After settling the Sludge Villain's "placement," Shigaraki Tomura turned around to face the Pro Heroes—who had grown visibly wary after overhearing his exchange.
"Well then, Heroes~ it's time we talked about… us."
"You must be curious about who I am—and what exactly I want, right?"
The Heroes exchanged glances.
Yes.
That was precisely what they wanted to know.
Under their guarded stares, Shigaraki began his speech.
"My name is Shigaraki Tomura. A savior by hobby."
"You may call me… the Savior of Villains."
"This time, I stepped forward not for myself—but for those Villains you so righteously punish under the banners of 'justice' and 'greater good.'"
"You Heroes… have you ever thought about the pasts of the Villains you arrest?"
"Why does Mr. Sludge hate Heroes so much?"
"Ah… perhaps he was mocked and bullied since childhood because of his unfortunate Quirk, never receiving help, until he eventually strayed onto the wrong path?"
"Or perhaps—because his Quirk is inherently predatory… inherently 'evil'—he was simply labeled a bad person from the start?"
"Even if he hadn't committed a single crime—because he possesses that kind of Quirk, he must naturally be a Villain?"
"He deserves to be arrested and thrown into prison, simply because of what he is?"
"So tell me… who do you think is the true culprit behind all this?"
"That's just speculation!" Kamui Woods retorted sharply. "You don't know his past. You're making assumptions."
"Perhaps," Shigaraki replied with a casual shrug.
Whether his words were entirely true didn't matter.
What mattered was this—
If even one listener resonated with him—
He had already won.
"Then let me ask you… out of a thousand Villains, might there be one who was forced into that role?"
"If not in a thousand… what about ten thousand?"
The Heroes fell silent.
Because they couldn't refute that.
They had encountered such cases before—people driven into crime by circumstances beyond their control.
Watching them hesitate, Shigaraki inwardly curled his lip.
He knew it.
These upright types were easy to sway.
As the saying went—gentlemen can be persuaded through reason.
The ancients hadn't lied.
Granted, manipulating these earnest Heroes pricked his conscience slightly.
But for the sake of his plan—
He had to continue.
After all—
He was just a conscience-less transmigrator.
"See? You can't answer, can you?"
"Are Villains born evil?"
"Have you ever truly understood, experienced, or endured the despair and suffering they faced before becoming Villains?"
"Do you know where that despair comes from?"
His voice lowered.
"It comes from… the 'kind' civilians you protect."
As he said this, Shigaraki found himself thinking—not of his past life—
But of the original Shigaraki Tomura.
Back when his Quirk first ran wild.
When he wandered the streets, desperate and alone.
He had asked countless people for help.
And every one of them had turned him away.
"You should go find a Hero."
"Heroes will help you."
"This kind of thing is a Hero's job."
In their minds, saving people was a Hero's responsibility.
All they had to do was wait for one.
Under that warped social mindset—
Abandoned and hopeless—
Shigaraki had been taken in by the "passing" All For One.
And thus began his descent into villainy.
If even one passerby had shown him genuine kindness—
Perhaps things would have been different.
Of course—
Now that he had arrived, Shigaraki's fate had changed.
But how many others were fortunate enough to have such luck?
To shatter this distorted societal belief—
To prevent tragedies like "his" from happening again—
He would tear away the mask.
Even if doing so caused a temporary surge in the number of Villains—
He would not regret it.
Because without madness—
Without destruction—
How could there ever be rebirth?
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