League of Villains: Undercover

League of Villains: Undercover is a one-shot spin-off manga written and illustrated by Kohei Horikoshi that serves as a prequel to My Hero Academia: Heroes: Rising and stars Nine.

Synopsis
Nine sits alone near an abandoned alley while observing a storm tearing apart a local park. He monologues that the storm calms his soul and believes that the world around him will soon fall apart like dissolved mud. Sometime later, Nine decides to approach Doctor Daruma Ujiko of the League of Villains.

Daruma tells the young man that despite having a Quirk that resulted in the destruction of his body's cellular tissues, he has managed to live out a normal life without anyone noticing anything peculiar about him. For these reasons, it is revealed that Nine has been selected to be a test subject for Daruma's latest experiment that will enhance both his Quirk and body. Daruma then questions Nine why he accepted his request, to which Nine bluntly refuses to explain his reasons at first. However, Daruma points out that keeping secrets will only disqualify Nine from the experiment, which forces the latter to finally open up about his past.

Nine explains that his Quirk, Weather Manipulation, allows him to control the weather but he feels like he's stuck to the ground. He believes that the moment someone comes into existence, they can't decide to choose for themselves, even with so much power put into their hands, as the society around them will crush them in the end. Nine also reveals that he's seen people who were also oppressed by the superhuman society they live in, apparently suffering the same way as he once did.

Nine admits that he feels like the current society existing is a mistake, intriguing Daruma even further. Nine then shows his belief that a true hero society should only be one where the supremacy of one's Quirk is the only way of measuring a person's worth and that both heroes and villains are irrelevant. With that being said, Nine resolves to turn everything back to whence they originally came from. Daruma then concludes that Nine is definitely a perfect candidate, noting that his mind and body are in the right condition.

Sometime after his meeting with the League, Nine rests inside an unknown machine, undergoing the experimentation process Daruma planned out for him. The villain inner monologues that despite not knowing what the experiment would do to him, he feels like everything will turn out fine. As Nine is sealed up for the experiment, he notes that he will create an ideal world not only for himself but for his teammates as well. While losing consciousness, Nine is unaware of All For One and Tomura Shigaraki walking past the experimentation room. Tomura takes a brief glance at Nine, who declares that he'll destroy anything standing in his path.

Chapter Notes

 * This chapter explains the reasons behind Nine's motives for wanting to destroy hero society.
 * Brief glances of each one of Nine's teammates' backstories are shown.
 * It is also revealed that Tomura once encountered Nine before the events of the main series, which was teased in Chapter 222.

Characters In Order of Appearance

 * Nine
 * Daruma Ujiko
 * Chimera
 * Slice
 * Mummy
 * Tomura Shigaraki
 * All For One