Chapter 141: Black Assassin.

After leaving the Nomu behind, Kai moved through the streets without drawing attention, quickly positioning himself several buildings away, behind the hand-covered guy and the shadow with eyes who had attacked the USJ. They were standing on what appeared to be a massive water tank, watching the destruction caused by the Nomus with the help of binoculars.

For his part, Kai—not only watching the pair of villains—also began observing the girls’ battles against the Nomus by using a trick he had developed upon recalling a certain character who was very powerful in the use of aura. The trick consisted of making a circle with his index finger and thumb, then applying [Gyo], and finally placing it in front of his eye. Although it wasn’t exactly x-ray vision or anything of the sort, it did allow him to see very far and pick up even the slightest source of light from somewhere, which made it extremely useful.

Seeing the Pussycats take down the Nomu so quickly and efficiently, Kai couldn't help but nod in satisfaction while enjoying the exaggerated pantomime of the hand-covered idiot, who now only had his hand-shaped mask. He was whining like a small child because his toy had been destroyed too quickly—something that also happened when Nejire and Gran Torino captured the second Nomu.

[Master, there’s movement with the Nomu.] Suddenly, Sage abruptly informed him through the connection, which caused Kai to turn and see what was happening, quickly understanding what had occurred.

The winged Nomu had managed to free itself and attacked a small group of heroes who had found it, which made Kai smile wickedly as he simultaneously conjured a new card. Aside from the Aura Script pattern, the card’s center displayed the image of a figure dressed in black with a mask and a hood, while on its back one could see five other different masks.

“[Mask and Mantle] On! [Black Assassin]!”

With the activation, the card transformed into a stream of light that completely enveloped him. Shortly thereafter, it shifted into what appeared to be a black assassin’s suit, featuring a wide hood over his head and a mask that completely covered his face. This was combined with a flowing cape that fell behind his back and an elegant black leather and metal armor with golden details, complete with shoulder pads, gauntlets, and high boots.

[Salem, hide over here, I’ll be right back]

Kai spoke to the cat on his shoulder in a distorted voice that was quite different from his own—a difference that greatly surprised the cat, causing it to jump and grow in size while roaring menacingly, for that disguised thing not only didn’t sound like its master but didn’t even smell like him, so it could only be an imposter.

Seeing the stupid cat roaring at him while being enveloped in lightning, Kai could only slap his forehead in exasperation before releasing a small burst of Conqueror’s Haki toward Salem, all the while speaking in a dark tone.

“I don’t have time for your stupidity—stay still.”

Feeling the unmistakable pressure of his master, Salem quickly shrank in size and submissively exposed his belly, causing Kai to roll his eyes beneath his mask. He then shot off toward the Nomu that had already defeated most of the heroes, knowing he had to hurry—after all, he needed a witness to see him take down the Nomu and take it away as a cover story.

The [Mask and Mantle] card was created for purely aesthetic purposes and had the ability to conjure six different costume sets, while simultaneously hiding his smell, voice, and anything that might give him away—to the point that it even modified his height by a few centimeters. And although it had no real defensive capacity, its disguise was hardly any different from something genuine, so it still offered a certain amount of protection.

But since the suits didn’t have any real defensive capabilities aside from the inherent resistance of the original materials, or perhaps even a bit less, he didn’t have to forge overly restrictive pacts to create it. Upon activating the card, the aura cost was quite low, and it lasted up to 24 hours—unless it was removed or more than 60% of the suit was damaged. In addition, its maximum usage limit was 30 times per month.

Moving at a blinding speed, Kai quickly arrived in front of the group of heroes fighting the Nomu. The group consisted of five people: two who looked like they were dressed as ninjas, one wearing a white business suit with some sort of bag completely covering his head, another clad in what appeared to be black steampunk-style armor, and one dressed like a Native American warrior.

On the ground lay unconscious the man in the business suit and the fellow dressed as a Native American, while the ninjas leapt from side to side, attacking with metallic ninja stars. Meanwhile, the man in the steam-punk armor was doing his best to withstand the blows from the winged Nomu, although now it had only one wing, and one of his arms was badly injured.

Without a word, Kai arrived in front of the Nomu in an instant and unleashed a burst of strikes typical of Wing Chun—a style he normally didn’t use—beginning with a rapid series of straight punches to the chest. At that moment, the Nomu tried to hit him with its left arm, which Kai deflected with his right palm, before delivering a powerful punch to the side, quickly followed by a blow with the extended hand’s outer edge to the neck.

With his other hand, Kai delivered a direct palm strike to where a human's temple would normally be—though with the Nomu's exposed brain, it felt a bit strange. However, he didn't hesitate and quickly followed up with an uppercut to the chin, then a strike to the chest with his other hand, leaving the monster completely dazed. This allowed him to unleash a rapid barrage of blows to the Nomu's face, neck, and chest without interruption.

In just a few seconds, the Nomu collapsed to the ground, completely wrecked and bleeding profusely. At that moment, Kai shook his blood-covered hands, causing it to drip from his gloves, then turned to face the heroes and asked in his distorted voice.

[Are you all okay?]

“Yes, thanks for the help—we were on the edge of the rope.”

The response came from the man in the steam-punk armor, who dropped to one knee while breathing heavily. At that moment, the ninjas approached and bowed, and one of them spoke.

“Thank you very much for the help. It seems a hero managed to defeat this villain first, but he broke free. Luckily, we found him in time—though it was too much for us.” After straightening up again, the other ninja remarked in amazement as he looked at the bloodied Nomu on the ground.

“Although, I didn’t know there was a hero so strong in this sector—are you new?”

[Something like that.] Kai replied casually while turning once more to pick up the Nomu, at which point the man in the armor reached for his waist, grabbed a pair of bulky handcuffs, and said.

“Use these cuffs; the normal ones won’t be able to contain him.”

[Oh, that’s not necessary.] Kai responded casually as he lifted the Nomu and placed it on his shoulder, then added while looking at the heroes.

[It’s good that you’re all okay, but I have to go now. Goodbye.]

Before anyone could say another word, Kai shot off toward one of the alleys at an impressive speed, leaving all the heroes speechless. One of the ninjas couldn’t help but ask, confused.

“Who was that guy? Why did he take him?”

“I don’t know…” The other ninja replied just as confused, and then the man in the armor added in a tired tone.

“It’s very likely he isn’t a hero. Someone that strong wouldn’t go unnoticed, and I haven’t heard anything about anyone with his appearance—so he’s either a villain or a Vigilante.”

“That makes sense…” One of the ninjas remarked in understanding, and the other asked rather hesitantly.

“Should we chase after him?”

“It’s not like we could catch him at that speed. Besides, he helped us, so he might be a vigilante—and even if we caught up to him, we wouldn’t be his match.” The man in the armor shook his head and said in a serious tone as he got to his feet, and the other ninja nodded in agreement, adding in a serious tone.

“You’re right. Better call an ambulance—the other two are quite injured.”

…

After ducking into an alley, Kai kept running, repeatedly changing direction in accordance with Sage’s instructions. He then opened a manhole in the ground and tossed the Nomu inside, before jumping in himself and closing the hatch—at which point he commented in a tone full of disgust at the terrible smell.

[Sage, isolate this thing.]

“Immediately.”

The beautiful fairy flying beside him quickly replied in a serious tone. At that moment, a sort of luminous tattoo around the Nomu’s neck manifested for an instant before disappearing from sight as if by magic, and then a holographic screen appeared before Kai displaying the Nomu’s prisoner row.

“It’s ready, master.”

[That’s good, but for now, find me a safe place to exit and close to one of the girls—this smell is unbearable.] Kai replied in a dark tone, since due to the card’s limitations, his mask was purely aesthetic and didn’t even offer protection against the horrible odor. Sage then responded in a serious tone.

“Ready, master—the route is selected.”

At the same time, a sort of mini-map of the sewer system appeared in Kai’s vision, along with a light arrow indicating which way to go. He quickly ran, careful to avoid touching the wastewater and holding his breath as much as he could.

Shortly after, in a dark and deserted alley, a manhole cover opened, and soon Kai emerged. He quickly resealed the manhole, then began to remove his suit hastily—and when he had taken it off about 60%, it disappeared in a burst of light. At that moment, the blue-eyed guy sniffed his arms with a look of disgust, while commenting in a dark tone,

“Damn, that smell really stuck to me…”

“It’s just a phantom sensation, master. [Mask and Mantle], by hiding your odor, prevents other smells from ‘sticking’ to you while you wear it.” Sage replied with a smile as he flew in front of his master, who sighed and said.

“I hope so…”

At the same time, Kai extended his Observation Haki to survey his surroundings, noticing that Momo and Nejire were in a relatively nearby alley. After a moment’s thought, he asked his fairy assistant.

“Sage, have you already set up my cover on the nearby cameras?”

“Yes, Master. I created images of you walking around the area and watching the Pussycats' fight from a distance. Right now, it should look like you're heading in this direction.” Sage responded in a serious tone while displaying holographic screens with pre-fabricated images of Kai walking and observing the Pussycats' battles. Satisfied, Kai nodded before commenting.

“Perfect, then let’s go meet Momo and Nejire.”

At the same time, Kai materialized an exact copy of Salem and placed it on his shoulder, since the cat was quite far away, and it would be rather odd for him to arrive without his faithful companion. Kai then began walking toward the place where he could sense Momo and Nejire

“!!!! The only one who can kill me is the true hero, All Might!!!!”

By the time Kai got close to where Momo and Nejire were, he managed to hear a crazed scream in the distance, and at the same time he felt a rather terrifying “killer instinct”—somewhat similar to his own Conqueror’s Haki, but only in that it gave off a sensation akin to when he wished to intimidate; in every other way it was different, which piqued his interest.

(How interesting—I’ve never felt anything similar to my Haki. It’s worth studying.)

At the same time, Kai unleashed his Conqueror's Haki with the intent to ‘kill,’ causing the air around him to electrify and almost vibrate. As he did, he spoke in a noticeably angry tone, having seen the frightened expressions on Momo and Nejire—something he did not like at all.

“Shut up, you piece of trash. Can’t you see you’re scaring my girls?”

***

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