Bucephalus settled all the issues and interrogated the commander, not just anyhow got angry.
-What the hell Gabido!!! This puppy dared?... - and then shut up, realizing that most likely the generals approved this decision. They should be taken seriously, they have a very significant military power, so he did not want to enter into confrontation with them, these old men gave him a chance to prove himself against Gabido. They will not interfere until they feel a threat to themselves and their business. Bucephalus's head clicked again.
- Damn it...- He realized that Gabido wanted to provoke Bucephalus to attack everyone in a row, including the generals, then they would cut off his head. But he saw through this plan and will not go against them.
- This war will last a long time, but in the end I will win you, spawn. - He addressed the invisible enemy and cut the throat of the beaten commander.
...
Gabido returned to his duties as a general and was informed about the kidnapping of his man.
«Damn, this could get out of control, if Bucephalus found out that I was behind this raid on his camp, there will be certain problems between us.» He doubted that Bucephalus would decide to attack the military base right now, he had too few people and equipment for this.
«It is quite possible that they will carry out pinpoint raids on checkpoints in order to undermine my authority. Ordinary people will see and feel this on themselves.» Gabido gave orders to his top commanders, they decided to strengthen the checkpoints on the way to the military base and several villages and cities.
Gabido also began to issue social payments to the family of the murdered commander, knowing in advance that Bucephalus would do this. Both sides are not strong enough to destroy each other completely, both sides realize this, so they will weaken each other in order to release all their power at one moment by resolving this issue. Will the cartel strengthen its power in the region or will Gabido free the country from the ruthless drug cartel?
...
Finally, Nobu arrived a day later at the international port of Myanmar, where he was met by a man in military uniform, who gave Nobu the necessary documents and put him on a ship, where the Japanese captain accepted him and decided to show him the whole ship. On the ship is written his registration plate for recognition in international waters. JAP0455. The same ship on which a long time ago a search of Japanese heroes and police was carried out.
- It's strange to see such a ... ahem, a strong guy in this distant country. - The captain could not be called good-natured, it was obvious that he did not know how to communicate with children, he had a smoky voice. He ruffled Nobu's hair, he jerked away. - Never do that. - He said quietly. He did not like it when someone touched his hair.
- Ahem. Okay, kid, let me show you all the cabins, including yours. - Nobu's intuition told him that he was hiding something unthinkable. He hoped that it was just his paranoia, but his instincts from the Aspects had picked up on something.
The dining room with the kitchen, the warehouse full of provisions, where only sailors were allowed, and the sailors' cabins themselves. The long corridors inside the ship were oppressive and made you think that you were in a steel coffin. The cook turned out to be a bald old man, quite mean, but despite this generous and kind.
Nobu noticed with his strong perception the cook's uneven heartbeat, he had heart problems. While working, the cook listened to music and danced to the beat, stirring the ingredients in a large boiling cauldron. The tour came to an end and Nobu could watch the cook's fascinating work. This man really knew how to attract a crowd with such a show, but only Nobu was looking at him, because all the sailors went to work on the deck and in the storage rooms.
It seemed that even his own heart began to beat in time with his chants, which definitely did the old man good. At some point, the music turned on the speakers and Nobu could hear it too. Not very loud, but enough that it spread throughout the entire kitchen. Nobu did not understand music, but it was definitely some kind of rock of Japanese origin.
As soon as the song ended, the old man somehow noticed someone else's presence. Usually he knew who was in the dining room, but he noticed it only now and he did not like it very much. Coming out of the kitchen into the dining room, he noticed the silhouette of a boy sitting at the table, resting his face with his hand. The old man sighed nervously, but did not want to be angry at the little one, so as not to accidentally scare him, he did not want to hold a grudge against him.
- How long have you been here? - he asked with rapid breathing.
- A few minutes.
The old man rolled his eyes. - Warn me in the future, or you'll drive the old man crazy. - Nobu noticed how the old man's heart gradually returned to normal. - Cardiovascular exercise helps. - he said as if he understood that Nobu had learned about the heart.
Nobu heard the hissing water, it would soon overflow the edge of the pan. - You need to watch the water. - the cook also heard this and ran to take it off the fire. «He's not much of a cook.» When the cook returned, the boy had already disappeared.
- Where the hell is the assistant hanging out?! - he ran off somewhere to look for his assistant.
Near Japan island. Kumedzima. Two weeks later.
Already on the deck, Nobu saw how an inexperienced sailor needed help, the ship had just left the bay and an important cable needed to be secured. Other more experienced guys surrounded him and laughed, not trying to help. Nobu thought to himself, «This could be dangerous.»
Since he saw the whole picture from afar, he noticed how an unsecured cargo container was moving back and forth from side to side at a decent height right above the sailor. Nobu hurried to warn him and to a loud "Hey!" he saw how the cargo was dangerously and precariously secured right above him. Taking this into account, the sailor warned the others, and they were already cautiously starting to solve the problem. Because in case of loss of cargo, they would be very severely scolded and their wages would be cut.
Inspecting the cargo containers, Nobu noticed one that was very different from the others. To the human eye, it was just a different color, but Nobu noticed much more details than the others. Thickness, weight, sounds from inside and even the peculiarities of the grinding metal. This particular one was different from the others in everything, although you couldn't tell at first glance. Nobu walked around it and climbed onto the doors, he wanted to see what was inside. Listening to the sounds from inside and looking through the crack between the doors, Nobu was stunned. There were people of foreign appearance, mostly black. He walked away from the steel door.
«Apparently they are illegal immigrants. The captain is obviously in on it.» Suddenly, someone's heavy hand fell on Nobu's shoulder and a deep voice rang out. It was the boatswain and the captain's right hand.
-I feel sorry for you. I told the captain that you would be a problem for us.- He muttered the last part to himself. The boatswain's heavy hand grabbed Nobu by the collar, and he threw the boy overboard, where the waves raged in the middle of the night.
«I didn't hear him over the waves! Damn it!»
The boy was confused and lost in space for a couple of seconds. He hit the cold metal side of the ship a couple of times and as soon as he realized that his last chance to save himself was to activate Adhesion. Before the wave covered him from head to toe, his hand caught on the metal frame of the ship, where a huge propeller was spinning nearby, making a terrible hum nearby. His strength was gradually leaving him, the constant flow of water was trying to knock his concentration down, below only thousands of meters of water emptiness.
...
A little later, the boatswain reported this to the captain.
- What are you...? Fool! - the captain said almost in a whisper. - It was necessary to at least hit him on the head and lock him somewhere, but not throw the boy overboard!
The boy was confused and lost in space for a couple of seconds. He hit the cold metal side of the ship a couple of times and as soon as he realized that his last chance to save himself was to activate Adhesion. Before the wave covered him from head to toe, his hand caught on the metal frame of the ship, where a huge propeller was spinning nearby, making a terrible hum nearby. His strength was gradually leaving him, the constant flow of water was trying to knock his concentration down, below only thousands of meters of water emptiness. A little later, the boatswain reported this to the captain.
- What are you...? Fool! - the captain said almost in a whisper. - It was necessary to at least hit him on the head and lock him somewhere, but not throw the boy overboard!
- Chief, I did what I thought was right. Specifically at that moment... - the toothless, tipsy boatswain mumbled, but the captain interrupted him.
- Specifically at that moment there was no need for this. - He rubbed his temples from the migraine that had appeared. - Well, at least no one from the crew saw you?
- I don't think so. - the boatswain with crooked teeth said uncertainly to himself.
- I think so? - the captain nodded doubtfully.
- I'm sure. Y-yes.
The cook was eavesdropping on the conversation. This is not an ordinary cook, but an undercover agent who was assigned two tasks. To expose a network of illegal migrants and to accompany, observe and evaluate a boy named Nobu. He was introduced to this ship from Japan itself and he had to work here for a long time. Unfortunately for him, he was hired as a cook, even if now this work does not seem as unbearable as before.
Immediately after the raid on several ports across Japan, an agent was assigned to this ship, and they hinted that the case could even concern a particularly dangerous criminal and told him not to interfere with direct contact. It could be dangerous for him. Now, after overhearing the conversation, he quickly hobbled to look for the boy, maybe he survived by some miracle, but approaching the cruel waves, it seemed to him that the chances were gradually fading.
What could he count on? Unless you are the Almighty, you can survive among these waves, let alone the boy.
The old man looked over the side, losing hope. «It was not for nothing that I was given the task of observing him. From the very beginning, I sensed a strangeness in him that was not typical of children his age.» The primary task was precisely the migrants, but later he was informed by a special radio about a more important task to observe the boy.
Why didn't he uncover the migrant network earlier? The captain had always suspected the cook, but now was the moment to catch him by the balls when the captain lost his vigilance. «You know, kid, I'm even glad to see you, thanks to you I managed to find this container.» Hearing some noise from the steel container standing on the second tier, the agent grinned and listened. Someone sneezed from inside.
«Living in a cold container for weeks will definitely not do any good,» the agent thought to himself and noisily opened the container.
- Hey! I think it's the cook, you can't open containers... - several sailors approached and saw a dozen shaking black people inside the container.
- African migrants. - and then it dawned on the agent. - So that's why we made an unscheduled stop in Nigeria Bay. - He took out a special radio and reported this to the person receiving the frequency.
- Are you nuts? - the boatswain shouted behind him and activated his squid tentacle quirk. Many tentacles wrapped around the arms and legs of the sailors and the agent, knocking the radio out of his hands, which fell overboard. The boatswain did not suspect the cook of betrayal and was very surprised.
The agent, paralyzed by the grip of the tentacles, activated his quirk, he burst into flames, his skin heated up to temperatures unbearable for the tentacles, they retreated. The agent took advantage of the moment and ran away, in his cabin in a secret drawer there was a pistol, it was for this that he ran. The captain quietly approached the boatswain and patted him on the shoulder.
- It's time for us to go. We already have payment for the migrants, they will arrive soon. It is better for us not to be here. - The boatswain grunted in frustration and threw the sailors overboard with his squid-like tentacles.
-Aaah...! -What to do with that... -To hell with him, he'll probably die right here along with the migrants. The ship was approaching the shores of Japan, shivering from the cold. Nobu managed to climb to a certain height and avoid the destructive waves. The metal necklace on his neck dangled, it miraculously did not fall off during the water assault.
«Come on...more. Something had to go wrong! I already regret that I got on this damn ship!» Meter by meter, Nobu gradually climbed up the long and cold hull of the ship like a spider. It was difficult for him to concentrate because of the cold, only the adrenaline from the fear of death helped keep the Adhesion on.
Nobu heard what the voice said while he was attached to the hull. «Something is brewing, and they are going to escape.» Suddenly, several sailors flew overboard. The boy pierced the sea with an angry red gaze and wanted to know who was behind this. He was not at all angry at the boatswain for swimming under the sea waves, but he was depressed by the fact that he did not hear when he got behind him.
The captain had stopped the ship long ago and anchored it off the coast of Japan, where he was forbidden to anchor. The boatswain and the captain opened the inflatable rescue boat and hung a motor on the boat. They planned to sail to a neighboring island, where the prepared things and new documents were waiting for them.
Nobu was the first to hear, the roar of a helicopter appeared in the sky. He was transporting special forces storming the ship. They knew their task very well, they needed to neutralize all resistance, find the agent and illegal immigrants. Nobu saw all this and did not dare to go to the Japanese special forces, but the problem on the other side of the board felt more important. The captain and boatswain were already sailing away, Nobu was lucky to meet them on his side of the hull, he grabbed one small metal tube lying on a mountain of identical tubes.
The special forces intercepted the migrants and began the evacuation, and in the sea they spotted sailors swimming from the sky, to whom help was already on its way. A boy with a pipe stepped overboard in front of one of the special forces. Nobu, in wet rags, first ran horizontally along the containers, then climbed to the very top of the ship's structure, above the captain's cabin. With his red eyes he looked at the captain, who had already sailed away at a decent distance, and their gazes met. He felt the gaze of red eyes on himself, although he could not distinguish details to the extent of his human vision, for him only a silhouette with two red dots was visible.
«Out of reach.»
- Brrr. Damn cold.
Nobu was blown by the wind from all sides, he needed to hurry. He was not sure that he would be able to hit the boat with a pipe charged with Expansion without killing them. Nobu felt how, even then, resisting the waves, how Adhesion became better, as if it had been honed. It seems that water is now a more tame element for him.
-Boy, wait! Leave this matter to us! - the agent came running along with several guys from the special forces. - You can't do anything now! A helicopter will fly out after them and they will be captured.
-Don't deceive yourself, the captain has an unknown quirk, there is every chance of losing people and the helicopter. -He said it as if he already sensed an incomprehensible trump card hidden up the captain's sleeve.
Nobu disobeyed and stepped overboard.
The agent and the special forces soldiers stood at the railing in shock. Contrary to all expectations, the boy did not fall into the water, he softly slapped against its surface and began to walk along it.
-Like fucking Jesus...- one of them said to himself.
-What are you gaping at? Call the boats and quickly get him! - The agent knew that the kid was right about the helicopter. «Most likely, we'll have to drive them to the island, it will be easier to catch them there.»
At first, Nobu felt insecure, but he realized that Adhesion also applies to water. However, there was one significant disadvantage to walking on water - he was moved by the waves. His speed of movement on water was highly dependent on the speed of the waves and the direction of the current. That is, he was attached to the water and the waves carrying him, he could resist the current, but it was too tiring. Now the sea current was on his side and helped him move much faster than the motorboat on which the two targets were located.
Also, the downside of using Adhesion on water is the difficulty of stabilizing the body in a constant flow, he had to slide on ice, but hold his body and not fall, however, this is very exhausting, but a good workout for the muscles.
- Calm down ... - the waves were just trying to get out of control and swallow another pathetic person into their abyss, but Adhesion prevented them. He saw how the abyss under his feet was watching frighteningly. Wave after wave brought him straight to the boat of the escaped criminals.
- What the hell ... I threw him off ... - the boatswain was stunned. The captain was surprised by the quirk of walking on water.
Nobu shouted standing on the wave opposite them, he had to run comically against the current so that the wave would not wash him away further than the boat.
- Who are you with ... who paid you?! ... ugh .. - two waves met next to Nobu and covered him with water. Running against the waves all the time is unbearably hard, his stamina quickly ran out. Why did he want to know the answers to his questions? He suspected one person who was behind this - AFO.
All of Japan is connected with this terrifying person, but he did not fully know this, but he understood that a person with such quirks is the most important figure in the history of Japan and its greatest threat. And he asked questions because he is sure that agents of any organization will not give him access to information. Why would they do this?
-Oh, to hell with it! - he threw a pipe at the engine and from the impact, the pipe charged with Ballistics was torn apart, on the other side of the boat a large column of water rose up from the arrival of the pipe. The boat was covered by a wave and a water shroud. The boatswain was constantly trying to grab Nobu from his hand with the Tentacle ability and tear him apart. Nobu began to rest and calmly lay down on the wave and stopped resisting and gradually approached the small island of Kume, which was located in the south of the Okinawa Islands, on the surface of the waves. Nobu continued to swim with his eyes closed, he really wanted to sleep while in the warm water.
- Phew... And this is not bad... - Nobu said tiredly. He was lucky to be in the warm season, of course, this island is already warm almost all year round. Gradually, the aggressive sea landscapes and currents were replaced by soft waves enveloping the body.
- Damn! - The waves carried him to the other side of the island and, in fact, he made a detour around it. Nobu is quite capable of maintaining Adhesion for an entire hour before dizziness and rapid loss of concentration begin. This does not mean that he swam in the water for an hour, he was there literally a couple of minutes from the moment of contact with the captain's boat!
Nobu swam to land gasping for breath, he did not swim every day. Wet sand greeted him.
-Pha-ha. - He caught his breath for a few seconds and began to wring out his wet clothes. He noticed that the wringing significantly reduced the weight of the clothes and his movements were no longer so constrained. Noticing the dampness of the sand on which he stood, he came up with an idea.
«This could work.» Nobu molded a dense lump of sand. «In theory, the impulse is not enough to kill, but it will fly in noisily, it may even incapacitate such a typical quirk user: for example, that boatswain. As long as the force is not comparable to grapeshot or a cannonball.» He thought again and reduced the weight of the lump while walking towards the flying helicopter already above the island like a fly over shit.
- I wonder if they warned the people living on this island about the impending disaster? - Nobu noticed a boat full of special forces sailing towards him and quickly retreated from the shore.
- What a nimble one. - The agent looked through the binoculars at the hiding Nobu and hissed. - Let's go to the main group, the kid won't go anywhere from the island, and we don't have time.
Since the agent was informed that the boy had somehow immobilized the boat first, ruining all plans to drive them to the island.
The captain named Karz and the boatswain named Orsi decided to quickly leave the boat when they saw an approaching convoy of boats ready to surround them. However, the special service boats were in no hurry to catch dangerous people and tried to exhaust their stamina and drive the enemy ashore, like sharks circling around waiting for the death of a fish.
Everything turned out to be not so simple, under water, Orsi's tentacles were long enough to reach the boat and tear it in half. Those who managed to notice the movement under water - survived. In the water, Orsi's quirk slightly intensified, it is logical to assume the water aspect of his abilities. The boats gained distance and, as if on orders, kept their distance while the criminals got out of the water.
Seeing the whole stalemate, Karz gradually lost patience, fear crept up on the unfortunate captain, will they be able to escape? Karz stopped abruptly after shaking off the sand, standing on the shore of the island.«Probably not... Sacrifice Orsi? Throw him to hell. Although....» His quirk would be perfect if he used it on the boatswain, whose quirk is of the water aspect, the same as Karz.
Karz stopped abruptly after shaking off the sand, standing on the shore of the island.
-Cough... cough. - the boatswain caught his breath. - Karz, what are you standing there for, we need to run! - he pointed at the gradually approaching boats.
-We can't escape, forget it... - he said quietly -... but... there is one way...- he turned around with a monstrous smile on his face. A tendril emerged from his hand and attached itself to the boatswain's head.
-Mmm... - a muffled, heartbreaking scream of Orsi was heard from an incomprehensible cocoon in front of the face of fear, betrayal and hopelessness. Karz started laughing madly while Orsi was being swallowed by the pitch-black liquid. The police and special services surrounded Karz and grabbed him. They twisted his arms behind his back and put on handcuffs-gloves that prevented him from using his quirk and put him on a boat, which left without waiting. The mutated creature finally acquired humanoid features and stopped writhing in agony.
They opened fire on the unknown form of living matter, with a sharp movement the tentacle soared into the air and tore apart several fully equipped special forces. The hail of bullets did not bother it at all, two new ones grew in place of the torn off limb.
-Lord ...
- We are suffering losses! - the man echoed into the radio, hoping to get the long-awaited answer.
- We see the object, hold the creature until reinforcements arrive! I repeat, containment tactics! Do not attempt to kill! - the dispatcher said from a helicopter with the FIC[1] sign above the scene. - A sleeping gas will be dropped, put on gas masks!
...
There was only one hero on this small island, while the island's population reached 9 thousand people, everyone knew each other and there was no need to fight crime. This hero decided to respond to the police's help in detaining dangerous criminals. The dispatcher called the local police (there is only one station in the village of Kumejima) so that they could use the hero to neutralize the criminals with the assistance of professional police.
The hero named Ogakure predicted a successful day for himself from the very beginning of the day. Sunny weather, friendly fishermen, as always, go out to sea to catch fish and sell it at the local market. After picking up his only son from school, he and his family spend time with his neighbors in the backyard, where there was a barbecue.
The hero's face changed when a police car from the local station arrived. The officer and his assistant, whom he knew with an uncharacteristically serious face, called him inside and explained the whole situation to him without outsiders. The previous cheerful smile of the bristly man was replaced by confusion, then nervously biting his lip, he continued to listen to the current situation on the western shore.
- Lord, if this comes to Kumejima ... - said the nervous hero, who did not have much experience in battles. - I hope they called someone from the top [2]- the car began to move towards the beach.
[1] FIC - (Fleet Intelligence Command) The operational intelligence team of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. In this operation, which was given the code name "Kumejima Hydra", various intelligence agencies participated, but the most powerful of them was FIC. Since they have naval armed resources that are capable of at least suppressing the enemy, before the arrival of heavy artillery - professional heroes from the Public Safety Commission.
[2] meaning the top heroes of Japan