Chapter 93: 2/6 Potential of Eri

"What an unsanitary dump. This is your base of operations?" A pale man of slim build with short, shaggy auburn hair parted to the right asked as he studied the factory. His most unique was the plague doctor mask he had, which was covering his mouth.

"Sure! You think I'd bring you to our base right off the bat? This is just a rendezvous point." The man who replied had a black and gray bodysuit covering his body completely, along with gray boots. His signature mask's upper half was gray with white eye sockets while the lower half-covering his mouth was black.

"Gimme a break. This place is dusty as hell...I'm gonna catch something."

The man with the bodysuit wasn't fazed by the complaints he was receiving about the place of rendezvous and just replied, "Relax...the guys inside are already pretty sick."

He opened the door, revealing exactly five villains.

"Whopper? You being sarcastic, league of villains?"

"This guy is famous?" Mr. Compressor couldn't help but ask, seeing the plague masked man's appearance.

Himura just smirked and replied, "My teacher showed me his picture once. He's Yakuza. The young head of the Shie Hassaikai."

"What makes him so different from us?" Mr. Compressor couldn't help but ask curiously.

Tomura sneered and explained, "In the past, the underworld was controlled by several big, bad, scary organizations. As heroes came about, these groups were exposed and slowly dissipated. Then All Might arrived and eradicated them all."

"The dregs that never got caught went on to serve as underlings for villains. Under constant surveillance, they lived destitute lives." Himura continued from Tomura's explanation, "To put it bluntly, they're like a protected species whose heyday has passed."

"Well...you're not wrong about all that." The young Yakuza heir stated monotonously before pointing towards Tomura, "I'm curious. I thought your quirk was sealed, and you were captured by the number zero hero. How come you're here?"

"I-"

Tomura was about to speak, but Himura interrupted and smirked at him as he explained, "My failure of a brother got himself captured and his quirk sealed by the rank 0 hero. Pay him no mind since he would be worthless to us anyway."

"For now." He continued to mutter under his breath.

Tomura didn't appreciate the disdain and wanted to retort, but the Yakuza heir interfered, "Alright. I don't care about your internal discords. In fact, continue to have fun.

Now, you guys might be wondering why I came to you guys today. All for One's fall is a huge deal to all of us who dwell in the shadows. The Emperor of Darkness who ruled over the entire underworld...the guy was like an urban legend to my generation. The old guard, though...they were always gossiping that he'd up and died."

"Enough about my teacher's downfall. Tell us what you came here for." Himura interrupted.

"Relax. I was just about to get to the point." The heir calmly said, "Anyway, He then showed up in the flesh and got locked up in Tartarus. So now...both the light and dark sides...are leaderless."

For the first time since he stepped here, the heir's eyes showed some emotion.

"The question is...who's gonna step up to lead?

Himura stepped forward and said in a grave tone, "If you're saying this, knowing full well who my teacher is...is this a challenge?! But you're not a match for me. So obviously, the next leader's gonna be me."

"I'm gathering forces and expanding our operation day by day. And I'm gonna use that power to annihilate this society of heroes."

The heir wasn't surprised by this development and asked, "Got a plan?"

"A plan? Didn't you come here...to join our little gang?" Tomura sneered before he was rudely slapped.

"What?!"

"Enough, Tomura." Himura coldly said as his right hand slowly went back down to his side, "The moment your quirk was gone, you became worthless. It's not 'your' gang anymore. It's mine."

"You dare?!"

"Hmph...seeing your little show, I have already made my decision. I don't think you even have a plan, seeing that internal arguments are still prevalent. What happens once you've expanded? How're going to use these people? What's your management strategy for this organization. And the most important question, can you even work together? Or are you going eventually separate and become small-time villains?"

The heir launched a barrage of questions non-stop as he stepped closer.

"Starting with the hero killer, Stain...then the carnal murderer, Muscular...then the death row inmate, Moonfish...then the magnet transgender, the lizard man. Even the most important shapeshifter you have, you lost it."

Listing one example after another, the heir sneered, "All of them were heavy hitters operating under you, but they got beaten and caught. Almost like you didn't know how to use 'em, right? You can barely handle the ten or so wackos you've already got, and you wanna recruit more? No point in amassing power you can't control."

The heir patiently explained his motives, "You need a solid plan to make your goals a reality. And I'm the man with the plan. So no...I didn't come here today hoping to work for you."

Just as Himura berated Twice lightly for bringing applicants that didn't want to join their gang, the heir continued explaining, "The plan I've got requires a ton of cash, but no one out there is crazy enough to fun some small-time Yakuza throwback. But if you guys and the name you've made for yourselves were involved, it'd be a different story. So join me. I'll become the next leader...and put you to fair use."

"Sorry, mafia boy. But we didn't come together to serve anyone. The other day..."

"Hm?" The 'mafia boy' raised an eyebrow and asked, "And who the hell are you?"

"You?!"

"Yeah, Himura. Now you even recruit trash like that guy? Someone whose name I don't even know. Great."

"You!" The cannon fodder (that I didn't bother mentioning since I just needed someone to die) rushed forward and screamed, "DIE!"

The heir didn't flinch and just gently tapped the arm of the dashing man.

SPLAT!

The dashing man's upper body burst into pieces, killing him immediately.

"Your side made the first move." The heir said as he started rubbing his own arms, "Urgh...filthy! I hate this part."

Mr. Compress wasn't happy. Seeing that he was dangerous, he decided to 'compress' him and seal him away.

His hands reached out, but just before he reached the heir, he felt something sting on his arm.

"Don't touch me!" The heir yelled as Mr. Compressor's arm was blasted into pieces.

"YOWWWWCH!" Mr. Compressor screamed in pain as both sides started fighting.

However, a giant being suddenly entered the building just as Himura de-atomized a guy who suddenly appeared in front of him.

Unknown to them, a pair of eyes had been watching them ever since the Yakuza heir walked into this place.

Not caring about the end result of this little skirmish, the pair of eyes blinked and disappeared into the shadows.

"Eri...prepare yourself to face your old trauma..."

*****************

Back in school, life passed on as per usual.

Most had extra work-study to attend to, while some don't. Nevertheless, all the students had to juggle between their work-studies and everyday school life.

However, Shido didn't have time to pay close attention to his student's growth. He was planning for something much bigger.

Today was a Friday. He didn't have work today since he took a leave, which meant that he was free to carry out his plans for the next two days.

"Eri..."

"I know, Shido." Eri gave a small smile as she opened up her arms, "Do it now."

"Michael." A key appeared in Shido's arms.

"Shifurū," Shido muttered as the key in his hands lit up again.

The light soon went away as what appeared to be a halberd in his hands.

"Be ready...three...two..." Shido counted down, but before he reached the number one, he stabbed it inside Eri's body and turned it slightly anticlockwise. He was careful to not turn it too much. Otherwise, Eri's body would not be able to handle the sudden burst in power.

He turned the key seventy degrees. He saw Eri gritting her teeth in pain as a glow of light started to shine from her.

He was about to take out the halberd, but Eri hurriedly prevented him from doing so by grabbing the halberd and not letting it go. He saw Eri nodding her head, and he got the meaning.

Shido sighed once more and continued turning the halberd anticlockwise. Eighty degrees, ninety degrees, a hundred degrees, a hundred and ten degrees, and eventually a hundred and twenty degrees.

Like the last time, when Shido reached the next milestone, the hundred and twentieth degrees, Eri just completely let go of the halberd as she started screaming her head off.

"ARGH!!!"

Shido hurriedly dispersed the halberd before going towards her and hugged her. The moment Eri felt someone hugging her, she instinctively hugged back, crushing Shido's body within her arms. And as if that wasn't enough, her head leaned forward to his shoulders, and she started biting on it.

"Déjà vu?" Shido thought before he shook his head, "It's the exact same situation."

[A/N: Which means copied and pasted]

After a while, Eri finally stopped biting and fell back asleep. While wiping the sweat off her head with a towel, Shido checked with Rasiel about her changes.

To say that he was surprised was an understatement. The quirk and body changes were huge this time.

After getting over his surprise, he placed Eri's head on his lap and gently caressed her head, patiently waiting for her to wake up. Although he cared for her, she would eventually reach a limit if she didn't execute his plan, even if he helped her unlocked one hundred percent of her potential.

Time passed as Shido continued to stay in his position without moving. The next 1/6 must have been much more painful for Eri to endure. Unlike the last time, she only woke up after three hours, just in time for lunch.

"Mhmm..." Eri groaned a little as she slowly got up from Shido's lap, "Shi...do?"

"I'm here."

*****************

"Are you ready now?" Shido asked as they stood in front of a door that belonged to what seems to be a traditional Japanese home.

"Truthfully? I don't know..." Eri honestly answered as she looked at the towering gate.

"You wanted me to bring you along to other worlds, right?" Shido asked, to which Eri nodded her head vigorously. Shido said, "Then you'll have to become much stronger than you currently are right now. I have no idea about the other worlds, and it might not have laws and order like our modern society. It's just a guess, but we can't place all our bets on the world being peaceful."

Looking at Eri seriously, he stated, "However, one law will always be valid. Everywhere, people follow the law of the jungle. Whoever is stronger will always get what they want, even in this warped society of ours. Take All Might, for example. If he wasn't injured and didn't have a sense of justice, he would have become the greatest villain that no one would be able to stop if he chooses to do so.

Thus, always believe in your own strength only."

Eri was a little shocked at his revelation but nodded her head determinedly. She was resolute in not dragging Shido down. She wanted to walk beside Shido, not behind. She didn't want to always be protected.

"Must I kill people?"

Despite all that, Eri was still only a twelve-year-old girl who had lived nothing but a peaceful life ever since she met Shido. She might know that Shido had killed, but she had never done it. Purposefully, at the very least.

"You don't have to. But the person who had tortured you for a few years before, he must definitely die. As for the others, you can remove their quirk or just leave them unconscious." Shido shook his head and replied, "Your quirk, body, and martial arts are powerful. So just believe in yourself. I won't help you unless it's absolutely necessary."

"Y-Yes."

"Now, open the gate." Shido commanded as he slunk back into his shadows, observing from within.

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