The smoke from the various explosions drifted across the deck, thin and acrid, as the students stood in the resulting silence. They didn't cheer. They didn't high-five. They simply looked out at the empty space where a fleet of human filth had existed only minutes prior.
In this world, where monsters were as common as insects and death was the only outcome for the weak, the lesson was clear. This wasn't a movie, and it wasn't an anime where the villain is spared to return another day. This was a world where a murderer left alive meant a hundred innocent lives lost tomorrow.
Kid and Killer stood shoulder-to-shoulder, their breathing slowing. They, more than most, knew what it meant to pave a path through the grime of the South Blue just to see another sunrise. They didn't kill for the thrill of the hunt; they killed because the alternative was a shallow grave.
Izuku looked at his trembling hands, the green lightning fading into his skin. He had been raised with the ideals of a hero, but the New World had taught him a harder truth: protection often requires the absolute removal of a threat. Shoto and Momo stood nearby, their faces reflecting a grim understanding. They were the products of an unfair world, honed into weapons not to cause suffering, but to ensure that the "pleasure" and "sadism" of men like that pirate captain could never take root in the soil of the innocent.
There was no sympathy left on the deck for those who didn't deserve it. While some evils in this world tried to change, those paths were narrow and shrouded in shadow. For now, the students only knew the one truth that dictated the flow of the Blue Star: the strongest are the ones who survive to protect what they love.
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The teachers emerged from the bridge, the heavy rhythmic sound of Aizawa's slow clapping echoing across the quiet deck. Behind him, the senior staff stood in a line, their expressions a mixture of grim approval and professional detachment.
Hina stepped forward, her eyes hidden behind her dark sunglasses as she consulted a crisp sheet of paper. Her voice was cold and clinical, cutting through the salt air.
"Congratulations," Hina began, though there was no warmth in the word. "You have just obliterated the Multi-Canyon Pirates, a fleet originated from the West Blue. Their record includes one thousand, nine hundred and eighty-five village massacres. A total of fifty-four thousand, three hundred and eighty-nine murders—confirmed victims including men, women, and children. They were notorious for their extreme cruelty, specifically their systematic dehumanization of their captives."
She looked up from the paper, her jaw tight. "The captain, Canyon, carried a bounty of 50 million berries. His vice-captain, Stinger, was at 45 million. A combined crew bounty of 180 million. Hina is frustrated... Hina doesn't really know if creatures like that can even be classified as humans."
The silence that followed was heavy. None of the students cheered. There was no celebration for the "win." Instead, a cold realization settled over the 18-year-olds. They weren't thinking about the berries or the victory; they were thinking about the fifty thousand lives that had been snuffed out by the monsters they just vaporized. They were thinking about how many more victims would have suffered if that ship had reached its next destination.
"Tsk," Bakugo spat, his palms still faintly smoking. He wasn't looking at the teachers; he was staring at the spot on the ocean where the lead ship had been. "Those weren't humans. Those were monsters in disguise." He went silent for a moment, his hand moving to his chin as a dark, manic light entered his eyes. "Maybe I should follow them to hell... just to make sure they stay dead."
The students around him paused, looking at him with a mix of concern and bewilderment.
"Hey... did you perhaps bang your head on something during the blast?" Kid asked, stepping up and giving Bakugo a rough, metallic tap on the back. "You're sounding even more like a lunatic than usual, Sparky."
The pensive, dark mood shattered instantly. Bakugo's head snapped around, his forehead veining with immediate rage.
"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME?!" he roared, his face inches from Kid's. "WHO ARE YOU CALLING A LUNATIC, YOU SHITTY METAL-SCRAP WEAKLING?!"
Kid didn't back down, his magnetic arm clanking as he stepped into Bakugo's space. "What?! How dare you call me a weakling, you oversized firecracker! I did more damage to that hull than your sparkly little pops did!"
"SAY THAT AGAIN AND I'LL TURN YOUR ARM INTO A TOASTER!"
As the two of them devolved into their usual explosive shouting match, the rest of the crew felt a strange sense of relief. The heavy darkness of the massacre began to lift, replaced by the familiar, chaotic energy of the ship.
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The heavy realization of the teachers' silence finally clicked into place. Momo adjusted her collar, her sharp eyes moving from the empty horizon back to the faculty standing on the bridge.
"So that's why the teachers didn't stop us," she said, her voice carrying a newfound clarity. "They knew exactly who those pirates were. They let us go all out because they wanted us to see what kind of evil truly exists out here—and they wanted to make sure those monsters didn't survive to see another sunset."
A wave of enlightenment washed over the deck. One by one, the students stopped their bickering. Even Bakugo and Kid paused their shouting match, looking up toward the bridge with narrowed eyes.
Nico Robin offered a small, graceful smile. "You really are smart, Momo-san. You saw the lesson behind the slaughter."
"Really smart..." Shirahoshi added, wiping the last of her tears and looking at Momo with genuine admiration.
Nemuri (Midnight) and Ryukyu stepped forward, leaning against the railing of the upper deck. "That's a good deduction. As expected, even in the middle of a high-intensity fight, you were calculating and deciphering the situation," Midnight purred, a whip-like smirk on her lips. "That's exactly why we let you all get loose. Some stains on this world can only be cleaned with fire."
Ryukyu nodded in agreement. "Experience isn't just about swinging a sword or throwing a punch. It's about knowing when the world needs you to be a monster so that the innocent don't have to be."
"Makes sense!" Nejire chimed in, floating upside down near Momo. "But I still didn't like how that goofy-looking guy talked. It was so gross! Sometimes I think the monsters we fight are better because at least I don't understand them. Humans who act like that are way scarier."
"Hahahaha! So it's not just me," Bello Betty laughed, exhaling a thick plume of smoke that drifted toward the sky. She flicked the ash from her cigar. "The monsters in the dark are predictable. It's the ones with human faces you have to watch out for."
Nemuri waved a hand dismissively, though her eyes were sharp. "Anyway, the bounty money will be processed and sent to your accounts later. Consider it a bonus for a job well done. But what a day... such a good start and such an unpleasant afternoon."
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To be continued