When Kaito Haruno heard someone behind him say this, he instinctively turned around. Not more than ten meters away stood a couple, along with a guy around his age. Of course, it was impossible for this guy to be the couple's child; they must have married young. The man was slightly taller than Kaito, with short hair and a handsome look.
The woman was a typical Caucasian, and the guy beside them was shorter than Kaito by a head, with chestnut hair. He was animatedly pointing at the display stands and chattering away, clearly not a quiet person.
Realizing his ears weren't deceiving him, Kaito concluded that the older young man before him was one of the founding members of the Justice League—the fastest man alive, Barry Allen, also known as the Flash. Almost instinctively, Kaito pressed the shutter on his camera, which caught Barry's attention as he turned to see what was happening.
Kaito boldly approached the Justice League veteran and showed him the photo he had just taken. "What a lovely trio! Is that your kid?"
"Definitely not! I'm not even married yet. This is Iris West, my fiancée, and I'm Barry Allen from CCPD. This is my nephew, Wally West," Barry introduced his family members to Kaito.
"Kaito Haruno, from Nashinora City. I'm just visiting my favorite city during summer break."
"Nashinora City? Oh my gosh, Kaito, you came here all by yourself? Wally, I remember you turned 18 after June; look at this guy!" Iris exclaimed when she heard Kaito was traveling solo. She glanced at her oblivious nephew, wishing he would take a hint and let her enjoy some quality time with Barry, who had finally managed to spend time with her.
As if Kaito heard her silent plea, he jumped into the conversation, saying, "Hey, I'm visiting Central City for the first time. I don't know much about the Flash Museum. Could you tell me about the villains he's defeated?"
"Oh, I'd love to! Wally, it's time for you to make some friends. Take it away, Barry; we're off!" Without a second thought, Iris agreed to Kaito's request and quickly pulled Barry in another direction, leaving Barry to shoot Kaito an apologetic smile.
Watching Iris's maneuver, Kaito couldn't help but chuckle. It seemed that once the superhero suits were off, these once-godlike figures also had their own mundane troubles. It made the heroes feel much more relatable, as if the distance between them and ordinary people wasn't so vast.
"Sorry, buddy, looks like you'll have to be my tour guide now," Kaito said sheepishly, glancing at the disgruntled Wally beside him.
"What? I wanted to talk to Uncle Barry more! Hey, are you here to stir up trouble?" Wally huffed, clearly annoyed at being abandoned.
"I can only say you're out of luck for choosing the wrong time to find your uncle."
"Why's that?"
"Because you shine too bright~"
Kaito joked, a comment any single person would understand, and then he made his way to another display stand. Wally, realizing the truth in Kaito's words, followed along with a frown. After all, he understood he had been a massive distraction, which might explain why his aunt had rushed away.
"So, you're from Nashinora City? I heard there's a superhero there called Kamen Rider, right? What does he look like?" Wally asked, seemingly eager to chat about common interests with someone his age.
"Actually, there should be two superheroes in Nashinora City—one called Nightwing and the other Kamen Rider. But I've never seen Kamen Rider's face, so I can't really describe him."
"Okay, but I still think the Flash is the coolest!"
Kaito shot Wally a look, mentally labeling him as a die-hard fan, and he was right—there was no denying it. Since he didn't know Wally well, he wasn't sure if this kid had inherited Barry Allen's speed and become Kid Flash. After all, die-hard fans typically didn't become arrogant just because they got the same opportunity as their idol; they tended to admire them even more.
While Kaito was trying to figure out how to get some useful information from Wally, the curator of the Flash Museum walked up to the center stage and lightly tapped the microphone, drawing the crowd's attention, including Barry and Iris, who were sharing a sweet moment.
"Alright, Iris, it's my turn," Barry said, preparing to step away from his fiancée.
"Don't be in such a hurry; there's still a minute before George finishes speaking. Can't we enjoy this moment a little longer, Speedster?" Iris pulled Barry's arm, pressing her lips to his in a passionate kiss, seemingly oblivious to the world around them.
On stage, Joe West, the honorary curator of the Flash Museum, noticed the growing crowd and began his speech. "Hello, everyone! I'm thrilled to see you all here. We have citizens from Central City and friends from around the world gathered today. Two years ago, we experienced that invasion, and during that crisis, seven superheroes stood up to save our world. One of those heroes is from Central City, and to commemorate his contributions, we established this museum. This year marks the first anniversary of the Flash Museum; let's give a loud cheer for the Flash!"
As Joe finished, the crowd erupted in a chorus calling out for the Flash. A streak of yellow lightning zipped through the audience, and beside Joe on stage, the Flash appeared. Dressed in a red metallic suit with a yellow lightning bolt emblem on his chest, yellow accents on his elbows, and stylish yellow boots, he embodied coolness and charisma.
"Hello, everyone!" With the audience's cheers echoing in the background, Barry Allen transformed into the Flash in an instant, greeting everyone with his vibrating voice.
Applause thundered throughout the museum as everyone came to see one of the Justice League's seven giants make his entrance. Barry's spectacular arrival made sure no one felt disappointed. However, Kaito didn't join in the cheering; when the curator began his announcement, he had already positioned his camera to capture the moment Barry transformed into the Flash, using his observation haki to track everything happening on stage.
Even with all that, at a shutter speed of 1/1000 second, all Kaito managed to capture was a blur of yellow lightning streaking through the crowd, followed by a clear photo of the Flash on stage. His observation haki feedback was even more dramatic; for Kaito, it felt like one moment the stage was empty, and the next, the Flash appeared out of thin air—almost like magic.
"Shit! That speed is insane! How am I supposed to compete with that?" Kaito thought, comparing the photos he'd taken with his observation haki feedback. He concluded that the Flash's speed was so close to comic-book levels that if he ever faced this powerhouse, he would be outclassed. Even if he managed to unlock HP armor, it wouldn't matter—this guy could start at sub-light speed, and Kaito wouldn't even catch a glimpse of him.
To make matters worse, even if he never faced the Flash, the Reverse Flash—his arch-nemesis—was no joke either. How could he possibly stand against someone like that?
Kaito lost interest in whatever the Flash was saying on stage. He even began to regret choosing Central City as his first stop; it was only serving to undermine his confidence!
The Flash was just that cool! No explanations needed; the Knight's acceleration series simply couldn't handle the Flash, so there was no point in saying my abilities were over the top.
Note: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 81 at patreon.com/EM10