So… should he arrest him?
Should he take this so-called righteous boy to the police station, file a full report, and hand him over just like procedure demanded?
The thought made All Might hesitate.
Logically speaking, letting Shigaraki Tomura walk away after what had just happened was the wrong decision.
Everything the boy had shown tonight—his extreme attitude toward evil, his frightening calm, the mystery surrounding both his strength and his mindset—pointed to one uncomfortable conclusion:
If his thoughts ever slipped even slightly in the wrong direction, he could become a criminal himself.
And not an ordinary one.
A very dangerous one.
But if All Might took him in… if he filed everything honestly… then the authorities would never leave the boy alone after this.
Someone like him would absolutely be placed under surveillance.
The government would never allow a hidden danger like that to move freely without oversight.
And if the higher-ups took a more aggressive stance…
They might even place him under temporary house arrest.
All Might's chest tightened at the thought.
Making a young man like this suffer that kind of treatment—
Even if it was only a possibility—
Left a bitter taste in his mouth.
He couldn't bring himself to accept it easily.
After a long silence, All Might looked at Shigaraki again, as if trying to read the answer directly from the boy's face.
And what he saw only made the decision harder.
The blue-haired teenager seemed slightly puzzled by how long All Might had gone without speaking.
He tilted his head a little.
That was all.
Even now, there was still no hostility coming from him.
No visible tension.
No defensive posture.
It was as if he were simply curious what All Might would choose to do next.
As though he were waiting—
Waiting to see the Symbol of Peace's decision before deciding on his own next move.
And in truth…
That was exactly what Shigaraki was doing.
He really was waiting for All Might to decide.
Because he wanted to see something.
If All Might actually chose to arrest him…
and then learned his real identity—
that he was Tenko Shimura, Nana Shimura's grandson—
What kind of expression would the man make?
Would he collapse?
Would he break?
Would he look despairing?
Just imagining that scene was enough to make Shigaraki find the whole situation rather entertaining.
Of course, if All Might chose not to arrest him, then Shigaraki had no intention of revealing his identity himself.
There was no thrill in voluntary confession.
Being discovered by accident always struck harder.
And besides—
Even if All Might did try to arrest him, he still had to actually catch him first.
Shigaraki wasn't an idiot.
There was no way he would simply stand there and obediently surrender.
He'd run.
Obviously.
The silence stretched a few seconds longer.
Then finally, All Might let out a long, weary sigh.
When he spoke again, his voice was lower than before.
"As long as it's still dark…"
He glanced at the nearby streets, where the citizens were still keeping their distance and the police hadn't yet arrived.
"…and before the surrounding residents, officers, and reporters get here…"
His gaze settled on Shigaraki.
"You should leave."
For a moment, Shigaraki didn't react.
All Might continued.
"If you go now, you can still get away cleanly."
"I can cover for you a little on the back end."
His tone was steady.
Practical.
There was no trace of mockery in it.
He meant it.
And that—
That genuinely caught Shigaraki off guard.
He had expected many things tonight.
Expected the possibility of being stopped.
Expected the possibility of being questioned.
Expected even, at worst, to be captured after killing Steel Boy in front of a Pro Hero.
After all, this world's rules were fundamentally different from the world he remembered.
In his old understanding, what he had done might at most be called excessive self-defense.
But in this society?
This kind of act could easily be branded wrong.
Or even outright evil.
So he had been prepared for consequences.
What he had not prepared for—
What he had truly not expected—
Was that All Might, of all people, would choose not to arrest him.
That made no sense.
This was All Might.
The incarnation of justice.
The Symbol of Peace.
And yet the man was standing here, giving him a way out.
It was so strange that Shigaraki couldn't help asking directly.
He lifted a finger and pointed at himself.
"…Uh."
He actually sounded mildly confused.
"Even saying this myself feels a little weird…"
"But you're really not going to arrest me?"
He blinked once.
"You do realize what I just did counts as potential criminal behavior, right?"
All Might stared at him for a second, and a fresh wave of helplessness rose in his chest.
He was being let go.
That was a good thing.
So why was this kid asking for confirmation like he found the whole situation disappointing?
"Do you want to be arrested?" All Might asked, unable to keep a trace of disbelief out of his voice.
Shigaraki immediately shook his head.
What kind of stupid question was that?
"Of course not."
He answered with complete confidence.
"If you tried to arrest me, I'd obviously run."
He spread his hands slightly, as if stating the most natural fact in the world.
"I'm not dumb. Why would I just stand there and let myself get caught?"
"…."
For once, All Might found himself speechless.
This was the first time he had ever seen someone openly say I would absolutely flee from arrest so matter-of-factly—
And say it directly to his face.
The boy's nerve was outrageous.
Shigaraki noticed the helpless look on All Might's face and gave a faint, amused smile.
His original plan tonight had failed.
He hadn't gotten the reaction he expected.
But in exchange, he had gained something else:
A deeper understanding of Yagi Toshinori.
Hot-blooded, but not stupid.
Kind, but not naive.
Righteous, but not rigidly obsessed with some sterile form of absolute justice.
In short—
A real hero.
A man worthy of respect.
Of admiration, even.
Of course, respect was one thing.
Actually going easy on him when the time came to use him?
That was something else entirely.
Shigaraki had no intention of mixing the two.
After all—
He still needed Experience Points.
He still needed Evolution Points.
And if that meant calculating against someone he respected, then so be it.
A shallow smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
Then he turned his body slightly and spoke over his shoulder.
"Well, whatever the case…"
"Thanks for letting me off this time, great hero."
With that, he turned and started walking toward the side street.
His steps were light.
Unhurried.
He didn't look tense at all.
There was no caution in his back, no visible concern that All Might might suddenly go back on his word and strike while his guard was down.
It was as if he had never once doubted that All Might would keep his promise.
Watching that, All Might's expression grew even more complicated.
"This kid trusts me way too much…"
he muttered under his breath.
And somehow, that made things harder.
Harder, not easier.
Still—
He did not regret the decision to let Shigaraki leave.
He had no hard evidence for it.
Only instinct.
But his instinct told him the blue-haired boy standing there was not truly a bad person.
And if the result of tonight became—
letting a mass-murdering criminal indirectly ruin the future of a boy who had acted out of disgust toward evil and momentary anger—
Then the cost felt far too cruel.
As All Might stood there turning these thoughts over in his head, Shigaraki's figure kept moving farther away.
Step by step, the night swallowed him.
From All Might's angle, it looked almost as though the darkness itself had opened its mouth and consumed the boy whole.
Soon, his silhouette vanished completely into the black of the street.
"What a strange kid…"
All Might let out another breath and began thinking about what to do next.
He needed information.
He needed to find out who that boy really was.
Where he had come from.
How someone his age had acquired combat skills like that.
And more importantly—
How to correct that dangerously extreme way he viewed evil.
But before he could organize those thoughts fully, his eyes caught something lying on the ground near the area where the earlier fight had taken place.
A small object.
Dark-colored.
It looked like some sort of booklet.
All Might walked over, bent down, and picked it up.
It was indeed a small handbook.
Probably the same one Shigaraki had shown Steel Boy earlier while quoting self-defense law.
He flipped it over casually—
And then froze.
Printed clearly on it were the words:
Kanzaki Private Middle School
Class 3-A
Student: Tenko Shimura
The moment he saw the name—
All Might's pupils contracted violently.
His entire expression changed.
"Shimura…"
The booklet tightened in his grip.
For the first time that night, genuine shock showed on his face.
His thoughts surged chaotically.
That surname.
That one surname.
There was no way he could mistake it.
His voice dropped to a near whisper.
"…That child is Master's…"
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