Chapter 211: Disembarking.

--Saturday, May 30, 2172

In the midst of a calm sea illuminated by the warm rays of the morning sun, which formed a beautiful rainbow that evoked a sense of peace, a strange island could be seen—one that appeared to have gone through an apocalyptic tragedy. It was partially charred and marked by various craters, typical of a recently bombed area. Yet no crater was as striking as what looked like a scar that nearly split the entire island in half.

The place was shrouded in an eerie silence, with the only sounds being the whisper of the waves and the occasional song of small birds. However, their chirping sounded faint and distant, almost as if narrating the dawn after a tragedy. But the peaceful scene was suddenly pierced by a chorus of human screams—full of terror and emotion.

Quickly, the screams grew louder until, suddenly, a speedboat appeared in the air, plummeting rapidly toward the sea. But just before impact, a powerful shockwave struck the ocean, shattering its stillness and warping its surface. This was quickly followed by an ascending tornado that managed to slow the boat’s fall, allowing it to gently touch the water shortly after.

“That was exciting.”

As the boat rocked violently from the waves caused by All Might’s impact, Mirko commented with a huge smile. A stark contrast to the Pussycats, Ryukyu, Edgeshot, and Kamui Woods, who were completely pale and in disbelief. After all, they had just passed through a storm so terrifying that they were certain, had it not been for the overwhelming strength of the Symbol of Peace and the man in black armor, they wouldn't have survived.

But the impact was several times stronger for the Pussycats. Although they had seen the video of how that storm had nearly drowned Kai, those images didn’t do justice to the terror they had just experienced. It hadn’t felt like a storm—it felt more like the wrath of a vengeful god lashing out at the world, something so terrifying it made them even more aware of the real dangers hidden on that island.

After all, in the footage, the storm had seemed “gentle” compared to the hordes of giant spiders and those superpowered monsters. So if merely surviving the storm had been this overwhelming, what lay ahead could only be devastating. This realization led the Pussycats to look with concern at Kai, who appeared completely calm as he stared at the half-charred island in the distance.

“So that’s the island…”

As he unbuckled his seatbelt, Kamui Woods spoke in a solemn voice—though still slightly breathless from the shock the storm had caused. Kai replied in an incredibly serious tone, his gaze still fixed on the island.

“Yes, this is it. So stay fully alert. The storm we just went through is a walk in the park compared to what’s hidden in that place.”

Upon hearing Kai’s words, Edgeshot, Ryukyu, and Kamui Woods stared at him and took deep breaths to steady their emotions. At that moment, All Might spoke out firmly.

“As we agreed, we’ll disembark on the island first and conduct a preliminary reconnaissance. Saito will guide us.”

Everyone nodded at All Might’s words, while Kai restarted the speedboat to head toward the half-charred island. However, beneath his helmet, the blue-eyed boy wore a solemn expression as he gripped the boat’s steering wheel tightly. Just seeing that place again made his heart race and his muscles tense—ready to fight or flee. The memories of his first ‘visit’ were still fresh in both his mind and body.

For their part, the Pussycats took a deep breath and then tapped their belts a couple of times, triggering a strange luminous material to extend from their belts, boots, and gloves. It soon covered them completely, gradually revealing their figures once again—now fully clad in impressive technological armor, prompting Mirko and the others to turn and look at them with a hint of surprise on their faces.

Despite being different colors—matching the original pattern of the Pussycats' uniforms: red for Shino, blue for Ryuko, yellow for Tomoko, and brown for Chatora—the armors all shared a similar appearance. They were composed of interconnected metallic plates that fit together organically, molding perfectly to the wearer's body. Each one featured a glowing triangle on the chest, reminiscent of the one on Kai’s armor.

“That armor looks like ‘Creati’s’…”

Ryukyu, who had allowed Momo to intern at her agency, couldn’t help but comment with slight surprise, paying close attention to the curious skirts made of metallic plates on the Pussycats’ armor. From which metallic tails extended, imitating their original costumes.

“Yes, they were created by the same group of researchers.” Shino replied in a calm voice while reviewing the data that appeared before her eyes on various floating screens.

“I see.” Ryukyu nodded, still a bit surprised, but before she could say anything else, the boat reached the edge of the island, prompting All Might to speak in a serious tone.

“We’re disembarking.”

At All Might’s command, the group jumped off the boat, landing on the charred roots that made up the ground, producing cracking sounds. For his part, Kai threw a kind of anchor into the sea, then jumped onto the island along with Salem. At that moment, he began explaining in a serious tone.

“Although you’ve already read it in the documents, this place is full of spiders of all shapes and sizes—but every single one of them seems to have at least one powerful Quirk, so be extremely careful.”

“Shouldn’t the fire that swept through this place have wiped out the spiders?”

“Watch out!”

Edgeshot asked as he lifted a piece of charred root, but at that moment, Ragdoll’s urgent warning rang out, alerting him. Before the ninja hero could react, he saw a black Jian sword with engraved patterns flash past his face at an absurd speed, immediately followed by a horrible screech. Almost in sync with the screech, the sword spun through the air and slashed at seemingly nothing.

Right after the sword passed, Edgeshot saw the space in front of him distort—and immediately afterward, a spider nearly a meter in size appeared, its legs as thin and long as needles. It collapsed to the ground, sliced cleanly in half, releasing a geyser of blue blood. As everyone gasped in shock, the slightly distorted voice of the man in black armor echoed in their ears.

“Apparently not.”

Kai’s voice snapped all the present heroes out of their shock, and they couldn’t help but clench their teeth. Aside from Tomoko, none of them—even with all their years of experience—had realized that the spider was there. Had it not been for Kai’s swift action, they would’ve suffered their first casualty without even knowing how. A realization that inevitably sent chills down their spines.

That was especially true for Edgeshot, who had been halfway transformed into what looked like a sheet of paper, yet it was still clear that his forehead was covered in cold sweat. He, an experienced hero, hadn’t even sensed the spider—not even when the sword flashed before his eyes. For a moment, he had even thought the man in black armor had betrayed them and was trying to kill him.

“…Thank you. You saved my life.”

After a few seconds, Edgeshot returned to his human form, turned to look at Kai, and thanked him with a heavy voice, his heart still pounding. Kai extended his hand forward, projecting a hologram of a map of the surrounding area marked with dots that varied in size and color. He then spoke in a calm, composed voice.

“Don’t worry about it. Your ability to flatten and stretch your body can be quite useful.”

Kai’s response brought bitter smiles to the Pussycats, All Might, and Edgeshot. But then Kai pointed to the holographic map and continued in a serious tone.

“More importantly, I’m currently detecting twelve spiders in the area. None of them seem especially powerful, but until we face them, we won’t know what abilities they have.”

“We also need a way to protect ourselves from those invisible spiders—I couldn’t sense it at all.” Wiping a bead of cold sweat from her chin, Ryukyu spoke in a serious tone. Tomoko clenched her fist in front of her and added cautiously.

“I can sense the invisible spiders, but they move too fast! As soon as I activated my Quirk, I felt something approaching—but it moved so quickly that all I could do was shout the warning!” Tomoko turned to look at Shino and asked.

“Mandalay, can you help us with that?!”

“Yes, I’ll create a ‘mental room.’” Shino nodded and replied in a calm voice, causing everyone to turn toward her. The brown-haired heroine continued with a small smile.

“A ‘mental room’ is a new ability I developed. With it, we’ll all be able to communicate mentally, send complex messages at high speed, and more—but you must have the intention to communicate your thoughts, or they won’t be transmitted. Keep that in mind, as it could lead to fatal mistakes.”

“That’ll be a huge help.” Ryukyu commented, a slight tone of relief in her voice. But she quickly looked at Shino and asked with curiosity.

“But I didn’t know your Quirk could do that, Mandalay.”

“It’s a recent 'upgrade'—years of training are finally starting to show some results.”

Shino responded naturally, wearing a calm expression, to which Ryuko, Tomoko, and Chatora nodded in agreement. Meanwhile, All Might couldn’t help but glance at Kai, suspecting that this 'upgrade' came from the weakened version of One for All the boy had told him he could share with others.

“So even at our age, Quirks can still develop... I need to train with more dedication.” Edgeshot remarked thoughtfully as he looked at the remains of the dead spider on the ground.

Realizing it wasn’t the time to reflect on his own training, Edgeshot quickly dismissed the thought and looked up—only to be met with four colds, nearly murderous glares from the women.

“I’m 18 at heart.” Ryuko said in a voice so icy it sent a slight shiver down the ninja hero’s spine.

“You’re right, my apologies.” Edgeshot quickly replied seriously, earning four irritated huffs in return. At that moment, All Might stepped forward and spoke firmly.

“Then, Mandalay, create that ‘mental room.’ We’re moving out.”

[Immediately.]

Shino quickly responded by sending a telepathic message to everyone present, creating the initial mental link, at which point she activated her new ability. It was the result of her beloved's hard work—another testament to the infinite love and care Kai gave them every single day, and one of the main reasons she loved him more than anything in the world.

When she activated her [Vital Reactor], faint, almost imperceptible electric sparks flickered around Shino’s head. Using the large amounts of energy, she enhanced her brain's capabilities, fully forming the mental room that allowed for the free exchange of complex thoughts. With the “room” now created in her mind, Shino sent a telepathic message to test it.

[It’s all set. Now you just have to think of something with the intent to share it, and your thoughts will automatically appear in everyone else’s mind. It can be messages like this, or a full mental image.]

As everyone looked at Shino in surprise, she turned to Ragdoll and sent another telepathic message.

[Ragdoll, show them.]

Tomoko nodded and quickly shared the mental image provided by her Quirk. In everyone’s mind, a three-dimensional mental map appeared, covering roughly a 10-kilometer radius. It displayed various colored, almost cartoonish spider-shaped icons that flickered faintly, each varying in size. At the same time, Tomoko’s voice echoed in everyone’s mind.

[This is part of what I perceive with my Quirk! The size of the icons matches the real size of the target, and the flickering represents their heartbeat. Also, each one has small marks in a different color—those are their physical weak points! If there’s something I can’t share visually, I’ll send a message like this! Some things are easier to communicate with ‘words.’!!]

Upon hearing Tomoko’s message, Ryukyu, Edgeshot, Kamui Woods, and All Might widened their eyes even further and swallowed hard. That combination was truly impressive—not only did they now share a mental radar of everything around them, but all the information conveyed through Tomoko and Shino’s “words” instantly appeared in their minds and was understood immediately. They now shared a method of communication infinitely more efficient than speaking.

[These are the targets I marked earlier.]

At that moment, Kai announced, then sent a mental image that materialized in everyone’s minds as three points of light on the three-dimensional map shared by Tomoko.

[I never imagined your Quirks could be used like this… This is a real ‘Game Changer.’] Wanting to try it out, Kamui Woods shared a mental message, which made the astonished heroes nod—just as All Might’s voice echoed in everyone’s mind.

[This is truly impressive—but it’s time to move out. It looks like several spiders are heading toward our position!]

Upon hearing All Might’s voice, everyone examined the mental image shared by Tomoko, where they could clearly see about twenty spiders rapidly approaching their position. The Symbol of Peace stepped forward and began making his way into the partially charred jungle, and the heroes quickly followed.

…

[Kai, are you okay?]

During the march, Shino—worried by how quiet Kai was as he moved forward with Salem by his side—sent him a private telepathic message, bypassing the shared mental room and creating a new link, through which she soon received a reply from her beloved.

[I’m fine. I just feel a bit uneasy… I’ve got a strange feeling.]

[Like that time with the scientists?] Upon hearing Kai’s calm response, Shino quickly asked in a serious tone. Kai replied in a similar one.

[It’s similar, though slightly different. So if things go south, you all know what to do—gather around Sage and get out of here. Don’t hesitate for even a second.]

Upon hearing her beloved, Shino couldn’t help but bite her lip in hesitation. Although they had made that agreement, so Kai would be willing to bring them along, Shino couldn’t imagine herself fleeing if she saw the love of her life in danger. She would rather die trying to save him than abandon him to his fate.

To Shino, life without the love of her life held no meaning. The moment she saw Kai on the brink of death, she became completely certain of that. That day, she felt the world lose its color and life slip through her skin. During the three days Kai remained unconscious, if it hadn’t been for the hope that he would wake up, she wouldn’t have had the strength to even get out of bed.

[… I know. It’s what we promised.]

After a few seconds, Shino replied in a heavy voice, lying to her beloved for the first time. Even though she was fully aware that staying behind in a desperate situation would only make things more difficult for Kai, she also knew that if it ever came to that, Kai’s chances of survival would be slim. And so, she would rather die by his side than escape only to face another bitter, gray day alone.

[You don’t have to feel guilty for running.] As if sensing Shino’s thoughts, Kai spoke in a warm tone, then continued more seriously.

[This time, I have far more ways to escape than I did on my first visit. I won’t fall for the same tricks again. The only issue is that I haven’t mastered them well enough to guarantee your escape too, so it’s better if you all leave ahead of me.]

[That’s what we’ll do.] Shino replied in a calmer tone, though only she knew whether or not she was being completely honest. Even so, Kai seemed convinced and answered.

[Perfect. Then I’ll trust you to lead everyone if it comes to that. I love you.]

Feeling the warmth in Kai’s declaration of love, Shino felt her heart melt and quickly replied with sincerity, ‘speaking’ from the depths of her soul.

[And I love you more than anything in this world.]

Beneath his kitsune helmet—which he didn’t wear just for show—Kai smiled warmly, then looked at Shino and nodded. The beautiful heroine smiled back and nodded in return, then created a new mental room for only her team and sent a message in a serious tone.

[Kai says he has a bad feeling, so he’s asking that if things get out of control, we regroup with Sage and escape from here.]

[I’m not leaving my sweetheart alone in this place. We leave together—alive or dead.] Ryuko quickly replied in an incredibly firm tone that left no room for debate. At that moment, Chatora’s voice echoed in their minds.

[Don’t be stubborn. You, more than anyone, know that many of Kai’s abilities only work on himself. If you stay, you’ll only distract him—you’ll only make things more dangerous for him.]

[So, are you planning to leave, Chatora?]

Tomoko asked in a calm, strangely cold voice—worlds apart from her usual demeanor—which, despite the tension in the air, made Chatora laugh before replying with full confidence.

[Of course not. It’s my job to get you all home; it’s the men of the family’s job to cover the retreat. Don’t forget—I’m the strongest of the four. I’m the best option to stay behind.]

[Ha-ru-ka-chan.]

In that precise moment, Chatora heard a name in his mind that made his hair stand on end, and he quickly replied in a serious tone.

[That name died a long time ago—don’t say it!]

[Then stop talking nonsense!] Ryuko replied in an irritated tone, then continued more seriously.

[We’re in this together. If things get dangerous, I brought the bombs Keiko made—so we’ll blow this place to pieces and escape with Kai. Understood?]

[[[Understood!]]]

The announcement was met with a unanimous affirmative response from her teammates, who clenched their fists tightly, their eyes shining with determination. No matter what happened, they would never abandon Kai to his fate—and even if every plan failed, each of them was resolved to turn that charred jungle into their grave.

***

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