Chapter 62: So there’s no chance?

After a while, Pixie-Bob entered the private room of the café, now accompanied by a handsome young man taller than her, with black hair and blue eyes. Upon entering the room, he greeted everyone with a smile.

"Pleasure to meet you; my name is Saito Kai."

As Kai sat between Shino and Ryuko, All Might and Nighteye couldn't help but look at the boy with surprise and confusion. They didn't quite understand what the young man was doing in front of them, somewhat refusing to believe that someone so young could be the person they were seeking.

"Mandalay? Who is this young man?"

"… Who is this young man?"

Confused, Nighteye tried to ask as he looked at the beautiful red-clad heroine, only to be surprised when the young man repeated his words at the same time, almost like a chorus member. He just looked at him with a slight smile on his face, which led All Might to comment with a more serious expression.

"I suppose you're the 'vigilante.'"

"And I suppose you're All Might; you've changed quite a bit since the last time I saw you," Kai commented with a smile while analyzing All Might's 'voice,' immediately noticing something strange.

(His 'voice' is really odd; it feels weak but at the same time powerful. What a strange feeling…)

"So you're already aware of everything," Nighteye commented while looking somewhat warily at the young man in front of him. All Might then asked with a sudden realization on his face.

"Kai-shonen, by any chance, are you Iron Palm's son?"

"Oh, so you still remember me; it's truly an honor."

As Kai responded cheerfully, Nighteye couldn't help but widen his eyes in disbelief. He remembered the former No. 5 hero and, above all, his tragic end—not to mention the rumors about the mental stability of the sole survivor of the attack, his only son, which circulated for quite some time until the topic cooled down.

"How could I forget you? It's not every day a five-year-old asks to see all my power," All Might commented in a much calmer and happier tone, to which Kai smiled amusingly before replying calmly.

"Hehe, well, I needed a reference for the strongest."

"Hehe, you've grown a lot; I didn't recognize you for a moment." All Might smiled with some nostalgia as he recalled that curious moment and the expression the boy had.

"Well, that's a strange habit we youngsters have," Kai responded calmly. But at that moment, All Might coughed up a mouthful of blood, which led Kai to comment a bit more seriously.

"I see you're quite ill."

"Well, yes, I suppose you've already heard about it," All Might explained while wiping the blood from his lips. Kai added as he stood up from his seat.

"Actually, no. They only told me that you were in bad shape and needed my help. May I examine you?" Upon reaching All Might, Kai extended his hand as he asked, causing Nighteye to narrow his eyes. But the scrawny blue-eyed man nodded quickly.

"Then I'll be under your care."

With a mental command, Kai summoned Sage in [In] mode, making her invisible to everyone. He then examined All Might, quickly obtaining an invisible hologram in front of him that showed all his physical data, which greatly surprised him.

[Sage, are you sure this information is correct?]

Through his mental connection, Kai quickly asked Sage for confirmation. Although he didn't remember very well the injuries mentioned in the original work—since he only heard about it once and didn't pay much attention—if what he was reading was correct, it was practically a miracle that All Might was still alive.

[I'm certain, Master. This person has no stomach, and his respiratory system is a disaster. Additionally, his liver and kidneys are in terrible condition. Furthermore, his muscles and bones suffer from significant deterioration, and there are signs of various problems like hypertension, cardiovascular stress, and deficiencies in his immune system, etc. It's truly a mystery how he's still alive.]

With a serious expression, Sage explained through their mental connection, causing Kai to nod with a complex look. After all, healing him wasn't going to be easy, so he needed to get all the benefit he could from this "project."

"You're literally at the brink of death..."

With a solemn expression, Kai commented while looking directly into All Might's eyes, surprising the others present. Despite already knowing the severity of the injuries, the blue-eyed young man's demeanor made them quite nervous.

"So there's no chance?" All Might asked in a somewhat resigned tone. Kai shook his head and then replied seriously.

"It's not that there aren't any chances; it's just that it will be quite complicated, especially reversing all the changes that were made to your body so you could survive. Plus, there's a certain risk involved."

"Is it really possible?" Nighteye asked hastily while staring intently at Kai, who nodded as he took a seat.

"Yes, it's possible to heal him, but as I mentioned, it will be complicated. Moreover, to do it, I first need to reverse all the changes that were made to his body, so you can imagine the risk involved."

"How can we trust your words?" Nighteye asked seriously. Kai simply shrugged and responded casually.

"Well, it's difficult, but I suppose you'll have to take the risk. You were the ones who sought me out, not the other way around. Though I can give you a small demonstration of my abilities."

"What kind of demonstration?" Nighteye asked curiously, silently accepting the young man's words. Kai quickly approached and extended his hand while asking.

"May I examine you?"

"Sure."

With Nighteye's consent, Kai quickly touched him while Sage examined him. He then looked at the information on the hologram, noting that the man was in fairly good health except for a slight discomfort in his left shoulder.

"Well, you have a minor injury in your left shoulder. Let me treat it."

As his right hand glowed with a faint sky-blue light, Kai looked at Nighteye, who nodded gently. He then placed his hand on the green-haired man's shoulder, removing it shortly after while speaking.

"All done. How does it feel?"

"Quite good; my shoulder feels like new," Nighteye responded while rotating his shoulder in small circles, secretly feeling incredibly excited about the possibility of healing the Symbol of Peace.

"How high is the risk?"

Looking directly at Kai, All Might asked in a solemn tone. The blue-eyed boy replied after Sage showed him a hologram with information, which to the others seemed as if he were deep in thought.

"Well, I'd need to run more detailed simulations, but I'd say there's a 3% chance of death and a 20% chance that I won't be able to heal him and can only improve his condition slightly. His state is really complex, and the modifications to his body were too aggressive. It'll be quite difficult."

Though great excitement welled up in All Might and Nighteye upon hearing Kai's words—after all, it was the most hopeful prognosis they had ever heard—the green-haired man quickly composed himself and asked in a serious tone, while scrutinizing the young man in front of him for any signs of inconsistency.

"How certain are you of those percentages?"

"Quite certain. Although with more detailed simulations they might vary a bit, they shouldn't be far off; they might even decrease," Kai replied seriously, meeting Nighteye's gaze. Nighteye quickly commented while adjusting his glasses.

"But from what I know, you literally brought the Water Horse couple back from the brink of death."

"Well, that's because I healed them while they were still wounded. Honestly, if I had treated All Might before anyone else, the risk of not being able to heal him would be significantly lower. Most of the risk comes from the changes I have to reverse even before I can start healing him."

Finding the young man's explanation reasonable, Nighteye nodded in understanding, then asked while taking out his phone to check his schedule.

"How long would the entire procedure take?"

"It would be best to do it in several sessions, so in total it would take about 15 days," Kai replied after thinking a bit, to which Nighteye nodded while noting it in his phone.

"I see. We'll have to choose the timing carefully to avoid alerting the public..."

"Kai-shonen, can you really heal me?" Suddenly, All Might asked while looking intently at Kai, who returned the gaze firmly while replying.

"Yes, I can. Although there are risks involved, healing you is within my capabilities."

"Then I'll trust you, Kai-shonen. Although the risk is a bit high, my situation is truly too critical, and my activities as the Symbol of Peace have been severely affected and are starting to be noticed," All Might commented in a serious tone, somehow displaying his imposing presence as the Number One Hero in his scrawny form. But at that moment, Kai commented with a smile.

"Well, since you agree, I think it's a good time to talk about my fees."

""Kai?""

At Kai's words, two female voices called out softly from both sides, simultaneously discreetly tugging at his shirt—something the blue-eyed young man casually ignored while looking directly at All Might, who nodded while asking.

"You're right, Kai-shonen. You need payment for your efforts. What amount are we talking about?"

"Oh, I don't want money; I really don't need it. What I want is something else. I want a one-on-one duel with you if I manage to heal you and maintain confidentiality about my quirk," Kai spoke with a smile on his face, causing two female voices to exclaim loudly.

"What are you talking about, Kai?!" Shino asked, evidently shocked, to which Ryuko quickly added while tightly hugging one of Kai's arms.

"Don't joke about that; All Might is in a league of his own!"

"Exactly. All Might is in a league of his own, so I want to measure myself against him to see how far I am from the top," Kai commented with a defiant smile on his face as he looked at All Might, to which Nighteye asked in surprise.

"Are you serious, kid?"

"Very serious, and that's my price. What do you say, All Might? I'm already capable of delivering a punch similar to the one you showed me that time, and I ask for a duel at full strength if I heal you."

"You really haven't changed at all, Kai-shonen," All Might commented, feeling quite surprised inside, to which Kai responded with a smile.

"Well, my goals haven't changed since then."

"Then I agree, Kai-shonen. I'll have a duel with you if you manage to heal me," All Might replied in a serious tone, which greatly pleased Kai, who quickly stood up from his chair to extend his hand to the scrawny man in front of him.

"Then it's a deal, and don't forget to keep my quirk confidential as well."

"It's a deal," All Might responded while shaking Kai's hand, then they began a conversation about schedules, which ended up determining the date when the procedure would begin.

...

"I didn't know you had met the boy before," Nighteye commented while looking at All Might after Kai, Shino, and Ryuko left the room. All Might replied while recalling the events of that year.

"Yes, it was several years ago when, unfortunately, his parents died. I felt very guilty about it since Iron Palm was a good friend, so I wanted to meet him to apologize. But when I told him he could count on me for anything, do you know what he asked me?"

"To see one of your punches?" Nighteye asked in understanding, to which All Might nodded.

"Exactly."

"His quirk is almost miraculous in healing, and it must also give him considerable combat power if he wants to have a duel with you. So he must be quite arrogant with his power and wants to compare himself to you, believing that what you showed him was your best punch," Nighteye commented in a critical tone, to which All Might could only smile a bit uncomfortably while commenting.

"Well, if what he says is true, then he wouldn't be that far from reality. He told me he wanted to see the minimum necessary to be the strongest, so I got a bit excited and ended up unleashing a punch at 80%."

"80%?!!! And he thinks he can replicate it?!!! If what he says is true, that kid is a monster," Nighteye exclaimed with eyes completely wide in astonishment, to which All Might commented thoughtfully.

"He certainly is..."