Location: Erebus Black Site
Time: A Few Hours Ago
RUMBLE.
Dust settled over the ruined courtyard.
SWISH.
Dozens of red feathers shot through the dark sky.
Hawks directed them smoothly, pinning five escaping prisoners against a cracked concrete wall.
BANG. BANG.
Lady Nagant stood on a broken guard tower. She fired her right arm twice.
Two villains sprinting toward the tree line collapsed into the dirt, grabbing their shattered knees.
THUD.
All Might landed in the center of the yard. He carried two unconscious inmates under his arms.
Several local prison guards were running around in a complete panic. All Might walked over and handed the inmates over gently.
"Breathe, everyone," All Might told the guards, his voice calm and reassuring. "The perimeter is secure. Just focus on processing them."
The guards stopped panicking, immediately grounded by his presence, and got to work.
Hawks landed next to All Might and recalled his feathers.
"We've got the lower blocks contained," Hawks sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Guards are counting heads now, but we grabbed most of the stragglers."
Lady Nagant jumped down from the tower. She reloaded her arm, looking exhausted.
"The attacker was Humarise, Flect Turn himself included." Lady Nagant stated bluntly. "They moved too fast. The high-profile targets are gone. Gigantomachia, Nine, Mario and Number Six. Basically the members of the League of Villains were together again."
All Might crossed his massive arms. His usual bright smile was replaced by a serious frown.
"I went straight to the deepest sub-level," All Might assured them. "The paper is completely untouched. All For One is exactly where we left him."
Sigh.
Hawks let out a long breath. Lady Nagant lowered her rifle arm.
They didn't know the villain inside the drawing was just a decoy.
To them, losing those guys was a bad, but losing the Demon King would have destroyed the country.
"Well, that's the only good news we're getting tonight," Hawks muttered.
--<>--
Location: HPSC Headquarters - Tokyo
Time: Early Morning
The sun was just coming up outside the large conference room windows.
Agent Mera stood at the front of a long steel table. He looked incredibly stressed. He rubbed his eyes and adjusted his glasses.
The Top 10 ranking pro heroes sat around the table.
Endeavor, Best Jeanist, O'Clock, Edgeshot, Hawks, Mirko, Ryukyu, Selkie, Gang Orca, and All Might all looked sleep-deprived.
"I'll give you the direct facts," Agent Mera told the room. "Two highly coordinated strikes happened simultaneously. Wolfram's mercenaries hit Alcatraz in America and extracted Valdo. Flect Turn hit Erebus here in Japan. He took every members of League of Villains."
Endeavor leaned forward. He looked annoyed.
"Flect Turn used to run with the League of Villains before they got wiped out," Endeavor pointed out. "Why is he working with American mercenaries now? And why break out those specific guys?"
Best Jeanist adjusted his high collar.
"Maybe he's trying to fill a power vacuum," Best Jeanist deduced smoothly. "With All For One gone, he wants to absorb the worst of the underworld and take his place."
Agent Mera pulled up a new file on the monitor behind him.
"A total media blackout is in effect," Agent Mera confirmed. "The morning news is reporting a minor structural incident at Erebus due to extreme weather. Madam President made it clear we cannot risk another Tartarus-level panic again."
Mera looked directly at All Might.
"Madam President also issued a direct order," Mera said. "Because of the escalating threat level, All Might, you're now solely responsible for overseeing the sealed All For One. You're the only one strong enough to handle a direct attack."
All Might nodded firmly. "I understand. I won't let him out of my sight."
Agent Mera looked around the room.
"We have to address the main issue," Agent Mera continued. "The government prison infrastructure keeps failing. Tartarus failed. Erebus almost failed. Madam President has a proposal, but she wanted the consensus of the Top 10 before she signs the paperwork."
Mera paused for a second.
"She wants to officially contract Kaito Arisaka to design and build an impenetrable high-security prison system from scratch."
The atmosphere in the room shifted instantly. The tension dropped.
Every single hero at the table had a close, personal relationship with Kaito.
He was the reason their quirks and agencies were so strong. They completely trusted him.
Ryukyu smiled gently, her posture relaxing.
"I completely agree," Ryukyu said softly. "Kaito always knows exactly what to do. If he builds it, we won't have to worry about this happening again."
Mirko leaned back in her chair and grinned.
"Ha! It's about time they let the Golden Manager handle important things for the government," Mirko laughed. "You tell the President that Kaito is the absolute best guy for the job. Heck, tell him I said hi when you call him.... And also why can't you just make him the next prime minister then?"
"..."
"..."
"His plans and advices are flawless," Endeavor said, his tone full of professional respect. "He rebuilt my agency's entire response system. I trust him."
"Yeah, nobody beats Kaito's standard," Hawks chuckled. "We're all in."
Agent Mera sighed in relief, writing the unanimous approval down on his clipboard.
"Thank you," Agent Mera said. "I'll let Madam President know the Top 10 fully endorses the Arisaka contract."
--<>--
Time: Present
SWOOSH.
A heavy wave of sand slammed against the reinforced wall of the training facility.
Snatch stood in the center. He raised his arms, manipulating the sand into sharp, hardened spikes shooting up from the floor.
He was mastering the Sand Burial technique.
His two sidekicks stood near the back, closely observing his forms.
RING. RING.
Makoto stood near the entrance door. Her phone vibrated in her pocket.
She pulled it out and checked the screen.
Naomasa.
She answered and stepped out into the quiet hallway.
"Hey, big brother," Makoto said.
[Makoto] Detective Naomasa said. His voice was hushed and rushed. [I am calling you completely off the record. You can't tell anyone about this.]
Makoto frowned. "What happened?"
[We had two major prison breaks today,] Naomasa explained quickly. [Alcatraz in America and Erebus here in Japan. The Gollini mafia, and most of the League of Villain leaders.]
Makoto leaned her back against the wall.
[Humarise and an American mercenary group coordinated the hits,] Naomasa continued. [All Might confirmed All For One is still sealed in the vault, but we have absolutely zero leads on the others. Just... keep your guard up out there.]
"I will. Thanks, Naomasa," Makoto said softly.
BEEP.
Makoto hung up the phone. She walked down the hall and opened the door to Kaito's temporary office.
Kaito sat at the desk. His fingers moved rapidly across his laptop keyboard.
Makoto walked over and stopped right next to his chair.
"Another villain problem," Makoto said.
She relayed the entire call from her brother, listing off the escaped convicts and the terrorist groups involved.
Kaito stopped typing. He leaned back in his chair. He didn't look worried at all.
Makoto asked. "You won't move?"
Kaito looked at her.
"Makoto, I made a lot of pro heroes stronger for a reason" Kaito said calmly. "All Might was able threw a single punch into the sky, and the shockwave split the clouds from Japan all the way across half of Asia."
Makoto uncrossed her arms.
She remembered the news reports about that time.
"Now compare that to the frail, dying All Might we saw on that video in the alternate universe," Kaito pointed out. "The heroes in our world are absolute monsters. Endeavor, Hawks, Mirko, Ryukyu. I raised their standards to the absolute peak."
Kaito turned back to his laptop.
"I am not going to babysit them," Kaito stated. "If I train them to be the strongest heroes on the planet, and they still can't hunt down a few missing villains, then my entire agency standard is useless. They will handle it... I trust them as I trust myself."
Makoto looked at him and smiled slightly.
"You really trust your results," Makoto said.
She walked behind his chair and looked at the screen.
"Which online contract is this?" Makoto asked.
"Slot number three," Kaito answered. "Rank 37 pro hero in Ecuador. His only quirk is talking to fish."
Makoto blinked. "Talking to fish? How does that help in combat?"
"It doesn't," Kaito said. "I am making him an intelligence asset. He's going to use the marine life across the South American coastline to report underwater villain movements and submarine smuggling routes. He'll be an elite offshore radar network."
Kaito cracked his knuckles and started typing furiously again.
CLACK. CLACK. CLACK.
Makoto watched the massive, multi-million-dollar consultation document take shape.
[Quirk Development Path: Sonar Integration]
[Utilize bio-rhythms of local marine life to establish a 300-mile digital grid map...]
[Fish will act as an invisible, underwater radar network to track submarine smuggling routes and offshore illegal drilling...]
Kaito scrolled down to the next section.
[Agency Financial Routing]
[Liquidate all land-based patrol assets. Reinvest 100% of capital into offshore tactical intercept boats...]
[Transition primary revenue stream from street-level crime bounties to government intelligence contracts...]
He kept typing, detailing strict protocols, support gear schematics, and tactical deployment strategies.
[Support Gear Restructure: The Sonar-Link Helmet]
[Equip the primary user with a neural-translation receiver...]
...
--<>--
Location: Unknown
Time: Present
The room was pitch black.
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.
Dozens of high-resolution holograms flickered to life around a massive circular table.
It was an emergency summit of the World Heroes Association.
Government representatives and top heroes from all over the world including America, Japan, and Otheon appeared in their seats.
The American representative spoke first.
"Wolfram's mercenary group hit Alcatraz," the American stated loudly. "They ripped the front of the prison out of the bedrock and freed Valdo and the Gollini family."
The Japanese representative leaned forward.
"Humarise hit Erebus," the Japanese representative reported. "Flect Turn used a massive gravitational shockwave to flatten the defenses. They took high profile villains as well."
The Otheon representative pulled up a digital map connecting the two locations.
"They also attacked and rescued one of their members here, Beros... We have two strikes on opposite sides of the planet happening at the exact same time," the Otheon representative said. "Wolfram and Flect Turn are coordinating. This is a unified terrorist front."
The WHA members reviewed the data. The tension in the room spiked.
"We keep this completely quiet," the European representative warned. "The Tartarus breakout years ago caused a total market crash and global panic. If the public finds out Humarise and the mercenaries are teaming up to break out top-tier villains, civilian trust will evaporate."
"Agreed," the American representative said. "A total media blackout remains in effect."
The Japanese representative nodded firmly.
"We officially Wolfram as one of extreme global threats internally, together with Flect Turn." the Japanese representative proposed. "We initiate quiet preparations for a second Global Pro Hero Raid. Hunt them down and don't let them become the next All For One."
The holograms nodded in agreement. The WHA set their plans in motion.
--<>--
A week passed.
The world remained completely oblivious to the threat in the shadows.
The villains stayed in their hidden base in the Arctic, busy experimenting with time travel and manipulating the alternate branches.
At the U.A. Academy in Japan, Class 1-A boarded a bus and traveled to the Unforeseen Simulation Joint for their scheduled rescue training.
Pro Hero Thirteen stood in front of the massive dome, explaining the dangers of rescue operations and the importance of saving lives.
The students listened closely, eager to test their quirks.
The training started.
The students navigated the shipwreck zone, the landslide zone, and the fire zone.
Nothing out of the ordinary happened.
No dark portals opened in the central plaza.
Tomura Shigaraki did not walk through the mist. The Nomu did not attack.
The World Hero Association deployed their best trackers across the globe, searching the oceans and the underground networks for Flect Turn and Wolfram.
They found absolutely nothing. The terrorists vanished without a single trace.
The USJ event ended as a perfectly normal, quiet school day.
The students returned to their dorms, completely safe, unaware of the bullets they just dodged.
--<>--
[Flashback: Two Days Prior]
Location: Snatch Hero Agency - Kaito's Office
Kaito sat behind his heavy wooden desk.
Agent Mera sat across from him. Mera looked like he hadn't slept in three days. Dark bags hung under his eyes.
Makoto stood near the coffee maker, pouring three cups of hot black coffee.
"Let me get this straight," Kaito said, looking at the printed document Mera just slid across the desk. "You want Arisaka Consulting to build a prison."
"We want you to design and construct a new government black site," Agent Mera clarified, rubbing his temples. "To replace Tartarus and Erebus."
Kaito stared at him. He looked genuinely dumbfounded.
"I run a hero consulting firm, Mera," Kaito pointed out. "I manage branding, financial stability, and quirk development. I'm not a military defense contractor. Why are you coming to me?"
Makoto walked over and set a cup of coffee in front of Mera.
She looked just as confused as Kaito.
Mera took a long sip of the hot coffee.
"Because we're out of options," Mera admitted bluntly. "Every single high-security facility the government builds gets breached. Villains treat our prisons like revolving doors. Tartarus was a disaster. Erebus was a disaster."
Mera looked directly at Kaito.
"Your corporate infrastructure is the only system in this entire country that operates with a zero-percent failure rate," Mera stated. "The HPSC President wants the Golden Manager standard applied to a maximum-security prison."
Kaito leaned back in his chair. He looked at the ceiling for a few seconds, processing the ridiculous request.
"Fine," Kaito said, looking back down. "But I have terms."
Mera pulled a pen out of his pocket. "Name them."
"I get absolute creative control," Kaito listed. "Zero government interference or oversight during the construction phase. The HPSC gets zero access to the proprietary source code of the security systems. And my consultation fee is hundreds of million of dollars."
Cough.
Makoto choked on her coffee. She coughed into her hand, staring at Kaito with wide eyes.
Mera didn't even blink.
He clicked his pen, signed the bottom of the document, and slid it back across the desk.
"Deal," Mera said.
Mera stood up, bowed slightly, and walked out of the office.
Makoto stared at the closed door. She looked back at the signed paper on the desk.
"Did you just become a military defense contractor over a cup of coffee?" Makoto asked.
"Looks like it," Kaito sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.
--<>--
[Present Day]
Location: Snatch Hero Agency - Indoor Training Facility
SWOOSH.
A massive sandstorm swirled inside the training room.
"Tighten the vortex, Snatch!" Makoto yelled over the noise of the wind.
Makoto stood safely behind the reinforced observation glass.
She held a stopwatch in one hand and a clipboard in the other.
"You are leaking too much kinetic energy on the outer edges!" Makoto instructed through the intercom microphone. "Pull the sand closer to your center of gravity!"
Down on the training floor, Snatch gritted his teeth and focused.
He pulled his arms in closer to his chest. The massive "Sand World" storm tightened, the blinding vortex spinning faster and denser around him.
His two sidekicks watched from the sidelines, completely exhausted and covered in sweat.
Across the observation room, safe behind the soundproof glass, Kaito sat at a heavy metal desk.
He ignored the sandstorm completely. He was zoned into his laptop.
A small, holographic version of Eve projected from his watch, hovering above the keyboard.
"Standard titanium and concrete are useless, Eve," Kaito muttered, looking at a basic 3D model of a prison cell. "Flect Turn flattened Erebus with a single gravity push. We need something reactive."
[Running structural integrity simulations,] Eve chimed softly.
"We need a new smart-matter alloy," Kaito said, tapping the desk. "Something that absorbs kinetic shockwaves. And it needs to passively suppress quirks on contact."
[Synthesizing a theoretical alloy combining kinetic absorption properties and localized bio-energy dampening,] Eve replied. [Designating material as Quirk-Inert Carbon-Titanium. QICT.]
Kaito nodded. "Perfect. Now, map out the architectural foundation. We can't build it on an island or a mountain. Teleporters can just warp inside, or someone with a digging quirk can burrow through the floor."
He pulled up a digital globe.
"We put it in a subterranean void," Kaito instructed. "Miles below the earth's crust. A massive sphere suspended entirely by magnetic confinement. No physical bridges. No elevator shafts connecting to the outer cavern walls. If a villain tries to dig their way in, they hit nothing and fall into an abyss."
[Foundation parameters updated,] Eve confirmed.
The 3D hologram shifted into a massive, floating sphere deep underground.
"What about the A and S ranks?" Kaito asked. "Guys like Muscular or Gigantomachia. They can just break out of a standard room, no matter how thick the walls are."
[Analyzing containment protocols for high-density strength and elemental quirks.]
"Put them in fluid," Kaito decided, remembering a concept from an old comic book. "Design high-density, breathable fluorocarbon liquid cells. If we suspend them in fluid, they have zero gravitational footing. They can't generate any physical leverage to punch the walls, and the liquid instantly dilutes any fire or chemical quirks."
[Fluid suspension cells added to the maximum-security sub-level,] Eve noted.
"And no human guards," Kaito added firmly. "Humans can be bribed, mind-controlled, or blackmailed. Design autonomous, non-sentient AI sentinels to patrol the halls."
[Understood, Boss.]
Kaito leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes.
Building an impregnable prison was a massive headache. But he was having a lot of fun.
TWEEET.
Makoto blew a silver whistle.
"Take a fifteen-minute water break!" Makoto announced through the intercom.
Down on the floor, Snatch dropped his arms. The sandstorm collapsed into a pile on the floor.
Snatch and his sidekicks immediately sat down on the ground, completely drained by the strict training regimen.
Makoto set her clipboard down and walked over to Kaito's desk.
She looked at the terrifying, complex 3D holographic sphere floating above his laptop.
"That looks intense," Makoto said, leaning against the desk.
"It is," Kaito sighed, closing his eyes for a second. "Trying to lock up people who can use quirks is annoying. I have to encrypt the entire manufacturing process so the government can't reverse-engineer my QICT alloy and turn it into weapons."
Makoto smiled. She reached over and pushed a stray piece of hair out of his face.
"Your brain is honestly scary when you actually try," Makoto joked.
Kaito laughed lightly. He opened his eyes and looked up at her.
"I couldn't focus on this if you weren't handling the them," Kaito admitted honestly. "Thanks for managing Snatch. He looks like he's about to pass out."
Makoto smirked and picked her clipboard back up.
"He's a veteran," Makoto said confidently. "He can handle a few more drills. You just focus on building your scary super-prison."
Kaito smiled and turned back to his laptop.
Makoto walked back to the intercom, ready to push Snatch through the final set of the day.
--<>--
Days and weeks passed.
It was now early June.
The consultation contract for the pro hero Snatch officially concluded.
Simultaneously, the ten global online contracts was finalized weeks prior.
This speed was entirely due to Makoto Tsukauchi.
Her management of the corporate logistics and agency paperwork completely freed Kaito to focus purely on quirk development and structural engineering. Their partnership was a massive success.
--<>--
The local izakaya was loud and packed with customers. The smell of grilled pork and hot broth hung in the air.
Kaito, Makoto, Snatch, his two sidekicks, Detective Naomasa, and Chief Kenji Tsuragamae sat around a large wooden corner table.
Empty plates and cold drinks covered the surface.
CLINK.
Chief Tsuragamae tapped his glass. The tall, dog-headed police chief smiled.
"I still can't get over that VIP escort mission last week, woof," Tsuragamae said, looking directly at Snatch. "Your new external sand-storage gear is incredible. You completely neutralized that street gang before my officers even unholstered their weapons, woof."
Snatch smiled and raised his own glass.
"I appreciate it, Chief," Snatch said.
He turned and looked across the table at Kaito.
"I owe it to Kaito," Snatch continued, using Kaito's first name. "I haven't felt this sharp in a long time."
Kaito laughed and took a sip of his tea.
Kaito joked easily. "I'm just glad Makoto was there to keep the agency running while we were yelling at each other in the training room."
Naomasa chuckled and leaned heavily on the table.
"The police force always knows when a hero contracts Arisaka Consulting," Naomasa said. "The arrests are cleaner. The collateral damage drops to zero. And most importantly, the incident paperwork is actually legible."
The dinner went on for another hour.
They finished their meals, paid the bill, and stepped outside onto the busy Tokyo sidewalk.
The cool night air hit them.
"Thank you again, Kaito. Makoto," Snatch said. He shook both of their hands firmly. "If you ever need anything, the agency doors are always open for you."
"Just keep practicing your new techniques," Kaito told him. "Don't get lazy."
"I won't," Snatch promised.
"Have a good night, woof," Tsuragamae waved.
Naomasa nodded to his sister and Kaito.
The police officers and the hero agency split up, walking down the street in the opposite direction.
Kaito and Makoto walked together toward the train station.
The streetlights illuminated the concrete path.
They walked close to each other.
All their obligations in their home world were complete.
Snatch was upgraded.
The online contracts were finished.
The World Hero Association was handling the terrorist threat in the shadows.
Makoto looked up at Kaito.
Kaito looked down at her.
They shared a quiet smile. They didn't need to say a single word.
It was time to go back to the alternate universe.
Hero X was going to make his official debut.
...
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(9 Advanced Chapters)