Chapter 362: News About Edgeshot

"Kota-kun seems to have a negative attitude toward Heroes."

The expressionless Kaminari had just come down from the room upstairs, but as he passed by a room, he heard the voice of Midoriya Izuku coming from behind a partition wall, causing him to stop in his tracks and listen.

"Since I was young, I've always been surrounded by people who wanted to become Heroes, and of course, I'm one of them, so..."

"I think it's pretty rare for someone his age to feel that way." At that moment, Midoriya Izuku was basically naked except for a white towel wrapped around his waist, making it look like it might slip off at any moment.

"You're right."

Mandalay, dressed in red, glanced at Kota, who had fallen asleep on the sofa, and let out a sigh as she lay down on the sofa behind him.

"There are plenty of people in this world who dislike Heroes. That's normal. But… if this child had grown up under normal circumstances, I believe he would've admired Heroes."

"Normal?"

Not only was Midoriya confused by her choice of words, but outside the room, Kaminari narrowed his eyes slightly, suspecting that something must have happened.

"Mandalay."

Pixie-Bob, wearing a blue dress, walked in with a tray of tea and two cups, her expression downcast. "Actually… Kota's parents were both Pro Heroes, and they died in the line of duty."

"Two years ago, they gave their lives protecting civilians from villains. While society regards it as a heroic end and a glorious sacrifice..." Mandalay looked toward Kota with a serious expression.

"A child who's just starting to understand the world can't possibly comprehend that. After all, to him, his parents were everything."

"My parents… left me behind. But the world praises them, calls them great Heroes, says they did a good job. So ever since then, he hasn't liked Heroes very much."

"But because he was still too young and had nowhere else to go, he had no choice but to live with us."

"To Kota, Heroes are incomprehensible. They make him feel disgusted."

Mandalay's words not only reminded Midoriya of what Tomura Shigaraki had once said, but also made Kaminari outside recall his own past life.

Clack.

The sound of the doorknob turning broke the heavy atmosphere in the room, snapping the three of them out of their thoughts.

"Kaminari-kun?!" Midoriya looked at the visitor in surprise.

Kaminari nodded to him, then shifted his gaze to Kota sleeping on the sofa, and said softly, "Sorry, I accidentally overheard a little outside."

Mandalay and Pixie-Bob exchanged glances.

"I'd like to make a suggestion about how to help him." Kaminari looked calmly at Mandalay.

"Rather than letting him sit around stewing in his own thoughts, it'd be better to get him started on training and learning something."

"Sweating, getting tired, and staying busy can help release the grief, hatred, and resentment in his heart—and it can lead to real growth."

"If he still can't let go of those feelings, then those emotions can become the best motivation for him to become stronger and better."

Pixie-Bob frowned slightly. "But he's only five. Isn't it too early to start training?"

"Five years old? It's just right. When I was his age, I was already running laps around the neighborhood park," Kaminari said softly.

"This…" Mandalay fell silent.

"You can tell him—if he doesn't want to rely on the Heroes he hates the next time he runs into a villain, or if he finds himself unable to fight back or even escape, then he should start working hard now to become stronger."

As he said this, Kaminari looked at Mandalay seriously and continued, "Becoming stronger is never a bad thing. Strength will give him more choices in the future."

But none of them noticed that, while they were speaking, the eyelids of Kota, lying on the sofa, subtly twitched.

"Don't treat him like a regular child. His experiences are already far different from other kids. Since you're all veteran Heroes, then help him." With that, Kaminari turned and walked out of the room.

He had said everything he wanted to say. Even though his current behavior didn't match his usual personality, after voicing his thoughts, he felt a bit lighter.

Maybe those words weren't just for Kota, but also something he needed to say to the child version of himself from his past life.

If he hadn't given up after his parents passed, if he had turned his grief into drive and dedicated himself to training, maybe his life would've been completely different.

"I think… Kaminari-kun is right." Midoriya said softly, staring at the door that had just closed.

He remembered that when he was told he was Quirkless as a child, he didn't let himself fall into despair for long.

Instead, he started working hard from that moment on. Maybe if he had trained even harder, he could've controlled One For All better, and wouldn't have made such reckless mistakes during the Sports Festival.

After all, compared to Kaminari, Todoroki, Iida, and the others, he had wasted nearly ten years—years when no one told him what to do.

"But Kota is different. He can start now. That's the best gift Kaminari-kun could've given him," Midoriya said firmly.

Mandalay and Pixie-Bob exchanged glances, then nodded in agreement. Mandalay let out a sigh.

"In that case, I'll talk to Kota tomorrow. If he doesn't object, our Wild, Wild Pussycats will create a training plan for him. Tiger's got plenty of experience in that area."

"By the way, what's Kota's Quirk?" Midoriya asked curiously.

Pixie-Bob smiled and replied, "Like his parents, his Quirk is water-based. It's called Spray. He can shoot water from his palms. The only drawback is that overusing it causes dehydration."

Meanwhile, Kaminari arrived at the hot spring area and was met by the sight of a bunch of naked guys. Honestly, it wasn't a pleasant view.

The only thing that brought him some joy was the sound of the girls playing on the other side of the wall.

"Yo, Kaminari!"

As soon as he saw Kaminari come in, Tetsutetsu, already soaking in the water, raised his hand in greeting, and Kirishima enthusiastically urged him to join.

"Hahhh—it feels so good."

As the steaming spring water wrapped around his body, Kaminari looked up at the starlit Milky Way, enjoying the moment. Though he still had worries buried in his heart, he wasn't going to let them ruin every second.

Things had already come this far. All he could do now was wait and watch. What he needed to focus on was protecting the people he cared about.

He hadn't said anything to Mr. Aizawa in advance. Why? Because explaining it would only complicate things.

"Wait!"

At that moment, a thought suddenly occurred to him—he'd missed a good chance to ask something. He'd always been curious about how Pixie-Bob could control her Quirk from a distance.

He should've asked her earlier—ugh!

"Forget it. We'll be here for a week anyway. There'll be more chances to talk." With that thought, Kaminari ignored the noisy Kirishima, Bakugo, and Mineta, leaned back, and slowly closed his eyes.

But the moment he drifted into darkness, another thought crept into his mind—would they really make it through the whole week together?

"What exactly is All For One planning… and when will it begin…?"

At 10:23 p.m., after finishing his bath, Kaminari returned to his room and saw a new text message on his phone.

"The study of shuriken technique is complete. I'll come to Saitama in a few days to teach you. I'll contact you then."

(To be continued.)

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