"A petty thief?!" All For One drawled through the screen. "An Upper-Tier Nomu is gone… and you say he was a petty thief, Dr. Ujiko."
Dr. Daruma Ujiko, real name — Dr. Kyudai Garaki, sat in the research in the basement of Jaku General Hospital with sweat claiming his bald head.
Two weeks had passed since the incident that had almost ended up blowing his cover, revealing the dark secrets hidden under the hospital.
If he hadn't acted fast enough, then the Pro Heroes would have easily found out the research lab.
There was a still massive presence in the Jaku City of Pro Heroes… led by All Might himself.
Since that night, they had been searching every nook and cranny of the city.
All this because of that person — one thief!
"I don't believe he was more than that, master," Kyudai said with reverence. "If he had known about the research lab, then he wouldn't have come here alone."
"Unless he was sure that he could leave without getting caught…" All For One added.
Kyudai gulped. "… yes, master."
"Hmm…" All For One rested his burned face on his hand. "How come the surveillance system didn't pick up on him?"
Kyudai remembered the sudden blurring of the screens. "All CCTV cameras stopped working…"
"… together?" All For One asked, sounding amused. "And you still call him petty thief, Dr. Ujiko? No. I don't believe that. I believe… that this was a well-planned attack. Things, of course, went wrong at some point for our dear friend."
"… how can that be?" Dr. Kyudai stroked his mustache. "He didn't steal anything significant…"
"Oh?!" All For One lifted his head. "So, he did steal something. What else aren't you telling me?"
A chill ran down Kyudai's spine.
"I am hiding nothing, master," he hurriedly said. "It was just… this wasn't anything worth troubling you over.
"The only thing missing is the box containing the official reports we stole from the Hero Public Safety Commission.
"Those reports covered the Naruhata Incident in detail, even going as far as to relate No. 6's background to you, master.
"However, there was nothing in there that could truly link the incident to us or the Nomus…"
All For One briefly remembered one of his greatest creations — Number 6.
"What else do we know about this… thief?" he asked.
Kyudai brought up a video on the screen.
It had been taken from the hospital's parking lot.
The blurry video showed a Nomu fighting with a man wearing a white lab coat and a black mask to hide his face.
Then, another video appeared, showing a red-glowing dog exploding, taking down a Nomu.
"An explosion-type Quirk?" All For One asked, sounding interested.
"It's hard to say…" Dr. Kyudai replied. "All I can say is that there's no such Quirk in Pro Heroes' registry…"
"A Vigilante?" All For One guessed. "Is that why he stole Naruhata files… Hmm? Where's the box?"
Dr. Kyudai's body went taut.
He replayed the entire parking lot video.
Yes. There was no sign of the stolen box containing reports.
"He wasn't alone…" All For One said, straightening himself. "What do you think about this new piece on the board, Dr. Ujiko? The Villain who caused the Meta Puppets incident."
All For One was very interested in the Meta Puppets ever since he had read about it.
However, even after months of manhunt, employing many Villains, they hadn't found any hint of the person behind the incident.
"Do you think your petty thief and… him… are the same?" All For One asked, leaning forward.
"I don't think so, master," Dr. Kyudai answered. "If he was the same person, then why not use his Puppets for such a job, instead of putting himself in danger…"
"Ah…" All For One leaned away from the screen, smiling. "You don't know people, yet, Dr. Ujiko. We all long for excitement in our lives… I've decided.
"Put a bounty on this thief. Also, send our new Nomu to Shigaraki. It's time to move forward with our plan. Thief or not, this man now knows something is going on under the hospital. So…"
"… I've already transferred everything to another hideout," Dr. Kyudai nodded.
All For One nodded. "By the way… what our friends on the Heroes' sides are calling him?"
Dr. Kyudai remembered talking to their spy at the Hero Public Safety Commission, learning a name.
"They are calling him —"
…
Tomura Shigaraki looked at the image on the bounty poster in his hand, scratching his neck.
Shigaraki, mentored by All For One, had the Quirk — Decay. He could disintegrate anything that he touched with his five fingers.
He had doll-like hands all over his body and another hand was over his face as if someone was grabbing him.
"Don't take him lightly," Kurogiri warned, cleaning a glass of whiskey. "If your mentor has put up the bounty, and has taken an interest, then he is certainly worth our caution."
Dressed as a bartender, Kurogiri had a mist-like body, including his head.
He had the Quirk — Warp Gate, which he could use to create and manipulate a dark fog from his head and hands. This fog acted as a portal to another location.
"I will contact all the villains we have been gathering," Kurogiri said, taking the poster. "After what happened to Brain Thief, not many are willing to work for us…"
Shigaraki scratched the other side of his neck a touch harsher.
Brain Thief had hired them for protection. Kurogiri had then hired another Villain who was well-suited for the job.
Now, Brain Thief was dead — slaughtered in a dark alley.
The villainy business had stalled ever since.
"Haha…" Shigaraki laughed. "… I will find whoever did that and kill him… That's what you get for going against us… Haha!"
Kurogiri narrowed his glowing-yellow eyes, and then he looked at the Nomu Dr. Kyudai had sent him this time.
A Nomu created to take on All Might…
"Has he come back?" Shigaraki asked.
Kurogiri nodded, staring at the newspaper resting on the bar. "They are saying All Might will return to UA tomorrow, leaving the officials to continue the follow-up on the Jaku Incident."
Grinning, Shigaraki stood up and walked up to the Upper-Tier Nomu who had punched All Might in the guts.
"Hey… what do you think will happen…" he said, smiling through his eyes. "… when the mighty Symbol of Peace is killed by the Villains?"
Shigaraki patted the Nomu's exposed brain like a pet and then kept walking.
"Where are you going?" Kurogiri asked. "We have a plan to follow…"
"… You follow the plan," Shigaraki said, looking over his shoulder. "I am going to have a first-hand look at this place… UA High School…"
Seeing Shigaraki walking out of their hideout, Kurogiri sighed and dialed a number.
"Well, Kurogiri, my boy!" Giran, the well-known broker from the underworld, screamed from the other side. "Here I thought you would never contact me after losing a client… Haha!"
"I have a commission," Kurogiri said, keeping it professional. "Spread it as far as you can. Dead or alive."
"Ah…" Giran replied, amused. "Who's the lucky one?"
"Sending the Bounty Poster…" Kurogiri said. "They call him —"
" — Dr. Blessed."
**************
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