Inside the quiet office of Sir Nighteye, the hero's eyes were stuck to the monitor. The same footage played again and again.
The recordings from Tartarus from a few days ago.
The security cameras showed the moment Junsei appeared at the prison gate, the flash of blue eyes, the alarms erupting across the island. Then defenses collapsed, turrets exploded, guards failed to stop him, and finally the slaughter.
Junsei moved through the lower prison levels like the hand of death. Prisoners attempted to flee, fight, or hide.
None of it mattered.
Nighteye watched as Junsei executed inmate after inmate with cold efficiency. The scene was too brutal to watch, yet Nighteye forced himself to study every detail.
He needed to understand.
At first, he considered whether Junsei might have had personal reasons for targeting specific prisoners inside Tartarus.
Revenge or working on the behalf of someone.
But the theory collapsed almost immediately.
The killings were too methodical.
Junsei did not hunt the guards if they fled. Several recordings clearly showed guards retreating down corridors while Junsei ignored them completely.
But the prisoners were not spared.
Every inmate in the prison died that night.
It was a systematic slaughter.
There was no doubt in his mind that Junsei had come to Tartarus with a single objective of killing every single prisoner.
But why?
Nighteye leaned back slightly in his chair, his thoughts racing. He had already heard everything All Might knew about Junsei, including the strange theory about his nature, about the possibility that Junsei had once been a rat, now reborn into a human body.
It was bizarre. But even that explanation did not answer his questions.
What was Junsei's true goal? And how did it connect to the demon Nighteye had seen in his vision of the future?
Nighteye's hand slowly clenched into a fist. If the future can be really changed, at least when that monster is involved, then he has to understand all he could. For society, for the people who had died unjustly, and for Togata Mirio, who still lay in a hospital bed trapped in a coma.
His thoughts were interrupted when the office door opened suddenly.
Bubble Girl stepped inside, her expression tense.
"Sir," she said urgently, "you need to come with me. One of Overhaul's subordinates just arrived at the agency."
Nighteye stood immediately.
He followed her out of the office and into the main room where a Yakuza member stood waiting, his hands restrained with cuffs.
Bubble Girl spoke first.
"He came here on his own," she explained. "He says he has important information about the Yakuza's plans… and about Junsei."
Nighteye studied the man carefully before finally saying "I'm listening."
The Yakuza took a breath.
"Overhaul and that monster formed an alliance," he said. "They are working together now toward the same goal."
Nighteye's eyes narrowed.
"He didn't kill Overhaul? What are they planning?"
The man answered "They want to erase quirks entirely. They plan to reset the world to how it was before the dawn of quirks."
Bubble Girl's eyes widened in shock.
"What?!"
Nighteye remained calm, though his gaze hardened.
"Junsei delivered Eri to UA" he said slowly. "And she was quirkless when she arrived."
He stared into the Yakuza's eyes.
"He took her quirk. Is that correct?"
The man nodded.
"Yes."
The man swallowed before continuing.
"Overhaul's research on the quirk-erasing drug was progressing too slowly. Junsei decided to take Eri's place."
His voice trembled slightly.
"That monster stole her quirk, then started to rip off his own limbs every day and fill entire tanks with blood for Overhaul to use."
Bubble Girl's face turned pale. While Nighteye took a slow breath before saying "So Junsei accelerated Overhaul's research. How far have they progressed?"
The man answered quietly.
"They're finished."
Both heroes froze.
"Overhaul ordered the creation of gas bombs," the man continued. "Each bomb can erase the quirks of dozens of people at once."
His next words were worse.
"They plan to spread the gas across Japan… and remove quirks from the entire country in a single operation."
Bubble Girl covered her mouth.
"This is madness," she whispered. "Have they completely lost their minds?"
Nighteye remained still for a moment before speaking again.
"Why should we believe you?"
The Yakuza met his gaze.
"You can't afford to take chances," he said. "You already know about the quirk-erasing bullets. So what prevents a gas variant? If that's a possibility, then it alone should be enough for you to listen to me."
Nighteye nodded slowly.
"Indeed."
Then he asked another question.
"Why betray the Yakuza?"
The man's expression hardened.
"I would never betray the Yakuza," he said firmly.
"Overhaul is the one who betrayed the Yakuza."
Nighteye was a little surprised and said "Explain."
The man clenched his teeth.
"Overhaul already broke many of the taboos our old boss established," he said. "But we stayed loyal because we believed he was working for the future of the Yakuza. He always had the greatest visions and determination to pull it through"
His voice grew bitter.
"But he chose to join hands with the monster who killed many of our friends in cold blood."
The man lowered his head slightly.
"That creature eats people," he said quietly. "He has no emotions. He kills without discrimination. Heck, he has no mercy for his own self."
His voice trembled.
"That isn't a human being."
He hesitated.
"He is…"
Nighteye finished the sentence.
"A demon?"
The man looked up slowly.
"Yes."
His voice hardened.
"A demon. I don't care what Overhaul believes or envision. If you choose to cooperate with something like that, something that calls itself an enemy of humanity, when your goal aligns with its goal, then you are already doing something terribly wrong. He no longer deserves to be called a Yakuza, let alone lead us. And when our old boss wakes up, I want to be able to look at him without shame."
Sir Nighteye could see it in the man's eyes, he truly meant it, he didn't see Junsei as a human as he should. Sir Nighteye decided at that moment that he will get every information he could and prepare to stop the madness Junsei and Overhaul are planning.
——————
Later that day, the Yakuza member quietly returned to the house. He stepped through the front entrance.
The moment he entered, he froze.
Standing directly in front of him was Chronostasis.
Chronostasis's gaze immediately fixed on him.
"Gin," he said calmly. "Where have you been? You should have returned more than an hour ago."
Gin glanced around briefly before lowering his voice.
"I ran into an old acquaintance," he said. "A schoolmate from my school days. We talked for a bit and I lost track of time."
Chronostasis frowned.
"We're running out of time, and you're out fooling around?" he said sharply. "And since when did you go to school… let alone have classmates?"
Gin raised both hands defensively.
"I stayed in school until the ninth grade," he replied. "I do know people who aren't connected to organized crime."
He scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"I'm sorry, alright? I didn't even notice how much time had passed. Just… don't tell the boss about this."
He leaned slightly closer and whispered.
"You can say I ran into a hero or something. I can't have him thinking I'm fooling around at a time like this."
Chronostasis let out a sigh.
"Fine."
His tone softened slightly.
"Just don't do it again."
He crossed his arms.
"Once everything is finished, you can spend your time however you want and you won't hear single objection. And Overhaul is currently busy with his work. He didn't notice your absence."
Gin immediately relaxed.
A wide smile appeared on his face.
"Thanks, Chronostasis," he said. "You're the man."
Chronostasis ignored the praise.
"The others are in the back preparing the bombs," he said. "Go help them. We need everything ready as soon as possible."
Gin nodded and began walking toward the back of the house.
After a few steps, he suddenly stopped.
Then he turned around.
"Hey, Chronostasis."
Chronostasis looked at him.
"What?"
Gin rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"What do you think about that scary freak disappearing?" he asked. "And… can we really succeed without him?"
For a moment, Chronostasis said nothing and stared at Gin.
Then he answered "I don't know why he disappeared or when he will return. But it shouldn't affect our plan. We already received everything we needed from him."
Chronostasis tilted his head slightly.
"Do you doubt our success?"
Gin hesitated.
"I hate to admit it," he said, "but having that freak around made things easier and safer."
He sighed.
"We won't have to worry about heroes or the police overwhelming us. Now we are much weaker without him, and we are going to stretch ourselves thin."
Chronostasis considered that before replying.
"A fair concern. But don't worry too much. As far as the outside world knows, we're already dead."
Gin raised an eyebrow.
"Thanks to Junsei. He went around killing every criminal he could find. And after he delivered Eri to UA, most will think we are all already dead."
Chronostasis continued calmly.
"Not to mention that no one knows what we're planning. The only person outside these walls who knows about the plan is Junsei. And he won't say anything."
Gin nodded slowly.
Then he turned and walked toward the back of the house to join the others preparing the bombs.