MHATG: Chapter 351/355

Chapter 351: Quirks’ New Name?

"I didn't expect your taste to be this twisted. Honestly, I'm impressed."

In a dimly lit space, the only sources of light came from a wall of over a dozen glowing monitors.

A short, plump, bald man in a doctor's coat and glasses stood with his back to the wall of screens, smiling as he faced All For One who had just entered.

"Why do you say that?"

All For One sat down in front of the monitors and asked in a puzzled tone.

"You clearly already knew where we were staying, yet you still had Kaminari-kun do this spy routine. Isn't that just unnecessarily cruel?" the doctor said.

"Hahaha, it only deepens Kaminari's sense of guilt and betrayal. That'll start pushing him away from the heroes, even if just subconsciously."

All For One's mood brightened at the memory of Kaminari Denki's rapidly beating heart. He hadn't felt this pleased in a long time.

"So that's your twisted pleasure—manipulating people's hearts," the doctor said with a bitter smile, shaking his head. After spending so much time with this man, he had come to understand this so-called "evil ruler" quite well.

This man didn't care for power, money, or women. What he loved most was systematically manipulating people's hearts.

He enjoyed watching a coward descend into madness after being given a dangerous Quirk.
He delighted in seeing a kind person, who had lost their true love and everything else, fall into darkness and become a killer.

The reason he stole powerful and useful Quirks, the reason he built a massive organization to rule society—was all to toy with people's hearts however he liked.

After all, only overwhelming power gave him the ability to do so.

That's why he was called an "evil" ruler, not something like "dark" or "bloody" or "terrifying."

"Kurei Yuuto was like that, Shimura's story was like that, Himitoumi, Wolfram… and now, Kaminari Denki…" the doctor muttered.

"And my brother, right?" All For One smiled faintly. "It doesn't matter—it's been so long, it's not a taboo anymore."

"But… the human heart is such an interesting thing. It'd be a waste not to play with it—even after the accident with All Might."

Elsewhere, in a brightly lit, girlish room, a nine-year-old girl named Youmei lay on the bed, silently staring at the phone in her hand. On the screen played a video she had watched countless times.

"Youmei... Her name is Youmei. She should be in Room 605 of the municipal hospital. I beg you, please, save her!"

"Youmei? What's her surname?"

"She doesn't have one. I found her in the trash five years ago and gave her the name. I hoped she could decide on her own surname when she grew up.

"I… the last name of a tramp like me isn't good, really isn't good..."

At this point, the girl's eyes held no tears—because she had already cried them all out.

"How could it be bad, Tomomi… I really like the surname Himuro. I really like the name Tomomi, too!" she muttered to herself, just like she always did.

Immediately after, the screen showed a pile of steaming, charred rubble—that was the body of her adoptive father, Kento Himuro. In an instant, the sorrow in the girl's eyes turned into hatred.

"Kaminari Denki, rope-man, Midnight..."

Strangely, there was something—or someone—she seemed to skip over as she clenched her teeth and named them.

At the same time, in Saitama City, Kaminari had already returned home. But instead of going to his room to rest, he went straight to the top floor.

Drink! Drink! Drink! Hoo—!

Heavy breathing echoed through the air. The shirtless blond boy was pushing a heavy weight machine back and forth with his muscular body.

Judging from his sweat-drenched state, he had been training for a while now. The time was already 11:36 PM.

After meeting with All For One, he felt extremely burdened and unsettled. Instead of testing out any new Quirks, he chose to vent through intense training.

How to describe this feeling? Guilt? Regret?

But deep down, he kept telling himself—if he had to make the choice again, he would still do it.

Not just because he had no other choice, but because he wanted to. Yet, as someone who received a "proper" education, he also felt incredibly selfish.

In order to fulfill his own desires, he had dragged Kyoka, Tetsu, Momo, and the others into a dangerous situation.

In his heart, everyone held different weight.
His parents were first. Then Kyoka, Tetsu, and Momo.
Then came Bakugo and Tokoyami, who had just joined the band.
And lastly, everyone else at U.A.

Honestly, if Kyoka, Tetsu, and Momo hadn't been involved this time, he wouldn't feel as miserable as he did now.

Because to him, there was a difference between classmates and true partners. As for Bakugo and Tokoyami—well, they'd just joined. They hadn't earned a spot at that level yet.

He was a selfish person. Someone who didn't love deeply.

"Haaah…"

His arms were sore and exhausted, so Kaminari slowly stopped, drenched in sweat, and slumped onto a red chair, exhaling deeply.

"It's already done anyway. All I can do now is face it," he murmured, staring at the beads of sweat dripping from his blond hair.

After such intense training, the weight on his chest finally lightened a little. He stood up and walked to an open space, ready to examine the newly acquired Quirks.

He stood silently for two minutes, letting his body cool down, then activated his Quirks, drawing on the electricity in his body.

Szzzzzzzzzz…

Golden currents soon began emerging from his sweaty torso. In the next moment, the currents gathered on their own and hovered in front of him.

"This feeling..."

He realized that controlling the currents had become incredibly easy. What used to take concentration now responded to his will almost instantly.

Look at this—thick currents, like serpents or pythons, twisted freely through the air. Sometimes they became a thunderbird. Other times, they split into dozens of needle-thin lightning spears.

Eventually, they morphed into a lifelike golden thunder dragon with detailed scales, circling slowly around Kaminari—even the whiskers looked real.

"So that's it. The micro-control I've trained for over a decade has granted me a ridiculous level of precision over this 'Current Control,'" Kaminari chuckled, and the last bits of frustration in his heart finally began to fade.

The Black Hood had never trained this ability, so he could only use it crudely. But Kaminari? He wielded it like a work of art.

"According to what was said before, newly obtained Quirks start in their original awakened state—like when someone first develops them around four years old. It'll take a few days for them to grow and match my physical condition."

"Then let's test the upper limit of this initial state today. I'll work on deeper control tests tomorrow."

Kaminari probably hadn't even noticed—right now, there were no negative thoughts in his mind. He was simply enjoying the joy that came with becoming stronger.

"My Quirks are flawless now. I should find a time to give it a new name… 'Electrification' sounds way too lame."

(To be continued.)

Chapter 352: Kaminari’s Hesitation!

The next day, in the afternoon.

Bang.

"What's that kid doing with the Zapdos?" The woman sitting on the couch hugged the "Leib" in her arms and spoke with curiosity as the door closed.

Inside the elevator, Kaminari, having finished his daily routine of morning jogging, reviewing electromagnetics, and strength training, silently watched the floor numbers change.

He was heading to the rooftop. The training hall was too small for his purposes. Last night, he had tested the controllable range of his new Quirk.

It was approximately forty meters. That forty meters referred to the diameter with him at the center, including height. This led Kaminari to suspect the conversion ratio might be something like: one year of age equals ten meters.

In terms of diameter, the training hall was fine. But for altitude testing, it was insufficient. After all, forty meters was equivalent to the height of a fifteen-story building!

So the rooftop was the best option. Normally, the rooftop was locked to prevent people from using it to commit suicide, but—well—he had purchased full management rights for the entire building complex.

Click!

As soon as he entered the code, the electronic lock clicked open, and Kaminari soon arrived alone at the empty rooftop, where the wind was strong.

"Let's begin."

After scanning the area and glancing up at the clear blue sky, Kaminari tossed the Poké Ball from his waist into the air.

Bang!

With a flash of white light, a two-meter-tall bird with golden, pointed wings appeared. Its eyes were surrounded by black rings, and it had a long, sharp orange beak.

"Zapdos!!"

"He really is cool, huh."

Watching Zapdos cry out proudly into the sky, Kaminari chuckled with interest—though the sound caught in his throat slightly. Then, he looked down at the golden bracelet on his right wrist.

"Pikachu, come out too."

As soon as he said it, his battle suit—enhanced by I-Island's high-precision nanotechnology—emitted a soft golden light, transformed into "Pikachu," and dropped to the ground.

"Alright, you two are going to hit me with an electric shock in a moment. Keep the output at one hundred thousand volts!" Kaminari smiled at them.

Everything was ready. Kaminari took a deep breath and braced himself for the incoming shocks. Soon, the two Pokémon created with the world's most advanced technology launched their attacks.

"Zapdos!!"

"Pika!"

Crack!

Two thick golden currents surged forward at high speed, one from above and one from the right. But as Kaminari raised his right hand slightly, the currents stopped in midair.

Anyone else watching might subconsciously frown—this was a natural reaction when something moving at high speed suddenly came to a halt.

'Black Hood was right—this Quirk really is the natural counter to all electricity-based Quirks.'

While toying with the two currents, Kaminari pondered the potential of this new ability. Overall, it felt very comfortable to use.

In the past, he had gone to great lengths to extend his attack range. Techniques like "Super Railgun," "Thunder Dragon's Roar," and later the "Ame-no-Murakumo Sword" had all been born from those efforts.

But those were the results of his refined micro-manipulation skills. This new Quirk allowed him to effortlessly create effects he had once painstakingly trained for—exceeding his expectations several times over.

"Hard work might not lose to talent, but it's definitely not as easy as having talent…" That was how Kaminari felt now.

As for the Quirk—although the title "natural enemy of all lightning-type Quirks" sounded impressive, it actually had limited value.

From a pure combat standpoint, if you didn't happen to face an electricity-based opponent, the Quirk's usefulness was questionable.

After all, how often is there exposed current floating around in the air for him to control?

He had tested this last night and confirmed he couldn't extract electricity from wires or batteries through the air. So unlike some electricity-based characters, he couldn't freely control an entire city's power grid.

That's why both All For One and Kaminari believed this Quirk was most suitable for him. He could manually or automatically recharge, store electricity within his body, and even generate it freely.

With that, the Quirk had no obvious downside when it came to reliance on external electricity!

"Zapdos, come back down."

At Kaminari's command, Zapdos landed next to Pikachu.

At the same time, the two floating currents were drawn together under Kaminari's control and transformed into the shape of a thunderbird, flying upward.

"Pikachu, calculate the height and display the data!"

"Pika!"

Soon, a light screen was projected from Pikachu's eyes, displaying a stream of rapidly changing blue numbers.

12 meters, 15 meters, 20 meters, 25 meters, 34 meters, 38 meters, 42 meters, 48 meters, 53 meters…

When Kaminari felt he had lost control of the current, he ignored the thunderbird dispersing in the air and turned his attention to the screen.

"63 meters? Seems like the Quirk is adapting well. In a few days, based on my age of fifteen, the range should reach at least 150 meters."

The reason he said "at least" was because his body had undergone a great deal of physical training. As mentioned before, Quirks—just like organs—could be improved with training, but would weaken with long-term neglect.

"Maybe 200 meters? That's already outside my line of sight. No matter how far the Quirk can reach, if I can't see it, I probably can't control it, right?" he guessed uncertainly.

He couldn't test that theory yet, so it would have to wait until the Quirk fully adapted to his current body.

"Now that I've got a general grasp of the Quirk, let's start developing a few techniques." Kaminari's eyes lit up with excitement at the thought—what flickered inside them was the fire of 'youth.'

"For starters, I should be able to recreate the basic techniques of 'God of Thunder' Enel!"

"Alright! Let's go, Thunderbird!"

Crack!!

"Next, Thunder Beast!!"

Crack!!

"Hahaha, now for Brontosaurus!!!" Kaminari had completely lost himself in the moment, eventually shouting a ridiculous name.

"And finally… Thor!"

Boom!

He released all the remaining electricity in his body and condensed it into a four- to five-meter-tall 'fat man' above his head.

The form looked exactly like Enel's Thunder god transformation—both resembling a sumo wrestler. Except his wasn't a "blue fat man," but a "golden fat man."

It looked more like the transformed form of Sengoku the Buddha!

"Hmmm…"

Kaminari dispersed the Thunderbird and Thunder Beast, then looked up at the Thunder Dragon and Thunder God clashing in the air with a wide grin.

It was like watching two Thunder Fruit users in battle. The sound effects were satisfying, and the visual effects were stunning.

"But the power is still too weak. There's no way it compares to Enel's hundreds of millions of volts…" he sighed.

"The Thunder Dragon is fine… but shouldn't this 'Thor' have a different look? I mean, I'm me, and Enel is Enel. Why do they look the same?"

"And there's also the issue of renaming this Quirk…" Kaminari looked up at the sun and clouds, deep in thought.

"If I rename it, I'll have to report the newly 'discovered' abilities of 'power absorption' and 'remote power control.'"

"That's basically revealing all my cards."

"For example, U.A. will definitely find out immediately…" For some reason, he felt like U.A. shouldn't fully understand him.

"At present, besides All For One, the outside world should still believe that my Quirk requires manual charging. They think the power in my body is fixed and doesn't change, no matter how much I use."

Thinking about that, Kaminari slowly closed his eyes and murmured to himself, "That… might not be a bad thing…"

(To be continued.)

Chapter 353: Momo’s Call!

In truth, he wasn't seriously considering switching to All For One's side right now, but he was still subconsciously wary of U.A.

Maybe that's just human nature.

Especially when it came to the Quirk Electricity Absorbing Physique. Objectively speaking, it didn't improve his overall ability as much as Electricity Control did.

But he had to admit—it made for an excellent hidden trump card!

Think about it. What would happen if an opponent's energy was running low, but he still had about half a charge left in reserve?

That's why Kaminari decided not to rename his Quirk for the time being. And in the days ahead, even if Electricity Control was exposed, no one must find out about Electricity Absorbing Physique!

As for the electricity control aspect, that was actually pretty easy to explain. He could just say he'd made a breakthrough in current micro-manipulation.

The only problem was—there's no guarantee in this world. If someone knew the truth, they could use it to threaten him.

"I'll need to find an opportunity to deal with that guy in the black hood."

With this dangerous thought in mind, Kaminari slowly closed his eyes while lying on the bed. Tomorrow, he would be taking promotional photos for Nabonir.

Night passed, and dawn returned once more. Yesterday's business was done. Today's life continued, and the future would eventually become the present.

After completing the basics—morning jog, tutoring, and training—Kaminari, under Secretary Arai's guidance, rode in a black executive car to the Japanese headquarters of Nabonir.

For the next few hours, he was at the mercy of makeup artists, stylists, and photographers—changing outfit after outfit, striking pose after pose, taking photos next to various luxury sports cars.

Honestly, apart from the initial novelty, the rest was pretty boring and even a little tiring.

But… he loved it!

After all, this celebrity lifestyle was something he never could have achieved in his previous life—not even if he prayed day and night. Now that he had the chance to experience it, of course he was going to enjoy it to the fullest.

In fact, wasn't the whole reason he had practiced piano, covered songs, and started a band since childhood just to become a star in this life?

So now, he had no pretenses. He accepted both the joy and exhaustion that came with his hard-earned success.

"Kaminari-kun!"

Just as Kaminari was about to head home after work, the general manager, Ishimatsu—the same one he'd met at home before—approached him.

"Hello."

He greeted him politely, then asked curiously, "What's up? Is the 'Bumblebee' ready already?"

"Hehehe, looks like Kaminari-kun's a little impatient. But yes, it'll be here soon. Your 'Bumblebee' will be airlifted from the U.S. the day after tomorrow. We'll need to take some promo shots with it then," Ishimatsu replied with a smile.

"So fast?!" Kaminari was genuinely surprised. He had thought it would take at least a week or two.

"Well, the appearance design was already finalized. A professional team handled the rest of the configuration. Final assembly doesn't take long."

"So what brings you here?"

"Well, we were wondering… since you're a well-known singer-songwriter, could you possibly write a song for the campaign?"

In fact, Nabonir had initially reached out to other music companies and well-known artists.

But during a meeting, someone suggested that Kaminari Denki should give it a try too—it'd make for a great marketing hook.

So they decided to extend an invitation. As for who would be chosen in the end, that would depend on the quality of the songs.

"A song…" Kaminari was stunned for a moment, then lowered his head in thought. Of course, he wasn't worried about being unable to write a song—he was just trying to recall which existing songs might be a good fit.

In the end, he didn't dramatically whip out some breathtaking composition on the spot to amaze everyone at Nabonir. Instead, he simply agreed to think it over and promised to get in touch if he came up with anything.

"A song about sports cars…"

Sitting in the back seat, Kaminari wasn't paying attention to Secretary Arai, who was driving. His mind was still on the idea.

The first songs that came to mind were the theme tracks from The Fast and the Furious series. As for the insert songs, well, he couldn't quite remember them.

But the more he thought about it, the more he realized—even though those theme songs were perfect for the topic of sports cars, they didn't suit him.

What did that mean?

Basically, the lyrics of those songs were too adult and mature. It would be hard for anyone to believe they were written by a fifteen-year-old.

Not much he could do about it. Fast & Furious was a mature franchise, so he needed to think of another angle.

Suddenly, Kaminari's eyes lit up. "Wait, because of the bee…"

He remembered an English song called Back to Life, which had been the theme song of the Bumblebee movie.

'Cause I'm bringing you back to life
Our love's enough
Transcending us through space
It's holding up
It keeps you and me intertwined…'

Secretary Arai, who was focused on the road, suddenly heard a strange but beautiful English song being softly hummed. He subconsciously glanced up at the rearview mirror.

Sure enough, it was Kaminari humming quietly. Arai secretly praised him in his heart—this guy was so talented he could sound good even when just casually humming.

At the same time, Kaminari was becoming more and more satisfied with the song. Not only was the melody great, but the lyrics also felt like they described the bond between man and machine. It even touched on themes like dreams, regaining confidence, and renewal.

It could definitely work as a theme for a sports car campaign—or even just as the Bumblebee theme.

"That's the one. As for the singer… I wonder how good Kyoka's English is." Kaminari thought for a moment and decided he'd ask Kyoka if she wanted to sing it once he got home.

At that moment, his phone rang, playing the familiar Railgun ringtone. He looked at the screen and saw that the caller was Momo.

"What's up?"

"Kaminari, I have something very, very, very important to talk to you about… in private. Do you have time right now?"

Kaminari was surprised. It was the first time he had heard Momo sound so serious. Not even when she had killed someone and been caught had she sounded this nervous.

"I'm not home right now, but I'm on the way back. Where are you?"

"I'm on the way to your house!"

(To be continued.)

Chapter 354: The Sleepover in the Forest Begins!

"As expected of Sensei."

In the dimly lit underground bar, Dabi slouched over the counter, lazily playing with a tower of poker cards.

"No matter how much I investigate, I can't figure out where those guys are headed. Yet he figured it out so easily..." As he spoke, he gently placed a spade card on top.

"Indeed. Having those new recruits on standby came in handy," Kurogiri said as he wiped a seemingly endless series of goblets behind the bar.

"Tch, whatever." Mustard deliberately knocked over the card tower he had spent so long building and sat up with a casual expression.

At that moment, the bar door opened, and Mr. Compress—who hadn't shown up in a while—walked in with a cigarette dangling from his mouth.

"We got a message from the union. The delivery will be made tomorrow morning. Looks like it was rushed, though. Not much in the looks department, but the quality is definitely solid."

"I really appreciate your efforts this time. Sorry for the trouble," Kurogiri said sincerely.

"Haha, Shigaraki-kun, do you know why the union accepted your ridiculous request?" Yiran pinched the cigarette from his lips and asked.

"It's because everyone is waiting to see what you'll do, 01. The League of Villains' recent activities have stirred up the shadows—people in hiding are starting to lose their patience."

"And when the time comes, even folks like us might get to bask in the light." He grinned, lifting the hand holding his cigarette with excitement.

In the rising smoke, he seemed to see an influx of orders. It was his sixth sense as a businessman—and the biggest reason he was willing to work so hard for the League.

"Don't worry. You'll be overwhelmed soon," Shigaraki said quietly, eyes fixed on the bar counter.

"Haha, then I'll be waiting—bring the fire!" Compress said enthusiastically, popping the cigarette back into his mouth.

"Thanks for your business. I'll head back and wait for the big headlines to hit the news." With that, he turned and left, closing the bar door behind him and leaving the scent of smoke in the air.

Shigaraki never looked at him once. His eyes remained on the poker cards scattered across the bar as he muttered, "The destination, the pawns, the prey... Everything is in place. Let the game begin."

Kurogiri continued polishing the goblet while glancing at the half-covered photo underneath the pile of poker cards.

"I still can't forget him..."

At this point, two weeks had passed since Kaminari and Momo had their serious conversation. The details were too dangerous and sensitive to elaborate on.

During this period, however, his training had begun to pay off. His physique had noticeably improved—stronger muscles, more defined abs, increased arm strength, and better overall conditioning.

As for his Quirks, the newly acquired Electricity Control had fully adapted to his body, with its range expanding to the expected 200 meters.

The same went for Electricity Absorbing Physique. Currently, it could generate 5 million volts of electricity in 6 hours, and 10 million volts in 12 hours.

As for his basic ability to store electricity, the upper limit had reached about 7 million volts—still a bit short of his first goal: 10 million units.

Today was the long-awaited dormitory trip. After receiving the notice, Class 1-A's students and teachers gathered at U.A. Academy. It was ten minutes before the designated time—10 a.m.

"Only Kaminari and Tetsutetsu are left. Jiro-san, have you contacted them?" Class rep Iida asked, checking his watch.

"They said they've already reached Shizuoka and will be here on time." Kyoka put down her phone and nodded.

"Hmm, that's good. That way, no one will be late for our first sleepover!" Iida said with a serious smile.

"Speaking of cars, you guys have seen the ads, right?" Ashido said cheerfully in her casual outfit.

"Yeah, Kaminari's Nabonir endorsements have been popping up everywhere—on TV, online... You can't miss them," Ojiro said, standing next to Hagakure.

"And the song 'Back to Life' with Kyoka on lead vocals is amazing. I really like it," Asui added, looking over and praising her.

"Heh, thanks!" Kyoka responded with an embarrassed smile.

"Man, I'm jealous. If he keeps this up, he could rank really high on the Pro Hero chart in his first month after graduation," Kirishima said, scratching his red hair.

"Tch, rankings aren't just about popularity," Bakugo muttered, unwilling to stay silent.

"That may be true, but I heard the Hero Public Safety Commission is planning to place more emphasis on public appeal going forward," Momo added softly, joining the conversation.

At that moment, Uraraka—standing next to Midoriya—seemed to hear something. But before she could react, Kyoka, whose hearing was sharpest, quickly alerted the group.

"That's a sports car! Kaminari and the others are here!"

Everyone turned to look. Sure enough, a sleek sports car with a yellow body and black racing stripes rolled leisurely toward them, clearly maintaining a low speed in the city.

"That's Bumblebee!" Mineta squealed excitedly, practically bouncing with joy. He had been stalking this car online for days and was finally seeing it in person.

"Jeez, is it necessary to run over there?" Sero said, watching Mineta trot off in excitement.

"Wait, isn't he only interested in that kind of stuff? When did he start liking cars?" Ashido asked, confused.

"There must be some unknown backstory," Tokoyami said mysteriously.

Meanwhile, the Bumblebee came to a stop in front of the hero gate. As Kaminari and Tetsutetsu stepped out of the back seat, they spotted Mineta pressing his face against the hood with a look of pure bliss.

"Ah, I'm so happy. This is the spot where those sexy car models touched, leaned, maybe even sat!"

"..."

Kaminari and Tetsutetsu stared at him in silence, eyes darkened. They shared a silent thought in perfect sync: He really is worthy of the title 'Embodiment of Lust 017'... Truly living up to the name.

"Sir, I'll take my leave," the suited chauffeur stepped out respectfully and addressed Kaminari.

"Alright. Just be here on time for the pickup." Kaminari nodded. With permission granted, the driver returned to the sports car and drove off—Mineta watching in teary-eyed disappointment.

"Let's go!" Tetsutetsu laughed.

"Yeah. Let's see what kind of place Hero Hero's got for lodging." No one noticed the flicker in Kaminari's eyes as he glanced toward the Hero Hero gate.

"Now that everyone's here, let's move out," Aizawa, who had been quietly standing in front of the bus, called out as Kaminari and Tetsutetsu approached.

"The first semester is over, and we're in summer break. But for those of you aiming to become Pro Heroes, there's no time to relax."

"I'm sure you've all trained hard during your time off. Through this forest training camp, I hope you'll all push yourselves to the next level."

"With the mindset of relentless progress—that is, Plus Ultra!"

"Yes!!!" The entire Class 1-A shouted in unison, lined up neatly for a group photo. Listening to Aizawa's speech, Kaminari thought to himself:

"A forest, huh? Sounds remote and uninhabited. I just hope U.A.'s security is on point… because something's definitely going to happen this time."

(To be continued.)

Chapter 355: Mandalay Surprise!

"Hey, yo, what! What!"

At that moment, Class B's Monoma Neito suddenly appeared out of nowhere, looking like he wanted to be punched as he tried to draw attention to himself.

"Did I hear that right? Someone in Class A actually needs tutoring? That means someone failed the final exam!"

"How strange. So strange! Isn't Class A supposed to be way better than Class B? Ah, this is really strange!"

But as soon as he said that, the previously cheerful atmosphere—charged with excitement over the sleepover—was instantly doused like ice-cold water.

"Uh… is he making fun of Kaminari and Todoroki?" Kirishima asked in surprise.

"Hah." Tetsutetsu sneered at Monoma, watching him like an overconfident clown juggling to no applause.

At the same time, Monoma—who had originally planned to keep mocking them—froze in place as Kaminari and Todoroki turned their eyes toward him.

He'd just realized: the two students Mineta had mentioned needing tutoring were exactly the ones now giving him that chilling stare.

In that moment, memories of Kaminari and Todoroki's performances during the U.A. Sports Festival flashed through his mind. He had just provoked the two strongest students in the entire Hero Course's first year!

"No way… of all people, it couldn't be them—Ow!!" Just as panic set in, a sharp pain struck the back of his head, and he dropped to his knees in shock.

"I'm so sorry!" Class B's rep, Kendo Itsuka, had one hand gripping the back of Monoma's neck, and was bowing in apology to Class A before boarding their class bus.

"I didn't expect Class B to be here too," Midoriya said with a smile.

"So this training camp is actually a joint session between both classes?" Momo said, touching her chin in thought.

As the two classes exchanged greetings, Aizawa glanced at the time on his phone, then interrupted without hesitation.

"Alright, time to leave. Get on the bus."

Soon, the bus carrying the twenty-one students and teachers of Class A pulled out of U.A.'s gate and sped onto the highway toward the suburbs.

"Listen carefully, the bus will stop once an hour, and then we'll—"

Before Aizawa could finish explaining about bathroom breaks, he noticed that no one in the back rows was listening.

Some were chatting, some drinking juice, others had headphones in, and a few were gaming on their phones. Only Class Rep Iida was loudly trying to get everyone to quiet down.

"...Forget it. This is probably the only time they'll have the energy to mess around like this." Aizawa gave up, turned around, and closed his eyes for a nap.

Kaminari, seated next to Kyoka Jiro, stared blankly at his phone's dark screen. He had made his decision, but that didn't mean he felt nothing.

"What are you thinking about?"

A tap on his arm snapped him out of it. Turning his head, he found Kyoka holding out one of her earphones, looking at him curiously.

"Ah, it's nothing. I was just thinking… this trip might not be as simple as it seems. We are in the Hero Course, after all."

"True, but let's not overthink it right now. Want to listen to some music with me?" Kyoka said with a smile.

"Sure." Kaminari took the earphone and put it in his right ear. The song playing was familiar, though he hadn't listened to it often.

[ISAYYES→"I want to be by your side forever"]
[No matter what trials the future brings, we'll overcome them together]
[Our meeting was fate, that's why we're here]
[Because I heard your voice…]

"This is…"

Seeing his surprised expression, Kyoka chuckled softly. "As promised, this song is just for the two of us."

"Yeah." Kaminari nodded seriously.

Accompanied by the distinct voices of teenage boys and girls, the bus carried their anticipation, excitement, worries, and determination as it rolled toward the unknown.

[Even if danger comes for us]
[As long as I'm with you, I can face it]

Maybe it was Aizawa's way of retaliating for the students ignoring him earlier, but the driver never stopped for breaks. They kept driving for over three hours straight.

Most people didn't notice—except for Mineta, who had downed the most juice and was clearly struggling.

Unfortunately, they had already passed the rest area, and stopping on the highway wasn't allowed. So all Mineta could do was follow Aizawa's advice and endure.

Thankfully, after an unknown amount of time, the bus finally stopped, to Mineta's immense relief. They had arrived at the edge of a forest, with fresh air and lush greenery all around.

"Finally here," Tetsutetsu sighed in relief, stretching his limbs.

"But there's nothing here," Kaminari said, glancing around and noticing that Class B's bus was missing.

"Hey, whose car is that?" Kyoka pointed to a nearby black vehicle, and a few students walked toward it.

"Looks like someone else is already here," Kaminari thought to himself.

"Yo, Eraser Head!"

The front door of the black car opened, and two figures—one in red, one in blue—leapt out at high speed and stood in the center of the clearing in an instant.

"Long time no see." The students were surprised to see their perpetually tired homeroom teacher bowing respectfully to the two new arrivals.

"The twinkling eyes lock you in!"

"Cute cat missile!"

"Wild, Wild Pussycats!!"

Everyone stared in stunned silence as the two female Pro Heroes, dressed in short Catwoman-style skirts, struck a series of exaggerated and embarrassing poses.

"Team Rocket? Team Ginyu?" Even Kaminari, who prided himself on being slightly chuuni, felt secondhand embarrassment.

Even he had his limits. Dressing up and spouting lines like this in public? He couldn't take it.

"They're the Pro Heroes known as the 'Pussycats.' They'll be in charge of your training." Aizawa gave a brief explanation.

As expected, Midoriya—ever the Hero enthusiast—lit up with excitement and quickly rattled off: "They operate a joint agency, a four-person Pro Hero team!"

"They specialize in mountain and forest rescue operations. They've been active for over twelve years now—"

WHAM!

Before he could finish, a blur of blue shot in front of him, and a thick glove in the shape of a cat's paw smacked him in the face.

"Careful! I'm only eighteen!!"

"So fast!" Kaminari thought in awe. These veteran Pro Heroes really had excellent combat skills.

After exchanging greetings, the red-suited Hero pointed toward the forest and gave a formal announcement.

"This entire area is under our jurisdiction. Your lodging is at the base of the mountain over there."

"That far?!" Class A shouted in unison.

"If that's the case, then why did we stop here? Don't tell me—" Uraraka's question triggered a bad feeling in everyone.

"Listen up! Any kittens who don't arrive by 12:30 won't get lunch!" the red-suited Pro Hero, Mandalay Cat, said jokingly.

But no one was listening anymore—Kirishima, Ojiro, and others were already sprinting for the truck.

"Sorry, everyone. The training camp… has begun." Aizawa muttered with his hands on his hips.

In the next moment, the blue-suited "Pixie Bob" moved to the front of the bus and crouched down. She pressed her gloved hand to the earth…

BOOM!

The ground beneath the students exploded upward like a volcanic eruption, sweeping everyone into the air.

Crack!!

But in that instant, a golden light surged from the chaos. A figure cloaked in dazzling electricity burst out, holding two girls in his arms.

Bang.

Kaminari—having entered high-speed movement mode—landed safely at the forest's edge, gently setting down Kyoka and Momo.

"Honestly, I don't mind sudden starts like this, but they could at least warn us. My mom worked hard to wash this school uniform."

Kaminari stood among the girls, ignoring the rest of the students who were now covered in dirt and completely disheveled. He looked up at the three Pro Heroes above and said calmly.

"This kid?!"

Mandalay stared at Kaminari Denki in surprise.

(To be continued.)