"Confidence is a good thing, but don't capsize because of carelessness."
Hearing this, Shigaraki calmly glanced at Muscular before pointing toward Best Jeanist on the screen.
"No matter what, he's still a top hero. His battle record isn't fake."
Muscular's heart tightened slightly.
He immediately put away his contempt.
If Shigaraki had specifically pointed out Best Jeanist's status and achievements, then the man had to be genuinely capable.
So Muscular turned his attention back toward the screen, wanting to see exactly what made this man worthy of being called the No. 4 Hero.
On the screen, countless fine fibers continued spreading outward around Best Jeanist with steady precision.
Suddenly—
one thread stopped.
A fiber that had stretched far into the distance seemed to have discovered something. It clearly had not touched anything, yet it halted in place.
Then, in the next instant, stillness turned into motion.
The thread shot forward violently.
In the blink of an eye, it wrapped around a massive boulder in the distance.
Muscular's pupils contracted.
Too fast.
He hadn't even seen the movement clearly.
But what happened next shocked him even more.
The remaining fibers seemed to react to that single thread's discovery. Their earlier slow spread instantly transformed into violent convergence.
Hissing sharply through the air, countless fibers gathered together.
Then they completely wrapped the giant boulder—one even larger than Muscular himself—into a tightly bound sphere.
The moment the wrapping finished, Best Jeanist suddenly opened his eyes and looked toward the location where the fiber had stopped earlier.
He extended his right hand in that direction.
His fingers curled like claws.
Then—
he clenched.
Crack.
A faint sound like shattering glass rang out.
Along with it came the sound of the giant boulder being torn apart, as well as continuous cracking noises from the hidden weak point in the spatial wall concealed within it.
Soon, the fibers forcibly drilled open a large gap in that fragile section of the alternate dimension.
Through that opening, Best Jeanist could clearly see scenery completely different from the forest trapping him.
Seeing this, he immediately withdrew the fibers spread around him and quickly stepped toward the gap.
"Although the method was crude, finding the exit this quickly is still quite impressive."
"As expected of a top hero."
Watching through the screen, Shigaraki could not help softly praising him.
He was praising Best Jeanist's quick judgment after realizing they intended to use civilians as hostages against All Might.
He was also praising how quickly Best Jeanist located the weak point in the space and broke through it with pure technique.
Even Shigaraki himself might not have shown such decisiveness if suddenly thrown into an unfamiliar environment.
As expected of a top hero.
No wonder even All For One had evaluated the No. 4 Hero as someone whose strength came from practice and experience.
Thinking this, Shigaraki looked toward Muscular, whose expression had stiffened after witnessing Best Jeanist's performance.
"Now do you understand why I said that?"
"Yes, compared to his other abilities, Best Jeanist's raw strength isn't especially overwhelming."
"But that doesn't mean his weakness is only at the level of an ordinary hero."
"Top heroes are top heroes because they don't have obvious fatal flaws."
"They train themselves in every aspect to eliminate clear weaknesses."
"And even if they do have weaknesses, those flaws only exist relative to other top heroes, not ordinary people."
"If you underestimate him just because he isn't a power-type hero and his Quirk looks weak, you'll suffer badly."
"After all…"
"A few hundred rubber bands can tear apart a watermelon that can't be crushed by hand."
"And Best Jeanist can control far more than a few hundred or a few thousand fibers."
"If tens of thousands of fibers attack at once, even steel and buildings could probably be ripped apart."
At that point, Shigaraki paused slightly before glancing at Muscular, who had fallen silent in thought.
"So, Muscular…"
"Do you still think he isn't worthy of being your opponent?"
Muscular remained silent for a few seconds.
Then, in the next instant, a savage grin spread across his face.
"Of course not."
"He'll be a good opponent."
"I'm already looking forward to fighting him."
It was rare for Shigaraki to personally approve him going out to handle an enemy.
Muscular did not want to waste such a precious opportunity to use his Quirk freely.
Ever since Sludge had rescued him from prison, he had not experienced a true battle.
His encounter with All Might didn't count.
That hadn't been a fight.
That had been suppression.
He had already endured long enough.
And now, the opponent he was about to face had proven stronger than expected.
Was there anything better than that?
Thinking of this, the grin on Muscular's face became even more ferocious.
Seeing this, Shigaraki merely shrugged indifferently.
"Fine."
"Since you're that eager, I'll contact Kūgai now and have him open the door."
"Go deal with our No. 4 Hero…"
"Best Jeanist."
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