Aizawa Shouta remained motionless, eyes locked onto Uchiha Madara with an intensity that could have pierced steel. The weight of suspicion hung thick between them, almost suffocating.
In theory, even if someone used a hypnosis-based Quirk, Aizawa's Erasure should have snapped them out of it within moments. Yet here Madara stood—unaffected, unimpressed.
Madara seemed to read his mind. His crimson eyes narrowed faintly.
"Relax. You're not under Hypnosis."
Aizawa didn't lower his guard. "Then explain. Who… or what… are you?"
Madara let out a slow breath. The blue skeletal armor of Susanoo dissolved around him, fading like a mist into the air. When his eyelids opened again, his Sharingan eyes had returned to their natural black.
"You've been wondering about the villains' attack," Madara began in a calm, even tone. "They knew our class schedule… our training grounds. They knew exactly when All Might wouldn't be here."
He raised two fingers. "Which leaves only two possibilities: either they had impossible luck… or there's a mole inside U.A."
Aizawa's jaw clenched. That thought had been gnawing at the back of his mind since the attack began.
"The first scenario is a joke," Madara continued, eyes narrowing. "No strategist would bet on pure luck in a raid against Heroes. So…"
Aizawa finally spoke, his voice low. "So you're saying there's a spy."
Madara nodded once. "But it's not me." His eyes flared scarlet again, three tomoe whirling slowly. "And if I were… You wouldn't be standing here right now."
His words landed with a chilling finality.
"Why save the students if I were one of them?" Madara stepped forward. "Why fight Nomu? Why risk exposure? That's not what spies do."
Aizawa's grip tightened on the binding cloth coiled around his shoulders. "Or maybe… You knew All Might wasn't here. Maybe you staged this to protect your cover. Sacrifice your comrades now… protect yourself for later."
Madara sighed. "I said this already, but I'll say it again—if I wanted to kill you, you'd be dead."
His Sharingan shifted—three tomoe merging into a closed ring of swirling power.
"Still don't believe me? Come… try it yourself."
The moment their eyes locked, the world around Aizawa twisted.
The sky turned a deep, suffocating crimson. A blood-red moon hung overhead like a silent omen.
Aizawa instinctively took a step back. The oppressive force pressing on his chest felt wrong, like reality itself was holding its breath.
"Welcome," Madara's voice echoed, "to my world."
Without warning, Madara appeared before him, closer than before—an ominous presence that defied explanation.
"What… is this place?" Aizawa's voice came out hoarse, his nerves fraying.
Madara extended his arms slowly. "My world. My domain. Everything here bends to my will. Out there, only a moment passes. But in here? I decide how long this lasts."
Aizawa's mind reeled. A Quirk? No… it couldn't be.
"Remember the sludge incident?" Madara smirked faintly. "Ever wondered why he snapped?"
Aizawa's blood ran cold. "What… did you do?"
"I left him alone. In this world. For days. Long enough for his mind to fracture." Madara's tone remained disturbingly casual.
"You…!" Aizawa instinctively reached for his scarf, though he knew it was useless here.
"Even if I'm not with the League of Villains… I'm not normal either," Madara said, his eyes glinting with ancient malice. "And I didn't come to U.A. by accident."
"Then why?"
With a snap of his fingers, two wooden chairs materialized behind them. Madara sat down, crossing his legs with ease.
"I came because of a promise… to someone important."
Aizawa frowned. A promise? Faces flickered through his mind—fellow Pro Heroes, faculty, government contacts—but none fit.
He couldn't have known the "important person" was none other than Yaoyorozu Momo.
Aizawa shook his head. "Regardless of your reasons… You killed someone. You understand that, right?"
Madara met his gaze evenly. "If I didn't kill them, they'd have killed us. Even you know that."
"That doesn't make it right!" Aizawa snapped. "We don't kill! Heroes don't take lives unless there's no other choice!"
"Rules…" Madara appeared in front of him in an instant, grabbing him by the collar. "At the brink of death, tell me—are your rules more important… or your comrades' lives?"
Aizawa glared back, unflinching. "We fight to protect. If we become murderers, we're no different than them."
Madara released him, stepping back. "Think what you want. You can report me to the police… if you're ready for the consequences."
Aizawa's muscles tensed. "Is that a threat?"
Madara looked skyward, toward the oppressive blood moon. "Call it… a reminder. Have you ever wondered what would happen if I hypnotized the entire world?"
Aizawa didn't respond. He wasn't stupid enough to ask whether Madara could do it.
After what he'd witnessed… after what hundreds of students and villains experienced today…
He believed him.
Madara chuckled. "Until you figure out how to stop me, Aizawa-sensei… maybe you'd better think twice before calling me a villain."
Aizawa tried to swallow the lump forming in his throat. For once, he felt something close to fear.
Madara turned his back, eyes never looking over his shoulder. "I don't want to be your enemy… but don't force my hand."
He raised his hand—and with a soft snap of his fingers—the blood moon vanished.
The world snapped back to normal.
Aizawa stood alone in the silent ruins of the training ground. The oppressive weight was gone… but the chill in his heart remained.
A voice echoed faintly in the air.
"Until then… I'll be your student."
Aizawa closed his eyes briefly, exhaling a slow, measured breath. His mind raced with thoughts, questions… and one undeniable truth.
This wasn't over.
Not by a long shot.
—-
A/N: Sorry, Guys, For Not Being Consistent In Updating This Novel. As I just bought an iPhone 16 as a hardcore Android user since the day I was born, it's quite hard to get used to it, but from now onwards, I'll try to be consistent