The next morning, the Class 1-A classroom seemed to have recovered an energy Ryo hadn't seen in quite some time.
He was sitting at his desk, his face resting against one of his hands as he let out a long yawn. Around him, conversations were flowing in every direction at once. Kaminari was discussing something about games with Sero and Rikido, Mina was laughing loudly with Hagakure and Uraraka, Kirishima was talking excitedly with Dash while Iida unsuccessfully tried to get some of the students to lower their voices before class began.
Ryo watched it all in silence.
After the training camp, the kidnapping, Kamino, police officers, interviews, exams, meetings, and everything that had happened since then, that simple sight of his classmates talking inside the classroom almost felt distant.
Normal.
It had been a long time since he'd seen that kind of normality in the classroom.
Ryo yawned once again as he remembered the previous night. The class had found yet another way to turn moving into the dorms into a completely unnecessary competition over who had the best room.
Ryo still didn't understand exactly how it had started.
But he suspected it was probably Mina's idea.
Usually a safe bet to suspect Mina.
Either way, the result had been nearly the entire class walking through all five floors of the dormitory, entering one another's rooms and judging their decorations as if their future hero careers depended on it.
And Ryo had to admit it had been fun.
Tokoyami's room looked exactly like what he would imagine finding if someone asked him where a teenage vampire wrote poetry at three in the morning.
Iida's was organized so obsessively that Ryo was sure moving a pencil five centimeters to the left would cause some kind of nervous breakdown.
Kaminari's had way too many electronics.
Sero's looked surprisingly stylish and exotic, which he definitely hadn't been expecting.
Kirishima's was so aggressively masculine that Ryo had started to suspect the boy chose furniture by asking himself whether it was "manly enough."
The girls' rooms had been even more different from one another.
It was fascinating.
Each space felt like a small window into the person who lived inside it.
Ryo lowered his eyes to his own desk as he thought that his room also said a lot about him.
Maybe more than he'd like.
Everything organized exactly where he wanted it.
A comfortable bed.
Natural light coming in through the balcony.
He smiled faintly.
Then another image crossed his mind.
A dark apartment with curtains that were always closed.
Monitor light illuminating a silent room.
Dishes piling up.
The constant sound of electronics filling the emptiness.
Ryo lying in bed unable to sleep, staring at a corner of the ceiling because he was certain something was there.
Shadows moving where they shouldn't while voices vanished whenever he tried to listen to them.
Figures appearing at the edge of his vision.
The feeling of someone standing behind him when he was completely alone, blaming him for them being there.
Ryo's smile disappeared and he grimaced.
"...Urgh."
He rubbed his eyes and let out a sigh.
"Time really flies when you're not paying attention."
"Did you say something?"
Ryo turned his head toward Dash, who was looking at him from a nearby desk.
"Nothing."
Dash narrowed his eyes.
"You've got that old-man-thinking-about-life face."
"I'm fifteen."
"Exactly. Way too early for that."
Ryo discreetly raised his middle finger.
Dash smiled and turned back to Kirishima.
Ryo shook his head and looked back toward the classroom.
Kaminari was now arguing with Rikido about some fighting game while Sero insisted they were both wrong about a character.
Farther back, the girls were talking among themselves.
And, to absolutely no surprise from Ryo, his mother had become the topic of conversation.
"Mrs. Takeda is really cool," Hagakure said.
"I know!" Mina agreed. "And she let us use the kitchen after hours!"
Jiro crossed her arms.
"Because you said you were hungry."
"Exactly. An understanding woman!"
Momo smiled.
"She also seems very kind."
Ryo tilted his head slightly.
"They haven't seen her angry yet."
That was probably better for everyone.
His gaze continued across the group until it stopped on Tsuyu.
Ryo stared at her as he remembered the previous night.
After the competition to see who had the best room, he'd noticed Dash and Kirishima had disappeared.
After nearly fifteen minutes without any sign of them, Ryo had decided to look.
They weren't in their rooms or any of the other rooms.
It was only when he stepped outside the building that he heard voices coming from the other side of the structure.
Ryo followed the sound until he reached one of the outer corners of the dormitory.
He was about to turn the corner when he heard his name and stopped.
Dash and Kirishima were there with Tsuyu and Uraraka.
Ryo remained leaning against the wall before the corner, outside their line of sight.
Tsuyu continued.
"I know you were worried about Takeda. Everyone was."
Kirishima remained quiet.
"But sneaking out, going after a villain hideout, and trying to carry out a rescue on your own was stupid."
Dash must have made some kind of expression, because Uraraka let out a sigh.
Tsuyu continued.
"If something had happened to you guys..."
There was a brief pause.
"...I wouldn't have known what to do."
Ryo had frowned.
That sentence stayed with him.
Tsuyu didn't sound angry, she sounded hurt.
"I've been thinking about what could have happened ever since I found out you went there."
Dash answered more quietly:
"But it was Takeda."
"I know."
Tsuyu's eyes began to fill with tears.
"And that's exactly why part of me understood you..."
Her voice began to break.
"But even though I understood you, I wasn't able to do anything to help like you did... And that broke my heart..."
Ryo had slowly lowered his eyes as he listened to Tsuyu begin to sniffle.
Uraraka added something shortly afterward.
About how everyone had been doing dangerous things because they wanted to protect someone, and how that didn't erase the fear felt by the people left behind.
Ryo didn't stay until the end.
He went back inside before anyone noticed he had been there.
Now, sitting in the classroom, he watched Tsuyu as she calmly talked with the other girls.
His mother had said practically the same thing, even if she'd said it differently.
But the fear was the same.
Ryo lowered his eyes to his own hand.
For a long time, he'd always thought of his own strength as a way to prevent bad things from happening to others.
But he was beginning to realize that even while doing that, people worried about him too.
Ryo stared at his own fist.
"I don't want to keep doing this to them."
He didn't want his mother staring at the television, waiting to find out whether he was alive.
He didn't want Dash blaming himself because he couldn't help him.
He didn't want his friends risking their own lives trying to save him.
"So I just need to get stronger..."
Ryo clenched his hand tightly.
Stronger than he was now.
Strong enough that no one would have to put themselves at risk because of him.
Strong enough to protect everyone around him while also being able to protect himself.
If no one had any reason to fear that something might happen to him...
Then no one would ever have to suffer like that again.
Ryo's gaze hardened as he remembered what had happened to Sakamoto.
"I'll become so strong that no one will ever have to worry about me again."
"Everyone, take your seats."
Aizawa's tired voice cut across the classroom as soon as he walked through the door.
And it didn't take more than a few seconds for the room to become completely organized.
He stopped behind the podium, observing everyone in silence.
"As I said yesterday, our priority now will be making sure all of you obtain your Provisional Hero Licenses."
Aizawa raised his Pro Hero License for them to see.
"Hero licenses are intrinsically tied to protecting and saving lives," Aizawa continued. "Having one means you'll be legally authorized to use your quirks in real-world situations under certain circumstances. And that's an enormous responsibility."
His gaze swept across the class.
"So don't expect an easy exam."
Kirishima swallowed hard.
Aizawa put his license back into his pocket.
"Even among more experienced candidates, professional licensing-related exams can have pass rates close to fifty percent."
Kirishima went rigid.
"...Fifty?"
Mina, who was sitting in front of him, partially turned her head toward the redhead.
"If even adults barely pass..."
"...how the hell are we supposed to pass?"
He stepped out from behind the podium and slowly walked across the front of the classroom.
"That's exactly why we're going to start preparing now."
He made a small motion with his hand toward the door.
"By the time of the exam, each of you needs to develop at least two..."
The door suddenly opened, and three figures entered the classroom.
Midnight came in first.
Cementoss followed right behind her.
Ectoplasm brought up the rear.
The three stopped dramatically in front of the class and spoke almost at the exact same time.
"ULTIMATE MOVES!"
The entire classroom fell silent for a few seconds before exploding into a chorus of excited shouts.
"OOOOOH!"
Kaminari nearly shot out of his chair.
"ULTIMATE MOVES?!"
Kirishima clenched his fist.
"THAT'S SO MANLY!"
Mina was practically vibrating already.
"THAT SOUNDS SO COOL!"
Even the calmer students looked visibly interested.
After all, it was one thing to hear about combat techniques and another for someone to literally call them Ultimate Moves straight out of a comic book.
Ectoplasm stomped his foot against the floor.
"Ultimate Moves are your finishers and your most characteristic techniques."
Cementoss raised a finger.
"You will need to internalize these moves. And make them your own until they are unmatched."
Midnight stepped forward and struck an exaggeratedly elegant pose.
"An Ultimate Move isn't just a powerful technique."
She pointed toward the class.
"It symbolizes who you are!"
Her hand moved theatrically.
"They are your image and your mark upon the hero world!"
Midnight smiled mischievously.
"Besides, these days, professional heroes without Ultimate Moves are practically an endangered species!"
Dash looked ready to start right that second.
Ryo, on the other hand, had a grimace on his face as he stared at the three teachers.
"Why do they look more excited than we are?"
Aizawa cleared his throat, and the three immediately regained some composure.
"We'll continue with a more detailed explanation in a more appropriate location, along with a practical demonstration."
He pointed toward the door with his thumb.
"Change into your hero costumes and meet us at Gym Gamma."
----------------------------------------
After some time, Class 1-A passed through the enormous doors of Gym Gamma.
Or, as it was written in letters on a sign near the entrance:
TRAINING KITCHEN LAB
Or T.K.L. for more short.
Ryo entered alongside the others while observing the environment through his helmet's visor.
His first impression wasn't exactly what he expected from a training ground.
The place looked more like a gigantic industrial hangar.
The ceiling was dozens of meters above them, supported by enormous metal beams, while practically the entire floor stretched out before the class as a smooth and empty surface. There were no fake buildings like in Ground Beta, prepared rubble, obstacles, or even the small urban scenarios they normally found in U.A.'s training facilities.
Just a lot of space.
Ryo slowly turned his head.
"It's emptier than I expected."
"It really is."
Kirishima walked beside him, equally busy observing the enormous hall, until his gaze fell on Ryo.
"Hey, by the way..."
Ryo turned his helmet toward him.
"Did you change the color of your costume?"
Ryo looked down at himself for a moment.
"Yeah."
Kirishima analyzed the new color scheme for a few seconds.
"Now that I think about it, it's been a while since I've seen you wearing your costume."
"It's been a while since any of us have."
"True."
Between the training camp and everything that had happened afterward, school uniforms and casual clothes had appeared far more often than their hero costumes over the past few weeks.
Ryo ran a hand along his own arm.
"Black didn't really suit me anymore."
Kirishima nodded seriously, as though he were evaluating a decision of national importance.
"I see."
He raised his thumb.
"It looks better this way."
Ryo tilted his head.
"Really?"
"Ten out of ten in coolitude."
"...That's not even a word."
"It is now."
Dash was walking on the other side of them, but apparently hadn't paid attention to absolutely any part of the conversation.
His gaze alternated between the sign at the entrance and the field ahead.
"I have a question."
Kirishima looked at him.
"What is it?"
Dash pointed upward.
"Why is this place called Training Kitchen Lab?"
Ryo turned his gaze back toward the empty field.
Dash spread his arms.
"There's no kitchen anywhere in here!"
"About that..."
Cementoss's voice came from a few meters ahead.
The students looked toward the teachers standing in front of them, already waiting for the class near the center of the enormous hall.
"That was my idea."
Cementoss placed one hand on his hip while pointing toward the space around them.
"This field was designed to be completely modifiable. Depending on the training required, I can alter the terrain and create specific obstacles for any student."
He lightly tapped his foot against the floor.
"Columns."
A small elevation emerged.
"Walls."
The elevation transformed.
"Platforms, trenches, corridors, buildings, uneven surfaces, and practically any other simple structure we might need."
Dash shook his head while watching everything.
Cementoss crossed his arms.
"In other words, I can 'cook' the perfect field for every training need."
Dash nodded one last time.
"Got it."
Then he pointed at Cementoss.
"I can tell that you really cooked with this one, Teach."
Cementoss laughed upon hearing the phrase in English.
"Thank you."
Ryo looked at Dash.
"Were you waiting through that entire conversation just to make that joke?"
"Maybe."
Before that could continue, Iida raised his hand.
"Sensei! I would like to request a more detailed explanation about something!"
Aizawa looked at him.
"Is it about the Ultimate Moves?"
"Precisely."
Iida maintained his rigid posture.
"I perfectly understand their importance for a professional hero. However, I would like to understand why their development is being directly associated with preparation for the Provisional License."
Some of the students also looked at Aizawa, equally interested in knowing.
Aizawa put his hands in his pockets.
"Because being a hero doesn't mean only showing up when there's a villain waiting to fight you."
He began walking slowly in front of the class.
"Traffic accidents. Fires. Collapses. Natural disasters. Planned attacks. Hostages. Evacuations. Search operations."
His gaze swept across the students.
"You can be placed in practically any imaginable situation and you'll still be expected to find a way to save people."
Aizawa raised one finger.
"During the Provisional License Exam, your ability to adapt to unpredictable situations will naturally be evaluated."
Midnight took a few steps forward.
"And there are many factors involved in that."
She began counting on her fingers.
"Rapid information gathering; Decision-making; Mobility; Combat capability; Communication."
She smiled.
"And naturally, charisma helps quite a bit too. After all, you need to be able to reassure people while you work."
Kaminari raised an eyebrow.
"Is charisma really that important?"
Midnight pointed at him.
"If someone is trapped inside a collapsing building and you look more terrified than they do, do you think that helps?"
Kaminari slowly lowered his hand.
"...Fair point."
Midnight returned to the explanation.
"Despite that variety, one of the qualities that still carries the most weight for potential heroes is combat capability."
She looked across the class.
"That's where your Ultimate Moves come in."
Cementoss nodded.
"If you can keep a cool head and execute stable, decisive, and reliable techniques when necessary, you'll be demonstrating a much higher level of combat capability."
As he spoke, Cementoss began walking backward.
Ectoplasm stepped forward to take his place.
"But don't confuse 'Ultimate Move' with simply 'a really strong attack.'"
He pointed directly at Iida.
"Your Recipro Burst, for example."
Iida reflexively pointed at his own chest.
"An extreme increase in speed over a short period of time that allows you to reach incredibly high speeds in an instant. That alone is already distinctive enough to be considered a signature technique."
Iida's chest seemed to inflate by about five centimeters.
"My Recipro Burst..."
His eyes gleamed behind his helmet.
"...an Ultimate Move."
Uraraka smiled beside him.
"You're really happy about that, Iida!"
Midoriya was already muttering something while probably mentally cataloging every piece of information he had received.
Ryo, on the other hand, stared down at his own hands.
"Ultimate Moves... I think I have a few."
He counted on his fingers.
"Nuclear Impact, Internal Razor Blade..."
His brow began to furrow.
"...Wait."
"The Gamma Spheres? No..."
He used those the same way anyone would use projectiles, the gamma ones were basically the same thing.
Gamma Explosions varied in size and direction, but they were still a basic application of emission.
"Gauss Propulsion?"
Maybe.
It was extremely useful for mobility and had already become an important part of his aerial fighting style.
Detection through radio waves was also fairly distinctive, but calling that an Ultimate Move sounded strange.
Ryo grimaced beneath his helmet.
"Seriously?"
All that time, he had imagined that he possessed a massive library of special techniques.
But when he stopped to separate ordinary attacks from truly unique techniques...
He barely reached two or three.
That was when he finally realized that, in practically every recent battle, he had relied on the same tool whenever he truly needed to get something done.
His hands.
"You're probably still thinking about what you already have."
Aizawa's voice cut through his thoughts.
"Your summer training camp was interrupted before we could reach this stage."
Some students looked confused.
"But the Quirk-strengthening training you started there was already part of the preparation for developing your Ultimate Moves."
Mina's eyes widened.
"That had a purpose besides torturing us?!"
"Obviously."
Aizawa answered as though that should have been evident.
"Cool plot twist," Sero muttered.
It was at that moment that Cementoss slammed both hands against the ground, causing massive concrete columns to grow around him. Ramps emerged between them. Elevations transformed into small artificial hills, while walls and uneven platforms rose one after another, converting the empty hangar into a gigantic field divided into dozens of different areas.
Kaminari slowly raised his head as a column continued growing in front of him.
"...Damn."
Aizawa didn't even turn around to look at what was happening behind him.
"There are ten days left until the official start of the second semester."
Ectoplasm opened his mouth before beginning to create several Ectoplasms from the mass he spat out, the clones climbing onto the structures created by Cementoss.
"You'll use every one of those ten days to improve your Quirks and create at least two functional Ultimate Moves through extremely intensive training.
Aizawa made a small gesture toward the monstrous field created before them.
"So make use of that Plus Ultra mentality you all love so much."
One of Ectoplasm's clones cracked its neck.
"And push beyond your limits."
Another clenched its fists.
"Are you ready?"
The class stared at the landscape ahead.
Kaminari turned toward Sero.
"Why do I get the feeling this looks worse than the training camp?"
"It doesn't look worse."
Sero turned his head toward him, pale.
"It is worse."
Kirishima slammed his fists together.
"This is gonna be insanely awesome!"
"Finally, someone with some attitude," Midnight commented.
Dash, however, had a different reason to smile.
He placed his hands behind his head.
"Well, at least this time I'm free from that hell my sister was putting me through at camp."
He looked dramatically upward.
"Thank you, God."
"I wouldn't thank God so soon."
Dash's eyes widened at that familiar voice behind him.
Very slowly, he turned his head around to see who it was, only to find Violet standing with her arms crossed near the entrance of the T.K.L.
A small, very uncomforting smile occupied her face.
Dash went pale.
"...No."
Violet raised one hand.
"Hi again, little brother."
"...No."
Kirishima looked between the two of them.
"You okay?"
"NO!"
Ryo almost started laughing until he realized Violet wasn't alone.
Three other figures emerged behind her.
Helen entered first, dressed and ready for training, followed by Tony beside her, looking at the enormous field and landscape in surprise.
And finally came Bob.
The class fell silent.
Aizawa, for the first time that morning, allowed a small smile to appear on his face.
"Ah. I almost forgot to mention."
Dash slowly looked at the teacher.
"We'll once again have special guests helping us with the training."
Bob immediately spotted his son among the class, breaking into a wide smile and waving his hand.
"Hey there, champ."
Dash's previous smile disappeared completely.
"...I want to go back to the dorms."
Meanwhile, Ryo tried his absolute hardest not to laugh at his friend's situation.
----------------------------------------
The structures created by Cementoss had transformed the T.K.L. into an enormous collection of individual areas, with each student occupying a different platform and receiving specific guidance from a teacher, an Ectoplasm clone, or one of the special guests.
And it didn't take long for the massive hangar to fill with explosions, shouts, and sweat being shed.
On one of the platforms, Ojiro was having a particularly unpleasant experience.
The Ectoplasm clone charged at him with a rapid sequence of punches.
Ojiro blocked the first strike and dodged the second.
His tail intercepted a kick coming from below, but Ectoplasm used the opening to strike his shoulder and make him stagger backward.
"Urgh!"
Ojiro immediately spun around, using his tail to sweep the clone's legs.
Ectoplasm jumped.
"Don't rely so much on your tail!"
"Easy for you to say!"
Ojiro narrowly dodged another punch.
"It's literally my Quirk!"
Meanwhile, Dash was discovering that maybe he really had committed some kind of sin in another life.
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!
His fists struck the violet surface in front of him dozens of times per second.
Violet remained at the center of a spherical barrier, completely motionless.
Dash vanished and reappeared around her from every direction, creating so many lingering afterimages that it looked like an entire crowd of Dashes was surrounding the force field.
The impacts blended into a continuous noise until Dash finally stopped and all the afterimages disappeared.
He rested his hands on his knees, panting.
"This..."
He breathed.
"...is impossible."
Violet looked at her own barrier.
"Don't be like that."
Dash raised his head.
Violet brought her thumb and index finger close together, leaving only a few millimeters between them.
"You're this close to making a scratch."
Dash stared at her fingers.
"...I hate you."
"Love you too, little bro."
On another platform, the situation was almost the exact opposite.
Because an Ectoplasm clone was trying to survive against an explosive maniac.
Bakugo's figure appeared in front of him.
The clone tried to counterattack, but Bakugo blasted himself sideways before he could strike, changed direction in midair without losing speed, and disappeared from his sight.
"BEHIND YOU!"
The clone turned around.
Bakugo was there with his palm open.
"Boom."
The explosion swallowed the clone completely as a column of smoke rose from the platform.
A few seconds later, Bakugo walked out of it, waving the smoke away with his hand.
"HEY!"
The original Ectoplasm, who was supervising different areas of the field, turned his head.
Bakugo pointed at the remaining puddle of ectoplasm.
"I KILLED YOU AGAIN! SEND ANOTHER ONE!"
Ectoplasm sighed before beginning to create another clone while Bakugo grumbled as he waited.
"These clones are way too fragile."
He cracked his neck.
"If they were at least as tough as those weird All Might clones..."
A strange shiver ran down his spine as he remembered them, mentally promising that one day he would get revenge on that giant All Might.
His gaze wandered across the field until it stopped on a distant platform, and his expression immediately soured.
"...Tch."
There was Ryo.
And unlike Bakugo, he had gotten a much better punching bag.
Mr. Incredible.
"Why did that bastard get the best one...?"
On the platform, Bob blocked a punch coming from the right before Ryo disappeared and another strike hit him in the back.
Bob twisted his body to try to intercept the boy, but Ryo disappeared again.
A sequence of impacts began striking the hero from different directions as Ryo circled him at high speed.
A punch to the abdomen.
Another to the shoulder.
A side kick.
Ryo ducked under a counterattack and reappeared behind him to land another strike on his back.
Bob tried to grab him only to catch empty air.
Ryo came back from the left.
"He's really strong."
The energy of Inner Transition continuously flowed through Ryo's body.
1%.
That was all he was using and all he wanted to use during that training session.
But even then, Bob could keep up.
Not in speed, of course. In that regard, Ryo clearly had the advantage.
But in strength...
"He's almost matching me."
Ryo blocked a punch with his forearm and felt the impact travel through his body.
"Using only one percent."
That placed Bob almost in the same category All Might had been for him, even though against All Might he had used 2%.
Ryo prepared another charge before noticing Bob smiling as he spread his arms wide.
Then he slammed both hands together with all his strength.
THOOM!
His palms crashed violently together.
The air between them was compressed and expelled in a powerful shockwave.
"!"
Ryo was caught directly by the shockwave and thrown backward.
He spun in the air, flipped, and landed several meters away, his feet sliding across the concrete.
"A Thunder Slap? What is he? The Hulk?"
He barely had time to raise his head before Bob appeared in front of him with a loaded punch.
Ryo reacted on instinct before lunging forward with his own fist, and the two punches collided.
BOOOOM!
A powerful wave of air swept through the T.K.L.
Several students stopped on instinct when the blast struck their clothes.
Mina covered her face.
Kaminari nearly lost his balance.
Dash stopped attacking the barrier.
Even some of Ectoplasm's clones looked in that direction.
At the point of impact, Ryo and Bob remained with their fists pressed against each other.
Mr. Incredible smiled and pulled his arm back.
"You're strong. You're seriously strong, kid!"
Ryo straightened his posture.
"Thanks."
Bob rolled his shoulder a few times.
"It's been a long time since I've met someone who could trade blows with me like that."
He laughed.
"Other than All Might, at least."
Ryo tilted his head slightly as he watched Bob stretch his back until several joints cracked.
"Well, I'm not exactly in my prime anymore either..."
He rubbed his aching shoulder.
"...but even so, your punches are definitely no joke."
Ryo couldn't hide a small smile of satisfaction behind his visor.
"However..."
Bob looked directly at him.
"I feel like you're still not using your full potential."
Ryo's eyes widened inside his helmet.
"He noticed?"
Bob began walking toward him.
"How?"
He wondered if Bob had found out that he was keeping Inner Transition at only one percent.
"Did Aizawa tell him the details of my Quirk? Dash's dad, of all people??"
Bob pointed at him.
"You waste strength."
Ryo blinked.
"...What?"
"In your strikes."
Some of the tension disappeared as Bob continued.
"When you start a punch, you can feel that you're putting a lot into it."
He closed his hand.
"But at the moment of impact..."
He slowly threw a punch into the air.
"...it feels like only part of it actually reaches the target."
Ryo stood completely still.
"It's almost like you gather an enormous amount of force..."
Bob opened his hand.
"...and let half of it escape before you can use it."
The surprise on Ryo's face changed.
"Ah."
He hadn't discovered anything about Ryo using only 1% of Inner Transition.
In fact, Ryo was still a little surprised that he had noticed something else instead.
The loss rate.
"Even so..."
Ryo stared at Bob.
"He figured that out just from trading punches with me?"
Bob scratched his chin.
"But maybe I'm wrong."
"No."
Bob raised an eyebrow.
"You're right."
Ryo let out a sigh.
"I have... a problem with fully utilizing the strength I produce."
It was the simplest version he could give without going into detail about the entire energy mechanics of Inner Transition.
Bob nodded.
"I figured."
Ryo crossed his arms.
"Have you ever tried dealing with something like that before?"
"Several times..."
"And?"
"It didn't work."
Bob laughed.
"Then you're exactly where I was when I was younger."
Ryo tilted his head.
"You had this problem?"
"More or less."
Bob placed his hands on his hips.
"I've always been strong."
That was probably the biggest understatement Ryo had heard all week.
"When I first started as a hero, I thought strength solved almost everything."
Bob raised his fist.
"If one punch didn't work..."
He pulled his arm back.
"...I'd throw a stronger one."
Ryo remained silent.
"That was until I met my mentor."
Bob smiled at the memory.
"His name was Nimble Jack, and he spent months telling me that I didn't know how to use my own strength no matter how hard I could hit."
He laughed.
"I hated it sometimes when he said that."
"Why?"
"Because I could lift an aircraft carrier weighing a hundred thousand tons back then."
Ryo nodded slowly.
"Reasonable argument."
"Exactly!"
Bob pointed at him, satisfied.
"But he was right."
Bob raised his arm.
"My problem wasn't that I wasn't strong."
He clenched his fist.
"It was that I didn't know how to use my muscles properly."
Ryo frowned.
"...What do you mean?"
Bob began to laugh.
"That was exactly the same reaction I had when he told me that."
He took a simple fighting stance.
"When you throw a punch, what do you think about?"
Ryo answered almost immediately.
"Hitting the target."
"Exactly."
Bob slowly moved his arm.
"You think about moving your arm and fist toward the target."
His fist moved forward and stopped in front of an imaginary target.
"And putting force here."
He touched his own knuckles.
"But a punch doesn't start in the fist or even in the arm."
Bob stomped his foot against the ground.
"It starts here."
He pointed at his leg.
"On the ground. Before traveling through the legs and rising through the hips."
He rotated his torso.
"Torso."
His shoulder moved forward.
"And shoulder, until it finally reaches the arms and then arrives here."
Bob clenched his fist.
"If those parts don't work together, your strength gets lost along the way."
Ryo remained completely still, watching him.
It brought to mind the judo lessons he had taken at his old school. The principle was practically the same.
He had learned other martial arts at home over the years, but thinking about it now, that had been closer to imitation than genuine learning. He watched the movements, understood how they were performed, and tried to reproduce them.
Judo had been different because he had learned the fundamentals. Posture, balance, weight distribution and, above all, how to use an opponent's strength and movement against them.
Bob continued.
"When I was younger, I pretty much just punched for the sake of punching."
He shrugged.
"It worked because I was already absurdly strong."
Ryo thought for a few seconds.
"But you were only using part of the force you could generate."
Bob pointed at him.
"Exactly."
Something clicked in Ryo's mind.
He slowly lowered his eyes toward his own body.
"Wait."
Inner Transition.
Ever since he had started using it, he had treated his body as a single structure.
Energy entered and was distributed everywhere at once, strengthening everything as one while the energy continuously circulated.
He had never thought about directing that energy according to the movement he was actually performing.
Ryo's eyes widened.
"I'm doing this wrong."
Not because the energy was simply escaping due to a lack of containment.
It was overflowing because he himself was keeping his entire body saturated unnecessarily.
"Ah..."
Ryo brought one hand to his helmet.
"Shit."
He started pacing back and forth, muttering under his breath.
"I've spent all this time trying to stop the energy from escaping..."
Bob simply watched him.
"...when I was the one forcing it to escape."
He stopped.
"What an idiot."
Ryo let out an irritated grumble.
"I should've realized this sooner."
Bob raised a hand.
"Hey."
Ryo looked at him.
"Don't make that face."
"What face?"
"The face of someone who's about to spend the next three hours calling himself an idiot."
Ryo fell silent.
"...I was."
"Not worth it."
Bob walked closer.
"Sometimes the answer becomes invisible precisely because you've been staring at the problem for too long."
Ryo let out a breath.
"So how do I fix it?"
Bob flashed a wide smile.
"Simple."
He took a fighting stance again.
"Learn how to punch."
Silence fell over the area as Ryo stared at him through his visor for five seconds.
Bob's smile slowly began to fade.
"...That sounded better in my head."
Ryo slowly tilted his head.
"You just spent five minutes explaining that my problem is not knowing how to punch, and your solution is for me to learn how to punch."
Bob scratched the back of his neck.
"When you put it that way..."
Ryo continued staring at Bob, making him look away in embarrassment.
"I was never very good at explaining this stuff..."
Ryo let out a tired sigh, realizing that this was going to be a very long training session.