Chapter 236 - 235: Right

Step. Step. Step.

Kaito walked across the wide stage. He looked up at the hundreds of students filling the tiered seats of the U.A. Main Auditorium.

Makoto stood near the edge of the stage, resting her hands on a master control terminal while looking at Kaito giving a huge thumbs up.

"..." Kaito smiled when he saw her and arrives in the center of the floor.

"The U.A. teachers sitting behind me are one of th best in this country," Kaito said. His voice projected clearly through the stadium speakers. "They taught you everything needed to become a proper pros. They taught you how to save lives."

He adjusted the cuffs of his dark grey suit.

"My job is to make sure your future agency doesn't go bankrupt before you turn thirty," Kaito stated.

He raised his right hand.

TAP.

A massive, high-definition blue hologram erupted from the floor.

Eve handled the projection from the terminal, scaling a glowing 3D map of the Musutafu commercial district to fill the open space between the stage and the students.

Kaito walked straight into the holographic city grid. He looked directly at the upper rows.

"Third-year students," Kaito called out. "All of you have your provisional licenses. You already run patrols with real agencies. Let's talk about a standard Tuesday."

BEEP.

Makoto tapped the terminal. The hologram zoomed in on a specific intersection.

A holographic villain picked up a sedan and threw it through the glass windows of a convenience store.

Kaito pointed to a student with spiky black hair in the third row.

"What's your name?"

"Me?" The student was shocked by the sudden call out but he composed himself and felt a little happy. "I'm Daigo, Mr. Arisaka.."

"Daigo, You are on patrol," Kaito smiled to the student. "You already secured the villain and the civilians are safe... So my question is, what happens to that store financially?"

The third-year student Daigo sat up straight.

"The agency files a collateral damage report with the police department," the student answered clearly. "The state hero fund covers the structural repairs and compensates the store owner for the lost inventory."

"Good," Kaito nodded. "That is the correct answer for a sidekick."

"Thank you sir.."

Kaito pointed at the shattered glass of the hologram.

"Now look at it from the agency owner's desk," Kaito said.

"Eve, load the fiscal overhead."

Giant red numbers appeared over the ruined convenience store.

"The state pays the store owner," Kaito explained, walking through the floating red text. "But the city audits your agency. Your private liability insurance premiums jump fifteen percent the next morning. And your agency members bills you for forty hours of overtime to keep the local news from blaming you for the property damage."

Kaito looked around the auditorium.

"A successful arrest just cost your agency two million yen in hidden overhead," Kaito said.

Izuku Midoriya stared at the red numbers. He immediately pulled a notebook out of his yellow backpack and started writing.

Momo Yaoyorozu already had her notebook open. She filled the page with financial terms, calculating the massive business potential of her creation quirk if she eliminated support gear maintenance costs.

The lecture continued.

Kaito paced himself.

He had twenty sessions scheduled for the entire academic year.

He spent the next two hours breaking down the exact supply chain of a standard hero patrol.

Makoto and Eve shifted the holograms from city grids to payroll charts, then to public relations flowcharts.

Tenya Iida chopped his hand quietly, highly engaged with the rigid structural logistics of running a headquarters.

Katsuki Bakugo sat in the first-year section, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees.

'Why so complicated?' He stared at the market dominance graphs.

He realized being the Number One hero required controlling the entire pro hero industry market, not just beating up villains in the street.

Almost all of the freshmen especially the boys have a lot of head scratching.

But they also understand now, how much it takes to become a successful hero in the future.

In the third-year section, Mirio Togata leaned over to Tamaki Amajiki and Nejire Hado.

"Sir Nighteye deals with this every single week," Mirio whispered, looking at the complex flowchart on the stage. "He makes it look so easy."

"Arisaka-san treats the paperwork like a warzone," Tamaki whispered back.

He watched the stage with absolute focus.

The overhead lights inside the auditorium clicked back on.

The blue holograms faded into thin air.

Three hours had passed.

Kaito stood in the center of the wooden floor. He looked at the quiet, attentive crowd.

"The public expects you to be flawless heroes," Kaito said, delivering his closing statement. "Behind closed doors, you are running highly volatile agency. Start thinking about your future agencies right now. That is for today everyone."

"..."

The students sat in silence for two seconds.

CLAP.

A third-year student started clapping.

CLAP. CLAP. CLAP.

The entire auditorium joined in.

The applause echoed loudly through the massive auditorium.

The students were completely energized. They just experienced a masterclass in the reality of their dream jobs.

Kaito gave a short, professional bow. He turned around and walked toward the backstage tunnel.

"Good work..." Makoto smiled while grabbing her tablet from the terminal and give him a bottle of water.

"Thanks.."

...

Location: Unknown Subterranean Underground

VWOOSH.

A dark purple portal opened in the center of the underground laboratory.

Clack. Clack.

All For One stepped out onto the metal floor. He wore a crisp black suit.

"...I feel good"

He looked down at his hands and slowly clenched his right fist.

CRACKLE.

Dark red lightning sparked between his knuckles.

He just returned from another branch timeline. He found his fifteenth variant.

He killed him and absorbed him.

The physical fullness hit him again.

The quirks inside his body doubled again.

Dr. Garaki walked across the room holding a metal clipboard.

Garaki didn't look like an old man anymore. The deep wrinkles on his face were gone. His posture was completely straight.

He absorbed his own variant two days ago, shaving decades off his biological clock.

"Welcome back," Garaki said, stopping near the main console.

"Fifteen," All For One said casually.

He rolled his shoulders, feeling the fresh power settle into his muscles. "The compounding effect is making me high, Doctor. I can feel my limits expanding."

Garaki grinned. He adjusted his round goggles.

"It bypasses human biology completely," Garaki said. "The genetic integration is seamless. We aren't just adding quirks. We are stacking our base existence."

All For One walked over to the monitors.

"If it works for us, it works for the rest," All For One stated.

Garaki stopped taking notes. He looked at his boss.

"Gigantomachia. Nine. Number Six. The League of Villains," Garaki listed them off. "You also want them to be like us, Master?."

"Yes," All For One agreed. "If a single Gigantomachia can level a city, imagine what he can do after absorbing thousand versions of himself. We need absolute monsters to deal with Kaito Arisaka."

Garaki rubbed his chin.

"They are locked up," Garaki pointed out. "Japan. In America. The Gollini Mafia is still sitting in an Italian prison. Are we going to break them out?"

"No," All For One answered simply.

He leaned over the console and typed a command into the keyboard.

"If I show up again, Kaito will know," All For One said. "I won't risk a direct confrontation with him until I finish absorbing my variants and reach 'The One'."

BEEP. BEEP.

The massive wall monitors flickered to life.

The screen split into two different encrypted video feeds.

Flect Turn stood in a dimly lit stone cathedral in Europe.

Wolfram sat in a steel room somewhere in America.

[Master,] Flect Turn and Wolfram said. They bowed their heads slightly.

This is the first time Wolfram personally saw All For One again after his defeat and was taken into prison.

All For One kept his hands on the console.

"It is time to mobilize," All For One instructed. "Flect, the global media already treats Humarise as the primary threat. Use that cover. Break out the rest of the organization."

"Understood," Flect Turn replied smoothly.

All For One looked at the second feed.

"Wolfram," All For One said. "Hit the American black sites. Get the Gollini family out, I will give your multiple quirks that can synergize with your original."

Wolfram smirked. He rested a hand on his chin.

"Thank you boss, I've been waiting for the green light," Wolfram said. "Consider it done."

All For One reached out and cut the connection.

CLICK.

The screens went black.

All For One turned around and looked at Garaki.

"Calibrate everything Doctor, my clones will cooperate with you." All For One said. "And also call Shigaraki back here... It's also time for him."

Garaki laughed. He dropped his clipboard onto the desk.

"I will get everything ready," Garaki cheered.

...

Location: Musutafu - Private Restaurant

Time: 8:00 PM

Plates of sushi, grilled beef, and steamed vegetables sat on the long wooden table.

All the U.A. faculty members sat around the room in their casual clothes.

Principal Nezu sat at the head of the table. He held a small porcelain teacup in his paws.

"A very successful first day, Kaito," Nezu said cheerfully. "The new first-year students looked completely pale when you brought up the lawsuit numbers."

Kaito picked up his chopsticks.

Kaito replied. "They needed to see that the real world has consequences."

Present Mic sat across the table. He laughed loudly and slapped Vlad King on the shoulder.

SMACK.

Vlad King grunted. He dropped his piece of sushi back onto his plate.

"Watch your hands, Yamada," Vlad King warned, glaring at him.

"I'm just congratulating you, Kan!" Present Mic cheered. He pointed a thumb at Kaito. "You, Hound Dog and Ectoplasm are the only teachers here who haven't paid Arisaka Consulting for an agency upgrade. You basically got a three-hour premium consultation for free today!"

Vlad King crossed his arms. His face turned slightly red.

"I took a few notes," Vlad King admitted. "The breakdown on hazard pay distribution made a lot of sense. I'm thinking of restructuring my payroll next week."

Snipe nodded from the other side of the table.

"It was a solid lecture," Snipe agreed after all he was one of the earliest agency that contracted Kaito in the past. "A lot of pros go bankrupt because they ignore the exact logistics you talked about today. You gave them a good wake-up call."

Ectoplasm crossed his arms. "My agency could use a financial review after hearing that."

Hound Dog chewed his food loudly, nodding his head in agreement.

Shota Aizawa sat next to Present Mic. He looked completely exhausted.

He held a cup of black coffee and stared at the center of the table.

"You guys are too loud," Aizawa muttered. He wasn't really that interested after all he work alone. An undergound pro hero.

All Might sat near Principal Nezu with his usual yellow suit.

He looked much happier. He watched the teachers joke around and smiled.

Makoto picked up a small ceramic pitcher. She poured a fresh cup of green tea and set it down next to Kaito's plate.

Nemuri Kayama leaned across the table. She rested her chin on her hands and smirked at them.

"Look at you two," Nemuri teased while masking her envy. "So domestic. You act like you've been married for ten years."

Makoto blushed. She set the pitcher down quickly.

"I'm just assisting him today," Makoto said, clearing her throat.

Sip.

Kaito looked at Nemuri, he wasn't blind ok.

He knew and felt that a lot of the female friends he had held a slight liking for him.

It wasn't narcissism or anything, but rather a sense of deep humility and gratitude for the affection they showed him

But sorry, he was already taken.

"Makoto runs the ground operations for Snatch and helps me shoulder a lot of work," Kaito said casually. "She definitely deserves a raise."

Makoto smiled and bumped his shoulder.

"I'll hold you to that," Makoto told him with a playful wink. "Just make sure you add it to the 'long-term joint account' we'll be sharing one day."

"..." Nemuri.

"Hahaha..." All Might laughed softly. He picked up his own teacup.

"I'm genuinely happy for you, young Kaito," All Might said. "And the students really respect you. It's a different kind of respect than what they give us."

Kaito looked at the Symbol of Peace.

"Thanks, Toshinori," Kaito replied smoothly. "But what about you?"

All Might blinked. "Me?"

"You are congratulating my relationship," Kaito said. "You are still a bachelor living alone. When are you settling down?"

"..."

The entire table went quiet for exactly one second.

Then, everyone erupted.

"HAHAHA!" Present Mic fell back in his chair laughing.

Nemuri covered her mouth, her shoulders shaking.

Snipe chuckled loudly.

Even Aizawa cracked a tiny smirk behind his coffee cup.

All Might waved his hands frantically. His face turned completely red.

"Now wait a minute!" All Might stammered. "My situation is different! I am very busy!"

The teachers laughed harder at his panic.

Nezu stood up on his chair. He held his teacup high in the air.

"To our new Guest Lecturer," Nezu called out over the laughter. "May he keep our students out of bankruptcy court!"

The faculty raised their glasses and cups, echoing the cheer.

"CHEERS!"

CLINK.

CLINK.

...

All Might kept his eyes closed for a second, just listening to the loud laughter of his coworkers. He felt genuinely happy.

Deep inside his consciousness, the dark, misty void of the One For All realm stretched out infinitely.

The past users sat in their glowing chairs. They saw exactly what Toshinori saw. They heard exactly what he heard.

Daigoro Banjo slapped his knee. He threw his head back and laughed loudly.

"He got him good!" Banjo shouted, grinning ear to ear. "A bachelor living alone! The Arisaka kid completely roasted him in front of everyone!"

Nana Shimura sat in the chair next to him. She smiled and rested her hand on her chin.

"It is just nice to see Toshinori smile like that," Nana said gently. "He spends his days teaching and eating dinner with friends. He deserves a normal life instead of just carrying the world."

Banjo stopped laughing and crossed his arms.

"Speaking of the kids," Banjo said. "Young Midoriya is a monster."

Kudo nodded slowly.

"He took second place using just his body and support gear," he added. "His physical limits are insane for a teenager."

Nana looked down at her hands.

"He is very strong," Nana agreed. "But human biology has a limit. He will hit a it eventually. The villains out there possess quirks that muscle and technology simply cannot beat."

She looked up at the misty sky.

"We can wait," Yoichi Shigaraki replied. "When he finally hits that moment, One For All will be ready for him. We don't need to rush anything."

En sat quietly in the sixth chair. The high collar of his jacket covered his mouth. He kept his hands stuffed in his pockets.

"I am thinking about All For One," En said. His voice was low.

The relaxed mood in the void vanished immediately.

Banjo frowned and looked over.

"Why?" Banjo asked. "Hero X crumpled him into a literal paper ball and tossed him into a pocket dimension. That bastard is gone."

"I know," En replied. "But think about the flaw."

Nana tilted her head. "Flaw?"

En leaned forward in his chair.

"Hero X is also like everyone else, a human being," En explained. "He ages. He gets sick. Eventually, he will die of old age. When his heart stops, I don't know if his quirk deactivates."

The Vestiges listened in total silence.

"What happens in sixty years?" En asked the group. "Hero X dies. The reality-warping effect fades. All For One drops right back into the world, completely unharmed. There will be nobody left alive strong enough to stop him. All Might will be a lot older that time."

Hikage Shinomori shifted in his seat.

"He has a valid point," the fourth User agreed. "We are leaving a ticking time bomb for the next generation. We should find a way to access that dimension and destroy the paper ball permanently."

Banjo let out a loud groan. He rubbed the back of his neck.

"You guys worry way too much," Banjo said bluntly.

En frowned. "It is a tactical oversight, Banjo."

"It is paranoia," Banjo shot back. He pointed a finger at En. "Hero X rewrites reality on a whim. He creates pocket dimensions for fun. He stopped a doomsday in a single stomp."

Banjo leaned back and crossed his arms behind his head.

"You really think a guy with that kind of power didn't think about his own mortality?" Banjo laughed. "If the paper ball unfolds in sixty years, Hero X will just walk up and crush him again. Stop overthinking it."

Nana smiled softly. She looked back at the space where Toshinori's connection hummed.

"Banjo is right," Nana said. "We need to trust the new generation. We need to trust Izuku."

En stayed quiet. He didn't argue further. He just looked down at his shoes, hoping Banjo was right.

...

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