Chapter 121: Facing Mercenary Tao
The moment he entered the mission world, Kaito Shirogane discovered that his reputation with the Vought faction was already in the negative. He quickly deduced the reason: the survivor of the [9527] team had, through some means, replaced [Translucent] and had gained the ability to influence the situation.
After a brief consideration, Kaito had abandoned the idea of joining The Boys faction. With both sides of the Reincarnator conflict aware of the plot, siding with The Boys would be suicide. The moment Homelander was convinced to act, their faction would have no way to resist.
Based on the principle that the Nexus's descriptions were always precise, Kaito quickly realized that the entity he had negative reputation with was Vought-America, the corporation, not necessarily The Seven or Homelander himself. Vought's power was immense, with agents in every branch of the government and military. As a monopolistic genetic weapons giant, its influence was vast. But all of this power, at its root, came from their control of Compound V, the gene-altering drug that created Supes.
By injecting infants with Compound V, they would grow up to have superpowers, a phenomenon Vought had beautified as a natural occurrence. Even adults with stable genes could be forced to awaken superpowers by injecting it, though this awakening was highly unstable, temporary, and long-term use would lead to genetic collapse and death. The two most successful results of this drug were the original [Soldier Boy] and the contemporary [Homelander]. They were the two best outcomes from countless experiments, with no genetic degradation. This was what made them so much more powerful than ordinary Supes.
Kaito, combining this with his knowledge of the plot, knew that Homelander hated being controlled. More importantly, Homelander wasn't very smart. He was a powerful weapon that was very easy to "use." This had led to Kaito's subsequent series of choices. After defeating A-Train and seeing Homelander descend from the sky, Kaito had proposed his plan. And just as he'd predicted, Homelander hadn't attacked him, sparing him from having to use his incomplete [Secret Trove: Cursed Blood Origin] or the Werewolf lineage item.
In truth, Kaito had his own theories about that incomplete formula. If Muzan Kibutsuji, lacking only the [Blue Spider Lily], had transformed himself into a demon who couldn't see the sun, then Kaito might have become the opposite kind of creature.
But with Homelander accepting his plan and wanting to absorb the B45 gang, Kaito no longer needed to take that risk. Homelander had brought him to Vought Tower and had personally erased all records of them being at the scene. This was why Queen Maeve had been so confused. Homelander should have been the first on the scene, but afterward, there was no trace he had ever been there.
Now, under Kaito's "guidance," Homelander felt as if he had finally found the answer to the problem that had been plaguing him his entire life. He had been "shackled" by those people, who had used the numbers from polls and approval ratings to control his decisions. They had made him believe that he had to pretend to be a "good guy" to get their support.
But "Mercenary Tao" had given him another answer.
"Look," Kaito had said. "The B45 are a gang, the dregs of society that everyone hates. But now… all of America is fascinated by them. Teenagers are imitating them, forming their own community gangs. Those celebrities and politicians are all jumping on the bandwagon, fabricating stories about their own 'humble' pasts."
Kaito's voice was quiet, but to Homelander, every word was a pearl of wisdom, perfectly articulating his own inner thoughts.
"Everyone needs recognition. Those 1.4 million gang members, the very group that once feared you the most, are no different. Homelander, if you stand up and speak for them now, you will instantly become their hero. And this group... they won't blame you if your methods are a little brutal. They won't care what you do in your private time. They only care about one thing: that you are strong. That you are stronger than anyone else!"
Homelander exhaled slowly. He felt like he was on the ultimate high. He couldn't restrain himself. He nodded, again and again. "You're right. Tao… whatever your name is. You're so goddamn right!"
"Noir. You cooperate with him. Fulfill his every request. I have to go take care of that other thing. It's time my 1.4 million supporters realized that there is still someone in this world who will fight for their justice!"
WHOOSH.
Homelander's speed was also extremely fast. He could fly at Mach 3, and his running speed wasn't much slower than A-Train's. He instantly appeared in the Vought operations department.
"Schedule a press conference for me, immediately," he ordered. "I will resolve the Clinton Street stampede incident." His tone was one that brooked no refusal. Ashley, the director, was flustered and instinctively looked toward Stillwell's office.
Homelander saw this. His eyes began to glow red, his heat-vision ready to fire. The entire operations department screamed and dove for cover. Homelander looked at these so-called "elites," who were now cowering like insects at the mere sight of his eyes, and realized even more profoundly that Kaito was right.
"I said, schedule a press conference. My press conference. I don't need anyone's permission. Don't you understand?"
Faced with this overt death threat, no one dared to object. Calls were made to the media. Someone also contacted Stillwell. But the blonde woman, after a moment's thought, chose to back down. She keenly sensed that the Homelander who had made this decision had not come to her first. His mentality had changed. To provoke him now would likely cause their relationship to rapidly deteriorate. And she was not yet prepared to sacrifice her own body to control him. That was a final resort.
And so, Homelander successfully held his press conference.
To the astonishment of everyone, including Vought's own staff, he did not condemn the B45 gang. Instead, he defended them.
"I believe the situation at the scene was extremely complex. These poor people from the lower class were simply on their way to help others in need when they were blocked by a group of aggressive police officers in the Clinton Street district. Subsequently, a shot was fired at the gang's leader, Bobby, and the situation spiraled out of control."
Homelander's speech made his position clear. He was taking a stand for the B45 gang, placing himself in direct opposition to the federal government. The event immediately caused a sensation, sparking a new firestorm online. A huge number of gang members and people disillusioned with the government were now convinced that the government had deliberately framed the B45. At the same time, they felt a genuine reverence for Homelander, who had spoken up for them.
Homelander's approval ratings began to rise.
He smiled, and continued to issue statements online, promising that he would ensure the leaders of the B45 received the fairest possible treatment, and that if justice was not served, he would enact justice himself. This nearly insane statement stirred up a hornet's nest. Some thought he was being too extreme, but those who had accumulated a deep-seated resentment for the government and the establishment found that Homelander was speaking their language. They began to support him fanatically.
Meanwhile, Kaito looked at the silent Black Noir and spoke. "Now, can you take me to see an old friend of mine?" His smile was grim. Black Noir knew exactly what he was thinking.
Noir hesitated. Kaito spoke again. "Remember? Before Homelander left, he told you to fulfill my every request. You should know that from now on, The Seven is history. Homelander has no need for a fake [Translucent]."
Black Noir was convinced. He led Kaito to the 33rd floor of the tower, to Vought's private medical wing, which was equipped with the best technology money could buy.
A clear smile was on Kaito's face. He walked up to a clean, white hospital room. Black Noir leaned against the wall, swiped his access card to open the door, but did not go in.
Kaito walked into the room alone and saw a pale, youthful face.
"Hello there, survivor of [9527]…"
[Heartless] heard the voice and opened his eyes. He stared in terror at the red, ugly face that had appeared before him. He instinctively turned invisible, but when he tried to move, a sharp pain in his chest made him gasp for air. He had been stabbed through the lung by Bad Kid's knife. If not for Vought's technology, he would already be dead.
Kaito gently patted his wound. His hand quickly became sticky with a clear, viscous fluid. His blood was also transparent.
"You're not the same as this world's [Translucent]," Kaito said. "No. I should say, your ability was not born from Compound V at all."
As mentioned before, the superpowers in this world were very much bound by physics. The original [Translucent]'s invisibility came from altering the carbon structure of his cells to let light pass through. But this meant that his clothes did not turn invisible. He had to be naked to be completely unseen.
When Kaito had fought this Reincarnator, he had clearly felt his clothes. From that, he knew his ability was not a native superpower of this world. And it also meant he did not have the diamond-hard, durable skin.
"You can't kill me!" [Heartless] blurted out, turning visible again. He was pale but trying to project an air of calm. "I've hidden the thing you want! If you kill me, you'll never find it!"
At that same time, in a prison cell where the women from Kalpa's team were being held, one of them, who had been sitting silently, suddenly took on the appearance of [Kalpa] himself. He clasped his hands together, and a golden chakra light began to glow. The guards outside went slack-jawed, their eyes glazing over, and walked over to unlock the cell.
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Guys We cross the 1200 power stone goal and as promise here the bonus chapter
Next goal 1300 power stone,come on guys you'll can do it, good luck.
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