It was finally the moment for the first training session.
In the end, Midoriya had received several offers for his internship. Some came from respectable agencies, others from heroes who had noticed his performance during the Sports Festival. However, this time things were a little different.
All Might had personally called him aside to discuss the situation.
He explained Gran Torino's role, how he would be guiding him during part of the internship because he had once been the mentor of All Might's own teacher. It was an opportunity that few students would ever receive.
But that wasn't the part that worried Midoriya.
No.
The part that worried him was the special training he would be receiving under Mewtwo.
The moment he received that news, he visibly paled.
His mind immediately returned to what had happened inside the infirmary.
The memory was still painfully fresh.
A thousand possibilities ran through his head.
That student possessed a Quirk capable of healing people, but he could also hurt them.
What if he decided to repeat what had happened before?
Could he injure him, heal him, and then injure him again?
Wouldn't that become an endless cycle of pain?
The more Midoriya thought about it, the more terrifying the prospect became.
"Is it really necessary to train under another student?" Midoriya asked, trying his best to sound reasonable. "Wasn't this supposed to be under professional heroes?"
"There is no chance of skipping it," All Might replied immediately. "Principal Nezu believes it will be beneficial for your growth, and to tell you the truth, I agree."
The Symbol of Peace sat comfortably on the couch opposite him.
"That kid... honestly, you should think of him as a professional hero already. Even while still being a student, he's accomplished things that most heroes could only dream of. You should take this opportunity seriously."
Then he smiled.
"It will only be one week."
A pause followed.
"Well... starting today."
The truth was that Midoriya had spent almost every day since the Sports Festival trying to find a way out of this arrangement.
The Confusion attack had left a far deeper impression on him than he wanted to admit.
It wasn't simply the pain.
It was the message behind it.
The certainty with which Mewtwo had acted.
The complete lack of hesitation.
Because of that, Midoriya had been desperately hoping that somehow the decision would be reversed.
Unfortunately for him...
"It's too late. You don't have a choice. I'm already here."
Midoriya nearly jumped from his seat.
At that exact moment, Raiden entered the room.
Unlike during the festival, he was currently in his human form. His gray hair was slightly messy, and his expression looked surprisingly relaxed.
He casually walked over and sat beside All Might before greeting both of them.
"Good morning."
Midoriya stiffened.
Raiden noticed immediately.
A small sigh escaped him.
"Don't worry," he said. "I won't be like last time."
The young psychic hero scratched the back of his head.
"Maybe I overdid it a little."
A little was probably the understatement of the year.
"So I apologize for that."
Midoriya blinked.
The apology caught him completely off guard.
However, Raiden's expression quickly became serious again.
"That said, everything I told you was true."
The room fell silent.
Raiden leaned forward slightly.
"So now we're going to dedicate this week to training and polishing what you need the most."
He pointed directly at Midoriya.
"Your Quirk is incredibly powerful."
Then he pointed at the multiple medical reports sitting on the nearby table.
"Your control, however, is practically nonexistent."
Midoriya visibly winced.
"And your body isn't strong enough to handle the power you're trying to use."
Raiden crossed his arms.
"Right now, your Quirk and your body are completely out of balance."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"And that's dangerous."
Midoriya couldn't even argue.
Everything Raiden had said was true.
"So our goal is simple."
Raiden stood up from the couch.
"We're going to correct that imbalance."
He stretched his arms above his head before turning toward the door.
"By the end of this week, I want you to understand your Quirk better than you do now."
A confident smile appeared on his face.
"And trust me, we're going to be very busy."
Then he pointed toward the exit.
"So now, follow me."
Raiden waved goodbye to All Might and started walking toward the door without waiting for an answer.
Midoriya looked at him.
Then at All Might.
Then back at Raiden.
The green-haired boy swallowed nervously.
Something told him that this was going to be the longest week of his life.
And with that thought in mind, he stood up and followed after him.
Both of them arrived at the largest training ground in U.A., the U.S.J., the very place where the villain incident had taken place.
Today, however, it was empty.
Only the two of them stood there.
The moment they stepped inside, Raiden's forearm began to glow. Psychic energy flowed across his skin, and in an instant he transformed into Mewtwo. His horns emerged, his tail swayed behind him, and he slowly floated above the ground.
Without wasting any time, he looked down at Midoriya.
"First assignment," Mewtwo said calmly. "Follow me and don't lose my trail."
Before Midoriya could even respond, Mewtwo shot forward.
He flew toward the destroyed city section of the U.S.J.
His speed was impressive, but not overwhelming. It was fast enough to force Midoriya to push himself, yet controlled enough to ensure the boy wouldn't immediately lose sight of him.
Mewtwo was doing it on purpose.
As Midoriya activated One For All and rushed after him, he quickly realized he needed to use almost his full current output just to keep up.
The distance between them remained constant.
Whenever Midoriya gained a little ground, Mewtwo subtly accelerated.
Whenever he fell behind, Mewtwo slowed down just enough.
It was as if he was being led through a chase rather than simply following someone.
As they approached the ruined city, things suddenly became more complicated.
The already damaged buildings began to crack.
Concrete groaned.
Steel supports bent.
And then entire sections of buildings started collapsing.
Midoriya's eyes widened.
Huge chunks of debris fell directly toward him.
Forced to react, he jumped sideways, rolled across broken pavement, and narrowly avoided a wall that crashed into the street behind him.
Yet Mewtwo continued flying ahead as if nothing was happening.
Midoriya grit his teeth and kept running.
More debris followed.
A falling pillar.
A shattered wall.
A rain of concrete fragments.
The green-haired boy spun, ducked, and leaped through the obstacles while trying to maintain his speed.
Slowly, however, something started to feel wrong.
Very wrong.
Some of the falling debris shouldn't have been able to reach him.
The angles were wrong.
The trajectories were impossible.
Yet somehow they kept changing direction.
Only then did Midoriya realize the truth.
Mewtwo was doing it.
The psychic hero was manipulating the rubble and intentionally forcing him to dodge.
"Just what is his Quirk?" Midoriya muttered.
He knew Mewtwo could heal.
He knew he could fly.
He knew he possessed telepathy.
He knew he could use telekinesis.
And somehow there always seemed to be another ability hiding behind the next corner.
The more Midoriya learned about him, the less he understood.
Eventually they reached the center of the ruined city.
Mewtwo stopped floating forward and hovered calmly in the middle of the street.
Midoriya finally caught up and bent over slightly, catching his breath.
Then Mewtwo began speaking.
"Your biggest flaws are two."
His voice remained completely neutral.
"First, your control."
He pointed toward Midoriya's body.
"Even now you're wasting energy."
The faint lightning and glowing traces around Midoriya's limbs became immediately apparent.
"That light isn't helping you. It's leaked energy."
Midoriya blinked.
"You don't control the output properly."
Mewtwo continued.
"You're struggling to maintain even two percent efficiently."
Then he pointed toward the collapsed buildings around them.
"Second, your movement."
Midoriya frowned.
"Your dodges were stiff. Functional, but inefficient."
Mewtwo crossed his arms.
"And your combat techniques are still underdeveloped."
The criticism came one after another.
Harsh.
Direct.
Accurate.
"So we're going to improve your control."
He raised one finger.
"And we're going to increase your safe output."
A second finger followed.
"I want your safe limit to become five percent."
Then a third.
"And I want three percent to become your natural state. A level where you can fight, move, and live comfortably without effort."
Midoriya listened carefully.
Then Mewtwo delivered the next instruction.
"Now sit down."
Midoriya obeyed.
"And increase your output to six percent."
Midoriya stared at him.
That made absolutely no sense.
Currently he couldn't use six percent without hurting himself.
Wasn't the whole point of training supposed to be avoiding damage?
Wouldn't this achieve the exact opposite?
However, judging by Mewtwo's expression, refusing wasn't an option.
So he sat down.
Took a breath.
And activated six percent.
Immediately his entire body protested.
His muscles tightened.
His joints ached.
It felt like he had been lifting weights for hours without rest.
Fatigue spread through every limb.
His breathing became heavier.
Slowly his muscles began screaming.
Midoriya was about to stop.
Then Mewtwo's voice suddenly echoed directly inside his mind.
"Don't stop."
Midoriya jumped.
The telepathic command felt far more intense than spoken words.
"You've endured worse."
Mewtwo's voice remained calm.
"Now keep going."
A pause.
"Increase the output to eight percent."
Midoriya's eyes widened.
"Now."
The command left no room for argument.
And because Midoriya was Midoriya...
He obeyed.
The moment he reached eight percent, his entire body exploded with pain.
His muscles strained.
His tendons screamed.
Even his bones began to ache.
Every movement hurt.
Every breath hurt.
At some point he couldn't even tell where the pain was originating anymore.
Everything hurt.
Above all, his bones.
It felt as though they could crack apart at any second.
Blood appeared at the corner of his mouth.
His vision blurred slightly.
Only then did Mewtwo move.
The psychic hero floated down beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Life Dew."
A wave of energy flowed through Midoriya's body.
Relief followed.
Then another.
"Life Dew."
The pain lessened further.
Not completely.
But enough to notice.
Mewtwo continued healing him while forcing him to maintain the output.
Minute after minute.
The damage accumulated.
The healing repaired it.
The cycle repeated.
And slowly something began to change.
The pain became more manageable.
His body adapted.
His muscles stopped resisting as much.
His breathing stabilized.
Eventually Mewtwo nodded.
"That's enough."
Midoriya immediately released One For All and collapsed onto his back.
He panted heavily.
His heart hammered against his chest.
Sweat soaked his clothes.
Every muscle in his body felt exhausted.
For several minutes he simply lay there staring at the sky.
Only after allowing him to recover did Mewtwo speak again.
"Now take your time."
Midoriya nodded weakly.
"Once you've recovered, activate your Quirk at the highest level you can maintain comfortably."
A pause.
"The level where you don't even need to think about it."
"And then activate the highest output you can use without physical pain."
About thirty minutes later, Midoriya finally stood up.
He activated One For All again.
Immediately something felt different.
Very different.
He reached three percent.
And it felt comfortable.
Not easy.
Comfortable.
He could move normally.
Breathe normally.
Maintain it without excessive concentration.
A surprised expression appeared on his face.
Then Mewtwo spoke.
"One percent lower."
Midoriya obeyed.
The moment he dropped to two percent, the difference became even clearer.
It felt natural.
Effortless.
Like breathing.
Like his normal state.
Only stronger.
Much stronger.
"Good."
Mewtwo nodded.
"Now increase it to the highest level you can maintain without hurting yourself."
Midoriya concentrated.
Three percent.
Four percent.
Five percent.
Nothing.
No pain.
His eyes widened.
For the first time ever, five percent felt stable, unconfortable but stable.
His stamina drained faster, but there was no damage.
No warning signs.
No agony.
Then he pushed to six percent.
Immediately the pain returned.
Not overwhelming.
But unmistakable.
Mewtwo immediately raised a hand.
"Stop."
Midoriya released the power.
Then Mewtwo crossed his arms.
"Now tell me your conclusions."
Midoriya blinked.
Then his analytical side took over.
"My threshold increased."
Mewtwo nodded for him to continue.
"My previous limit shifted upward."
Midoriya looked at his own hands.
"What used to feel like two percent now feels closer to four."
"And five percent is becoming manageable."
His eyes widened as he realized it himself.
"My body adapted."
Mewtwo smiled faintly.
"Continue."
Midoriya immediately connected the pieces.
"It was progressive overload."
His voice gained confidence.
"You accelerated my body's adaptation process through healing."
His mind raced.
"You compressed weeks of adjustment into minutes."
Realization struck him.
"That's how I improved so quickly."
Mewtwo nodded.
"Good."
Then his expression sharpened.
"But not entirely."
Midoriya tilted his head.
"What?"
Mewtwo pointed directly at him.
"Don't you feel something else?"
Only then did Midoriya notice it.
His stomach growled violently.
He froze.
He was starving.
Absolutely starving.
Mewtwo smirked.
"My ability doesn't replace your body's energy requirements."
He sat on a nearby piece of rubble.
"The healing accelerates your recovery process with my power as a medium, yes."
His tail swayed behind him.
"But recovery still requires energy."
Midoriya immediately understood.
"your glycogen reserves..."
"Empty," Mewtwo finished.
"And you've probably burned through part of your fat reserves as well."
The psychic hero shrugged.
"If my healing only used my own energy, I'd collapse after every training session."
Healing was expensive.
Biologically.
Energetically.
There was no escaping that reality.
"So yes."
Mewtwo stood up again.
"We can use this method."
Then he raised a finger.
"But not constantly."
"I've already tested it with my classmates."
A second finger followed.
"After a session like this, we need at least a week before repeating it safely."
His expression became serious.
"Otherwise the body won't have enough resources to recover properly."
A small smile appeared on his face.
"Maybe saying we'd end up as skeletons is an exaggeration."
He paused.
"Maybe."
Midoriya wasn't entirely convinced.
"But the principle remains the same."
Mewtwo pointed toward the exit of the city sector.
"So congratulations."
Midoriya blinked.
"For what?"
Mewtwo smirked.
"You just increased your effective combat output."