Chapter 233: Five major projects.

--Sunday, May 31, 2172

Before the first rays of sunlight appeared in the sky, Kai began to open his eyes, at which moment an uncomfortable headache struck him. As his expression twisted in discomfort, Kai opened his eyes fully and looked around, finding a scene that brought a somewhat strange smile to his face.

Around him were his beautiful girlfriends, sleeping in different positions alongside plush toys representing every member of the family. To his left were Momo and Nejire, with Momo resting her head on his shoulder and Nejire hugging his leg as if it were a pillow. Meanwhile, lying on his chest were Shino and Tomoko, sleeping as if they were some kind of giant cats.

Further down was Ryuko, who was using the inner part of his right leg as a pillow. But what surprised Kai was the scene to his right. There lay Nemuri, sleeping on his shoulder in a similar way to Momo—but just behind her, using his forearm as a pillow, was someone unexpected: Keiko.

After looking at Keiko sleeping with a peaceful, serene expression and a subtle smile on her face, as if she were having a pleasant dream, Kai turned his gaze back to his girlfriends, a hint of concern appearing on his face.

(Now how am I supposed to get up…?)

[Shall I help you with Mystical Palm, Master?]

At that moment, Kai “heard” the voice of his reliable assistant in his mind, prompting him to quickly lift his gaze. Floating above him was the beauty with tiny wings, smiling warmly at him. Pleased with his dependable assistant, Kai nodded and sent a message through the mental link they shared.

[I’ll leave it to you, Sage.]

[Leave it to me, Master.] Sage showed a beautiful smile as she replied, then flew over to each of the girls and touched them with her small hands.

Once Sage finished, Kai began to move gently to free his arms and legs, eventually standing up with Shino and Tomoko in his arms, whom he then placed in the spot where he had been lying. Beside the bed, Kai started stretching with slight discomfort due to his headache, but at that moment he noticed that Shino’s nightgown had ridden up to her stomach.

(Looks like Shino took the no-underwear rule in the house seriously…)

With a smile somewhere between amused and surprised, Kai shook his head and adjusted Shino’s gown, then covered her with a blanket and gave her a soft kiss on the forehead. After giving one last look at the beautiful women, Kai took a metallic-looking belt from the nightstand and quietly left the room, walking lightly to avoid making noise.

Upon reaching the first floor, Kai was greeted by Mrs. Yoshiko, who was already perfectly dressed in her uniform and holding a silver tray with a steaming cup of coffee on it. The uniform consisted of an elegant dark blue shirt decorated with floral patterns, long black trousers, and an apron matching the shirt.

“Good morning, Mrs. Yoshiko.” Kai greeted her with a casual smile as he took the cup of coffee. Mrs. Yoshiko brought the tray to her chest and bowed respectfully as she returned the greeting.

“Good morning, Mr. Kai.”

“Did anything happen while I was away?” After taking a sip of the delicious coffee, Kai looked at Mrs. Yoshiko and asked casually. Mrs. Yoshiko shook her head and replied in a serious, formal tone.

“No, sir, only two minor matters. This afternoon my niece will be coming, as she will be my replacement next week, and there is a small error with my payroll receipt.”

“An error?”

Kai remarked in surprise and looked at Sage, who was sitting on his shoulder without bothering to hide. The fairy quickly created a holographic screen in front of Kai, displaying the full payroll receipt. Mrs. Yoshiko nodded with a calm expression and explained.

“Yes, sir, there’s a rather sizable extra bonus.”

Looking over the payroll receipt, Kai quickly reached the end, where indeed there was a bonus listed for hundreds of thousands of dollars, but without any additional explanation. Kai immediately understood what it was about, so he looked at Mrs. Yoshiko and explained with a smile.

“It’s not an error—it’s my gift for your vacation. The girls have also prepared some things; they’ll give them to you later.”

“Something like that isn’t necessary, Mr. Kai. I didn’t do anything to deserve that money.” Mrs. Yoshiko replied in a serious tone. Kai took a sip from his cup with a smile, then began walking out of the house as he spoke in a playful tone.

“Too bad. It’s already in your account, and there’s nothing you can do about it. Now all that’s left is for you to buy yourself something nice in my name.”

“…”

Mrs. Yoshiko watched Kai’s back with a helpless expression as he left the house, then shook her head and bowed respectfully. Once Kai had disappeared, Mrs. Yoshiko walked to the kitchen with a small smile on her face. Kai was always like that—always finding all kinds of excuses to give her money—which had, by now, made her wealthier than her own husband. And while the money itself didn’t matter, the gesture revealed how much he valued her.

…

“Sage.”

Soon, Kai arrived at his personal gym, calling out to his reliable assistant as he walked toward one of the treadmills. With a casual wave of her hand, Sage activated the entire gym, at which point heavy metal music began blasting through the speakers, bringing a smile to Kai’s face.

[Sage, make sure to run a full analysis on the samples we managed to collect from the tunnel.] While running at such an extreme speed that his legs looked like a blur, Kai spoke in a calm tone through his mental link with the fairy, who quickly replied with seriousness.

[I’m already on it, Master, and at the same time I’m analyzing the data we recovered from the ‘mother spider.’ But something important happened yesterday. The space spider we managed to capture woke up inside Alcatraz’s Nen space and tried to escape using its powers. Although it failed, 4% of your aura was used to make it to sleep by force.]

[It tried to escape?] Kai looked at Sage in surprise. The fairy nodded and created a holographic screen filled with data.

[Here’s a summary of what happened.]

[It seems Alcatraz’s containment isn’t infallible. We need to be careful from now on.] Kai sent the message in a serious tone while reviewing the data with a focused expression. Sage nodded and replied.

[Indeed, Master. We’ve never had ‘something’ this powerful in containment before, so it’s possible that Alcatraz’s isolation has a limit.]

[Hopefully that limit is tied to my strength…]

Kai remarked in a reflective tone as he brought his right hand up in front of him. At that moment, he recalled the strange phenomenon of his aura merging with his Haki, so he quickly activated [Gyo] in his eyes and focused his aura into his right arm.

To his eyes, his aura ceased to be white and instead turned into a kind of deep, dark blue. Filled with curiosity, Kai closed his eyes and focused on his own “voice,” seeking to find his mini-self, who soon appeared in his mind. But to his surprise, instead of sitting in a lotus position, the mini-self was clumsily imitating his movements, running in a somewhat comical manner.

[The mini-self has changed quite a bit…] Kai commented in a surprised tone. Sage quickly added with seriousness.

[Your physique has changed as well, Master. You are now stronger and more resilient. Also, the aura moves much faster, and while its ‘quantity’ hasn’t increased, it feels at least 40% more powerful. Now, in a one-on-one fight against Prime All Might, you would have the advantage, Master—though not by much.]

[I’ve gotten that strong…?]

Kai opened his eyes and looked at Sage with genuine surprise on his face. After all, even though he had defeated the humanoid insect in a single blow, that was because, after the fusion, he had been able to see that its “voice” was unusual. While it was much stronger than a Nomu, it was weaker than a strong human like Mirko—not to mention the Symbol of Peace—so he had the advantage thanks to his haki.

[For now, it’s only an estimate based on simulations I’ve been running while you slept, but reality shouldn’t be too far off.] Sage replied in a serious tone, prompting Kai to reflect. He spoke in a thoughtful voice.

[It’s obvious that the path forward to improve is to ‘merge’ at a deeper level with the mini-self, but… how do we do that?]

[It’s difficult to aim for something so specific, Master.] Sage said in a serious tone, drawing Kai’s attention before explaining as she created several holographic screens.

[So far, there have been three major changes in the mini-self. The first was when you practiced yoga for the first time, the second was during the first battle against the spiders, and the third was in the second fight. So it’s likely that either specific triggers are needed or a sudden shift in your emotions or mental state, Master.]

[I’d say it’s the emotions, but it’s hard to be sure…] Kai commented in a reflective tone but quickly shook his head and added with seriousness.

[For now, let’s just keep an eye on the matter in case there are any changes. We have much more important and urgent things to deal with. At the moment, we have five major projects in our hands. Number one, we need to find out where the spiders came from and who those lizard men were.

[Second, we need to perfect the Quirk Maker project to return All Might’s powers to him and strengthen the family. Third, we need to determine how those tunnels were able to interfere with my Observation Haki. Fourth, we have to study in detail the data we recovered from the spider to see if it also has Aura Script patterns in its genome.

[But the fifth is the most important of all—we have to officially begin the Inner Palace project. With what we saw on Spider Island, the space spider we captured, the Aura Script patterns, and the portal Nomu, it’s possible we have a good chance of creating the family’s final bastion. Also, we can’t forget there’s still that quirk thief to take down.]

[All noted, Master. I’ll begin a preliminary investigation and present the results to you as soon as possible.] Sage replied with utmost seriousness and commitment, which made Kai nod with particular satisfaction.

[You’re the best, Sage. Even though we have more work than ever, now that we’re stronger, we’ll find a way to make it happen.]

[…]

Hearing the praise, Sage fell silent and looked at her Master with a complex expression, as if wanting to say something but lacking the courage to do so. Noticing the expression on his reliable assistant’s face, Kai couldn’t help but look at her in confusion and ask aloud,

“Something wrong, Sage?”

“…Master… I…”

Sage looked at Kai and spoke with difficulty, but soon her words got stuck in her throat, leading her to bite her lower lip in frustration. Kai, now even more confused and somewhat concerned, asked without slowing his run.

“What is it, Sage?”

“…” Sage looked at her Master for a few seconds, then took a deep breath and, gathering her courage, spoke in a hesitant voice.

“Master, I made a grave mistake on the island, but the conversation was left unfinished.”

“Oh, you mean that.” Kai replied in realization and with a hint of relief, then waved his hand as if downplaying the matter and said.

“Don’t worry. I understand you were in a tight spot, forced to choose, and you made a decision with my survival in mind.”

“The reasons are irrelevant, Master. I disobeyed you, and that is an irrefutable fact.” Sage replied firmly, looking directly into Kai’s eyes, before adding in a voice full of fatalism.

“I am no longer fit to be your assistant, Master. I have failed you.”

“Oh, that’s right—we did talk about a punishment for your mistake.” Kai said casually before jumping off the treadmill and landing steadily on the floor. At that moment, Kai extended his open left hand toward Sage, then ordered with a smile.

“Come here, Sage. It’s time for your punishment.”

“…” Sage looked at her Master’s hand for a few moments but quickly gathered her courage and spoke in a firm, resolute voice, like a soldier marching toward certain death.

“Understood.”

Sage swiftly landed in her Master’s hand, and he gently took hold of her before turning her around so that her rear was exposed. The sudden movement left Sage stunned, but before she could say anything, she felt a light tap on her backside, prompting her to look back in disbelief.

With eyes so wide they looked ready to pop out, Sage saw her Master—an amused smile on his face—use his index and middle fingers to give her a quick but precise “spank,” leaving her with a strange sensation running through her whole body.

After five spanks, Sage was suddenly released by her Master, but she could barely stay aloft as she stared at him with nothing but sheer stupefaction on her beautiful face. At that moment, Kai spoke with a playful smile, genuinely amused by the expression of the lovely fairy.

“That was your punishment. If you make a mistake like that again, I won’t be so merciful.”

Speechless, Sage just stared at her Master with her mouth slightly open, completely at a loss for words and with her mind short-circuiting. Amused, Kai gave one last glance at the dumbfounded Sage before jumping back onto the treadmill and returning to his previous pace, once again drifting into his thoughts.

***

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