Chapter 213: Seeing it and living it are two very different things.

--Saturday, May 30, 2172

Upon hearing the urgency in All Might’s message, Kai turned to look at him and saw him striking the ground with a powerful blow that created a tornado, sending all the surrounding spiders flying. He quickly responded using the mental room that Shino had created.

[I’ll try.]

Almost instantly, Kai kicked the air and shot off in All Might’s direction, managing to pass through the hurricane without much trouble. There, he found the Symbol of Peace holding the unconscious ninja hero. Upon seeing Kai, All Might quickly threw the hero into his arms and spoke through the mental room.

[Check his condition. I’ll make sure no spiders get close.]

For his part, Kai caught the unconscious hero and watched as All Might leapt into the air, delivering powerful blows in all directions, shattering dozens of spiders at once. At that moment, Kai asked his trusted assistant through their mental link, who had already begun examining the unconscious hero.

[What happened to him?]

[It’s strange, Master…]

With her wings glowing in different colors, Sage responded with a somewhat confused expression, which surprised Kai—such an expression was rare in his reliable assistant. She quickly explained, still sounding a bit incredulous.

[This person is experiencing a violent immune-neuronal response, as if his own body had identified him as an incompatible transplanted organ. It’s really strange…]

[It certainly is, but for now, sever the connections between the cervical and thoracic lymph nodes, use Mystical Palm threads to encapsulate the medulla oblongata, and perform an emergency lymphatic bypass. Redirect the immune response to the adipose tissue. First, let’s buy some time to break this ‘prison’.]

Kai responded quickly, to which Sage nodded before getting to work. At that moment, Kai activated his 360-degree black-and-white vision and focused on the six webs that surrounded them. At the same time, he threw the sword in his hand toward the nearest web—but just as he expected, it passed through it as if it didn’t exist.

Immediately after, Kai kicked a piece of charred wood on the ground, sending it flying toward the web, but it too passed right through. At that point, Kai sent a message through the mental room Shino had created.

[Ragdoll, grab a spider and throw it at the web.]

[On it!]

Tomoko quickly replied through the mental link, and channeling a greater percentage of strength into her legs, she shot upward at high speed. In almost an instant, she reached a spider that had managed to get past Shino and Mirko’s attack. Twisting midair around it, she then delivered a powerful, electricity-charged kick to the spider, sending it flying toward the nearest web.

[How’s Edgeshot?!] At that moment, All Might asked with a serious tone, and Kai responded while focusing his 360-degree vision on the spider Tomoko had kicked.

[He’s in critical condition. I’m stabilizing him for now, but we need to break out of this place as soon as possible to properly treat him. But don’t worry—I have a plan.]

[What do we need to do?]

Mirko asked, her voice filled with excitement fueled by adrenaline. Just then, Kai saw the spider disappear upon touching the web, teleporting back inside—which basically confirmed his hypothesis. He quickly explained.

[When Edgeshot came into contact with the web, it deactivated for an instant and was repaired by one of the webs beside it. So, it’s likely that in order to break this place, we need to deactivate all six webs at the same time. The problem is that the webs only seem to respond to living organisms—they teleport the spiders, but they reject us, like they did with Edgeshot.

[Therefore, six of us need to ‘sacrifice’ ourselves to get out of here. But don’t worry—I have ways to treat you afterward. Besides, my cat is already on his way back, and he should be able to withstand the violent reaction caused by the web long enough for me to treat him. So, I need four more volunteers for the task.]

[[[I’m in!]]]

Just as Kai finished his explanation, three “voices” echoed in unison in his mind—those of All Might, Chatora, and Mirko—quickly followed by Ryukyu’s voice, who spoke with a solemn tone.

[Count me in as well. In my dragon form, I’m very resilient, so I should be able to endure it for a while.]

[Saito, you can’t go. I’ll do it in your place.] Tomoko’s serious voice rang in everyone’s minds. She quickly explained, fearing her beloved would refuse.

[You’re the only one here who can treat us afterward, so we can’t risk anything happening to you.]

[Ragdoll’s right, Saito. And there’s also Edgeshot’s treatment—you can’t take that risk right now.]

At that moment, All Might also spoke with a serious tone, which caused an unpleasant expression to appear on Kai’s face. But before he could say anything, Shino’s voice rang out in his mind—this time, without using the shared mental room.

[Kai, Chatora and Tomoko trust that you’ll be able to heal them afterward. That’s why you can’t take the risk.]

[…Alright.]

After a few seconds, Kai replied somewhat reluctantly, then added—while simultaneously sending a mental image to everyone showing where they needed to position themselves, taking into account their speed so that they would all reach their respective webs at the same time.

[My cat is here, so I’ll give the signal to move. Ragdoll will take the web below, my cat will handle the one above, and Tiger, Mirko, and All Might will take the ones closest to them.]

[[[Understood.]]]

Everyone responded in unison with solemn “voices,” just as Ryuko began opening a passage through the earth for Tomoko to pass through. Kai quickly gave an order to his trusted assistant, while also conjuring six floating Jian swords around him and activating Mystical Palm.

[Sage, leave the hero to me. Go with Salem and help me synchronize the attack.]

[Right away.] Sage quickly replied and shot off toward Salem, passing through the web without any problem.

[Master, everything is ready. In 1.3 seconds, Salem will make contact with the web above.]

Shortly after, Sage’s melodic voice echoed in Kai’s mind. He quickly ran some mental calculations and, after a few moments, gave the command in a serious tone.

“Now!”

At Kai’s command, All Might, Ryukyu, Mirko, Chatora, and Tomoko leapt toward their respective webs. Salem began to fall toward the upper web, carrying in his snout a spider about 50 cm long, with legs that looked like an elongated arrow. Moments later, a powerful roar rang out, followed by cries of pain.

“““Ahhhh!!!”””

Without losing focus, Kai accelerated his thoughts to the maximum and, through his black-and-white vision, saw each web deactivate simultaneously, then begin to fracture as if made of glass. At that moment, Tomoko, Chatora, and Mirko collapsed to the ground unconscious. Tomoko and Chatora Accomplices materialized out of nowhere to protect them.

[Pixie-Bob!]

Kai called out with a solemn voice, prompting Ryuko to activate her Vital Reactor at full power—so much that small electric sparks flickered across her armor. At the same time, she placed her hands on the ground and announced aloud.

“FOREST OF THORNS!!!”

At Ryuko’s command, the surrounding earth deformed at impossible speed, taking the shape of massive compressed-earth thorns with metal tips. They pierced through all the spiders, tearing them to pieces, yet deliberately avoiding the heroes. At the same time, a beast made of earth formed beneath Mirko, caught her, and leapt away with her in its arms.

[It worked! Let’s get out of here!]

All Might, wearing a grave expression while his body released massive amounts of smoke, sent a message through the mental room. Ryuko sent a mental message with a serious “voice.”

[Hold on tight!]

Instantly, the ground beneath each person lifted into the air and shot off at incredible speed. Meanwhile, Salem—completely covered in lightning bolts thicker than his legs—kicked the air and moved at absurd speed, landing on the platform of hardened earth that was carrying Kai.

Upon landing beside Kai, Salem shrank back down to his true form—about the size of a German Shepherd—breathing heavily, with small electric arcs flashing across his body. That’s when Sage spoke in a serious voice through the mental link with her master.

[Salem was able to withstand the webs’ negative reaction, but it cost him a large portion of his energy. As for Tomoko and Chatora, even though they activated their Vital Reactors to the max, they couldn’t fully resist it either—but they’re in much better condition than Edgeshot. Their lives aren’t in danger!]

[Understood.]

Kai replied while scanning the surroundings with his Observation Haki. To his surprise, the few spiders that were still alive had started fleeing in a panic—a complete contrast to just moments ago, when they had attacked without fear of death, throwing themselves toward certain doom as if their only goal was to bury them under their own corpses.

After watching the spiders with a suspicious expression, Kai turned to look at the platforms carrying the unconscious Mirko and All Might—only to find the latter down on one knee, releasing a thick trail of smoke and no longer in his hero form. He now appeared much thinner and slightly shorter, almost like a retired boxer—still fit but far from the mass of muscle that defined his hero form.

At that moment, Kai saw the platforms carrying the heroes who had thrown themselves against the webs approaching his own, allowing him to notice that Ryukyu, the dragon heroine, was trembling all over and breathing heavily. Just then, Ryuko’s voice echoed in everyone’s minds.

[We’re going to land.]

[Kai, check everyone’s condition. Meanwhile, Kamui Woods, help me set up a perimeter.] Shino quickly sent a mental message with a serious and slightly concerned tone, to which the wood hero nodded promptly and replied.

[Let’s go.]

Shortly after, the group managed to land in a clearing with no spiders in sight. There, Shino and Kamui Woods quickly stepped forward and began establishing an improvised defensive perimeter—Kamui Woods extended his arms and buried them into the ground, then caused a large number of branches to grow, forming a kind of barrier.

Meanwhile, Shino tapped a few times on the forearm of her armor with her index finger, and almost immediately, what looked like launchers rose from her shoulders. They fired discs about five centimeters wide in various directions. These discs glowed softly and began forming metallic barriers.

For his part, Kai checked Mirko’s condition and found it to be quite serious. Although she was in better shape than Edgeshot and not in immediate danger, it had still been too much for her—she was even experiencing minor convulsions. Without hesitation, Kai gave a firm order to his trusted assistant.

[Sage, take care of Tomoko and Chatora. I’ll keep Mirko and Edgeshot stable.]

“That web was terrifying…”

Rising to his feet with some difficulty, All Might couldn’t help but comment in a heavy voice as he looked at the others—especially Edgeshot and Mirko. Then he turned to Kai, who stood silently with his hands placed over them. But due to Kai’s helmet, All Might couldn’t see the expression on the boy’s face.

“I knew it would be dangerous, but still...” Ryukyu, who had returned to her human form, spoke in a hoarse, heavy voice, still suffering from minor spasms. All Might could only nod in response before replying solemnly.

“Yeah. Seeing it and living it are two very different things… we truly underestimated this place.”

“How are they?” At that moment, Ryuko arrived and sat down near Kai, looking exhausted as she asked. Kai answered in a serious voice.

“Tomoko and Chatora are fine—they’ll wake up soon. But Mirko and Edgeshot are in bad shape, especially Edgeshot. He needs urgent treatment.”

“Looks like we'll have to find a way to get him out of here…”

Upon hearing Kai, All Might commented in a heavy voice, slowly beginning to return to his hero form. To everyone’s surprise, instead of replying, Kai looked up at the sky—prompting the others to follow his gaze. But all they saw was the clear, open sky.

“That’s no longer an option.”

As the heroes turned once more to look at Kai, he spoke in a heavy voice. At the same time, a mental image appeared in everyone’s mind—a massive web above and below them—which made their eyes go wide in utter disbelief.

“A larger version of what we saw before?!” Not seeing any side webs in the mental image, Ryukyu asked in alarm, trying to shift back into her dragon form.

“Even though I can’t sense all the webs, they’re most likely there.” Kai replied grimly, then added solemnly.

“You’ve all seen it now—these spiders are intelligent, and they can learn from their mistakes. The last time I came here, I escaped by flying… so this time, they created this setup to make sure I can’t get away.”

Upon hearing Kai, everyone present clenched their fists tightly. However, All Might glanced at the young man out of the corner of his eye with slight suspicion. Even though he couldn’t see Kai’s face, he knew him well—and he was almost certain the boy had some kind of ace up his sleeve for a situation like this. An ace clearly reserved only for his family, and not something he would reveal easily.

[Kai… Is there really no way out?]

At that moment, Shino sent a telepathic message to her beloved. Because although she loved him deeply, she also knew him extremely well. And she was fully aware that if things were truly as desperate as he claimed, he wouldn’t be this “calm.”

He would’ve already thrown everyone over his shoulders and fled with everything he had—even if it meant leaving All Might and the other heroes behind. After all, before coming here, he had warned them.

[…There is a way.] After a few moments, Kai responded through the telepathic link that had formed, confirming Shino’s suspicions. He then quickly began to explain in a serious tone.

[But that’s the last resort. The first time I came here, those spiders managed to prepare a defense against my attacks—and even now, they’ve come up with a countermeasure against Accompany. If I reveal my cards carelessly, they might find a way to counter me again… and then we really would be lost.]

[I understand… but do you really plan to leave the others behind?] Shino asked somewhat anxiously as she looked at Mirko and Edgeshot. But before Kai could respond, All Might spoke in a solemn voice.

“Saito, I want you to be honest. Is there a chance to heal Edgeshot here?”“…”

Upon hearing the question, Kai fell silent and turned to look at All Might. The Symbol of Peace met his gaze, focusing on the red eyes of Kai’s Kitsune helmet. After a couple of seconds, Kai responded in a calm tone.

“…It’s not impossible. Maybe there’s a 60% chance I can heal him here. But it could take hours, and I seriously doubt those spiders will give us that much free time.”

“…”

All Might remained silent and looked at Kai, but since the helmet hid his expression, he turned to look at the Pussycats instead. Although the group of pro heroes were good at hiding their emotions, to someone as experienced as the Symbol of Peace, it soon became clear they were hiding something.

Knowing Kai’s track record of only telling half-truths, All Might quickly formed a rough idea of the whole truth. Kai should have at least two ways to heal Edgeshot and Mirko, one of them being that bluish glow he’d shown with little difficulty, so it must be far from revealing Kai’s deepest secrets.

On the other hand, the other method must be so special that even seasoned heroes like the Pussycats—whose hearts were always willing to help others—didn’t dare to mention it. Therefore, it was highly likely that Kai wouldn’t reveal it unless one of the Pussycats was on the brink of death. Even if it meant the lives of all the other heroes, including his own.

“I see. One more question.” Now having a clear idea in mind, All Might spoke, drawing Kai’s attention, and then asked.

“How long can you keep Edgeshot alive?”

“Keeping him alive for 5 or 6 hours isn’t a problem. But it would greatly limit me in a fight.” Kai replied calmly. All Might nodded and fell silent for a moment, organizing his thoughts.

(If Kai-shonen says there's only a 60% chance, it's highly likely that it's actually much higher. He might be confident he can completely heal him, just with that blue glow. It’s just that the situation is dangerous, and given how manipulative he’s proven to be, it’s highly probable that his goal is to force the Pussycats—or at least some of them—to retreat while he stays behind.

(If I’m right, I can draw two conclusions. One, this situation is far from being the worst-case scenario for Kai-shonen. And two, he must have at least two different methods of escaping from here—one for the Pussycats and another for himself—since he’s repeatedly emphasized that the spiders can counter the abilities he reveals. Therefore, unless one or two of the Pussycats retreat, Kai isn’t going to get Edgeshot out of here or heal him..)

Once he had a clearer idea of the real situation they were in, All Might looked at Kai again and asked in a serious tone. Though deep down, he felt a slight bitterness at how indifferent the young man seemed toward the life of an injured hero.

“…Saito, you’ve been in this place before. What do you suggest we do to get rid of those webs?”

“There are a few options.” Kai replied as he moved his hands over Edgeshot and Mirko, placing them on their chests. He then began to explain.

“As you saw in the report, I labeled those strange webs as 'conditional webs'—meaning they produce an effect based on a specific trigger. This makes them incredibly flexible and powerful. As you’ve seen, they can teleport living beings, cause damage just by touching them, and more. The last time I was in this place, I nearly died because of those webs.

“At that time, the webs mainly did two things: first, they stopped one of my most powerful attacks, and second, they would instantly wrap around me if I moved too far away. On top of that, they had corrosive properties, which made them deadly. And there’s more than one spider here capable of using that kind of web. On my previous visit, I managed to kill two that used those webs, but it seems more remained.

“In any case, since those webs are 'conditional,' it's possible to bypass them. For example, the attack those spiders blocked last time was based on speed—so I deduced that the trigger condition was related to that. I confirmed it by approaching more slowly, which didn’t activate the web.

“Therefore, this time, we have two options: one is to determine the conditions under which the webs operate and find a way to bypass them; the other is to locate and kill the spider responsible, since doing so completely deactivates the webs. But again, these spiders are very intelligent—almost human—so I don’t think either option will be easy.”

Upon hearing Kai’s explanation, All Might and Ryukyu exchanged solemn looks. While they had read something along those lines in the report, they never truly imagined the spiders would be so clever. After a few seconds, All Might pulled himself together, turned to face Kai, and asked in a serious tone.

“Saito, how likely do you think it is that these spiders are being directed by a human?”

“That’s something I considered at the beginning as well.” Kai replied calmly, placing his left hand on Mirko’s head while lifting his gaze to meet All Might’s. Then he continued speaking.

“But it's hard to confirm or rule out, since it's not unheard of for there to be super-intelligent animals. Just look at Nezu as a prime example. That mouse/bear is extremely intelligent and manipulative, so I don’t see why there couldn’t be a spider here with similar capabilities.”

“That’s true. Although Principal Nezu is quite unique, there’s nothing stopping someone—or something—similar from existing...” All Might couldn’t help but agree, at which point Ryuko looked at her beloved and bit her lip with hesitation. After a few seconds, she asked in a serious tone.

“Saito... is there really no other 'option'?”

***

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