"That's impossible— our entire force was wiped out just like that," said a black-haired man in a well-dressed suit.
"According to Armor Gorilla's reports, that's indeed the case, and two of the four who did it are on their way here," he added, gesturing to a person with the number 23 on their chest—obviously a clone.
"If they manage to get here, all our research will be ruined," another clone chimed in.
"We just have to play our trump card—begin the operation to release Carnage Kabuto," the original declared, shocking the others.
"Release Carnage Kabuto? Are you sure that's a good idea? He could kill us," a clone warned.
"He might actually be our best option," another clone argued.
"You'll be our last resort. We'll have to stick to the first through eighth floors—search where you see fit. They'll take him down. I know what will happen if he's released—especially to me," he said, sweat pouring down his face.
Back with us.
"It amazes me you can fly," said Ginos, activating the rockets in his hands and soaring alongside me.
"Yeah, but these aren't natural abilities—just what anyone normal human could do," I replied as we reached a tall building in the middle of the forest and landed in front of it.
"Okay, here's the plan—I need to..." Before I could finish, Ginos tore the building down altogether.
"Ginos! There could've been important info inside, and the guy we're after might've been in there. We need to arrest him for the police!" I shouted.
"That's a good lesson, master. I'll keep it in mind," he said. I merely nodded and started looking around for anything that might have survived, eventually fighting my way through a metal door.
"Looks like there's a basement," I said, bending the door open with my metallic energy.
Inside, screams and gunfire echoed as the clones fought to hold back Carnage Kabuto.
"Stay back! Stay back!" shouted a clone as Kabuto, crushed between his hands, was killed.
Soon, the original entered the room with a worried look.
"Hey, Carnage Kabuto, are you feeling okay? You seem to have taken out a few of my clones again. Are you satisfied?" he asked, glancing at the massive creature—who resembled a cockroach.
"Why would I be satisfied? You kept me locked deep underground. I'm the strongest warrior in the entire House of Evolution!" Kabuto roared, breaking free from his restraints.
"You were locked up because you're mentally unstable. We couldn't control you—there was no other choice," the original replied. Kabuto stomped his foot and leaned in.
"You couldn't control me, moron. I am the ultimate evolution of the new human race you so proudly preached. My intelligence and strength far surpass yours. Honestly, you and your clones should be the ones obeying me," Caputo sneered.
"Go ahead and kill me if you want. Plenty of my clones could take my place. But first, I have a favor to ask—I must have a certain specimen," he said, a green screen appearing, showing a picture of us entering the lab.
"He's a remarkable specimen—unbelievable strength. I want you to catch him—dead or alive," he added, a smirk forming on Carnage Caputo's face.
Back with us.
"This place is a maze. Are you keeping track of where we're going so we don't get lost?" I asked Ginos, who suddenly stopped.
"Master, enemies are approaching," he warned. I turned just in time to see a giant beetle charging at me.
"Which one is it?" asked, Kabuto
"The one on the right," replied the Doctor
"Then you don't need the other one," said, Kabuto as he shifted his target toward Ginos, smashing him into the wall.
"Name's Carnage Caputo. Let's have a fight—right here, right now," he smirked.
"Alright, let's do this," I said, smirking back as we moved closer to the impending fight.
"Pretty big, huh? This is where we test our skills. Plenty of room to kick your ass. Let's get started," Caputo taunted, a powerful firebeam hitting him—doing nothing.
He looked around for the attack's source, only to see Ginos still alive.
He lunged to strike him, but his attack was ineffective. I saw him launch long-range blasts at Caputo, who didn't even bother to punch back, only to get smacked away—so I stepped in to save him.
"This is why you need to learn to wait for your opponents. If that guy easily smacked you into a wall before, what makes you think you can beat him now?" I said. I liked his spirit from the anime, but it was foolish to fight him head-on.
"I can take him," he replied, firing another blast, only for Carnage Caputo to blow it back at us. It didn't affect me since I used my fire ring to deflect it. Ginos, however, got hit.
"Alright, let's get this show on the road," I said, charging up my entire body with reinforced aura and lightning, ready to fight. I approached him cautiously.
"Now I see it, you're supposed to be strong," Caputo mocked.
"Don't let me down. You're meant to be the ultimate weapon. I hope you don't go down with a single punch," I retorted, making him furious. He tried sneaking behind me, but I turned just in time, blocking his punch.
He started sweating heavily.
"What are you doing? Come on, we're supposed to fight!" he yelled.
Inside Carnage Kabuto's mind. (If I attack him now, he'll kill me. Who is this guy? My senses tell me not to engage.) He stared at the figure in front of him—an ominous black aura emanating as shadows formed.
"What are you, some kind of freak? How did you get this strong?" he screamed.
"The secret isn't much—just work hard every day. I start with the basics—push-ups, sit-ups, a 10 km run. Doing that daily set me on the hero's path. The rest is personal," I said with a smirk. The look on his face showed surprise.
"Master, can you please stop joking around? There's no way someone could achieve your power just through training," said Ginos, disbelief evident.
"It doesn't matter. You're not going to learn the real secret—how I became so strong. I bet you're not even better than me," replied Kabuto He transformed into his final form—a towering green and blue bug.
"When I do this, I lose control for a week. Once I kill you, I'm heading into town for a real rampage. Try and stop me if you can," he snarled, charging at me. I swiftly blocked with my ornament hockey. He struck, sending me flying, but I used my full strength, combining all my elemental energy in my fists—activating the avatar state—and punched him, creating a massive shockwave and a hole through the wall.
"Congratulations! You've defeated the House of Evolution. You've earned 1,000 points. You destroyed all the monsters inside and gained 3,000 points. You also defeated Colache Caputo, earning two card draws," the system announced.
Witnessing my feat, the doctor chose to leave us alone. I believed him—his demeanor was similar to his main universe counterpart—and after seeing what I did, he no longer sought evolution.
Later, I went home, telling Ginos to get repaired while I relaxed in the tub and drew my cards.
"Congratulations! You received Observation Hockey," said the system.
I almost jumped with joy—knowing I now had two of the three main powers of hockey.
I could feel its power coursing through me, boosting my reaction time, speed, and eyesight.
Next, I unlocked the second ability:
"Congratulations! You've gained access to when swordsmanship, would you like to upgrade your existing card?" the system announced. I was glad I could update a another card, so I quickly did it
I checked my status window:
[Slot System]
Name: Jack
Age: 26
Status: Active
Current Slot Cards:
- Korra, The Avatar (Four Stars)
- Wind Swordsmanship (Two Star)
- Sonic the Hedgehog (Three Stars)
Unused Slots: two
Transformations:
- Avatar State
Abilities:
- Air Manipulation
- Water Manipulation
- Ice Manipulation
- Earth Manipulation
- Metal Manipulation
- Fire Manipulation
- Energy Manipulation
- Combustion Bending
- Lightning Bending
- Lava Bending
- Sound Bending
- Armament Hockey
- Wind Swordsmanship
- Super Speed
- Near Invulnerability
- Observation Hockey
Seeing I still had an empty slot, I assigned Super Saiyan, giving myself a huge boost.
The next morning, I finished brushing my teeth when Mosquito Girl and Kushina mentioned a criminal named Hammerhead causing trouble in City S.
"Do you want to go stop him?" Mosquito Girl asked as I entered.
"I could, but he's low-level. The police should handle it. If he's not caught within an hour, I'll go," I replied. They nodded in agreement.
Just a side note—the rumor that anyone with a bald head is automatically a villain.
"Stop. The Paradise. Earn 600 points," the system chimed.
"On second thought, you probably handle him. Let's avoid a hassle," I said, quickly putting on my super suit.
"Can I come with you?" Kushina asked.
"I don't see why not—just leave one of your clones here, just in case," I replied, glancing at Mosquito Girl.
"I'd never hurt her, baby," she said in defiance.
"Anyway, better get dressed fast," I urged. She quickly changed into her Jonan outfit, and I grabbed her around the waist, lifting her up as I flew toward the scene.
Following the trail into the woods, we landed quietly so as not to be seen. Hammerhead burst out of the forest, swinging a kunai. Before he got far, I quickly knocked him out.
"Why do you think he was running?" Kushina asked.
"No idea," I said.
"The Paradise has been stopped, but you weren't the one who did it—you did, however, capture their leader, so you'll be rewarded with 300 points," the system announced internally.
"Let's call it a day and head out," I said, as she pulled a rope from her pouch and tied Hammerhead to a nearby tree.
"New mission: defeat Speed-O-Sound Sonic. 900 points," the system added.
Suddenly, we heard a voice.
"Thank you for catching Hammerhead for me," said a figure, throwing two kunai our way. I caught one easily, while Kushina deflected hers.
"So, you're a shinobi? Interesting," Kushina said.
He tried to stab me in the eye, but I caught his blade easily thanks to Observation Hockey, then broke it with my strength.
"Look, we're just here for the Paradise," I said, trying to gauge his intent.
"Wasting your breath. He's a Sonobe. He's planning to kill us," Kushina warned.
He lunged with a slash, but we dodged all his attacks. When he came at me with a kick, I sidestepped, then used Armament Hockey on my arm to punch him—right in the groin.
"Wow, I didn't know you were a ball-puncher—that's usually a girl's thing," Kushina smirked.
"It only sort of happened; I didn't mean to punch him there," I defended.
"I will know your name," he growled.
"Call me Jack," I replied.
"Jack, I swear I'll kill you next time we meet. You'll be on the ground," he muttered, walking away.
"Aren't you going to stop him?" Kushina asked.
"He's not that much of a threat. Honestly, I'm like the dangers in your world—pretty sure he doesn't even know ninja jutsu or genjutsu. I figured he's all about speed, so he probably has no real abilities like you," I said, calming her down. There was no need to worry.
We swiftly headed back home.
"Ginos, what are you doing here?" Kushina asked, noticing the robot sitting beside Mosquito Girl, giving her a hard glare.
"I came to train with the master. Is he not home?" Ginos asked.
"He's out shopping—trying to snag a good deal," Kushina replied.
"Why does he have to try to snag a good deal" Ginos tilted his head.
"Because, unlike you, we actually need to eat. He doesn't have a job right now," Mosquito Girl explained.
"Wait, none of you are registered with the Hero Association?" Ginos asked, opening a laptop.
"The Hero Association? You can take a test anywhere, get registered, and get paid for taking down monsters or criminals," Mosquito Girl read.
"We could've been earning money all along," Kushina said, surprised.
"I doubt Jake even knows about this—he's probably been surfing around," Mosquito Girl added.
"Why not sign up for the Hero exam?" Kushina suggested.
"Great idea! Master can get recognized and maybe even earn some money," I agreed, and we all uploaded our pictures to the Hero Association's database.
Soon, a picture of Jake appeared, causing a ripple of shock in the system.