Mineta was still standing there in a daze after getting smacked in the face by his own "dream," while Togata Mirio had already rushed to his side and grabbed the sealed box.
Just as he was about to make a quick escape, something felt off.
The weight… it was too light.
Mirio immediately opened the box—and found it completely empty. The item inside was already gone.
"Midoriya, you—!"
"I've had control over this the whole time. Did you really think I'd make such a stupid mistake?"
Midoriya Izuku slowly raised his right hand. Resting on his palm was a metal sphere the size of a basketball—the very item that had been inside the sealed box.
It was Midoriya's most terrifying invention, a weapon capable of engulfing an entire city in chaos.
"Time to end this little act."
With a flick of his wrist, he tossed the sphere into the air. Like a magic trick, it vanished again—teleported somewhere unknown.
This time, Mirio had no way of figuring out where it went.
"You bastard! Where did you send it?!"
"Take a guess."
The object had completely disappeared from sight.
Mirio, filled with anger, demanded an answer. Midoriya, calm as ever, simply replied with another question.
The next second, the two of them lunged at each other.
"Midoriya, I won't let your plan succeed!"
"Then try and take me down. After all, beating you is part of my plan."
With the object safely out of the way, Midoriya Izuku went all out against Togata Mirio. One For All's ninth successor was a major obstacle in his plans, and this fight was the perfect chance to test the missing pieces of his Quirk combinations.
Mirio's fist, full of fury, came swinging in. Midoriya blocked with his arm, which instantly transformed into steel wires that lashed out to ensnare Mirio.
But Permeation was already in effect.
Mirio phased right through Midoriya's body and spun around, driving his elbow hard into Midoriya's back.
With numerous defensive Quirks at his disposal, Midoriya took no real damage. The instant he was hit, steel wires shot out from his back in retaliation—only for Mirio's Permeation to make the attack useless again.
After a brief but intense exchange, both fighters instinctively pulled back.
That short clash had made something very clear: in a direct fight, neither of them had a clear advantage.
With Permeation, Mirio was nearly impossible to defeat in a straightforward battle. The only real way to beat him was to contaminate the entire area around him.
At the same time, Midoriya's Steel Wire Quirk gave him instant counterattack abilities all over his body. And with the defensive Quirks he had acquired from All For One, Mirio's current strength with One For All wasn't enough to land a decisive blow. On top of that, Mirio had to constantly be wary of the steel wires countering his every move.
One was like flowing water, slipping past every attack with Permeation. The other was a thorny hedgehog, covered in defenses that were nearly impossible to break.
A quick victory wasn't going to happen.
"Midoriya…? Mirio-senpai?!"
Mineta Minoru finally snapped out of his daze.
Wasn't Midoriya supposed to be a villain now? Hadn't he joined the League of Villains?
Then why was he here at U.A. High? And why was he fighting Mirio-senpai?!
A flood of questions overwhelmed Mineta's already overworked brain. After three seconds of thought, he turned and bolted back to the dorms.
Forget figuring out the situation—he needed to tell everyone, fast.
Meanwhile, Midoriya and Mirio both took a brief pause, gauging their next moves.
A quick fight wasn't possible.
Midoriya hadn't planned to face Mirio at U.A. today, but now that things had escalated, leaving quietly wasn't going to be easy.
Kurogiri and the rest of the League were off on another mission.
Midoriya hadn't told anyone he was coming to U.A. in the first place. His original plan had been simple: grab the item and leave. But now, leaving was no longer that easy…
Or rather, taking the item with him had become the real problem.
His "Black Box" Quirk had a 1,000-meter radius around him, but it had limitations. He could only teleport objects to places he could see or locations he was already familiar with.
For now, he had sent the item to a secure location. That freed up his hands to fight Mirio, but they were at a stalemate.
There was only one option left.
He needed to retreat from U.A. for now, then contact Kurogiri later to retrieve the item quietly.
Trying to take it by force was nearly impossible—Mirio was too determined to seize it. And if the item was accidentally triggered during the struggle, the consequences would be disastrous.
Choosing the safest route, Midoriya turned and made his escape.
He needed to leave before U.A.'s other teachers arrived—otherwise, things would get really messy.
"Don't even think about running!"
Seeing that Midoriya Izuku was trying to escape, Togata Mirio immediately rushed forward in pursuit. He had already failed to seize the item, but if he could at least keep Midoriya here and hold him off until Aizawa Shouta arrived, there might still be a chance to turn things around.
Togata Mirio clung to him relentlessly. Even though his attacks didn't do much damage to Midoriya, they were enough to slow him down. And since Kurogiri wasn't here to provide support this time, things were getting a little troublesome for Midoriya... mainly because he didn't want to go all out.
If he really had to fight Togata Mirio to the end, it would be a deadly battle where neither side could hold back. And Midoriya wasn't willing to take it that far.
"Midoriya Izuku!"
A familiar voice rang out. At the same time, a massive ice wall suddenly shot up from the ground, heading straight for Midoriya. Reacting quickly, he jumped back to dodge it. At the same moment, the ice wall also cut off Togata Mirio, separating them.
"Todoroki?"
Midoriya turned to look. The one who launched the attack was none other than Todoroki Shoto. Without hesitation, he unleashed the same devastating power he had used during the U.A. Sports Festival, attacking Midoriya Izuku head-on.
"And me too!!"
Another voice rang out, as if deliberately making sure he was noticed. Midoriya looked up just in time to see Bakugo Katsuki descending from the sky. The next second, a massive explosion was launched straight at him, sending thick black smoke billowing across the entire battlefield.
"You two?!"
"No need to say anything, Mirio-senpai! We're here to help you capture the 'villain' Midoriya Izuku."
Togata Mirio had barely started speaking when Todoroki Shoto cut him off with a firm and righteous tone. Then, without hesitation, Todoroki launched another massive ice attack straight at Midoriya Izuku.
"I've said this before! If you turn into a 'villain,' then the only one who can take you down is me!!"
Bakugo Katsuki shouted furiously. With a full-force explosion, he blasted Todoroki's ice wall, sending shattered ice crashing toward Midoriya Izuku. The combination of the explosion's thick smoke and the collapsing ice created what looked like a perfectly executed combo attack.
However… Togata Mirio's vision was now completely blocked. He had no idea where Midoriya Izuku had gone.
---
You can read 10 Chapters ahead on my
pat reon.com/GMadman