Chapter 215: Only my will is absolute.

--Saturday, May 30, 2172 With his right hand in the center of Mirko's chest, Kai remained completely silent as he used his black-and-white vision to carefully study the outline of the beautiful heroine’s silhouette. There was something Kai needed to figure out, and that was the true cause of the difference in the web's effects between her and Edgeshot. If he claimed that Ryukyu had not been as affected as the other two because her dragon form changed her biologically, the Pussycats were protected by the Accomplices, and All Might was a weirdo due to his decades with One for All. Then his best “research specimens” were none other than Edgeshot and Mirko. Both were heroes strong enough to be in the top 5 of the rankings, which, although based more on popularity, still valued strength as an important factor. But even so, Mirko—though she also suffered from a self-destructive immune response—was much less affected, and the difference was quite significant. So much so, it almost seemed like they had been attacked by two different spiders. Now, there were also differences between the two heroes. First of all, Mirko’s quirk basically made her a humanoid rabbit, so in a way, she was biologically closer to Ryukyu than to Edgeshot. But beyond that, there was another difference Kai believed might be even more important: Mirko was prepared for the impact, while Edgeshot was completely taken by surprise. The reason Kai thought this was an important factor was simple. At the moment Mirko touched the web, her ‘double-edged’ silhouette fluctuated violently. Meanwhile, in Edgeshot’s case, Kai detected no significant change—he simply fell unconscious and his ‘voice’ faded, but there was no visible shift in the fluctuation. Over the years, Kai had come up with countless hypotheses to explain the strangeness of his quirk, for which he couldn’t identify a quirk factor. Among them was one that, until now, had been one of the craziest and most baseless: his Haki wasn’t a quirk at all—it was simply the manifestation of his 'soul' reincarnated into this world, something that any similar 'soul' should be able to replicate. That’s why his mother had abilities so similar to his—she had also been reincarnated. Although he liked that hypothesis—especially because, if it were true, it would mean his mother had also reincarnated—there was virtually no way to prove or disprove it. Finding another reincarnated soul was beyond his reach. But that changed when the idea of the trinity of soul, body, and spirit emerged during the dissection of the Nomu. In his theory, the soul was a backup of all memories, the body was responsible for interacting with the material world, and the spirit handled two very important functions: self-awareness—or personality—and acting as a bridge between the body and the soul. Since self-awareness is inherently immaterial like the soul, but influenced by the brain or body, it represented a combination of both worlds. If these speculations were on the right track, it would mean that if Haki was actually the power of the soul, the one responsible for influencing the physical world was in fact the spirit, using the power or command of the soul. Therefore, other people should be able to do things similar to Haki—just on a much smaller scale and with far less control. Trying to test his hypothesis, Kai began studying the “voice” of everyone around him, looking for any clues, but he hadn’t had any luck—until now. In the case of Mirko and Edgeshot, being aware of the danger might have caused the difference in their states, something somewhat similar to his Haki. Although powerful, his Haki wasn’t automatic—if he didn’t activate it, it was as good as nonexistent. Therefore, it was possible that Mirko, unconsciously, had used a super weakened version of Armament Haki. If he could confirm that, it would not only open the door to understanding his own abilities better, but also raise the possibility that his family could possess Haki, even if only in a diluted form. ... [Sage... Did you find anything?] Somewhat frustrated by his lack of results, Kai asked through his mental connection with his trusted assistant. The beautiful fairy, surrounded by invisible holographic screens, turned to look at her master and replied with evident disappointment. [No, Master. I practically checked cell by cell and found nothing that could suggest anything resembling Haki.] [We were too optimistic…] Kai replied as he let out a subtle sigh, but he quickly composed himself and added seriously. [But anyway, let’s not get stuck. Let’s begin the tests.] Upon hearing her master’s command, Sage immediately made all the holographic screens around her disappear, leaving only one in front of her. As her wings shimmered in different colors, Sage took a deep breath, then looked at her master and spoke in a solemn tone. [Everything is ready for the first experiment, Master. I’ll record in detail the influence of your Haki on the efficiency of Mystical Palm healing.] [Perfect. Let’s begin.] Kai announced firmly as he activated his advanced Armament Haki and merged it with the aura in his hand over Edgeshot’s chest. With a serious expression, Sage reviewed the holographic screen in front of her, which was rapidly filling with a vast amount of data. After just a few seconds, Sage reported seriously. [There’s a change, Master. The healing efficiency has increased by 2.3% compared to the tests performed on the 'lab rats'.] [Is Haki really capable of interfering with the effects of abilities, like in the original series…?] Upon hearing the information, Kai couldn’t help but comment with a hint of surprise. Although past experiments had shown that Haki improved healing efficiency by about 5%, that improvement had always been consistent, regardless of whether the target was human, animal, or anything else. But now that they were healing the effects of an ability that wasn’t his own, the efficiency had increased—a very telling detail on its own. [It’s still too early to confirm anything, Master. More tests are needed.] Sage replied in a cautious and serious tone. Kai gave a subtle nod and soon refocused on combining his Haki and aura for healing. As Kai worked to better merge his advanced Armament Haki with his aura—allowing his aura not only to penetrate matter more easily, but also to enhance it—the effect of his Transformed Aura to induce an immunosuppressive response in Edgeshot’s body began to improve to the point where it soon became evident. At that moment, Sage reported seriously. [The efficiency increased by 7%, Master.] [Too much to be just a coincidence...] Kai remarked in a tone full of curiosity, to which Sage nodded, a thoughtful expression on her beautiful face. After a few minutes, during which the improvement completely plateaued, Kai announced seriously. [Let’s move on to phase two. It’s time for Conqueror’s Haki.] Sage quickly focused her attention on Edgeshot’s body, while Kai began channeling his Conqueror’s Haki and merging it with his aura. Although the combination was quite difficult to control—due to its exponentially increased destructive potential—Kai already had experience with it, so he soon managed to fully master his power and continue healing the wounded heroes. [A 25% improvement, Master...] Sage commented with a voice tinged with disbelief. Kai, for his part, was left stunned—perhaps more than Sage—because he could clearly sense the dramatic change. Somehow, by merging his Conqueror’s Haki, Edgeshot’s body had slowly started to return to normal. But even stranger was the fact that his Observation Haki began to focus on the injured hero all on its own. Surprised by the strange event, Kai tried to withdraw his Haki, but at that moment his mind went blank and was filled with the image of his mini-self sitting in a lotus position, a smile on his face. Before Kai could do anything, he saw the mini-self open its eyes on its own, releasing a strange light. ……… Sitting against the wooden wall of the dome, Shino alternated her gaze between Ryuko and Kai. Ryuko appeared composed, but the way she glanced at Kai every couple of seconds out of the corner of her eye made it obvious that she was worried. After letting out a sigh, Shino leaned her head back against the wall, visibly troubled. This was possibly their first fight since their relationship had begun, and it had happened in the worst possible situation. But thinking about it, it seemed inevitable. Although Ryuko sincerely loved Kai—and he loved her too—their views of the world and of what was “right” were quite different, something that could only lead to arguments and, if not handled well, even a breakup. After letting out another sigh, Shino shook her head, trying to push aside all unnecessary thoughts and focus on the mission. But in that instant, a brutal pressure struck her. Alarmed, Shino turned to look at Kai with her eyes wide open, only to see him surrounded by what looked like black lightning, with Tomoko jumping to her feet. “What are you doing, Saito?!” All Might, completely alarmed, shot to his feet and, clenching his fists, asked in a serious tone. At the same time, Chatora, Ryuko, and Shino stood up with expressions that mixed surprise, uncertainty, and concern. Meanwhile, Ryukyu and Kamui Woods began to prepare for battle. Seeing that Kai remained silent, All Might clenched his fists so hard that he created small shockwaves, and asked cautiously. “Saito! I asked you what you're doing!” Seeing that All Might looked ready to attack, the Pussycats activated their Vital Reactors and stepped forward, ready to protect Kai. As Ryukyu’s and Kamui Woods’ expressions turned grim, everyone suddenly heard a soft murmur coming from Kai. “In the sea of stars, only my will is absolute...?” ……… In Kai’s mind, after the mini-self opened its eyes and the light faded, he suddenly found himself in what seemed to be a dark space illuminated by trillions of incredibly tiny points of light. But in the middle of that strange space appeared what looked like a colossal halberd made entirely of countless points of light, with a strange pattern running along its entire shaft. [In the sea of stars, only my will is absolute.] Curious, Kai focused on the pattern, but at that moment, a phrase suddenly surged into his mind with such force that he ended up murmuring it, almost as if trying to fully understand it. But before he could form another thought, the strange vision vanished abruptly, and he snapped back to reality—only to find All Might just a few steps away, wearing a solemn expression and clenching his fists. “What are you doing, Saito?” Soon, Kai heard All Might’s solemn voice, which made him blink a few times, but before he could say anything, Sage’s voice appeared in his mind—filled with equal parts confusion and disbelief. [Master, Edgeshot suddenly recovered. His physical condition is even better than Mirko’s.] “I think I found a way to heal Edgeshot…” Still confused, Kai murmured in a strange voice, largely masked by the distortion caused by his helmet. Surprised, All Might asked seriously, though still not unclenching his fists. “Are you serious?” “Yes…” Kai replied almost reflexively, but quickly snapped back to himself and checked Edgeshot’s condition for himself—realizing that the immune reaction had diminished so much that he could now treat it easily. In a calmer, more focused tone, Kai added. “I should be able to heal him now, just like I did with Mirko.” "...Why the change of heart…?" Surprised, All Might couldn’t help but murmur quietly while staring at Kai, who simply turned his head to focus on the wounded heroes, ignoring him completely. With a slightly bitter smile, All Might finally relaxed his fists and turned to look at the others. All the heroes around him looked tense and ready for battle—especially the Pussycats. All Might noticed that the group of cat heroes was watching him with a certain caution, something that inevitably made him reflect. That look was probably the same one he gave Kai most of the time. (But seriously… why the change of heart?) Though still confused, All Might quickly shook his head and looked back at Kai, then spoke seriously. “Then we’ll trust you, Saito.” Seeing Kai simply nod in response, All Might turned to the others and announced in a calm but firm voice. “As you all heard, Edgeshot can now be healed as well, so focus on recovery. We can now move forward with this matter without major concerns.” … [Sage, what happened?]  Ignoring everything happening around him, Kai accelerated his thoughts to the limit and asked his trusted assistant. Sage responded shortly after, wearing a helpless expression. [I have no idea at all, Master. That image of the 'sea of stars' could’ve simply been a hallucination. But the dramatic improvement in Edgeshot’s condition is an undeniable fact. It seems we’ll need to study the mini-self carefully.] [You’re right about that.] Kai replied with a hint of resignation, as he too couldn’t come up with an explanation for the strange event. Not wanting to waste time, Kai pushed aside unnecessary thoughts and responded in a firmer voice. [But setting aside that strange vision, we can practically confirm that, just like in the original series, Haki has the property of negating the effects of others’ abilities—especially Conqueror’s Haki.] [The probability of that being true is quite high, Master. But we still can’t confirm it—the sample size is too small to rule out other factors.] [That's true.] Kai agreed with a nod, then quickly gave a serious order. [Set aside time in the schedule to verify it.] [Understood.] Sage responded promptly and firmly. Kai nodded, satisfied, then refocused on healing the pair of wounded heroes. … After sitting back down with the others, Shino looked at the silent Kai in the center of the dome with a somewhat doubtful expression. Maybe it was because she was still upset, or because he had barely spoken since he started healing Mirko and Edgeshot—but Shino felt her beloved was distant, far away, and indifferent, to the point where she even hesitated to send a telepathic message to ask him what had happened. As Shino hesitated, she turned to look at Chatora and Ryuko, who returned similar expressions. But at that moment, Shino caught a glimpse out of the corner of her eye—Tomoko, after circling Kai a couple of times, slowly knelt down behind him, then gently rested her body against his back. Instead of rejecting her, Shino saw Kai lift his hand from Mirko and give Tomoko two light pats on the head. Though they landed on her helmet, the pats seemed to completely soothe Tomoko. The beautiful woman with turquoise-green hair quickly wrapped her arms tightly around Kai’s waist, then turned around, leaning back against him fully before closing her eyes. […Kai… are you okay?] After a few seconds and gathering courage thanks to Tomoko’s actions, Shino sent a telepathic message to her beloved in an uncertain tone. Kai soon responded in a calm voice. [Yes. Something strange happened. But this isn’t the time to talk about it. I’ll explain later.] For some reason, Kai’s calm and composed voice completely dissolved all of Shino’s apprehension, allowing her to let out a small sigh of relief she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. Feeling much more at ease, Shino quickly sent another telepathic message. [I understand. So is it certain that Edgeshot will recover?] [Yes. Although I still don’t quite understand why. Edgeshot’s condition is now not much different from Mirko’s. Healing him won’t be a problem.] Kai replied calmly. After biting her lip with uncertainty, Shino asked. [Are you mad at Ryuko and Chatora…?] [A little.] Kai responded concisely. Shino let out a small sigh—part relieved, part troubled—since Kai didn’t seem as angry as she’d feared, but it was clear he wasn’t going to let it slide either. After a few seconds, Shino sent a new message. [I understand… Just don’t blame them too much. We’re heroes—saving people is what we do. But that doesn’t mean they don’t love you.] [You know… maybe what they love is the idea they have of me, not who I really am.] Kai replied, somewhat thoughtful, which made Shino clench her fists. But before she could say anything, Kai added. [But now’s not the time for that. Let’s leave it for later.] Seeing that Kai had no intention of continuing the conversation, Shino leaned back against the wall and began to reflect deeply on his words. Kai wasn’t a hero—that was something they had known for a long time. And yet, whenever the moment came, they always expected him to act like one. So it wasn’t at all foolish for Kai to have that doubt. But at the same time, Shino knew it well—it wasn’t that they loved an idea of Kai or what they wished he would be. They loved him. They loved how sweet he was with them, how he always cared for and protected them against everything and everyone, how he always took their side, how over the years he had become the pillar of the family. Despite being the youngest, he acted almost like a loving father to all of them. It was just that, as heroes who truly loved their work and did it out of vocation—not for fame or money. Seeing the man they loved stray so far from what they had believed their entire lives to be just and right left them at a crossroads. On one side was the man they loved, who cherished them like his greatest treasure—and on the other, a lifetime of beliefs and values that defined who they were. A crossroads that, if left unresolved, could one day cost them the happiness they now enjoyed. *** You can support me on /lordanl and get up to 10 advanced chapters.