Two weeks later…
Masato stood in a concrete training chamber built beneath the old Nomu production wing. He now wore a black reinforced bodysuit lined with kinetic absorption fibers and small solar collection panels around the chest and shoulders. Glowing veins pulsed beneath the surface of his skin like bioluminescent conduits.
Across from him stood Nomu Mk. IX, a massive brute of flesh and muscle, enhanced with enhanced strength and shock absorption quirks.
Garaki's voice echoed through a speaker. "Begin."
The Nomu charged.
Masato stepped forward—and vanished, propelled by a chained series of micro-movements: a run, a dash, a wall kick, and a burst from Kinetic Circuit.
In less than a second, he was behind the Nomu. His fist, now rippling with reshaped muscle and layered density, crashed into its back.
BOOM.
The Nomu was sent flying, shattering a section of the training room wall.
Masato didn't stop. As the debris scattered, he slapped his hand on the ground—activating Kinetic Rebound.
The force of his previous attack rebounded off the floor and hurled him upward. He twisted midair, legs morphing with MyoMorph into a coiled spring of muscle.
He came crashing down, landing a plasma-coated heel into the Nomu's skull.
CRACK.
It didn't get back up.
Masato stood over the smoking body, breathing heavily, heat rising off his back as shimmering solar aura radiated from his skin.
A loud buzzer rang out.
Garaki's voice returned. "Test... complete. Better than I expected. But you're overheating."
Masato staggered. His arms shook from overuse of MyoMorph. The solar aura sputtered.
"I... need water."
"You need discipline," Garaki corrected. "The power is already there. What you lack... is control."
Masato stared at the broken Nomu, chest heaving. The speed, the fire, the strength—he had it all. But he also felt the limits.
The strain. The pain.
"I'll master it," Masato whispered. "This body. These quirks. Everything you gave me... I'll make them mine."
Garaki's voice lowered, almost reverent. "Good. You will soon face the real world. And when you do... not even All Might's legacy will stand in your way."