When midnight fell over the city, a huge blond man wearing blue, yellow and red spandex could be seen walking down the quiet street.

Toshinori 'no, he was All Might now. The No.1 Hero looked at the windows that were lit up around him.

He had never experienced such a quiet night in a populated place before. While this was what he has been fighting for all this time, actually experiencing was something else. Hearing some noises, All Might brought his eyes back down to see an elderly couple walking by. The old lady was using a walker while the old man was using a cane. All Might stepped aside, turning his body so that his large frame wouldn't block their path.

The two elders thanked him with warm smiles on their faces. All Might smiled back. He watched two go, feeling a bit uneasy. He felt a sense of responsibility to escort them home. After all, night time was dangerous, especially with Villains lurking in the shadows. He quickly 'had to remind himself that this wasn't the outside world. Just one look and he could tell these two elder couples must come out for a nighttime stroll a lot. There wasn't a single fear or wariness on their faces.

All Might looked around the buildings that were filled with people resting in their homes.

He needed to get away from the residential area.

All Might sucked in a deep breath.

It was time.

Gathering power into his legs, he darted swiftly into a nearby alley.

He ran through the maze of the city, having memorized every single road as he headed for his destination. He made sure to keep his pace slow, just so his pursuers can catch up.

He eventually came out into a wide street filled with factories on both sides.

He ran until he found the place he was looking for.

With a huge leap, he soared into the air and landed at the center of a construction zone. The entire place had been sealed off to prevent people from coming near.

All Might took a deep breath before he shouted, 'I know you 're there! '

His voice echoed into the quiet night.

His enemies didn 't keep him waiting.

A loud buzzing sound vibrating the air as helicopters flew out from behind buildings. They covered the night sky; each helicopter was armed with a machine gun with a shooter already in position. Strong headlight shot down from the helicopters, lighting the entire construction ground as men in black suits appeared. They swiftly surrounded the premise, armed with assault rifles with the muzzles aimed at their target.

All Might watched as the men in black suits parted before him, revealing a man in his forties dressed in long black coat and brown scarf.

'Greetings. ' The man greeted, walking forward with his hands behind his back. 'My name is Hirotsu Ryuurou, Commander of Port Mafia 's assassination team 'the Black Lizard. '

All Might didn 't move. He just continued to stare at the man, watching for any move he might make. With his lack of knowledge in Abilities, the Hero had to be extra careful to all of his surroundings.

'It is not every day we get an honorable guest like yourself visiting our humble city. My apologies for being unable to present you with better a welcoming party. '

'I think you got together a grand party already. ' All Might replied.

The man raised his hand. With a snap of his fingers, two silhouettes emerged from behind him.

All Might 's smile nearly broke at the sight of two

children

'a girl and a boy. The red-haired girl looked to be another twelve years old while the brown-haired boy appeared older, but a child nonetheless.

'Allow me to introduce, they are Kouyou and Kajii, our Port Mafia 's latest addition. They will be your opponents for tonight. '

'YOU '!

'

Toshinori gritted out, eyes burning with rage but the two children had already sprung into action.

'Ability: Golden Demon!" The girl called out, drawing a katana as a crimson woman appeared behind her, wielding a similar blade.

'YAHOOO!! '

The boy cheered as he threw out a bunch of lemons 'no, those weren 't lemons!

Gathering power into his legs, Toshinori leaped into the sky. The Hero held back most of his strength so that he wouldn 't get too close to those helicopters circling the sky. The moment those

lemons

scattered over the ground where he once stood, they exploded.

Dirt was blasted all over the air as dark smoke created by the explosions covered the construction site.

All Might landed back onto his feet and looked around the smoke obscuring his vision. His clenched his fists in anger. To think the Port Mafia will go as far as using such young children against him in a fight!

He looked around cautiously. He knew these children were just a distraction. The Port Mafia had counted on the fact that he wouldn 't be able to hurt them. While these children drew his attention away, the real enemy must be hiding somewhere, waiting for the best opportunity to strike.

Sensing something coming at him from behind, All Might jumped to the side as a katana thrust by him, missing him by half a meter. The little lady clutching onto the katana didn 't falter. Instead, she flipped her blade around and instantly changed the course of her attack. When All Might dodged that as well, she jumped back and vanished into the smokescreen.

All Might frowned, unable to keep his smile just from what he saw. Had he not dodged, the girl 's blade would have pierced his heart the first time, and split open his throat the second time. Every move the girl made was to take his life. There was absolutely no hesitation in her movement.

And what 's more, the moment All Might met the girl 's gaze, he saw intense bloodlust spilling from those ruby red eyes '

As much as All Might didn 't want to think about it, this girl was used to battle. Or rather, she was used to

killing

. His right hand curled into a tight fist.

'Texas Smash! '

He punched the air, the power of his fist created a strong gust of wind and blasted the smoke away.

'Ah! ' The red-haired girl screamed as she was blown back, but thankfully the creature she made caught her protectively within its arms.

All Might had purposely lowered his power. He didn't want to risk harming the girl, and if he used any more strength he was also wary of those helicopters over his head. He hadn 't thought they would bring out helicopters 'this was bad.

The No.1 Hero wasn't worried about the guns on the helicopters. What made him worried were just them being there. From the map and what he saw on his way here, this place is filled with power plants and warehouses for dangerous chemicals. If he accidentally knocked one of these helicopters down from the sky and hit one of these warehouses, it might cause explosions. He couldn't risk that, not when he has no idea if there were any civilians around. That was the whole purpose of leading these people here, so innocent people wouldn't get involved.

'Golden Demon, eliminate him! '

All Might swiftly leap back and dodged the creature that had appeared over his head and slashed its sword at him. He didn 't know what will happen to the girl if he destroyed this creature.

Will she suffer the same damage as her creature?

Will she receive any backlash if this creature was to disappear?

With those thoughts in mind, All Might once more have to control his strength. His fist

lightly

collided into the creature 's gut, sending it hurling backward. Blue eyes instantly shifted to the girl who didn 't seem to feel anything as she rushed towards him with her sword.

Not connected then, that makes things easier.

On the sideline of the battle, Hiroshi observed the way the Pro Hero so carefully fought with Kouyou.

'Truly frightening ' ' He mumbled with a hint of awe in his voice.

Everything was going according to how the boy said it would. Right from the start, the Hero was fighting while holding back his strengths. He didn 't even realize the changes his body was already going through. Perhaps even now, he was still waiting for his

real

opponents to show up.

The No.1 Hero on the Hero Billboard Chart 'such a pity.

Hirotsu pulled out a golden pocket watch, taking a glimpse of the time and raised a hand.

The men surrounding the perimeter raised their guns and took aim at their target.

All Might who had kept a close eye to these men naturally didn 't miss this. His eyes widened as he watched the man, Ryuurou Hirotsu, brought his hand down. Sounds of gunfire shook the ground as bullets pierced through the air, coming right at the Hero and the young girl.

All Might grabbed the girl, dislodging her katana and ducked behind a stack of steel beams. It was at that moment that searing hot pain blossomed from his abdomen. He looked down to see a dagger halfway buried into his flesh. On the end of the dagger's hilt was a pair of small hands, shaking as they tried to push the blade through the hard muscles.

'Stop, you don 't have to do this. ' All Might tried to calm the girl down with one hand holding the blade of the dagger, preventing the girl from pushing any deeper. He smiled, trying to show the child how he meant no harm.

However, when the girl saw his smile, she only smirked. She let go of the hilt and jumped back.

'NO! ' All Might shouted. Ignoring the blade half stuck inside him, he darted forward, reaching for the girl who was falling towards the rain of bullets.

'Golden Demon! ' The crimson creature appeared, materializing behind the girl as it unsheathed its sword and swung it down towards him.

All Might held up an arm over his head. He tightened his muscles as if that could counter the intense pain shooting up his arm. He had sacrificed his arm to block the blade so that his other arm could reach out for the girl.

But despite all that, the girl was falling further and further away from her. No matter how hard All Might tried, he couldn 't reach her.

Why?

All Might 's mind almost went blank as he stared at his quivering hand that was so far from the girl.

Something was wrong.

He should be able to move faster.

He should be able to reach her.

So why?

Why was that girl still so far away?

Why wasn 't he reaching her already? '

'

AAAAH!

' All Might roared, as if by doing so he'll miraculously gain the energy he needed to propel himself forward and reach the girl.

The girl looked back at him, that condescending smirk still on her face. There wasn't the slightest bit of fear on her face at the concept of death. With a flip in the air, she landed gracefully out in the opening.

The air instantly became silent.

It was as if the thundering sound of bullets a split second ago was nothing but a dream.

All Might was dumbfounded by the sudden change. He didn 't even realize when the girl 's summon creature had disappeared, leaving only a deep cut in his arm. The girl turned around, throwing him one last smirk before she darted away.

'HEY OLD MAN!! ' A voice echoed from the sky as a dark shadow cast over the man.

All Might looked up in surprise. Through the bright light shining down from the helicopters, he saw a figure dropping towards him at a dangerous pace.

It was that boy!

'Which one do you believe?! ' The child shouted with a gleeful look on his face. 'When you die, do you see God, or does God not exist at all?!"

And then, All Might watched in horror as lemon-like grenades poured down from the helicopters.

'WHY DON 'T WE FIND OUT TOGETHER?! AHAHAHAHAHA!!! '

'Bastards! ' All Might cursed the Port Mafia from the bottom of his heart. He gathered strength into his legs and leaped into the air.

He had wanted to snatch the boy and fly away from this construction zone, away from these helicopters, away from Port Mafia 'but reality was he didn 't. He had used all of his strength, but he only just barely reached the boy. He wrapped his arms around the boy, watching in surprise as the muscles in his arms began to thin down.

His Quirk has deactivated!

The sound of explosions pierced his eardrums as heat scorched his body. He held the boy tightly in his arms, using his body to shield him even as he hit the ground with grenades raining over him. Pain blossomed from all over his body. All Might couldn 't even think, all he knew was the scorching pain, yet despite all that he held the boy under him, desperately trying to keep him safe.

He didn 't know how long the explosions lasted for.

It could be seconds.

It could be minutes.

It could be

hours

.

By the time it ended, All Might was laying on the ground. His hero costume was pretty much destroyed with the blackened flesh underneath still sizzling. He coughed out a mouthful of blood, weakly opening an eye to see the boy he had protected crawling out from beneath him and tossing his battered hand away.

'Kehahahaha, just kidding~ ' The boy, completely unharmed even down to his cloth, laughed at the Hero 's stupidity. "My Ability, Lemon Bomb, is to not take any damages from any lemon-shaped bombs! Lemons! They are wonderful, don 't you think?!

KUAHAHAHA!!

'

All Might 's lips tremble, but he couldn 't speak. His vocal core must have been destroyed 'or perhaps it was his lungs 'he couldn 't tell anymore.

"I made those bombs myself!" The boy boasted, not caring if the charred man on the ground could hear him or not. "I even added that special gas that you Quirk users loved so much! '

Gas?

' 'but to think that would lower the explosiveness 'I must ' 'refine 'da ' '

All Might could no longer hear the rest of the boy 's words. The only thing he could hear was the sound of his own heartbeat steadily getting slower and slower. His visions were slowly being consumed by black spots, like insects chewing away a film. The immense heat that was burning his body away began turning into bitter coldness. Every passing second, All Might could feel his life leaking from his body and pooling beneath him.

Was this how he will end? No, he can 't.

He hasn't defeated All for One yet.

He hasn't found a successor for One for All either.

He can 't let it end like this.

Damn it.

Damn it all '

????????????????

Toshinori never expected to open his eyes again. He hadn't even expected that he could still be

alive

with that kind of injuries. Yet here he was, alive and well, without a single scratch on his body.

The pain and suffering felt like a dream. Nothing of this feels real at all. If anything, the whole trip to Yokohama felt like a dream, if not for the fact that he currently seated on a chair in the center of a dark room. The only light source in the room was the strange cubical energy surrounding his hands and feet.

Toshinori tried to move, but he couldn 't budge an inch. His hands were tightly secured against the armrest and his feet to the floor. Whatever these yellowish lights are, Toshinori found himself powerless against it. Someone was standing behind him, but all Toshinori could see of that person were the gloved hands hovering beside him, emitting the same light as these shackles holding him down.

This must be an Ability user.

Toshinori couldn 't tell if his Quirk was still working properly, but these things binding him were strong. He has a sinking feeling that even with One for All, he still won 't be able to break through these confinements.

'Exactly eight o 'clock. ' A voice spoke from across the room.

Toshinori looked up to see a man sitting behind a wooden desk. He was mostly hidden within the shadows, Toshinori knew this must be the Port Mafia 's Boss. This man was giving off a dangerous aura so similar to All for One that it made his stomach lurch.

'I have been waiting for you, eighth holder of One for All. '

Toshinori 's eyes widened with a sharp intake of breath.

How '?

'Randou-kun, leave us. I would like to have a talk with him. '

'Yes, boss. ' A voice spoke from behind him, confirming that the man before him was indeed the boss.

The light around his hands and feet vanished as those gloved hands disappeared out of Toshinori 's sight. Despite being freed, Toshinori sat still. He knew he couldn 't move recklessly. Not without confirming whether or not his Quirk was working properly again.

Just from the power of that Ability user holding him down, he knew he was outmatched. The Mafia Boss himself must also be an Ability user as well. He had to act carefully if he wants to leave this place in one piece.

It was only when the sound of the door closing could be heard that Toshinori gave the Mafia Don his full attention.

"I can see you have questions to ask." The man hummed, folding his white-gloved hands over his desk.

'How do you know about One for All? ' Toshinori demanded while testing out his body 's function. Everything felt normal.

'You One for All successors seemed to make it your business to come into our city every generation. ' The man sighed as if it was something extremely troubling for him. 'If we do not allow you into our city, you will start wrecking our barrier, that 's why I decided to invite you in. '

'Invite '? ' Toshinori tried to think back to how he had entered the city. It was that crack in the barrier underwater that he '

'That crack in the barrier was made by you! ' It wasn 't a question, because the moment Toshinori spoke out loud, he knew he was right.

From the very beginning, it was a trap!

When looking for a way into the city, Toshinori did tons of researches. He looked through the barrier 's history, ran a marathon around the city, dive underwater and even tried digging underground nonstop for three days, just to see where the barrier would end.

In the end, he came to the same conclusion that all those that had researched the barrier came to.

The barrier protecting Yokohama is spherical. Which means 'there was no opening.

With that fact confirmed, Toshinori decided to go with Plan B, which is to break the barrier down with pure force! However, he had to do it in a place where the people in the city wouldn 't be alarmed, and the best place for that would be in the water.

He bought a full set of diving gears and a year's worth of oxygen tanks. He swam around the barrier. Due to not being able to see what's on the other side, he had to be cautious. There was no telling when the enemy may spot him.

It took him a full week of living with the fishes until he found a small, barely noticeable crack in the barrier. Knowing this was the breakthrough he needed, he quickly began to work. He started pounding on the barrier carefully with his fist. He didn 't dare to do it too hard, fearing it might alarm the Port Mafia or worst 'create a tsunami.

After two days of nonstop pounding, Toshinori finally made a hole big enough for his body to squeeze through.

Never did he suspect that crack would be a trap. It was too small and too unnoticeable that he brushed off the possibility. But if he thought of it from another angle, that was what made that crack the perfect bait for intruders. Usually, baits should be something more noticeable. Otherwise, how else would the enemies notice? But these people did the opposite.

They made it nearly impossible to find so that only those looking for a way in would find eventually come across it.

'The last One for All successor that came into our city was twenty-seven years ago. I believe she was the seventh. I 'm sure you are familiar with her. ' Even from the shadows, Toshinori could see the grin on the Mafia boss 's face.

His teacher had come to Yokohama?

Why hadn 't he ever heard of it?

'Tell me, what is it that you seek within our city? ' The Port Mafia boss asked as he slowly stood up. 'Did you come to stop crimes? Did you come to save innocent civilians? Or perhaps you have come to take down the Port Mafia and free Yokohama to the outside world? '

Toshinori didn 't speak. He just continued to glare at the man.

"All you Heroes are like that. You come into our home, intrude on us with your beliefs without bothering to understand the circumstances of this city. The Port Mafia is what's been maintaining order within Yokohama. What do you think will happen to this city if we are gone?"

'Maintaining order? ' Toshinori narrowed his eyes. 'Forcing children to fight is also a way to maintain order? '

The Boss of the Mafia chuckled as if finding his anger amusing.

'You heroes never fail to amuse me. ' He hummed. 'Despite all the Villain activities going on in your world, you 're still so na 've and ignorant. Your belief in your so-called justice is so strong that you only see things in black and white. As result, you became incapable of seeing colours. '

'How many people did those children killed? '

'Hm? ' The Mafia boss turned to him as if he didn't hear his question properly.

'How many did you make them kill? '

'Well now 'do you remember how many insects you stepped on when going outside? ' The Mafia boss questioned back. It was then that Toshinori saw those dull red eyes, staring at him coldly without a fraction of emotion.

Anger rushed through his veins as the No.1 Hero flew out of his seat. His Quirk activated, his body buffed up and his fist pulled back. In an instant, he was in front of the man, about to smash his fist into the other's head when suddenly, One for All deactivated.

Toshinori halted in his track.

The deactivation of his Quirk was one reason, but the second was the feeling of a cold sharp tip resting at the center of his throat. His breath hitched. He couldn't even swallow, as the pointed object was positioned just below his Adam's apple. The American didn't know what weapon was nipping his throat, but the Mafia Boss before him was emitting a pressuring aura as he gazed at the Hero with a light smile on his face.

'Sit back down. ' It wasn 't a request, but a command. 'Showing violence in front of a child wouldn 't be very heroic now would it? '

Child?

Toshinori slowly backed away and lowered his fist. The Mafia boss retracted his hand, and it was then that Toshinori finally saw the

weapon

the man had used.

It was a surgery knife.

Never in his entire Hero career has he ever seen or heard of anyone using these as weapons. Even with his trained eyesight, he couldn 't see when the Mafia Boss had pulled out his weapon. The only thing that even alerted him of danger was that flicker of silver before the blade kissed his skin.

Toshinori stepped back, only to feel something tugging against his right leg. Cautiously, while keeping his senses on the enemy, Toshinori spared a glance and was shock by what he saw.

A small and frail little kid was gripping onto his leg with those tiny quivering hands. Toshinori couldn 't see the child 's face as from his angle he could only see that mass of messy raven locks. However, from the way the boy was trembling and how he was covered in bandages, Toshinori instantly stood in front of the child, shielding him from the eyes of the Port Mafia Boss.

He didn 't know why a boy like this was here, but he has no doubt this was another one of this man 's trick.

The Mafia boss broke into laughter at the sight.

Toshinori 's hands rolling into fists as he tried to activate his Quirk again, but still nothing. What exactly was going on?

'I am finding the fact that the outside world still hasn 't been taken over by Villain very peculiar. ' The Mafia Boss chuckled.

'How many children have you Port Mafia been keeping? ' Toshinori asked. He has no interest in talking in circles with this man. All he wanted to know was if there were more children like this boy and those two kids he faced in the Port Mafia.

'Oh? I would have thought you 'd be more interested to know the reason of your Quirk 's deactivation. ' The Port Mafia said back.

Toshinori didn 't say anything. Yes, he was concerned about that, but he doubted the Mafia boss would tell '

'You were injected with Quirk suppressants, as well as inhaling a large quantity of Quirk suppressant gas. '

'What? ' Toshinori 's eyes widened in shock.

Quirk 'suppressant?

'Did you think Yokohama wouldn 't develop any weapons against outsiders? '

All Might thought back to that red-haired girl. He remembered the way she smirked at him after stabbing him in the abdomen. His hand unconsciously moved to where he was stabbed.

That 's right 'it was right after that his Quirk started weakening.

That was why the girl smiled like that. All along, her only job was to stab him with her blade. But Toshinori had grabbed the blade. He didn 't feel anything smeared on the metallic surface, so that could only mean '

It was

inside

the dagger. That was why the girl kept pushing the dagger! She wasn't trying to push it deeper into his body; she was injecting the Quirk suppressant into him!

As for the gas '

Toshinori remembered the boy with grenades in the shape of lemons. He vaguely remembered the boy saying something about putting the gas into those grenades before passing out.

So those grenades he threw right at the beginning already decided everything...

And to think that Toshinori only figured all this out

now

.

'Tell me, Hero. ' The Port Mafia boss said as the wall behind him began to move.

Toshinori stepped back, reaching down to gently push the petite boy back as he watched pieces of wall slide up one by one.

The morning pale light flooded into the room, chasing the shadows away as Toshinori stared at the huge panels of windows behind the Mafia Boss. The sudden exposure to such strong light made Toshinori squint his eyes, but never once did he turn his attention away from the dangerous criminal before him.

With his back facing the light, the Port Mafia boss was completely covered in shadows as he regarded the Hero with those red eyes.

"Do you see children as liabilities? Do you see them as weak and fragile beings that need your protection?"

'What are you trying to say? ' Toshinori gritted his teeth.

'What do you think will happen to this city once we are gone? ' The Mafia Don then asked, turning to the window with his hands behind his back. He wasn 't even the slightest bit concerned whether or not the Hero would use this opening to attack him.

Toshinori blinked a couple of times to get accustomed to the light. When his eyes finally adjusted, the first thing he saw was the blue sky and the city of Yokohama. The blond took in the peaceful and undisturbed city.

There was no explosion, no smoke rising out from the distance '

nothing

.

'The answer is simple. ' The Port Mafia glanced back at the blond, crimson eyes meeting the Hero 's ocean blue ones. It was at this very moment that Toshinori has finally gotten a clear view of the enemy.

The man was quite young, looking to be in his early thirties with chin length-black hair slicked back over his head with two bangs hanging on the side. He wore a set of black suit with a black trench coat and maroon scarf hanging around his neck.

He was looking at the Hero with a mixture of amusement and mockery. It was the gaze of someone looking down upon another that is below them.

"When Port Mafia falls, every organization lurking in the shadows of this city will fight to obtain absolute control. Battles will occur and lives, including innocent ones, will be lost. Orders will no longer exist. The idiotic bunch may even open Yokohama's barrier, wanting to use their Abilities to conquer the world. What do you think will happen to your world if that happens? '

Toshinori wanted to say something back, but he couldn 't.

What organization was this man talking about?

What order exactly did he mean keeping Yokohama in place?

'Yes, you cannot answer, because you never thought about consequences. ' The Mafia boss ridiculed. 'In the outside world, defeating Villain means justice. There are never consequences for Heroes to defeat Villains, as your Villains do not play a role in your society. '

The Mafia boss looked sharply at the No.1 Hero.

"Since you cannot answer I will answer for you. The moment the barrier of Yokohama falls, your world will come to an end. If you think this barrier exists to protect us from the outside, then you are sorrowfully mistaken. This barrier exists for the protection of you outsiders. '

Toshinori shook slightly as the blood in his veins turned cold as a scary realization dawned him.

'There are countless Ability users within Yokohama that can end the outside world as simple as a snap of their fingers. The only reason they hadn 't is due to Yokohama 's barrier and the fact that all these individuals have zero interest in your world. But that is only if your world doesn 't interfere with ours. '

Toshinori felt cold.

Never did he ever felt like what he does might be considered bad.

He stared at the peaceful city displayed before his eyes. He remembered the carefree looks on people 's faces and those elderly couples taking a midnight stroll. If he brings down the Port Mafia, what would happen to those smiles?

But were these Ability users really that powerful?

He wanted to think of it as a bluff until he remembered that boy on the street. The power of his Ability was not a combat one, but that level of intelligence alone could change the balance of good and evil depending on where he stood.

Then there was also that Ability user that was holding him down just minutes ago. What exactly was that man's power?

Finally 'there were his injuries. He had been blasted by explosions. He remembered the pain, remembered the way his body had looked. He wasn't even supposed to be alive, yet he was standing there with his body completely unscathed. Was this also the work of an Ability user? If so, then he has never in his life heard of such strong healing power.

No, this can't even be considered healing anymore. Even among Quirks, a power like this only exists in fantasy.

The thought of Ability users like these being exposed to the outside sent a chill down his back. It may be fine if they were to become Heroes, but if they were to join the Villains '

For the first time, Toshinori was lost. A criminal was standing right here in front of him, yet he wasn 't able to bring him down. He couldn 't. He might be able to before knowing these facts, but now 'he didn 't dare to think what might happen if he does.

'This is Yokohama. ' The Port Mafia boss said, once more reminding the Hero that this was not the world he lived in. 'Do not presume our world is the same as yours. Naturally, that goes for those you see as

children

. You seem to think that the reason you lost was due to us using them as shields, but the truth is that the ones that defeated and capture you were none other than three children. Isn 't that right, Dazai-kun? '

Toshinori felt the tiny hands that had been gripping his leg disappeared. He looked down, watching with rounded eyes as the young boy walked around him and headed towards the Port Mafia boss.

He wanted to reach out and stop the boy. Despite everything the Port Mafia boss had said, Toshinori still held strong to his belief in protecting those weaker than him. He wanted to hold this child and tell him that it 's alright anymore. That he didn 't need to obey this man 'that he was here.

However, when the boy looked up and their gaze met, Toshinori froze.

Dull burnt umber eyes gazed back at his without a speck of life reflected in them.

In all of his years of careers, Toshinori has seen different kinds of eyes.

Those brimming with anger, desperation, sadness, pain, terror, lost 'but these eyes showed nothing of that. If Toshinori had to come up a word for it, it would be 'hollow'.

'This boy is a prodigy. ' The Port Mafia boss decided to enlighten the Pro Hero. 'However, because nothing can surpass his expectations, he became extremely bored with everything around him, including life. That 's why he came to Port Mafia, so that he can seek out challenges 'something that can surpass his mind. When you came into Yokohama, I decided to let this boy handle your case. All I told him was to bring you here at eight o 'clock sharp, and he did just that. I 've never instructed him on how to proceed with your capture. Do you understand what that means, Hero? '

Toshinori felt himself tremble as he stared at the boy.

"Everything you did and everyone you came into contact with, including the two

children

that you fought 'they were all planned by Dazai-kun here. '

'Everything? Then '? ' Toshinori couldn 't continue as he remembered that cheerful smile the boy wore as he ate his treat.

Was he also part of Port Mafia?

Was that also a part of their setup?

He wanted to ask, but he couldn't. If he was wrong, then that will expose the boy's existence. Never had Toshinori expect himself to doubt the heart of a child, but he could no longer see any of these

children

as mere kids. Any last shard of hope he had been gripping onto shattered the moment he looked into this boy 'Dazai 's eyes.

At the very least 'he can 't see this boy in front of him as an innocent kid.

This boy '

'Leave our city, watchdog, ' the Port Mafia boss said with a cruel smile on his face. 'There is nothing for you to protect here. '

He did not want to be saved.