"Hahaha!"

  Seeing his handsome son looking slightly embarrassed after being teased, Kaminari's father couldn't help but feel a bit smug.

  "So, you figured it out, huh?"

  Realizing his father was just joking around, Kaminari rexed, got out of bed, and asked curiously, "When did you notice?"

  His dad put on a mock-serious expression, "Son, never uimate the wisdom of adults!"

  "Especially since you've choseh of being a professional Hero. You'll definitely face dangerous people iure, so you should never let yuard down."

  His father's tone was a mixture of and expectation. It was clear he was worried for Kaminari's future and didn't want to see the tragedy of a parent outliving their child.

  "Okay, okay, Dad, I promise I'll take your advice to heart."

  Even though Kaminari knew he was only aiming for U.A. High School to get the Hero lise, with no actual iion of pursuing a career as a professional Hero, he uood his father's worries. There was ue, so he just went along with it. With a griepped forward and hooked his arm around his father's, his tone pyful.

  "I'm starving. I 't wait to eat some of that delicious barbecue."

  "You little glutton... fine, fine," his dad said, shaking his head and smiling. He could only hope his son had really taken his words seriously because they were extremely important.

  "Your mom and I are ready to go. We've just been waiting for you."

  With that, the family of three happily made their way down to the apartment's parking lot, not wasting any time.

  Without further ado, they piled into the car and headed to a well-known barbecue restaurant in downtown Saitama. It ur spot, though the prices were a bit above the average.

  As the car cruised through the city, Kaminari, seated in the back with his mom, gnced idly out the window, watg the sery roll by. His attention articurly drawn to the professional Heroes patrolling the streets in their unique, sometimes fmboyant es.

  Seeing those so-called Heroes, he found himself drifting into thoughts about the nature of Hero society. With nothing else to occupy his mind at the moment, he indulged in some refle.

  His opinion hadn't ged from over a decade ago: these professional Heroes, who had essentially bee state-employed civil servants, were more like "specialized police officers."

  Funded by the gover, they carried out duties like patrolling, arrests, disaster relief, and maintaining public order. If that didn't make them akin to poli, what did?

  Some might argue that Heroes are also ordinary people who o make a living, so it's fair for them to be paid for their work. While this was a reasonable perspective, Kaminari felt there was a fw in such reasoning.

  Being a Hero should not be primarily about the money. If someohought about how much they could earn from a rescue or whether the gover would pehem before taking a, then their motivations were questionable. If they were resg people solely for the reward, could they truly be sidered Heroes?

  In Kaminari's view, sudividuals were perhaps better described as "good people" rather than genuine Heroes.

  What is a Hero, really? A Hero is someone who acts selflessly, who risks their life for the well-being of others and the nation, enduring hardships without hesitation. A Hero is someone who makes great sacrifices and tributions, even to the point of giving their life.

  The title of Hero is the highest honor a society bestow upon its members, and it should carry signifit weight.

  It shouldn't be handed out lightly, not for minor deeds like resg a stray dog. At best, those people could be called "kied individuals."

  If anyone could be beled a Hero simply for small acts of kindness, then what would that make those who sacrifice their lives for their try? Wouldn't it cheapen the sacrifices of true Heroes?

  Thinking further, Kaminari pondered on the cept of pensation. A person with the ability to be a so-called professional Hero, someone who could handle dangers far beyond what regur people could face, should not be depe on the "Hero sary" to survive. Wasn't it possible for them to find other ways to make a living?

  Take examples from other worlds, Spider-Man was a journalist while w as a Hero, and Superman held a job at a pany. Characters like Wonder Woman, The Fsh, and the Fantastic Four all banced Hero work with other occupations.

  While those were fial cases, Kaminari khat in this world, many Heroes did the same. Plenty of professional Heroes held one or more other roles in society.

  For instance, U.A. High School's teachers were all professional Heroes, yet they also served as educators. Midnight, the "R-Rated Hero," wasn't just a teacher; she was also a celebrity, frequently appearing on TV due to her stunning looks.

  Then there resent Mic, who taught at U.A. while als as a popur radio DJ. toss ran a stru pany, while Mt. Lady model and a promi figure iertai industry, with multiple endorsement deals.

  Death Arms ran a martial arts training gym. There were tless examples of professional Heroes who found ways to ie into society beyond just Hero work.

  In Kaminari's opinion, this demonstrated that anyone qualified to be a professional Hero could find other means to support themselves.

  If a person couldn't even mahat, what made them think they were capable of handling the dangers associated with being a Hero?

  Therefore, Kaminari genuinely believed that the current system of professionalizing Heroes was unnecessary. If the gover hese roles to be formalized, wouldn't it make more seo incorporate them into the police force?

  The term "Hero" itself seemed almost superfluous under such circumstances.

  Iingly, his middle school history teacher had once expihat when Quirks first started appearing, w enfort chiefs had insisted that police officers refrain from using Quirks during duty.

  To Kaminari, this reasoning seemed baffling. How did using Quirks tradict w and order?

  Aren't Quirks, at their core, tools wielded by humans? Besides, he retty sure that militaries worldwide had their share of powerful Quirk users.

  However, it wasn't as if he harbored areme opinions about it. He was just airing out some idle pints.

  Kaminari did hold onto a personal principle, though. Even if he obtained a Hero lise, even if he found himself in situations where he could save others, he would never accept the so-called Hero remuion from the gover.

  To put it simply, he wasn't going to profit from the Hero title, nor did he feel he o. Helping others shouldn't automatically be equated with being a Hero, just like he didn't sider every patrolling professional Hero to be the real deal.

  To him, the term "professional Hero" was just a unique job title, simir to being a ninja or a pirate. It was merely a profession, nothing more.

  That being the case, his goals were clear. He was aertainer, a star who helped others as a hobby. The Hero lise was just a small step towards achieving something bigger...

  As for his ultimate ambition, how about being the world's top lightning-based Quirk user? That didn't sound bad at all.

  "Heh, heh."

  As Kaminari imagined a bright future, the ers of his mouth curled up. His mother, sitting beside him, couldn't help but wonder what her son was so happy about.

  Just then, the car pulled to a stop. His father in the driver's seat unbuckled his seatbelt and opehe door, announg, "Alright, we're here!"