In the duel viewing room, everyone watched the hologram with expressions full of surprise and astonishment. However, in the case of the younger ones and a certain cat that had managed to get its own chair at some point, excitement could be seen in their bright eyes.
"This goes beyond my wildest expectations..." Gran Torino pinched his arm hard before continuing, even more surprised, "And I'm not dreaming..."
"What exactly is his quirk...?" Nighteye looked toward the girls who had come with the monstrous boy, then asked with a solemn expression, "Why does his record only list 'Force Control'?"
"Well, Kai refused to update it," Nemuri looked momentarily at the people gazing at her full of doubt, then turned back to the hologram and continued, "According to him, the government already sold him out once, so there's no need to give them more opportunities by handing over information about his quirk. Besides, his quirk allows him to do the same as his father, only better, so technically it's not a lie."
A bitter expression emerged on the faces of all present. Although Kai's argument was a bit weak, it revealed the deep distrust he felt toward the government and his unwillingness to cooperate with it. Everyone knew the boy had his reasons; after all, a well-known politician was involved in the tragedy of his parents.
"Although we tried to explain to him in many ways that that politician didn't represent the government as a whole and that the fact he was captured was proof of that, he always responded that it was only because the case became famous and that he isn't much different from the others in the government, just a bit more stupid."
Shino added with a complex expression on her face, to which Nejire commented while staring intently at Kai in the hologram at the center of the room.
"Yes, Kai-chan always tells me never to believe in those leeches who only know how to live off others, and that if any of them approach me when I start out as a hero in the future, the first thing I should do is destroy their balls, and he'll take care of the rest."
"Yes, he tells me the same, and he always says that as a hero, I will be directly antagonistic to the government, since I represent a private force that protects order without a direct subordination relationship. Therefore, those leeches will try to manipulate me to follow their stupid agendas." Momo added while playing with the different perspectives on the tablet in her seat, trying to find the angle where Kai looked best.
"That's quite a unique way of viewing the hero system and a very questionable way of seeing the government..." the elderly woman added in a grave tone. Nighteye adjusted his glasses, then looked at the girls with sharp eyes and commented in an accusatory tone.
"Although Recovery Girl is right, we're getting sidetracked. What's really important here is what his quirk actually does—not only can he heal others, but he's also super strong, releases electricity, and then there's that sword that appeared in his hand out of nowhere, and the sword capable of blocking my perception."
"Well, and why should we give you that information? It seems you've forgotten that this duel is the payment Kai requested for healing the dying Symbol of Peace; you're not in a position to be asking those questions, Nighteye." Keiko responded haughtily while looking at Nighteye with disdain, who added in an angry tone.
"Well, well, well, it seems you've forgotten that you're one phone call away from having a big mess with the government for hiding relevant information about a minor's quirk."
"And you seem to ignore that you're threatening the family of the 'monster' who is fighting hand-to-hand with the Symbol of Peace. Kai is a very jealous and protective person, so you'd better watch the tone you use with us, or you'll have an 'All Might' pointing a sword at your neck."
With an evident expression of anger on her face, Keiko retorted, adding emphasis on the word 'monster', as an imposing jet-black panther materialized out of nowhere and growled at Nighteye with powerful murderous intent, standing protectively beside Keiko.
"Calm down, Keiko; Kai said it was okay to tell them a bit about it. There's no need for you to be looking for a fight like that."
"Hmph."
Seeing that the scene had heated up to the point where the elders and Nighteye were about to respond to Keiko, Nemuri quickly intervened, after which the beautiful black-haired woman only huffed, annoyed, as the panther beside her disappeared. Director Nezu turned to look at her and thanked her.
"Thank you very much for calming the situation, Kayama-san." Director Nezu turned his gaze toward Nighteye before continuing, "And Nighteye, it's best that you keep calm and a cool head."
"..." With a dark expression, Nighteye nodded, then returned his gaze to the hologram at the center of the room. Nemuri commented with a small cordial smile on her face.
"There's no need for thanks; rather, I'd like to apologize for Keiko's attitude—her temper is a bit delicate, and she's very protective."
"I'd also like to apologize for Nighteye's threats; they were empty threats," Nezu responded, slightly bowing his head, to which Nemuri smiled and then added cordially.
"That's a relief then."
"But you mentioned that Kai-kun thought it was okay for you to tell us a bit about it, so I'd like to ask you to share with us some more information to understand what we're seeing," Director Nezu added in his almost childlike voice while raising one of his paws, to which Nemuri nodded in agreement.
"Sure, what do you want to know?"
"If it's not too much, I'd like to know what Kai-kun's true quirk is."
"Well, that's something I can't tell you, since I don't know; none of us know," Nemuri replied while slightly shrugging her shoulders, to which Director Nezu asked, looking surprised.
"Kai-kun hasn't shared it with you?"
"Stop playing mind games, Nezu; that doesn't work with us," Keiko retorted, annoyed at Director Nezu's words. He quickly asked with an innocent expression.
"I don't know what you mean, Yaoyorozu-san."
"Yeah, whatever you say."
"Come on, Keiko, you can't blame him for trying; you know how he is," Yumiko stepped in to calm things down, to which Keiko huffed, annoyed, then looked at Kai in the hologram while Director Nezu laughed innocently.
"Hmph."
"Hehehe."
"Director Nezu, I'd like you not to try to play those kinds of tricks; otherwise, we won't be able to have a pleasant conversation," Nemuri commented in a more serious tone while looking directly into the curious animal's eyes, who responded, trying to play innocent.
"I don't know what you mean, Kayama-san, but I'll try not to make comments like that again."
"That's a relief then," Nemuri nodded, satisfied at Nezu's words, who shortly after commented in a more serious tone.
"But continuing from before, since you don't know what Kai's quirk is, if it's not too much, I'd like you to tell me a bit about what you do know."
"Alright, but in exchange, I want everyone present to promise to ensure that the information doesn't leak. In return, we will commit to the same regarding what Kai discovered about All Might's 'unique' quirk when he healed him," Nemuri commented with a businesslike smile while looking at All Might's group, who quickly looked at her alarmed.
"What do you mean by that?" Gran Torino asked while staring at Nemuri, who quickly responded with a smile.
"Well, it turns out that when Kai healed All Might, he inadvertently discovered something incredible: All Might's quirk wasn't something he was born with, since he was born quirkless. So his quirk was something given to him later, and according to Kai's own words, it must be something that has been done several times in the past—about seven times, to be exact."
"What?!" Nezu, Nighteye, Gran Torino, and Recovery Girl exclaimed in surprise while looking at Nemuri and the girls as if trying to bore a hole through them, disbelief written on their faces. The girls responded with small, cunning smiles.
"How is it possible for him to discover something like that?" Gran Torino asked with a grave expression, not believing for a single second that the secret of One for All had been discovered 'by chance' by a child.
"Well, to know that, I'd have to tell you more about Kai's quirk, so first we'd have to commit to each other not to reveal our secrets." Nemuri responded with a small, cunning smile, which left All Might's close ones in complete silence.
"..."
The four looked at each other full of doubts and confusion, but after a moment, they nodded among themselves, as they had no other options. Shortly after, Nezu took the floor to speak on behalf of their group and commented in a grave and serious tone, very different from his usual attitude.
"Alright, we commit to keeping the information about Kai-kun's quirk secret, but we really hope you do the same with All Might's quirk; revealing that information could collapse our society."
"That's a relief then; we also commit to keeping this information confidential, and don't worry—apart from those present, no one knows anything about it." Nemuri nodded in satisfaction as she spoke, to which the entire family nodded in agreement.
"Now I'd like to know how the boy could discover the secret of All Might's quirk," Gran Torino asked in a serious tone, to which Nemuri responded with a cunning smile.
"Well, actually, we weren't 100% sure; it was a supposition we had, and we only confirmed it with your reaction, so I'm sorry for lying to you a bit."
"You really caught us there. But I suppose it was something we couldn't escape from; after all, you revealed the entire secret with so many details that we could never think it was just a supposition. But how did you manage to arrive at such an accurate supposition?" Gran Torino commented with an ironic smile, although his eyes held hidden vigilance toward those present. Nemuri responded with a smile.
"Well, according to Kai, the first step to healing someone is to check their condition. But with All Might, he noticed something very strange: he had two bones in his pinky finger instead of one—something quite rare nowadays and commonly associated with quirkless people—which led him to study his body more carefully. He noticed that his quirk factor was different from anything else he had seen; in his words, it seemed somehow 'out of place.'
"Moreover, to heal, Kai also uses another of his abilities to monitor his patients in real time, which allows him to sense presences at a very detailed level. So, during the first intervention, he concentrated completely on All Might's presence for a long period, which led him to notice seven small fragments of other presences totally different from All Might's—something that became increasingly evident with subsequent interventions.
"With all that information, we did some research and found records of a hero named Nana Shimura, who had abilities very similar to All Might's, only weaker if you removed the part where she could apparently float. Additionally, we found an even older hero named Daigoro Banjo, who had the same characteristics but with a black whip instead of floating.
"With all that data, we came to the supposition that all the heroes we found records of with abilities similar to All Might's were actually former holders of his quirk, and their secondary abilities were actually their own quirks. Due to the dates, we supposed that Nana Shimura passed it on to All Might."
"Nana..." Gran Torino let out a melancholic sigh as he remembered that great woman, which led Yumiko to ask curiously.
"You knew her?"
"Yes, she was a great hero and died too young," Gran Torino replied in a low voice, to which Yumiko responded empathetically.
"That's a shame."
"But then, what can Kai-kun's quirk do? You've mentioned very disparate abilities that apparently have nothing in common, and that, added to the abilities he's showing in battle, makes it even harder to believe it's just one quirk." Nezu asked as he looked at the girls, filled with genuine curiosity.
"Well, actually, we believe that Kai's quirk is a singularity since he can do the same as his parents but better, in addition to possessing a very powerful extra ability. Kai can materialize anything with which he is very familiar and, under certain special conditions, give unique properties to what he creates."
Seeing that Nemuri's throat was a bit dry from her explanation, Shino signaled for her to go get a drink from a nearby vending machine while she herself explained a condensed version of Kai's true capabilities.
"Anything?!!" Nighteye exclaimed loudly in astonishment—a sentiment shared by Nezu, Gran Torino, and Recovery Girl, who looked at Shino with disbelief. She nodded with a serious expression while explaining.
"Yes, anything, like swords, lightning, and things like that. But with Kai's incredible creativity, he has managed to develop his quirk to create amazing things, like the sword capable of blocking clairvoyance."
"His quirk is truly insane..." Recovery Girl commented in a soft voice while looking at the young man in the hologram.