Seeing this, Bakugo Katsuki's expression darkened completely.
He had never imagined that his full-power attack would fail to injure Shigaraki in the slightest.
It had not even scorched the edge of his clothes.
The moment he realized that, a feeling he had never experienced before surged uncontrollably through his chest.
Despair.
The despair born from an overwhelming gap in strength.
And the despair of being utterly crushed by someone around his own age.
After all, Shigaraki did not look much older than him.
Yet this person, who should have belonged to the same generation, had beaten him so thoroughly that he could not even fight back.
No.
Calling it a fight was already too generous.
This was complete domination.
From beginning to end, Shigaraki had only moved one and a half steps.
That was all.
Anyone who experienced this kind of crushing defeat from someone their own age would inevitably begin doubting themselves.
Bakugo was no exception.
While Bakugo sank into self-doubt, Shigaraki casually brushed the dust from his clothes and walked out of the smoke.
As he walked forward, he looked down at Bakugo's miserable state.
But strangely enough, Shigaraki felt no real sense of accomplishment.
After all, the difference between them was simply too large.
In strength.
In combat experience.
In mentality.
How could a genius who had not yet fully matured compare to someone like him—a man who had already grown, possessed talent no weaker than Bakugo's, and also carried a cheat-level system on top of that?
Even if Bakugo's combat instincts were exceptional, it still was not enough.
What separated them was not merely time.
It was experience carved through countless battles.
And more importantly—
Shigaraki had a system.
How was an ordinary NPC supposed to compete against a cheat player?
Thinking this, Shigaraki rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
He was considering how exactly he should deal with Bakugo Katsuki.
Killing him outright would be troublesome.
After all, Midoriya Izuku would be difficult to explain later.
Bakugo Katsuki was Midoriya's precious childhood friend.
If the two of them were different genders, Bakugo might have already become Bakugo Katsuhime by now.
Once Bakugo died here, Shigaraki and Midoriya would undoubtedly become true enemies.
Unless Midoriya never discovered the truth.
But that was obviously impossible.
However, if he let Bakugo go, then with Bakugo's personality, he would definitely continue interfering with his plans in the future.
That would become incredibly annoying.
So should he cripple him?
Or simply lock him away somewhere?
Completely unaware that Shigaraki was currently debating whether to break his legs or imprison him, Bakugo instinctively staggered half a step backward after seeing Shigaraki approach.
But it was not fear.
It was instinct.
The instinct of a living creature sensing danger.
As if feeling ashamed of that subconscious retreat, Bakugo immediately raised his head and glared directly at Shigaraki.
What should he do?
How could he survive this situation?
At the same time, his peripheral vision continuously swept across the surroundings, desperately searching for an escape route.
Unfortunately—
He found nothing.
Just as Bakugo was on the verge of being crippled and dragged away by Shigaraki, a somewhat sleazy voice suddenly rang out from behind him.
"As expected of the boss! The moment you make a move, it's on a completely different level!"
"You crushed that brat instantly!"
The speaker was the leader of the fodder villains Bakugo had encountered earlier.
The moment that man sensed the situation turning bad, he had secretly fled with several of his subordinates.
Now that the battle appeared over, he cautiously returned, hoping there might still be something to gain.
Then he witnessed Shigaraki Tomura—the boss behind everything—personally arriving and instantly crushing Bakugo Katsuki, the same brat who had beaten them into such a miserable state earlier.
Only the small leaders among the fodder villains actually knew Shigaraki's true identity.
Seeing this, the little leader immediately abandoned all hesitation and stepped out from hiding.
After all, the boss was already here.
The enemy had been defeated.
Why keep hiding?
More importantly, he feared that if he continued hiding, Shigaraki might mistake him for someone attempting a sneak attack and casually kill him on the spot.
That would be far too unfair.
Besides, he carried another small hope in his heart.
He wanted to flatter Shigaraki a little.
Maybe leave a good impression.
Maybe get promoted.
Maybe earn some kind of reward.
The moment Bakugo saw them appear, his eyes lit up.
He felt as though he had suddenly found the key to breaking this deadlock.
Maybe he could use them—
Naturally, if Bakugo noticed them, then Shigaraki noticed them as well.
However, upon seeing these suddenly reappearing subordinates, Shigaraki showed no joy whatsoever.
Instead, he let out a sigh.
"What the hell?"
"You people are actually still alive?"
"I thought you all died ages ago."
Hearing this, the small leader immediately laughed awkwardly.
"Boss, you must be joking. If we can live, who'd want to die?"
"So that's your excuse for running away from battle?"
Shigaraki's tone instantly turned colder.
He truly was dissatisfied with these fodder villains.
Although he had already known from the start that they were nothing more than a disorganized mob with almost nobody worth looking at.
After all, Sludge Villain had recruited them casually according to cannon-fodder standards.
But even so, Shigaraki had never expected them to perform this "brilliantly."
Some fled the instant battle began.
Some immediately sold out their own side for a chance to survive.
Their performance was so ridiculous it made his scalp tingle.
Thinking this, Shigaraki's voice became even colder.
"Seriously."
"If everyone were like you people…"
"Then what use would I have for a bunch of trash like you?"
Hearing those words, the small leader and his subordinates instantly froze.
Naturally, being called trash made them unhappy.
But they also knew they had no grounds to argue back.
More importantly—
They did not dare.
They were terrified Shigaraki might casually kill them on the spot.
So they could only lower their heads obediently and remain silent, praying Shigaraki would simply ignore them.
Or let them off like passing gas.
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