This time, Tetsutetsu had learned his lesson. He kept his focus on Kaminari, staying completely silent and fully alert, his body in a boxing stance. He wasn't going to be caught off guard again. Every muscle was tense, ready to react at a moment's notice.
"I'll end this in one move," Kaminari declared as he charged forward, golden lightning crackling around him. His right palm was wrapped in a fierce, concentrated energy that was far more intense than any of his previous attacks. The air around him sizzled, carrying a faint hint of sulfur that dispersed almost instantly in the forest breeze.
"Bring it on!" Tetsutetsu shouted, his eyes locked on Kaminari, who was closing the distance rapidly.
Just when Tetsutetsu expected Kaminari to launch another straight attack with his electrified palm, Kaminari's feet made an unexpected twist, propelling him to Tetsutetsu's left side.
"So, you're trying to get behind me again?" Tetsutetsu thought, recognizing the tactic from before. But this time, he didn't rely solely on his eyes to follow Kaminari's movements. Instead, he trusted his instincts and turned to defend even before seeing Kaminari's next move.
Surprisingly, it worked. He managed to track Kaminari, his eyes meeting Kaminari's just as the latter tried to circle behind him.
"He's keeping up?" Kaminari thought, intrigued by the determination in Tetsutetsu's gaze. It was impressive how quickly he'd adapted, considering Kaminari had only briefly explained his speed advantage moments earlier.
"Maybe this guy really does have a knack for fighting," Kaminari mused. It wasn't just his strength that made Tetsutetsu formidable; he had a kind of raw combat intuition that Kaminari found impressive. The electric stimulation coursing through Kaminari's body was heightening his senses, allowing him to think more quickly and control his high-speed movements with precision.
"But let's see how long you can keep this up."
Without hesitation, Kaminari shifted tactics. He abandoned his previous strategy and began moving in rapid circles around Tetsutetsu, maintaining a one-meter distance. He darted left and right, accelerating his pace, trying to force Tetsutetsu to lose track.
Tetsutetsu spun around desperately, doing his best to keep up. He knew that if he allowed Kaminari to get behind him again, it would be like the first round all over—Kaminari raining blows from every angle while he had no chance to fight back.
His frustration was growing, especially since, as he had pointed out earlier, Kaminari's electric punches hadn't done any real damage. But being kept on the defensive like this was maddening.
What Tetsutetsu didn't realize, though, was something Kaminari knew all too well:
"If you defend for too long, you'll eventually lose."
The thought resonated in Kaminari's mind as he narrowed his eyes, electricity flaring up with newfound intensity. He saw a brief opening, a momentary misstep in Tetsutetsu's footing and that was all he needed.
"Now!"
"Claw Strike!"
Kaminari's right palm, wrapped in a continuous current, struck like a blade. He dashed forward, exploiting Tetsutetsu's split-second vulnerability, and chopped downward at the back of his neck.
*KZZT-CRACK!*
A burst of electricity, twice as powerful as his usual Lightning Fist, erupted upon impact, and Kaminari felt the current penetrate the hardened steel exterior. He had gambled correctly Tetsutetsu's Quirk didn't fully transform his internal anatomy. The steel transformation was limited to his skin, hair, and nails, leaving his muscles and nervous system relatively unprotected.
The electric current surged into Tetsutetsu's nervous system, temporarily disrupting the signals between his brain and body.
Kaminari landed lightly on his feet, halting his high-speed movements as he stood behind Tetsutetsu, who had gone completely rigid. He reached out and tapped the steel boy's back gently with a finger.
"It's over. You've lost."
Tetsutetsu's eyes went wide in panic. His body wasn't responding, his limbs were frozen, and his Quirk had deactivated on its own. He couldn't move his arms or legs; even his mouth refused to cooperate, rendering him speechless. Only his eyes could move freely, darting around in bewilderment.
"What… What did he do to me?" Tetsutetsu's mind raced. For the first time, a trace of fear crept into his thoughts. He was completely paralyzed.
"Relax, you're not hurt," Kaminari assured him, stepping in front of Tetsutetsu and speaking calmly. "You'll be fine in about a minute."
Tetsutetsu's panic subsided slightly at Kaminari's words, but he was still desperate for an explanation.
"I used an enhanced version of my electric palm strike," Kaminari began. "The current penetrated your iron skin and disrupted the electrical signals in your nervous system. Basically, I temporarily cut off the communication between your brain and most of your body."
He added, "That's why you're having trouble moving. Your body's response signals are all messed up. In a severe case, you could even find yourself doing the exact opposite of what you intended."
Tetsutetsu's mind spun as he tried to process Kaminari's explanation. The terminology was familiar, he'd heard some of it in school but the practical application was far beyond anything he'd expected to encounter in a sparring match.
Kaminari saw the blank look in Tetsutetsu's eyes and sighed. "In simpler terms, I've temporarily disabled your control over your body. Since Quirks are also regulated by the brain, you're unable to use your steel transformation right now."
He added, "You might still be able to move a bit if you try hard enough, but it'll be unpredictable. The current disrupted the normal pathways in your nervous system, so your commands could end up controlling the wrong parts of your body."
As if to test Kaminari's words, Tetsutetsu tried to lift his right arm, only to find his left leg twitching instead, almost causing him to fall over.
"Whoa, careful!" Kaminari caught him just in time, helping him regain his balance. "I wasn't finished explaining yet. Your body can react, but because the signals are scrambled, it won't always do what you intend."
Kaminari thought for a moment, then decided to put it in terms Tetsutetsu might better understand. "You know when you play online games, and there's a skill that silences your character or adds a fear effect? Think of it like that. Except instead of your character, it's your body that's being affected. Your Quirk is the one being silenced."
However, Kaminari didn't mention that for this technique to work, he had to strike a specific spot on the back of the neck. His control over the electrical currents wasn't refined enough yet to apply the same effect elsewhere on the body.
As Tetsutetsu's muscles slowly regained their normal function, he let out a shaky breath and collapsed to the ground in a sitting position, his mind still reeling from the experience. The sensation of being completely helpless had been terrifying.
"You okay?" Kaminari asked, sitting down next to him. He felt a pang of guilt for pushing the match as far as he did. "Sorry about that. I shouldn't have used that move on you. But you've got to understand your Quirk's defense is so strong, I didn't have many options."
The apology seemed to hit the right note. Tetsutetsu, who had been staring at the ground, finally looked up, a grin spreading across his face. "Don't worry about it, I'm fine! That was actually kind of awesome," he said, waving off the apology. "What do you call that move, anyway?"
Kaminari paused. He hadn't actually thought of a name for it yet. He didn't want to use something obvious like "Thunder Chop," and he was hoping to develop a whole set of techniques in the future. As he recalled the sensation of controlling Tetsutetsu's movements and the eerie stillness that had taken over his body, an idea came to him.
"Fear your own body… Silence your own Quirk… It's like there's a ghost inside you," Kaminari muttered to himself.
He then looked at Tetsutetsu with a serious expression. "From now on, I'm calling it…"
"Reggae!"