My Hero Academia: Aura Farming

[The Synonym]

Question, how much can lift/manipulate per aura unit? Or is it just going to go off of 'however much the plot needs it too'. Not trying to throw shade, just trying to figure out what rule set this is working by… so I can figure out ways the MC might be able to game it.

Click to shrink...

I'm guiding myself by 1 aura > 1 pound or 2 kilograms. But since I wasn't the most prodigal student in physics class, I may slip up or write illogical stuff sometimes without realizing

 

[The Synonym]

Couple things
The majority of the chapter was fine, but

This took me out of the story, for no reason. There's no reason to lazily break the fourth wall like this. You could not mention what the food is, like you do with several other characters, or you could take 2 seconds to google a Japanese dish. It's out of place.

Secondly, this is incredibly low for the Aura generation and supposed virality to hit the majority of the main cast. Japan has a population of 124 million, and the main cast pre-canon is distributed all across it.

Click to shrink...

The thing is, the way I have in mind his online aura generation works is that, the further the people are, the harder it is for the aura to reach him, so the gains get exponentially smaller the further people are, so while big numbers are good, if the people that see him are too far away, the gains will be big but not astronomical. That, and the awe people can feel through a screen is not that big compared to experiencing stuff in real life, so that's another aura lowerer. right there

 

[Thatonesungod]

The thing is, the way I have in mind his online aura generation works is that, the further the people are, the harder it is for the aura to reach him, so the gains get exponentially smaller the further people are, so while big numbers are good, if the people that see him are too far away, the gains will be big but not astronomical. That, and the awe people can feel through a screen is not that big compared to experiencing stuff in real life, so that's another aura lowerer. right there

Click to shrink...

You can justify basically any number of Aura from any number of online views, because you are in full control of the system, but what needs justifying is how many varied people across Japan are getting showed the video, because again, 1 million views is rookie numbers, especially for a notable vigilante being reported as taking a concert hostage.

 

[Despacitoleo]

Nice fic I love to see nonsensical powers grow over here

 

[MorbiIIionaire]

Sadly, he scrolled down almost immediately.

Click to shrink...

His spree of doomscrolling came to an end, however, when his sister's voice called out to him.

Click to shrink...

Ahahaha, this was my favorite part. I never thought id love seeing Shoto of all people as a doomscroller hahaha

 

[The Synonym]

We're finally caught up to the chapters I had in stock... and now, I reveal my true nature.

You thought it was a passionate author who did this for the love of the game, but it was I, a greedy goblin who has a Patreon, and with chapters in advance -wink-.

patreon.com/TheSynonym

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[Style]
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…

-Insert old west duel music-

"Seiji."

"Taka."

Both contestants stood meters apart, gazes narrowed, and faces scrunched in hostility.

Their fingers twitched as if itching to draw, despite having no pistols.

A lone cloud of dust drifted by between them, like something straight out of a desert showdown.

Then, Taka took his stance, and Seiji did the same.

"Your luck's up, old man," the edgy teenager declared, fingers curling like claws.

"Hah. Didn't you say the same thing yesterday? I recall you ended up on the floor after that." The blond man mocked, one hand on top of his head, the other on his butt, knees bent faintly, and tail wiggling enthusiastically. An immaculate imitation of the classic monkey scratching pose.

"How does that stance even work…?" Taka muttered, sweatdropping.

"By confusing amateurs like you, kid."

"I'm not confused, I just made you think I was, so YOU get confused."

"And I'm confusing you by making you believe I was confused by your confusion."

"SEIJI!"

"TAKA!"

With that bizarre exchange, the stand-off and the building tension ended—and soon, the two lunged at each other like hungry beasts.

Taka struck first, claw turning into a full-on fist, and aiming directly at Seiji's face.

—Swish!—

Unfortunately, his punch was fast, but Seiji was faster.

Moments before impact, Seiji spun mid-charge, dodging by centimeters, and then casually fixing his hair as he passed by the charging Taka.

The teenager stumbled forward after his fist met no target, clicking his tongue—

-Slap!-

—only to receive a smug tail-whack to the back of his head right the next instant.

Annoyed, he spun with a backfist.

Seiji ducked effortlessly, then used his tail to hook Taka's legs out from under him, slamming the kid to the ground.

—Thud!—

The fall did little physical damage, but it sure caused Taka a lot of emotional damage.

'This guy is aura farming an aura farmer…' Taka groaned inwardly, shooting Seiji a glare.

Then, he scrambled back up in no time and lunged again—this time opening with something new.

A flurry of blows, punches, and kicks combined, but switching unpredictably, hoping to overwhelm Seiji.

Sadly, without any stat-boosting, Taka was still far too slow.

Seiji merely hopped back, dodging each strike by making distance. Turning the duel into a chase in which Taka threw his attacks, and Seiji continued going reverse.

-Tack!-

"Ah?!"

Sadly, it all came to an end when, during one of Taka's attacks, Seiji grabbed his wrist, pulled Taka towards him, and then slammed a palm strike into his chin.

—Thud!—

The kid staggered back, his chin reddening, before collapsing onto his knees and falling flat with a groan.

"Dammit…"

Seiji snorted, hands in his pockets. "What did I tell you about chin strikes?"

"Never let them hit. Yeah, yeah, I know…" Taka clicked his tongue.

"At this rate, you'll barely qualify by the time U.A. starts," Seiji muttered, massaging his chin with a troubled expression.

Taka's eyebrow twitched.

Then, to top it off, Seiji waved at him dismissively before turning away. "Forget it, kid. I'm not feeling rusty anymore."

And like that, he began walking away.

'Shit,' Taka cursed inwardly.

He glanced at his status. His stats were fine—more than fine. He was over twice as strong as when they started training, and that was without aura boosting him.

So why the hell was he still getting clowned on by this guy?

Was it really just a stat issue?

No. That wasn't it—or maybe just partly.

He recalled the mission that had sparked this obsession of his with winning, how it had asked him to learn to dance, and to beat a more serious Seiji in combat.

He reminisced about Seiji's words.

'Fights are like a dance,' Taka repeated in his mind, his eyes narrowing in thought. 'It's a constant back-and-forth of predicting the other's movements until one side falls behind.'

With that definition in mind, Taka's mind went back to the fight they had just had. His face scrunching in distaste as he recalled how quickly they ended.

'In my case, there's a "back" but no "forth." I attack, he counters, but I never respond... I just end up on the floor.'

He thought about the tail sweep and the chin strike from earlier. Frown deepening.

'Like he said… predict the prediction of the prediction. But I'm not predicting anything, and I find it hard to do so when that guy moves so wildly... Meanwhile, he's predicting everything I'll do.'

With a frustrated slap to both cheeks, Taka snapped himself awake—earning a curious glance from Seiji.

'Focus, you dumbass. Remember what you said once? "I'm a God, and All Might is my errand boy." If I don't end this crap today, who the hell am I to say that?!'

Then, Taka did something that made Seiji pause.

He placed his palms on the ground—spun wildly—and pushed himself up into a clean landing, stance rising anew.

'Predicting him may still be a bit too much for now, but that doesn't mean I'm helpless. If I can't predict him, then all I gotta do is even the field.'

Right away, his stance began shifting; this time, no more martial artist-ish, instead, it seemed way more relaxed, but ready to snap at any minute.

'Hah… Now that I think about it, the mission itself made it pretty clear as to what the answer was. If the movements he's taught me are obviously easy for him to predict, then all I gotta do is use movements he hasn't taught me.'

He took a deep breath.

'Let's just hope all this practice was worth something.'

And so, with that resolve burning in him, Taka lifted a hand and beckoned.

"Come on, you son of a chimp. One last time."

Seiji's eye twitched.

"Haha, I was wondering what you were up to… Alright. I suppose there's still a little rust left to brush off."

Cracking his neck and knuckles, Seiji retook his stance, smirking confidently.

"Alright, come at me, little Taka."

Taka snorted, a confident grin tugging at his lips.

"No, you come at me."

Seiji raised an eyebrow but didn't move. "No, you come."

"Nah, you come."

Seiji shrugged. "Little kids first."

Taka shrugged back. "Elderly first."

Silence. Neither moved.

"What's wrong, Taka? Scared?" Seiji teased.

"You're the adult guy with twice my body weight and a supposedly successful hero career. You tell me."

"Oh-ho-ho… alright... alright..." Seiji chuckled.

—then snapped his eyes open and lunged forward without a shred of warning, his speed vertiginous.

"As you please!"

Taka barely had time to react before a punch shot toward him.

But instead of simply raising his guard like every other day—

"…?"

—he suddenly dropped to his knees at the last second, the punch cutting through empty air.

In slow motion, Seiji's eyes widened, following Taka down in disbelief.

Not just because it was unexpected—but because Taka had left himself horribly open for a follow-up. A knee strike from this angle would end the fight instantly.

'What is this kid doing?'

He already had Taka's torso in view; if the kid tried something frog-punch-like, he'd see it coming instantly.

But he didn't think the kid was so stupid to attempt something like that.

So then—what was—

"...?!"

His confusion only deepened as Taka's kneeling posture collapsed even lower—one leg threading between Seiji's, his back nearly brushing the ground, and palms planted firmly.

Then—

–THUD!–

Taka spun, his legs hooking around one of Seiji's in a tight clamp.

The monkey man yanked himself free with a sharp pirouette, escaping the entanglement by a hair.

But by the time he regained his footing and lifted his gaze—

Taka was already there, fist cocked and flying.

Seiji readied himself to sneak by his attack and reach Taka's weak point—

"Huh?"

—but once again, contrary to every expectation, Taka's punch vanished as he suddenly dropped mid-charge, sliding across the rough dirt.

No seasoned fighter would let someone slide between their legs, so Seiji lashed out with a kick to intercept—

—but Taka's hands slammed the ground, twisting his whole body in a wild, acrobatic spin.

–WHACK!–

A powerful heel smashed into Seiji's face, snapping his head sideways.

The counterkick he'd thrown missed by a breath.

With one last push of his arms, Taka launched himself backward, landing cleanly on his feet.

He exhaled a long, steady breath—then smirked.

"Still think I won't qualify?"

Seiji turned back toward him, rubbing the forming bruise on his cheek.

"That shit hurt," he hissed—then chuckled, eyes gleaming with new respect. "Looks like you finally figured something out, huh, kid?"

"Yeah. How about I show you a few more times?" Taka taunted, jumping in his spot, all fired up after that hit.

"Hahaha…"

Seiji laughed again. This time, though, his laugh carried something more than amusement.

"... You're seriously asking for a beating, kid."

Taka beckoned him with a cocky wave. "Let me help you confront reality. The future's now, old man."

Seiji shook his head. "Alright."

Then he charged again.

…

°

°

°

| Minutes later… |

…

Taka lay flat on the ground, bruises blooming across his face, dirt smeared over his clothes.

Seiji stood over him—tall, victorious, and grinning wide.

If only that grin wasn't framed by swollen cheeks and a fresh purple eye, he might have looked infinitely cooler.

"You're still a few decacillion years short of beating me, kid."

"Shut up."

Laughing, Seiji took out a cigarette and lit it up, puffing up a big one.

"Good spar, kid. Good spar."

With that, he turned and started walking off—occasionally letting out small, pained groans that betrayed his attempt at acting tough.

Taka watched him go, then let his gaze fall back to the sky with a defeated sigh.

"So I still lost, huh? What bullshit Quirk he has…"

Seriously—how did a monkey Quirk turn someone into that kind of monster? Taka would never understand.

He pushed himself up from the dirt, shaky but determined, and managed to get to his feet. The instant he stood, the dust coating his clothes vanished, as did the blood on his face and knuckles—Clean skill doing its job.

'I guess this is all I can do without using my aura against a guy with a Quirk like that.'

<You have a mission's reward you haven't checked, host.>

"Wha—? Oh. Right, that." He chuckled and opened the notification.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[COMPLETE!]

[You have finally taken notice of the mesmerizing art of dance. But you have yet to realize its true potential! Let the Aura Farmer within you bloom further as you open your mind to the wonders of corporeal expression.]

Quest Conditions:

▸ Learn a dance style to a skillful degree. ✔

▸ Reach a new level in martial skill by enduring a fight with a serious Seiji for one full minute—without enhancing yourself or using aura projection. ✔

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

<Calculating Reward…>

<+500 Aura!>

<+Skill: [Let's dance!]>

<Note: The request was for you to last a minute, as the physical difference between you and Seiji was too wide. Yet you went beyond that—contesting the hero for several minutes and even dealing solid damage! Truly worthy of an Aura Farmer. Keep up the good job, host.>

"Right… it was a minute." Taka scratched his head, annoyed. He'd gotten so into the fight that he forgot that part of the requirement. And he must've tuned out the notification entirely.

"Well, all that ends well ends well."

He opened the new skill.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[Let's Dance!] (Passive)

Description: The Aura Farmer is unmatched, peerless, and unreachable. When conflict arises, he overwhelms opponents and shows them the true gap between their powers. Brute force is one way to establish superiority.

Style is the other.

Because if you beat someone up while still being stylish, what better way is there to prove the difference between you?

▸ Boosts battle IQ.

▸ Improves overall control over your body.

▸ Enhances improvisation, reflexes, and thinking speed when mixing dance with martial arts mid-combat.

▸ Pairs well with [My Theme].

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

"... Dancing mid-fight sounds kinda cringe, but I guess if I fight as I did against Seiji, it'll work," Taka muttered, before his eyes focused on the battle IQ boost and enhanced control over his body benefits, glistening with satisfaction. "And even without that… it is a nice boost eitherway."

Would this be enough to close the gap that there was this time, for the next spar that the two had?

Maybe.

Would it be enough to win?

'No idea.' Taka Shrugged.

Eitherway, that was future Taka's problem.

"I'm gonna go try unlocking my healing abilities now… ouch."

Still grumbling and sore, Taka shuffled toward the house, planning on practicing a lot. He didn't want to stay hurting, after all.

…

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-To be Continued…-

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(A/N: The final mission Taka had in store is done—save for unlocking healing, but that'll be covered in the next and last arc before U.A., which will be the last hurdle Taka will have to surpass before being fully ready to aura farm the heck out of the main cast.)

 

[Despacitoleo]

Spoiler: How AFO/mc would go

AFO: you fool your quirk is mi-

Mc SPECIAL BEAM CANNON

Amazing chapter man cant wait for a bit for the next one

 

[SHARKSODA]

Spoiler: How AFO/mc would go

AFO: you fool your quirk is mi-

Mc SPECIAL BEAM CANNON

Click to shrink...

ALL THESE TRIANGLES MAKE A SQUARE!

 

[MorbiIIionaire]

Taka beckoned him with a cocky wave. "Let me help you confront reality. The future's now, old man."

Click to shrink...

Give the man bonus points for the reference lol.

Dancing mid-fight sounds kinda cringe, but I guess if I fight as I did against Seiji, it'll work

Click to shrink...

I mean Capoeira exists and is pretty solid and flashy. Combine that with more dancey moves like wheelbarrels and airflares and combine that with the style and the bullshit that is quirks and the naturally strong bodies of this world and you have a genuinely dangerous combo... well thats up to him to figure out lol, maybe he'll just pull a deadpool and moonwalk mid fight.

 

[leks]

I'm sure he needs to learn how to crack jokes during a fight. What could be cooler than humiliating the villains while casually beating them up?

 

[The Synonym]

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[Level 9]
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"…Why the heck was shooting lasers so easy, when healing is so fucking hard?" Taka grumbled.

Wearing his Rockinesis costume, he lay on his back mid-air—almost as if he were lounging on a mattress—idly rolling a sphere of aura between his hands. All while flying at absurd speed through the sky. He didn't even bother looking where he was going.

"Come on, come on—nope. Crap. It's just getting hotter again."

He clicked his tongue and dispersed the aura, letting out a long, exhausted sigh.

'Figures. Healing's supposed to be broken, so of course it's got the difficulty set to max.'

Nearly two weeks had passed since he received the mission to unlock the healing mode of Aura Projection, and progress had been… let's call it "slow as hell."

The mode demanded a level of precision far beyond simply compressing energy into a single point, as its destructive mode had asked for. From what he'd managed to understand, healing worked by literally transforming his aura into whatever material the body needed at that moment, and making his aura do that was proving to be quite the challenge.

What's worse, that seemed to be the basic part of it all.

The actual mechanics underneath, what other functions it performed, or what else was needed besides focusing on that aspect for it to work as an actual healing skill? That was way beyond his understanding at the moment, awaiting to be deciphered in the foreseeable future.

The biggest obstacle, however, was the ridiculous aura expenditure. Even short attempts drained him fast.

Still, he wasn't completely in the dark anymore. He'd managed to evoke healing properties a couple of times—enough to dull pain and accelerate recovery after the villain gang incident… or whenever Seiji turned him into a punching bag.

Granted, both times natural regeneration had carried most of the weight, but his aura had definitely helped with internal damage.

Anyway, it was still in its baby stage.

But hey, baby stage was better than being at the undiscovered stage, and with time, he'd figure out the complete method. He just needed to practice.

For now, though, he didn't exactly have many subjects to practice on. And trying it on actually injured people seemed… questionable. Especially since he still occasionally mixed up the "heal" function with the "obliterate into sizzling chunks" function.

So until he could reliably make the aura heal when he wanted it to heal, regardless of how effective it was, he'd have to be the only test dummy.

Once that was sorted out, then the real healing training would start—and he'd finally add a proper healing skill to his arsenal.

Speaking of skills in his arsenal…

—Bzzzt—

Taka summoned another sphere of aura into his palm, watching it hum and glow.

'I wonder what other modes this thing has…?'

There was destruction, triggered by condensing aura into a single point, making it hotter and brighter the more aura he poured in. He could also isolate the brightness aspect to make fake, harmless shots—like the one he used on the sniper villain. Not powerful, but great for sending the message of: If that had been real, you'd have disintegrated.

And there was healing, which, as said earlier, was still a work in progress.

If you looked at Aura Projection alone, you'd think those were the only two functions. They worked like a yin and yang, after all.

Normally, a, uhm, yung? didn't exist.

But the stat wasn't the only thing that granted his aura strange properties; his skill list also affected it directly—clone creation, cleaning, radar-like detection… they made his aura a chaotic mess of potential applications.

And there were probably more effects waiting to be unlocked.

But what could the AP stat do on its own, without relying on future unlockable skills?

-Sigh-

He dispersed the sphere again and stared up at the vast blue sky, clouds drifting above and below him.

"Aura… aura… aura…" he muttered. "Come on, some fiction back in my old world definitely used aura as a power system. Maybe I can steal—ahem, be inspired by something."

He recalled a few.

Aura…

First thing that came to mind—

'A blade sharpener.' He thought, snorting at the thought.

Not as in the tool, but more like the medieval trope where knights enhanced their weapons with energy. Often called aura or ki, or whatever fitted the world.

Could his aura do that, too?

Taka glanced around, expecting his system to throw him a mission as it had for healing.

But nothing popped up.

"…So either that's not it, or the system wants me to figure it out myself," he muttered with a wry smirk.

With a sigh, he rolled over from his relaxed, belly-up flying posture. Finally, looking to where he was going.

"Well, I can just test that with a knife once I'm home. But that'll have to wait… For now, let's finish our business here."

He looked down.

Tokyo—an entire city sprawling beneath him, almost the whole metropolis visible from where he hovered.

Why was he in Tokyo again, you may ask?

It all went back to the release of his song the other day. Thanks to it, he'd realized a couple of important things.

First of all, he was kind of… actively being hunted in Shizuoka. And while he'd hardly be arrested, the police showing up immediately whenever he sent a clone out was getting annoying. Their timely interventions kept cutting his shows short.

Meaning, putting on a performance was becoming harder and harder.

He could suppress them with his clones since they could be pretty powerful with all the aura he had now, but doing that would ruin the mood.

Second, after his musical-festival stunt here in Tokyo, Taka had realized something else—this city was basically a gold mine for an Aura Farmer. Not only was Shizuoka's population tiny in comparison, but the media adored Tokyo more than anything. Sure, news from other cities popped up sometimes, but Tokyo owned the spotlight.

So if he wanted to become renowned—if he wanted to show off his aura to the most people—then hitting the most important city in the country was obviously the move.

And third—though not exactly a benefit—another reason he chose this place was that, after the festival show and the massive bump in aura gains, his top travel speed had improved so much that going back and forth between cities was now actually viable.

If this were the old him, it would've been annoying as hell. Three hours by car, which had been somewhat his speed, meant a six-hour round trip. But now?

Just a neat little one-hour flight. Two for the round trip.

Truthfully, even before the show, he could've squeezed the first trip into two hours instead of three… but back then, he needed to channel part of his aura just to block the air blast on his face, and that was an aura he couldn't put into flight speed.

Now, though? With a bigger reserve, he could afford both: the shield and the velocity.

In short, traveling here wasn't a chore anymore. At least to him. A clone would still probably find it tedious.

Which was why he came himself.

—Of course, a clone had the whole day free, so they could spend more time traveling… but he suddenly felt like coming personally.

…No, it absolutely wasn't because he wanted to check out the delicacies and some pretty interesting spots exclusive to the bigger cities.

How could anyone even think that?

"... Alright, maybe that's a bit of a reason." Taka cleared his throat, folding instantly under absolutely no pressure.

Then, as his gaze swept below, he activated his Trouble Radar.

Time to make his debut.

You may be wondering why he wasn't carrying any instruments if he was planning a show.

Well, because this time he was going for a more… brutish presentation.

As in, beating up villains.

As for the music? He had a skill for that now, and it was already configured with his most recent track.

All that was left was to find a villain to beat into the pavement while a song played inside everyone's heads.

Not that he was giving up his instruments—this was just a temporary approach while he gauged the city's reception, difficulty, and the amount of hero/police interference.

If everything went smoothly, he could find an empty building, set up another Rockibase, and have his clones gear up there after each trip.

But first, he needed to see if things were viable. Travel certainly was, especially if his aura kept growing at this ridiculous rate.

But if the heroes here were too strong… maybe not.

So, with his plans already laid out, he scanned the city for a while.

But even after a few minutes had passed...

"Hm. Seems like a pretty calm day," he muttered, annoyed by the lack of crime.

Some alerts were popping up, sure, but they were all level 1 or 2.

That wouldn't do for his debut.

"Come on, I know it's just for checking on this place, but give me something big."

A level 5? Maybe level 6?

With how powerful he currently was, those would be easy enough to win against, but still strong enough to leave a lasting impression.

A level 7... yeah, that could work too.

It may prove a bit annoying, but it shouldn't be too hard.

'So please, appear!' Taka prayed inwardly.

Unfortunately… fate seemed uninterested in cooperating.

'Should I just go for a level 2?' Taka wondered after even more minutes had gone by, rubbing his chin.

That felt like such a waste for his first official appearance (festival crash not included) in Tokyo.

Some random crook? Really?

'But if that's all I've got, then I guess I can't help it…' He sighed and began descending.

...

'Wait.' A thought hit him, making him stop mid-descent.

If he jumped down there… what were the chances a powerful hero was nearby?

It was morning—prime patrol hours. At the festival, it had been night, so heroes like All Might, who had limited time, were unlikely to appear.

But now? Diving into central Tokyo in broad daylight?

Chances of running into someone troublesome were high.

Sure, he was strong enough now that he doubted he'd actually get into danger. And even if things went south, he could hide, send a clone to mislead them, or just let a clone handle everything while he watched from afar.

But his goal was to perform unbothered. That sort of chaos ruined the point if his show was interrupted mid-act.

Still… Tokyo was a gold mine. More trouble might just be part of the trade.

Higher risk, higher reward.

'Hmm… is there a workaround?' he wondered, scanning the city carefully.

His gaze narrowed toward the outskirts, near the bay.

Maybe the hero density would be lower there.

And his aura didn't reach that far, so a higher-level crime might be happening unregistered.

'Well, I lose nothing trying.'

With a shrug, he shot forward again.

He kept scouting the whole way—but the highest alert he saw was a level 3.

Today really was quiet.

After five minutes, he reached Tokyo's edge.

Beyond lay Chiba Prefecture—which was not his goal.

"Well, it was worth a try… I guess that level 3 alert will have to do," he muttered, dejected.

He prepared to head back, but then—

"…!"

His whole body froze. His pupils shrank, and his eyes widened like platters.

He turned sharply toward Chiba.

From there… an alert from his skill came. However, it was one completely unlike any other he had ever felt.

Not even those three villains from weeks ago compared.

Back then, even if it was risky, he had felt the chance he had to win even before confronting them—and he won in the end.

But this?

This was pure, primal danger in its rawest form, converted into an alert his aura could catch.

It was a kind of threat even his body and aura recognised instinctively as something above his level.

If he went there, it wasn't about whether he could win.

The question was… would he even be able to do anything?

What worried him more was that he was twice as strong as weeks ago, when he fought the villains.

And yet, he felt powerless before this alert.

It was that unnervingly ominous.

'How could the show not have mentioned this…? Or did it?' Taka frowned, digging through his memories for any hint that something of this caliber had ever been brought up.

But nothing came to mind.

Maybe All Might had shown up to handle it, making the whole ordeal look simple in hindsight, and thus never got mentioned in the show?

"Maybe…" he muttered, though his gaze never left the distant prefecture.

But what if that wasn't it?

There was always the possibility that the show had glossed over countless tragedies. Background events that never made the spotlight.

Right now, he had power.

He was no longer the Quirkless kid who looked at the world and thought, There's nothing I can do.

He could do something now.

Even if it wasn't much—judging by the suffocating pressure radiating from that alert—he could still act.

And if All Might really did show up, Taka could simply stay on the sidelines and make sure nothing went wrong. The Symbol of Peace wasn't a god, after all. He could always use a bit of backup.

"Well… I guess a level—what level even is this?" Taka rubbed his chin, brows furrowing. "Level 8? No, as I am now, a level 8 should be manageable... this feels a tad too overwhelming for that."

With a decisive nod, he readied his aura.

"Level 9 then. I guess a level 9 will have to do for my grand debut."

And with that—

—BOOM!—

A thunderous burst of air exploded behind him as Taka shot forward, faster than ever before.

Soon, he dissapeared into the distance, going to face his hardest challenge yet.

...

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-To be Continued…-

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(A/N: Originally, I wanted there to be two events before U.A., but after a bit of thought, I realized I could fuse the two and be done with it. Not as to be lazy, which I am, but rather because one needed a powerful villain to serve as Taka's final obstacle before U.A., and I was racking my brain trying to invent one. Meanwhile, the other event already included a dangerously strong villain.

Maybe too strong a villain, though.

But nothing Taka can't overcome with pure coolness.

So, in the end, the thing clicked in my head, and the two last events became only one, so you won't need to wait that much before U.A.)

 

[Marchewmen]

I read this chapter... and thinking, what the fuck are those levels anyway, and if it's danger sense, why is it suddenly written different.

 

[Dahaka1e]

I read this chapter... and thinking, what the fuck are those levels anyway, and if it's danger sense, why is it suddenly written different.

Click to shrink...

It's been described this way from the very beginning. It's not a spider-sense, but the ability to sense places where something dangerous is happening. And MC has used a scale of 1 to 10 for this from the very beginning.

 

[Despacitoleo]

Gaslight the villains that your stronger than them and become stronger than them

 

[IndraP]

The difference between a hero and a fool is whether they success or not

 

[8ightbit]

when someone says aura to me I immediately think of rwby and semblances .. I don't know how mc cant make the connection.. is author just dumbing him down to make a point..??

 

[The Synonym]

when someone says aura to me I immediately think of rwby and semblances .. I don't know how mc cant make the connection.. is author just dumbing him down to make a point..??

Click to shrink...

never seen it, and thus neither Taka

 

[evil6961]

Cough* hunter x hunter cough* nen seems like a decent type of thing to use as a training idea farm.

 

[Selias]

I can see why the MC needs a system. Of course a blade sharpener is something that Aura can do. Casually cutting through a huge object with your sword/knife/knife-hand is a super Aura thing to do.

 

[MorbiIIionaire]

fiction back in my old world definitely used aura as a power system. Maybe I can steal—ahem, be inspired by something."

Click to shrink...

Props for "borrowing" lmao, I rarely ever see si's do that. No creativity when using past experiences lol. Also when I thought of aura I thought of RWBY lol.

 

[LeonT]

Ah yes, when all else fails on ideas...

STEALING-Inspiration!

 

[Omniext]

my brain went 'Endeavor??' because I'm sure his ass is in Shizuoka, but villain, so.

but! it's possible

anyway, fun stuff! reminds me of the apocalypse aura system thing someone wrote somewhere

 

[The Synonym]

Join my Patreon for more chapters, and you'll help me make ends meet while doing so.

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────────────────────────
[Real Battle]
────────────────────────

| Chiba Prefecture… |

…

After a small incident in which bullying somehow turned into a breakdance lesson, and bullies and bullied walked away as best pals, school finally ended. Mina Ashido hopped out of the school gates with her usual happy bounce, her two friends chatting beside her.

"Say, I know I said we should go to the store… but why don't we hit the karaoke instead?" one friend suggested.

"Eh, no waaay! I was thinking the same thing!" Mina perked up. "There's this song I got into recently," She added with a smug little grin.

The other friend gave her a flat look and a teasing smile. "Don't tell me it's that vigilante's song?"

"Ah?! How did you know?!"

"It's trending everywhere, Mina. Kind of obvious."

"Well, am I wrong for wanting to sing it?!"

"Nah, you're valid."

"Hmph. Thought so." She crossed her arms with a proud smirk.

After a small pause, however, she tapped her lips in puzzlement.

"But… Do you think karaoke rooms allow breakdancing?"

The two stared at her, baffled. "Eh? I mean… I don't think there's a rule against it, but the space is pretty tiny. Why?"

Mina suddenly started swaying left and right, doing all sorts of random movements in a mock dance. "Since I'm gonna be singing it, I also wanna try to imitate that guy's sick moves. They are the reason why I got into the song in the first plac, after all!"

"I don't think that's humanly possible, Mina."

"You never know until you try!" She pumped her fist, face full of determination.

"Well, just know that the hospital isn't that far away. So that's one worry less."

"You—!"

Giggling together, the trio made their way into town, passing storefronts and busy sidewalks.

Minutes later, the karaoke building came into view—

"AH!" Mina suddenly froze, eyes wide as though she'd remembered she had left the stove on.

"What's wrong, Mina?" her friends asked.

Mina turned around and waved them off with a wry smile. "Go ahead without me! I'll buy us drinks. The karaoke ones are way too expensive!"

The two gasped in awe. ""Oooh~! Mina, you must be a genius!""

"Hehe!"

"But hide them in your backpack, okay? We don't wanna get banned."

"Of course!" Mina giggled, putting a finger to her lips before taking off.

Her friends continued onward, the Karaoke being just a few more streets away.

Meanwhile, Mina jogged toward a vending machine she'd spotted earlier, the one that had inspired her plan to dodge the karaoke's overpriced drinks.

She scanned the options with a dramatic squint. "Let's see… lemonade would be nice, right? Don't want my throat to die mid-song… but iced tea sounds good too… ah! Why is this so hard?!"

After a bit of melodramatic suffering, she finally chose drinks for all three of them.

Money in, beep, and moments later, the cans clattered down into the retrieval slot. Mina scooped them up—barely managing to hold two in one hand—and stuffed all three into her backpack, away from prying eyes.

Snickering to herself, she dashed back toward the karaoke.

—and stopped dead as she rounded the corner.

"...?!"

There, standing outside the entrance, were her two friends. But looming in front of them was a massive, robed figure—towering, broad, overwhelming.

His very presence pinned the girls against the wall, making them shake in terror.

And even though Mina wasn't directly in front of him…

She felt the fear too.

The figure emanated intimidation. Intentionally, not? It didn't matter.

He simply had a presence that froze her blood solid.

But then, it became worse. Not just the presence anymore.

"Where is the agency of the Hero Spriggan?"

The figure's deep, raspy voice rolled over the girls, making their shivering intensify. Terror swallowed their eyes.

When they failed to respond, his tone darkened. Hostility seeped out of him like poison.

"You're hiding it from me, aren't you?"

The wall behind the girls cracked—whether from the weight from his hand or his rising agitation, Mina couldn't tell.

"WHY WON'T YOU TELL ME…!"

The killing intent grew so heavy it felt like the air itself was being crushed.

But somehow, that had been what she needed.

Mina's eyes snapped wide open, a realization dawning on her at that very moment.

If she didn't move now, her friends were going to die.

"Kgh—!"

Forcing her trembling legs to obey, she shot forward.

He wanted to get somewhere, right? She only needed to say a fake direction, and he'd leave them alone.

She hoped so, at least.

But, just as she was about to wedge herself between her friends and the towering figure—

"Oi."

A voice called out. Deep. Commanding.

It carried the same oppressive weight as the giant's… yet somehow, it wasn't frightening at all. If anything, it felt reassuring.

The three girls—and the giant—turned toward the voice, and soon, they saw him.

A man in a black hoodie and mask stood behind the villain, arms crossed.

"Who are you?" the giant growled, brows tightening under his hood.

The masked man didn't flinch. His gaze held the giant's effortlessly.

"Leave."

Silence descended after that. Thick and suffocating for the girls, the people around watching, and even the animals in the vicinity.

They felt like prey standing before the imminent conflict of top predators.

All they could do… was watch from the sidelines.

Then—

"Why… why does everyone want to hide it from me?" Sorrow warbled in the villain's voice. His fists clenched, looking ready to snap.

But before he could do anything—

-Swish!-

The masked man raised a hand.

—SWOOSH!—

In an instant, the giant was blasted skyward.

Everyone froze, stunned.

It had all been too abrupt. They had expected words to be exchanged, an interchange of blows, something.

But the seemingly tense standoff was over just like that.

Or it was—until the man too moved.

—BAM!—

As everyone's eyes fell on him, the concrete beneath him fractured, and his figure vanished from its previous spot.

For a moment, they didn't understand where he had gone.

But soon, someone pointed it out.

"The sky!"

Everyone's head snapped up at that instant.

Indeed, there he was, soaring like a rocket at a tremendous speed. All while following behind the figure of the giant, which also continued moving up.

Basically, they had left.

As everyone struggled to understand the events that had just occurred, Mina sprinted to her friends, throwing her arms around them as they all broke into tears.

"Mina… I was so scared!"

"Me too!"

"Waaah…!"

Nearby, a black-haired boy stared, caught between awe and disbelief. His gaze followed the two distant figures rising into the sky, eyes sparkling.

"…Manly."

…

°

°

°

| Taka's POV: |

…

<Alert, alert, enemy's level too high!>

<I know I shouldn't be saying this, given my purpose… but are you sure this is worth it?>

"Shut up already." I groaned, dismissing the annoying pop-up as I squinted toward the still-ascending giant.

He was slowing down now—just about to start falling.

And judging by how his robe shredded apart as his body expanded, it seemed this fall was about to be a heavy one.

Too bad I'm in the falling zone.

'And I'm not moving.' I thought, squinting my eyes as the robes of the giant finally ripped apart, and revealed the real identity of this guy.

One that I already knew of.

Gigantomachia. All For One's most powerful minion at the moment, and my opponent today.

This sure wasn't going to be easy, huh?

"RAAAH!!!"

He roared as his figure descended on me, now being at least twice as big. Enough to bloat the sun, and to seem like a humanoid-meteorite rather than the guy he was.

I snorted.

'Yeah, this won't end well at all,' I groaned internally.

But I kept flying upward.

There was, after all, a reason I'd launched him into the sky in the first place.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE]

▸ Strength: 128

▸ Defence: 2627

▸ Aura Projection: 10,000

─────────────

Total Aura: 12371

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

I glanced at my status, more specifically, towards the AP stat.

I needed more.

Sighing, I lifted my eyes back to the falling mountain of hard-as-rock muscle. My gaze narrowing in preparation.

This was why.

He had no foothold.

And without a foothold, no matter how sturdy he was, he wouldn't resist being tossed around.

Up here… he was just a big target.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE]

▸ Strength: 150 → 128

▸ Defence: 2221 → 256

▸ Aura Projection: 10,000 → 12371

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

With a quick shift in stats, I accelerated—my figure blurring through the sky.

The world stretched around me, and the distance between Gigantomachia and me shrank to mere meters.

Then—

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE]

▸ Strength: 128 → 10,000

▸ Defence: 256 → 2000

▸ Aura Projection: 12371 → 755

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

I wound up a fist, pouring my entire back, waist, and aura into it.

Gigantomachia mirrored me with one of his own—his giant fist dwarfing my entire body like a boulder looming over an ant.

"AAAAAH!!!"

"AAAAARGH!!!"

We both roared as we charged. I roared because I needed the confidence boost for what was about to happen. He… probably because he was angry or something.

And then… we clashed.

—BOOOOOOOM!!!—

The shockwave was monstrous, loud enough to resemble a damn thunder strike. I swear I saw the air itself split for a moment.

But the sound wasn't my concern.

'Wha—what happened?' I squinted, dizzy as all hell.

Seconds later, I managed to recompose myself, aura stabilizing me mid-air after I'd been launched who knows how far.

When I finally stopped, I looked down—then winced hard.

"Shit…"

My arm was broken.

And the worst part? I'm pretty sure his fist didn't even fully hit me. I dove under at the last second—his punch only grazed me as I passed, before I slammed my own into his abdomen.

Yet that much contact had been enough to wreck my arm this badly.

'No way natural recovery is going to be enough fix this…' I sweatdropped.

I was either gonna have to master healing by the end of today, or come up with a very suspicious excuse for Seiji about why my arm was turned to shreds in one evening.

—If that was all I ended up with by the time this battle was over. Maybe this was even where I died today.

Sighing, I shifted my focus back to Gigantomachia.

Luckily, I hadn't been the only one affected by the clash.

He, too, had been launched away by the sheer force of my punch—cutting through the air like an arrow.

A very, very big arrow.

And, just as planned, he was flying toward the bay bordering the town.

'There. At least I won't have to worry about anyone getting killed during our showdown.'

Yes, that had been the point of throwing him upward in the first place: to drag him somewhere isolated before things got messy.

Because honestly, even if he had a huge disadvantage in aerial mobility, his durability alone more than made up for it.

I bet that 10,000-aura punch barely even tickled him.

'That's like five tons, you know?'

Clicking my tongue, I shifted my aura back into AP and shot after him.

This wasn't a battle to win. I'd already made peace with that. This guy's level was simply way too much for me to handle right now.

But that didn't mean it had to be a loss.

I'd already thought of a few ways not to perish today. None of them was remotely safe, so I was gonna have to brace myself for a very possible fight—and, by extension, for a lot of broken bones.

But that was part of the risk I'd accepted the moment I decided to butt in unnecessarily into this situation.

…Or was it really unnecessary?

When I arrived at the scene, I recognized exactly which moment from the show this was.

Kirishima's and Mina's backstory.

In the original, Mina tricks Gigantomachia so he leaves them alone, and then she and her friends all run away. All while Kirishima watches from the sidelines, feeling powerless.

Normally, that would've meant I didn't need to intervene at all. The situation was supposed to resolve itself.

But then I heard it:

{"Where is the agency of the Hero Spriggan?"}

That single line made me consider something I hadn't before.

What was he planning to do at a hero agency?

This guy was, after all, All For One's most powerful lackey. The only thing someone like him would be doing in a place like that… was stealing Quirks—or the people who had them—for his master.

Not to mention, wherever it was that Mina planned to lead him, nothing guaranteed the aftermath would go smoothly.

She ended up unharmed in the show, sure, but that didn't automatically mean there weren't consequences for other people.

And I, standing here, couldn't just let them happen—whether they were canon or not.

The show was, after all, a shonen. They weren't exactly known for having the most… sanguinary authors, nor ones who consider such events to happen.

This, however, was real life, and here, anything could happen.

Which is why I was now here, with a broken arm, sprinting toward a guy about ten times my size, and knowing I have literally one or two percent chances of winning this shit.

I would stall for time—long enough for stronger heroes to arrive or, alternatively, long enough to show this guy that even if I wasn't at his level yet, he really didn't want to fight me to the death.

I'm not top-tier strong, but I am strong.

And I'm going to engrave that into his very being.

…

────────────────────────

-To Be Continued…-

────────────────────────

(A/N: Sorry for the cliffhanger, but I am quite the mischievous individual. The next chapter shouldn't take much anyway.

For those who are wondering how powerful Gigantomachia is compared to Taka, I am thinking of him to be stat-wise in the 50,000s. If you disagree, then please tell me so, because I'm honestly not too sure.

And since I'm entering into power scaling shit, I might as well tell you about other prominent characters that lead the power system of this world.

Have in mind this is just my musing, and I might be completely wrong and suck.

All Might: 500,000 (Prime); 30,000~60,000 (Weakened); 100,000 (Last fight against AFO)

Black anti-All Might Nomu: 20,000 (His Quirks do the rest of the job in letting him fight All Might toe to toe)

AFO (Physically speaking, his attacks probably can get further): 50,000)

 

[futurehousehusband]

Hmmm i would consider throwing him into the sun or into space

 

[The Synonym]

Hmmm i would consider throwing him into the sun or into space

Click to shrink...

The problem is that, having grown, his aura can't hold him up anymore.

 

[MorbiIIionaire]

The problem is that, having grown, his aura can't hold him up anymore.

Click to shrink...

Here's hoping that one day he gets strong enough to just throw people like that into space even big guys like gigat-... that guy lmao. Might get a reputation like Tatsumaki. Makes me wonder how much he's gonna interfere with future arcs lmao. Given that he can just either KO or "out of bounds" most opponents by now.

Anyways great chap, I wonder if he will finally learn self healing so he can be like the Glaze on sight "ninja" Hashirama lmao. Can his aura effect gas? Like midnight or mustard? Will he still be able to breath if he does? Has he actually thought of this yet lmao

 

[Omniext]

She ended up unharmed in the show, sure, but that didn't automatically mean there weren't consequences for other people.

Click to shrink...

Gotta love this. Just because the people who 'matter' get out of it unharmed, doesn't mean everyone did. And oh yeah, Gigantomachia did do that. Huh. Dunno how strong he is because I kind of skimmed over those parts of BNHA, but idk if he's got this- here's to hoping he does.

 

[Genilea]

according to my random ah calculations

Spoiler: calcs i used

death battle projected US of Smash to be 11667.7 tons of tnt
A ton of tnt is 4,184,000,000 Newtons of force
4184000 × 11667.7 = 48,817,656,800 Newtons
A metric ton of force is 9806.65 Newtons
48817656800 ÷ 9806.65 = 4,978,015.6118552206920813937481199 Tons of Force
4,978,015.61 approx

United stated of Smash from weakened All Might is 4,978,015.61 tons of force.
two thousand AP is 1 ton
so weakend All Might going all out is about 9,956,031,220 AP of force but he has leverage and is using physical force to make the whirlwind that deathbattle used to measure the force. Tho we have seen before in fic that in terms of raw single target damage strength can deal more damage than AP telekinetics per point.

 

[The Synonym]

Join my Patreon for more chapters, and you'll help me make ends meet while doing so.

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────────────────────────
[Clash]
────────────────────────

…

—Fwoooosh!!—

A colossal figure cut through the sky, almost like a falling meteor as it tore through the clouds.

A moment later, gravity reclaimed its hold, and the figure began to descend—its momentum still monstrous, even as it started to fall.

"What the hell is that?"

"Hey, that looks like it's coming in this direction, right?"

"Shit, what the hell is happening now? I'm gonna be late for my appointment!"

Below, people across the city looked up and pointed. Some shouted in excitement, thinking they were observing some kind of hero activity. Others, however, had better survival instincts and began running away in worry.

But just as the figure seemed upon them—

"Look, there!"

Another figure appeared from a distance.

It accelerated at a frightening pace, a sharp, deafening whistle trailing behind it as its speed climbed to inhuman levels.

And then, just as the collision of the giant with the ground seemed imminent, the smaller figure crashed into the giant.

—BOOOOM!!—

A thunderous shockwave rippled through the air, making people cover their ears and wince. The giant's falling momentum twisted violently, sending him rocketing upward once more, away from the area.

The smaller figure, however, recoiled slightly from the impact, hovering in place for just a brief moment.

That pause was enough for those below to catch onto his appearance.

"Rockinesis?!"

"What's he doing here?!"

"Holy hell—is he subduing a villain right now?!"

Excited voices erupted from those who recognized him, and for those who didn't, they were equally enthusiastic as they assumed he must have been a powerful hero, given the power he showed.

But before anyone could understand what was truly happening, the air around Rockinesis stirred as his figure blurred and shot after the giant, rapidly vanishing into the distance. Leaving people behind full of wonder.

"Not a single instrument in hand… Is this a serious fight, like against those three villains?"

"That guy he was fighting was massive… so yeah, probably."

"Go, Rockinesis, go!!"

"Beat his ass!"

Nearby, two patrolling officers stared at the distant contenders in disbelief.

Then they snapped into motion, raising their radios.

"We have a conflict between potentially A to S-class individuals in the upper-left zone of Funabashi! Requesting immediate reinforcements!"

"Moving currently towards the coastline through the sky!"

The radio crackled.

{"Received. Do you have visual confirmation of who these individuals are?"}

"Only one confirmed—Rockinesis."

…

°

°

°

| Back to the fight |

…

Taka tore through the sky like a black bullet, his dark eyes locked with unwavering focus on the flying giant ahead.

His aura flared, and his speed surged again, the world around him blurring—everything except his target.

"You won't stop me from obeying my master!!!" Gigantomachia roared.

Taka answered with motion.

He dove in once more.

Gigantomachia swung his arm, a massive blur of rock-like muscle and air.

—BOOOOM!!—

But just like before, Taka slipped through the titanic strike and drove another punch into the giant's body, blasting him backward and reigniting his unwanted momentum.

Albeit, at the cost of having the recoil blast him away again.

'Just a little more…' he narrowed his eyes as he stabilized himself mid-air, eyes glaring past Gigantomachia, onto the giant coast ahead. 'I can already see it.'

One more push, and this monster would be far enough from any populated area.

There would probably still be people, given how sparse civilization had grown. But it was better than fighting him in the middle of a residential area.

There, at least, the people would make a run for it when they realized what was happening. And an evacuation would take less time.

But it had already taken dozens of hits to force him this far. Gigantomachia's sheer mass made every fall stubborn and slow to redirect.

Fortunately, despite his overwhelming size, the man was slow… or at least compared to Taka's flight speed.

That alone was the only reason Taka hadn't been crushed already.

Even so, the violent storms of compressed air created by his wild swings as they missed him, but still caused such chaos, were terrifying enough.

But so long as he didn't let himself get hit in this last one clash that needed to be done for Gigantomachia to reach the coast, then those powerful strikes mattered little.

With a wave of determination hitting him, Taka surged forward once again.

He accelerated, already locking onto the zone where to punch, and predicting Gigantomachia's movements.

'One last hit—huh? What's he doing now?!'

But then, he was forced to hit the brakes on his flight.

Instead of winding up one arm like in earlier attempts, Gigantomachia drew both back.

'Shi—!'

—KRA-THOOOM!!—

The next instant, a devastating clap tore through the sky. A visible pressure wave exploded outward, forming a raging vortex of hurricane-force winds. The sound itself slammed into Taka like a physical blow, hurling him backward through the air and sending him spinning several meters away.

By the time he steadied himself, he felt something hot trickling from his ears, and a deafening ring drowned out every other sound.

But he forced the sensation down and quickly searched for Gigantomachia.

'That bastard…!'

The giant was already on his way down, falling straight toward a still-populated area beside the coastline.

Without wasting a second—and forcing down the pain in his ears—he shot after the villain.

On the streets, people pointed as many began to run. Gigantomachia's size was, after all, nearly twenty-five meters tall. If he hit the ground, the destruction would be catastrophic.

But just as disaster seemed inevitable, Taka's vertiginous figure swept down, slamming into Gigantomachia as the giant braced for impact.

—BOOOOM!!!—

Once again, Gigantomachia was launched into the air.

"You annoying weakling!" Gigantomachia's guttural roar echoed as he was sent flying, his hateful glare locked onto Taka.

The people below gasped as the villain was flung away, sparing several houses that would have otherwise been reduced to rubble.

Meanwhile, Taka let out a heavy sigh, watching as Gigantomachia finally soared over the coast in the distance.

'Finally.' He shook his head, then immediately followed after him—this time at a more controlled speed.

—SPLASH!—

Moments later, the giant crashed into the water, sending a massive explosion of spray into the air. Taka hovered at a safe distance above the scene, untouched by the falling droplets, as Gigantomachia sank into the mass of liquid.

As he watched the rippling water, Taka began reconsidering all of his life choices.

'Alright, I got him here… what the hell do I do now?' he mused.

His main objective—dragging the fight away from civilians—was accomplished.

Now all that remained was to end the fight.

'But how the hell do I do that?' Taka deadpanned, glancing down at his fist.

His knuckles were red from the repeated impacts. Yet he was certain that Gigantomachia's skin didn't even carry a bruise after all that punishment.

This wasn't a winnable battle. Or rather, it would require "beating Dark Souls with your bare fists" levels of patience to even think of winning.

Patience—and zero mistakes. If he got hit, he was almost certainly dead.

Or maybe just critically injured… if he managed to max out his defense at the last second.

Either way, that kind of fight wasn't part of his plans.

So he needed another way to end it.

Either stall long enough for All Might or another heavy hitter to arrive—or force Gigantomachia to retreat on his own.

He opened his palm, and a sphere of aura began to form.

'Maybe if I injure him enough, he'll realize staying here isn't worth it.'

If he remembered correctly, the guy was loyal to All For One, but still possessed a semblance of intelligence.

If he could make him see this situation as counterproductive to his master's goals, then maybe he'd retreat on his own.

—SPLASH!—

"AAAAAARGH!" Gigantomachia roared as he resurfaced, his voice thick and guttural.

'Maybe I'm hoping for too much…' Taka sweatdropped.

Either way, this was it.

He would either stall long enough for someone with enough firepower to arrive… or scare the monster off himself.

Whether or not he'd survive either option was still up in the air.

-Snort-

"What am I even thinking?" Taka muttered, closing his eyes and shaking his head—

—only for them to snap open the very next second, an ominous red light glowing within.

"This will be easy."

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE]

▸ Strength: 128 → 6816

▸ Defence: 2000 → 3000

▸ Aura Projection: 10688 → 3000

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Fueled by those delusional words and having reconfigured his build into a more balanced one that wouldn't get him killed in a single hit, Taka dove like a comet.

"Everything for the master!" Gigantomachia bellowed. Having swum into shallow enough waters to stand, he braced himself, massive arms ready to swat Taka like an insect.

And so, with the waves of the ocean crashing against them, their battle began in earnest.

Guttural groans and thunderous roars burst from Gigantomachia as he swung his fists and palms wildly. The air—and even the sea itself—churned beneath his titanic strength, whipping the battlefield into a raging storm.

Taka, on the other hand, surfed through that storm with amazing ease.

He weaved through Gigantomachia's relentless strikes as if the very wind guided him away from being pulverized. And every time he slipped past an attack, he made sure to land at least one blow.

The face. The chest. The abdomen. The shoulder.

Wherever there was even the smallest opening, he struck—no hesitation, no mercy.

His speed and agility overwhelmed the villain, who excelled in raw power and endurance, but clearly lagged behind in mobility.

Even so, that endurance was monstrous.

Despite the nonstop barrage of hits, Gigantomachia's skin showed no real damage—at most, a few shallow scratches.

Yet Taka's assault didn't slow in the slightest.

—BAM!—

—BAM!—

—BAM!—

—BAM!—

Along the coastline, behind the metal railing of the road circling the shore, a crowd had gathered, watching the colossal battle unfold in stunned silence.

"Holy moly… what is happening out there?"

"What do you think? It's a hero-versus-villain fight."

"Yeah, but who's even fighting? I feel like I'd remember a hero that strong. Look at him—he's moving insanely fast. And from how those punches sound from all the way over here… he's crazy strong too."

"Oh, oh, I think I read about him in the newspaper the other day… A vigilante who took over a concert for a bit. Though I didn't think he'd be that strong…"

"A vigilante? That guy, with that kind of power? Why isn't he just a hero instead?"

"How should I know?"

The people watched in awe as the battle raged on. Before long, even the police arrived at the scene. Unfortunately for the spectators, evacuation orders came quickly, forcing the spectacle to an end—at least for the civilians.

Behind the newly formed perimeter, officers stared at the distant clash with disbelieving eyes.

"Jeez… just where do guys like those even come from?"

"If I get told I'm being deployed to apprehend either of them, I'm resigning on the spot."

"Let's just hope the heroes get here soon… Those two are getting wilder by the second. The waves are starting to reach us from here."

"Scary…"

Back at the battlefield, the two contenders charged at each other once more—Taka darting forward like a streak of black, and Gigantomachia readying another storm of attacks.

But then, mid-charge, Taka suddenly dove underwater, vanishing from the giant's sight for a split second.

"Weakling, come out!!!" the villain snarled, scanning the surface as his eyes narrowed.

Then—

A figure burst from the water, shooting straight at him from his blind spot.

It was Taka, fist already wound back for another strike.

But just as he was about to connect—

"DIE!"

Gigantomachia spun around and backhanded him with monstrous force. A massive shockwave erupted as his fist smashed through Taka's crumbling form, bones surely shattering on impact—

—only for Taka's figure to suddenly vanish.

"…?!"

"Where are you looking?"

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE]

▸ Strength: 6816 → 11560

▸ Defence: 3000 → 256

▸ Aura Projection: 3000 → 1000

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

—BANG!!!—

In the next instant, a devastating blow slammed into Gigantomachia's lower back, sending a massive shockwave rippling through the water, creating waves that soon crashed onto the coast and soaked a few unguarded cops.

But back to the battle, for a moment, the giant staggered.

But just as he seemed about to topple forward, his legs dug in. He twisted around with a furious snarl and swung at his attacker.

"YOU… FOOLED ME!!!"

"Kgh—!"

Taka immediately shot backward, barely evading the incoming strike as he reverted his stats to their previous configuration.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE]

▸ Strength: 11560 → 6716

▸ Defence: 256 → 3000

▸ Aura Projection: 1000 → 3000

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

As he took his distance, and returned to a safe distance in the sky, stopping there to observe his opponent for a moment.

'Did that even affect him?' he wondered, narrowing his eyes at the spot he had struck.

That had been nearly a full-power hit—and he had landed it while Gigantomachia was distracted by his clone, which had cost him a hundred aura to create. To sell the deception, he had personally launched the clone himself, since its stats were mediocre at best and he wouldn't have shot at such speed towards the villain by himself.

Full strength, and the surprise factor... Both aspects combined should have let him deal some damage... And yet, the villain still stood tall, completely unfazed.

Taka shook his head with a wry smile behind his mask.

'Truly top-tier in this verse… Guess I'm really still not there yet.' He exhaled sharply as he caught his breath.

Though to be fair, the gap between the 'strong' people in this world, and the TRULY strong ones was absurd.

He was still in the middle. So it was no wonder he was quite lacking before this monster of a man.

'Let's not even think about All Might or All For One...' Taka snorted, before glaring at the villain ahead, and groaning in annoyance.

He still had energy to spare—his True Breathing Skill had been doing wonders to keep exhaustion at bay.

But the monster in front of him looked even less tired.

'I don't remember all of his Quirks exactly, but I know they boost his stamina somehow… Even a battle of attrition is a losing game.' He clicked his tongue as he realized his chances of pulling this off seemed slimmer and slimmer by the second.

However, after a second, a small smirk appeared on his face.

'But it's not like I'm out of options—'

"For my master!!!"

Taka's eyes sharpened as Gigantomachia suddenly accelerated toward him.

Instinctively, he flew backwards, retreating into airspace where the sea floor was so deep even the giant began sinking while following after him.

—and that turned out to be a mistake.

—BAM!—

In an instant, Gigantomachia kicked off the ocean floor and shot upward like a missile.

'Shit!'

A guttural grunt tore from both of them as Taka poured everything into Aura Projection to escape, while Gigantomachia unleashed a brutal upward strike in his direction.

—And, just barely, it was enough.

The blow missed by a hair's breadth.

Gigantomachia blasted past him and plunged straight back into the sea, while Taka hovered in place, breathing heavily as he watched the monstrosity vanish beneath the waves.

Then his gaze snapped toward the police barricade lining the coast.

Still no heroes in sight.

That was more than enough of a wake-up call.

'I need to end this now… or more of those mistakes might happen—and I won't escape in time next round.'

With a frown, he focused on the last card hidden up his sleeve—the one he had stubbornly avoided using until now.

He hadn't used it because it was, quite literally, the worst possible option in a battle where every single point of aura mattered, especially when his damage output was already lacking.

But right now, it was his only real chance to injure the bastard.

His mind flashed back to his fight with the three A-class villains—more specifically, the sniper—and the skill he had unlocked to deal with him back then. On that very first shot, he had dumped nearly 1,000 aura into it due to his inexperience with it. After that, he had learned to fake the intensity, using barely 50 aura per shot, letting the brightness rise instead of the heat.

But that very first shot—

Those 1,000 aura had been enough to melt concrete.

So… what would happen if he poured in the 10,000 he had right now?

'Guess there's only one way to find out.'

If even this didn't deter the guy, then he doubted he had many chances left.

So... he had to make this work.

-Gargle-

Below him, Gigantomachia had sunk once more into the depths due to his sheer weight. Roaring and screaming despite the water around him.

'Master… I'm sorry. I'm being delayed…!' the giant roared in his heart, gripping his sharp hair with his hands in frustration.

And, as his anger grew, the fire in both his will and his Quirk ignited as he empowered himself.

With a rumbling underwater groan, he activated his Mole Quirk—spines rising along his back like a visor, claws forming from his own flesh—and swam upward.

'This time, I'LL END IT FOR GOOD!'

—SPLASH!—

He burst from the ocean's surface, drawing in a massive breath as water exploded outward in every direction.

For a brief moment, he scanned his surroundings in confusion, half-expecting another ambush.

But then, he felt it.

His head snapped upward.

"...?!"

And he saw it.

High above, floating in the sky, a massive sphere of pure energy hovered over his enemy's palm. Red, glowing eyes gazed down at him with chilling calm.

For the very first time in the entire battle, Gigantomachia felt danger.

"Finally up again, huh?" His enemy's voice reached him, snapping him out of his daze.

Then, to his shock, the sphere began to compress—shrinking, condensing—becoming smaller, denser, brighter… and far hotter.

And finally, the man pointed it straight at him.

"Then, I'll say it again without reserves," Taka called out coldly. "Leave."

Gigantomachia growled before such words, his body tensing as if to charge once more.

But the voice continued.

"If you get injured now, whatever you came here to do will be delayed, won't it? If you retreat, you can try again another time. No need to risk it."

Those words formed a small silence between the two. With Taka silently pointing the energy at the villain, and Gigantomachia seemingly pondering his words.

Until—

"For my master, I'll do anything."

Gigantomachia charged.

A small pause of disbelief took over Taka.

But then, he laughed.

"So be it."

And he fired.

…

────────────────────────

-To be Continued…-

────────────────────────

(A/N: Wanted to finish the whole fight in this chapter, but that end was too good not to leave it there.

Sorry, but as stated in previous chapters, I'm quite the evil individual.

Also, what did you think about the image? Used IA to finish up a quick sketch I did, since it seems better at coloring than me.

Though, honestly, I think I could have done it a lot more detailed, so the image ended more epic as well.

But well, it's quite late now, so maybe in future chapters I'll be writing during the day and have the energy to make a proper sketch.

Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter. The next chapter should be the second-to-last before U.A.

See you then.)

 

[leks]

Yes, it's good image. Use them more often if necessary.