Chapter 6:

Nezu, the principal of the prestigious school of the UA Hero High School, frowned as he observed the remains of the Queen Bee that used to inhabit the body of a young high school-age girl. Agents from Might Tower had come to collect the remains of the creature and Nezu was called in to help them figure things out. Not only was he an animal with a quirk himself, but he was incredibly smart. Something that Sir Nighteye needed at the moment.

Naturally, he jumped at the chance to show off his intelligence. It was just…not something he was expecting. He was an animal while the deceased creature before him was an insect that relied on a hive mindset. One might think that insects were already perfect in a way. Sure, they were small but they adapted to the world as is. They were incredibly intuitive but limited.

"This is strange, it seems to be a manmade alteration rather than a nature-based one." Nezu finally spoke after much observation. "We both know who is capable of that."

"I was afraid you'd say that," Mirai replied with a frown, but you could see the fear in his eyes. "So All for One is behind Trigger."

"Or at the very least, he is backing the project," Nezu replied but the notion did not make him feel any better. "The question is…why? We know that he is controlling the criminal underworld from the shadows and he is not above causing chaos. Is the drug just to cause that or has he run out of time in a way? Is he trying to perfect the drug in order to power himself up or…a future successor."

"You don't think," Sir Nighteye gulped, "He is trying to transfer his power into others much like One for All can, do you?"

"That I am unsure of, but I wouldn't be surprised if he thought of it in a more twisted way." Nezu sighed. "It is All for One after all. If he managed to do that, he would have devised a way to control the person who gained his power which leads me to believe he could potentially create an army of All for One at his beck and call, but powered up with Trigger. We have seen what it does to the mind, muddling it and sending others on a path of destruction with that of a simple suggestion."

"Then…Toshinori will need to keep his power in a way." David's voice came over a microphone as a nearby TV showed his pale face. "I know he has already chosen the boy, but he will need help in fighting a potential army of All for Ones. I will need to figure that out soon, but I have ideas."

"That might be for the best, however, like All Might, he will need to be his own symbol for the people and I get the feeling he will bring others to the table." Mirai replied.

"Speaking of the boy…how is he recovering?" Nezu asked. "This Chakra ability of his is both a blessing and a curse if it could put him into such a state after using too much of it."

"He is recovering rather quickly, something he warned could be a thing," Nighteye replied in an exasperated tone. "He mentioned being an Uzumaki has its perks."

"A family accelerated healing ability? Fascinating!" Nezu replied excitedly. "Oh, how I wish I could have seen this Village of his…too bad it is in another dimension entirely."

"You actually believe that he is not from here?" David asked with a miffed look.

"Indeed I do," Nezu replied cheerfully. "Quirks themselves are unique and come in a grand variety. So why not the very world? I subscribe to the Multiverse Theory after all. In this world, I am a talking animal thanks to Quirks but what if I was a talking animal due to this chakra in another? Naruto is able to summon a variety of wonderous animals but oddly seems connected to toads of all things. Like he had been able to speak with them but is unable to in this world. The theory in my opinion could be plausible."

"I suppose that makes sense," David replied as he moved around on his end. "I guess I should get started on that idea then. I'll call back later with the results."

XXX

"For a ninja, you are not very good at keeping your powers a secret." Himiko snarked with expressions of amusement and worry for her adoptive brother. She had been the first out of their group of friends to truly learn of his past. He would tell the others later since things with Trigger were calming down.

"I certainly wouldn't call him a ninja…with all his monkeying around," Soga grumbled as he looked over the kid who knocked himself out to save Grampa Fist's daughter. The kid was scary strong, but that power of his was like a double-edged sword. "But he did a good job pulling that bee thing out of Knuckleduster's daughter. Shit was scary."

"Speaking of that…when are you going to tell the others that your idea of training involves you being a vigilante?" Himiko asked her brother while smirking at Soga. It seemed to her that Soga was more than a common street punk if he was involved in any of this. He did seem to care about kids in his own way.

"I wasn't planning on it, but if makes you all feel better, I will. Don't worry, I won't go dying in some back alley." Naruto assured her.

Himiko gave him a deadpan stare. "You helped known Vigilantes and Ingenium's hero agency take down a runaway cat bus before it could kill anyone and then immediately found the person who set it all in motion thanks to Trigger. Said person was a high school-age villain that was being controlled by a hive of bees and then you removed it by capturing her with huge toads and then using your Rinnegan, pulled it out of her missing eye with gravity. Finally, you preceded to kill it by being the living embodiment of a bug zapper that nearly killed you. A series of events that happened in broad daylight and something I never thought I would have to say out loud."

"I see your point, I was a bit hasty in dealing with that. It makes me sound like I want to die in broad daylight instead of in some dark alley alone." Naruto replied somberly as he pulled the girl in for a hug. "But I don't plan on dying either way. We still have our dreams to achieve."

"You idiot." Himiko cried out in a muffled tone.

"I know, I have heard that many a time." Naruto chuckled a bit. "You guys will meet soon, I promise."

XXX

Toshinori grumbled to himself as he dialed a number on his phone. He did not want to do this. He really did not want to do this but it had to be done. He had already decided who his successor would be and this latest incident proved that fact to him that he had chosen correctly. Naruto was a good kid who involved himself in where he should not, the true essence of being a hero.

All Might's issue was…he wasn't sure if he'd be a good enough teacher for these powers. He had done some research on some of the old holders of One for All, but he felt he was also just scratching the surface. So, he figured he would call someone for both issues.

"Huh, who is it!?"

"It is me, Toshinori…I need your help….Master." Toshinori got out but anyone could tell the man was riddled with fear. His Master had put the fear of god in him after all.

"WHO?"

XXX

"I am glad you didn't die, but don't do something as reckless as that again!" Kazuho cried as she hugged Naruto in Koichi's apartment.

"We are technically heroes, so I cannot promise I will not get hurt. But I will be more careful." Naruto replied but blushed as Kazuho sat down on Koichi's bed and put him in her lap. He momentarily forgot that he was a kid again, making this easy for Kazuho to do. Still did not make this any less embarrassing.

"Still, you did pretty well Naruto, let's just try to avoid self-injury next time," Koichi replied with a serious look. He was the second oldest out of all of them and it was the kid that did most of the work and paid the price for it. He felt he needed to be a better role model, especially since Knuckleduster was still in the picture. Speaking of him, Koichi spied the older man leisurely reading a newspaper on the floor. The article included Naruto's efforts on the bee villain, but like with most vigilantes and underground heroes, it gave the praise to a licensed hero. This time being Ingenium, who was more than willing to cover for the kid.

"Again, no promises." Naruto sang cheekily, causing Knuckleduster to snort. "So, anything interesting happen while I was out?"

"Well…" Kazuho mumbled while hugging him tighter as if he were a security blanket. "Pop Step was invited for an official performance request."

"Whoa, seriously? Congrats!" Koichi replied excitedly to his friend.

Kazuho nodded but frowned as she was still unsure. "They emailed me through my blog, asking if I'd join some sort of live event on the department store roof near the station."

"Ah, an advertising ploy." Naruto commented while nodding sagely.

"It's super cool though!" Koichi cheered. "It is like you are a true-blue Idol now!"

"But…I dunno," Kazuho replied self-consciously, making Koichi and Naruto view her in a new light. "Objectively speaking, people just see me as some singing street performer."

"Naw, you got a ton of fans out there as we know a couple of middle schoolers who are your top fans." Koichi replied good-naturedly.

"But they would be comparing me to other performers. If I screw up on a big stage, they will be disappointed and desert me. I guess I should not do it…then again, a chance like this does not come around often. What…what do you think, Koichi?" Kazuho asked with a slight blush, wanting his opinion for multiple reasons.

Koichi himself looked uncomfortable for reasons of his own. He figured that no matter what he said, she would take it the wrong way and he honestly was self-aware enough that he knew some of his words would sound off. "I believe in you, but I do not have a good answer, I might mess that up. Naruto, Master, what do you two think?"

At that, Kazuho was a bit floored that Koichi thought out that response. It was embarrassing, but she might have lashed out at him if he gave the wrong answer. She was glad, however, that he believed in her. She was not sure she wanted to know the gruff old man's opinion, but she was more curious about her unofficial little brother's opinion. So, she stayed quiet to listen.

Noticing Knuckleduster's look that basically said that he should go first, Naruto put on a thoughtful look. "This could be a good way to boost your career. Sure, it may not be the big-time stuff you are into, but most stars do not start off big, but small and work their way up. It would look good for you and if you are nervous, that is normal. Just think of it as a learning experience and being one step closer to your dream. Whatever you do, I support and believe in you. And if you want me to join, I will. That way you are not alone."

That was not an answer any of them expected of a kid. He really was more mature than he let on. It was strange but comforting at the same time and it made them all smile. "Wait, can you even sing?" Kazuho asked curiously.

"A bit, but I do not do it often. I have written some stuff, an exercise my therapist gave me once upon a time." Naruto replied with a shrug. "Honestly it was more about writing poetry to express my feelings of the past but lyrics work just as well. They are basically the same thing."

"Well said," Knuckleduster replied with a smile as he got up to leave. He had business to take care of. "Just get out there and do it best, yeah? Oh, and you help her out too, Koichi. If the kid is in on it, so should you. Naruto when you are done, I want to talk to you later." With that, the older man left the small apartment.

"Yeah, I'll do what I can." Koichi replied with a smile to the girl, who blushed a bit but smiled back. He honestly thought he had a good idea on how to help her and that was to add in additional help from a professional! He just hoped she would not be mad at him.

XXX

"What's up?" Naruto asked as he exited the building to see Iwao standing there waiting on him.

"After we make sure Tamao wakes up and is fine…we are going to have to cut our training short, at least for a little while." Iwao replied grimly.

"Any particular reason why?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Trigger is still out there kid and my sources tell me a major supplier is operating out of China. So that is where I will be. You stick with Koichi and Kazuho, they will still need you as I believe this is not truly over. You being here was just to dip your toes into this hero/vigilante mess but you proved to be a lot more capable than I thought you be. Stick with each other and you will go farther than just with me. As for Tamao and Soga, help them out a bit too, will ya?"

"Of course. Want me to tell them where you are going? As for my fighting style, Aunt Rumi is still really pushing me." Naruto replied.

"You can tell my daughter what you want, but for the others, they do not need me around as much as they think. It is time to see how far they fly and them wondering where I am might help." Iwao replied with a smirk. "Keep up the good work with Mirko."

Naruto watched as the man left in a parkour sprint across the rooftop. It was always sad to see a mentor go, but they too had their own lives to live. For him though, it made Naruto nervous to see the man go as he was a mentor like Jiraiya and it always pained him to think about how Jiraiya perished and how that could happen to Iwao. But this man would just brush off his concern. Naruto just had to believe that he'd be able to see him again one day.

XXX

"What the heck is she doing here?!" Kazuho asked with a glare to Koichi as he ushered in Makoto! She did not expect to bring in the college girl that worked for Captain Celebrity for something as simple as helping her with the department store event.

Off to the side, going over a planned event that All Might invited him to, Naruto chuckled as he watched the interaction. "So, he got you in on this?"

"Yup! I was the right lady to come to this about Akatsuki!" Makoto replied cheerfully before setting her sights on Kazuho. "I am looking forward to working with you Pop!"

"Did Koichi tell you about us or did you figure that out on your own?" Naruto replied cautiously while Kazuho just about had an aneurysm.

"Nah, I figured it out myself," Makoto replied. "I already had a feeling that Koichi was the Crawler or the Crueller as everyone loves to call him and the bus incident proved that theory correct. What I did not expect was to be proven right that Naruto here is Akatsuki right after being saved. Good job on saving the girl by the way." Naruto smiled and nodded at that. "As for you being Pop Step, I figured it was obvious since you all hang out together so much. By the way, where did Mr. Knuckle go?"

"Oh, he left a little while ago. We figured he had things to do at home now that his daughter is back." Koichi replied with a shrug.

"Fair enough," Makoto replied, smiling. "First, the event in question aside…I promise not to breathe a word about your masked escapades to anyone! That is me protecting my sources. Second. If you will allow me more of an active role in this event, I'll basically consider it a job!" Makoto smirked a bit and she put an arm around Kazuho and whispered, "And I have no intention of messing with interpersonal relationships in the workplace, heh."

"I-I've got no idea what you mean by that!" Kazuho replied nervously but just as lowly so Koichi could not hear…not that he would understand anyway.

"Sure," Makoto replied a bit too cheerfully. "Final point! I am the best of the best if I do say so myself. If there is something you need done, feel free to rely on me! Assuming of course that you do not have any other reliable people in mind. Okay?"

"Reliable people…" Kazuho replied. "I wouldn't say that Knuckleduster would be very reliable in this and I already have Naruto and Koichi's support so…I agree." Anyone could tell there was some reluctance to her agreeing that Makoto could help. She did consider the older woman a rival of sorts for Koichi's clueless ass. But she was more reliable for this than she would care to admit. Hell, Makoto had more know-how in the business and entertainment worlds anyway.

"I actually have a question." Naruto interrupted.

"Fire away!" Makoto replied.

"I plan on joining Kazuho in this endeavor, so I hope you can include me. That being said, in your hero work, have you helped the Cap with formal events?"

"I am glad you feel like you want to be part of this! I will see what we can do with all the information provided." Makoto cheered. "And yes, formal events are part of the job when dealing with his agency. Have to butter people up after certain events after all. Why?"

"Well," Naruto mumbled as he got her the paper he was looking at, causing her eyes to widen comically as she quickly started piecing things together. "I was invited to this gala event since those inventions were my idea and he figured this would help me in the long run. But I have never been to one. I am sure Mom and Mirai have a few things planned as well to help, but I wanted your opinion as well."

"Wow, so you are the kid the medical industry is in a tizzy about. Congrats, Naruto!" Makoto replied cheerfully making Kazuho and Koichi glance at each other before shrugging. "Assuming Mirai is Sir Nighteye and your mom is Lady Nagant, then you are in good hands with us. It is always smart to surround yourself with people smarter than you are in other subjects. I would love to help where needed."

"Sir Nighteye? Lady Nagant is your MOM! Are you close to All Might too?!" Koichi asked as he got in Naruto's space.

"In a way, yeah." Naruto replied nervously.

"Think you can get me a specialized hoodie?!" Koichi all but screamed in Naruto's face.

"That is what you take from this? Sure, I will see what I can do." Naruto deadpanned alongside Kazuho as Koichi cheered.

Ignoring all of this, Makoto just smiled excitedly. "I love being tested like this with all these projects! Let's focus on the Department Store Plan and the then Gala event." Opening up Kazuho's laptop, she searched for said department store event earnestly. "First off, let me see what we are working with. According to the email you got, you are invited to perform at a free live event hosted by a department store. It is going to be at the Marukane Department store. That is one of the buildings that got damaged by that rampaging monster, so it is closed for repairs. This event they are holding is meant to drum up business for the grand reopening. The event space of the roof has a 300-person capacity, but this thing is going to be free. No tickets are being sold. The store's official website mentions that this coincides with the opening of a food court on the roof. So, they are using the term live event loosely. The audience will be mostly shoppers walking by while getting lunch, I suspect."

"That sort of show, huh?" Koichi commented absentmindedly. "Like a traveling theater, neat."

Makoto nodded to that as she read and deduced even more. "They are focusing on recruiting local amateurs and indie performers who can easily fit in something like this into their schedules. Now, none of this is going to cost a ton of money or time, so I bet they are hoping to spice things up with some exciting local talent like yourselves. You can think of this as a neighborhood karaoke tournament. So, you adding in Naruto to your act, Pop, will be easy. Or on his own and you sponsoring him. Both work."

"That is it? Sounds like an easy win for you two." Koichi replied, ignoring Kazuho's grumble about being made fun of somehow by insinuating that all of this was going to be a crappy version of a karaoke night.

Something popped into Makoto's mind and she gained an awesome idea. "What do you say we really blow these sponsors' minds?"

Naruto and Kazuho looked at each other and then said, "We're listening."

XXX

"There we go!" One phone call later and Makoto gained a manic excited look in her eyes. She had just gotten her boss's approval and got Captain Celebrity to join in on this endeavor. In her mind, this helped to further along Pop Step's career as a pop idol, introduce Naruto to entertainment, and further help Captain Celebrity's image issues! It was brilliant! Naturally, Naruto, Kazuho, and Koichi were on the fence about the idea, but she got them to agree. She could be very persuasive when she wanted to be!

"Now for the sponsors." She said excitedly as she dialed a number on her phone. For his part, Naruto was rather impressed that Makoto was going so far on this. It was scary to watch for all of them but that came with the territory. Plus, Naruto idly wondered if this is how he looked when planning pranks. "Hello? Marukane Department Store? I am Tsukauchi, the chief manager of Captain Celebrity Agency. Can I speak with your event planner?" After a few moments, someone got with her and Makoto was off like a bat out of hell. "Yes. We are in full support of your proposed goal, so we are not asking for any compensation in return for the C.C. guarantee. Right so if you are willing to simply credit C.C. for his cooperation, it would be mutually beneficial, publicity-wise."

"This is inspiring but scary to watch." Naruto commented in awe.

"No kidding." Kazuho replied, watching intently until the woman finally got off the phone and smiled at the group.

"Basically, I used Captain Celebrity's name to make this event bigger and better. More of a concert than a karaoke competition. The extra costs will fall to the agency, but we will make up for that with ad revenue."

"Wow, you sure are a go-getter, Makoto." Koichi replied in awe.

"Of course. I said I would help and now I am." Makoto replied. "Plus, now I get to play a part in this event as a rep for C.C.'s agency. Together, we will make this concert one to remember!"

"Right!" Kazuho replied, suddenly very grateful that she was getting this kind of help for a mere department store event from such an awesome person. "Thank you."

"As for you, Naruto." Makoto replied with more excitement in her eyes, "C.C might not like it, but having All Might, Captain Celebrity, I-Island, Endeavor, the Yaoyorozu's, and the medical industry in this event will make it all the better for these products to fully kick off. I cannot wait to get started with this!"

Yep, Naruto had unleashed a monster.

XXX

This Gala event was quite the gathering of important people and it was all to help raise money for a kid around her own age who brought ideas from his old village that had great use around the world. It was amazing that she had never heard of this boy, Naruto Uzumaki, until today. Her own family, the Yaoyorozu's, the Todoroki's, All Might's entire agency, the Idaten agency, Captain Celebrity's agency, a few high-profile scientists from I-Island like David Shield, a bunch of high-profile people in the medical industry like Recovery Girl, Principal Nezu of UA, and others were all here at this gala and it was amazing. Whoever this Naruto kid was, he was friends with some amazing people to get all these people under one roof!

Momo herself was the same age and she researched a lot of things for her own quirk just to be of use. She had to be because she was either going to be a hero with her multipurpose quirk or the next CEO of the Yaoyorozu Conglomerate, a large company that dealt in support items for heroes. She had the mind for both at her age already, so why not? As for her Gala attire, she wore a fancy red dress with fine jewelry and some fancy shoes. She wanted to wear those fancy high heels that her mother wore but the woman paled and told her no and that she would thank her later. Ah well.

Still, this Naruto kid was already impressive and she felt that if they became friends, it would be beneficial. Her only issue was finding him because for goodness sake, ever since the event started, he completely disappeared. The event was for him! Not that many of her parents' rich friends cared all that much but she needed to talk to someone her own age. Someone her own age that was not a Todoroki. They knew each other well enough by now and she was not a fan of talking to a brick wall all the time. Whatever his dad put him through, it turned the kid into an ice block!

As she was looking for Naruto, she caught sight of a weird phenomenon that no one was paying attention to. She noticed a partygoer talking to someone important, walk off and disappear, only to reappear and the other person would try to continue where they left off. The problem was, they had no recollection of what was said! Now, Momo was smart and observant. She noticed another odd detail in that when the person walked away, their eyes would turn into a concentric set of blue rings.

She was about to confront the next person who had this set of eyes, only for them to walk behind a pillar and appear as the man of the hour himself! What kind of quirk did all that?!

"Your observation skills are pretty good for a rich kid. You are the first person to notice what I was doing and track me, bravo!" Naruto responded with a big carefree smile before offering his hand. She noticed that for a kid, he cleaned up nice in a dapper three-piece black suit and an orange tie. "Makoto and Sir Nighteye would kill me if they found out I did this, would you mind not telling on me? I am Naruto Uzumaki, by the way.

"Momo Yaoyorozu, nice to meet you." Momo replied swiftly. "Your secret is safe with me; I am not even sure how you did it. Whatever it was, it was slightly entertaining and a breath of fresh air against these events. They are…admittedly quite boring for people our age, I am afraid."

"I had a feeling that was the case," Naruto replied while scratching the back of his neck and keeping up his smile. "As for how I did it, my eyes are connected to my quirk, Chakra. I am able to do a lot of things with it from manipulating the elements to a point to creating minor illusions."

"Oh?" Momo's eyes widened in extreme interest. "That quirk has so many uses! Much like my Creation Quirk! So fascinating!"

"You think so?" Naruto asked. "How does your quirk work?"

"I can create any none biological item I want as long as I know the chemical formula it is made from and as long as I have enough fat lipids stored in my body. As a matter of fact, your food pills will help me greatly in this field so I do not have to gorge myself like other food-reliant heroes like Fat Gum have to. So, I thank you." Momo explained with a slight bow.

"I do what I can but you have to be incredibly smart to pull all that off. I am impressed." Naruto praised with wide eyes. "I know I am not the smartest person around but I do know that I seem to surround myself with some really intelligent people. People like Izuku, Mei, Melissa Shield, and others. Say, would you mind being another friend in that group?"

"Would I?!" Momo exclaimed excitedly before reigning herself in a bit. However, an air of bounciness and pure happiness came off her being like radiation. "I don't have very many friends myself, so if you are willing, I would love to be friends." After a moment's thought, she looked towards the ever-stoic Shoto and said, "Perhaps you can convince Shoto Todoroki as well. He always seems lonely but it is difficult for me to get him to open up."

"Flame beard's kid?" Naruto asked, causing Momo to give off an unladylike snort but nodded nonetheless. Naruto smirked that he got her to smile and show a little more emotion than that of a prim and proper princess. She was still a kid after all and he was determined as her new friend to help her out. He felt the need to do so and he would. "Why not? Let's go find him."

XXX

Enji Todoroki, also known as the number 2 hero Endeavor, stared down at the kids who came over to chat with him. Scratch that, they wanted to talk with his son. He did not have time to fraternize with children, but they also did not have time to be at another of these gala events but here they were! "What can we do for you?"

"Hello, Mr. Todoroki, we just wanted to see if Shoto would like to mingle with us for a little bit. For kids like us, these events are incredibly boring and we thought it best to group together." Momo suggested, causing Enji to look more closely at the two children in front of him. One was the Yaoyorozu girl that frequently tried to talk to his son and the other was actually the Uzumaki boy this whole event was centered around.

"I suppose that would be fine." Enji grumbled before walking off. He had little patience for this event and even less for children that he was not molding to be able to beat All Might!

"You aren't going to win any favors by being anti-social, Endeavor." Came the voice of a drunk Captain Celebrity. Oh great, now he had to deal with this clown.

"How do you mean?" Enji asked, deciding to humor the American Hero.

Chris smirked and did not seem to care that his presence annoyed the flame hero. "You can fight all you want against the will of others, but kids will win in the end. Trust me…I have tried." At that, Chris gained an extremely exhausted look as he thought about Makoto, Koichi, Kazuho, and Naruto himself. Not to mention his annoying cheer squad comprised of middle school guys.

"Being as weak-willed as you are, I am not surprised to hear that from you," Enji growled, more so when Captain Celebrity drunkenly hung off his shoulder. Enji REALLY wanted to go full Endeavor and burn the man off of him but then would look bad. Damnit.

"You are so uptight, my man." Chris slurred. "You got to get laid! There as has to be some beautiful lady here that has caught your eye."

"I am fine, thanks." Enji replied stiffly. He was too focused on getting to be the Number 1 hero and beating All Might once and for all to be distracted like that! Not to mention he was still technically married.

"You sure are no fun. Everyone needs to let off steam every now and then." Chris complained.

"And what would your wife think about you egging other men off to your lifestyle." Makoto bumped into the conversation before Enji could lose his cool with the man still hanging off him. However, Enji noticed that Chris had frozen up before standing at attention to this young woman. It was humorous yet annoying at the same time. And it became even more annoying, bordering on teeth grinding when three more joined in. He just wanted to be left alone, but All Might, Lady Nagant, and David Shield just had to join in!

XXX

Shoto did not know how to respond to Naruto suddenly throwing an arm around his shoulders and leading him away with Momo to two other people close to his own age. He expected to be bored out of his mind at another high society gala while the rich jerked each other off. He had resigned himself to being bored like usual.

"I am not going to tell you to calm down, but I could feel your anger from across the room." Naruto started, causing Shoto to pause in his thoughts.

"But my face shows nothing? Did Momo put you up to this?" Shoto asked incredulously.

"Nah, I was looking to get you away from old flame beard for a while now," Naruto replied with a smirk, making Shoto's eyes widen just a bit at the name his father was called. He even heard a giggle from Momo, surprising him just a bit more. "You see, one of my Quirk's abilities, Chakra, allows me to sense emotions, almost like an empath. And boy do you have a lot of anger directed at your dad, so I do not have to look at your blank face for that. I do not know what that is about, but I figured some relief was in order and Momo provided the best answer for that."

"I see." Shot had a hard time believing that but whatever. Momo did often try and speak with him at these events and admittedly he was rather cold to her. Perhaps he should apologize to her later. It seemed that she was just trying to help as this kid was.

"I am Naruto Uzumaki, by the way," Naruto added as an afterthought. "So, I hope hanging out with Momo and I won't be an issue."

"I am Shoto and Father says my purpose is to one day surpass All Might. He has a problem with me doing little else." Shoto intoned.

Naruto frowned at that and Shoto's mind idly wondered why. "Well, all work and no play makes Shoto a dull boy."

"You did not just quote The Shining!" Momo giggled in mirth but alas, Shoto did not get it.

"I did," Naruto responded cheekily. He liked to see her cheerful for some reason. Much better than the solemn girl she was before, just going through the motions of high society life. "What I meant, Shoto, is that you cannot work on that all day every day. You gotta relax and maybe get a hobby."

"Father can be difficult about that, he separated me from my siblings." Shoto admitted, making Naruto frown at that again.

"Well, someday he will just have to get over you having your own life. To incentivize you into being friends with us, my mom is technically dating All Might. They are not public yet or anything but the signs are there. So, your rebelling and spending time with All Might's kid, who is not blood-related, sparks a bit of interest. Right?"

Shoto gained a bit of fire in his eyes. Technically he was already rebelling against his father by not using that man's fire, so why not more? Yes, Shoto did like that idea. "I don't mind being friends with you." Turning to Momo, he said, "I apologize for being cold to you. It is how I deal with my father and it is hard to break out of that."

"Oh no, it is fine. After hearing a little of your life, I get it. I look forward to being friends." Momo replied cheerfully.

Friends…that sounded nice. Shoto liked this.

XXX

"I am glad we finally get to meet in person rather than over video phone." Melissa stated cheerfully as Naruto, Shoto, and Momo came over to where he and Tenya Iida were chatting. Talking to the partially mechanical boy, thanks to his Quirk called Engine, had given her ideas she wanted to speak with Mei about. Not to mention, being able to help Naruto with his Asura Path.

"It is nice to see you as well. I also saw your dad, I guess I-island is serious about helping out with my ideas." Naruto commented.

"I told you that one of your inventions would help people like me with quirks that require people to eat something." Momo supplied happily.

"Correct. Your adoptive sister, Himiko, also benefits from your Blood Pills. And I am sure there are other Blood Quirk users, like Vlad King, that would greatly appreciate it. I know the hospitals will." Melissa confirmed.

"Indeed!" the Iida boy cut in with an actual chopping motion. "I am Tenya Iida and the food pill benefits my family as well! Changing it from food to juice and you help us refuel our quirks! However, I am more curious about the applications of this 'Chakra Pill."

"Oh right." Naruto said, "My Quirk, Chakra, is a quirk that was highly prevalent in my old village to the point that they created the chakra pill to quickly refill our reserves. We learned early on that if we use it all up…we die."

"A drawback I believe is too much," Melissa replied with an angry look while the others looked uncomfortable, even Shoto. That angry look soon went away though. "That is why my father has three ideas to improve this pill. One is a super pill that would overcharge your chakra back to you in the event you were ever that close to death…again. The added benefit the rest of the time is supercharged attacks. The second variant is something I came up with. Change it from chakra to pure energy for those with Energy base quirks. The third is for those with Emitter type quirks, like you, Shoto."

"Me?" Shoto asked.

"Correct," Melissa confirmed. "You see, this third pill to help with your type of quirk exhaustion and reset you in a way. Much like with chakra, it will be able to refill your reserves of things like Ice or Fire."

"I will not be using Endeavor's Fire." Shoto replied quickly and with a flat voice, but Naruto sighed as he felt Shoto's anger reach a high point. He needed to figure out how to help Shoto with his anger and his quirk aversion. Something Izuku told was somewhat common.

However, Melissa just nodded to that point. "Either way, it will help you. If I am correct with Ice Quirks, they tend to freeze the body, it could potentially reset this to help you last longer with Ice."

"Huh…" Shoto replied with a far-off look in his eyes as he thought about that.

"I figured you all would expand on these intentions, but I did not think it was going to be this much. Melissa, you and your dad are something else." Naruto praised the blond girl, making her blush.

"Aw, thank you, Naruto. We egg heads have tons of ideas after all!" Melissa replied with a sweet smile.

"Enough about, the pills, let's all get to know each other a bit better. Oh, and Shoto, Momo, Tenya, your friend group will get bigger as I know quite a few people our age and I am sure you will like them." Naruto replied as he watched them all smile at this. Well, Shoto did not but his emotions got lighter. Out of all of them, he had a feeling that Momo and Tenya would enjoy this and he would have to ease Shoto into it a little bit at a time. Momo could help him with that.

XXX

Detective Tsukauchi sighed as he walked into an orphanage with an uncomfortable look on his face. He was doing this investigation for his friend, Toshinori aka All Might. However, these types of investigations into protentional family members did not end well. Toshinori was lucky he got a kind and caring sister in Inko. That personality type didn't often stick with kids given up to an orphanage at an age where they could remember their parents.

Still, he hoped to find out where the first child of Nana Shimura ended up. It had been a long time after all. Maybe this would end up being a positive experience.

XXX

"So, Doctor, have anyone from those new underground arena piqued your interest?" A tall white hair man asked with some humor in his voice. This was All for One, looking sharp as ever in his black suit.

However, the man before him was an old decrepit man in a lab coat with a near-deranged look on his face. Dr. Garaki smirked back at his employer, "Quite a few, actually. The group known as the Bombers for being rather violent, even for Mirko's taste. the Tatewaki boy with the time field power, either you could use that to great effect or I could study it...intimately. Then there is the Akatsuki boy that runs with the Naruhata Vigilantes as well as the arenas. Whatever power he actually has is fascinating!"

"Indeed...and that is the one I want to most." All for One replied with a fear-inducing grin, which turned into a look of confusion at Dr. Garaki's completely frozen form. Not frozen with ice, mind you, but just plain rooted to the ground. Oh, there was also a bit of stone was the crumbling away...that explained it.

"Of course you do. With a power as versatile as that...you could do a lot more." A new voice replied with a sickly sweet hiss, their glowing yellow slit eyes being the only thing visible in the darkness of their lab.

"Must you freeze every time you come back to the lab?" Dr. Garaki complained, but he already knew the answer.

"Dear brother, I find it to be...entertaining. Besides, I would never hurt someone as precious to me as you now would I?"

"Entertainment he says." Dr. Garaki grumbled. Ever since All for One gave his brother the Petrification Eyes, it had been this way. It did somehow aid his aching body...so he couldn't complain too much. Then he noticed the body in the dim light. "Oh, found another Quirkless, have you? Getting closer to your goal?"

The yellow eyes glowed with mirth as the man in the shadow chuckled. "Yes, and this one is already close to being broken. I find it so entertaining, breaking minds the rest of the way, watching as sanity crumbles away like ancient ruins. And this one's medical mind has put him so close to the razor's edge, I just had to snatch him up."

All for One just watched the scene between the two brothers with a smile of his own, even if he felt a touch of sadness. Him and his own brother could have been like these two, but the will of that one had been too strong. Shame. Still, he would help these two brothers with their own goals because they coincided with his own in a way. One wanted to create ultimate beings that he would eventually use for his own purposes while the other...wanted to be the ultimate being. And he needed the quirkless for his research. Strange, but it was fun to watch. "Would like you like some help in hammering in the final nail? I have recently picked up a strange death quirk from a funeral home."

The eyes glowed in intensity at that. "Yes, that would be entertaining. Watching as the doctor sworn to save lives, take lives instead. Ku ku ku!"

A/N: Please Support Me On patreon.com/The_Alchemyst