"Is that Shina?!"
The moment Best Jeanist spotted Shina Etsuha suspended in midair facing off against the Nomu, he shouted urgently, "Move in—now!"
But the attack never came.
Nomu's body froze mid-motion. Its expression dulled, its movements stalling as if something inside it had abruptly been severed. For a brief instant, it looked like a puppet with its strings cut—
Then it dropped.
Bang!
The massive creature slammed into the ground.
At the same time, Shina Etsuha emerged from the Tsukuyomi space, his body trembling as a wave of exhaustion crashed over him. His muscles burned, his legs nearly giving out beneath him.
"So Tsukuyomi puts this much strain on my body… I can't even stand properly…"
He inhaled sharply, steadying himself. He had anticipated the toll, but not to this extent. Even after just one use, his stamina felt completely drained. Thankfully, Nomu's mind had proven fragile—after enduring only a few days of mental torture within Tsukuyomi, its consciousness had collapsed entirely.
The distortion of time left Etsuha disoriented.
Inside that world, days had passed.
Outside, only a moment.
The disconnect lingered, making reality feel slightly unreal.
As for the Nomu—it still breathed, its body technically alive, but its mind had been utterly destroyed. It was no different from a corpse.
"…Nomu is dead?"
From the shadows, Kurogiri watched in disbelief.
Only a few months had passed since their last encounter, yet this boy—this same boy—had already reached the point of killing a Nomu.
And the most terrifying part?
He still couldn't understand how.
In a single instant, a creature that had been unstoppable was reduced to an empty shell.
"I have to report this…"
Without hesitation, Kurogiri abandoned the body and opened a warp gate, disappearing into it.
"Is it… over?"
Best Jeanist approached cautiously, his gaze locked on the fallen Nomu. The creature had displayed overwhelming power moments ago, yet now it lay motionless.
Something about that didn't add up.
He crouched beside it, examining its condition—then looked up at Shina Etsuha with astonishment.
"This… was your doing?"
Etsuha gave a small nod.
If this made the headlines, it would definitely boost his reputation.
"So it really was you…"
Best Jeanist's shock was unmistakable. Etsuha's abilities had already surpassed what one would expect from a first-year student.
Still… he wasn't entirely alone in that category.
A certain prodigy from U.A.—Mirio Togata—was said to possess similar overwhelming strength. If not for still being a student, he would likely already rank among the top Pro Heroes.
"Did you use some kind of special method?" Yusuke Tensen asked, struggling to stand among the arriving support heroes.
"A mental-type quirk," Etsuha replied casually, smiling.
"Your rare dual quirk?" Best Jeanist asked, clearly intrigued.
"Something like that."
Etsuha didn't elaborate further. Instead, he stepped toward the Nomu's body.
Though its mind was gone, its body remained alive.
Which meant…
Its Quirk should still be active.
The moment his hand made contact, his Sharingan activated. Countless chaotic genetic sequences flooded his vision. Sorting through them quickly, he identified two complete Quirk gene chains—
And copied them.
"Got it."
A flicker of excitement crossed his eyes.
These two Quirks were absurdly powerful.
Shock Absorption—capable of negating nearly half of incoming damage. Against physical powerhouses like All Might, it was essentially a hard counter. Even the strongest blows would do little more than send the user flying.
And then—
Super Regeneration.
Even if the heart were destroyed, it would instantly regenerate. Combined with sufficient durability, it created something dangerously close to immortality.
This Nomu was the perfect example.
In the original timeline, even after enduring a barrage of All Might's punches and being launched into the sky, it had still survived.
That alone proved how terrifying these abilities were.
"If I can make these my own…"
Etsuha narrowed his eyes.
"All For One really doesn't know what he's wasting…"
If those Quirks had been transplanted into All For One himself, combined with his existing arsenal, even All Might might not have stood a chance.
Shock absorption alone would neutralize most of his offensive power.
Of course… it was also possible that arrogance had played a role.
No one expected a weakened All Might to unleash that level of strength.
"…Too bad I don't have a ready-made human test subject."
Etsuha sighed quietly.
Small animals couldn't handle Quirk transplantation of this level—they'd likely die instantly. Without a proper test subject, there was no way to confirm whether a human body could withstand such gene chains.
After all, he wasn't All For One.
He didn't possess the same extraction and transfer abilities.
He turned to leave—
Then suddenly stopped.
His gaze fell back onto the Nomu.
"…Wait."
A thought sparked.
"Human test subject…?"
His eyes lit up.
"Isn't this Nomu… originally human?"