What is an Ultimate?
It is a specific title bestowed upon someone considered the absolute best in a specific field, talent, or profession.
And I… am considered an Ultimate even among the other Ultimates.
Why?
Because I possess every Ultimate talent possible at Hope's Peak Academy.
They gave me the same name as the founder of that academy... Izuru Kamukura.
They worshipped me like a god.
They gave me the title...
Ultimate Hope.
Tell me...
What is Hope?
...
..
.
That was how It was supposed to go. I was supposed to be liberated from my confinement by Enoshima Junko to encounter something unknown and interesting.
So... then, how am I here?
I wondered, my blank crimson eyes scanning my surroundings. I was in a typical Japanese classroom.
At the neighboring seat, a boy was reclining on his chair at an exact angle of 122 degrees. His left eye was micro-twitching, darting repeatedly toward the girl sitting adjacent to him.
I didn't even need my [Ultimate Analyst] talent to deduce that every word the teacher spoke was going completely over his head.
Boring.
I concluded. My hyper-analytic mind fractured into countless streams of thought, my crimson eyes observing the room with a long-held apathy.
My [Ultimate Analyst] talent scanned every inch of three-dimensional space in my surroundings repeatedly, searching for any irregularity.
Yet... Nothing.
No spatial anomalies. No gravitational fluctuations. No thermal displacements.
How was this possible?
A genuinely interested glow slowly began to radiate from my eyes.
Someone had displaced me from my confinement zone to this location without my knowledge and without leaving any visible trace.
What had occurred was neither theoretically feasible nor physically probable. I possessed the [Ultimate Soldier] talent, along with the [Ultimate Martial Artist] talent.
In a physical confrontation with another being, my probability of victory was a fixed 99.78%, with the remaining 0.22% reserved only for those I found too boring to even fight.
Someone sedating me was, therefore, out of the question.
If it were manipulation on a cognitive level, I possessed the [Ultimate Cognition] talent... which made me highly immune to hypnosis, brainwashing, mind control, and cognitive interference.
So then... how?
An inbuilt kill switch installed during the surgery by Hope's Peak scientists?
Another being with similar physiology to mine, having undergone the same procedure?
Or... Something completely beyond my current well of information?
Something... Unknown.
Countless theories and hypotheses flashed across my mind, each one being discarded or catalogued as impossible a moment later.
I needed more... Information. To reach a more educated conclusion.
My thoughts were deep and obscure. Yet... only 9.45 seconds had passed since I became aware of my surroundings.
I let my eyes wander as I rose from my chair, instantly drawing the focus of the entire class.
My steps began to move towards the classroom door to exit mid-session.
...Exactly 2 seconds before the teacher at the lectern could open his mouth to reprimand me, I flashed a universal hand gesture indicating I was going to the restroom.
Boring.
I knew the teacher's reaction without even looking back as I walked out of the classroom.
My gaze flicked toward an open notebook on a desk I passed by.
The date written on it was 15th January 2004.
2004? Not 2010?
Temporal displacement? Parallel timelines? Quantum superposition?
Things were getting more mysterious by the second. The first order of business was to locate the computer lab and search for Hope's Peak Academy.
I stopped beside a female classmate in the hallway. My long, black hair reached my calves. My voice emerged monotonous and stale as always.
"Classmate... Do you know the way to the computer lab?"
My question was direct. Yet... the female opposite me seemed not to have heard my words. Her gaze was lost on my face. Her heart rate had increased from 78 bpm to 94 bpm.
I could understand her. My face is considered the pinnacle of male beauty. My body is the very epitome of prime genetics.
My [Ultimate Breeder] talent accepts nothing less, whether in understanding genetics or personally being the pinnacle of a genetically perfect partner.
"Boring." My words rang out deliberately, snapping her out of her daze. A flush spread across her face.
"T-There..." She pointed ahead, a little flustered and ashamed of having been caught blatantly staring.
I walked in the direction she indicated. My steps synchronized with my heart rate, a constant 45 bpm to maintain optimal body temperature and blood flow for instantaneous movement.
I arrived at the computer lab a moment later. It was currently empty. I ignored the silence and sat down at a terminal.
Making these ancient computers function would have been a headache for a normal person. But with my [Ultimate Hacker] talent, it was trivial.
I had already hacked into multiple government databases worldwide and specifically searched for any school going by the name of Hope's Peak Academy in exactly 36.56 seconds.
The results caused even my impassive expression to flicker for a microsecond.
...There was nothing resembling Hope's Peak Academy in this world.
I triple-checked just to be sure. The result was identical to the first.
This world really did not possess any academy resembling Hope's Peak.
Since I had come all this way... I might as well check my current location and the state of the world.
Hmm... Fuyuki City?
I knew for certain, due to my [Ultimate Cartographer] talent, that my old world didn't have a place by this name, even if the year was currently 2004.
Things were getting interesting. I shut the old computer down after deleting my digital trail so it couldn't be traced back to me.
Better to be safe. Who knew what dangers lay in this world?
I concluded, getting up from the desk and walking toward the exit.
My thoughts churned, analyzing who or what had sent me here...
And what their purpose was?
Since I had been sent to this Homurahara Academy, it was self-evident that "they" wanted me to do something specific... which was likely connected to this academy.
It was optimal to scout the entire academy first. I needed to gather more information to deduce my situation using my [Ultimate Detective] and [Ultimate Analyst] talents.
My thoughts rumbled as I walked away from the computer lab and toward the corridor where other students were moving.
Now then... Would this new situation get boring too?
I hope not.
Because that would be... predictable.
...
What would happen when the Ultimate Hope finds something unknown?
Would he overturn the world like he was supposed to?
Or would he protect the world this time?
Only I know.
Because after all...
I am Izuru Kamukura.
...
..
.
[Ultimate Analyst]: Junko Enoshima's Talent. Izuru is able to read and analyze anything virtually instantaneously, being able to determine the personality, abilities, thoughts, and history of his foes with a mere glance. As such, he is able to predict virtually anything that comes his way unless it is completely outside of logic and possibility that Izuru has witnessed.
[Ultimate Detective]: Kyoko Kirigiri's Talent. Izuru is an extremely skilled detective and should be able to solve mysteries with little to no clues, bordering on the level of precognition and future sight if he ever got serious.
[Ultimate Soldier]: Mukuro Ikusaba's Talent. Izuru possesses every skill related to combat and has mastered them to the point of gaining inhuman levels of strength, speed, and endurance. Allowing him to wade through gunfire without taking a scratch and disarm a group of armed soldiers with ease.
[Ultimate Martial Artist]: Sakura Ogami's Talent. Izuru is a master of every martial art known to man, being able to flawlessly utilize any number of martial arts at once to create a mixed martial arts style that went undefeated for over 400 victories and even overwhelmed Mukuro Ikusaba's talent as the Ultimate Soldier in Danganronpa IF.