Hearing Shigaraki mock him like that, All Might did not become angry.
He only felt worry.
And fear.
Of course, he wasn't afraid for himself.
As the Symbol of Peace, All Might had never feared anyone in his life.
Not even All For One, the greatest enemy he had ever faced.
What he feared was something else entirely.
If he failed to stop Shigaraki here today and allowed him and his subordinates to leave this place freely, then what would happen afterward?
With Shigaraki's terrifying Quirk, combined with Muscular and the others assisting him, how could ordinary Pro Heroes—or worse, civilians—possibly stop them?
They would be slaughtered.
No.
Given Shigaraki's twisted values, there was a very real possibility they would simply be killed outright.
All Might could not believe otherwise.
Thinking of that possibility, the unease in his chest deepened.
Because if that happened, countless people would lose their loved ones.
And that kind of tragedy was something the Symbol of Peace absolutely could not allow.
With that thought, All Might made a decision.
No matter what happened today—
he had to stop Shigaraki Tomura here.
Because this boy was too dangerous.
Dangerous in every possible sense.
His Quirk.
His mind.
And his ideology.
As if reading the thoughts reflected in All Might's expression, Shigaraki's eyes immediately curved with amusement.
All Might wanted to stop him.
But didn't Shigaraki also want to deal with All Might?
In fact, the reason he had spent the past several days preparing this operation was precisely for today.
Thinking of that, Shigaraki slowly opened his mouth.
"Speaking of which, All Might..."
"You really want to know my goal, don't you?"
"You want to know why I had someone break Muscular out of prison."
"Why I still sent people into the mall even after learning about your operation."
"And why I separated you from the other Pro Heroes."
"You want to know all of that, right?"
All Might remained silent.
He only stared at Shigaraki coldly.
Of course he wanted to know.
But he didn't believe Shigaraki would kindly explain everything to him.
After all, Shigaraki himself had just mocked those cliché villains who captured heroes and then foolishly revealed their entire plans.
If Shigaraki was trying to provoke him—
then he had undeniably succeeded.
Because All Might truly was furious now.
"I can tell you."
Seeing that All Might had no intention of responding, Shigaraki didn't mind in the slightest.
He continued speaking casually.
"I can tell you everything."
"After all, it doesn't matter whether you know or not."
"No..."
"It's actually more interesting if you know."
Hearing that, All Might's eyes narrowed slightly.
Suspicion immediately rose in his heart.
Was Shigaraki really willing to tell him?
Hadn't he just mocked the idea moments ago?
So why now?
Was this another trap?
For some reason, a heavy sense of foreboding suddenly rose in All Might's chest.
It felt as though Shigaraki's answer would be something he could not accept.
And in the very next moment, Shigaraki proved him right.
"Hey, All Might..."
"Did you know?"
"From the very beginning..."
"my target was you."
"Only you."
"Breaking Muscular out of prison."
"Sending people into the mall."
"Everything."
"All of it was arranged for your sake."
"And the reason is simple."
"Because you are the Symbol of Peace."
"Almost a god, yet not a god."
"Powerful, yet fragile."
"The Symbol of Peace."
As he spoke, Shigaraki's gaze gradually deepened.
All Might.
If he had to describe him in a few precise words, then there was no doubt.
A hero among heroes.
A child of destiny.
The darling of the age itself.
A man who could raise his hand and gain everything.
An existence worshipped and envied by countless people.
Before him, every other profession seemed secondary.
Politicians.
Police officers.
Artists.
Musicians.
Businessmen.
Compared to heroes, they all felt like backup choices people settled for only because they lacked better options.
If given the chance, almost every child would want to become someone like All Might.
Overwhelming strength.
An almost flawless personality.
Calling him a god among men would not be an exaggeration.
No wonder so many people adored him.
And precisely because of that—
All Might had become the pillar supporting this peaceful society.
People believed that as long as he existed, true disaster could never descend upon society.
Because he was the Symbol of Peace.
The man who brought courage and hope to the world.
The guardian protecting society's stability.
As long as he stood tall, this peaceful world could continue moving forward.
But perhaps—
that was also the most absurd and laughable thing about this world.
The peace and stability of an entire nation, a society of millions upon millions of people, rested on the shoulders of a single individual.
How ridiculous.
How distorted.
And the funniest part was—
this individual wasn't even a ruler.
Nor a politician.
All Might had never truly stepped into politics.
Or perhaps more accurately—
he never wanted to.
Yes.
All Might's existence had undoubtedly brought peace and hope to this flawed society.
But that peace itself was warped.
A society where millions depended entirely on one man was fundamentally unstable.
Perhaps while All Might remained standing, this broken system could continue maintaining its superficial peace.
But the moment All Might disappeared—
the flaws hidden beneath the surface would erupt all at once.
And when that day came, society might collapse into chaos even worse than the Dawn of Quirks.
Because this society relied far too heavily on All Might.
Perhaps the Hero Commission and those incompetent fools who spent all day relying on him had never even seriously prepared for the day he would fall.
After all, in their eyes—
All Might was a god.
And gods did not die.
Thinking of that, Shigaraki became even more certain of his objective.
He would drag All Might down from the altar of the Symbol of Peace.
Then—
he would rebuild the order of this world.
He would reshape this distorted society.
And create a brand-new era.
An era that belonged to him.
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