Of course, even though he had decided to use Shinso to test the true effects of Apocalypse, Shigaraki hadn't forgotten the trigger condition of Shinso's Quirk.
Brainwashing activates when someone verbally responds to him.
All it takes is one reply.
One word.
And your body no longer belongs to you.
So there was no way Shigaraki would risk a conversation-based experiment.
He wasn't going to ask for Shinso's consent.
He wasn't going to engage in back-and-forth dialogue.
He wasn't even going to give the boy a chance to speak another sentence.
Because who knew?
What if Shinso decided to test him first?
What if he casually asked something, and Shigaraki—by habit—answered?
And then—
Game over.
Sure, it was only a possibility.
But caution never hurt anyone.
Carelessness did.
Better safe than compromised.
With that thought settled, Shigaraki moved.
Swift.
Decisive.
He stepped forward and brought his hand down sharply—
A clean hand chop to the back of Shinso's neck.
No Quirk.
Just physical force.
Because if he used Decay, even lightly—
Shinso might not survive the day.
And a corpse was useless.
You couldn't learn a Quirk from a dead body.
Thud.
Mid-sentence, Shinso's vision went black.
His body slackened and collapsed onto the pavement.
Silence returned to the alley.
Shigaraki glanced down at the unconscious boy, then scanned the surroundings.
Empty.
No pedestrians.
No cameras in sight.
No witnesses.
Good.
Without hesitation, he crouched and placed his right hand on Shinso's forehead.
Then, in his mind—
He activated it.
Apocalypse.
He didn't say it out loud.
He didn't need to.
The command existed in thought alone.
As for knocking Shinso out—
Well.
Shigaraki offered a silent apology.
Who told you to follow me?
And then get caught?
Still—
He wasn't unreasonable.
If he truly succeeded in learning Brainwashing—
He didn't mind paying tuition.
A proper one.
For example—
The Hero Course seat Shinso never managed to obtain in the original timeline.
Shigaraki knew the story.
At the U.A. entrance exam, Shinso had failed to enter the Hero Course.
Because Brainwashing was useless against robots.
No organic minds.
No responses.
No targets.
As a result, he was assigned to the General Studies Department instead.
And that—
Had always weighed on him.
Because in hero society, reputation mattered.
Most famous Pro Heroes were graduates of U.A.'s Hero Course.
The No.1 Hero, All Might.
The No.2 Hero, Endeavor.
Legends.
Symbols.
All from the Hero Course.
So naturally, among aspiring heroes, an unspoken rule existed:
If you want to become great, you must graduate from U.A.'s Hero Course.
Shinso, despite possessing a Quirk many deemed villainous—
Had always wanted to stand among heroes.
That desire never wavered.
But if things followed canon—
He would fail the entrance exam.
Just like before.
And remain outside the main path.
Shigaraki, however—
Didn't mind being the "unexpected variable."
If he mastered Brainwashing—
He could ensure Shinso entered the Hero Course.
After all—
A hero with a so-called villainous Quirk?
That would be interesting.
Very interesting.
Of course—
That reward depended on success.
First—
He needed to see whether Apocalypse truly granted him god-tier comprehension.
Whether he could dissect—
Understand—
Replicate—
A Quirk.
Shigaraki's eyes narrowed slightly as his hand remained on Shinso's forehead.
If this worked—
Then the rules of this world just changed.
And if it didn't—
Well.
He would still have other ways to deal with Brainwashing.
Either immunity.
Or elimination.
But he preferred the former.
Because powerful tools—
Were meant to be used.
Not discarded.
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