Template:AFO Synopsis/History

Early life
The Shigaraki brothers were born to a sex worker who wasn't even aware of her pregnancy for the first eight months. She died in childbirth by a riverbank, as a result of the twins sapping away her life force, with the older brother in particular consuming most of the nutrients, leaving very little for his younger brother. This was the era before Meta Abilities were known, with the mother unknowingly possessing one which caused hardened growths to appear on her arm. Upon the twins birth, the older brother, who also happened to possesses a Meta Ability to steal other Meta Abilities, immediately stole the mother's Meta Ability, Spearlike Bones, for himself while devouring the body and holding his younger brother's arm. Just as rats came to gnaw on the newborns and their mother's corpse, they were washed away by the flood.

One year later, the Luminescent Baby was born, and Meta Abilities became more wide known and recognized, with a research group hypothesizing that a "novel disease" was to blame, announcing that those with Meta Abilities were subbranches of humanity with new genetic factors. This announcement caused many people to be divided, and chaos started to grow, with people without Meta Abilities waging war and terror against the ones with powers, and the latter doing the same.

The older Shigaraki brother grew up alongside his younger brother, Yoichi, within this hellish world on their own. He one day approached a group of Anti-Meta masked soldiers, who despite their sympathy for the boy, they recognized him as "an exceptional child", saying they should leave him be since the kids are most likely to be carriers. He then sprouted an array of Spearlike Bones from his body, killing them all instantly. Due to his imbued hubris and disrespect for others from the moment of his birth, the older brother viewed all within his reach as his own possessions, and those who wouldn't turn to look at him when he cried, or those who couldn't provide him with anything, he responded with utter distrust. The boy proceeded to rampage throughout the streets, killing everyone who refused him and stealing their Meta Abilities. Yoichi threw a can at him, weakly telling him to stop hurting people, only for his brother to kick him down in response. While Yoichi provided him with nothing, the older brother still considered him one of his possessions he would not easily release, so kept him close. Throughout his childhood, the older brother would do as he pleases, killing and stealing Meta Abilities, and every time Yoichi would try to stop him, he would respond with physical abuse or retaliation for interfering with him.

One day, as Yoichi was self-teaching himself to read, the older brother approaches him, demanding to know what it is he is reading. Yoichi says he's still learning so he's reading Captain Hero comic books, which he considers amazing, since they tell you the hopes and dreams in people through the drawings. He says one day he would like to be like the Hero in the book. The older brother took an interest in the comic too, and started reading with him.

Three years later, as the world descended into further chaos due to the Meta Abilities, the older brother felt discontent with the Luminescent Baby's increasing popularity, gaining millions of followers as they preached peace for society, calling it weird why they should be the one to become so popular just because they were the first recorded, especially with 50 babies being born with Meta Abilities in India two weeks ago. The older brother decided that the child and their followers did not deserve the right to mobilize so many, so he killed them and stole their Meta Ability. He revealed this whole thing to Yoichi, who reacts in shock and horror. Yoichi asked why he did it, and the older brother responded that he did it just like what the comic said, "One for all" and "All for one", sharing his dream to Yoichi.

While Yoichi was a fan of the titular protagonist, Captain Hero, the older brother became a fan of Captain Hero's nemesis, the Demon Lord King. While the Hero fought in solitude with a secret identity, the Demon Lord was paid tribute and ruled out of fear. Just like Yoichi's dream of being a Hero, he now wants a world solely for his own sake, having found his dream.

The older brother, now going by his Quirk Name: "All For One", rose through the ranks in Japan. He decided to exploit the chaos, stole many Quirks and attained immense power and influence. Using his incredible might, the man unified thousands of people under his command. He then manipulated the people he gathered like pawns to further his plans and eventually became the ruler of Japan.

It's suggested that he ruled from the shadows, as most of his actions in the present day are only known as rumors on the internet. He also started grooming other powerful individuals who he deemed to have a lot of potential, such as Gigantomachia, who became his personal bodyguard, though when this happened is unknown.

All For One was accused of atrocity for his actions by Yoichi. All For One claimed that he was only helping people by taking away undesirable Quirks and giving power to the weak; thus contributing to restore humanity in a chaotic era. He then gave a demonstration on how he used his Quirk to help others and presented two people: a young man with a Quirk that gave him a mutant jaw, he careingly looked after his grandparents but was shunned by society because of his facial appearance, even his parents wouldn't speak with him, and an ordinary man who was attacked by a group of Quirk users, with the stun gun he relied on being rendered useless.

All For One then used his power to take away the young man's Quirk, subsequently removing his mutant jaw, and giving the other man a Quirk proficient for self-defence. After doing so, All For One asks the two if he can call on them in times of need, and both men swear their allegiance to him in gratitude. Yoichi however, pointed out that All For One was only conducting subtle schemes as to gather followers and would dispose of them after they had become worthless to him.

Yoichi refused to give in to his brother's sophistry and tried to rebel but was stopped by All For One's personal bodyguard. All For One berated his brother for not having a Quirk but says that he still loved him as he is his only family and imprisoned him rather than kill him.

When All For One visited his captive brother, he saw how emaciated he had become. He tells Yoichi about how a group who refused to join him were killed, simply because his followers interpreted his desires as instructions to kill them. All For One admits that it's like a dream come true, just like in the comics when they were kids. Yoichi was disgusted and voiced his defiance against his brother, telling him that he had only read up to Volume 3 of the series, and that there was more to the story, saying that powerful villains always lose to the heroes of justice.

Insulted, All For One reproaches him that real life does not work like in comics, and that he will rewrite reality. Eventually, in a twisted showcase of affection, All For One decided to use his power to forcefully implant a Quirk within him, a Power Stockpiling Quirk that even his frail body could handle, with the intent of turning him to his side. All For One grabs his brother's forehead and transfers the Quirk to stockpile power to him despite his pleads to stop. What no one knew at the time is that Yoichi already had an innate Quirk, and the two Quirks merged to form a new Quirk: One For All.

It was during this time when All For One met Kyudai Garaki. Kyudai theorized the "Quirk Singularity", according to which someday Quirks will become so powerful that they will be uncontrollable, but society scoffed at this theory, so he disappeared from the public eye. However, possibly due to the nature of his own Quirk, All For One believed his theory and lent Kyudai his aid. Since then, Kyudai has been working for All For One. As a gift of loyalty and appreciation, Kyudai duplicated his Life Force Quirk, and gave his original Quirk to All For One, keeping the duplicate. Thanks to this, both he and All For One continue to live to this day.

Battle against the One For All Users
When All For One was reaching the peak of his powers, he was being opposed by a resistance led by a spiky haired man named Kudo, the future Second User of One For All, and while he had no direct confrontation with this resistance, he allowed his growing number of subordinates to deal with him and the rest later. One day, Kudo and his companion, the future Third User, rescued Yoichi from his imprisonment after deciding against his initial assassination attempt.

Yoichi was not strong enough to defeat his brother even with his new Quirk, so he passed the Meta Ability on to the next generation in the hopes that one day One For All would be strong enough to defeat his older brother. Some time after Yoichi passed down One For All to Kudo, he was targeted by All For One for freeing his younger brother. He massacred the entire resistance, leaving only Kudo standing to oppose him. Even with One For All, Kudo wasn't strong enough to defeat All For One, however, by this point he had already passed down One For All to the Third User.

With Kudo defeated, All For One held him by the throat, demanding to know the whereabouts of his younger brother. Kudo replied that Yoichi is dead, and he was the one who killed him. For the first time, All For One felt incredibly anguished upon hearing this, and with tears flowing down his eyes in despair and anger, begins to choke the life out of Kudo, easily stopping a bullet shot at him from behind using his Meta Ability, Gearshift. All For One eventually kills Kudo, all the while in his final moments, he simply smiles at the Villain in satisfaction.

Throughout the century, All For One became obsessed with acquiring One For All, and sought out every successor who obtained it. He fought and killed nearly all of these successors. He even attempted to steal One For All from the fifth user, Daigoro Banjo, and the sixth user, En, but failed due to its inherent willpower and refusal to submit to All For One, as the Quirk continued to be passed on and evade him.

Several generations later, the seventh torchbearer, Nana Shimura with her pupil and eighth bearer Toshinori Yagi, and her friend Sorahiko Torino, tried to stop him. However, despite their best efforts, All For One still overwhelmed them. Aware that they could not defeat him, Nana pushed Toshinori out of harm's way and Gran Torino fled with Toshinori as the young man cries for his master. Nana departed some final words of encouragement onto Toshinori before standing against All For One one last time. The villain mocked Nana for providing quality comedy and killed her with a large flash of black lightning. However, before that Nana managed to get the last words as he was choking her out, as she told him Toshinori would be the one to finally defeat him, since he's even crazier than himself.

Few decades later, after Tenko Shimura accidentally murdered his family during the awakening of his Quirk, as well as brutally murdering his abusive father out of revenge, All For One met him under a bridge and granted him a home and safety. He provided Tenko a home and guidance to overcome his violent urges. Kyudai entered the room with Tenko's family's dissected hands, causing the boy to suffer a mental breakdown remembering his family.

Kyudai questioned whether All For One should modify Tenko. All For One replied no, and that he would teach him how to take his feelings and frustrations, and give them purpose. All For One told Tenko that he had an impulse to destroy that couldn't be controlled. He assured him that the impulse didn't have to be controlled, nor was it necessarily a bad thing.

One day, Tenko got into a fight with two punks. He was going to fight back and uses the Decay on them but backed down. Later, he threw a tantrum while All For One tried to console the young Tenko, telling him that he should act as his heart commands, otherwise he would suffer for it. He explained that conscience, morals, and ethics were all fabrications, intended to restrain people like them. He asked Tenko one more time what he would like to do. Tenko replied that he wanted to kill the two street thugs, noting that he couldn't hold back his feelings anymore. He disintegrated one of the hands, and All For One smiled, and told him to try his best.

On a rooftop nearby, All For One and Kyudai watched Tenko murdering the street punks. Garaki expressed surprise at the events, saying he thought that Tenko had lost his memories. All For One corrected him, noting that the memories were still there, just shut away. He noted that his family's hands would serve to restrain him, keeping all but his negative emotions suppressed. He saw that Tenko is subconsciously keeping his Quirk in check. Smiling, All For One expressed pride in seeing Tenko's first step down the path to becoming the Symbol of Fear, and said that he will cultivate and encourage him on the journey.

Later, All For One awarded Tomura five new dissected hands. Four belong to the two thugs he killed, and he explains that the fifth hand is a small bonus to make up for the one he destroyed earlier. He asked Tenko to put on all the new hands, and rechristened him "Tomura Shigaraki" as Tomura means "to mourn" and Shigaraki is his own surname. After this, All For One began grooming Tomura as his successor and as the new Symbol of Fear, knowing that this growing raw hatred of his could be used to finally steal One For All. All For One was also aware that Tomura was suppressing his memories and his Quirk.

The threat of All Might
Toshinori Yagi, Nana's disciple, returned to Japan after a long absence in the United States, and soon became All Might, Japan's No. 1 hero and the Symbol of Peace. All For One attempted to stop All Might with his soldiers and accomplices, though All Might was able to best all of them, and with his actions, All Might began to dismantle All For One's criminal empire.

All For One began to suspect that he would eventually be defeated, so he took several contingency measures in case this would happen, such as sending Gigantomachia away into the woods for hiding. Likewise, in collaboration with Kyudai Garaki, All For One duplicated his own Quirk, with the intention of transferring it to Tomura when the time comes. In the meantime, Kyudai utilized this duplicate of All For One for various experiments.

At some point, All For One recovered the body of the deceased Oboro Shirakumo, and had Kyudai turn him into the Nomu called Kurogiri, who served as their close confidant and assistant. He also at one point was approached by the Aoyama family, and asked to give a Quirk to their Quirkless son, Yuga. He gave him Navel Laser, however, like everyone he made deals with in the past, the Aoyamas were now indebted to All For One, and would be forced to follow his commands in fear of death, showing them the bloody remains of those who attempted to act behind his back.

All For One and Kyudai also took in many children, which they described as "warped twisted seeds", that they could manipulate as part of their own experiments, as well as use for spare vessels in case anything happened to Tomura. One of these people was a young nameless boy only known as "Experiment Number 6." He suffered from a case of agnosia, having absolutely no awareness of his own self, whether due to a brain defect or childhood trauma. While Kyudai believed his state to be unfit as a pupil, All For One disagreed, seeing his "blank slate" as someone they can shape like a wad of clay into whatever form he desires, potentially even the twisted entity they seek.

All For One showed him videos and visuals of many Pro Heroes, telling him to choose whatever Quirk and Hero most interested him, and let that take his form. Number 6 chose O'Clock, who All For One complimented him on, telling him to visualize him as his mentor, and that he is the form he's meant to take.

Likewise, All For One also went to Sekoto Peak and rescued the burnt remains of Toya Todoroki, seeking to use him as another one of their many spare vessels. Due to the deteriorating state of Toya's body, All For One made all the missing pieces replaced with regenerative tissue.

Three years after rescuing him, Toya had awakened in one of their nurseries where they watch over their spare vessels. They inform Toya that the process of rebuilding his body was a failure, unable to fully make use of his Quirk, but still intended to raise him like all the others.

However, Toya bluntly refused to be trained by anyone other than his father, and managed to escape. All For One and the Doctor let him go, unable to control him due to his obsession with his father, and believing he will die within a month's time due to the fractured body.

The Underground Masquerade
A few years later, in the city of Osaka, All For One organized an illegal fighting event known as the Underground Masquerade. The event helped him move illegal drugs, test different variants of Quirk-Boosting drugs, and search for interesting Quirks worth stealing. His activities attracted the attention of the Pro Hero O'Clock, who infiltrated the tournament by posing as a fighter, obtaining evidence of drug trafficking. It also attracted a young Rumi Usagiyama, although she was more interested in fighting, defeating everyone who dared to face her.

All For One, who had been watching the fights from the security room, decided to harvest some Quirks. He released a gas that empowers the Quirks, making those who breathe it go on a rampage. To prevent anyone from fleeing, All For One deployed his subordinates, including a Hooded Man, and with the help of Kurogiri and his Warp Gate, he steals those Quirks that interest him.

All For One was especially eager to get hold of O'Clock's Quirk, Overclock, to give to Number 6. The hero allied with Rumi and Kendo Rappa, one of the underground fighters, to escape from there. Their escape was interrupted by the Hooded Man, leading to a battle between them.

All For One was annoyed at being unable to see a clear view of the battle, due to most of the security cameras being destroyed, as well as the panicking spectators getting in the way. He contemplates clearing the arena himself, but Kurogiri disagrees as he believes any further escalation might summon All Might to the place, further irritating All For One. He decides to let the situation settle on its own.

When realizing that the Hooded Man was too difficult a foe to defeat by his own means, O'Clock put in motion an emergency plan, which consisted of Rumi escaping and warning his allies outside to request the assistance of All Might. The plan worked, and All Might immediately left his hero office to help out in Osaka.

Kurogiri informed All For One that since All Might is on his way, they should retreat so as not to lose their valuable test subjects, as well as O'Clock, but All For One, annoyed that he couldn't watch the fight between O'Clock and the Hooded Man, instead requested Kurogiri to assist him in buying some time.

After explaining to his Kurogiri the dichotomy between heroes and villains, All For One places his hand on several of the unconscious individuals, utilizing his Quirk on each of them to boost their powers, transforming them into violent villains who rampaged the city streets. All For One was satisfied with the results, because even All Might would waste time protecting everyone and reestablishing order, but Kurogiri tells him that he has gone too far with his action, because the incident would serve as a clue that leads back to them. All For One didn't care about it, arguing that it is a risk well worth the chance to get the Overclock Quirk.

All Might shows up and defeats all the villains in the blink of an eye. Kurogiri relents that All Might's actions barely bought them anytime, but All For One gleefully responds that it bought them "three seconds", more than enough to be able to get Overclock. However, the unexpected intervention of Rumi, who returned to help fight the Hooded Man, spoiling the plan, Which leaves him frustrated and displeased. With All Might closing in, Kurogiri uses his Quirk to quickly retrieve the Hooded Man.

Once in the hideout, Hood rampages around, yelling that he can still fight, when he is stopped and restrained by All For One. He expressed his disappointment on him, as his strength, agility, and regeneration had greatly weakened after just a few minutes of battle, initially believing his martial arts skills would've got the job done, but that his commitment to brawling messes with his new Shape-Shifting ability.

Using his Quirks to shut him down, All For One tells Kurogiri to transport him over to the doctor for further modifications. Despite the failure, All For One keeps calm and reflects that he can be patient, since every step leads him closer to All Might, though still states that getting his hands on Overclock would've furthered the cause, saying that it will be his eventually and he already knows how he'll put it to use.

The Fall of All For One
All Might eventually fought and critically injured All For One, but he similarly received a debilitating wound in the process. Incapacitated by his defeat, All For One went into hiding as he attempted to heal from his injuries, having Gigantomachia and Kyudai track down useful Quirks to help him recover. Kyudai began work at creating a Hyper Regeneration Quirk, which he believed would be of use to help his condition, however due to most of his wounds having cauterized, it would have little effect on him. Due to his grievous injuries, he was forced to rely on a life-support breathing mask and machines to keep him alive.

My Hero Academia: Vigilantes
At some point shortly after being injured, the hero O'Clock infiltrated one of his lairs, coming face to face with the Villain, who snatched his Quirk Overclock and wounded his face, leaving a distinctive scar. He would then give Overclock to Number 6 to let his transformation process begin.

During this period of time, All For One began to conduct various experiments towards the general public, all for their goal of creating a being that can rival All Might in power. Just like with the Underground Masquerade, he primarily made use of the Trigger drug, using Number 6 and the parasitic Queen Bee, Kuin Hachisuka, to expose it to the public and examine their out of control Quirks, turning them into Instant Villains.

Those who most fascinated them would be kidnapped and forced into bioengineering experimentations and body modifications, transforming them into Next-Level Villains, as just another step to test their Quirk potentials.

All the while as these events occurred, All For One kept a close watch over Number 6, under the guise of a mental illusion of his "Master O'Clock", providing him various advice as some form of "conscience". A few years after the failed attack on the Tokyo Sky Egg, Number 6 adopts the identity of "Rokuro Nomura", becoming the Pro Hero known as "Rock", and managing to become the new manager of FeatherHATS, befriending Kazuho Haneyama. Number 6 decides to take advantage of her when she was going through a bad time due to her feelings towards Koichi.

Under the guise of O'Clock, All For One mentors Number 6 on how to use his Overclock Quirk to interpret Kazuho's subconscious reactions to say the answers and words Kazuho wants to hear. Thanks to this, he manages to trick her into following him to an abandoned building and making her the Queen Bee's new host.

With Kazuho turned into Bee☆Pop, All For One observes Number 6 carry out his plan to sacrifice her in order to kill Koichi, all as part as his "heroic origin story" as the Pro Hero "O'Clock II", but the plan fails. Koichi manages to rescue Kazuho, being taken to a hospital where the Queen Bee is extracted from inside her, and Number 6 ends up seriously injured. Filled with hatred, the villain swears to Koichi that he will take revenge by killing him and Kazuho.

As the first step of his plan, Number 6 infiltrates the police department, disposing of Eizo Tanuma and the information he had collected, connecting All For One to the current events in Naruhata. "O'Clock" congratulates him on his approach, striking first to erase every trace of the past so that the powers that be will be unable to make a move.

Number 6 then proceeds to start his revenge scheme, known as Operation Anonymous. Taking advantage of the Heroes, Police, and Vigilantes fighting with each other, Number 6 sends his Anonymous drones throughout the city to execute the plan, with "O'Clock" reminding him that teamwork is the key, to prevent your enemies from teaming up and ensure your side are all on the same page.

After disabling communications in the city, Number 6 sends the Anonymous throughout Naruhata to disrupt the Heroes and civilians, causing enough trouble to create a sense of unease, but not too much to call upon upper level Pros like All Might. He uses the distraction to storm Kazuho's hospital, with "O'Clock" admiring his smart thinking at leaving the Anonymous outside the building, so as not to distract from his use of Overclock, or letting them inadvertently explode inside.

However, he is further distracted by the combined force of Soga Kugisaki with a sub machine gun, and Koichi Haimawari's repulsion blasts. "O'Clock" notes how with the blasts being sprayed around, they aren't intending to seriously injure him, just force him to overuse his Quirk and run out of oxygen.

Number 6 is temporarily restrained by the Police, but he uses his transformative abilities to slip out of his cuffs. "O'Clock" warns him about watching out for Soga, and then once Koichi starts blasting at him with rapid spots, "O'Clock" points out how annoying they are to deal with, so recommends retreating so he doesn't out of breath, which Number 6 reluctantly does. Reconvening outside, Number 6 spots Koichi blasting off into the sky, causing "O'Clock" to realize he is leaving to summon All Might, warning him that they'll only have about 60 seconds until he arrives.

Despite this, "O'Clock" is confident in Number 6's abilities, since in that time he can easily sneak into the hospital, eliminate Kazuho, and escape, embracing his anonymity. Number 6, however, disagrees with this notion, as doing so would only leave him as "nameless" and "faceless" as ever, so decides to indulge himself and massacre everyone, just as Koichi returns right behind him.

After talking between each other, the two begin to fight, with Number 6 catching Koichi off guard and seemingly destroying him with a Knuckle Bomb punch. However to his surprise, Koichi emerges from the explosion relatively fine, with "O'Clock" reminding Number 6 there must be an unknown factor at play and to observe in detail rather than using back in to attack. They realize that Koichi had been using his Slide and Glide Quirk to repel the explosions, and recognizing his speed, maneuverability, and flight, "O'Clock" suggests a hasty retreat. Number 6 irritatingly refuses this warning and begins to give chase with the vigilante.

As Koichi continues to dodge each of Number 6's attacks, "O'Clock" surmises that he had managed to lure Number 6 away from the hopsital, and still intends on seeking All Might's help, with Number 6 taking the bait, something he is painfully aware of already. Number 6 confronts Koichi about how he is able to match his every movement, which he is unable to properly answer, causing "O'Clock" to note how he isn't playing dumb, meaning that he must be handling the Overclock attacks subconsciously.

Equating Koichi's luckiness to "button-mashing", Number 6 decides to go in for a rush attack, blasting Koichi with a flurry of punches, which he attempts to reflect. "O'Clock" informs him that his "quantity over quality" tactic is ill-advised, as the essence of Overclock is acceleration of one's thought process, which allows them to deliberately choose the optimal action every time, but without strength akin to All Might, a head-on approach won't be effective.

Number 6 ignores this advice and continues the assault, but Koichi is unable to block and deflect every single attack. Bewildered by how he's managed to match Overclock's speed, "O'Clock" figures out what is going on. He talks about how the human body will often take action without waiting for a conscious decision to be made, and that Koichi's subconscious actions follow this line of thought. He continues that while Number 6's brain can process thoughts faster than anyone, Koichi's body can act even faster than his thoughts.

"O'Clock" suggests Number 6 abandon the mission and retreat, while also stressing not to encounter Koichi again. He states that with his superior Quirk, which grants him high-speed movement, ranged attacks, and defensive force fields, as well as the subconscious reflexes to trigger them all when needed, while he may only be able to flee and dodge currently, in the days to come if he perfects his abilities, he will become the perfect foil, a foe like All Might to be avoided. Number 6, however, angrily rejects this statement, declaring executing Koichi to now be the only thing that matters to him, transforming into a giant spider-like creature known as the Hi-Crawler.

Thanks to the modifications on his body, the Hi-Crawler form allows Number 6 to utilize Overclock indefinitely, allowing him finally the opportunity to overwhelm Koichi. Yet despite this, "O'Clock" advises him against his tactics, as thanks to Koichi's years as a vigilante, unlike most Pros, he has always been on the defensive side, meaning that he has developed a "flight or fight" response to any fight: a "variant fighter", trained to counter any attack.

"O'Clock" tells him he's too focused on mimicking O'Clock's fighting style and needs to come up with another plan to catch Koichi off guard. Their plan is to distract Koichi for long enough to be harassed by the mob of remaining Anonymous, using his control with Overclock to overwhelm him on all sides. All For One then starts to think to himself that changing targets has come at a considerable cost, and while he considers the mission a failure, the experiment has taken an intriguing turn, gleefully telling Number 6 to follow his twisted path, seek his culmination, and surpass his every limit.

He attempts to snipe at Koichi from afar, but is attacked by Knuckleduster, the real O'Clock, and through their skirmish, Koichi ends up blasting him and Number 6 in the sky, before the villain once again changes tactics. Combusting the Bomber cells within his body into plasma energy, Number 6 transforms into his Lightning Style form, granting him the power of flight.

Finally shedding his O'Clock disguise, All For One is surprised by Number 6's action, praising how his admiration for heroes has set him on his path, and his rage has allowed him to maximize his potential, no longer operating to his whims, but taking flight on his own free will; the greatest guinea pig he could ask for.

With how much the fight has escalated, All For One criticizes Number 6 for how bombastic it has gotten, calling Operation Anonymous a total failure, and telling him to move on to the retrieval phase. However, Number 6 disagrees, as all he wants and needs to do is kill Koichi with all the strength he can muster: his sole desire left.

All For One gleefully lets Number 6 show him how brightly his existence can burn. All For One gleefully watches on Number 6 proceeds to fuse together himself with all the remaining Bomber cells of the Anonymous, witnessing his final shining act, the powerful incarnation he's long desired.

Transforming into the form known as Destruction Style, All For One looks on at the "portrait of hell" as he witnesses the Anonymous and their Bomber cells combusting, transferring all their power to Number 6, as All For One asks if this is his concept of a "true hero." Transformed into a gigantic flaming humanoid, Number 6 violently attacks Koichi, managing to seriously injure him, forcing the young vigilante to escape.

After Koichi escapes into a building to hide from the now giant Number 6, All For One reminds him that his target is a "master of hide-and-seek" and he'll be trickier to hit underneath the building, asking what his next move is. Seeing his decision to destroy the building into nothing, All For One gleefully states that he's reached the conclusion just like his "old chum", smashing everything to dust with overwhelming violence.

All For One gleefully watches as an enraged Number 6 endlessly bangs on the rubble of the building Koichi was hiding in, all to ensure that he is dead, when there is a sudden explosion and Koichi emerges from the debris, apparently without too major wounds and ready to face Number 6 one more time.

As soon as he sees that he is still alive, Number 6 attacks Koichi, who dodges his blows until he can finally fight back with the new technique he has developed: Knuckle Style, piercing Number 6's body. The villain regenerates his wound, but Koichi continues to use his new technique to constantly attack him, ripping his body apart each time. Although Number 6 regenerates or reattaches the missing parts, Koichi keeps the villain at bay until help can arrive.

Seeing such skill, All For One begins to observe Koichi, examining how his Slide and Glide Quirk is a simple one with force fields that can repulse or absorb in someway, remarking on his relative mastery of the Quirk, while also noting the Quirk itself is the "height of mediocrity". He notes that the occasional high-output bursts are fleeting, that he runs out of steam shortly afterward, and that it's simply just polished use of a Quirk that lacks any decisive power... at least that's what he thought.

Noticing the extremely powerful punches Koichi has started to execute with his Quirk, All For One reflects on how it is far more than should be possible, likely drawing from a source of passion which he's imbuing his fists with. He thinks about how his Quirk has begun to reveal its true potential, wondering if he was disguising it as a weak Quirk the whole time, or if his trial has triggered explosive growth, asking him what drives him and what obsession spurred him to evolve.

Number 6 seemingly manages to put an end to Koichi, with All For One congratulating him, while lamenting no body means no sample to retrieve. Despite that, he considers it as a whole to be a worthwhile experiment, discovering Koichi's latent potential, even though it couldn't best Number 6's tenacity. He congratulates him on his victory, and even though he'll soon lose control of the combustion process and burn away to nothing, he's shone a glorious light on his future. However, they are both further shocked to discover Koichi still alive and kicking, as their battle resumes.

All For One observes their fighting, calling it akin to "frolicking" within their exchange of passionate blows. He wonders where all their energy is coming from and what their Quirks are tapping into, as it's nothing he can comprehend. He is desperate to know how to reach this domain "beyond the singularity", when he hears "Knuckleduster" behind him, telling that a collector such as him would never understand. All For One turns around to see who spoke to him, but he doesn't see anyone.

Despite one last ditch attempt to finish everything off by exploding into several mini bombers, Number 6 is done in by the arrival of all the Pro Heroes, specifically All Might and Endeavor. Despite this, his main body is able to escape, with All For One confronting the skeletal remains. He notes another crisis has been averted by All Might's meddling, but still commends Number 6's creativity, how even he was able to outmaneuver All Might at the last minute, stating that now no one can stop him, and the world is his oyster.

Number 6 slowly begins to rebuild his body, stumbling between the crowds of civilians using his Overclock speed to keep himself out-of-sight, all the while All For One reflects on his current burnt up display, stating that without enough Bomber cells, his combustion ended before completion, but still should be capable of achieving his final goal. He reminds Number 6 that his specialty lies with "Operation Anonymous", and with the Heroes believing to have defeated the threat, he is once again the "invisible man" and able to finish The Crawler with no one the wiser.

They manage to locate Koichi on a nearby rooftop, with All For One telling him to do one quick strike to kill him, also telling him to collect his body for him to study. He gleefully states to kill Koichi for him, but instead, Number 6 ignores his request, transforming into his "Rokuro Nomura" face to speak with Koichi and brushing All For One's visage away. After their conversation, Number 6 scratches Koichi, as a way of leaving a mark on the world before he leaves it, exploding in one final detonation.

Due to these events, All For One decides to do some research on Koichi's history, but finds nothing extraordinary about him. He is just a utterly average guy, born from ordinary parents and with a monotonous upbringing, and yet he managed to capitalize a powerful Quirk and abnormal battle prowess. The idea that circumstance, experience, and sheer force of will could turn a man into "superman", invalidates his methodology behind Operation Anonymous.

Coming to this conclusion, All For One wonders how he will be able to respond when civilians start taking heroic action. If extraordinary potential is available to everyone, it may be a path to chaos, but it also introduces uncertainty into his machinations.

Despite this, All For One tells to Kyudai and Kurogiri that they have to pour their efforts into their next plan. Should society reach the point where Heroes can appear from anywhere, he'll command an entity that can face any hero head-on through its own individual might. In a status tube, he looks upon their bio-engineered Nomu, saying that he was led to this culmination by Number 6 himself.

All For One continued to groom Tomura as his successor, well aware that Tomura was really the grandson of Nana Shimura and wanted to use this to his advantage. He also assigned Kurogiri with serving and overseeing Tomura's development, warning Kurogiri to use Gigantomachia once he believes to no longer be capable of ensuring Tomura's safety. Sometime prior to the start of the school year, he created the League of Villains, an organization for Tomura to run and enlist villains to aide in his cause, while acting as a front for his true goals. Shortly before the start of the school year, he learned a rumor that All Might would become a teacher at U.A., so called upon the Aoyamas, informing Yuga to apply there, intending to use him as his mole.