The UA arena floated high in the sky as the plan to defeat Shigaraki proceeded without Midoriya. Aizawa, Monoma, and the eye-drop hero kept Shigaraki constantly under the effect of erasure while Kaminari's team kept up the sky base. Kaminari grimaced, "I can't believe I spent almost a month getting my ass kicked by Sasuke just to not even fight!" He burst with a larger surge of electricity than everyone else.
A third-year girl next to him said, "Make sure you divert all that anger into powering this thing!"
Back on top of the arena, Bakugo and Mirko charged at Shigaraki. He responded by making his arm grow in a bizarre manner as multitudes of hands stacked upon each other into a mesh of body horror that slammed into the two of them, sending them crashing through a portion of the UA building. Bakugo exclaimed, "Woah! What the hell is this crap?!"
Monoma yelled, "I'm still staring! Erasure is still in effect!"
Edgeshot asked, "Is it not a quirk then?"
Shigaraki answered while the fingers grew at an increasing rate, "This is simple growth. Just like how your nails or hair grow... the body must adapt to ever-evolving quirks. My body is a testament to the future of a super-powered society in line with the quirk singularity. You people who swept it away under the rug and ignored the future couldn't possibly comprehend."
Aizawa communicated with Midoriya through comms and came to the conclusion that they'd be forced to stall until he arrived. All the heroes lined up to face Shigaraki's ever-growing mass, and Shoda stated, "Everyone! Let's go with plan B!"
He lifted his hands, and everyone gave him a high-five before engaging the tsunami of Shigaraki's incoming limbs. Shoda thought, 'Even with all that training, I'm still not good enough of a combatant to engage in combat on my own... But 'I'll make it as hard as possible for you to beat the heroes who can!'
Bakugo held up a glowing palm, "Eat this, shithead!" The explosion obliterated the incoming wave and Edgeshot coiled around more limbs before cutting them to pieces.
He yelled, "If you thought we would run, then you're sorely mistaken!"
Best Jeanist and Mirko closed in on him with Best Jeanist binding him in place while Mirko hit him dead on in the head with a devastating kick that nearly broke his neck.
Shigaraki went skidding on the ground like a rock over a lake until he recovered and rubbed blood from his cheek. He frowned and Bakugo sneered, "How do you like that? We don't even need Izuku to beat your sorry ass!"
Best Jeanist replied, "Don't get too cocky, Bakugo! Remember the plan!"
They got closer to Shoda and high-fived him again, which Shigaraki observed. "Seems like you aren't complete nuisances. I won't underestimate you again."
Shigaraki thought, 'That's the second time they've high-fived that boy. Wasn't that the UA student with a power-amplifying quirk? That would explain how they're able to actually damage me. It would be best to get rid of him first." Shigaraki hunched over and started growing his limbs again. 'I can feel the growth adapting to my situation almost subconsciously... I feel close to realizing it's truest form... hehe.... give me more.'
Bakugo hunched over while turret-like equipment materialized on his back, "We're not even giving you the chance!"
Edgeshot yelled, "Let's finish this as quickly as possible!"
Both of them blitzed toward Shigaraki, avoiding his growth and going straight for him. Shigaraki observed this, 'They're not attacking the growth first? Does that mean the power boost only lasts for one attack?'
Shoda put his fingers together, ready to snap them as his eyes focused solely on the gap between the duo and Shigaraki, 'All I need is... the perfect moment to catch you off guard...'
Bakugo spun rapidly as small clusters accompanied him, "Howitzer impact: Cluster!"
"Too telegraphed," Shigaraki braced to jump out of the attack.
"There!" Shoda snapped his fingers, and before Shigaraki could move another inch, he started screaming in excruciating pain as it felt like a bomb went off in his chest. Bakugo's huge explosion completely enveloped Shigaraki and half of the rock they floated on. It was so huge that the blast went past the barrier far off, causing heat and moisture in the atmosphere to form clouds.
Shigaraki stood stunned, foaming at the mouth as all of his pale skin was scorched and peeled off by the explosion, but the attack wasn't over as Edgeshot pierced through his heart, ready to end him.
Although, instead of shredding his heart to pieces, Shigaraki's body acted instinctively and squeezed Edgeshot as he passed through him, leaving him collapsed on the ground with a crushed arm as he reformed.
Best Jeanist yelled, "Edgeshot!"
Everyone gasped and stared at Shigaraki with wide eyes as he started laughing quietly before exploding with glee. He covered his beat red face with his hands before spreading them wide and revealing a healed face, "Amazing! I never thought mere ants could push me this far! Keep coming at me! You're only aiding in my own evolution!"
Monoma gritted his teeth, "How the hell is he doing that?! He shouldn't be able to use a regeneration quirk!"
Bakugo grunted, "Left him well-done and he came back raw."
Shigaraki wagged his finger with a huge smile, "Did you fools not listen to what I said earlier? This is merely the growth caused by my evolving body. That's cell growth. Oh... and If I remember correctly, Aizawa could never turn off mutant quirks unlike me."
He shot off growth with sharpened nails this time that cut through the air as Bakugo, Mirko, and Nejire engaged him.
Best Jeanist pulled on Edgeshot's clothes to bring him to safety and quickly binded his wounds shut on his mangled arm. He asked, "How are you holding up?"
"I'll be able to.... fight soon, just need a minute."
They both stared down at his mangled arm with grimaces and Edgeshot continued, "Worry about the fight! I'll be fine!"
He came back to his senses and nodded, "Right!" 'I can't be getting distracted like this now, my juniors need me!'
He joined the fight and stayed next to Shoda's side, making constant physical contact while he tried to imitate Edgeshot's moves to cut Shigaraki's limbs. At the same time, huge hands slowly covered Shigaraki's body like armor while Mirko got in close. Shigaraki reacted and waved a club of limbs at her, sending her flying, "You may have your power increased, but have you all forgotten how fast All Might could be?!"
He went on the offensive and thrust his sharp fingers at Bakugo's chest, but as they barely pierced through he felt another huge pang of pain as Shoda snapped his fingers. Bakugo almost faltered from the wound, but recovered with gritted teeth, "No way are you taking me down with something light like this!"
He palmed Shigaraki's head point blank and blew it up, destroying the front of Shigaraki's face and exposing his skull before it slowly reformed.
Bakugo backed away and recovered while Shigaraki fell back down to the earth. However, instead of a soft landing, Mirio with a punch amped by both Nejire and Shoda blew his guts out and sent him flying into the electric barrier
He screamed in pain and Mirko tried to kick him again, "I got you this time!" But finger-like spikes shot all around him, making her back up with some cuts. "Shit!"
Best Jeanist replied, "It's ok, we have the upper hand right now! We've landed multiple fatal hits on him; we have to keep our heads in the game!"
Nejire nodded, "Yeah!" Most of them smiled and prepared for his next move.
Shigaraki thought, 'Despite how euphoric it is to discover how I'm evolving, they're a legit threat to my life... The boy with the twin impact quirk is their main support; if they lose him, they won't have anything to smile about anymore.'
Shoda noticed his analytic eye and a shiver ran down his spine as he pursed his lips. He remembered something Tokage said during their training a couple weeks ago, "You're really getting into the whole support role thing, aren't you? I like it! Don't feel like you're invincible just cause you're not fighting though. I always target the supports in games."
Shigaraki made his move and Mirko tried to downslam him only to have her mechanical leg torn off. Shoda snapped his finger and Shigaraki rolled over in pain, but he quickly recovered and ran in his direction. Mirio began to rise up from the ground, but Shigaraki kept one of his arms as a mass of growth and slammed it into the ground, surrounding himself in spiked nails.
Mirko gritted her teeth while she got a spare robotic limb, "Can't get that close to him if there's spikes everywhere..."
"I still can!" Bakugo propelled himself with his explosions and weaved past Shigaraki's swipe before planting another huge explosion on his side that sent him flying. However, Shigaraki's spikes developed into a hand that grabbed him and threw him in Shoda's direction faster than anyone could catch up to. Bakugo cursed, "Damn it!"
Best Jeanist stood at Shoda's side and created a web of threads to catch Shigaraki with, but limbs underground destroyed the ground they stood on and split them up as Shigaraki jumped above the threads. "You're not touching him!"
Shoda stumbled and Best Jeanist weaved more threads to pull Shigaraki away while putting a net between him and Shoda, but Shigaraki just smiled, "I didn't plan on it."
He turned to Best Jeanist faster than he could anticipate and used a jagged nail to cut the thread before blitzing him and running dozens of sharp fingers straight through his torso faster than anyone could react.
Everyone froze momentarily while Best Jeanist choked on his blood. His arms slowly fell to his side, and Shigaraki giggled before tossing him aside. "Come now, I'm not that predictable." He looked around at everyone's wide eyes and dropped mouths, "Oh, what happened? Didn't you guys have the upper hand? I thought you were going to defeat me? Don't frown, doesn't All Might always say to keep smiling?" He mocked them by pushing the edges of his mouth up with his fingers and they stayed silent.
Shoda clenched his fist, 'Did... Best Jeanist just die? What the hell is going on? Have I been managing my second impacts poorly? What the hell is going on?'
The silence was broken by Bakugo screaming from his core. Mirio yelled, "Bakugo, no wait!" Shigaraki turned to the sound with a smile only for his face to be covered in an explosion that enveloped him. Bakugo didn't let up, screaming and letting off constant explosions while memories of his time with Best Jeanist ran through his mind.
"I'll kill you! You bastard!" He let off maximum output explosions nonstop with every drop of anger being let out through his sweat until Edgeshot turned into a thread and shot through his clothes, narrowly pulling him with the thread out of the way of a spiked finger. They landed on the ground and he commanded, "Bakugo! You need to calm down! You're getting tunnel visioned!"
Bakugo stood up but Edgeshot pulled him back down and grabbed his shoulders while Shigaraki regenerated in the background, "He's gonna pick us off one by one if you run back in there! Best Jeanist would want you to control yourself!"
Shigaraki stated, "While I appreciate the romanticizing of comic books, I'm not just gonna stand here while you recover from that hero's death. Before I kill the rest of you, I just want you to know, that tantrum was for nothing. Your explosions aren't much without twin impact."
Shigaraki got ready to attack again, but Mirio appeared from under him and phased through the spikes, sending an uppercut that made him bite his own tongue off, "You shut your mouth! You're fighting with us now!"
The big three of UA and Mirko surrounded him and kept him busy while Bakugo gritted his teeth and shook, "How the hell am I supposed to calm down... when Best Jeanist just got killed?!"
Best Jeanist body lay bleeding out not far from them, and Edgeshot took a deep breath, "Let me take that back... Just control that anger and fight with us. Not alone. Best Jeanist was my best friend... I get how you feel right now, but we have to focus on ending Shigaraki or stalling until Midoriya gets back! Alright?"
Bakugo's glare softened and his head slowly turned to Shigaraki after a minute. He observed everyone that kept fighting on and all of Shigaraki's movements. "Yeah... I got that, cause I'm not gonna calm down... I need Shigaraki dead!" His eyes were as wide open as possible, and Shigaraki met his gaze while jumping away from Mirio's punch.
'I'll anticipate you next time... Ideally I'd like to leave you on the verge of death for when Izuku comes here. But it's about time I really put their support down.'
He dodged Mirko in a way to bait a kick that sent him flying in Shoda's direction, slapping a mass of limbs on the ground to propel himself further toward him, but Shoda showed no fear. Bakugo thought, 'Taking advantage... going for support... right side...'
Shigaraki grinned maniacally and Shoda punched himself in the gut before jumping away. Shigaraki's growth nearly grabbed Shoda's leg, but he activated his twin impact on himself and went flying toward the big three. Nejire tried to get close to catch him and Shigaraki thought, 'You're finished. The power boost is based on how powerful the first attack already is, you can't do anything in the air now.'
He propelled himself toward Shoda and nearly ran his fingers right through him like Best Jeanist, but Shoda remembered all the training he had done and dodging Sasuke's attacks, "If you're gonna be on the sidelines most of the time, it's your job to have more situational awareness than anyone else around you. Don't always wait for your teammates to come to you for a boost."
He side-eyed Bakugo, whose palms glowed with laser focus, and he resolved himself. 'If you're gonna try to kill me, I'm gonna make it as hard as possible for you! Even if we can't beat you, we're gonna stall for as long as possible!' Shoda bit down full force on his tongue and sent himself flying toward Bakugo who propelled himself toward him. They grabbed each other's hands in mid-air, and Shoda swung toward Edgeshot while Bakugo swung toward AFO.
He frowned, 'What the hell? I thought it was just one attack?!'
Shigaraki saw Bakugo incoming and swung at him, but Bakugo was faster than before and twirled around his arm before blasting him into the ground. His mind raced through the training watching Midoriya and Sasuke, 'At what point... did I start seeing them so far ahead of me?'
Half of Shigaraki's body was a mangled, charred mess, and he saw blood pouring from Shoda's mouth, 'Ah... hehe, I see.'
Bakugo dove down, and Shigaraki tried to repel him with finger spikes, but Bakugo maneuvered through it, 'Ever since we came to UA, I've just been playing catch up, and now both of them pushed even further ahead using multiple quirks...'
He blasted Shigaraki high up into the air, 'What the hell?! I still felt the same power in that one!'
While his body recovered, Bakugo caught up to him spinning rapidly, 'But so what?! I don't have a choice but to catch up. Limits don't matter, right now. I gotta put this guy down and surpass them both again! For Best Jeanist, and myself! Howitzer Impact!'
Shoda snapped his fingers in unison with the attack and multiple holes were blown through Shigaraki, making him fall to the earth. He groaned thinking, 'Seems like I'm not the only one that's been evolving in this fight. I'm not sure what's going on with those boy's quirks now...'
He twisted in the air to avoid Mirio's punch from below and his injuries recovered while he stood off facing the heroes. Blood still leaked from Shoda's mouth while he held his side, and drool fell from Bakugo's from how focused he was. All of the rest of the students stood ready for anything, all silently focused on one objective. Mirko thought, 'Is he regenerating faster?'
Shigaraki snickered and pondered, 'Amplified hits mixed with random second impacts to make me stumble on my own attacks at any time... If my body never started evolving, I likely would have died against these ants a long time ago... No, I can't call them ants now.'
"Heh, I must admit. I underestimated you people. Perhaps you're more like rats rather than ants. I'll stomp you heroes out all the same."
Edgeshot looked over at Best Jeanist's body and narrowed his eyes back at Shigaraki, "Keep underestimating us, we're making sure you don't live to see tomorrow."
"How heroic of you."
Mirko pointed a finger, "We're not taking any chances with you. Next time I land a kick on you I'm breaking your neck!"
He tilted his head and laughed, making his limbs grow, "Come on then! Fight until you drop dead!"
While their climactic battle continued, in the neighboring country of China, Gai and Lee engaged in battle with the group known as the Sound Five.