"All… For… One…" Midoriya repeated the name, his mind already racing, processing the implications aloud in a terrified rush. "It sounds like the opposite of One For All. A Quirk that allows him to transfer Quirks? It's like how One For All is passed on, but from the name, we can assume all powers are gathered in one… Don't tell me he can use multiple Quirks? That's unreasonable! That's too much! How can he be defeated with all kinds of Quirks gathered in one person? There is no weakness! This isn't right, I must be overthinking…"
Hawks stared at Midoriya, momentarily stunned.
'This kid… his mind is very sharp. Just from the name alone, he inferred the Quirk of All For One. Interesting, really interesting. He's suitable to be a detective.'
All Might didn't hear them.
He winced and then violently spat blood.
COUGH! COUGH!
BANG.
The muscle form collapsed into smoke, shrinking back into his thin, skeletal frame. His knees hit the pavement.
"All Might!" Midoriya rushed to steady him, arm trembling.
"I think I finally realized why my gut was warning me and telling me to capture that young man!" All Might gasped, the news draining the strength from his legs. resting his hands on his knees.
"All For One… THAT BASTARD IS DEFINITELY BEHIND THIS VILLAIN LEAGUE! HE IS STILL ALIVE! I thought he died from our last battle, but it seems he survived! Damn it! I can't think of anyone else on the villains' side who knows about my injury better than the one who caused it!"
Midoriya's eyes widened, recalling the secret of All Might told him on the rooftop behind the devastating injury, the damaged organs and limited time, caused by an unpublicized fight years ago.
'That All For One did this to him!'
Everything suddenly fit together far too perfectly.
"All Might… are you okay?"
"Young man…" All Might looked at the boy, and a shadow of hesitation, doubt, and fear crossed his face. Should he truly allow this innocent boy to inherit a destiny tied to facing a monster like All For One? And if a new battle is imminent, maybe he should find someone who could immediately wield One For All's full power. Midoriya was too thin, The power 100% would explode him.
Izuku Midoriya, highly perceptive even in panic, immediately registered the shift in his hero's eyes.
All Might stood up, not daring to look at the young man's eyes, he can't allow him to see his idol showing this pathetic look.
his voice heavy and strained, each word dropping like a stone into still water.
"Young man… as you've already inferred… All For One is a powerful villain. To the current generation, he is almost a myth." His fingers twitched at his side, curling into a weak, useless fist. "He has existed since the dawn of Quirks. His ability… All For One… allows him to steal the Quirks of others. Use them himself. Or bestow them upon others like gifts from a devil."
Midoriya swallowed hard, a dry, choked sound. The sharp streetlight caught in his eyes, reflecting the tremor in his heart.
All Might's shoulders rose in a shallow, fragile breath.
"He is my sworn enemy. The one who killed every single user of One For All before me."
Midoriya's lips parted, but no sound escaped.
He'd known it was serious—but not this tragic. This is history, blood, and generations of sacrifice. The air felt colder, weighted by the sheer antiquity of the struggle.
"…And in turn," All Might continued, his voice cracking with the immense pressure of that lineage, "it is the responsibility of every One For All user to defeat him. To finish what the others could not."
A painful, echoing silence fell. All Might's head deeply bowed, his thin hair swaying gently in the night breeze. His voice was thick with shame, the confession like peeling open an old, festering wound. "Young man… I thought I had finished him in our last battle."
He touched his scarred ribs instinctively, wincing at the ghost of the injury.
"The fight that left my body… like this." Midoriya's breath hitched; he remembered every horrific detail All Might had shown him on the rooftop. "As the days passed," All Might whispered, "my condition worsened. I knew my time as a hero was running out. That's why I searched for a successor." The next words trembled, heavy with guilt and misplaced hope.
"That's why… I chose you."
A long pause stretched between them. The streetlamps hummed softly.
"But now…" His voice broke completely, raw and desperate. His hands clenched, shaking slightly. "I can't put your life, or the lives of your loved ones, in danger. I'm sorry…" His shoulders sagged, his entire posture shrinking inward.
The Symbol of Peace did not just deflate in size, he visibly shrank in spirit, collapsing beneath the weight of fear for his decision.
Hawks stood silently, That's why he said at the beginning that All Might needs to weight his decision, he thought All Might will stick to his previous opinion, but he didn't expect that All For One had left such a huge impact on the symbol of peace heart to the degree of making him changing his mind.
He looked at the green haired kid.
'Huh?' He expected to see the kid crying, after all, no body could stand such a roller coaster of emotions, from hell to heaven and from heaven to hell, but this is reality, it's always cruel.
Midoriya didn't move. He didn't speak. He didn't cry. He only stared at the man in front of him, the man who had reshaped his world, now trying to unmake it out of protection.
'He's giving up. Not because he lost, but because he's afraid of what I might lose.'
Finally, Midoriya stepped forward. His heart hammered a desperate rhythm against his ribs, his throat tight, but his resolve was iron. He took a steadying breath, then spoke quietly, a quietness that amplified the sheer force of his belief.
"All Might…"
All Might flinched, his shoulders recoiling slightly as if expecting a blow of anger or disappointment.
Instead—
"I don't care about your power." Midoriya's voice was steady. Unshaking. True.
All Might's widened eyes snapped up, searching Midoriya's face.
"I don't care how terrifying All For One is." Midoriya clenched his trembling fist, pushing down the tidal wave of fear with sheer stubbornness. "You beat him once. I believe… you can do it again." His voice thickened, emotions rising like a tide he refused to let drown him. "So please… don't lose your smile."
A tear rolled down his cheek, but he didn't wipe it. It was a testament to his seriousness. "The All Might I look up to—the Symbol of Peace… saves people with a smile." Midoriya lifted his fist slightly, a shaky but determined gesture, and his lips quivered into a broken, utterly brave grin. It was small. It was messy. But it was defiant.
All Might felt the world tilt. Midoriya's words struck him like a bolt of pure, cleansing lightning—splitting apart the internal storm of shame and terror, letting the light of his own faith pour back through the cracks.
'This boy… this boy…!'
All Might felt the words echo inside his chest like a heartbeat he'd forgotten he had.
Even Hawks, usually unreadable, usually aloof, found himself staring.
The kid stood there: thin, trembling, eyes still wet…
Yet an aura flowed from him, quiet but powerful, like a lantern lit in the darkest night.
A hope that refused to die.
A courage born not from strength… but from conviction.
Hawks finally understood.
So this is why All Might chose him.
Not because of muscle.
Not because of talent.
There was something in this boy, something you couldn't measure or define.
Something spiritual, raw, and unbreakable.
A light stronger than any Quirk.
A spirit that could move even heroes.
All Might stared. Truly stared. At Midoriya's trembling chin. At his watery eyes full of iron resolve. At the spirit burning beneath the tears. Something inside his core ignited, a forgotten furnace roaring back to life. His breath hitched. His fingers tightened, now with purpose. His spine straightened, a small, but monumental movement.
"I'm still…" His voice wavered, thick with choked emotion. "…pathetic." He pressed a hand to his eyes, ashamed of the moisture gathering there.
"Forgive me, young man… I shouldn't—"
A powerful pulse radiated from his core. He lowered his hand, his eyes blazing with renewed conviction.
"—I shouldn't allow fear to crawl into my heart." His muscles twitched, straining against the limits of his broken body. "Why…"
B A N G !!!
A thunderous, cracking sound ripped the air as steam erupted around him like a flash grenade. Sakura petals scattered violently in the powerful gust. All Might rose—tall, powerful, radiant—his muscular form bursting forth like the glorious return of a fallen titan.
For the first time, Midoriya saw it: A smile utterly serious. One meant not for crowds, not for cameras, but forged in commitment to him.
"BECAUSE—" The street vibrated beneath his booming voice, a powerful, heroic declaration that shook the night. "I AM THE SYMBOL OF PEACE!!!"
Steam hissed around him like a wave of thunderous applause.