The hum of the jet's engines was already starting to ramp up. "Hold on .. . What?" Yuta looked from Aizawa's stony face to All Might's towering.
"Get on the plane," Aizawa repeated, his voice leaving no room for negotiation. "We don't have time to debate this. Our flight path has changed. We aren't heading for the Atlantic."
"But—" Yuta frowned heavily, his mind spinning. "That wasn't what we .... ."
"The situation has changed, Akutami," Aizawa said, stepping toward him and placing a firm hand on his shoulder to guide him up the stairs. "You probably have a lot of questions but we can't explain everything right now. However All Might needs to return to Japan and we can't bring you to the island right now. And before you ask, no, we won't leave you here either."
The jet was chartered specifically for I-Island with specialized clearance. All Might taking it back to Japan meant that destination was off the table.
Putting him on a commercial flight wasn't possible either. Their destination wasn't a tourist hotspot where anyone could just waltz in. As for leaving Yuta behind, that was even more out of the question.
"Which means the safest option is taking you back to U.A. It's the most secure location in Japan while we deal with this situation."
Aizawa uttered. "Once the League is dismantled tonight, the crosshairs disappear. We can figure out what happens after but for that to happen, we needed to be in Japanese airspace four hours ago. Move."
Yuta hesitated for a fraction of a second—processing the abrupt reversal—then nodded and climbed the stairs. Honestly with his understanding of the situation, being obstinate or arguing wouldn't do anyone any good.
The cabin was exactly as he'd expected. Leather seats and subdued lighting alongside the faint smell of coffee. Utilitarian luxury.
"Strap in. It's All Might's so get comfy."
Aizawa said, pulling out his phone and typing rapidly. Probably calling Nezu.
Yuta who just took a window seat near the middle and buckled in silently was stunned. 'He owns this?'
All Might remained outside on the tarmac, phone already at his ear.
In a private room, steam rushed out of All Might's skeletal figure as he let out several coughs. The moment he got into the private form, he instantly released his muscle form.
"Dammit! It's been nearly an hour like this. This had to come up today .." The man took out his phone and dialed a number.
The call connected.
"Naomasa? It's me. Listen very carefully," Toshinori uttered gravely voice was a low. "You have to stop them. Tell the Commission... tell the Director... tell whoever you have to not to breach that building without me."
_
[HPSC MAKESHIFT COMMAND CENTER – YOKOHAMA]
Tsukauchi sat at his desk, phone pressed to his ear, surrounded by the organized chaos of the command center. Officers monitored surveillance feeds.
Radio chatter crackled from speakers. Tactical displays showed hero positions converging on Kamino Ward.
"Toshinori," Tsukauchi said carefully. "I'm not really sure that's possible now. I understand your concerns. But asking the HPSC to halt a major operation is ..."
The implications went unsaid. He had called All Might not just because one of his students was involved in the 716 (What people refer to when referencing the YAMANOTE LINE) but also specifically for what he was worried about.
Few knew of All For One's existence and neither Naomasa or Toshinori had any plans to change that. However, with Toshinori unable to show up now, stopping this was out of the question.
"I know how it sounds but we have no choice." All Might's voice came from the other end. "You know just as well as I do jow dangerous it is, Naomasa. If he really is behind the League of villains, then everyone participating in that raid is in great danger."
"IF, Toshinori. We have no proof, only suspicion."
Tsukauchi pulled up the tactical timeline on his screen. The breach was scheduled for 0100 hours. Fifty-seven minutes from now.
"Even if I could convince the Director, what am I supposed to tell the others?" Tsukauchi lowered his voice, glancing at the HPSC officials standing only a few feet away. "Aside from the top brass and Gran Torino, nobody here knows who 'he' is. We have no valid reason to explain why you want this halted."
"Then tell them I'm requesting a precautionary delay. That I have intelligence suggesting ..."
"Intelligence you can't share," Tsukauchi interrupted. "Toshinori, my role on this task force is primarily due to my familiarity with the case and my connection to you and U.A. But at the end of the day, I'm still a detective. I'm working with people way above my rank. I can relay your request, but I can't order a delay myself. That's the only way they'll listen."
Trying to delay an operation already set for no reason wasn't within his ability. However, All Might was different.
Would it cause some dissatisfaction? Maybe, but that was only around the likes of Endeavor. Waiting a whole longer for the symbol of peace, who had a personal stake in this to participate was within All Might's influence. As long as it wasn't too long, all could be overlooked.
"How long would they wait?" All Might asked.
"How fast can you get here?"
Silence on the line. "...Four hours."
Tsukauchi went still.
Four hours? The breach was in fifty-six minutes.
All Might was asking them to wait nearly four times longer than the current timeline. That was a complete operational halt.
"Four hours," Tsukauchi repeated, his voice barely a whisper. He felt a cold sweat prickle at his hairline. "Toshinori, you're asking for an eternity. If I tell the Director-General we need to hold position for four minutes, they'll be fine. Not four hours."
He looked up, meeting the eyes of a passing HPSC logistics officer who was carrying a stack of final-clearance documents. The air in the room was electric with the anticipation of a kill.
"They have the perimeter locked," Tsukauchi hissed, turning his back to the room. "The tactical teams are already moving into the surrounding buildings. Civilians have been evacuated. And Endeavor..."
Tsukauchi glanced at a monitor showing the Number Two Hero standing like a statue of smoldering rage near the command van.
"Endeavor has been staring at the time for the last twenty minutes. If I go out there and tell him and the other forty Pros who have been pulled from their own jurisdictions—that they need to stand in the shadows until 0500 without a proper reason why, we will have a very, very big problem on our hands."
The number of people aware of All For One's existence, even in The HPSC was far too few.
Limited to practically the board and a few others.
To prevent public panic and cover their own incompetence, they would never allow the possibility of All for one's existence to be leaked.
Hence, revealing this information to the heroes and officers present was out of the question.
Without this, they had no solid reasoning to explain delaying for four more hours for All Might's inclusion.
There was no way around this dilemma. Only The director could order a delay, but with the HPSC under enormous political pressure after Yamanote to show results, Naomasa would basically be asking them to risk the operation's failure, as well as the displeasure of several top heroes based on a hunch that All Might's defeated foe was alive and strong enough to wipe out their assembled force of heroes.
That was a tall order.
He could already imagine Endeavors reaction once this was passed on. The word seething with rage probably wouldn't even begin to scratch the surface.
"Then tell them I'm requesting it anyway." All Might's voice hardened. "Tell them if they breach without me and I'm right, they're sending those heroes to die."
"You don't know that for certain."
"No. But I can't risk being wrong."
Tsukauchi looked at the clock. 12:04 AM.
"I'll relay your request," he said finally. "But Toshinori... prepare yourself. If they refuse, and they likely will, you need to understand the fallout. If the HPSC ignores the Symbol of Peace's direct request and the raid succeeds without a hitch, your standing with the Commission will never be the same. They'll see you as compromised and paranoid."
"I'd rather be called paranoid than attend forty funerals," All Might's voice crackled, the signal beginning to break as the jet's communication systems shifted for takeoff. "Just buy me whatever time you can. I'm pushing autopilot to the red line. I'll be in Japanese airspace by 0400. Please Naomasa."
"I will." Tsukauchi paused. "Are you alright? You sound ..."
"I'm fine. Just... tell them."
The line went dead with static. Tsukauchi sat there for a moment, staring at his phone. Then he stood, straightening his jacket and walked through the command center toward the communications room.
The facility was a converted office building—one of several HPSC maintained for exactly this kind of operation. Large enough to house the necessary equipment, nondescript enough not to draw attention, and far enough from Kamino Ward to be secure.
Around him, officers monitored feeds from dozens of cameras. Thermal imaging showed heat signatures in the target building. Radio operators coordinated with perimeter teams. Intelligence analysts tracked every data point in real time.
On the main tactical display, a map of Kamino Ward glowed with color-coded markers:
Red: Target building (Fifth and Kirin Street)
Green: Hero positions (scattered across three-block radius)
Blue: Staging area (abandoned warehouse, three blocks west)
Yellow: Evacuation zone (cleared, two-block radius)
Orange: Command center (their current location, ten kilometers away)
The conference room door stood open ahead. Inside, multiple screens showed video feeds from various locations.
Tsukauchi entered.
"Detective," an HPSC coordinator acknowledged. "We're about to begin final briefing. The Director-General is connecting now."
The main screen flickered to life.
Madame President appeared, seated in her office at HPSC headquarters in Tokyo, severe features illuminated by the glow of her own monitors. Behind her, night-darkened windows showed the Tokyo skyline.
"Good evening, Detective." she uttered. "Status?"
"Ma'am." Tsukauchi took his seat at the conference table. "All systems operational. We're fifty-one minutes from breach."
"Excellent. Connect the staging area."
The left-side screens activated.
The image showed the interior of the staging area warehouse—exposed brick walls, industrial lighting, maps covering folding tables, tactical equipment staged on tables. And most importantly .... heroes. Dozens of them.
Endeavor stood at the center, flames burning low but steady around his shoulders, arms crossed as he studied a holographic display of the target building.
Best Jeanist stood nearby, reviewing approach vectors alongside Mt. Lady and Kamui Woods.
Gran Torino sat on a crate in the background, small and weathered but watching everything with sharp eyes.
Other heroes filled the frame—some of Japan's finest, all ready for action.
"Endeavor," Madame President said. "Final status."
Endeavor looked up at the camera. "All teams ready, ma'am. Front and rear entry synchronized.
"Edgeshot?"
Another screen activated. This one showing a helmet-cam view from a darkened rooftop. The image was grainy, stabilized by technology, showing the rear of the target building from above.
"Still in position," Edgeshot's voice came through. "No change in target status. Thermal scans show four confirmed inside, all stationary. No indication of awareness."
"Perimeter teams?"
"All positions confirmed," an HPSC tactical coordinator reported. "Five teams covering egress routes. Emergency services staged outside evacuation zone. Medical on standby."
Madame President nodded. "What about the status of civilians?"
"Evacuation completed at 2200 hours,"
The whole area had been cleared under the excuse of a gas leak with the residents relocated to temporary shelters.
"Good." Madame President's eyes swept across all the video feeds. "Endeavor, walk me through the breach one more time."
"The primary Target is the warpgate villain Kurogiri. Edgeshot has volunteered to handle him instantly without giving him any chance to warp. Once Kurogiri is under containment, there is no escape for the rest. If there are any variables like the biological weapons that engineered, what follows will be overwhelming force from Japan's finest. Even worst-case scenarios are manageable."
"Casualties?"
"Minimal to none."
"Good" She turned her attention to the room. "Any outstanding concerns before we proceed?"
This was it. Tsukauchi took a breath.
"Ma'am," he said. "I have an update. I've just received communication from All Might."
"Hmm?" Every screen showed reaction.
"All Might?" Madame President turned to him. "Where is he? Is he joining this operation?"
"Yes he is Madam. I informed him not long ago, only to discover he was out of country on classified business." Tsukauchi kept his voice steady. "He's requesting that we delay the operation until he can return to Japan and participate."
__
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