After having that conversation with All Might, Denji went back home and started preparing for his training.
But first, he came up with an excuse for his parents, saying he was going to Midoriya's house to play video games and hang out.
They didn't find it strange; after all, I went there a lot anyway.
"Is this the place?" Denji wondered.
All Might had arranged to meet him that day, saying it was at a beach.
It must be this one, after all... Denji thought.
The beach in question, where he was now, was completely dirty, with trash everywhere.
It wasn't bright daylight anymore; it was mid-afternoon, the sun no longer high in the sky—a good time for training.
"What kind of weird place is this that All Might chose..."
Well, anyway, All Must have his reasons...
Thinking All Might would take a while to arrive, Denji sat on a panel lying in the middle of the beach and took his phone out of his pocket.
He was about to make a call, but before he could, he spotted the skinny All Might and Midoriya approaching.
They're here...
Denji walked over to them and stood close to have a conversation.
'Toshinori-san, Midoriya-kun, hi, you're early...' said Denji.
'Hahaha, of course we are, young Denji! I brought Midoriya as I told you. Your training starts now. I hope you're both ready. I'm going to make you push your bodies to the limit until the day of the exam. Good luck to you both,' All Might said confidently.
I hope neither of them gives up, but I have faith these two will surprise me...
'Yes, sensei!' Midoriya and Denji replied simultaneously.
'Great, that's the spirit! Now take this, Midoriya,' All Might said, handing a rope to Midoriya.
'Huh? Oh, yes, okay...' Midoriya didn't understand why but took the rope anyway.
'Now, as for you, Denji... hmmm, let me think first. I'll have to see your limits. As for Midoriya, I don't even need to check. Just looking at him, I can tell the basics will suffice...' All Might said.
Midoriya, listening from the side, felt strangely attacked. What does he mean, 'just looking at him, I can tell'? Is he saying it's obvious I'm a weakling? Well, it's not a lie... Midoriya thought.
'That's fine, sensei,' Denji replied.
'Right. So, Midoriya, here's what you're going to do...' All Might said.
A few minutes later...
No one said it would be easy. A walk in the park, you say? Not at all. If Midoriya wanted to use All Might's power, he would have to strengthen his body, and that's exactly what All Might was having him do.
At that moment, Midoriya was pulling a heavy refrigerator up the trash-littered slope of the beach. To make it worse, All Might was sitting on top of it. In total, it must have been around 300 kg?
'Hey, hey, hey, this fridge is a nice place to sit,' said All Might in his muscular form.
'Is it getting difficult over there? You'll have to push yourself harder, young Midoriya...' said All Might.
'What the heck, All Might... you're so heavy... you weigh about 280 kg. How am I supposed to move this with you on top...' Midoriya said while trying to pull the refrigerator.
'How rude... I've lost weight, you know. Now I'm about 250 kg.'
Denji, who was watching from the side, couldn't help but let out a small laugh.
'Pfft, you can do it, Midoriya...'
All Might, sitting on the refrigerator, saw Denji and had a mischievous thought cross his mind.
I wonder if you can handle it, young Denji?
'What do you say? Want to give it a try too, young Denji? Do you think you can manage?'
Crap, it's my turn now... He wants to see me suffer too? Denji thought. I can't back out now.
'Sure, sure, piece of cake. Pass me that rope, Midoriya...' Denji said, approaching Midoriya.
'Ahhh, sure...' Deku handed the rope to Denji and stepped back.
Denji took the rope. When he did, he felt excitement? Anxiety?
To be frank, he had never exactly tested how strong he was.
But Denji, ever since receiving his Quirk, never had much difficulty lifting any weight.
Holding the rope with both hands, he said, 'Here I go, All Might.'
Then he pulled.
Heavy... it's heavy... but not too much... Using more strength, the refrigerator began to move with relative ease.
All Might, seeing this, thought:
Hmm... he's strong, very strong. His Quirk seems to have some level of physical enhancement, and he apparently isn't even giving it his all... I'm sure moving around 500 kg wouldn't be a problem for him... This is beyond my expectations. I can't have them train together; I'll have to arrange another form of training for him... But what? Should I focus on strengthening his physical abilities or his transformation? Speaking of which, I haven't seen it yet... I'll ask him to show me later.
Midoriya, watching from the side, thought:
Amazing, that's incredible... he's so strong. I always knew Denji-kun had a strong Quirk, but super strength? That's so cool... I wonder if there's a limit?
Denji dragged that heavy refrigerator and All Might to the edge of the beach, where garbage trucks usually passed, and left it there.
'Very impressive, young Denji. But if you continue at this pace, there soon won't be anything for Midoriya to train with. So, I'll have to arrange different training for you. But before that, let me see your transformation... you said before you could transform, right? Show me,' said All Might.
He wants to see my transformation? So be it. It'll hurt like hell, but it's for the greater good.
Before Denji showed his transformation, All Might instructed Midoriya to continue cleaning the beach.
'All Might, can we go a bit farther away? I'm not ready for Midoriya to see me like this yet. Besides, it might negatively influence his training. Is that okay with you...?' Denji asked.
He really isn't comfortable with his Quirk... I should respect young Denji's feelings, All Might thought.
'Of course, young Denji. But at some point, you will have to accept your Quirk,' All Might said.
Then All Might went back and told Midoriya to continue and that they would be back soon.
After that, moving away from the beach to a more secluded spot...
Denji and All Might were alone.
'Is this far enough, young Denji?' asked All Might.
'Yes, All Might.'
After that, Denji started taking off his shirt. This made All Might feel a bit strange?
What the heck is this weird feeling? Hurry up and show me your Quirk; don't just take off your clothes, All Might thought.
'Young Denji, what are you doing????' asked All Might.
'I'm obviously taking off my shirt... I don't want to tear it... if I go home with this shirt ruined, she'll kill me...' Denji replied.
'I see...' But dang, this is still weird.
After Denji took off his shirt, All Might noticed a strange cord on his chest. The cord seemed to come from inside, as if it were attached to his heart... as if the cord got stuck during regeneration.
But what is this? What is this cord on his chest... is it part of his Quirk? All Might thought.
'Here I go, All Might.' After saying this, Denji pulled the cord on his chest.
After that, All Might saw two chainsaws emerge from inside his arms. The sight was bizarre and brutal.
Then another came out of his forehead, and his head turned into a chainsaw?
Huh, that's weird... I can't help but think, young Denji, your Quirk is stranger than I imagined. Besides, does he not feel pain.....?
It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts so much... dang... it's been a long time since I used my Quirk... I'm out of practice... but I can't show this to All Might sensei. If he notices, he might change his mind about training me...
Denji had a strange expression on his face... All Might noticed this.
I understand, young Denji. You feel pain but refuse not to use your Quirk... your desire to become a hero is that strong... Seeing this, All Might had to ask something.
'Young Denji, doesn't it hurt?..'
'It hurts a lot, All Might..'
'I see... then tell me, Denji, why do you want to be a hero...?'
Hearing this, Denji thought:
Why?
I don't know... I want to get stronger, prove to myself that I can be stronger.
But why do I need to be stronger? Technically, I don't need to prove anything to myself...
Actually, I'm not sure...
What do I want, anyway?
After thinking for a while, Denji came to his conclusion.
'I want to touch some boobs, All Might...' Denji replied sincerely.
Well, not exactly that, but if I were strong, I'd be happier, right?
Meanwhile, in All Might's mind...
Touch some boobs???
What the heck!! What kind of answer is that? Who becomes a hero to touch boobs... speaking of which, I could really use a girlfriend... no!! Keep your mind clean. I should just focus on being a symbol for this generation; I don't have time for such things!!! But I shouldn't judge young Denji; he's a teenager, and it's perfectly normal to have those thoughts. I should just advise him!!
'I see... I mean, I don't understand!! But I will respect your feelings. However, I must advise you on your journey. Now, tell me more about your Quirk. I imagine it's not just this, right?' replied All Might.
He wants to know more about my Quirk? But I don't know much either... I'll tell him what I know... Still transformed, Denji replied.
'Well, All Might, when I transform, I become much stronger than normal, and faster too. Besides, I accidentally discovered once that my blood can regenerate me. As for other people's blood, I haven't tested it yet... When it comes to my chainsaws, I don't know if I can 'retract' them when I'm transformed... also, I become much more durable than in my base form.'
I see... So when he transforms, his stats are increased. How much stronger does he get after transforming? If before he could pull around 300 kg with relative ease, and if he pushed himself maybe around 500 kg, he should be capable of pulling... and when transformed? Maybe a ton? It's too early to say... But regeneration too? Would it just be simple regeneration? How good is this regeneration? Well, I suppose it must be impressive since he's still alive even with this thing coming out of his arms...
I think I understand... what your training should be, Denji... But first, let me ask you one thing.
'You said you discovered your blood could activate your super-regeneration. How exactly did you discover that?'
How? Let me remember...
'Once, I don't remember how, but I ended up cutting my hand. It wasn't a big cut, but it was pretty deep. A lot of blood came out, and to avoid making a mess, I drank my own blood. Then, in just a few moments, my wound closed...'
So, drinking your own blood activates your regeneration... I see. That could be useful in emergencies... What about other people's blood? Would it work? What the heck am I thinking!! Young Denji isn't a vampire to feed on others' blood.
'I see... That's certainly very useful. I think I know how I should train you, young Denji. Analyzing what you told me, you don't have much experience with your Quirk, which is why you don't know its limits. We'll start by finding out how long you can stay in this form. Then we'll test the limits of your Quirk, and finally, we'll run tests on your Quirk—for example, whether you can control this transformation, like whether you can retract your chainsaws. We'll do all this while you improve your physical conditioning. I imagine your Quirk is like mine; it probably consumes physical energy, so you'll have to have a strong body too... I think that's everything...' said All Might.
Wow... he analyzed all that about my Quirk, and he realized I don't know much about it...
'First, it would be interesting to find out if you can retract your chainsaws. After all, they aren't very useful in a civilian rescue. So, you'd have to transform and detransform every time you needed to save a civilian. I imagine that wouldn't be very good...'
That's true...
'RIGHT, All Might sensei! I'll try. And after I become strong, I'll touch some boobs!' Denji said excitedly.
That's right... get strong... WAIT, again with this boob-touching thing!! I CAN'T LET HIM GO DOWN THAT PATH, YOUNG DENJI... but for now, I'll let it slide since he's so motivated.
'Right, now let's head back. Midoriya must be waiting for us... Besides, I have something to say to both of you...'
'Okay, okay.' Then Denji reverted his transformation.
At a speed visible to the naked eye, Denji's injuries regenerated.
All Might saw this and couldn't help but think:
So fast!!... I see. So this is what he meant by regeneration!! Could his arms grow back if they were cut off??
What the heck kind of thoughts are these?!!!!
'Let's go, get your shirt..'
Returning to the beach, All Might and Denji saw Midoriya, all sweaty, struggling to move the trash on the beach.
He's pushing himself...
'Very good, Midoriya, Denji. Good luck with your training. You might have wondered at some point why I chose this place to train you. The truth is, these days, there are many heroes who only want fame and forget that being a hero also manifests in the small things, like caring for others.'
While speaking, All Might approached an old refrigerator on the beach.
'A true hero is someone who, even when strong, doesn't put their strength above others. I want you to understand this. Never use your Quirk against the weak. That is the true strength of the strong.'
When he finished saying this, All Might CRUSHED the refrigerator, which was bigger than both of them, with one hand, with the greatest ease in the world, as if to say:
See? I'm crazy strong, but here I am picking up trash.
I see... he's a respectable guy, after all... no wonder he's the strongest... Denji thought with a smile.
All Might sensei is so amazing, Midoriya thought.
It was visible to anyone looking at him that he had a look of admiration.
After that day, the days followed, and day after day, Midoriya and Denji returned to that beach.
Midoriya spent most of his time removing trash from the beach, and by the way, it wasn't little. The entire beach was covered in trash, so removing all of it would be considerable work for anyone.
Denji, on the other hand, with All Might's help, began testing the limits of his Quirk.
He made interesting discoveries during this time.
And quickly, 10 months passed.
The beach, which was once full of trash, was now completely clean. This was a clear sign of the effort Midoriya had put into it.
As for Denji, he also trained his body. But in short, when he wasn't training and learning about his Quirk, he was strengthening his body. Considering he was already strong, he had to lift even heavier weights—things like refrigerators, truck tires, heavy metal bars, etc.
Today was the day of the entrance exam. It was morning. All Might didn't come to train them every day, of course; he helped, but his schedule was packed, so he couldn't always come.
And regarding that, he planned the following:
If Midoriya strengthens his body, that's great.
As for Denji,
If he masters his Quirk more, that's great.
But this had a deadline, which was today.
Today was the day of the U.A. entrance exam.
As for Denji, he kinda knew he would meet his expectations.
But what about Midoriya? Did he meet them?
Today, seeing the beach and seeing that he had cleaned far beyond what was expected, he had met his expectations.
Denji wasn't at the beach when he arrived; only Midoriya was there. So today would be the perfect day to pass his power to Midoriya.
'YOU SURPASSED YOUR LIMITS, YOUNG MIDORIYA, AND SURPASSED MY EXPECTATIONS, GOD!! I'M PROUD OF YOU!'
'All Might... I did it... I did it...' Midoriya murmured, completely exhausted.
'YES, YOU DID! NOW SEE HOW YOU WERE TEN MONTHS AGO... You did very well...'
'I came this far thanks to you, All Might... thanks to you. You went so far for me and believed in me...' Midoriya murmured, crying.
'GOD!! DON'T BE A CRYBABY AFTER WORKING SO HARD! NOW COMES YOUR REWARD. BE PROUD, YOU DESERVE IT!! This is the power you earned fairly.'
'NOW EAT THIS!!' said All Might.
'Huh? What?'