"I said… why did you drag me here like some kind of ghost?"
Igarashi Masata finally stopped when Yaoyorozu pulled him into a secluded corner where no other students could be seen. He looked at her in confusion.
"Um… actually, I left a mark on the villains."
After carefully checking their surroundings, Yaoyorozu leaned closer and whispered into Masata's ear.
Her warm breath brushed against his skin, making his ears itch slightly. But what truly shocked him was what she said next.
"What?! You mean Sister Mag and Spinner?! When did you do that? I didn't notice anything at all!"
Masata stared at her in disbelief. Both villains had been severely injured at the time, barely clinging to life. No one would normally think of placing any kind of tracking mark in that situation.
"Yes. It was those two."
Yaoyorozu nodded firmly.
"Actually, it's not something I placed directly on them. The handcuffs I created contain a miniature tracking device. It can receive special signals. I developed it based on a suggestion from Aizawa-sensei."
Masata couldn't help but admire Aizawa even more.
Although Aizawa often looked lazy and indifferent, his guidance to his students was always precise and practical.
Yaoyorozu's Quirk was incredibly powerful in combat, but its true strength lay in strategy.
And in modern society, strategy was inseparable from reconnaissance and intelligence.
In the information age, controlling data meant controlling everything.
Recently, Yaoyorozu had been focusing more and more on this field. Every night, she studied the structures of communication devices and tracking equipment.
That was how she managed to create her own positioning system during the training camp.
And now, it had become a crucial advantage.
"That's amazing!" Masata said excitedly. "With this, we might be able to find the League of Villains' base!"
"But we have to move quickly. Who knows if they'll throw the handcuffs away somewhere else?"
His eyes burned with anger.
The League of Villains had crossed his bottom line.
Targeting him was one thing.
But hurting the people around him?
That was unforgivable.
"I think we should tell All Might first," Yaoyorozu said seriously. "Too many people knowing about this would be dangerous. If the students found out, they might rush in recklessly."
That was exactly why she had pulled Masata aside.
If they discussed it openly, everyone would get involved, making things even more complicated.
"I agree," Masata nodded. "The League of Villains is still extremely dangerous. We can't handle them recklessly right now."
As he said this, he seemed to forget that he himself was still a student.
Perhaps his constant growth in strength had unconsciously changed his perspective.
Meanwhile, inside the meeting room—
"Ring—Ring—"
The sudden sound of a phone ringing broke the tense silence.
"Sorry. I'll take this."
All Might stood up, excused himself, and walked out into the hallway.
(I couldn't even protect my students… What kind of Symbol of Peace am I?)
His emotions were tangled.
Anger at the villains.
Worry for Bakugo.
And crushing self-blame.
They mixed together, leaving him overwhelmed.
"Hello, Tsukauchi? Is something wrong?"
The caller was his longtime friend, Detective Naomasa Tsukauchi.
"I've been interrogating the captured villains," Tsukauchi said. "And we've made an unexpected discovery."
The police had been working nonstop since last night.
Now, they finally had a breakthrough.
"About two weeks ago, during a routine investigation, we obtained some strange information."
"A man with a stitched face entered a building that normally shouldn't be accessible."
All Might's heart tightened.
"According to witnesses," Tsukauchi continued, "he looked about twenty years old. We checked our criminal database, but found no match."
"After that, we questioned the building's owner. He said there's a hidden bar inside."
After a brief pause, Tsukauchi added reassuringly, "Don't worry. I told my team not to investigate further for now, so as not to alert anyone."
"And his appearance matches one of the villains involved in Bakugo's kidnapping."
"I'm telling you directly because I trust you."
"This might be our chance to trace the vines and find the League's nest."
For several seconds, there was only heavy breathing on the other end.
"All Might?"
"…I really have a good friend."
After a long pause, All Might took a deep breath. Steam began rising from his body.
"Please relay my thanks to everyone."
"I won't waste this chance."
At the same time, Masata and Yaoyorozu were searching for All Might.
Since the tracker's signal was unstable, they needed to report it as soon as possible.
"How is it? Any response yet?" Masata asked.
While running through the hallway, Yaoyorozu assembled a portable receiver and sent out a detection signal.
"Not yet… wait—there it is!"
"Location confirmed!"
"Kanagawa Prefecture, Yokohama City!"
After several tense seconds, the receiver finally responded.
That was most likely the League of Villains' current location.
"If that's true," Masata said excitedly, "we might be able to catch them off guard!"
"All Might—!"
Just as they were about to search for him, they spotted All Might turning a corner after finishing his call.
Masata's heart leapt with joy.
"All Might," he called out urgently, "we have important intelligence to report!"