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After his sleepless night, Ren had spent hours studying the Quirk he had awakened, the one he suspected was Insight.
But the more he researched it, and the more he thought about it, the heavier his mood became.
Was this really the legendary, absurdly broken power he remembered?
Once he calmed down, the question chilled him.
Had he truly awakened Insight?
If this was Insight, then where was its most terrifying drawback?
In the stories Ren remembered, the holder of that kind of ability came with a body that could instantly heal nonfatal wounds and resist nonfatal poisons.
Was that strong?
Of course it was.
Ridiculously strong.
In Ren’s words, that was basically being born with an invincible shield.
Add in the observation mastery of Insight, the sharpest spear imaginable, and who was supposed to defeat someone like that?
But maybe even fate grew jealous of power that unfair.
That was why the original version of the ability carried a terrible illness, a balance imposed on something that should have been impossible.
Ren had not forgotten that detail.
The original holder in the stories had been sickly from childhood, trapped in a weak body despite overwhelming talent.
Ren, on the other hand, had been pale and hated fried eggs, but that was about it.
He had grown up healthy.
He had barely even caught colds.
According to his mother, feeding him ought to count as a full-time job.
Compared with a body ruined by disease, burning some life force when he used Insight’s core power barely counted as a drawback.
“So, Katsuki Bakugo,” Ren said, returning from his thoughts as he faced the boy in front of him, “you’re going to help me verify whether this really is Insight.”
Bakugo was already fighting to suppress his temper.
Ren’s solemn tone, which sounded insulting no matter how anyone heard it, lit the fuse.
“Bastard, don’t look down on me!”
The ground cracked beneath Bakugo’s feet.
He launched forward like a rocket breaking free of the pad.
In an instant, he was in front of Ren, leaping up with a fist burning in explosive light and aiming straight for that hateful face.
Ren stood still, as if he had not reacted at all.
Bakugo’s grin sharpened.
‘Damn bastard.
You humiliated me.
You actually dared to save me.
Drop dead.’
The air filled with the sharp smell of gunpowder.
Bakugo’s fist closed in.
His wild grin widened.
Ren’s pale pupils dilated.
The entire world seemed to freeze, every detail turning impossibly clear.
He could see the tiny hairs on Bakugo’s face.
No.
He could see deeper.
The thought came from nowhere, and in that instant, Ren’s dilated pupils contracted sharply.
The scene before him changed.
It was as if his vision had become a precision microscope and an X-ray at the same time.
Bakugo’s flame-lit fist had no secrets left.
Thick blood vessels.
Blood surging through them.
Fine nerve endings.
Electrical impulses racing along the lines.
Mutated tissue producing explosive compounds according to a clear biological rhythm.
He saw it.
‘Insight: copy function.’
The moment Ren understood the secret of Bakugo’s Quirk, something changed deep inside both of his arms.
Mutated sweat glands formed.
Reinforced channels took shape.
The structure assembled itself in a breath.
Time moved again.
Ren’s hand, which had been hanging at his side, rose.
He moved second, but arrived first.
The motion looked slow until a violent explosion burst from his palm and accelerated it.
Bang.
Flesh struck flesh with a dull impact.
Ren caught Bakugo’s merciless punch with a close-quarters hand trap drilled into his body by years of martial training.
His waist twisted.
Power rolled through his core.
Then his elbow chopped down.
Boom.
Bakugo, caught off guard and pinned by one move, blasted the ground with his left hand without caring about the consequences.
The recoil tore him free from Ren’s grip.
“That’s some battle instinct,” Ren said.
“You got out of that?”
Then he lifted one hand.
Small explosions popped across his palm.
“But your Quirk really is strong.”
There was admiration in Ren’s voice, and also relief.
Yes.
The instant Bakugo attacked, Ren’s Quirk had activated.
It had successfully and perfectly learned Bakugo’s Explosion, even faster than the original Insight from his memories should have been able to.
“No…” Bakugo landed and, for once, did not immediately attack again.
He stared blankly at the explosions crackling in Ren’s palm.
“No.
That’s impossible.”
Why could he use Bakugo’s Quirk?
“You damn thief.” Bakugo’s face twisted.
“You stole my power.
I’ll kill you!”
Ren’s smile, born from relief that his Quirk had worked, looked like pure mockery in Bakugo’s eyes.
The blond attacked again, furious beyond reason.
“I’m not a thief,” Ren shot back.
“This is learning.
Friendly learning.”
He flicked his fingers, and another tiny explosion snapped across his palm.
“Besides, your Quirk didn’t disappear.
It just gained a twin.”
Honestly, calling it stealing was unfair.
Ren had studied it properly.
Unfortunately, Bakugo did not seem honored to be treated as study material.
Bang, bang, bang!
Explosions rang through the municipal park one after another.
Boom.
The result was obvious.
Back when Ren had no Quirk, Bakugo’s advantage was overwhelming.
Now that the missing piece had been filled in, with both of them starting from the same line, Bakugo could not match Ren.
After the one hundred and twentieth clean shoulder throw, Ren stood over Bakugo, breathing hard.
“Let’s call it here,” he said helplessly to the blond boy glaring up from the ground.
“Hardly anyone comes to this park, but if we keep going, someone is going to report an incident.”
Bakugo panted harshly.
When Ren offered him a hand, he shoved it away and forced himself upright.
“Don’t think having my Quirk makes you better than me,” Bakugo spat.
“A loser stays a loser.
That will never change.”
After throwing down those words, he limped away.
Then, because his injuries were worse than he wanted to admit, he tripped and fell flat on the ground.
He scrambled up and ran off even faster.
Ren could only shrug.
“For the record, I really did come here to learn.
Beating up a kid was never the plan.”
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