The so-called meditation, to put it simply, is a teique used to ect with one's inner self—what some might call the "spiritual realm." Through this, individuals aim to enhaheir uanding and trol 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 't even master the foundational step of breathing trol, let alone achieve any signifit spiritual growth. ifted with extraordinary talent, might develop powerful mental abilities.

  These mental abilities ma as unique Quirks: telekinesis, mental sing, 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 manipute his capture on so deftly is a byproduct of years spent honing his Quirk, to the point where his mental focus allows him to trol 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 uo the spirit, achieving even basic spiritual trol of the body through meditation was a moal aplishment. In that sense, Kaminari was in a simir position. Theoretically, he could spend years training to reach Edgeshot's level—perhaps even longer.

  Mastery of these teiques could lead to seemingly impossible feats: trolling one's body in midair when ernal foothold existed, for example. But for now, Kaminari's progress remained modest. By ten in the m, after hours of falliedly, he had only mao 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 ing 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 trol and fall asleep pletely. Hearing the sound of blood flow is great and all, but it doesn't mean anything if I 't hold onto that awareness. Isn't there any teique to help me stay scious while meditating?"

  He looked up at Edgeshot with hopeful eyes.

  "There are no shortcuts," Edgeshot said ftly as he gracefully stepped down from the bamboo pilr. Landing lightly on the ground, he added, "The breathing teique I taught you is the only method. Beyond that, it es 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 evehe 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 tinued, "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 seds, 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 only mahis with my palms. Ba school, I thought about being a Hero, but this Quirk is so useless that I gave up on that dream before I even finished middle school."

  A self-depreg 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 fshed with somethiween shod excitement before he quickly masked it.

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

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

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

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

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

  Kosuke blinked, visibly startled by Kaminari's words. Those few simple sentences had more of an impa 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 rice cakes do, aside from being sticky?" Kaminari asked as they darted through the forest.

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

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

  Edgeshot's expression remained ral, but his thoughts revealed a deeper i. He wasn't particurly fasated by Kosuke's Quirk; rather, he was intrigued by Kaminari's sharp mind and creativity. He had read Kaminari's file ahe Sports Festival, and he knew how far Kaminari had pushed a Quirk as simple as electricity.

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

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