"Moon Breathing, Second Form: Pearl Flower Moons."
A sequence of repeated slashes carved through the air—a wide-range assault where dozens of tiny crescent-shaped blades followed the path of the primary strikes. The villains and yakuza members fell like autumn leaves before a gale.
"Small fry... I expected you to provide at least a semblance of entertainment. It seems I overestimated you."
"Y-You monster...!"
"I have no desire to hear such words from a man with six arms..."
"You're one to talk, you six-eyed freak!"
That actually hurt a little...
"Then... let us end this. It is nearly time for me to return."
"W-Wait—"
Before the villain could finish his plea, I adjusted my stance and drew a breath.
"Moon Breathing, First Form: Dark Moon, Evening Palace."
In a single horizontal flash, the villain's arm was severed. He collapsed, screaming and trembling in the dirt.
"Such exaggeration... over a mere scratch."
I struck him with the back of Kyokuseibo's blade to knock him unconscious, then sheathed the sword.
"Boring..."
I willed the sword, forged from my own bone and flesh, back into my body. Looking down at the heap of incapacitated villains and broken yakuza, I sighed. These were B-rank threats and organized criminal groups, yet they had been dismantled by a middle schooler. It was almost absurd, but then again, my physical stats were not those of a normal child. Though I was not yet in high school, I stood at 190 cm and weighed 93 kg—a monstrous physique that complemented my terrifying visage.
Between my face and my towering height, I rarely had people pick fights with me on the street. Even the low-level thugs and yakuza would bow and scramble away the moment they saw me. This imposing aura was precisely how I'd chased off every lowlife who had ever tried to approach my Momo with ill intentions.
Regardless, I left the scene of the carnage and climbed into a waiting car.
"Let's go."
"Wow~ you work fast, don't you? Still not as fast as me, though~"
"Drive."
"Man, you're so stiff! Michikatsu-kun, can't you play along once in a while?"
"Do I truly appear so insignificant... that I would waste my time on such vapid wordplay?"
"Ugh... fine, fine. You really are a boring person, you know that?"
"I am currently on duty. Refer to me by my Hero Name, Hawks."
"Yes, yes~ Kokushibo."
The man driving—none other than the current No. 3 Hero of Japan, Hawks—sighed and glanced at me through the rearview mirror. I ignored him, staring out the window at the passing scenery.
The reason I was with Hawks was simple: I was currently a Hero and an operative working directly under the Hero Public Safety Commission.
'Direct-service Hero' was just a polite way of saying I was a glorified trash collector for the government's dirty laundry.
About a year ago, the Commission had approached me with a recruitment offer. Even though our family was a traditional samurai house, my father was strictly against the idea of a child becoming a government operative before even reaching adulthood. The family elders, however, saw it as a beneficial connection to the state and supported it. Ultimately, I was the one who accepted.
I knew that even if I refused, the Commission would have found a way to force my hand. Seeing the current President of the Commission, the answer was obvious—he was the type of sociopath who viewed people as disposable tools, much like he did with Lady Nagant. To him, my Quirk and my power made me a prize too valuable to pass up.
Even with immense individual power, there are limits to opposing the machinery of the state. I chose to preempt them before they could use underhanded tactics to ruin my family and take me by force.
As long as I cooperated, my family would be safe.
And so, I walked into the maw of the Commission, taking on the role of the shadow that cleans their filth.
"We're here~~ care to grab a bite to eat?"
"I decline. My betrothed is waiting for me."
"My, my~ young love! I'm starting to get jealous. I'm over twenty and still haven't found a girl. Maybe I should look for one."
"You are only twenty... your complaints are unseemly."
"I don't want to hear that from a fifteen-year-old!"
"...Excuse me."
Finding no words to counter that, I stepped out of the car before he could say more, ignoring his protests as I headed straight for the President's office.
Knock, knock.
"Enter."
At the sound of the President's permission, the door opened. In walked Michikatsu Tsugikuni—Hero Name: Kokushibo. With his towering height and six eyes, he looked more like a grown man than a boy. The President looked up with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.
"Welcome back, Kokushibo. Please, take a seat—"
"I shall be departing immediately. I will keep the report brief. Fatalities: zero. Severe injuries: three. Permanent incapacitations: one hundred and five. The documents were successfully recovered. They are here."
Michikatsu spoke dryly, tossing the files onto the desk with an air of indifference. The President maintained his smile and praised him, but Michikatsu saw right through the facade.
This man cherished a useful tool, not the person wielding it. If Michikatsu were to fail an assignment, the President would either discard him or use it as leverage to force him into even more dangerous missions.
The man was a monster in human skin. A creature no different from Muzan.
"Then... I am going home."
Michikatsu turned to leave, but the President's voice stopped him.
"Kokushibo—no, Michikatsu-kun?"
The boy's eyes narrowed in irritation.
"I've been quite patient with your attitude, but you would do well not to ignore me too much. I have done my research on your background... for the sake of your family, and your fiancée..."
VROOOOOOOM—
In an instant, Michikatsu's blood boiled. The President had touched his "reverse scale"—his family and Momo. In less than 0.01 seconds, Michikatsu drew Kyokuseibo. The blade stopped precisely half a centimeter from the President's throat.
"Are you... threatening me?" Michikatsu hissed, his voice cold as the grave.
"The one making a threat here is you, surely," the President replied smoothly. He was smiling, but his eyes were sharp. Michikatsu's expression remained stoic, yet an inferno of rage burned within him.
"Consider this a warning... If you ever use my loved ones as hostages again... your head will leave your shoulders."
"Terrifying. Do it if you can, Tsugikuni."
"You are a human... and yet, you are more repulsive than any demon."
Michikatsu sheathed his sword and walked toward the door. Before stepping out, he delivered one final warning.
"Remember this, President... You are vastly underestimating what a demon truly is."
Michikatsu left the room. Once he was gone, the President wiped a thin layer of cold sweat from his brow, his lips curling into a jagged smile.
"Is that so? I think it's you who underestimates me. I suppose I'll have to take care of this."
The President picked up his phone and dialed a secure line.
"It's me. Nagant... I have a job for you. Yes, this will be your final mission. Find an opening... and assassinate Kokushibo."