A few minutes earlier.
All Might was leaping between the buildings of Gamma Field, his massive body cutting through the air with ease while his mind raced.
The plan was simple.
Separate the two boys.
He and Midnight would handle Ryo. Meanwhile, Mr. Incredible and Frozone would deal with Dash.
All Might would be the point of rupture.
The first contact.
Separate Ryo from his partner and guide him to the strategic point he had agreed upon with Midnight.
He landed in a narrow street of the industrial complex, the impact echoing off the metal walls. The place was tight, full of pipes, suspended walkways, and deep shadows.
"...This place really is confusing," he commented to himself. "Maybe Young Dash was right about this maze."
He raised his gaze to the sky above...
And then lowered it again.
A silhouette was standing at the end of the street.
All Might narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Huh?"
The figure tilted its head up slightly.
"Hey..." a voice echoed down the narrow corridor. "It's been a while."
All Might raised an eyebrow.
"Is this for real?"
Ryo was there, right in front of him.
"For real, real," the boy continued, taking a few steps forward. "I came here to face the Symbol of Peace... head-on."
All Might furrowed his brow.
"I didn't expect such boldness from you," he replied. "But too much boldness often becomes foolishness."
He settled into his stance.
"Or do you have some plan to face me?"
Ryo laughed from behind his helmet.
A loose laugh, almost happy.
He raised his right hand and tapped his thumb twice against the helmet, as if tapping his own forehead.
"Bingo!"
His aura began to stir lightly around his body.
"I went through hell in that dimension," said Ryo, his voice taking on a strange tone, too cheerful for the content. "Every minute... with no rest. No break. Not even a pause for tea."
He spread his arms wide, as if embracing an absurd memory.
"Thousands of you. Coming from all sides. From above. From below. Giants. Tiny ones. Fast ones. Strong ones," he laughed again. "Punches. Kicks. Throws. Explosions. Crazy powers that shouldn't even exist together."
The green aura began to thicken.
"I got hit. A lot. Non-stop," he continued, with a crooked smile All Might couldn't see. "That's why I was forced to learn... learn EVERYTHING about YOU!"
All Might listened, genuinely confused.
"What is this young man talking about...?"
"Learning your patterns." Ryo pointed at All Might. "The way you move. The timing between one attack and the next. How you shift your weight before punching. Even when you fake an attack and don't follow through."
He tilted his head.
"I analyzed every version of you. Every size. Every combination of power."
The energy around him crackled.
"I kept adapting." His voice grew lower... and sharper. "Creating countermeasures against you that updated every minute. Learning how to do new tricks with my Quirk."
He took a step forward.
"I grew so much, so much that I even developed a new martial arts style!"
Ryo spread his arms like someone announcing the climax of a show.
"All of this..." he said, with an almost childlike enthusiasm. "...just for this moment! The moment when I would face the real thing someday!"
He pointed directly at All Might.
"And that is exactly the reason..." the green aura around him suddenly vanished. "...why you're going to lose today."
All Might let out a low chuckle.
"I'm going to lose?"
He clenched his fists.
"Our fight is just getting started."
Ryo looked up at the sky, as if disappointed... and yet excited at the same time.
"Oh? Is it? Yeah... Maybe it is!"
With a single step, All Might shot forward with a punch, but Ryo simply turned his body to the side, as if he had been expecting it.
The fist passed through empty air.
All Might's eyes widened slightly, and he pivoted his torso, trying to hit him with the back of his arm.
But Ryo had already vanished.
All Might instinctively turned his head to look behind him.
Ryo was suspended in the air a few meters back, upside down. Two fingers were extended, a green energy condensing at their tips, his eyes not straying from the hero for even a second.
Energy Release: Gamma Sphere
The small green sphere was fired.
It struck All Might's abdomen and dragged him down the street, tearing through the asphalt until he crashed violently into a building. The collision triggered a massive explosion of debris… followed by a second green explosion, which swallowed the area.
On the other side of the Gamma Field, Dash felt the ground tremble.
He turned his head toward the distant column of dust and smoke rising into the sky.
"Takeda…" he murmured, concerned.
He shook his head hard.
"No. Focus on the plan."
And he shot off again through the curves of the industrial maze.
Back at the confrontation, Ryo kept his gaze fixed on the point of the explosion.
The smoke parted, and All Might emerged from it at high speed.
The punch came too fast for ordinary eyes to follow, but Ryo defended perfectly, crossing his arms—still, the impact sent him hurtling backward through the air.
Ryo stabilized himself in the air with ease, gliding on controlled bursts of energy… until a truck was hurled toward him.
He caught it mid-air, spun his body, and threw it back.
All Might tore straight through the truck, splitting it in half, and was already upon Ryo, trying to land another punch.
Ryo dodged with precise bursts from his hands and feet, using All Might's own arm as a momentary pivot before landing a dropkick squarely on the hero's face.
All Might was sent flying back.
But not without grabbing Ryo's leg.
The two shot off together, hurtling through the air until they crashed into a building and burst through to the fifth floor.
Dust filled the space.
When it settled, it revealed the two of them face to face, mere centimeters apart.
Silence fell over the area as they stared intensely at each other, both waiting to see who would strike first.
And that person was Ryo.
He unleashed a rapid series of strikes. All Might responded in kind, but Ryo dodged with ease, landing precise blows on the hero's torso… until he spun and landed a precise hook on the left side of his chest.
Exactly where the old injury was.
"Gh…!" All Might grunted, feeling the pain shoot through his body.
Even so, he didn't retreat.
He increased his speed and power, managing to land a blow that sent Ryo flying out of the building. Without hesitation, he followed, landing a punch, then another…
The third one didn't connect.
Ryo dodged with a short burst, appeared behind All Might, and struck him with a powerful kick, sending him hurtling in the same direction Ryo had just been thrown.
All Might collided with the ground, tumbling several meters before adjusting and rising to his feet.
Ryo landed a few meters ahead, and both froze in the same instant.
Until Ryo slid sideways and opened his palm.
A gigantic explosion erupted, completely swallowing All Might and the scenery in front of him, forcing the hero to raise his arms to defend himself as everything around him was consumed by the green wave of destruction.
Despite the explosion, All Might emerged from the smoke in a perfectly executed tumble and landed on the ground, gouging a trench in the asphalt. He looked up, surprised by the trail of destruction before him.
"I… am I really fighting a teenager?"
"Hey… don't get distracted in the middle of a fight."
The voice came from behind.
All Might turned in an immediate reflex—and saw nothing.
"…?!"
Before he could react, Ryo had already slid behind him. A green sphere of energy compressed in his hand and was slammed into the hero's back.
BOOM!
All Might grunted from the impact.
And it didn't stop there.
Ryo retreated and advanced at an impossible-to-follow pace. One sphere. Explosion. Retreat. Another sphere. Another explosion. The ground cracked, the air vibrated, and within seconds Ryo became just a green blur, circling All Might like a living web, darting back and forth without giving him room to react.
The hero's body was bombarded relentlessly by the spheres Ryo struck him with.
"Tch…!" All Might tried to plant his feet, but it was useless.
Ryo appeared in front of him and drove a brutal knee into All Might's stomach. The impact was so strong that the shockwave pushed away the surrounding cloud of dust.
All Might's body arched, the air forced from his lungs.
He staggered back, one hand pressing his abdomen… his leg buckled.
And then he fell to his knees.
His head hung low, body heavy, breathing with difficulty.
Ryo walked toward him calmly.
"What's wrong?" his voice came through his helmet's speakers. "Drop a coin or something?"
All Might answered only with a rough grunt.
"Something is off... Something is really off..."
He lifted his gaze with effort, staring at Ryo standing before him. The boy tilted his head slightly, his helmet reflecting the green light still pulsing around him.
"Get up," Ryo said, firmly. "I'm not finished with you yet."
That's when All Might realized.
He had underestimated Ryo. Massively so.
The time the boy had spent in that distorted Jack-Jack dimension had not been insignificant. To the outside world, it had only been a few moments… but for Ryo, it had been three full weeks of constant combat.
Three weeks fighting non-stop.
Three weeks being pressured and beaten down non-stop.
Three weeks with no escape.
During that time, he had honed his combat experience, refined the use of his martial arts, refined his control over his power, pushed his own limits… and, more than that, he had completely adapted to All Might.
The old limit of just 2%.
Now…
it was 5%.
All Might was not the one testing here... Ryo, was the one who is testing here.
----------------------------------------
Dash dashed through streets, alleys, and industrial corridors without looking back, his heart beating in rhythm with his steps. He turned another corner and then saw a long, straight road ahead.
And, at the very end, a huge gate with a clear sign above it:
EXIT
"Jackpot!" he grinned, already sprinting towards it.
But the ground in front of him suddenly froze over.
"Whoa—!"
Dash tried to stop, but it was too late. He slid, spun, and landed flat on his back on the ice with a solid *thump*.
"Hey, hey, hey… ain't no rush that big, kid."
Frozone slid out from a side street, gliding naturally across the ice. Dash scrambled to get up, but then a huge shadow loomed behind him.
Mr. Incredible's arm shot out for a grab, but Dash barely dodged, the ice sending him sliding uncontrollably.
"I can't run like this!"
Bob planted his feet… and almost slipped himself.
"Lucius, you had to freeze the whole thing?!" he complained, spreading his arms for balance.
"Was one of the few options for dealin' with this little speedster," Frozone replied, chuckling. "But relax, man, just slide."
He made a smooth, confident gesture with his hand.
"Stop playin' around," Bob grumbled. "This is an exam, we gotta be in sync to handle—"
He stopped.
Dash was gone.
"…Dash?"
The kid was already across the street, scrambling fast over the ice—like a penguin out of control—heading straight for the gate.
"Just gotta keep this up and I'm good!" Dash shouted, pumped.
The shadow of a car fell over him.
CRASH!
The vehicle plummeted, smashing the ice and sending up a small plume of smoke and debris.
"BOB!" Frozone's eyes went wide. "Have you lost your mind?!"
Bob blinked, confused.
"What? He can dodge that easy."
"On normal ground, yeah!" Lucius shot back.
Bob went pale.
"DASH?! Son, you okay?!"
No response.
"Man…" Frozone was already running to the spot. "You mighta squished the kid—"
He stopped mid-sentence because the car hadn't hit anything.
"Huh…" Lucius looked around. "Where'd he go?"
His question was answered as Dash emerged from the ground a few meters ahead, spat out of the asphalt, tumbling and sliding to a stop. He sat there for a second, dazed.
"What… what was that…?"
He brought a hand to his head, trying to understand.
In that moment when he was scrambling, he'd thought about generating heat by rubbing the ice. When that didn't work, he tried even faster… and faster… until he started vibrating without realizing it.
And then everything went dark.
Dash had vibrated so fast his body's particles hit a strange frequency—slipping between the particles of the ground, as if he'd phased right through it.
When the vibration dropped, the ground itself expelled him back out, like a projectile.
"…Okay," he murmured, looking at his lightly vibrating hands. "I don't know what's goin' on… but I DEFINITELY gotta learn how to use this later."
The vibration stopped as soon as he reached normal ground after scrambling a bit more. He jumped up and ran.
But Frozone's ice shot past him and raised an ice wall ahead.
"Oh, no you don't!"
Dash instinctively started to vibrate, covering his face, bracing for impact…
But he passed right through the wall, leaving it behind.
"…What in the name of black magic was that?!" Frozone stood frozen, mouth agape.
Dash slowly opened his eyes, looked back, then at his hands, then at the gate.
"It worked…!"
Without a second thought, he dashed the last few meters, passed through the gate, and crossed the line.
He had passed the Exam.
----------------------------------------
On the other side of Gamma Field, Midnight maintained her strategic position, leaning against the side of a metal structure, her eyes fixed on the field.
"Where on earth has All Might gotten to…?" she murmured.
Before she could ponder further, Recovery Girl's voice echoed through the speakers, announcing that Dash had escaped the field and passed the exam.
"What…?" Midnight's eyes widened. "They couldn't hold the kid?"
The next second, a green explosion detonated near her zone.
The shockwave swept through the area, forcing her to cover her face as the wind kicked up dust and debris.
"What was that?!"
From within the smoke, All Might was launched skyward, his body spinning in the air. Right behind him, Ryo shot out like a living sphere of green energy, electric sparks crackling through the space around him as he advanced in a straight line.
All Might saw the boy coming.
Mid-air, he braced himself, muscles flexing. With a sharp movement of his back, he thrust himself violently forward—repeating the motion once, twice, three times, gaining absurd speed—until he collided with Ryo.
BOOM!
Their punches clashed, creating a shockwave that shattered the windows of nearby buildings.
In the same instant, Ryo attempted a hook. All Might blocked it, but the force caused his arms to buckle upward for a brief second.
But it was enough for Ryo to twist his body in the air and drive a powerful elbow into the hero's stomach.
All Might was hurled like a projectile, hurtling through the air until he crashed into a building near Midnight's position—not before Ryo launched two energy spheres after him.
The explosions came right after.
"…What kind of teenager fights like this…?" Midnight murmured, in shock as she watched the absurdity before her.
She prepared to move, but she froze.
Because Ryo had appeared at her side.
The boy stared at the cloud of smoke in the distance, his body tense, his aura still pulsing. Midnight felt a chill run down her spine.
She didn't move.
She didn't even breathe.
When she finally tried to act, preparing to release her pheromone cloud, Ryo reacted on instinct and threw a punch.
The shockwave swept everything in front of him, tearing through the air and hurling debris.
The boy stared blankly at where he had punched before his eyes widened in realization of what he had done.
"Shit!" Ryo cursed, snapping out of the trance he was in. "I ended up acting on instinct—"
But he furrowed his brow next as he felt his fist had stopped against something. The dust began to settle, finally revealing Midnight standing there, unharmed.
In front of her, All Might held Ryo's blow firmly, muscles tensed.
"Young man…" All Might spoke in a hoarse voice. "You should learn to gauge your strength… especially against women."
In the next instant, he disappeared.
And reappeared behind Ryo.
The hero's arms closed around the boy in a crushing bear hug, locking down his movements.
"Midnight! Now!"
She blinked, snapping out of her shock.
"R-right!"
Midnight advanced quickly, tearing the fabric at her shoulder to release her cloud of pheromones, the gas spreading in the air. At the same time, her hands went straight for Ryo's helmet.
She pulled it off.
And the sleep-inducing cloud enveloped the boy's exposed face.
Ryo's eyes widened as the dizziness hit him like a heavy tide. The world seemed to tilt, his body feeling strange, far too heavy.
"This is the end of the line," said All Might, firm, maintaining his grip. "Checkmate. You were a truly formidable opponent."
Ryo's consciousness began to slip through his fingers.
For a second… just one second.
Then something snapped inside him.
The drowsy sensation was crushed from within, like shattering glass. His body reacted before he could even think. A sudden detonation of strength and energy tore through the air, breaking All Might's bear hug as if it were made of paper. The hero was thrown backward as a green shockwave swept through everything around them.
The reason for such a reaction was simple.
Ryo Tanaka's body was immune to any kind of poison, drug, or chemical substance. The radioactive energy flowing through him destroyed the atomic and molecular structure of these things before they could even take full effect.
Midnight's quirk, however, worked in a slightly different way.
Her quirk directly hijacked the target's biological arousal response, redirecting it towards sleep.
But, the moment that process was redirected… it became a chemical process.
And that's when Ryo's brain identified it and began neutralizing the effect, and because this was a type of danger he'd never faced before, his brain responded by flooding his body with an enormous dose of adrenaline. Energy. And pure survival instinct.
All released at once.
"Ngh…" Ryo brought a hand to his head, dizzy, feeling his heart racing.
Even so, he stretched out his arm to the side.
Energy Release… Gamma Blast
The massive explosion hit All Might dead-on.
The hero was swept away by the impact, plowing through blocks of the industrial field before disappearing amid the rubble.
Midnight stood still, her eyes wide.
"…That boy…" she murmured. "Is he… fighting my Quirk?"
Ryo turned to her, still a bit dazed. Midnight slowly raised her hands.
"Okay, okay… I surrender."
"Alright…" Ryo replied simply, still rubbing his forehead.
He picked up the handcuffs and carefully secured one of Midnight's wrists.
"Hey~ you're being a bit rough with me, you know? Didn't they teach you to be gentle with a lady like me~?" she commented, smiling coyly.
Ryo sighed.
"Teacher… please, don't make this any weirder for me than it already is."
Meanwhile, on the other side…
All Might was on his knees among the rubble of a destroyed industrial building. Steam escaped his body as he breathed with difficulty.
"Darn it…" he muttered.
He tried to maintain his form, but couldn't.
"I… can't hold on any longer…"
The transformation faded, revealing his skeletal form. All Might pressed a hand against the ground, breathing laboriously.
He let out a low, gasping laugh.
"I really… didn't expect young Takeda to be so strong… and so experienced…"
The strange words the boy had said earlier came back to his mind.
"Dimension. Hell. Adaptation."
"Was there… some meaning to that after all…?"
He tried to stand up.
"I need to get out of here before anyone—"
"All Might?"
The voice echoed through the hole blown in the building, making All Might look up.
Only to see Ryo there, standing among the debris, looking at him with a genuinely shocked expression.
"What… are you really All Might?"