The collision between Izuku and Kurotsuki shattered the storm above Kurogane Atoll instantly.
Green lightning and black distortion tore across the sky like opposing natural disasters while shockwaves rolled outward hard enough to disturb the ocean surrounding the island. Several already-damaged warships nearly capsized beneath the pressure alone.
Heroes across the battlefield looked upward instinctively.
Neither of them resembled human beings anymore.
Izuku moved first.
Gearshift activated at maximum output while Fa Jin detonated through his muscles simultaneously, pushing One For All beyond its normal limits. The air collapsed behind him as he accelerated toward Kurotsuki fast enough to distort vision itself.
His punch landed directly against Kurotsuki's guard.
The atmosphere exploded.
A circular shockwave expanded outward through the clouds while the force split entire sections of the island beneath them.
Kurotsuki slid backward through the air for several hundred meters before stabilizing himself.
Blood dripped faintly from his mouth.
He touched it silently.
Then smiled.
"So this is the power that defeated Virex."
Izuku didn't respond.
The strange energy that had awakened inside him during the battle against Raizen still surged violently through his body. Black-green lightning crawled across his skin while fragments of debris hovered unnaturally around him.
Even the vestiges inside One For All remained silent.
Watching.
Waiting.
Kurotsuki tilted his head slightly.
"You still don't understand what you're using."
Darkness erupted around him instantly.
The sky dimmed.
Not metaphorically.
Literally.
Light itself seemed to bend unnaturally around Kurotsuki's body while black matter spread outward like an infection across reality itself.
Danger Sense screamed violently.
Izuku barely avoided the attack in time.
Space behind him collapsed.
Not exploded.
Collapsed.
Entire sections of atmosphere vanished into black distortion before reappearing seconds later in twisted fragments.
"What the hell…" Bakugo muttered from below.
Even Star and Stripe looked disturbed.
"That's not a normal quirk."
Above them, Kurotsuki extended one hand calmly.
Black spheres formed around him.
Each one distorted gravity hard enough to fracture the air nearby.
Then he released them.
The battlefield became catastrophic instantly.
Izuku accelerated through the attacks while explosions of warped space consumed everything around him. Mountains disappeared beneath black distortion while sections of ocean surged upward unnaturally before collapsing back into massive tidal waves.
Kurotsuki watched him calmly.
"You're fast," he admitted. "But speed alone means nothing."
Then he vanished.
Izuku reacted instantly.
Too late.
Kurotsuki's fist slammed into his ribs hard enough to launch him through multiple steel towers before crashing into the remains of Garaki's surface fortress.
Pain exploded through Izuku's body.
Several ribs cracked immediately.
Kurotsuki appeared above him.
"You fight emotionally," he said quietly. "That is your weakness."
Black energy gathered around his arm.
Izuku barely rolled aside before the attack landed.
The entire fortress vanished.
Not destroyed.
Erased.
A massive section of Kurogane Atoll simply ceased to exist.
Even Izuku froze for half a second after seeing it.
Kurotsuki noticed.
"Fear," he whispered. "Good."
Then the fight escalated further.
Izuku unleashed Blackwhip from every direction simultaneously while Smokescreen engulfed the battlefield. Faux 100% detonated through his body before he attacked from multiple angles faster than sound itself.
Kurotsuki adapted instantly.
Every movement felt unnatural.
Like he wasn't predicting attacks—
but already knew them beforehand.
Their clashes illuminated the island repeatedly while shockwaves ripped apart what remained of Garaki's defenses.
Far below them, pro heroes and Nomu alike struggled just to survive the aftermath of their battle.
At one point, Kurotsuki caught Izuku's punch directly.
The impact fractured the surrounding atmosphere.
Then Kurotsuki looked directly into his eyes.
"You know what the difference between us is?"
Darkness spread across Izuku's arm instantly.
Pain erupted through his nervous system.
"You still think you're human."
Kurotsuki slammed him downward.
Izuku crashed through layers of underground structures before finally stopping deep inside the island itself.
The impact nearly knocked him unconscious.
Blood filled his mouth.
His breathing became uneven.
For several seconds, he couldn't move.
Above him, Kurotsuki slowly descended through the collapsing tunnel surrounded by floating debris and black distortion.
"You've already noticed it, haven't you?" he asked softly.
Izuku forced himself upward slightly.
"Noticed what…"
Kurotsuki's silver eyes glowed faintly in the darkness.
"That power inside you."
Silence filled the ruined chamber.
"You don't remember Shibuya," Kurotsuki continued. "You don't remember what happened to Virex."
Izuku's expression darkened immediately.
"What do you know?"
Kurotsuki stared at him for a long moment.
Then he answered.
"You killed him."
The chamber suddenly felt colder.
Izuku clenched his fists.
"I know that."
"No," Kurotsuki said quietly. "You don't."
Darkness pulsed around him.
"When your heart stopped in Shibuya… something else woke up."
Danger Sense screamed again.
Kurotsuki attacked instantly.
Izuku barely blocked in time before both were launched through another underground chamber.
Their fists collided repeatedly.
Faster.
Harder.
More violent.
Every impact threatened to collapse the entire island.
But slowly—
the balance of the fight began changing.
Izuku adapted.
Not biologically like Raizen.
Instinctively.
Every second, his movements became sharper.
Cleaner.
More dangerous.
Kurotsuki realized it too.
For the first time, he stopped speaking casually.
Izuku activated Gearshift again—
but this time differently.
The unknown power merged with One For All completely.
Green-black lightning exploded across the battlefield.
His acceleration multiplied beyond anything Kurotsuki predicted.
Then Izuku landed a direct hit.
The punch shattered Kurotsuki's guard entirely.
Shock crossed his expression.
Izuku followed immediately.
Detroit Smash.
Wyoming Smash.
Manchester Smash.
The attacks chained together violently without pause, each carrying enough force to level cities.
Kurotsuki was driven backward through the island itself.
Blood scattered through the air.
Heroes across Kurogane Atoll looked upward in disbelief.
"He's winning…" Toru whispered.
Even Bakugo stared silently.
Above the collapsing island, Izuku appeared before Kurotsuki once more.
His eyes glowed violently now.
Not entirely human anymore.
"I told you," he said coldly.
"I'm ending this."
Then he unleashed everything.
One For All detonated at maximum output while the unknown energy inside him erupted simultaneously. The combined force illuminated the entire ocean around Kurogane Atoll.
Kurotsuki tried countering.
Too late.
Izuku's fist slammed directly into his chest.
The impact split the sky apart.
For one impossible moment—
everything went silent.
Then Kurotsuki crashed downward through Kurogane Atoll hard enough to split the island itself into multiple collapsing sections.
The ocean surged violently around the ruins.
Smoke rose endlessly from the impact zone.
Heroes stared breathlessly toward the destruction.
Izuku floated above the battlefield, breathing heavily.
His body shook from exhaustion.
But he had won.
Barely.
Slowly, he descended toward the crater where Kurotsuki had fallen.
Rain began falling again.
The strange energy around Izuku flickered unstably now, almost alive beneath his skin.
Then—
Kurotsuki started laughing.
Weakly.
Quietly.
But genuinely.
Izuku stopped immediately.
Kurotsuki lay broken at the center of the crater, blood covering his body while dark cracks spread across his skin.
Yet he was smiling.
"You really are…" he coughed blood, "…the perfect vessel…"
Izuku's eyes narrowed.
"What are you talking about?"
Kurotsuki slowly looked upward toward the storm-filled sky.
And suddenly—
his body froze.
The smile vanished instantly.
For the first time since meeting him—
fear appeared on Kurotsuki's face.
"No…"
Dark veins spread violently across his body.
His breathing became unstable.
Black fluid erupted from the cracks in his skin while the pressure surrounding him multiplied uncontrollably.
Every instinct inside Izuku screamed danger.
Kurotsuki grabbed his own head violently.
"No… not now…"
Then another voice echoed from his mouth.
Calm.
Familiar.
"Thank you for weakening him, Izuku."
The battlefield froze.
Izuku's eyes widened immediately.
That voice—
Reiji Garaki.
Kurotsuki screamed.
Not physically.
Mentally.
The sound echoed across the entire island like something tearing apart from the inside.
Black flesh erupted outward violently.
Bones cracked.
Reality distorted around the crater itself.
Heroes across Kurogane Atoll stared in horror.
Even All For One, still fighting deep beneath the island, suddenly stopped moving.
Because he recognized that presence immediately.
Garaki was taking control.