Looking at the cowardly behavior of those third-rate villains, Shigaraki Tomura let out a long sigh.
Why were all the people under him like this?
Aside from a handful who were barely passable, the rest were nothing but useless rabble.
Not one of them could truly take responsibility.
Not one of them could be trusted as a dependable subordinate.
And the few people he could barely tolerate?
He had personally recruited every single one of them.
…Wait.
Didn't that mean if he wanted capable subordinates in the future, he would have to recruit them all himself?
What kind of joke was that?
Just imagining that future made Shigaraki feel exhausted.
He fell into thought.
He could not keep going like this.
Otherwise, every operation from now on would end with him, the boss, personally stepping in to clean up everyone else's mess.
If things continued that way, how would he ever have time to deal with more important matters?
It seemed he really did need to recruit a proper batch of competent subordinates.
Even if they were not exceptional, they at least needed to be better than the current pile of trash.
With that thought, Shigaraki slowly shifted his gaze toward Bakugo Katsuki.
He decided not to kill him.
Nor would he cripple him.
Instead—
He wanted to recruit him.
After all, Bakugo Katsuki was far too suited to becoming a villain.
That naturally villainous face, that explosive temper, that aggressive way of doing things—no matter how Shigaraki looked at him, the kid seemed born to become an outstanding villain.
The fact that Bakugo had chosen to become a hero instead was, in Shigaraki's eyes, a complete waste of talent.
A waste of villainous talent.
Naturally, Shigaraki did not want to see such rare material thrown away.
Thinking this, he slowly walked toward the wary Bakugo and said with a smile,
"Hey, kid."
"You want to surpass All Might, don't you?"
What the hell was this bastard talking about now?
Hearing those words, Bakugo frowned deeply and stared at Shigaraki in confusion.
He could not understand what kind of game this guy was trying to play.
But he had to admit—
Shigaraki had hit the mark.
He really did want to surpass All Might.
In fact, one of the main reasons he had chosen to stay behind this time—aside from wanting to save people and the sense of responsibility he felt after learning the truth—was because he wanted to surpass All Might.
Because he had thought:
If even All Might couldn't solve this incident, but I could…
Then wouldn't that mean…
Bakugo did not think that kind of selfishness was shameful.
Everyone had selfish desires.
That was normal.
Anyone who claimed otherwise was just lying.
And Bakugo's selfish desire was simple.
He wanted to surpass All Might.
Or, more accurately—
His dream of becoming a hero had never started from some noble desire to save others.
It had started with admiration.
That was the true origin of his dream.
He admired the Symbol of Peace.
He admired the Number One Hero.
And because of that admiration, he wanted to become a hero like him.
In that sense, Bakugo was no different from countless others who dreamed of becoming heroes.
They all admired All Might.
The only difference was the direction of that admiration.
Bakugo did not worship All Might as the Symbol of Hope.
He worshipped him as the Symbol of Victory.
In Bakugo's eyes, All Might's title as the Symbol of Peace was built on two things.
The first was hope.
All Might always smiled.
Like a ray of light, no matter what kind of situation he faced, he could bring confidence and hope to the people around him.
The second was victory.
And that—
That was the All Might Bakugo truly admired.
The All Might who always won.
The All Might who had never once lost.
Because in Bakugo's eyes—
A hero who lost was worthless.
Only by winning—
Winning again and again—
Could someone become everything.
And All Might had undoubtedly achieved exactly that.
Hundreds of battles.
Zero defeats.
That was what Bakugo admired.
Constant victory.
Never losing.
So, as someone who admired All Might, Bakugo naturally chose the same path.
He would keep winning.
He would defeat everyone.
And eventually, he would stand at the very top as the strongest hero and surpass his idol—
All Might himself.
In Bakugo's eyes, that would be the greatest way to repay the man he admired.
"I'll do even better than you."
Someday—
He wanted to say those words to All Might himself.
"I am here!"
"Why?"
"Because I've already surpassed you!"
"So rest easy, All Might."
That was the future he longed for.
Unfortunately—
He had only just stepped onto that path.
Before the day he could say those words ever arrived…
He had lost.
He had encountered Shigaraki Tomura.
A monster he could not defeat no matter how hard he struggled.
No matter how many times he stood back up.
No matter how stubbornly he kept fighting.
The answer waiting for him was always the same.
Defeat.
Thinking of that, Bakugo's face immediately darkened.
Not only because he could not accept his loss—
But because he suddenly realized something.
This bastard standing in front of him might have known about his ambition from the very beginning.
And he might be bringing it up now on purpose, just to humiliate him.
The moment that possibility crossed his mind, Bakugo's expression became uglier than ever.
Meanwhile, Shigaraki paid no attention to Bakugo's changing expression.
He merely curled his lips into a smile and continued casually,
"You've got more guts than most adults."
"And your reactions are sharp."
"The instant you realized I was the enemy, you attacked without hesitation."
"Even after you were caught because of a bad judgment call, you still stayed calm and immediately found a way to counterattack and escape."
"Kid…"
"You're impressive."
"Far better than the useless trash standing behind me."
As he spoke, Shigaraki slowly extended a hand toward Bakugo.
At last, he revealed his true objective.
"So…"
"Want to join us?"
"The terms are negotiable."
"Oh, right…"
"I just so happen to have something here…"
"Something that can help you surpass All Might."
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