Kapitel 153: Chapter 152: Twilight!

In the small dining area of the kitchen, Edgeshot, Kaminari, and Kosuke sat around the modest wooden table, quietly enjoying their simple Japanese breakfast.

Unexpectedly, Kosuke didn't just have miso soup and rice in front of him, as Kaminari had predicted earlier. Instead, he also had a small piece of grilled fish on his plate. Kaminari's sharp eyes immediately noticed the change.

Looking at the remaining fish on Edgeshot's plate, Kaminari raised an eyebrow. "Wait, you shared your fish with him? Didn't expect you to have a soft side, Edgeshot."

Edgeshot, still composed as always, took a sip of his warm miso soup and replied, "This is simply the hospitality of a Hero." His calm tone carried a deeper meaning that wasn't lost on Kaminari.

"Okay, okay. You're a shining example of generosity," Kaminari teased with a grin before shifting the topic. "Anyway, can you explain more about the compass failure you mentioned earlier? That part really got me curious."

"It's not that complicated," Edgeshot replied, setting down his bowl of soup. "Basically, apart from primitive methods like following natural markers, modern reconnaissance tools don't work here. That includes compasses, satellite navigation, and radar."

"Huh… why though?" Kaminari blinked in disbelief. The concept felt like something pulled straight out of an adventure novel, a forbidden zone of some kind. Even Kosuke, who had been quietly eating, perked up at the explanation.

Edgeshot continued, his tone still level. "The most common theory is that there's a high concentration of magnetite underground. This creates geomagnetic anomalies that disrupt compasses and similar devices. As for the satellites and radar, that's still unexplained, though."

He paused briefly before adding, "Then, of course, there's the local folklore."

"Oh boy, here we go." Kaminari leaned back slightly, a grin tugging at his lips.

Edgeshot remained unfazed. "According to legend, the sheer number of deaths in this forest has led to an accumulation of 'resentment' or 'evil energy.' That's why people lose their way here. They say even those who don't intend to die here might eventually starve to death after getting lost."

Kaminari chewed on a piece of tender grilled fish, savoring the smoky flavor before swallowing. "So which explanation do you think is more reliable? Magnetite or ghosts?"

"Neither," Edgeshot deadpanned, picking up a piece of salty radish to accompany his rice. "The magnetite theory might explain the compass failure, but it doesn't account for the satellite and radar issues. And the folklore? Completely baseless nonsense. If it were true, I and the other Heroes stationed here would've been dead long ago."

"That's fair," Kaminari nodded. He couldn't deny the logic. "But if compasses and GPS don't work here, then there's still some sort of mystery, right? Something we don't fully understand yet…"

Edgeshot didn't respond immediately, but the weight of his words had clearly sparked Kaminari's curiosity.

Eventually, Kaminari shifted his gaze toward Kosuke, who had been silently absorbing the conversation. "So… if the police can't navigate this place, what's the plan for him?" Kaminari asked, jerking a thumb toward the middle-aged man.

Edgeshot replied without hesitation, "Later, during patrol, I'll take him to the edge of the forest. There's a small police station nearby specifically set up to handle situations like this."

"Lucky for you, huh?" Kaminari teased Kosuke lightly, flashing him a smile.

Kosuke nodded absently. His mind seemed elsewhere, likely replaying Kaminari's earlier words about taking revenge rather than giving up.

Ten minutes later, breakfast was finished.

Kosuke was given free rein to wander around the camp, with Edgeshot even taking the time to explain where the restroom was. Once that was settled, Edgeshot led Kaminari toward a section of the camp known as the Bamboo Pillar area.

"Shua——"

Edgeshot leaped onto a towering bamboo pole, about ten meters high. With one foot planted firmly on the pole's tip, he slowly transitioned into a seated, cross-legged position as if balancing on thin air.

Kaminari's jaw dropped. "Seriously? You're just gonna casually sit like that?"

Edgeshot closed his eyes and spoke without breaking his balance. "Now it's your turn. Stand on one of the shorter poles and use the breathing technique I taught you last night. The goal is to enter a state of meditation without falling. Don't disappoint me."

"Uh-huh…" Kaminari stared at the shorter pole, about a meter high, and scratched the back of his head. "And… do I have to sit cross-legged too?"

"No," Edgeshot replied flatly. "Standing is sufficient. But you can't lose balance. Falling means failure."

"Huh… alright, here goes."

Taking a deep breath, Kaminari hopped onto the bamboo pole. For a moment, he felt stable. Confident, even. "This isn't so bad," he muttered to himself.

But the moment he tried to focus his breathing and clear his mind, his muscles slackened involuntarily.

"Boom!!"

He hit the ground. Hard.

Kosuke, who had been watching from a distance, winced. "That… looked painful," he muttered to himself.

Kaminari groaned as he rubbed his aching head. "Seriously? You expect me to fall asleep while balancing on this thing?" he grumbled.

Edgeshot didn't respond. Kaminari glanced up and noticed the Hero was already deep in meditation, completely unmoved by Kaminari's complaints.

"Tch… showoff." Kaminari rolled his eyes and clambered back onto the bamboo pole.

This time, he was determined. "If he can do it, then I can do it too. No way I'm losing to some old-school ninja!"

He steadied himself and began regulating his breathing again. Slowly but surely, he felt the pull of sleep creeping in.

Then, he heard it—a faint sound. It was subtle, almost imperceptible.

"Was that…?" Kaminari's eyes snapped open just as his body wobbled.

"Boom!!"

He hit the ground again.

But this time, Kaminari wasn't frustrated. He stood up with renewed excitement. "I heard something! It sounded like rushing water… What was that?"

As Kaminari climbed back onto the pole for his third attempt, Edgeshot cracked open one eye, observing the boy silently.

"This kid…" Edgeshot thought to himself. "It took me over a week to sense the flow of my blood, but he's already on the verge of understanding it after just one night of practice."

Edgeshot's lips curved ever so slightly into a faint smile. "Impressive."

***

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Kapitel 154: Chapter 153: Quirks. Rice Cakes

The so-called meditation, to put it simply, is a technique used to connect with one's inner self—what some might call the "spiritual realm." Through this, individuals aim to enhance their understanding and control over their own body and mind by strengthening their spirit.

However, like all skills, the effectiveness of meditation varies from person to person. While everyone possesses a spirit, their talents in harnessing it are far from equal. Some people can't even master the foundational step of breathing control, let alone achieve any significant spiritual growth. Others, gifted with extraordinary talent, might develop powerful mental abilities.

These mental abilities can manifest as unique Quirks: telekinesis, mental scanning, mind reading, even glimpses into the future. A prime example would be Shinso's "Brainwashing" or Aizawa's "Erasure."

Take Aizawa, for example. His ability to manipulate his capture weapon so deftly is a byproduct of years spent honing his Quirk, to the point where his mental focus allows him to control objects almost as if with telekinesis. It took him six years of dedicated training to achieve this level of mastery.

For someone like Edgeshot, whose Quirk is unrelated to the spirit, achieving even basic spiritual control of the body through meditation was a monumental accomplishment. In that sense, Kaminari was in a similar position. Theoretically, he could spend years training to reach Edgeshot's level—perhaps even longer.

Mastery of these techniques could lead to seemingly impossible feats: controlling one's body in midair when no external foothold existed, for example. But for now, Kaminari's progress remained modest. By ten in the morning, after hours of falling repeatedly, he had only managed to barely "hear" the sound of his own blood flow.

Dozens of falls had left him worn out and exasperated, though fortunately, his Golden God Robe protected him from injuries. The armor's durable alloy surface remained unscathed, and cleaning it was as simple as rinsing it with water and shaking it dry.

Still, Kaminari's face betrayed his frustration. "I thought the point of this was to stay awake while entering a meditative state. But as soon as I start to drift, I lose control and fall asleep completely. Hearing the sound of blood flow is great and all, but it doesn't mean anything if I can't hold onto that awareness. Isn't there any technique to help me stay conscious while meditating?"

He looked up at Edgeshot with hopeful eyes.

"There are no shortcuts," Edgeshot said flatly as he gracefully stepped down from the bamboo pillar. Landing lightly on the ground, he added, "The breathing technique I taught you is the only method. Beyond that, it comes down to talent, persistence, and luck. That's how it was for me, and that's how it will be for you."

"Ugh, fine…" Kaminari sighed heavily, rubbing the back of his neck. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that Edgeshot's progress must have been much slower.

What Kaminari didn't realize was that Edgeshot was quietly marveling at his talent. For Kaminari to even hear the sound of his blood flow after such a short time was extraordinary.

"Let's move on," Edgeshot said, breaking the silence. "We'll head out for patrol and drop him off with the police."

Turning to Kosuke, Edgeshot continued, "I'll tie you up like before to make sure you don't try anything. But this time, I won't seal your mouth. As long as you don't shout."

Abe gulped nervously and nodded. "Got it."

Before Edgeshot could move, Kaminari suddenly chimed in with a grin. "Hey, Kosuke-san, what's your Quirk?"

Kosuke hesitated, looking a little embarrassed. "Quirk? I haven't used it in years…" Slowly, he raised his hand and focused. After a few seconds, his palm turned a soft, milky white, the surface glossy and slightly sticky.

"The hand's… a rice cake?" Kaminari's golden eyes widened slightly, his curiosity piqued.

"My Quirk is called Rice Cake. It lets me turn parts of my body into something soft and sticky, like mochi. But, well…" Abe looked down at his hand bitterly. "Nowadays, I can only manage this with my palms. Back in school, I thought about becoming a Hero, but this Quirk is so useless that I gave up on that dream before I even finished middle school."

A self-deprecating smile crossed his face. "My Quirk suits me perfectly—weak and pathetic, just like I am."

But Abe failed to notice Kaminari's expression shift. For a fleeting moment, Kaminari's eyes flashed with something between shock and excitement before he quickly masked it.

"Transforming into mochi, huh?" Kaminari thought, his mind racing. "If he fully trains this Quirk… he could turn his whole body into rice cakes! That's just like—"

Kaminari's thoughts immediately snapped to a figure from fiction, a character whose abilities matched Kosuke's potential perfectly. "Charlotte Katakuri… the Mochi-Mochi user."

At this moment, Kaminari saw an ocean of untapped potential in Kosuke. "Same Quirk, but completely different people. Just goes to show—there's no such thing as the strongest ability, only the strongest user."

Edgeshot interrupted Kaminari's thoughts. "Alright, let's go." Without further warning, he wrapped Abe in his elongated paper limb, securing him like before, and leapt effortlessly over the camp's high wooden wall.

As Kaminari followed closely behind, he glanced at Kosuke and said with a meaningful smile, "You know, Kosuke-san, your Quirk has a lot of potential. You shouldn't underestimate it."

Kosuke blinked, visibly startled by Kaminari's words. Those few simple sentences had more of an impact on him than Kaminari might have realized. For the first time in a long while, a spark of hope flickered in Abe's heart.

"Potential…" Abe murmured quietly, repeating the word to himself.

"So, what else can rice cakes do, aside from being sticky?" Kaminari asked as they darted through the forest.

To Kaminari's surprise, Edgeshot joined the conversation. "A good question. Mochi has unique properties beyond stickiness—it's flexible, durable, and can even be shaped into tools or weapons. If you think about it, the possibilities are endless."

Kaminari tilted his head curiously. Edgeshot rarely engaged in casual conversation. "You sound pretty interested in this topic, Edgeshot."

Edgeshot's expression remained neutral, but his thoughts revealed a deeper interest. He wasn't particularly fascinated by Kosuke's Quirk; rather, he was intrigued by Kaminari's sharp mind and creativity. He had read Kaminari's file and seen the Sports Festival, and he knew how far Kaminari had pushed a Quirk as simple as electricity.

If anyone could recognize the hidden potential in something as unassuming as Rice Cake, it was Kaminari Denki.

With that in mind, Edgeshot decided to let the conversation continue, silently observing Kaminari's insights as the group moved closer to the edge of the forest.

***

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