Chapter 120 : An Echo from the Mountain and the Hawk's Game

The message from Hawks felt like a grenade tossed into our already tension-filled room. A villa in the mountains of Gunma. The headquarters of the Meta Liberation Army. This was no longer just about the chaotic League of Villains or the mysterious Humarise cult. This was an army. An organized ideology with tens of thousands of followers. And somehow, Dabi and the League of Villains were connected to them.

Ryukyu stared at my special communicator screen with an expression I had never seen before—a mixture of shock, caution, and cold anger. "Hawks..." she whispered. "That sly Number Two Hero... he's playing his own game."

"What does this mean?" Uraraka asked, looking at us in confusion. "Who is the Meta Liberation Army?"

Ryukyu and I looked at each other. I, from my knowledge of my former world. She, from her access to high-level hero intelligence files. We both knew how dangerous this group was.

"They are an ideology, Uraraka-san," I explained in a quiet voice. "A terrorist group that believes in 'Quirk liberation.' They believe the government has no right to regulate how people use their powers. They want a world where the strong are free to do as they please. They've been hiding in the shadows for decades, building their strength."

"And now they're allied with the League of Villains," Ryukyu continued, her mind already working rapidly. "This is a nightmare scenario. The anarchy of the League combined with the discipline and resources of the MLA. This is no longer just a threat. This is a potential civil war."

We spent the rest of the night in the safehouse, formulating a plan. We were in a very difficult position. We had the most explosive information in Japan, coming from the Number Two Hero, via a mysterious student, obtained from an inter-dimensional assassin. No one on the Public Safety Commission would believe this chain of information without questioning every part of it, which would endanger Hawks, Akame, and of course, myself.

"We can't report it directly," Ryukyu said, confirming my thoughts. "But we can't just sit on it either." Her plan was clever and full of risk. "I'll use the Yozakura case as a pretext. I'll report to the Commission that our investigation indicates a possible link between Yozakura and an old extremist group with a base in the Gunma mountains. I'll request permission to conduct a small-scale reconnaissance mission. That will give us a reason to be there."

"And my role?" I asked.

"Your role is to be my secret compass," she replied. "You will come with me. If Hawks is right, and Dabi is there, your presence might trigger some kind of reaction from your power. You will confirm his intelligence without anyone knowing how."

Our tasks as an intern team changed. Uraraka and Tsuyu, with help from Momo's database, were assigned to do deep research on the history of the Meta Liberation Army and the geography of the Gunma mountains. Nejire, with her connections as a member of the Big Three, was assigned to discreetly find out which heroes were operating near that region. We had become a secret intelligence unit operating within a hero agency.

While we were busy with our preparations, elsewhere, the main players in this game were moving their own chess pieces.

In a luxurious apartment overlooking the city, Keigo Takami, better known as the Wing Hero, Hawks, stood on his balcony. He had just sent that encrypted message to Tatsumi. It was a huge gamble. He had planted a listening device on Dabi during one of their meetings, an act that could get him killed if discovered. He heard the conversation about a "villa in the mountains" and "liberation." He knew the League was planning something big with another group.

He could have reported it through official channels. But he knew how bureaucracy worked. There would be investigations, meetings, and delays. They would lose the element of surprise. Hawks was a man who believed in speed. He needed someone on the ground who could move as fast as he did, someone not bound by the same rules.

His thoughts went back to the U.A. student file he had requested from the Commission. Tatsumi. Sports Festival Champion. Involved in the Hosu incident. Survived the training camp attack. And most importantly, the secret report from the Humarise incident involving Ryukyu, which mentioned an "anomalous sensory ability." He was a wild card. And Ryukyu was one of the few heroes Hawks trusted to be pragmatic and unafraid to take risks.

"This system is too slow," Hawks thought, stretching his red wings. "Sometimes, you need a few anomalies to get the job done." He had thrown the dice. Now, he could only hope his choice was the right one.

Deep in the Gunma mountains, in a luxurious villa that looked peaceful from the outside, Rikiya Yotsubashi, known to his followers as Re-Destro, was leading a meeting with his lieutenants.

"Our alliance with the League of Villains is proceeding as planned," said a man known as Trumpet, a charismatic politician. "The chaos they've created has shaken public trust in heroes."

"They are a crude and undisciplined tool," interjected Skeptic, a thin technology expert, from a monitor screen. "But they are effective."

Re-Destro smiled, a smile full of a fanatic's conviction. "Correct. They are the storm that will clear the fields for us. They will weaken the heroes, and when they are no longer useful, we will absorb or destroy them." He looked out the window, at the thousands of his followers training underground. "Our era is near. The era where everyone is free to use their Quirk! The Meta Liberation era! The world will soon hear our roar!"

A few days later, after careful preparation, we were ready to move. Ryukyu managed to get permission for a small-scale "reconnaissance" mission. Our team was small: just me, Ryukyu, and Nejire. We would fly in the agency's stealth helicopter, while the others would provide data support from headquarters.

The journey to the Gunma mountains was quiet and tense. We flew low, avoiding radar. Below us, a dense forest stretched out like an endless green ocean. I could feel my dragon's heartbeat begin to beat faster, sensing a strange concentration of energy from a distance.

The helicopter landed in a hidden valley several kilometers from our target location. The door opened, and the cold mountain air immediately hit us. The scenery was wild and beautiful, but I could feel something was wrong beneath the tranquility.

Ryukyu checked her equipment, her face serious. Nejire floated beside me, her usual smile gone, replaced by a warrior's focused expression.

"Remember," Ryukyu said, looking at both of us. "We only observe. Get visual confirmation, gather data, then we leave. Do not engage unless there is absolutely no other choice."

We both nodded.

She turned to me. "How do you feel?"

I closed my eyes, focusing on the sensation within me. "Strong," I replied. "Very strong. Like a giant beehive. There are thousands... no, tens of thousands of power sources up ahead."

Ryukyu's eyes widened slightly. Hawks' intel was correct. This wasn't just a base. It was a military city.

She took a deep breath, steeling herself. She looked at both of us once more, the young heroes she had dragged into this shadow war.

"Alright, team," she said, her voice calm and steady, cutting through the forest silence. "We're on foot from here. Make no sound. The enemy is everywhere."