Kamino, under the gaze of a world holding its breath, one muscle in Toshinori Yagi's thin arm began to tense, powered no longer by physical strength, but by something much older: a promise. A promise to protect.