Chapter 28: Death Gamble

The moment I cut off my arm the momentum from Nomu's swing flung me like a baseball toward the shipwreck rescue area with a giant artificial lake, but as I was getting flung I made yet another bet.

In the hand of my now, only arm was a translucent gold card. Gripping I crushed the card in my hand as it broke into thousands of little shards of light.

[You have used the character card: Destiny's Child]

The ability to see a future or an opportunity. I was betting on it giving me the opportunity I needed—an opportunity I could take to kill the Nomu.

Visions of the future flashed through my eyes and I saw an "opportunity".

'I didn't know synergies existed!'

This was doable.

My body hit the water roughly after the vision ended, I felt vertigo overtake my body as it sunk but I did not close my eyes, instead, I opened my ability list.

(A/N: (+) or (rarity) represents the temporary buff from Cellular Overdrive)

___/Abilities\_____________

-Active(3/3)-

[ Elite - Phase Shift(+)]

[Elite - Frost Flare(+)]

[Rare - (The Fool)Rapid Recovery(+)]

__________________________

My body has recovered enough. I don't need rapid recovery right now; I can tough it out with battle continuation.

___/Abilities\_____________

-Active(3/3)-

[Elite(+) - Phase Shift]

[Elite - Frost Flare] =>[Uncommon(+) - Micro Hydrokinesis]

[Rare - (The Fool)Rapid Recovery] => [Common+(Uncommon) - Geyser]

__________________________

Then, I took it out.

My first roll, the first chip put on the table.

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[Epic - Deep Sea Knight's Anchor]

|Rarity: Epic|

An anchor imbued with the blessing of the hidden princess wielded by the knight of the deep seas. The weapon is unwieldy and immensely powerful. Wielding it doubles the strength of the user and boosts the power of all water abilities.

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A giant anchor appeared in front of me, nearly double my height, with a brutal appearance. It looked like it was almost sharpened, with barbed dull corners and the occasional rusty nails sticking out of the handle. I could already tell it was considerably heavier than the average car. The strength you would need to lift it with one hand would be around the same effort needed to lift a semi-truck.

But when my hand grasped the handle of the anchor I felt power flood my veins and my muscles tremble.

Then, a notification.

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Hidden option of [Epic - Deep Sea Knight's Anchor]

Synergy conditions for [Deep Sea Knight] met!

-[Deep Sea Knights Anchor]

-[Augmenter Ability(At least Elite)]

-[Hydrokinetic Ability(At least Uncommon)]

-[Water based Ability(At least Uncommon)]

____________________________

That's what I am talking about. The moment I said yes I felt power flood my body, the abilities I used being replaced with a set of different ones.

___/Abilities\_____________

-Active(3/3)-

[Epic - Deep Sea Knight(Combined Ability)]

Power of the Deep Sea Knight who guards the secret princess. Allows the user to wield the power of the deep seas and immense might. Controlling the waves and crushing their enemies with the pressure of the deep seas. Can only be activated while using the Deep Sea Knight's Anchor, the true power of the Anchor can only be unleashed with Deep Sea Knight.

[Indignation]: Greatly increases all physical parameters.

[Depth Crush]: Inflict the pressure of the deep seas on the world to crush all opposition. The target must be submerged.

[Hydrokinesis]: Allows the manipulation of the water that makes up the world around you.

____________________________

Power flooded my body, I felt the entire lake around me, bending to my will. I was dead tired and out of battery but...

I grit my teeth and forced my body to move, even though it hurt to, I willed the water around me to move. My body was already powerful, and when the Anchor was in my hands all of that was doubled.

Using the water around me, I propelled my body and launched myself out of the lake.

⚀—⚁⚂⚃—⚄—•⚅•—⚄—⚃⚂⚁—⚀

~Izuku Midoriya~

Izuku's mind was scattered and gripped with fear, he had watched as the monster brutalized Hakari. He looked up to Hakari and he was trashed just like that. He had wanted to move and help but his mind was paralyzed by fear. He couldn't even approach them from the harsh wind blowing from their rumble.

Now that the Nomu had mutilated Hakari, Izuku's body refused to move, he didn't know what to do, he wanted to move but he couldn't get himself to even though Kacchan had, sheer terror gripped every inch of him. Just as the creepy cerulean-haired man was about to speak...

Rumble.

Crack.

The ground cracked. Water leaked out from the cracks on the ground as everyone looked around cautiously.

Everyone including Izuku's eyes went wide as something impacted the ground and split the ground apart like a meteor covered in water.

As the shell of water fell apart like rain Izuku couldn't believe his eyes.

There stood Hakari, shadowed by water, a wide grin splitting apart his face, his body covered in scars like a cadaver, but perhaps the most striking feature was the gigantic rusty anchor he carried on his shoulder, nails stuck out of the handle, the chain of the anchor was wrapped around Hakari's arm. And in the place of his severed arm was a substitute made of water.

Water all around converged with him in the middle like the eye of a whirlpool.

The cerulean-haired man seemed shocked, taking a step back.

"What the fuck is he!? A hidden boss!? Sensei didn't tell me about this!' Seemingly hearing him Hakari smiled with a demonic grin that sent shivers down Izuku's spine.

"Yeah, and it's time for a TPK, League of Villains!" Saying that Hakari threw the giant anchor that probably weighed more than a car into the air casually and gathered water in hand before swiping it like a claw then...

Woosh!

Izuku's eyes could barely perceive a blue line flitter past his eyes and the whistle of the wind. Then the sound of flesh being rended. Like a creaking toy, Izuku turned to see the black monster standing in front of the stunned blue-haired man with several lacerations across its body, not only that but the wall behind it was cut into several pieces.

'Did he...? I couldn't even see it!'

Yet Hakari still simply smiled. As if expecting such a thing.

"Guess it won't be so easy to take him down eh? Fine then, let's do this then!" Izuku got up and tried to rush over.

"Hakari-ku-!" But before he was able to get close Hakari's eyes briefly met his own...

"But first, let me clear the arena. This is not a battlefield you guys can interfere in." Hakari's water arm lifted two fingers as several chains of water wrapped around every hero's and hero in training's body and flung them away from the middle of the USJ.

"Hakari-!" Izuku tried to object and pry the water chains off but he wasn't able to as he was flung away along with the others.

'Don't tell me to stay away! I don't want to stand by and watch my friends get hurt without being able to help again!' Izuku wanted to help since he wasn't able to before but Hakari had pushed him away.

Still, Izuku held a determined glare in his eyes.

⚀—⚁⚂⚃—⚄—•⚅•—⚄—⚃⚂⚁—⚀

~Hakari Kotaro~

I locked eyes with the Nomu, raging streams of water surged around me, I was going to put that thing down one way or the other. It took my arm, I was going to take its life, a simple trade.

My legs wound like springs before pushing off the ground with such force that I left a crater in my wake, arriving in front of the beast I uppercut it with the water arm I had, producing a shockwave from the power behind the punch, its head snapped up but visible no effect, complete negation.

Woosh!

It tried to grab me again but just in time I pulled myself down with chains of water, I gripped the anchor and swung it with both hands into the creature's side, producing a shockwave and cracking the ground below us.

Its kinetic energy absorption had a limit, I knew it, but considering All Might who can level city blocks with the shockwaves from his punches needed over a hundred full-force attacks, I didn't give myself a good chance of surpassing that threshold.

But that didn't mean I couldn't kill this motherfucker.

I leaned away from a punch that blew away the surroundings like a bomb and changed the shape of the water arm into several claws,

then ducked under its legs before slashing both of its ankles.

Swish!

Thanks to the boost from the perk Tough Claws, I managed to tear away its ankles, the beast looked quite confused as its body started falling without it being able to put power into its legs, of course, those tendons would recover in mere moments but I took the opportunity.

As it tried to turn and grab me, I swung the anchor and wrapped its chain along with a chain of water around its legs before pulling and sweeping the Nomu off their feet while they still held that dumb expression. I dug my feet in and spun my body, throwing the Nomu toward the Shipwreck Rescue Zone.

"Grrh!" My arm strained as Nomu grabbed and pulled the chain connected to me while being thrown away, pulling me with it. But fine, that was the plan anyway!

But suddenly, the Nomu seemed to have grown a brain as it suddenly pulled me closer with the chain and grabbed my waist, then sunk its fingers in. Its fingers pierced into my kidney, my stomach, my intestines, my ribs, the pain made my vision go white for a second, my body was already bruised and dying, and the pain was amplified tenfold.

I could barely maintain the control I had over the Cellular Overdrive, my body was giving out, I couldn't continue. The fingers digging into my side made my eyes go blank.

'The pain in your body is nothing compared to the flames of rage in your eyes. No pain can hinder your path! Rip him apart!' Half-Light spoke as all of the pain transformed into anger.

Crack.

I looked at the face of the Nomu that looked almost mocking, it almost felt like the face of fate playing me, it would take a simple tightening of its grip to bisect me. The fear that was present in my heart bloomed into a new kind of rage. Fine then.

'There is no way around it, it's time to bet it all! It's do or die, time to bet on yourself against death. Stare the abyss in the face and bet it all on yourself, you can survive it. Death is your bitch, she just hasn't realized it yet.'

If this isn't enough to overcome you, then I just have to go ALL IN.

'POLAR CHANNEL FLOW - CELLULAR OVERDRIVE STACK'

The veins in my body wore down as my body pumped blood like a jackhammer, just the beat of my heart was deafening to my ears. I used Cellular Overdrive on top of itself, I felt my hair grow at a visible pace but at the same time, I FELT GODLIKE.

My eyes refocused and snapped back to the Nomu, I saw red, the veins in my eyes had burst, what does it matter if you have a grip on my guts!?

I raised the anchor above my head, gripping it so hard veins appeared all over my arms, the might of a god gathered in my body, and my bones broke from the pressure I exerted.

Uncaring I slammed the anchor down on the Nomu with all of my might.

"BLUE HOLE!!!"

BAM!!! BOOOM!!!

I hit the Nomu so hard its body meeting the water caused the entirety of USj to shake, I felt my middle get torn apart but the pain only fueled my anger more. I created chains of water from the water that shot up to grab me before pulling me down after the Nomu.

My body entered the water and I saw the Nomu at the bed of the lake, perfect.

I reached my hand out toward it.

'The best way to kill Nomu is to slowly carve him apart.'

So it cannot deal with constant pressure as easily right!?

'Depth Crush!'

Suddenly, the Nomu's behaviour changed as its chest completely collapsed inward, forcing air and blood out of its body. Its body started distorting randomly as it experienced the weight of the deepest depths, the pressure of the bottom of the vast abyssal depths was inflicted on it at every moment, bearing down on the Nomu with thousands and thousands of tons of pressure.

The Nomu trashed around wildly, shaking the entire USJ and tearing apart the lake in a panic while suffocating all the while I forced water to surround him with Hydrokinesis. Then I gripped the anchor again and swung on him with a wild overhead again.

BAM!

The ground cracked. I was going to beat this bastard down. I slammed the anchor onto it again, and again, and again as it trashed for breath while I desparately surrounded it in a water bubble since the lake around us was scattered by the shockwaves, only pockets of it hung in the air as I used them to bind the Nomu.

BAM!BAM!BAM!BAM!BAM!BAM!BAM!BAM!BAM!BAM!

I swung desparately trying to put down the bastard that just wouldn't fucking quit. Its hand managed to grab me and gripped my remaining flesh arm as it tried to jump away from the lake like a wild animal, but unfortunately for it, I wouldn't stop drowning it even if it ripped out all of my limbs.

Either one of us or both of us were gonna die here...!

It was already losing a majority of the strength in its body due to skipping the holding your breath phase and going instantly to suffocation. And it wasn't smart enough to figure out the trick to Depth Crush so it would die soon.

But just as it raised a fist in the air preparing to punch me something I didn't expect happened.

"SMAAAAASHHHHH!!!" My eyes widened as Midoriya jumped toward us using One for All before punching Nomu right in the face, shattering its teeth and snapping its head back as I struggled to keep the water bubble stable from the sheer power behind the impact.

I couldn't help but smile as I turned to Izuku who seemed satisfied with punching Nomu away from me despite the pain. I suppose the assist always comes in clutch, this little rascal may have just saved my remaining arm.

"Izuku! You glorious bastard the fuck are you doing here?" I specifically flung him away since if he died during the fight things would be fucked but the little bastard just gave me a self-satisfied smile.

"It's a hero's job to jump in to help...! So don't tell me to stay away Hakari-kun!" I turned my head away from him and focused back on the Nomu, I could see the light in its eyes dimming, it felt Izuku's punch for real, as it died the power of its quirk decreased like all other vital functions because it was still a part of its body.

I gritted my teeth and slung the anchor over my shoulder once again before swinging it at the Nomu's head full force once and for all, and as the moment the large anchor met its face, its head disfigured as both our bodies reached the floor and the anchor smashed its head into the ground.

CRASH!!! SPLAT!

A loud crash rang out as my anchor split the earth and the Nomu's head was ripped apart like a rotten watermelon.

Using the last embers of my strength I used Hydrokinsis to make Izuku land safely on a water bubble as I shakily raised my body up and leaned against the anchor for support.

___/Abilities\_____________

-Active(3/3)-

[Epic - Deep Sea Knight(Combined Ability)]

=>

-Active(2/3)-

[Rare - (The Fool)Rapid Recovery]

[Elite - Phase Shift]

____________________________

The feeling of godlike power vanished from my body as I turned off Cellular Overdrive too, and all of the pain suddenly started coming back to me.

My body was only kept together by sheer force of will at this point, I switched to only Rapid Recovery and Phase Shift to conserve my energy, no, the vitality I was turning to energy, I activated Defensive Form to prevent my body from falling apart and numb the pain a little as I looked at the corpse of the Nomu below my feet in satisfaction.

And as I was doing so, suddenly, a loud bang and crash rang out as the doors to the USJ were busted down and then...

"Don't worry! Why!? Because I am here!!!" All Might had arrived at the scene.

Looking at the door he busted down I felt my eyelid twitch and a chuckle bubble up in my lungs, aggravating the broken ribs. Throwing my head back I opened my mouth. How hilarious.

"YOU COULDN'T HAVE COME JUST FIVE FUCKING MINUTES EARLIER!!!!!???????" 

My shout deafened the entirety of the USJ.

A/N: Hakari wins! Fatality! Always bet on Hakari. Even if he got roughed up a little.

Hakari really ate shit from the full combo fate and luck pulled on him out of the blue. Crazy how just how much a little change of All Might being late can do huh? Also, Izuku just earned bro status with Hakari after that, and Hakari as a bro will not let Izuku end up like he did at the end of the Manga.

Also, it all comes full circle! The first item he ever pulled was essential at the end of the first season. Also, synergies were always planned, and there are other potential synergies Hakari can achieve, Frostflare for example is the core of another Synergy ability.

What did you think about the Nomu fight and the USJ in general?Hearing your thoughts about it would really help. Your comments help motivate me and help me improve

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