Chapter 5 - Caught Red Handed

Hiroto walked forward to the duo, who just stared at Hiroto approaching them anxiously.

"Hmm, this is your true form? Oh well, every hero has their own weakness so it's not a big deal." Hiroto said, shrugging, chewing his gum.

"Huh?!" Both All Might and Mitochondria reacted, both surprised at how casual and indifferent Hiroto was to learning All Might's weak form.

A moment later, All Might suddenly remembered who the boy in front of him was.

"Wait, that indifferent face, along with that bald head. You were the one in the city center, the person who defeated muddy." All Might said, causing Mitochondria's eyes to widen.

"Ah, it's you! I didn't even get a chance to thank you for saving me and Kachan's life! My name is Izuku Midoriya, Thank you for saving me!!" Mitochondria *cough*… Midoriya shouted stiffly as he bowed, sweating, and breathing heavily from his training.

"Hmm, ok. So, what are you guys doing here? Is he your disciple or something, All Might?" Hiroto asked.

"Uh, yes. *ahem*" All Might coughed, as he transformed into his powered form and stated with great grandiose. "I discovered this boy's amazing heroic spirit and courage a few days ago during that incident. Without regard for his own safety, he rushed forwards to danger-"

*pop*

Hiroto blew a bubble with his gum only to have it explode in his face, covering it completely as he struggled to get it off his face. All Might and Midoriya could only stare blankly as he finally freed his face of the gum.

"Sorry, but I don't really like long explanations so I got a bit bored. So you were inspired by him, and decided to take him in." Hiroto said, for once thankful he didn't have hair, or else he would have suffered from gum being stuck in it.

"... Yes, you're correct!" All Might shouted with his trademark smile, albeit a little more stiffly. "I am currently training him to become my successor, but, please, can you not tell anyone about it? I wouldn't want people to find out that the symbol of peace has a weakened form and is training his successor. Too many people would exploit this."

Hiroto nodded and walked to a fridge that Midoriya used to try and drag around.

Midoriya talked in a sheepish and quiet voice, saying, "I… I don't have a quirk… So I need to train to become stronger… to become worthy of being All Might's successor! No matter what it tak- WHAT?!"

Midoriya cried out in shock, seeing Hiroto casually lift the fridge up with one hand, with his left inside his pocket. All Might as well stared in shock at Hiroto's strength, thinking to himself.

'This boy… he's strong. Extremely strong. To be able to defeat muddy with just one single punch, as well as casually lift up that fridge with one single hand. He obviously isn't using any effort whatsoever. Just who is he? I've never seen someone so young and powerful as him.'

"Well, I can keep it all a secret. But, in exchange let me come and hang out around here when you guys are training. I have nothing to do for the next 10 months, so might as well kill some time watching you guys in the background." Hiroto said, dropping the fridge back onto the ground with a loud thud.

Midoriya stood stock still, as he mumbled to himself. "T-that's… amazing… he must have some sort of super-strength quirk… maybe that was how he was able to easily defeat muddy…"

"I have no problem with this arrangement!" All Might shouted, giving a thumbs up, as he thought to himself, 'Having someone here that's the same age and much stronger than Midorya could help motivate him to train harder and faster...'

"I-I also have no problem! Ah, we didn't even get to ask you your name yet!" Midoriya said.

"Oh, I'm Hiroto Moriyama," Hiroto answered. "Just call me Hiroto. You know…" Hiroto then turned towards All Might.

"All Might, can I test something out?" Hiroto asked.

"Hm? Well, of course, you can! What is it that you want to test out?" All Might asked, hands akimbo on his hɨps.

"I want to try punching your hand, do you mind?" Hiroto stated.

"Hmm, I guess you can, hahaha. Many people have asked me this in the past, especially young kids like you. I have to warn you though, that it might hurt you! My hands are pretty tough and strong!" All Might stated with a laugh.

Hiroto nodded as he walked in front of All Might casually. All Might raised his fists and readied himself. 'From the punch, I saw yesterday… I shouldn't take this lightly.'

Hiroto didn't get into any pose whatsoever, causing All Might to look in confusion.

"Normal Series: Normal Punch," Hiroto muttered, raising his right hand up, he balled his fist and swung it towards All Might's palm holding back greatly.

All Might's instincts all screamed at him, as he felt a tremendous pressure descend upon him.

*BOOOM*

All Might's eyes widened in shock, as he braced himself even more with his entire right arm up to his shoulder shaking. He took a slight step back to steady himself.

*poof*

All Might transformed back to his weakened form as he looked at Hiroto and said, "You…"

Hiroto then said, "Wow, you're pretty strong. As expected of the Symbol of Peace."

All Might stayed silent for a moment before giving a chuckle and shaking his head. "You'll make a fine hero. I don't have to be worried about the future anymore."

Midoriya looked confused from the side before asking, "So? How was it, All Might? How was his strength?"

All Might thought for a moment before saying, "It was great, you're going to have to train a lot more to be able to catch up to him, young Midorya."

'I would've considered Hiroto as a candidate for One For All, but after feeling that strength for myself… There's more that's hidden beneath the surface. That was only a casual punch, I can't imagine what it would be like if he were to get serious. Hopefully… it doesn't have to come down to it.' All Might thought, casting a glance at Hiroto standing off to the side with hands in his pocket, staring at some seagulls in the background.

With that out of the way, Midoriya began his training again with All Might watching over him. Hiroto sat with his back leaning on an abandoned car, playing on his phone.

"Hiroto, you said you have 10 months free. Do you mean that after the 10 months are up, you're going to try for U.A. High School?" All Might in his true form, watching over Midoriya who was running along the beach and over the garbage.

"Yup. I've always wanted to be a hero since I was young. Although I wanted to do it as a hobby, it's not really allowed by the government, since you need to be a registered hero these days." Hiroto said.

"Yes, that is true." All Might said, thinking to himself, 'U.A. High School, huh. Just thinking about how he would perform at the entrance exam is giving me goosebumps already.'

"Are you hoping to become the number 1 hero?" All Might asked with a grin.

"No, not really." Hiroto simply stated, causing All Might's eyes to widen.

"Why not? Isn't that a goal that every young child and aspiring hero strive towards?" All Might asked.

"For them, it might be. But for me, I don't want a label such as that. I just want to work as a hero because I want to." Hiroto ended it at that since he didn't want to explain anymore.

'This world is different from One Punch Man's world, so how people view heroes here is different. However… Saitama's own personality is rubbing off on me, influencing how I view things as well. Oh well, I'll think about it some other time.' Hiroto thought to himself.

All Might didn't say anything else and kept his thoughts to himself.. But, a subtle corner of his mouth was raised.