--Saturday, May 30, 2172
As the group advanced through the tunnel, spiders hurled themselves at them fearlessly, using their lives to try and stop them, even if just for a few seconds. Although at first All Might took care of most of the spiders, sending powerful shockwaves toward them, over time the Symbol of Peace began to look visibly exhausted. To the point where a faint trail of smoke started to surround him.
[All Might, you'd better move to the rear.]
Seeing the state of the number one hero, Shino sent him a telepathic message with a worried tone. All Might turned to look at the beautiful heroine in red armor, but at that moment, Mirko's energetic voice echoed through the place.
"Leave these French fries to us, All Might! You're hogging all the 'fun'!"
All Might turned to look at the other heroes, who nodded at him with serious expressions. The Symbol of Peace couldn't help but let out a subtle sigh as he looked at his hand, which was releasing a slight trail of smoke. But being the Symbol of Peace that he was, All Might didn't show his complex emotions and instead put on his iconic smile, commenting in a firm and powerful voice.
"Then I'll leave the advance to you!"
"Plus Ultra!!"
In response to All Might's announcement came Tomoko's energetic voice, as she sped up to face a spider head-on. The announcement brought a smile to the other heroes, who quickly accelerated to join the fight, shouting at the top of their lungs, full of motivation.
"PLUS ULTRA!!"
Slowing down to let the other heroes pass, All Might smiled with a hint of pride and soon arrived at Kai's side. After glancing at the silent young man in black armor, All Might looked at the impressive power displayed by the Pussycats, especially Ryuko, which made him reflect. A few seconds later, the Symbol of Peace looked back and spoke in a serious voice.
"Kai-shonen. Does the Pussycats' strength come from the method you told me about to regain my power?"
"It's the first method." Kai replied calmly. "It's the safest, and the one I have a certain level of control over. And with this armor, I'm Saito."
"That's right, my apologies, Saito-shonen." All Might apologized sincerely, then asked curiously.
"Is the second method stronger? You talked about regaining my strength, and although the Pussycats' power—especially Pixie-Bob's and Tiger's—is impressive, it's still far from my maximum power right now."
"That's because there's a certain degree of 'accumulation' involved. It takes time for the body to adapt to the changes and reach its full potential." Kai pointed at Salem and commented in a calm tone.
"I used the same method on my cat. Does it seem weak to you?"
"Although I haven't been able to test its raw power." All Might commented seriously, looking at the terrifying blue-eyed panther. "Right now, your 'cat' is faster than I am."
"That's because it's had time to adapt." Kai explained calmly, turning to look at the Symbol of Peace before adding.
"But most likely, you won't need to wait long. Your body is perfectly adapted to the One for All, so in your case, it'll be more like 'reactivating' your strength—instead of giving it from scratch, like with Salem and my family."
"I see…" All Might commented calmly, then asked as he looked forward again.
"How long will it take you to finish the 'second method'?"
"I can't give you a specific date." Kai replied seriously. "But I can tell you it won't be much longer. The last few days training Midoriya have been very productive."
"I see…" All Might looked at Kai with a complex expression. Kai looked at the Symbol of Peace and commented with a somewhat puzzled tone.
"I didn't know you had such a 'thick skin,' All Might. First, it looks like you're about to punch me, and then you ask me for a favor while still suspecting me. And all without even blushing—you really are quite the 'talent.'"
Upon hearing Kai, All Might almost stopped in his tracks but quickly recovered and kept running, glancing at Kai with a bitter expression. The boy was really right. Maybe because it was the first time he interacted with someone whose strength compared to his own but with a somewhat gray and complex morality, All Might treated the boy in a contradictory and even shameless way.
"You're right. I've treated you unfairly, Saito-shonen." All Might said in a serious tone. "You're so strong that the fact you're not willing to be a hero makes me uneasy. I guess I've gotten old, and if I'm not in control, I feel insecure and act impulsively."
"If even you, the Symbol of Peace, go through that… What do you think will happen when the politicians—useless parasites addicted to control—become aware of my strength?" Kai asked calmly, looking at All Might.
(This journey could change things forever, in more ways than one…)
Looking ahead, All Might couldn't help but fall into deep thought. Kai was too dangerous and unstable an element to ignore, and the worst part was that using force against him would only be counterproductive. But even knowing that, he couldn't help but act on it unconsciously, and he knew far too many people who wouldn't be able to sit idly by if they ever learned what the boy was truly capable of.
Imagining possible scenarios where the Japanese government found out about Kai's power and the endless possibilities of his quirk—especially the Public Safety Commission—All Might's expression couldn't help but darken considerably. No matter how he looked at it, only more and more devastating scenarios came to mind. Kai's strength and stubbornness against the arrogance and lust for control and benefit of the politicians was something that could only end badly.
"A crossroads?"
While All Might was racking his brain, he suddenly heard Ryukyu's voice up ahead, which made him look up. At the end of the tunnel in the distance, they could see a larger area filled with spiders, illuminated by the same crystals that lit their current path. It seemed to connect seven different tunnels.
At the same time, All Might focused on the mental image Tomoko was sharing, which allowed him to estimate how many spiders were clustered at the crossroads and in the different tunnels.
"Things are getting complicated. From here on out, we'll have spiders in both the front and the rear."
Running with his right hand in front of his face, index and middle fingers raised in the classic ninja sign, Edgeshot spoke in a serious tone. Even if they killed all the spiders in their path, more could come from the other tunnels and follow them—something that could eventually overwhelm them.
"We have no choice but to keep moving forward." All Might said as he jumped to the front, speaking in a serious tone. "But we can try to slow them down by killing as many as we can here and then sending Pixie-Bob to the rear to work with Saito and keep them at bay."
"Then it's time to go crazy!" Mirko said with a huge smile on her face before launching herself forward at full speed with a powerful leap.
"Wait, Mirko!" Ryukyu quickly shouted, wanting to stop the reckless heroine since she was wary of a possible trap.
"Luna Ring!"
Without listening to anyone, Mirko quickly rushed into the wide circular space, performing a spectacular somersault in the air while striking down a large number of spiders. Seeing Mirko begin to kill spiders left and right with impunity, Ryukyu was finally able to let out a sigh of relief. At that moment, All Might firmly gave the order.
"Let's go!"
After speaking, the Symbol of Peace shot forward at super speed toward the entrance of one of the tunnels. Upon reaching it, All Might clenched his right fist and unleashed an attack with all his strength into the tunnel, causing an apocalyptic air cannon to blast through, mercilessly destroying everything in its path.
"Texas Smash!!!!"
Meanwhile, Chatora jumped to land on top of the spiders. While in the air, Chatora activated his [Vital Reactor] to the max and hardened his fists, then began swinging his arms at incredible speed while stretching them out. Chatora's arms moved so fast that afterimages were left in the air, giving the impression he had hundreds of arms.
"Iron Claw Storm!!!"
With Chatora's announcement, a rain of shockwaves struck the spiders, creating a brutal massacre that made the ground shake violently. At the same time, Tomoko crouched down, taking the typical runner's stance, while dangerous-looking arcs of electricity began crackling around her body.
"Thump Parade!"
Launching herself forward at such a high speed that she vanished from sight, Tomoko announced in a cheerful and adorable voice. Soon, the beautiful turquoise-haired pro-hero began appearing in different places, delivering a blow that finished off a spider before disappearing again. Her speed was so insane that it looked like she had multiplied, leaving afterimages in several places at once.
"Edgeshot. Let's attack together!" At that moment, Shino stepped forward and spoke to Edgeshot, who was about to shoot forward with his body looking like a bandage.
"What do I need to do?" Edgeshot quickly turned to look at Shino and asked curiously. Shino quickly replied.
"Just attack all the spiders that stop moving."
Right after speaking, Shino rose slightly into the air using the repulsors on her armor, then brought the index and middle fingers of both hands to her temples and closed her eyes. Soon, subtle arcs of electricity flashed around Shino's head, at which point the beautiful heroine suddenly opened her eyes and announced in a serious tone.
"Catatalk."
Almost instantly, a large number of spiders stopped in their tracks, nearly catatonic, which Edgeshot saw as his cue. Moving at the speed of sound, Edgeshot transformed into a flat spear and effortlessly pierced through each and every one of the spiders, killing them instantly. But even in death, the spiders didn't react in the slightest, remaining completely paralyzed until they collapsed lifelessly to the ground.
"Wildclad Stampede!"
At that instant, Ryuko crouched down and placed her hands on the ground as she announced her move. As if it were a vision straight out of the apocalypse, the ground beneath the spiders trembled and split open, creating cracks through which many spiders fell. But from those same cracks, a large number of earth beasts with exoskeletons and metallic claws soon emerged, beginning to slaughter any spiders they encountered.
Meanwhile, Ryukyu and Kamui Woods entered the cave along with Kai, watching the devastating display of power with expressions full of surprise. The power the Pussycats were showing far surpassed their own. To the point where the pair of heroes dared to say that each of the Pussycats was approaching the power of Endeavor, Japan's famous Number Two Hero.
"Salem, don't move unless I give the order."
For his part, Kai gave an order to his cat and looked around the chamber, especially eyeing the webs visible at the top with a suspicious gaze, while tightly gripping his swords. Something told him things couldn't be that simple. The spiders were too intelligent to just let themselves be killed like that without retaliating—especially after they had already taken down the previous three spiders.
[Sage. Activate the AP Field.] Kai ordered his trusted assistant through their mental connection, his tone serious. Sage soon responded with equal seriousness.
[Immediately, master.]
Without delay, Sage extended [En] throughout the entire area, simultaneously activating advanced Observation Haki to the maximum. This created a field of absolute perception, allowing her to gather data on almost everything: a detailed and precise awareness of the space, people's emotions, intentions, and even visions of the future within a wide area. It was an ability Sage herself had developed during her experiments to awaken advanced Observation Haki some time ago.
Because the passive function of advanced Observation Haki—which shows future images of immediate danger—was completely ineffective against conditional webs, Sage and Kai thought of different ways to solve the problem, ultimately settling on the simplest one. If passive vision didn't work, then they had to look into the future actively, and the best ability for the job was none other than [AP Field].
With her wings glowing in different colors, Sage began processing the enormous amount of data she was receiving from both the present and the future. Before even a second had passed since the order was given, Sage shared a vision of the future with her master.
In the vision, Tomoko and Chatora were suddenly wrapped in corrosive web cocoons, very similar to the ones that had nearly killed Kai the first time he was on the island.
[Sage. What's the condition?!]
Almost instantly, Kai asked in alarm as he was surrounded by dark electric arcs with a slight purple edge and shot off toward the midpoint where Chatora and Tomoko ended up wrapped in webs. The beautiful fairy, surrounded by hundreds of holographic screens, replied in an equally urgent tone.
[I don't know yet, master! It still seems too random for now. I need more data!]
[Mobilize more aura and haki. I have a feeling this is just the beginning, and we need to figure out the condition for the webs!] Kai replied urgently, simultaneously maxing out his Conqueror's Haki and coating his swords with it.
…
…
…
If anyone asked Tomoko what the secret to her [Thump Parade] was, the answer could only be "precision." At first, Tomoko felt that acquiring the [Vital Reactor]—the copy of All Might's quirk—would make her Accomplice's ability useless, since the [Vital Reactor] also granted super strength that could be activated selectively. But reality turned out to be very different.
Instead of overlapping, her Accomplice's ability and the Vital Reactor actually fused, giving her millimeter-level control over her power—a level of control that went beyond even what Kai was capable of. Now, she was able to distribute the maximum potential of the Vital Reactor to enhance anything from her smallest joint to her entire body, and all with absolute precision. But that wasn't even the best part.
…
After smashing a spider with a single blow, Tomoko, with incredible fluidity and speed, shifted the force distribution in her body. She boosted her right leg to 75% of her total power, left her left leg at 10%, and distributed the remaining 15% equally among her arms, torso, and head.
Immediately afterward, Tomoko kicked off the ground with her right leg, shooting forward like an arrow toward the strongest spider nearby. Even though the spot where she kicked the ground was left completely intact, showing no trace of the power she had used.
Reaching the spider, Tomoko once again adjusted the distribution of her strength: assigning 45% to her right fist, 10% to her right leg—which acted as an anchor—15% to her torso and hips to generate torque, and 5% to her left arm and head. Meanwhile, the remaining 20% was concentrated in the knuckle of her middle finger, at the center of her right hand.
Thanks to her quirk—'Search'—Tomoko knew the spider's weak spot was on the side of its abdomen, so she aimed her jab directly there. At the moment of impact, a burst of air shot out from the knuckle of Tomoko's middle finger, similar to All Might's Smash attacks, but this one was only a few centimeters wide.
With 20% of the [Vital Reactor]'s total power concentrated and boosted by 45%, the force of the air cannon was such that the spider's abdomen exploded into pieces, killing it instantly as it was sent flying. Meanwhile, Tomoko, with a small smile on her lips, readjusted the distribution of strength in her body to charge at the next spider that could survive Chatora's shockwaves.
But just as Tomoko was about to deliver the finishing blow to the next spider, a brutal pressure filled the air. Recognizing the pressure as one of her beloved husband's abilities, Tomoko looked up. In the air, she could see Kai surrounded by dark electric arcs—right in between her position and Chatora's.
Believing her husband was about to show off his power again, Tomoko's smile couldn't help but widen, her eyes shining with anticipation. But to her surprise, Kai moved his swords in her direction and Chatora's, sending several dark flying slashes toward them. However, just before an expression of disbelief could form on her face, Tomoko saw how, out of nowhere, a large amount of webbing appeared around her.
"It's a trap!"
Just as the webs wrapped around her, instantly melting her armor, Tomoko heard the voice of her beloved. At the same time, the black slashes Kai had sent moments earlier made contact with the webs. Almost magically, the slashes completely destroyed the webs without leaving a single scratch on her half-melted armor.
As a shiver that made every part of her body stand on end ran through her—brought on by feeling death so close—Tomoko looked up to gaze at her beloved. In that instant, all the spiders screeched at once, and Kai's terrifying pressure intensified by several levels as he sent flying slashes toward Ryuko and All Might. A sight that caused Tomoko's heart to clench painfully.
***
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