Boom!
The wind pressure from the punch surged skyward, forming a terrifying storm that blasted the clouds apart.
However, what appeared before All Might… was a piece of wood.
"…Is that really okay?"
All Might stared blankly at his fist. He had seen this technique before—this was the same substitution trick Shina Etsuha had used against All For One. But he hadn't expected Etsuha to use it here.
More importantly… he hadn't even planned to use his full strength.
"Where did he go?!"
The others didn't realize anything was wrong and continued scanning the area.
At that moment, Shina Etsuha suddenly appeared beneath Ryukyu, grabbing her ankle with one hand. The muscles across his entire body bulged as he lifted her massive dragon form straight into the air.
"Hah!"
With a shout, he slammed her down.
BOOM!!
Ryukyu's enormous body crashed into the ground, sending a tremor through the earth. Her internal organs churned violently from the shockwave, and her bones creaked under the strain—on the verge of breaking.
At the same time, Don Last was caught in the impact. He couldn't dodge. Ryukyu's body slammed into him, pinning him into the ground like a nail. The concrete beneath his feet shattered as he was driven down. If his body hadn't been so tough, he would have been crushed in half.
Even so, pain tore through every inch of him.
"What kind of terrifying strength is this?!"
The onlookers gasped. Ryukyu's dragon form weighed close to ten tons, yet Etsuha had lifted and slammed her as if it took no effort at all.
"This speed… what a monster."
A member of the Hassaikai watched with flickering eyes. When they had tried to recruit Etsuha before, he hadn't seemed nearly this powerful.
And yet, in just a few days…
He had grown to this level.
Shigaraki Tomura stared at Etsuha, unease flashing in his eyes.
"As expected… a quirk that evolves when facing stronger opponents. With All Might's personality, he won't kill him. That means Shina Etsuha will only keep getting stronger… We can't let him live. Moonfish, once this battle ends, release Nomu immediately."
Moonfish nodded. "Understood."
At that moment, All Might moved again.
He appeared directly in front of Etsuha, cutting off his path, and whispered:
"Etsuha, hit me first. I'll send you flying out of here!"
His muscles swelled as he threw another punch.
Boom!
The storm roared.
"Etsuha" took the hit—but instead of being blown away, his body scattered into a flock of crows.
All Might froze.
The crows regrouped in the distance, forming Etsuha again—and immediately launched another attack.
"Eh?"
All Might blinked, confused.
He rushed forward and smashed the figure again—but it once more dissolved into crows, reforming further away.
The surrounding crowd was completely baffled.
"Why is All Might punching the air?"
"Is there something there?"
All Might had fallen into an illusion.
"Strange… what is All Might doing?"
Ironically, Shina Etsuha himself was the most confused.
From the start, he had avoided direct confrontation. Every "Etsuha" All Might had been chasing was just a decoy. The real Etsuha had maintained a steady distance of fifty meters.
But what puzzled him was this—
How had All Might fallen for such a simple illusion?
With his mental strength, this kind of trick shouldn't have worked so easily.
What was going on?
Soon, All Might's frustrated voice rang out:
"Ahhh! So this is a mental-type quirk!!"
Only now did he realize the truth.
The "Etsuha" he had been chasing was nothing but a phantom. He didn't even know when Etsuha had used a mental ability on him.
Focusing his mind, drawing on years of experience, All Might immediately broke through the illusion.
And then—
He saw the real Etsuha.
"Etsuha!"
By this point, the three supporting Heroes had all collapsed, heavily injured.
"You've broken free already? That's a shame… I didn't get the chance to destroy their quirks," Etsuha muttered.
The moment All Might broke the illusion, Etsuha stopped what he was doing and withdrew.
Facing All Might directly right now was… complicated.
Whether he won or lost, it wouldn't be good.
More importantly, he could clearly sense that All Might held no real hostility toward him.
The instant All Might regained clarity, Etsuha turned and fled.
His speed exploded—like a streak of green lightning. Within moments, he vanished from sight.
"…He ran?!"
The crowd was stunned.
All Might—and three other Heroes—and he just escaped?
All Might himself was momentarily surprised, but quickly regained his composure.
Etsuha fleeing… was exactly what he had hoped for.
And it saved him from having to throw that punch seriously.
With that thought, All Might immediately gave chase.