Denki pushed himself up slowly, every muscle protesting as he staggered to his feet.
His legs felt like jelly, lightning still crackling faintly along his skin as it bled off in weak sparks.
He took a breath, then another, and began walking toward the Titanback.
Each step felt heavy
The gorilla was still standing when Denki got close—massive frame silhouetted against the ruined clearing, chest rising and falling in deep, thunderous breaths.
Its fur was scuffed, streaked with dirt and blood, but it still radiated an overwhelming presence.
The Titanback glanced down at Denki
Just once
Then its gaze swept the clearing—over the broken boulders, the shattered logs, the gouged earth, and the empty space where the intruders had been sent flying
Only then did it let out a low, exhausted grunt
The Titanback dropped to one knee
The impact sent a small tremor through the ground.
It shifted, turning slightly, and leaned its massive back against the tree it had used as a weapon.
The trunk creaked ominously under the weight, tilting just enough to make Denki tense.
“…Yeah” Denki muttered weakly, hands on his knees.
“We’re definitely gonna need to do some spring cleaning after this”
He looked around at the devastation.
The clearing was wrecked—earth torn open, stones pulverized, trees snapped or flattened.
And that tree… the one the Titanback had ripped out and swung like a hammer.
It looked like it could fall any second
Then the ground shook
Denki straightened, eyes widening as the tree behind the Titanback began to move.
The trunk trembled—then slowly, steadily, righted itself
Roots that had been torn free sank back into the earth like living things, soil flowing around them as if guided by invisible hands.
Cracks in the ground sealed shut.
The bark thickened, deepened in color, knitting itself together where it had splintered.
The tree grew.
Before Denki’s eyes, it surged upward, branches stretching higher and higher until it stood at least another story taller than before.
The damage vanished completely, replaced by a towering, reinforced trunk that radiated quiet, immense vitality.
It was now the tallest tree Denki had ever seen.
Denki stared, slack-jawed
“…No way”
Memory clicked into place
He’d read about this
Not humans.
Not animals.
Plants
Awakened quirks among flora were insanely rare—barely documented.
Less than ten known cases worldwide, each one closely monitored, protected, or hidden deep in restricted zones.
And one of them…
He slowly looked up at the colossal tree towering above the clearing.
“Worldroot Colossus”
“…Adaptive Regrowth,” he whispered.
“Self-repair/environmental reinforcement. Growth acceleration based on its surroundings”
Denki let out a breathless laugh
“You’ve gotta be kidding me”
Another one
Right here
(Did Hashirama reincarnate into a literal tree in his next life? Talk about taking wood and nature release to a next level)
The Titanback shifted slightly, settling more comfortably against the now fully restored trunk, which didn’t so much as creak this time.
Gorilla and tree—guardian and anchor
Denki wiped sweat from his brow, still smiling in disbelief.
“…Guess I just stumbled into a very exclusive club” he said quietly
And for once, the forest didn’t feel hostile
It felt alive
With the clearing restored—and the Worldroot Colossus standing taller and stronger than ever—Denki finally remembered something important.
His Electric Field
A chill ran down his spine
He activated it instantly, lightning humming outward in a wide, invisible pulse as his senses sharpened.
His heart raced as he scanned the forest in every direction, half-expecting the Razorback Grizzly or the challenger gorilla to come charging back in a second wave.
Nothing
He focused in the direction they’d been launched.
No hostile signals.
No massive movements.
No building threat.
Slowly, Denki exhaled
But then—
Energy
From the opposite end of his detection range
Denki stiffened as the single signal split into many.
Multiple heavy presences.
Large.
Moving together.
Closing in.
“…You’ve gotta be kidding me” he muttered, panic flaring as he glanced back at the Titanback.
The gorilla was still injured.
Standing, yes—but clearly exhausted.
Another fight, especially against many, would be bad.
Very bad.
Denki’s mind raced through scenarios—escape routes, last-ditch lightning bursts, ways to draw a door in the ground and escape through—
Then the shapes broke through the tree line
And Denki froze
Gorillas
A lot of them
They emerged from the forest carrying huge boulders and massive logs, some working together to lift stones they couldn’t move alone.
Others balanced thick branches filled with fruit, leaves spilling over the sides like groceries after a long trip.
Denki blinked
“…Oh”
Wood creaked behind him
He turned to see the Titanback straighten fully, rolling its shoulders before standing to its full height.
The other gorillas stopped instantly.
The Titanback beat its chest once and roared
Silence followed
Then—a small gorilla, barely half Denki’s height, broke from the group.
It ran forward with surprising speed, holding a short log stuffed with bright fruit.
The child-like gorilla lifted it up with both hands.
The Titanback looked down
Then gently picked the smaller gorilla up
Denki felt something loosen in his chest
With a final roar, the Titanback signaled the rest.
The clearing filled with sound as the troop responded—beating their chests, calling out, gathering together as they began interacting, sharing food, setting down stones.
It wasn’t reinforcements
It was family
Denki sagged in relief, rubbing the back of his neck.
“…Yeah. That tracks”
Watching them together—strong, loud, alive—calmed the last tension he didn’t even realize he’d been holding.
(Guess it was time to go)
As Denki turned to leave, a low grunt stopped him
He turned back just in time to see the Titanback walking toward the Worldroot Colossus.
It paused, then looked over its shoulder—making sure Denki was watching.
Then it climbed
The massive gorilla scaled the towering tree with shocking speed and precision.
Branches bent but didn’t break beneath its weight.
A moment later, it descended.
In its hand—
A branch
It looked comically small compared to the Titanback’s size.
The gorilla held it out
Denki hesitated, then took it
The branch twitched faintly every few seconds, alive with subtle energy.
The Titanback gave one final grunt and nod before turning back to its family.
Denki stared down at the branch, clenched his hand around it and smiled.
“Well….this was very fun…thanks”
With that, he turned and made his way out of the forest—
For the very last time
~~~~~~
Denki landed lightly on the other side of the gate, dusting off his clothes as he straightened up.
The familiar, safer side of the reserve felt almost unreal after everything he’d just been through.
Mina and Kirishima were waiting for him near the trees.
The moment Denki looked at their faces, his brow furrowed.
Mina’s arms were crossed tight against her chest, one foot tapping against the dirt.
Kirishima looked tense, shoulders stiff, like he was bracing himself.
“…Okay” Denki said slowly.
“Why do you both look like I’m about to get in trouble and commit a crime?”
Mina clicked her tongue and smacked her fist into her open palm.
“You did” she said, clearly still annoyed.
Kirishima coughed awkwardly
“—we tried to make the most of the time we had left, going on more rides playing more games” Mina continued ” and out of the corner of my eye I saw two older kids.
Not from our school”
Denki’s expression sharpened
“They were messing with one of the kids from a different class” Mina said, her eyes narrowing.
“At first it was just talking—real nasty stuff—but then one of them pushed him to the ground”
She clenched her fists “That’s when I got mad”
Denki could practically see it: Mina marching over, zero hesitation, ready to throw down.
“When I went over to tell them to back off, they refused and even activated their quirks” Mina went on, scowling.
“Not full-on attacking, but enough to be threatening. Like they wanted to scare me away!”
Kirishima stepped in, rubbing the back of his neck.
“I—I didn’t know what to do” he admitted.
“I was nervous… and kinda scared”
Mina glanced at him, but there was no judgment in her eyes
“So I ran” Kirishima continued quickly.
“Not away—toward a teacher. I figured if things got worse, I could get someone to help”
“And he did good” Mina said, huffing “Because right when they stepped closer and I was about to spray some acid, Kirishima came back with a teacher”
She snapped her fingers “The second those two saw an adult, they bolted. Took off running before the teacher could even get their names”
Denki let out a slow breath, tension easing from his shoulders.
“…Good call” he said at last, looking at Kirishima “You did exactly the right thing”
Kirishima blinked, surprised
“R-Really?”
“Yeah” Denki said with a small grin.
“You still found a way to help even though you felt scared, that takes guts”
Mina snorted “Still wish I’d gotten a punch in”
Denki laughed quietly, then put his hand on Kirishima’s shoulder “you REALLY did good. Because who knows what she would have done to them”
“Yeah! I would have shown them who’s boss!”
Denki looked back at the forest then back at them.
“It sounds like we all had an interesting day,” he said.
“But hey—no one got seriously hurt, and we’re still not in trouble”
Mina rolled her shoulders, finally relaxing a bit.
“Good. Because I’m starving”
Kirishima nodded.
“Same. Let’s head back”
Denki smiled as they started walking toward the hotel together, the weight of the forest finally lifting from him.
With everything ending without anyone getting hurt
After dinner, hot showers, and fresh clothes, the trip finally began to wind down.
Students gathered with their families near the buses, laughter and tired chatter filling the air as everyone filed inside.
Denki slid into a window seat, his backpack at his feet, Mina and Kirishima a few rows away with their own families.
As the bus rumbled to life and pulled away from the hotel, Denki rested his head against the glass, watching the lights outside blur into streaks.
What a day…
It had started out normal
Just a regular school trip, another excuse to explore, another forest full of quirked animals to observe and spar
Then the challenger had appeared
One beast fighting to protect its home
Another fighting to take it—tear it apart and claim it through force.
The Titanback would have won.
Denki was sure of that.
It had the strength and reason to fight.
But then a third presence entered the fight—something unexpected, something that flipped entire situation balance completely.
If Denki hadn’t jumped in—another outsider stepping into a battle that wasn’t his—he wasn’t sure the Titanback would have pulled through in the end.
The thought lingered for a moment
But it all worked out
The forest was safe
The Titanback’s family had returned
Even Mina and Kirishima’s little bit of trouble ended without anyone getting hurt
Denki exhaled softly and let his shoulders sink into the seat
The exhaustion finally caught up to him
His eyes slid shut
Sitting right beside him Hikari glanced over and smiled when she saw Denki already asleep, head tilted to the side, mouth just barely open.
“Well” she whispered, nudging Sei gently, “looks like someone really wore himself out”
Sei chuckled quietly.
“It seems only these trips or big projects he puts himself in are the only times his endless energy actually runs out”
Hikari laughed under her breath.
“Guess that means he had fun”
They shared a warm smile, watching the bus roll steadily down the road
“Maybe we should go on trips like this more often” Hikari said softly.
“Yeah” Sei agreed.
“If nothing else, it gets him to finally go to bed early”
As Denki slept soundly—unaware of the conversation and quiet peace settling in, after a week that would stay with him far longer than any school report ever could