With one Nomu already down, there were still six more remaining inside the arena.
However, after witnessing the sheer speed with which the kids had taken the first one down, All Might's confidence in them increased tremendously.
What they had just displayed was not luck.
It was coordination.
Experience.
Power.
At that same moment, Mewtwo's arm suddenly glowed faintly.
On his forearm, the number twenty-eight shifted and slowly became twenty-nine.
The increase made him narrow his eyes slightly.
"Hmm… I see," he muttered internally.
So the enemy truly was powerful enough to push his limits higher.
Still, strangely enough, with the rest of the Yonkous fighting alongside him, the pressure did not feel overwhelming at all.
Not anymore.
"Hmm, I see. In that case… I count on you," exclaimed All Might toward the students before preparing to leap away toward the U.S.J.
However, before he could even leave the building, another black vortex suddenly tore open above him.
A gigantic Nomu emerged from it.
This one was noticeably larger than the others.
Far larger.
Its muscles looked grotesquely swollen, and unlike the previous Nomus, this one radiated overwhelming physical strength from the moment it appeared.
Before anyone could properly react, the monster smashed directly into All Might with a brutal punch.
BOOOOM!
The impact drove the Symbol of Peace straight into the ground, creating a massive crater that cracked through the arena floor.
Dust and debris exploded everywhere.
Even the other Yonkous widened their eyes slightly.
That attack had been absurdly fast for something that large.
And above all… none of them had sensed it coming.
"A seventh one…" muttered Mewtwo while floating above the battlefield.
Then his expression sharpened.
"Mmm… teacher, it looks like they really want us here. Look, most of them haven't even bothered trying to leave this place." His eyes moved across the battlefield rapidly as he analyzed the enemy behavior. "It seems their goal is simply to keep us occupied. For the looks of it… we'll have to finish this quickly."
All Might stepped out from the crater while dust fell from his shoulders.
Despite the surprise attack, he did not look heavily injured, though his serious expression made it clear he understood the danger now.
"Yes," he answered firmly.
"Leave the big one to me," All Might declared while cracking his knuckles. "And any other one that gives you trouble."
"We won't have problems," Nejire replied with a cheerful laugh, though the spiraling energy surrounding her body had already intensified greatly.
Then suddenly—
Everyone disappeared from sight.
The young heroes.
The Nomus.
Even All Might himself.
The arena instantly transformed into chaos.
BOOM!
Shockwaves erupted everywhere as collisions exploded throughout the stadium.
The ground trembled violently beneath the pressure of the attacks. Concrete shattered apart repeatedly while entire sections of the arena walls cracked from the impacts.
The most surprised person there… was actually All Might.
"I knew I wasn't in my prime anymore…" he thought while exchanging blows with the gigantic Nomu. "However… I did not expect someone to hold their ground against me this well."
The monster blocked his punches head-on without apparent difficulty.
Every collision between them generated massive shockwaves that distorted the air itself.
The Nomu's body absorbed the impacts unnaturally well, and its monstrous physical strength allowed it to keep up with All Might blow for blow.
"So… I just have to raise the level of the game," All Might muttered with a grin.
Immediately, he started putting more strength behind his punches.
This time, the difference became visible.
The Nomu's feet finally slid backward across the ground.
Cracks spread beneath its legs as the force behind All Might's strikes increased further and further.
Meanwhile, the rest of the battlefield had become equally chaotic.
Mewtwo flashed through the air at extreme speed using Agility combined with telekinesis.
A Nomu lunged toward him with clawed arms, however Mewtwo instantly twisted his body sideways, avoiding the attack by mere centimeters before countering with a glowing Iron Tail directly across the creature's jaw.
The impact bent the Nomu's neck unnaturally and launched it crashing through several pillars.
Yet before Mewtwo could continue the attack, another Nomu appeared behind him, its mouth opening grotesquely wide.
A blast of compressed air erupted toward his back.
Mewtwo reacted immediately.
A Barrier formed around him at the last second, stopping the blast entirely, though the sheer force still pushed him several meters across the arena floor.
At the same time, Nejire danced through the battlefield almost like a beam of light.
Her spiraling energy waves continuously exploded around her body as both offense and defense simultaneously.
One Nomu attempted to grab her from behind, however she spun in midair gracefully and released a concentrated blast point-blank into its chest, drilling through its body before kicking another one away with enough force to cave part of its skull inward.
Tamaki, meanwhile, looked almost monstrous himself.
His entire body had partially transformed.
Armored scales covered parts of his torso while multiple giant tentacles moved around him like living weapons.
One tentacle wrapped around a Nomu's leg while another transformed into a crushing crab claw that snapped shut around the creature's shoulder with horrifying force.
The sound of bones shattering echoed loudly across the arena.
Mirio, on the other hand, was the hardest one to follow visually.
He continuously phased in and out of reality, appearing from impossible angles to strike the Nomus with devastating precision.
Every attack of his carried absurd momentum thanks to Mewtwo's telekinetic assistance.
One second he vanished beneath the floor.
The next instant, he emerged directly under a Nomu with an uppercut powerful enough to launch the creature spinning toward the ceiling.
The teamwork between the four of them had become terrifyingly efficient.
On the other side of the battlefield, All Might started concentrating his attacks on the weak points of the gigantic Nomu.
He targeted the biceps first.
Again and again, he unleashed devastating punches directly into the creature's arms with overwhelming force. Each strike generated violent shockwaves that cracked the arena floor beneath them and distorted the air itself.
Little by little, the results began to show.
The Nomu's movements started becoming sloppier.
Its attacks lost precision.
Its balance wavered slightly every time All Might connected another blow.
"Good…" thought All Might while pushing forward aggressively. "Its body can adapt, but even adaptation has limits."
However, what happened next was something he absolutely did not expect.
Suddenly, the Nomu's arms bulged grotesquely.
The muscles twisted unnaturally before splitting apart.
Then, from each arm, multiple new limbs emerged.
Four arms.
Not only that, but the creature's speed instantly increased once again.
The transformation took All Might by surprise for a split second.
And against an enemy at this level… a split second was enough.
BOOOOM!
One of the enlarged fists smashed directly into All Might's stomach wound.
The impact made his eyes widen.
Blood immediately escaped from his mouth as he coughed violently, and smoke began appearing around his body.
"Damn it… not now…" All Might thought while gritting his teeth. "That strike accelerated the timer… I used too much power."
His weakened body was already approaching its limit.
However, at that exact moment, assistance arrived.
Glowing water-like energy suddenly surrounded him.
Life Dew.
The healing energy entered his body and stabilized him almost instantly, easing the pain enough for him to maintain his muscular form longer and avoid reverting back into his skeletal state prematurely.
All Might immediately recognized who it was.
"Mewtwo…"
The support gave him exactly what he needed.
A second wind.
At that instant, All Might rushed forward once again with renewed force.
"NEEEW… YOOOOORK… SMAAAASHHHH!"
With a monstrous uppercut, he blasted the giant Nomu straight into the ceiling of the stadium.
The impact shattered massive chunks of reinforced concrete that rained downward across the battlefield.
But All Might did not stop there.
He leapt upward after the creature immediately.
Then, with another battle cry, he twisted his body in midair and delivered a devastating lariat directly into the Nomu's neck.
BOOOOOOOM!
The creature crashed into the ground hard enough to create a crater that spread through nearly half the stadium.
The entire building trembled violently from the impact.
For a moment, dust covered everything.
Then All Might glanced toward the rest of the battlefield.
The kids were handling the situation surprisingly well.
More than well, actually.
They were dominating.
Seeing that, All Might finally made his decision.
Without wasting another second, he vanished at full speed toward the U.S.J. to save the first years.
Meanwhile, the four Yonkous prepared themselves to finish off the remaining Nomus.
However, suddenly, something unexpected happened.
Five of the creatures attacked simultaneously.
The students naturally dodged, however the strange part came right after.
A sixth Nomu suddenly rushed toward the body of the one All Might had defeated.
Then, horrifyingly enough, its stomach split open.
A gigantic mouth emerged from inside its torso.
And before the stunned eyes of the students… it swallowed the defeated Nomu whole.
Silence filled the battlefield for half a second.
"What the hell…" muttered Mirio.
However, they did not have time to analyze the situation further.
The remaining five Nomus immediately resumed attacking at full force.
"Guys," Mewtwo spoke telepathically to all of them, his tone serious, "they're preparing something. Let's end this quickly."
At that moment, Mewtwo clapped his hands together before spreading them outward.
Psychic energy exploded around him.
Dozens upon dozens of shining stars formed in the air before him.
Almost a hundred Psyshock stars floated around his body like a swarm of glowing missiles.
Then, with a single gesture, he launched all of them simultaneously toward the Nomus.
However, he did not stop there.
He raised one hand high into the air and started charging a gigantic Shadow Ball above himself.
The sphere grew larger and larger.
Six meters.
Seven meters.
Dark energy spiraled violently around the attack while the entire arena shook under the pressure it emitted.
The Nomus reacted immediately.
For the first time during the battle, two of them changed tactics completely.
Their mouths opened unnaturally wide before firing concentrated beams of light directly toward Mewtwo's attack.
The rays collided against the gigantic Shadow Ball.
And for a brief moment, the entire arena lit up violently from the clash of energies.
Then Mewtwo pushed forward.
The massive Shadow Ball overpowered the beams completely and engulfed the Nomus in a gigantic explosion that consumed nearly half the building.
The blast tore through walls, pillars, and sections of the ceiling while black smoke swallowed the battlefield.
However—
Two figures suddenly appeared in front of the explosion.
Two Nomus.
Both had transformed parts of their bodies into gigantic shield-like structures that absorbed most of the impact.
Meanwhile, the two Nomus that had fired the light beams transformed again.
This time, both of their arms morphed into massive organic cannons.
And then Mirio suddenly shouted.
"Guys! We need help!"
Everyone immediately turned.
And what they saw made even Mewtwo narrow his eyes.
The giant Nomu was back.
No.
Not exactly the same.
The Nomu that had swallowed the others had grown enormously.
Its body was now much larger and grotesquely muscular.
Four massive arms extended from its torso, and flames engulfed parts of its body continuously.
Then the realization hit them.
The first Nomu they defeated… was gone.
The others too.
From the original eight Nomus, only five remained now.
One of them had absorbed the rest.
And now… it looked like it possessed multiple Quirks simultaneously.
"shit…" muttered Mirio under his breath.
"Tamaki, switch!" yelled Mewtwo immediately.
Without hesitation, Mewtwo exchanged places with Tamaki using telekinesis, leaving Nejire and Tamaki to deal with the remaining four Nomus while he and Mirio moved directly toward the new giant monster.