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[Divide Et Impera 2]
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| At that same moment, near Best Jeanist's agency… |
...
"DIE ALREADY!"
—BOOOOM!—
Bakugo released a violent explosion at a Nomu, engulfing it entirely in the incandescent blast.
Seeing it consumed like that pulled a wicked grin from him.
"Wryyy!"
Until suddenly a winged Nomu swept down from behind, diving toward him faster than he'd tracked.
"…!" Bakugo was briefly caught off guard—the speed of its dive too fast to avoid cleanly.
-Twip!-
But before it could reach him, several threads glinting with a metallic sheen lashed around the Nomu, screeching like cables under pressure as they constricted.
"Don't let your own excitement or anger distract you. This is a battlefield, not a one-on-one fight. Keep your surroundings in view." Best Jeanist said as he approached, arms crossed, fingers controlling the threads that had caught the Nomu.
"Tch… shut up." Bakugo answered. Less hostile than usual. He knew it was good advice. He just didn't want to admit he had screwed up.
Then Best Jeanist's hand—the one holding the threads—clenched.
-Crack-
Something snapped inside the Nomu.
As it did, he let the threads go. The Nomu dropped to the ground limply, twitching but unable to move.
Bakugo approached it, staring at the display with a squint.
"These don't regenerate, huh?" He muttered, recalling the monster at the USJ.
These were similar in appearance but clearly vastly different in power. So much so that it was like a joke.
"Then these are nothing more than fodder." He scoffed, his tone contemptuous.
Best Jeanist glanced at the downed Nomu, giving the evaluation a faint nod.
When contrasting it to the Nomu that had attacked UA., he wasn't wrong in that.
However…
"They may not be overly strong, but there's quite a few of them." He said, scanning the still-thick Nomu presence currently engaged in fierce fights with heroes all around.
They might not be powerful—which wasn't entirely true, given that many heroes could barely handle one on their own and sometimes needed two or more just to bring one down—but they made up for it with sheer numbers.
And from the brief moments of respite he'd had since this onslaught began, it seemed this wasn't even all of them, given the same appeared to be happening at other cities and agencies.
'An attack targeting U.A. students… Class 1-A specifically.' He noted, having already picked out the pattern.
But what troubled him more was not knowing the purpose behind it.
It was one thing to assume they were simply trying to kill a class of trainee heroes.
But the capabilities of the organization behind this had already been made clear by the sheer volume of engineered creatures they were willing to pour into a single operation.
The attack, while overwhelming, was nothing the hero society couldn't manage.
So he couldn't work out why an organization of this caliber would spend so much on such a flimsily targeted plan.
Maybe this scale was trivial to them. But unless they had an entire country's funds behind them, he doubted that.
So, why?
It couldn't just be to kill students. That was a feeble goal for an operation this large.
"WRYYY!"
The howl of another wave of Nomus entering the battlefield snapped him out of it. Three, walking up toward them.
'It doesn't matter.' He exhaled slowly, eyes settling. 'Others are already working out the purpose of this. My duty here is to protect and fight.'
Threads of his jeans spread all around him, enveloping the surroundings like a steel web.
Bakugo, at his side, smiled with anticipation, small explosions crackling at his palms.
They were ready for the fight—
… Yet, sadly for them, the chance never came.
—BOOOM!—
The three Nomus were dealt with before it could start. Something blurred past at blinding speed, coming in like a missile with a straight flying kick aimed squarely at the center Nomu's head.
The impact was so concentrated that the center Nomu was driven directly into the ones flanking it, transferring the full momentum sideways in an instant, and basically nailing the three like a spear that soon was driven into the rubble.
Dust and rubble were sent up from the crash, hiding the perpetrator for but a brief second.
Best Jeanist's eyes narrowed at the sudden ocurrence.
But as the dust cleared, he exhaled with dry humor.
"Of course you're here too."
Climbing out of the rubble, standing at a height that made it seem like he was surveying the entire battlefield—
Rockinesis stood.
...
°
°
°
| Endeavor's agency… |
...
The tall building of Endeavor's agency was currently swallowed in smoke. The terrain below it had become a full battlefield.
Nomus crawled through it from every direction, with several heroes engaging them across the ruined streets. Cars destroyed. Buildings reduced to rubble.
Minimizing infrastructure damage was normally a priority. But with this many engineered creatures bearing down on them, there was only so much the heroes could afford to worry about.
Which made it all the more jarring, given this was the territory of the number two hero.
His presence here was supposed to command order and control. Right now, it was anything but.
Todoroki—or rather, Shoto—stood at the building's entrance, watching the raging battle with a feeling of helplessness.
Despite his desire to join in, Endeavor had forbidden it. An intern was still just an intern, and a threat of this level wasn't for students to handle, no matter how powerful he was.
And to be honest, despite the devastation, the heroes had managed to contain the Nomus, concentrating the chaos around themselves to keep it from spreading.
So he could only watch.
Of course, part of him was ready to disobey the moment something gave him a reason.
And ,something did.
"Wryyy…"
A squad of flying Nomus descended from above, their blank eyes settling directly on him. No hero was on them—either they'd slipped through or they were a fresh batch.
Either way, it was what he needed.
"Haaah…" Shoto let out a long breath, cold mist rising from it as his ice side began charging.
Just as he was about to wipe them out in one strike—
"What did I say, Shoto?"
-Thud!-
A massive figure landed in front of him, cracking the ground beneath and blocking his line of attack.
"You…"
Endeavor. He turned his head slightly, expression stern as ever. "Right now, you're an intern. Your responsibility isn't to deal with this—it's to observe and learn from what you're about to see."
The flames surrounding him burned brighter, as he turned back to the Nomus.
"Pay attention. I'll show you what the rank of number two hero means."
Then his figure flashed.
One moment he stood right in front of Shoto. The next, he was beside the Nomus—the trail of flames the only indication of how fast he'd moved.
He clenched his fist, flames intensifying to blowtorch violence.
"HELLFIRE STORM!"
He swung upward.
-FWOOOOSH!-
All the fire around him entered a vortex that exploded skyward—a towering tornado of flame that swallowed the group of Nomus whole, sending them spiraling into the air. Shoto had to shield his face from the immense heat.
When the fire and heat died down, Endeavor stood there, imposing, as if what he'd done was nothing.
And it truly was.
He wasn't number two for no reason.
Even that group of Nomus—
-Thud!-
-Squelch!-
-Wack!-
—became charred corpses that hit the ground with disturbing sounds the second after.
"Hmph," Endeavor snorted at the sight, his gaze cold before shifting to the chaos still raging around him.
His teeth grit.
"Whatever bastard is responsible for this—they must be severely underestimating me. Just because that vigilante caught me off guard a few weeks ago, do they think I'm a pushover they can come after whenever they want…?"
Hatred settled into his eyes.
"Whoever it is, I'll make them pay once I'm done here."
"WRYYY!"
His monologue was cut off as even more Nomus emerged from alleyways and the corners around, crawling out like an endless tide.
His flames burned brighter in response.
Shoto tensed up again, believing that even a number this high might cause trouble for Endeavor to handle alone.
However, a held up hand from his father stopped him again.
This fight was his alone.
"Bio-engineered humans…" Endeavor said as he squinted, flames gathering at his arms. "I will put you to re—"
—Swoooosh!—
His epic one liner was interrupted when a figure dashed in at incredible speed and struck the Nomus' exposed heads cleanly, downing them all in a matter of seconds.
For a moment, Endeavor looked confused.
But as he recognized a certain cape drifting in the wind on the corner of his eye, his expression became filled with anger.
"It's you…" He growled.
The figure turned to him, eyes meeting his without fear. Which made him even angrier.
"Rockinesis!"
...
°
°
°
| Near Gran Torino's apartment… |
...
"Huff, huff…"
Midoriya's figure blurred into a flash of light as he ran with Full Cowling active, eyes scanning with intensity and caution.
Suddenly they locked onto something, pupils contracting, making him shift direction.
A mother and child, being surrounded by Nomus.
"Gran Torino!"
"On it already, keep up the pace, brat!"
A figure close to him shot forward, fast and agile.
Gran Torino, ex-hero, ex-teacher of All Might.
In an instant he reached the Nomus before they could lay hands on the family, kicking through all of them in a combination that lasted less than a second.
Then Midoriya arrived.
"Don't worry, I'm here!"
Just a tad slower than Gran Torino, he used his speed to grab both mother and child and blurred out of there, setting them safely aside before the Nomus could recover.
Gran Torino, on the other hand, didn't let them recover so easily.
-Thud!-
-Thud!-
-Thud!-
-Thud!-
Before they could process what was hitting them, he was already ricocheting between them like a bullet, subduing them quickly and efficiently.
Before long, the Nomus went down—unconscious or dead. It was hard to tell.
Regardless, that matter was handled. Or at least part of it.
"Huff… making a man of my age move this much, just what the hell is happening?" He asked no one in particular, glancing around with a grim look.
Minutes ago, the city had fallen into panic at the sudden appearance of whatever these things were.
There had been hero agencies nearby, of course, so they weren't completely defenseless.
But they clearly hadn't been prepared enough. With the sheer number of Nomus that had arrived, they were quickly overwhelmed, and the creatures began running rampant as the heroes did their best to evacuate while fighting them off.
He and Midoriya had been caught up in it.
And now they had a whole city in trouble.
'This doesn't look good.' He mused grimly, eyeing the rising pillars of smoke and fire in the distance.
Despite their efforts, they were only two.
And the heroes around them weren't of the highest level.
At this rate, the casualties would be grave.
'I can only hope U.A. mobilizes fast.' Gran Torino thought, brows furrowing.
But that was enough thinking.
It was time to get back to it.
"Brat!"
"Y-yes!" Midoriya, who had just returned from leaving the mother and child in a safe spot, perked up at the call.
To saving.
And so the two kicked off, dashing across the city in search of those in need.
And in need they indeed found. Countless civilians, too many Nomus, too few heroes.
Even with the two of them and their speed, the situation was overwhelming.
But this wasn't a time to freeze up.
"Let's go, brat!"
"Yes!"
Neither of them hesitated.
They jumped to the rescue, ready for what might be a really intense night.
Yet, just as they were approaching a group of Nomus encircling a crowd of civilians—
"WRYYY?!"
The Nomus were suddenly thrown into the air by an invisible force.
They struggled, they squirmed.
But they were helpless.
A second after—
-Crack!-
Their bodies were forced beyond their limits and rendered useless.
They dropped to the ground limply.
"WRYYYYYY!!!"
But that wasn't the end of it.
From a nearby alleyway, more Nomus poured out, rushing toward the civilians.
But again, before they could do anything—
—BAM!—
Something shot in, crashing into them like a bowling ball into pins, sending them flying in every direction from the impact alone. Buildings shook. Windows shattered. Concrete cracked.
As the dust cleared, Midoriya's eyes widened as he recognized the silhouette immediately.
"Rockinesis?!"
"Who?" Gran Torino asked with a lost look.
...
°
°
°
| Chiba, back to the main battle |
...
'It took a while, huh?'
Taka smiled beneath his mask, knuckles popping as he clenched his fists, readying them for the extra hours of work now approaching.
At last, it was time for the rematch he'd been waiting for.
The only fight he'd technically lost—by his own standards—since he'd gotten the system. The one he'd only gotten out of scot-free by fooling the guy rather than pulling an actual victory.
But at least now he could settle that score.
At last, it was time to see how much he'd truly grown over these past months.
And what better opponent to measure that against than the one he couldn't do anything meaningful to until he'd exhausted all his aura into a single attack—and even then had only managed superficial burns?
The one whose single swing could have killed him, and whose faintest graze had broken his arm.
Sure, he was at half power right now with the clones still out there, so this couldn't really be called a proper test of how much he'd grown.
But he didn't care.
Full power or half power, it didn't change the truest fact of the day.
'Today, I'm beating his ass.'
-Tack-
He snapped his fingers. Instantly, the rubble covering the elderly man behind him lifted away, finally freeing him.
As it did, Taka spoke without looking back at Jiro.
"Get him somewhere safe… As for the big guy, leave him to me."
She looked back between him and the old man, before mustering up a dry laugh.
"You don't need to tell me twice."
After that, she was quick about hauling the old man over her shoulder and scattering as fast as she could.
And good that she did, because soon—
"RAAAAAAH!"
The colossus ahead decided it was time to move.
His voice alone made the few intact windows in the surrounding buildings rattle violently.
-Thunk, thunk, thunk-
And then… He began moving—each step gaining speed, a slow walk converting into a building sprint, each footfall hammering the earth.
Watching the monstrosity approach, Taka exhaled through his nose, giving off his last relaxed smile of the day.
"Okey dokey."
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
[Imaginary Technique: My Theme] (ACTIVATED!)
Song chosen: Show Your Style - Miracle Sound
-On repeat-
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
Then he swept his robes back so they wouldn't get in the way, and his relaxed smile became a full wide grin.
"LET'S DANCE, MACHIA!"
The very next instant, his legs buckled, muscles coiling like a piston.
—BOOOOM!—
Then—he shot off.
A pillar of rubble, dirt, and dust was ejected skyward from the speed burst.
His figure blurred, stretching like space itself couldn't contain his speed.
Gigantomachia, however, seemed capable of tracking when the impact would land.
So he drew back a fist.
And so did Taka.
The very next second, both fists met.
—KA-BOOOOOOM!—
The clash produced a shockwave of enormous proportions that echoed like a thunderstrike.
The sheer air pressure it expelled decimated every building and piece of rubble in a circle around them, reducing them to pebbles or dust.
And yet, despite all that force, both entities remained with their fists locked, pushing against each other.
"You're… not a weakling anymore." Gigantomachia growled, struggling to push against Taka's own push.
"Surprise, surprise."
The conversation ended right there. Gigantomachia retrieved his fist and swung with the other hand.
Taka was too fast to let it connect. He dove under the swing in under a second and avoided even the shockwave from just that one attack.
A line of pure destruction carved by wind pressure went through buildings and streets in its wake.
Taka ignored it. He focused on the window of opportunity instead.
Just like their first fight, Gigantomachia was incredibly slow. His Quirks granted him enormous strength, size, and even greater defenses. But nothing boosted his speed beyond raw muscular strength and size.
And that wasn't enough to keep up with Taka.
His body began glowing crimson as he exhaled a deep breath.
Then—
—TATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!—
A rain of punches began falling across all of Gigantomachia's body. Surrounding him were several crimson afterimages that could only trail behind the real Taka as he circled the giant from every angle, delivering an omnidirectional and relentless assault.
The intensity was such that Gigantomachia's skin began turning molten red, the friction and force of the barrage heating his muscles and skin to unthinkable degrees.
However—
"ENOUGH!"
With a swing of both arms—like a child throwing a tantrum—Gigantomachia generated a storm powerful enough that even Taka had to dig in to hold position against it.
Not too bad. With aura projection he absorbed the whole hurricane with just a slight groan. Still, he pulled back briefly, shaking out both fists to let them relax from the storm of punches he had just unleashed as he assessed the result.
Gigantomachia still stood… which was expected.
But bruises had started appearing on his skin.
His attacks were landing. That was all he needed to know.
The smirk beneath his mask widened slightly.
"Look at you now—even the Nomu at the USJ would've tanked that better." He taunted, though he doubted the guy was smart enough to know what he was referencing.
Apparently he didn't need to. He'd understood it was a taunt regardless.
"YOU—YOU DARE STOP ME TWICE FROM FOLLOWING MASTER'S ORDERS… AND NOW YOU EVEN MOCK ME?!"
The raw guttural rage was plain in his voice.
"HRHGH!"
And with it, of course, came size. Gigantomachia began growing further, widening the already enormous gap between them.
Until he hit his limit.
The monster of hardened muscle stood at twenty-five meters. A behemoth in every sense.
—And then, to top it off—
"UAARRRGGH!"
His already rock-like skin shifted. A visor-like protrusion extended from his jaw, covering his eyes. The irregular mass on his back extended and sharpened into spikes. And from his fingers, enormously long claws formed—so long they might have matched the length of his entire arm.
The grin on Taka's face turned slightly crooked.
"Why do I gotta run my mouth so much?"
"YOU WILL DIE TODAY. NO MORE WILL YOU STAND BEFORE ME AND MY PURPOSE!"
His voice was losing coherence—becoming less speech and more pure animal fury.
That wasn't far from the truth.
Without wasting another second, Gigantomachia swung.
A shockwave advanced ahead of the blow—but unlike before, the force this time concentrated along the five tips of his claws. The result cut through everything in at least half a mile, a violent wave of focused air pressure that sheared through whatever stood in its path until it dissipated.
"Damn." Taka muttered.
He'd dodged it, of course.
But seeing that Gigantomachia's attacks were now more focused, he doubted he'd walk away clean if one landed, even if he poured all his aura into defense. Badly injured in the best case, cut apart in chunks in the worst.
It helped remind him that he was facing one of the few who genuinely stood at the top of this verse.
But he wouldn't have it any other way.
What merit would there be in putting the guy down if it was easy?
"Hell yeah!"
His aura flared like a blowtorch, and he shot straight at him again, afterimages trailing behind.
—TATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!—
The barrage resumed, raining down from every angle while Gigantomachia spun and thrashed, unable to keep up with the speed.
That's not to say it was entirely one-sided.
The giant's strength was such that every missed swing generated shockwaves and wind that destroyed whatever buildings remained around, making these already apocalyptic surroundings even worse.
And Taka wasn't completely unaffected. The remnants of those shockwaves still reached him. He had to use Immovable Object just to avoid being thrown off and losing his rhythm.
But even as he kept it going, a problem was making itself clear.
A bigger Gigantomachia meant more muscle hardened by his Quirk—and thus, that he'd become more dense.
What had been enough to damage him before might not be cutting it anymore.
Sure, the speed and friction were heating the skin—but there was a chance that was only surface level.
And the monster didn't show any sign of feeling anything. Taka couldn't be sure if that was a Quirk effect or if he was genuinely receiving zero real damage.
Either way, this war of attrition would end with him losing.
For all the skills the system had given him, infinite stamina wasn't one of them. True Breathing offset exhaustion somewhat, but it wasn't a real stamina booster—just a delay. At this level, it would mostly just keep him oxygenated.
So, it was time for a different approach.
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
[STATUS PAGE]
▸ Strength: (186 Base) 34,000 → 10,000
▸ Defense: (372 Base) 20,000 → 10,000
▸ Aura Projection: 20,000 → 54,000
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
'It's been a while since I've needed to do this.'
Using a burst of aura projection, he shot himself a huge distance away from Gigantomachia—who, in his chaotic frenzy, didn't notice him pull back until the fists stopped coming.
Then he looked around, confused.
By then it was too late.
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
[STATUS PAGE]
▸ Strength: 10,000 → 186
▸ Defense: 10,000 → 372
▸ Aura Projection: 54,000 → 73,000
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
This time, using everything he had left—
—BOOOOOOM!—
He released it all in an explosive burst, shooting back at Gigantomachia at a speed the giant couldn't track in time.
In that brief instant, time seemed to slow.
He drew his fist back, muscles tightening.
A blink after, he was upon Gigantomachia's face, the giant only just registering his approach.
But by then, he couldn't do a damn thing about it.
In that blink of a second—no, even less than that—
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
[STATUS PAGE]
▸ Strength: 186 → 73,186
▸ Defense: 372
▸ Aura Projection: 73,000 → 0
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
He poured everything into one punch.
And swung.
—CLANGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!—
A sound like a metallic gong burst from the point of contact, shattering whatever remained to shatter, aided by the shockwave the impact produced.
Gigantomachia—the unmovable mountain until that moment—coughed blood, his body launched at least a mile away from the sheer force.
He skidded uncontrollably through the ground, drawing a trail as he went, until—
—BOOM!—
—he hit a building sturdy enough to arrest his weight and momentum.
The windows shattered. Gigantomachia's fallen body was showered in glass and falling rubble.
"Huff…"
And as he lay there unmoving, Taka floated down to the street, massaging his fist, exhaling a long breath.
"Was that enou—why am I even jinxing it by asking?"
Reality seemed to agree with him.
"Master…"
Gigantomachia began rising. The debris of concrete and glass that had covered him, now falling off him as he began to stand.
He wobbled. But that was the least he could do after a punch like that.
Taka watched the whole thing with a deadpan.
"Goddamnit."
Even a 70k punch delivered off a 70k aura launch had only injured him slightly.
He sighed, cracking his neck left and right.
"What to do, what to do… If I hit him with a moderate amount of aura, this guy will never go down. But I can't keep using attacks like that every time either."
He could, technically. But he'd exhaust himself to the bone doing it, and then, with all that aura on strength only and nothing on defense even a glancing hit from Gigantomachia would be catastrophic.
Which wasn't a great position to be in.
"…!"
Just then, his eyes widened.
After a brief pause, glancing at his status screen, he exhaled an amused laugh through his teeth.
Then his aura flared, and he raised his fists, clearly up for round two.
What had changed?
A clone had dismissed itself and returned some of his aura.
And that meant soon, more and more would do the same.
Why?
"Was about damn time."
Because All Might had started moving.
…
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-To Be Continued…-
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(A/N: Once again, I'm reminded that even a huge number like 70k isn't all that much when having to be divided into three stats. Which goes the same for the nearly 150k.
The minimum requirement of aura that Taka should have for squaring up to AFO I think will be 200k. More so because of the guy's Quirks than his physical stats.
So yeah, Taka ain't there just yet.
And since I'm power scaling now, might as well give the new All Might a reading too.
Since I used to calculate his physical stats to be in the 40k-80k while injured—which he could push further in a moment of desperation—and his prime to be in the 500k, I give this new cured but not prime All Might around 100-200k in stats (so basically 300k overall). As for the rest, he'll have to re-earn it by hitting the gym.
If he can do so before OFA runs out, that is.)