"So fast!"
Edgeshot darted betweeree trunks with incredible agility. Although he didn't bother to turn his head, his sharp senses easily detected Kaminari's rapid approach. The faint crackle of electricity and the golden light trailing behind the boy were hard to miss.
"Amazing… truly an impressive young man," Edgeshot thought to himself.
As a Hero ranked in Japan's top ten, he could fidently say that the speed Kaminari was dispying had already surpassed at least 70% of professional Heroes.
Shu!
Suddenly, Edgeshot, in his elongated paper-thin form, twisted to the left in an almost unnatural motion. A fra of a sed ter, ten golden threads of electricity shot past where he had been, crag as they embedded themselves in a thick tree trunk ahead. The impact left faint, singed marks on the bark.
"He dodged it?"
Kaminari, still chasing behind, was stunned. He wasn't surprised that Edgeshot had avoided his miniature Lightning Dragon's Roar. After all, this was the No. 5 Pro Hero. What shocked him was how the man had dodged.
Edgeshot's maneuver wasn't just a simple sidestep or jump. It was as if his entire body had suddenly shifted a meter to the side without losing any forward momentum.
"That… that wasn't his Quirk," Kaminari thought, his mind rag. "It's some kind of advanced movement teique. Something done purely with skill!"
Excitement flickered in Kaminari's eyes as he tio close the gap.
"I have to learn how to do that!"
But first, he had a race to win.
Crackle!
Determined, Kaminari pushed his High-Voltage Mode to its maximum limit. The golden light around him grew brighter, and his speed increased even further, leaving a brilliant trail behind him like the tail of a et.
At that moment, he had fully transformed into a "goldeeor."
Shu!
Shu!
Shu!
As he closed the gap to less than teers, Kaminari began firing streams of golderical current from his mouth, aiming to disrupt Edgeshot's momentum.
"Damn it," Kaminari muttered under his breath. "This game has too many rules holding me baot just the ones about not attag full force, but even the enviro itself!"
He wasn't afraid of hurting Edgeshot. No, the real issue was the forest. Kaminari knew full well that using a trated, high-temperature attack like the Lightning Dragon's Roar here would be a disaster waiting to happen.
Oray bst could ighe lush vegetation around them and turire area into an untrolble inferno.
---
Meanwhile, Edgeshot's movements remained smooth and precise as he tio evade the ining golden currents. He dodged with uny grace, weaving through the forest with a rhythm that made it look effortless.
But Kaminari's attacks wereirely in vain. While Edgeshot was able to avoid the streams of electricity, the act of dodging slowed him down, allowing Kaminari to close the distance even further.
---
"Electrified Fist!"
Kaminari seized his ce. With a burst of speed, he appeared directly behind Edgeshot and unched a punch cloaked in golden lightning.
Shu!
But just before Kaminari's attack could ect, Edgeshot's body twisted into an S-shape, bending like a snake. His flexible form easily slipped past the punch, and with a swift motion, he repositioned himself behind Kaminari.
"This kid's whole body is coated iricity," Edgeshot thought, Kaminari carefully. "That makes him tricky to handle up close."
If not for the crag golden aura surrounding Kaminari, Edgeshot would have already ralized him by restraining his arm or log him in pce, a teique he frequently used when fag vilins.
"But let's see what else he's capable of," Edgeshot murmured to himself.
---
Reag out as he moved, Edgeshot plucked a handful of leaves from a passing branch.
"Ninja Teique: Leaf Shuriken," he muttered.
With a quick flick of his fingers, he sent four leaves flying through the air like projectiles. They zipped toward Kaminari, targeting him from four different dires: above, below, left, and right.
Shu!
Shu!
Shu!
Shu!
The sound of the leaves cutting through the air reached Kaminari's ears, but he didn't have time to react.
Pop!
Pop!
Pop!
Pop!
The leaves struck Kaminari's golden aura but buro ashes the instant they made tact.
"What was that?" Kaminari muttered, fused. He'd felt the briefest resista hadn't seen anything signifit.
Edgeshot, oher hand, frowned slightly.
"They… burned?"
As impressive as his Leaf Shuriken teique was, the fact remaihat they were still just leaves. Against the high-temperature electric field surrounding Kaminari, they had disied the moment they touched him.
"So, that golden aura isn't just for show," Edgeshot thought. "It offers both offensive and defensive capabilities. This boy really has crafted a unique aile move."
His gaze sharpened as he watched Kaminari charge forward once again.
"Eraser Head was right to call him a genius."
---
Still, despite Kaminari's iy, Edgeshot couldn't help but notice the gaps in his teique.
"His Quirk usage is exceptional," Edgeshot thought as he moved alongside the boy. "But his body trol is… g."
Kaminari's movements were powerful, but they cked finesse. He was like a rocket, relying solely on brute thrust to move in a straight line.
"His speed is excellent, but his flexibility leaves much to be desired," Edgeshot mused. "It's clear his physical training hasn't caught up to his Quirk mastery yet."
As he pondered Kaminari's shortings, Edgeshot's mind drifted baething the boy had said earlier.
"So that's what he meant by 'suitable,'" Edgeshot realized.
Kaminari hadn't chosen him just because he was a high-ranking Hero. He had chosen him for his specific skill set, his mastery of precision and teique.
"He knows where his weaknesses lie," Edgeshot thought, a sense of admiration growing in his chest. "And he's determio address them by learning from someone who help him improve."
"That's why he said he was looking for a 'master,' not a 'backer.'"
Edgeshot's lips curled into a faint smile as he g the streak of golden light ahead of him.
"To have such crity of thought and maturity at his age…"
