Kirishima's question hung in the heavy air of our dark alley, a question that voiced all our despair. "What do we do now?"
No one answered. We could only stare, silent witnesses to a scene that should only exist in legends or nightmares. At the end of the street, in the center of a crater of destruction that was once a busy intersection, two giants from different eras faced each other. On one side, All Might, the Symbol of Peace, stood tall despite the steam rising from his body, his fists clenched, the embodiment of hope. On the other side, All For One, the Symbol of Evil, stood with a terrifying calm, his faceless presence feeling like a black hole absorbing all light and courage around it.
The fight began not with an explosion, but with words sharper than any blade. "It's been a long time since I've seen you in such prime condition, All Might," All For One said, his calm, polite voice sounding completely out of place amidst the destruction. "Though 'prime' might not be the right word. I can feel the embers of that fire within you flickering, about to go out."
"Enough of your talk, All For One!" All Might roared, his voice thundering. "Tonight, I will make sure you return to the pit of hell you crawled out of!"
With that roar, All Might charged. He moved with a speed that made my eyes hurt, a flash of gold and blue that tore through the air. He launched a Texas Smash, a punch that created a devastating air pressure capable of leveling a city block. But All For One simply raised his hand. An invisible force exploded from his palm, clashing with All Might's air pressure in the middle of the street.
BOOM!
The explosion resulting from the clash of two unseen forces created a storm. The windows of the buildings around us shattered into pieces. Cars were thrown into the air like toys. The six of us were forced to take cover behind a sturdy wall, feeling the powerful wind trying to rip us from where we stood.
"Incredible..." Midoriya whispered beside me, his wide eyes trying to analyze every detail, even as tears streamed down his cheeks from a mixture of awe and fear. "He... he blocked a Texas Smash without moving an inch. What kind of Quirk is that?"
In our relatively safe alley, we could only be helpless spectators. Bakugo, for the first time since I'd known him, was silent. His usual anger was gone, replaced by an expression of pure shock as he realized the vast chasm of power between himself and these legends. This was no longer a fight he could win with explosions; this was a fight that could change the world.
Across Japan, and even the world, the live broadcast of this battle had taken over every screen. In a modest apartment in Musutafu, Sora Tatsumi gripped her husband's arm tightly, tears streaming down her face. "Oh my god, Kenji... All Might... he's..." She couldn't finish her sentence. They watched in horror, just like millions of others, praying for their hero's safety, completely unaware that their son was just a few hundred meters from the epicenter of that battle.
At the Ryukyu agency, my internship team stared at the main screen in the operations room with bated breath. "They're... they're truly monsters," Uraraka said, her face pale. "That kind of power..."
"Ryukyu-san," Nejire said, turning to her mentor, "we have to go! We have to help!"
Ryukyu, who stood with her fists clenched at her sides, could only shake her head. "No, Nejire," she said, her voice heavy. "This is a different kind of fight. If we get close, we won't be reinforcements. We'll just be additional casualties. The only thing we can do now... is believe in All Might." But in her heart, she felt a cold fear. She glanced at a corner of the screen where a news helicopter occasionally showed a view of the alleys around the location. She prayed that Tatsumi and the others were smart enough to stay hidden.
On a distant rooftop, Akame watched the same broadcast on a stolen phone. She didn't care about All Might or heroes. She was observing All For One. She recognized that kind of power—an absolute power used to dominate and destroy. It was a reflection of the Empire she had fought against her whole life. She saw how All For One fought without emotion, using others' powers as tools, sacrificing his underlings without a second thought. He was the embodiment of organized, merciless evil. Then, she saw All Might, who kept pushing forward despite his injuries, driven by something she couldn't fully comprehend. Something called 'hope'. This battle, for her, was a lesson about her new world.
The battle in Kamino intensified. All For One unleashed a variety of Quirks in horrific combinations. He fired bone spikes from his fingers, then used kinetic boosters to multiply their speed and piercing power. He used a spring-like Quirk to leap into the air, then unleashed an Air Cannon from above. All Might was forced to constantly defend and counter-attack, each of his punches shaking the city.
"You look so tired, Toshinori!" All For One taunted as All Might panted after dodging another attack. "Where is that foolish smile of yours? Have you finally realized you can't save everyone?" He raised his hand toward a damaged apartment building nearby, where a few civilians were still trapped. "For instance, them."
Before he could attack, All Might was already there, his body becoming a shield for the building. He took another Air Cannon attack directly, making him cough up blood.
"You never change!" All Might growled. "Always using others, always hiding behind their suffering!"
"That is power, my friend," All For One replied calmly. "The power to use everything and everyone to achieve your goals. Something you will never understand."
He launched his strongest attack. A combination of several power-enhancing Quirks, he slammed his fist into All Might's stomach. The impact created a crater beneath them. We all felt the tremor even from where we were hiding.
As the thick smoke from the impact cleared, the most horrific sight was revealed. All Might was still standing, but he was no longer in his muscular form. In front of the news helicopter cameras, before the eyes of the entire world, he stood in his true form: a gaunt, emaciated man, a skeleton of his former self, with sunken eyes and a gaping wound on his side. Steam rose from his body as he struggled to breathe.
Silence. The entire world fell silent. The Symbol of Peace... was broken.
In the alley, Midoriya let out a choked sob. Todoroki and Kirishima stared in horror, unable to believe what they were seeing. I myself felt a cold despair creep in. I knew this would happen, but seeing it firsthand... was so much worse.
"So... this is your true form," All For One said, sounding genuinely amused. "The pillar that supports this society is nothing but a fragile matchstick. How pathetic."
But then, something incredible happened. From the nearby rubble, a trapped woman lifted her head. "Don't give up..." she whispered. Then louder, "DON'T GIVE UP! YOU CAN DO IT, ALL MIGHT!"
Her voice, captured by the news microphones, seemed to reignite a fire across Japan. In bars, in homes, in city squares, people began to shout. "ALL MIGHT! ALL MIGHT! ALL MIGHT!"
Their shouts of support seemed to give new strength to the fallen hero. All Might looked at his skinny hand, then at All For One. He began to straighten his body. And with one final, incredible effort, he forced his muscles to expand. His right arm returned to its mighty form, the only remnant of his former power.
"I am still standing," he said, his voice weak but filled with an unbreakable will. "As long as there is one person who needs help, I will never fall."
He prepared himself for his final attack. The remaining embers of One For All he gathered into one point, in one fist.
All For One also prepared himself. He gathered all his strongest Quirks into his own arm, creating a horrific living weapon of muscle, spikes, and pure energy.
In the middle of the ruined Kamino, under the gaze of a world holding its breath, two destinies that had been intertwined for a century shot forward to meet in one final clash that would decide everything.