Kai's question brought a heavy silence to the dining room, as both of them were completely stunned. The [Kame Hame Ha] wasn't just their most powerful attack—it was also incredibly flashy, meaning no one within several kilometers would have missed it… unless something had happened. Something capable of hiding—or even completely erasing—their most powerful move and greatest trump card under normal circumstances.
[Is there any chance that All Might lied and wasn't actually there…?]
After a few seconds, Kai asked heavily, to which Sage could only shake her head, responding through their mental connection while simultaneously displaying holographic screens showing satellite imagery and the recording from All Might's glasses stored on the servers.
[No, master. The communication device created by Keiko tracked his position at all times, and the records match his account. Also, there's no sign of anything resembling the Kame Hame Ha in the satellite images of the area, nor are there any specific incident reports.]
[This worries me, Sage... We'll have to be extremely cautious and prepare as best we can before returning. That island is far too strange…]
Kai commented in a heavy tone, then returned to eating, although now at a much slower and more deliberate pace, prompting Sage to reply with a worried tone as she landed on her master's shoulder.
[Indeed, master. Furthermore, your limbs were almost completely lost and were only restored thanks to Angel's Breath. A period of intensive retraining will be necessary to regain your maximum condition.]
[Oh, so it wasn't just the effects of Inverse Flow that made me feel so heavy and weak. I see…] Kai couldn't help but nod in realization, then used his left hand to squeeze his right forearm, immediately noticing the difference. At that moment, he added with conviction.
[In the schedule, remove three hours from the development of the armor's energy module—which is almost finished—and reassign them to morning training. I need to recover as soon as possible.]
[Understood, master…]
Sage immediately made the adjustments to her master's tight schedule and responded in a calm tone. At that moment, she noticed something unusual in one of her asynchronous processing threads, prompting her to speak with a slightly intrigued tone.
[Master, I'm not sure if this is something important, but while reviewing the video logs, I found that Eva mentioned she's actually originally from Avalon and had to flee with her mother when she was young because of the civil war, eventually ending up in Australia.]
[That's interesting…] Upon hearing Sage's comment, Kai paused again, wearing a contemplative expression, and then added, completely lost in thought.
[Do you think it's just a coincidence, Sage? My mother and 'Kate'—or rather, Eva—are both from the same country, which is located in a geographic area that didn't even exist in my past life…]
[I don't see why it couldn't be a coincidence, master. There's too little data, so it's very difficult to draw any conclusions. But the coincidences are indeed striking—both, despite different names, bear an extreme resemblance to people from your past life.
[Moreover, in the case of your mother, even her personality was the same, not to mention the name 'Eva'... maybe we should interact a little more with Eva to determine the degree of similarity.] Sage replied, equally intrigued, which led Kai to comment thoughtfully.
[Well, as far as I know, Kate never went through anything even remotely similar to what Eva experienced. The last thing I heard about Kate was that she was happily married to a dentist and had two kids, so it wouldn't be strange if their personalities were different. Plus, Kate and I were only two years apart, whereas Eva is almost two decades older than me…]
[Master… should I…?]
Sage asked with a certain apprehension in her tone, but those simple words were more than enough for Kai to understand what his reliable assistant meant. After all, he had been thinking the exact same thing: Were that fox and that rat also in this world? Should he look for them?
After thinking about it for a long few seconds, Kai finally let out a heavy sigh, then shook his head and replied through their mental connection with a somewhat tired tone.
[…Just do a superficial search for different acquaintances. Don't waste too much time searching for them specifically. Even if they do exist, they haven't done anything to me in this life. It's not worth wasting our time on that. There are far more important matters—like finding out why there was a collar dated before the Quirk Era on that damned island.]
[Understood, master. I'll initiate a search with the lowest priority setting for that, and I'll start deducing possibilities regarding the collar.]
Sage quickly responded in a calm tone, to which Kai nodded silently before returning to his meal—though now his movements were much slower and more deliberate, clearly lost in thought. Seeing this, Sage let out a small sigh, then floated up into the air and lay down on her back across her master's head, almost as if hugging him, before closing her eyes and letting time pass by in silence.
…
…
…
"It's really hard for me to believe something like this is even possible..."
In the middle of the principal's office at U.A., Nezu—the endearing bear/mouse and head of the country's top hero academy—couldn't help but comment, full of disbelief, as he watched the footage of one of his students locked in a fierce battle against monstrous spiders. He then turned to look at All Might and Midnight, who were seated in front of his desk, and asked with concern.
"How is Kai-kun doing?"
"Still unconscious. The fight with those spiders was devastating—he ended up on the verge of death… If it hadn't been for his healing ability, he truly would have died…"
Nemuri answered with a serious expression, although traces of pain and worry were visible on her face. Nezu could only take a deep breath in response. After all, he had seen firsthand the boy's overwhelming strength nearly two years ago, and by now, Kai could only have grown even stronger—possibly rivaling the Symbol of Peace at his prime. A level of strength he had previously considered invincible.
"The situation is truly critical. Is there any way to locate that island?" Nezu asked solemnly, to which All Might shook his head and answered in a grave tone.
"Not yet. There are groups from private agencies and the police patrolling the area where Kai-shonen was last recorded, as well as the area where Eva White reported her shipwreck. But so far, nothing has been found. My friends in the United States and I-Island have also been searching through satellite imagery from all over the planet, but they haven't found anything either… though we expected that."
"What do you mean you expected that?" Nezu asked, somewhat curious, prompting Nemuri to answer seriously.
"Before going to that place, Kai told us that the reason he was so cautious with those spiders wasn't just because of their power but also because somehow, they were able to hide from satellite imagery. He was only able to find them because he marked one of the spiders with one of his abilities."
"Did Kai-kun leave any more information? Or do you specifically know how that 'ability' of his works? Maybe we could learn something from it." Nezu asked in a serious tone, though he still looked rather adorable, prompting Nemuri to shake her head and explain.
"Not much more, only the videos you just watched—which he barely managed to hand over before falling unconscious. Also, that ability of Kai's is more or less a copy of Ragdoll's quirk, so only he knows exactly where the marked target is."
"And I suppose Ragdoll hasn't seen those spiders..."
Hearing Nemuri's answer, Nezu couldn't help but comment with a sigh, since he knew perfectly well how Ragdoll—also known as Tomoko—worked: her quirk allowed her to detect living beings and know their location and weaknesses within a certain range around her. But outside that range, she could only continue tracking a target she had seen with her own eyes—photos, videos, and other recordings wouldn't work.
"Yes, she didn't see them, but Kai informed us before losing consciousness that he would only need a few days to wake up. So once that happens, we'll know where that place is." Nemuri said seriously, to which Nezu nodded before commenting thoughtfully.
"Then we need to prepare a large-scale raid with heroes specialized in combat. Even though I could see that Kai caused significant damage to that place, we can't be sure whether one of those monsters is still there. If we choose wrong... it could end in complete annihilation."
"Indeed, Principal." All Might said seriously and added.
"Which is why we've been thinking of first carrying out a scouting mission with me leading to determine the level of danger."
"That's a good idea." Nezu commented seriously, discreetly looking at Nemuri and continued.
"But it worries me that you are no longer at your peak, All Might. It would be good if Kai-kun could participate…"
"Forgive me, Principal Nezu, but Kai cannot take any role in this beyond providing information. He already nearly lost his life in that place, and he will need time to fully recover, both physically and mentally. Moreover, he isn't even a professional hero, so he has no moral or legal obligation to participate."
Nemuri quickly replied in an incredibly serious tone, like a mother cat ready to protect her kitten against anyone. Her response made both All Might and Nezu smile bitterly, as they had been hoping to rely on the overwhelming powers of the young blue-eyed boy to face the spiders.
"Do you think Kai-kun feels the same way?"
Nezu asked calmly, locking eyes with Nemuri, which caused the beautiful heroine to press her lips into a thin line. After all, knowing Kai as she did, it was very likely that the moment he woke up, he would already be thinking about returning to that cursed place. This inevitably forced Nemuri to taste the bitter flavor of irony.
She, a professional hero with a natural calling to help others, who had always tried to encourage the love of her life to walk the path of heroism, now desperately wished for him to stay safe at home—wanting to pull such a colossal power away from where it was most needed, likely condemning the heroes who would be sent to their deaths.
But there was nothing the enchanting heroine could do. Her heart still bled every time the image of the love of her life at death's door came to mind—without arms, without legs, with practically no part of his body left intact. It was an image so devastating that it had torn away, in a single brutal stroke, the illusion that her man would one day become a professional hero.
Her Kai—the only love of her life—was fine at home, building things. He didn't need to risk his life like that again. She would take it upon herself to make him happy, to fulfill his every wish, to spoil him and shower him with all her love and devotion. And to make up for it to society, she would save as many people as she could in his place.
"…"
But no matter how much Nemuri wanted to carry out her little plan—firmly declaring that she would not allow Kai to participate—she couldn't. She loved her man, and above all else, she respected him. And even though she was a bit stubborn and always tried to convince him of certain things—sometimes even getting a little carried away—if he was truly determined about something, all she could do was support him, just as he always supported her.
Just as Kai dedicated enormous amounts of time, effort, and money to supporting her career as a writer, professional hero, and teacher—giving her plot ideas for her books, developing fully personalized advanced support equipment, creating abilities specifically to protect her, and even in less visible ways: like the specially designed diet plans he discussed every week with Mrs. Yoshiko for each member of the family, or the massages, or the training routines, or countless other things.
If Kai had proven anything over the years, it was that he loved them—and because of that love, he did everything he could to support them in their dreams and ambitions, never asking for anything in return, never even mentioning it, as if it were something so obvious and natural that it needed no acknowledgment. And because of that, as his woman, she couldn't allow herself to be any less. For that reason, she could only swallow her pain in silence for now.
"…Then let's leave the decision to him…"
Clenching her fists tightly, Nemuri finally forced the words out one by one, to which Principal Nezu nodded with a serious expression, without the slightest intention of commenting further. After all, he understood how difficult it was—but in such a critical situation as the one they were facing, drastic measures were necessary.
"Well, then, let's move on to selecting the members of this exploration group. It must be small, fast, and composed of individuals with sufficient strength and experience. I have my own list of candidates in mind, but first, I want to hear your suggestions." Principal Nezu quickly stated in a serious tone, prompting the two pro heroes in front of him to nod solemnly, thus beginning the complex selection process.
***
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