"The gene chain… has been destroyed?" All For One repeated, a rare note of disbelief in his voice. "Could this have been caused by the physical damage he sustained?"
"Impossible," the doctor replied decisively. "Kurogiri's true body has already been reduced to an extremely small portion due to his quirk. Even if that remaining part were damaged, it would at most result in severe injury. It would never affect the quirk's genetic structure like this. The only explanation… is that this was caused by the boy's quirk."
His eyes gleamed with intense curiosity. A quirk capable of directly damaging—or even destroying—another person's genetic structure was terrifying beyond measure. Just how had that boy achieved something like this?
"Could that be his original quirk?" All For One murmured.
There was too little information about Shina Etsuha. Even the League of Villains had only fragments. And deep down, All For One felt something unsettling—a vague intuition that this boy's power might one day surpass even his own. The thought irritated him.
The doctor continued examining Kurogiri's gene chain. After a long silence, his expression shifted.
"It looks like his gene chain has been eroded by some kind of special force," he said. "But because the contact time was short, the damage is only partial. With effort… it may still be repairable."
Kurogiri's quirk could still open portals, but without a complete gene chain, he had lost control over their destinations. If repaired, it might function again—though whether it would return to its original state remained uncertain.
"Then proceed with treatment," All For One said calmly. "Kurogiri's quirk is essential to our plans. We cannot discard it so easily."
"I'll do everything I can," the doctor nodded.
During his time with the League, he had conducted countless live experiments, including quirk fusion. This had given him a unique understanding of genetic structures—enough, perhaps, to attempt a repair.
The operation lasted five hours.
When Kurogiri awoke, he found himself back in the tavern.
"My quirk…" he murmured, staring at his hands.
"Your quirk has been repaired," All For One's voice came from the television. "However, it is incomplete. It has only been restored to a usable state."
"Thank you, my lord!" Kurogiri said with visible relief. "Being able to use it at all is more than enough."
"Good. I have no intention of waiting any longer."
"You're finally going to move against All Might?" Shigaraki Tomura perked up immediately, excitement flashing across his face.
All For One nodded. "Yes. However, with that boy at U.A., simple tactics will no longer suffice. Recently, I've prepared additional experimental subjects. When the time comes, we'll give them a proper 'surprise.'"
These so-called experimental subjects were humans—used to create Nomu. Most were homeless or unregistered individuals, people with little to no social ties. Their disappearance would barely be noticed.
With Kurogiri's ability, acquiring such subjects had never been difficult.
"It's finally starting…" Shigaraki Tomura grinned. "Shina Etsuha… we'll meet again soon."
…
At U.A.
Aizawa Shouta had just dismissed class when his phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID and frowned slightly.
"Mt. Lady? Shouldn't she be supervising special training right now?"
He answered the call.
Yu Takeyama's voice came through immediately.
"The location of U.A.'s training camp has been exposed. We were attacked by Villains—at least five at the level of professional heroes. One of them has been confirmed as the Hero Killer, Stain. The others appear to be modified entities… each possessing at least two quirks."
"What?!" Aizawa's expression changed instantly. Five enemies at that level was no small matter—any one of them could cause massive damage. And Stain alone was already a notorious threat.
"Are the students safe?" he asked quickly. "Any injuries? Did everyone make it out?"
"They're all safe," Yu Takeyama replied. "Three of the 'targets' have been captured. One is missing. As for Stain, he escaped with someone who has a teleportation quirk. We couldn't pursue."
The "missing" one had, in truth, been shattered by Etsuha—but there was no need to explain that in detail.
"…Captured?" Aizawa blinked in surprise. "I didn't expect you to handle something like that alone."
Given the strength of the enemy lineup, even professional heroes would have struggled. The fact that three had been captured and the students remained unharmed spoke volumes.
At this rate, Mt. Lady might soon climb into the top ranks of pro heroes.
"…I didn't do it," Yu Takeyama admitted awkwardly.
Aizawa froze.
"…What?"
"It was all done by Etsuha."
"…"
Silence filled the line.