The sticky darkness swallowed Zoro's body completely.
In the bar, Shigaraki stood watching the empty space the swordsman had left behind, his chest rising and falling with suppressed fury.
The leader's voice came again through the static-filled screen. "Send his swords as well, Tomura. I want to take a look at those blades."
Shigaraki bit down on his lower lip with frustration and gestured to Kurogiri. Another black gate opened and swallowed the three swords that had been left in the corner.
Zoro hit a cold metal floor hard. The smell of chemicals and death reached his nose immediately.
He opened his eyes slowly. The place was a massive, abandoned warehouse. Rows of cylindrical glass containers filled the space, Nomu creatures floating inside them in glowing green liquid.
The steel chains were still coiled around his entire body. His torn uniform exposed the broad scar across his chest, and the deep wound on his left shoulder was still bleeding.
And then he sensed it.
A terrifying aura. A suffocating pressure that didn't belong to any ordinary person. The air in the room became heavy, as if it had turned to lead.
Zoro's Observation Haki pulsed violently, warning him of the danger approaching from deep in the shadows.
His eyes widened slightly with an internal shock. He had never felt an aura this heavy or this powerful before. And yet his eyes didn't flinch with fear. A defiant smile formed on his lips as he waited.
Slow, measured footsteps approached from the depths of the dark.
A tall man appeared, dressed in an elegant black formal suit. His face was completely covered by a black medical breathing mask extending through tubes to his back.
All For One stopped a few steps away from Zoro. His gaze from behind the mask cut through the bound swordsman's body.
"I've been watching you for quite some time." His deep voice resonated through the factory. "Specifically since the Sports Festival. The way you fight, and that strange power. You genuinely fascinated me."
Zoro said nothing. He simply fixed his blade-sharp gaze on the man's mask.
The leader continued, slowly raising his hand toward Zoro. "Your strength has been drawing my interest intensely. I want to see what makes your body this exceptional."
All For One placed his cold palm directly on Zoro's forehead.
He waited for Quirk energy to flow into his body the way it had thousands of times across a century. But nothing happened.
A complete silence settled.
All For One's fingers stopped moving. He tilted his head slightly, and for the first time, genuine confusion appeared in his composed voice.
"Empty?" He murmured with bewilderment. "You carry no Quirk factor whatsoever in your genetic code. Your body is entirely human. That's impossible."
A rough, mocking laugh burst from Zoro's throat. "Did I disappoint you, old man?"
All For One withdrew his hand slowly and stood in silence for several moments, analyzing the situation.
His gaze drifted toward Zoro's swords lying to one side, landing precisely on the pure white blade of Wado Ichimonji.
He bent down and picked it up. He began examining it closely, the way someone looks at something very familiar. "Where did you get this sword?"
Zoro gave no answer. But inside, he knew with certainty that All For One had recognized Wado Ichimonji, the sword that Shimotsuki had forged and given as a gift to his student and friend Kenji.
Very old memories began rising to the surface of All For One's mind as he analyzed and connected what he was seeing.
"This spiritual pressure." The leader spoke as if talking to himself. "Now I understand. I had been deceived by the presence of Quirks in this era and had forgotten something very ancient. You possess Haki."
Zoro's pupils narrowed slightly at hearing that word from this villain's mouth.
"How ironic." All For One laughed quietly. "I had believed that troublesome lineage of warriors had gone completely extinct after Quirks emerged. They were a breed that refused to evolve."
The leader turned and began walking slowly around Zoro. "I remember them well. Stubborn insects carrying foolish honor. People like that old man Shimotsuki. Or that annoying pest, Kenji."
Zoro's entire body went rigid.
His teacher's name. The man who had trained him and shaped his spirit.
"I crushed their pride long ago." All For One continued with pride, unaware of the fire he had just started. "They believed their principles and their will could overcome my absolute power. They ended up beneath my heel."
A terrifying crack filled the space.
The concrete floor split beneath Zoro's feet. The steel chains shook violently as if about to burst. A black and crimson aura exploded from the swordsman's body, pressing against the factory air.
"Don't." Zoro's voice came out raspy, trembling with a fury he had never felt before, his eyes burning with pure and clear killing intent. "Don't you dare put their names in that filthy mouth of yours."
But before Zoro could act on his rage, the atmosphere between them shifted completely.
All For One didn't move from where he stood. He simply raised one finger.
In a fraction of a second, Zoro felt as if an entire mountain had dropped onto his shoulders. A massive gravitational pressure mixed with terrifying kinetic force struck his bound body with crushing strength, forcing him onto one knee while the concrete beneath him shattered to powder.
Zoro suppressed a cry of pain and spat fresh blood, trying to resist the supernatural pressure that was crushing his bones without the leader even touching him.
What is this power? Zoro thought, his eyes widening as he grasped the terrifying truth. The monster standing in front of him was operating on a completely different level from Shigaraki or any villain he had faced at the summer camp.
All For One stopped and lowered his finger to ease the pressure slightly. He looked at Zoro's rage and with sharp intuition began connecting the threads.
"Oh." He said in an amused tone. "You know them then? You have a direct connection to them. That explains a great deal."
The leader approached again, but this time his aura had changed. He was no longer looking at Zoro as something interesting. He was looking at him as a threat that had to be tamed or eliminated.
"This power of yours, and this will. You have something entirely different from them, which tells me you will become a genuine danger to Tomura's future if I allow you to develop." He said it with cold simplicity.
The leader extended his hand again. "Join us." His tone was commanding and left no room for refusal. "Submit to me, place your sword in service of the League of Villains, and I will grant you power and authority beyond anything your ancestors ever dreamed of."
Zoro spat the blood from his mouth onto the floor near the leader's shoe.
"Keep your filthy plans to yourself." He raised his head and smiled fiercely through the pain and pressure. "Those men carry honor and principles that a piece of garbage like you will never understand for as long as you live. I would rather die a million times over than become your obedient dog."
The air froze.
All For One stepped back once, and every trace of amusement left his voice.
"That's unfortunate." The leader turned slowly, giving his back to Zoro. "I won't allow you to stand in Tomura's way in the future. The choice was yours, and you've chosen death."
He began moving away into the darkness, leaving Zoro bound and bleeding alone. "I'll leave you here to process the truth of your death. When I return, I'll make certain to erase your existence completely."
In the police command center, tension was tearing through everyone's nerves.
"The location changed!" Detective Tsukauchi shouted, slamming his hand on the desk, his eyes going wide as he watched the screen. "The signal jumped from the first location to an entirely different one in fractions of a second. It's now fixed in Kamino!"
All Might stood behind him, his muscles trembling from the force of his anger. An instant transfer ability. Used again.
"They've moved Zoro to another location." All Might's voice carried something terrible in it. "This means there are two hideouts."
All Might turned toward the pro heroes gathered in the hall. "We split our forces." He commanded without hesitation. "Kamui, Edgeshot, Gran Torino, you'll move to assault the first location. Endeavor and I with the rescue team will head directly to the new location in Kamino to bring Zoro back."
Outside the hospital walls, the night air was cold and carrying something like a warning before a storm.
Six students gathered in the dark alleys alongside the hospital. Midoriya, Bakugo, Todoroki, Kirishima, Iida, and Yaoyorozu.
Yaoyorozu held the small receiver she had just finished building. The red dot blinked steadily, pointing to one location only, in Kamino.
"The express train leaves in ten minutes." Todoroki said quietly, his eyes watching the road ahead.
Midoriya looked at the device screen, then at Bakugo who was pressing his fists inside his pockets until his knuckles had gone white from suppressed anger, and at Kirishima who looked ready to burst at any moment.
"Let's go." Midoriya said with firm resolve and began walking.
"Wait a moment."
Iida cut them off in a firm voice, adjusting his glasses upward so they caught the dim light of the street lamp. He stepped forward to stand directly in front of them, his expression leaving no room for negotiation.
"Remember clearly what we agreed on." His tone was sharply cautionary. "This is a reconnaissance and tracking mission only. We have no right to fight. If I see any of you trying to cross that line or engage the villains, I will be the one who stands in your way and stops you by force, even if I have to bring you back myself."
Bakugo clicked his tongue with irritation and looked at him from the corner of his eye. "Shut up, four-eyes. Your idealistic speeches are annoying me. Stay in the back and don't get in my way."
Kirishima stepped in quickly with his hands raised. "Calm down Bakugo. Iida's right. We promised we wouldn't fight. We're here just to get Zoro out and go, aren't we?"
At the back, Yaoyorozu walked in silence, her hand squeezing tight around the tracking device. She looked at her classmates' burning eyes and felt a cold drop of sweat slide down her forehead.
Something about this feels very off. She thought, with internal unease as she swallowed. How can they say they won't get involved in any fight, when their faces and the pressure around them are screaming recklessness and bloodlust? This is completely contradictory. I sincerely hope we don't end up regretting this.
They moved toward the station with quickening steps, the cold night crowd swallowing them whole.
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For Advanced Chapters :
Chapter 91 is Available Now
The King's Secret Revealed
The symbol of peace in my heart!
Zoro is in the hospital. Midoriya and the others are watching the legendary showdown on the big screen. All Might is on his knees, and everyone is cheering him on to victory.
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