Chapter 68: A potential ‘super’ villain.
After healing All Might, Kai got up from the ground and dusted off his clothes, still looking quite exhausted. At that moment, the Symbol of Peace asked curiously while doing something similar.
"Kai-shonen, could you tell me the name of your quirk?"
"Sure, but in exchange, I want you to tell me yours. It's one of the great mysteries of the internet after all," Kai replied with a smile as he stretched his shoulders a bit.
"That seems fair, but you have to promise to keep it a secret," All Might responded in a serious tone, to which Kai nodded and then commented similarly.
"Alright, but in return, you must keep mine secret."
"I understand, I accept the deal, and the name of my quirk is One for All," All Might said while looking at Kai, who nodded and added with a smile.
"One for All? A curious name, though I suppose it's because it can be passed from one to another."
"How do you know that?!" All Might asked in surprise as all alarms went off in his head, but Kai quickly replied with a small smile.
"Hehehe, I didn't know; I guessed, and you just confirmed it for me. Which explains why your quirk factor is so strange and there are so many fragments of other 'voices' in your 'voice.'"
All Might stared intently at Kai for a moment, almost as if he wanted to confirm that he wasn't lying. Then he smiled bitterly and spoke while looking at the sky, emitting an air of melancholy and duty.
"You got me there, and yes, you're right. My quirk is a sacred torch passed down from generation to generation with a purpose, given to me by my mentor Shimura Nana."
"Oh, I know something about her. She was a heroine about 40 years ago. To confirm my suspicions about your quirk, I investigated people with abilities similar to yours and found her," Kai commented in a serious tone, to which All Might could only smile with melancholy.
"She was like a mother to me, and I hope I've been able to fulfill the mission she gave me."
"... Well, I don't really know what to tell you, so I'll tell you the name of my quirk. I call it [Spiritual Aura]," Kai said, a bit uncomfortable with All Might's melancholy, which immediately caught the hero's attention. He quickly asked with curiosity.
"That's a curious name... but what does it actually do? I see you have super strength, super speed, you release lightning bolts, can intimidate, anticipate my movements, create swords, can heal, etc.—very different things from each other. They almost seem like different quirks."
"Well, actually, all those are just applications of my quirk, which is a powered-up combination of my parents' quirks. Through it, I can use my energy to reproduce things I'm very familiar with and sometimes give them special properties, like the sword that blocks clairvoyance."
"Reproduce things you're familiar with? Was that your mother's quirk ability?" All Might asked, confused, since he knew Iron Palm's quirk and he couldn't do that.
"Hehehe, no. My mother's quirk allows me to sense presences, and what you defined as 'intimidate' is actually my father's quirk. Remember he could harden himself with his quirk? Well, it's the same; only I took it further." Kai commented with a smile, which greatly surprised All Might, who quickly added.
"Now that you mention it, it's true. Your father's quirk was Force Control, but after years of training, he could harden and greatly improve his defense. So, according to your explanation, what happened was that his constant martial arts training 'familiarized' him with hardening his body, and he could use his energy to reproduce that effect?"
"That's what I think, too. After all, my quirk initially did the same as my parents', only a bit better and more powerful. So, according to my theory, if my father had been an electrician instead of a hero and martial artist, he could have created lightning over time." Kai nodded and then explained, which led All Might to ask, somewhat curious and doubtful.
"That's impressive, but how did you discover all that, Kai-shonen? Your father spent years training his quirk and never realized it."
"Well, that was thanks to my hobby. My father's job example doesn't come out of nowhere. Ever since I can remember, I've been an engineering enthusiast, and my parents spoiled me a lot. So I had all kinds of equipment and tools to build things, which led me to become very familiar with electricity, and over time I could produce electrical sparks.
"So I came up with that theory, and since my quirk is more powerful than my parents', it took me not only much less time to test it, but the result was more powerful. What you saw today is the result of years of ideas and training."
Without showing the slightest change of expression, Kai recounted the excuse he had thought of long ago—one that at least sounded logical and that, although it gave a certain amount of information about his abilities, still left him plenty of room to play and surprise a possible 'well-informed' enemy. This led All Might to nod in understanding, believing a bit of what the boy was saying.
"You're really incredible, Kai-shonen. You're very intelligent to notice something like that and to be able to take your quirk to this level."
"Nah, I just have strange ideas, and I'm very stubborn," Kai commented amused at the same time that bluish lightning began to run through his body again, since, thanks to his breathing, he had managed to recover a bit.
"You're quite humble, Kai-shonen," All Might said while looking at Kai with approval, who just stretched a bit while responding.
"No, I'm just realistic. But we'd better head back; I've recovered enough to return."
"If you say so... but you're right; it's better that we go back."
All Might responded with a smile on his face, then took a leap, quickly followed by Kai. A while later, they landed on the island where the observation room was, which they entered shortly after, only to find their associates on the edge of their seats watching the final part of the encounter.
Not wanting to distract the spectators, All Might and Kai sat on a couple of chairs away. Salem then jumped onto Kai's lap, as he was the only one who noticed they had returned, earning several pets from his master as a reward.
After a while, the holographic screen finally showed the final confrontation between Kai's slash and All Might's punch, which caused such destruction that it ended up destroying even the last camera. Everyone was anxious and worried to know the outcome.
"What did you think of the duel?"
Just at that moment, All Might's powerful voice was heard from behind, which led everyone to look in that direction. The Symbol of Peace smiled with an extended hand, while Kai was asleep in a nearby chair with Salem on his lap.
"""All Might/Toshinori!"""
Upon seeing All Might, everyone exclaimed aloud. Shortly after, the girls ran to the sleeping Kai's side to check his condition, only to let out relieved sighs upon noticing that he was only asleep with a peaceful expression on his face without the slightest scratch. As if he hadn't had an apocalyptic battle just moments ago.
"Hahaha, it seems you liked it." All Might commented with an amused tone upon seeing everyone's expressions, to which Gran Torino commented with a complex expression.
"That battle went beyond what I expected."
Meanwhile, Momo took Salem from Kai's lap, while Ryuko gently shook Kai, managing to wake him up afterward. At the same time, Nemuri bowed respectfully and spoke to the group, who turned to look at her—not without first glancing at the monstrous boy who rubbed his sleepy eyes.
"Thank you very much for everything. We'd like to chat more, but Kai seems really tired, so we'd like to take him to the yacht. If it's alright with you, we could meet later to continue our conversation."
"That won't be any problem, although I'd really like to have a conversation later." Nezu responded while raising one of his paws in the air, his mind filled with deep thoughts as he looked at the blue-eyed boy.
"Of course, Director Nezu. Then we'll take our leave."
With Ryuko and Shino helping the sleepy Kai, the group quickly left to head to the yacht. Inside the room, a sepulchral silence reigned, but after a moment, Nighteye adjusted his glasses and then spoke in a solemn tone.
"That boy is a real monster; that fight went beyond my wildest expectations."
"Certainly, Kai-shonen is truly terrifying. For a moment, I felt as if I were facing All for One. He showed very different powers, as if they were different quirks." All Might commented with a serious expression, to which Gran Torino asked with a sharp look.
"Do you think he's related to All for One? After all, somehow he knew the secret of your One for All."
"Although I considered it for a moment, I doubt it very much. After all, if that were the case, he wouldn't have healed me, and we've already performed all possible tests. Kai-shonen didn't play any tricks; I'm in perfect condition, and even now I'm a bit stronger than before. Besides, I was a personal friend of his father, and we investigated everything we could; his background is clean."
All Might shook his head and explained, which led everyone to nod in agreement. But at that moment, Director Nezu spoke in an unusually serious and solemn tone, attracting everyone's attention.
"Although Kai-kun really doesn't have a connection with All for One, he is still a potential threat. He's too strong at such a young age. How strong will he be in a couple of decades? And if we add the opinion he has about the government, things could get really complicated."
"What opinion does he have about the government?"
Upon hearing Director Nezu, All Might couldn't help but ask curiously. Nezu explained what he had heard moments before, which put an expression of concern on the Symbol of Peace's face, who couldn't help but comment in a grave tone.
"It's really complicated, and the problem is that there really are people like that among politicians, which can lead to a serious problem if circumstances allow it..."
"Certainly. Besides, from what I've investigated, the boy, despite being the son of a great hero like Iron Palm, is quite indifferent toward strangers. We all saw how he handled healing All Might and the demands he made, which only adds fuel to the fire." Nezu added in a serious tone, to which Recovery Girl added with a dark expression.
"I agree with that. If he were a person with a heart to help, he would have saved countless lives with his magnificent medical abilities. But as far as we know, he has only acted twice: once to save the only remaining relative of someone close to him and All Might."
"So what we have is a potential 'super' villain." Nighteye commented in a serious tone while adjusting his glasses, to which Director Nezu added with a sly smile on his face.
"That, or the next Symbol of Peace."
"!!!"
Upon hearing Director Nezu's words, everyone present couldn't help but look at him with wide eyes. The curious animal smiled cunningly, then explained in his typical adorable tone of voice.
"Although it's true that Saito-kun isn't exactly the most willing to help people, he's not a bad boy either. After all, despite having such overwhelming power at the tender age of 14, he has no record of any kind. What's more, he doesn't even have a single ticket on his record.
This speaks of a quality equal to or perhaps even more important for being a great hero: self-control. Think about it for a moment—how would you yourselves be with so much power at that age? Or how many people would have the mental fortitude not to let themselves be intoxicated by such great power? Moreover, although All Might is now healed, he's not getting any younger."
"... Are you implying that I should pass on the One for All to him, Director Nezu?" After a few moments, All Might asked while looking intently at Nezu, who shook his head and then explained with a smile.
"Not really. In truth, I don't think he needs it. Besides, the One for All would be the counterbalance that could stand up to his power if things go wrong."
"Well, that may sound good, but how do you intend to turn the boy into a hero? He doesn't seem very interested in it." Nighteye commented while looking at Nezu, who smiled 'evilly' while responding.
"With my revolutionary educational theories, of course. Hehehe."