Chapter 378: Have You Ever Been Kicked by Lightning?

"Can I still see my dad and mom?" Kota, who had been overwhelmed with emotion, suddenly perked up after hearing the words from Muscular.

Although he had accepted the fact that his parents were gone, the mere suggestion that they might return was enough to make him irrationally hopeful.

But Kaminari, standing in front of Kota, remained clear-headed. He heard the man behind him mention Water Hose's Quirks, not the people themselves.

"See their Quirks again..." That line triggered something in Kaminari's mind. He stood up straight and turned to face the enemy.

Just by turning around, Muscular got a clear look at Kaminari's face, and his expression instantly lit up with excitement.

"Hahahahaha, it's you, Kaminari Denki!" Muscular's eyes gleamed with a twisted mix of excitement, cruelty, and mockery.

"They said you'd let me experience everything I wanted. Is it true, strongest Hero?"

But faced with such a malicious question, Kaminari's expression remained unchanged. He responded coldly, ignoring the provocation.

"ALL FOR ONE gave Water Hose's Quirks to someone else. And that person also participated in this operation, didn't they?"

Muscular raised an eyebrow, staring at Kaminari with a playful grin. "Kid, you sure know a lot."

"So it's true..."

Although the man hadn't confirmed it directly, that response was more than enough. Kaminari let out a quiet sigh. If Kota encountered that person, it would cause him unimaginable pain.

"Dad... Mom's Quirks were given to someone else?!"

Kota had overheard everything. He was young, but that didn't mean he didn't understand. It clicked for him, at least in part.

Now, he didn't know what to think or feel. What should he do? What was he supposed to do from here?

"This is awful... this is too much. It's because of people like you that things like this happen!" Kota stood behind Kaminari, glaring fiercely as he shouted.

"Of course a kid would say that. Always blaming someone else when things go wrong. That's not good."

Muscular didn't care about the accusations. His expression turned calm, and the excitement from before faded.

"It's not like I hated them for messing up my eye. I just wanted to kill someone, and they tried to stop me.

"That was the result of adults doing what they wanted to do.

"What's wrong is that they tried to do something beyond their abilities. To put it bluntly, your parents were just too weak!" By the end of his sentence, Muscular could no longer hold back his laughter.

Hearing all of this, Kota was left speechless. His head hung low, his body trembling violently. But Kaminari, still standing between them, actually found himself intrigued by Muscular.

He hadn't expected a musclehead like this to say something so... rational. And he didn't think what Muscular said was completely wrong.

Back in school, Midoriya had once told him that being a Hero was about risking your life to do beautiful things.

But Kaminari had always felt that risking your life wasn't enough. If you wanted to do beautiful things, you needed the strength to make them happen.

"Kota, this guy might not be very smart, but his words... they do make sense." Kaminari stared at Muscular and spoke softly to the boy behind him.

"You... you..." Kota looked up at Kaminari's back in disbelief.

"Remember this: whether you want to be a righteous Hero or an evil villain, you need to have the power to do what you believe in."

Finally, Kaminari shared a quote from another world.

"Power is different from will. It is the interaction between forces. Power itself isn't good or evil. The one who wields it defines justice and evil.

"And in the end, only the one who wins gets to decide what justice really means. That's the risk of believing that justice will win."

Isn't that the truth? Muscular defeated Water Hose. That's why he was standing here now, telling their child his version of the truth.

But if Water Hose had defeated Muscular instead, they would've been the ones warning Kota about how evil Muscular was.

"Hahahahahaha!!!"

Muscular suddenly threw his head back and laughed. This time, it wasn't the same crazed laughter from before. Now it carried excitement, admiration, and something else.

"That's perfect. That was exactly what I've always wanted to say... and you put it into the best words!"

His gaze toward Kaminari became fiery. He could feel his blood boiling.

"'Justice will prevail'? Sure it will... because the heroes won, that's all!"

And finally, he said, "As thanks for letting me hear such amazing words... I'll do my very best—to kill you!"

BOOM!!!

As soon as he finished speaking, Muscular exploded forward, crushing the ground beneath his feet. His overwhelming muscle mass gave him terrifying strength and explosive speed.

A golden flash streaked through the air. Just a second before Muscular reached them, Kaminari and Kota vanished and reappeared at the spot where Muscular had been standing. A small crater had already formed from the earlier impact.

Even though Muscular was fast, he still couldn't match Kaminari, who had trained specifically for speed!

"Go. Like I said before, you're still too weak to avenge your parents. So go back and start getting stronger." Kaminari gently patted Kota's shoulder as he spoke.

"This... this is..." Kota looked down in shock at the golden lightning flickering across his body. His whole body felt light.

"Haha, this is just a little preview of what it feels like to be strong," Kaminari said with a smile, then reached out and ruffled the boy's hat.

Soon, Kota, guided by Pikachu, quickly headed back down the mountain. Meanwhile, Kaminari dropped his gentle expression and turned to face Muscular with a blank stare.

"I didn't expect you to be so patient. I'll thank you for waiting those ten seconds."

Muscular cracked his knuckles, grinning as he said, "I don't care about that brat. I just want to have a proper fight... and bring your body back with me!"

As he spoke, he pulled a mechanical prosthetic eye from his pocket and slotted it into his damaged left eye socket. It was a multifunctional support device.

"Let me just say this first. You're fast, I can see that. But don't even think about running away. If you do, I'll just go find someone else to fight!"

That made Kaminari frown. Honestly, he had thought about flying off to find Kyoka or Momo.

But dragging this kind of dangerous guy to them would've been a disaster.

"In that case, let me show you some bad news."

CRACK!

A flash of lightning tore through the air. Kaminari turned into a streak of gold, instantly crossing the 20 meters between them and appearing at Muscular's right flank. At the same time, his leg, wrapped in a high-voltage current, swept toward his face.

"Speed is weight. Have you ever been kicked by lightning?"

(To be continued.)

***

This book is completed on P/treon. Support me on P/treon to read ALL advanced chapters:

https://p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves

(Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)