"Incoming?"
Shigaraki Tomura looked toward the doorway. Two figures stood there.
The first was a tall man with messy black hair and pale green eyes. His features would have been handsome, but his body was covered in severe burn scars. The skin around his eyelids and jaw looked grotesquely damaged, giving him a terrifying appearance.
The second was a girl who radiated an unhinged energy. Her long blonde hair was tied into messy buns, and though she looked lively at first glance, her eyes carried a dangerous, almost manic gleam.
Good eyes, Shigaraki thought.
Both of them had the unmistakable look of criminals. One exuded cold indifference, the other pure madness—but in different ways, they felt strangely similar.
"Hi, hi! I'm Toga Himiko—nice to meet you!" the blonde girl chirped cheerfully as she stepped forward.
The intermediary behind them quickly explained, "They're both strong. They want to join the League because they admire the power of All For One. After the last battle, when he pulled so many people into the fight, a lot of individuals became interested in joining. I picked these two carefully."
In truth, they were only representatives. Others like Moonfish and Twice were also potential recruits.
"I'm joining because of Shina Etsuha," Dabi said flatly. "He saw my face that day. If he starts targeting me, it'll be troublesome."
During the battle involving All For One, Dabi had been dragged into the conflict through teleportation. Technically, he wasn't directly involved—but there was no guarantee Etsuha would see it that way. Dabi knew his own limits. Against someone like Etsuha, he had no chance of winning. Joining the League was the safest option.
"Oooh… what an interesting setup." Toga wandered closer to Shigaraki, staring curiously at the hands covering his body. "Are these toys?"
Kurogiri stiffened instantly.
Those hands were deeply important to Shigaraki—especially the one on his face. He treasured them. If Toga crossed the line, it could provoke a violent reaction.
But instead, Shigaraki simply said coldly, "They're important to me. Don't joke about them."
"Oh?" Toga tilted her head, then nodded casually. "Okay!"
Kurogiri was stunned.
He's… grown.
"Welcome to the League," Shigaraki said, gesturing for them to join. "Now let's talk about our next objective. Our first target… will be U.A."
No one objected.
Everyone present understood their own strength. Picking a fight with Etsuha now would be suicide. The League of Villains, barely stabilized, could be wiped out in an instant if they provoked him.
Shigaraki himself was clear on one thing:
He needed to grow stronger—strong enough to surpass Shina Etsuha—before he could even think about revenge.
What no one realized was that another storm was already brewing at U.A.
All Might, who had previously stepped back from pursuing Etsuha, had received a new official commission. This time, however, it came with a video recording.
"This is getting complicated," Principal Nezu said with a rare note of concern as he examined the commission.
"It's probably just because they couldn't handle Etsuha, so now they're calling me in," All Might replied, trying to sound unconcerned.
He hadn't been following the forums recently, so he had completely missed the shocking news of Hawks' death. In truth, the authorities were already in a state of panic.
It wasn't just him. Many Heroes were too busy to keep up with online developments. Information suppression had delayed the spread of the truth—but not for long.
"It's not that simple," Nezu said gravely. "If it were, they wouldn't have reassigned this mission so quickly. For them to escalate things like this… Etsuha must have undergone a significant change. You need to be prepared."
Nezu's sharp intellect had already grasped the severity of the situation.
After a brief pause, he added, "And… it may be best to keep this from Mt. Lady."
"…Understood."
All Might's expression grew serious.
He inserted the videotape into the projector.
"I'm starting it."
The screen flickered with static before stabilizing. The footage had clearly been hastily edited. Soon, it showed the confrontation between Shina Etsuha and Hawks.
The atmosphere turned heavy.
"So Etsuha encountered the Winged Hero… and defeated him?" All Might said in shock. "How long has it been since he left? To reach this level already… that's terrifying."
Before he could finish—
BANG!
The office door was kicked open.
Even Nezu was caught off guard.
Both he and All Might turned sharply to see a familiar figure storming in.
"I heard there's information about Etsuha here—hand it over!"
It was Yu Takeyama.