Chapter 81: Punching Misaka Mikoto!
Makoto carefully recalled the restrictions the Main God Space had given him before.
He wasn't allowed to use Talents, abilities, or offensive items.
In other words, anything that didn't fall into those categories could still function normally?
The more he thought about it, the more that seemed to be exactly the case.
The physical attributes Makoto had raised inside the Main God Space still worked normally in Academy City.
And those attributes didn't consist solely of physical stats.
They also included Energy and Adaptability.
Previously, Makoto had been unable to mobilize cursed energy in Academy City, so he'd assumed that powers brought back from other worlds couldn't function here either.
Clearly, that conclusion had been wrong.
The real restriction seemed to apply only to energies that required Makoto to consciously mobilize them.
Using cursed energy to reinforce his body or activate cursed techniques, for example, was prohibited.
Chakra was different.
It continuously strengthened a shinobi's body over time, allowing them to develop extraordinary physical ability without consciously controlling chakra every moment.
The Tailed Beast inside Makoto proved that distinction even more clearly.
It was a pure energy lifeform, yet the Main God Space had allowed it to remain inside his body.
'Does that mean I can let it strengthen me without triggering punishment?'
Makoto was tempted.
In the end, he decided to test it.
According to Yukinoshita, the severity of the punishment depended on what someone actually did with the forbidden power.
Simply coating his body in Tailed Beast chakra would cause virtually no damage to the world.
Even if the Main God Space punished him, the basic cost should only be around 10,000 Mission Points.
Makoto could afford that.
He took a slow breath and mentally connected with the Tailed Beast.
A faint layer of chakra immediately appeared over his body.
The system notification Makoto both loved and hated never came.
'Exactly as I thought.'
The Tailed Beast was a pure energy lifeform and had somehow landed right on the boundary of what the Main God Space considered acceptable.
Makoto couldn't actively channel its chakra into ninjutsu or chakra-enhanced taijutsu.
But if the Tailed Beast itself released chakra to reinforce Makoto's body, that counted as the natural circulation of energy already inside him.
It wasn't considered a violation.
Makoto suspected that coating himself in Tailed Beast chakra was probably the limit.
Techniques like a Tailed Beast Ball almost certainly wouldn't work.
Even so, Makoto's already maxed-out 20-point physical attributes combined with Tailed Beast chakra gave him destructive taijutsu power somewhere around Sixth Gate Guy's level.
Unless he encountered one of Academy City's absolute top-tier espers, his personal safety was no longer much of a concern.
And if he encountered something even more dangerous?
'Then I activate Fate Burn and fight for my life. Simple.'
With his safety problem settled, Makoto took out his phone and checked the messages on his social media account.
He'd assumed nobody would have replied.
Instead, there was a new notification.
Makoto immediately opened it.
An account named Mutsumi, using a blurry cucumber photo as its profile picture, had sent him a single line.
"Who are you?"
At this point, Makoto was almost certain the person replying was Mutsumi Wakaba.
After CRYCHIC disbanded, she was the only person who knew about Togawa Sakiko's circumstances.
Makoto thought briefly before replying.
"I'm Kitano Makoto, a friend of Togawa Sakiko. If you can contact her, just tell her my name. She'll know what to do after that."
Makoto was confident that if Sakiko saw the message, she would contact him immediately.
Anything else could wait until after both of them finished their respective training.
Yet half an hour passed after Makoto sent the message, and there was still no reply.
He could only put his phone away for now.
Given Mutsumi Wakaba's personality, she was probably the type who rarely checked social media.
It wouldn't be surprising if she only logged in once every few days.
Makoto had no choice but to wait patiently.
If there was still no news before his next mission began, he could always ask Misaka Mikoto, Academy City's resident super hacker, to help locate Sakiko.
With that handled, Makoto yawned and left his room.
He happened to run into Kamijou Touma, who had come looking for him so they could go find something to eat.
"Oh, perfect timing. Let's head out together."
Kamijou looked him over suspiciously.
"Actually, you've already been in Academy City for a week. Why do you still look half asleep during the day?"
"Don't tell me you're secretly doing something shady every night."
Makoto lowered his voice conspiratorially.
"Looks like my identity as Night God can't stay hidden anymore. Keep it secret for me, partner."
Night God was a superhero from this world's American comics.
Kamijou had obviously heard of him, because Makoto's nonsense immediately made him burst out laughing.
After that, Kamijou stopped questioning Makoto's strange schedule.
He cared about his friend's health, but he wasn't the type to interfere with how someone else chose to live.
"Oh, right, Kitano."
As they approached the ramen shop, Kamijou suddenly turned serious.
"If you're going out alone lately, stay away from anyone suspicious."
"Esper attack incidents have been happening more often. I know you're strong, but you can still get hurt."
Makoto nodded and pulled out his phone to check the date again.
Academy City was a place dominated by students, yet some sort of incident seemed to happen practically every day.
Kamijou himself managed to get seriously injured and sent to the hospital several times a week.
Makoto certainly had no desire to involve himself in any of that.
Unfortunately, after becoming connected to Misaka Mikoto and Shokuhou Misaki, he knew avoiding everything probably wasn't realistic anymore.
Just as the two were about to enter the ramen shop, several children suddenly screamed in the distance.
Kamijou reacted as though someone had wound up the spring inside his sense of justice.
Despite his injured arm, he immediately started running toward the sound.
Makoto grabbed him.
"You should focus on healing. I'll go see what happened."
Kamijou scratched his head apologetically.
"Sorry. My body moved before I could think."
"Then I'm counting on you. When you get back, ramen's on me!"
Makoto nodded.
With one burst of speed, he crossed dozens of meters and reached the entrance of a small park.
He immediately saw what had happened.
Misaka Mikoto was trying to save a young student's schoolbag before it fell into the fountain.
She'd thrown herself forward after it and was moments away from becoming the soaking-wet hero who had successfully rescued a backpack.
Makoto initially considered simply turning around.
This was nothing more than an insignificant little episode.
Then he remembered that he might soon need Misaka's help finding Togawa Sakiko.
Makoto turned into a blur.
He appeared beside Misaka, caught the bag with one hand, grabbed her by the shoulder with the other, and carried both of them safely onto the edge of the fountain.
Misaka felt her head lurch as her body suddenly shifted.
By the time she understood what had happened, a familiar person was standing beside her with one hand still on her shoulder.
Realizing that a boy had grabbed her, the thin-skinned Misaka instantly bristled.
Electricity and a fierce blush appeared at the same time.
A bolt of lightning snapped toward Makoto.
Makoto, however, was ready. With a flash, he vanished and reappeared behind another female high school student, this one with a curvaceous figure.
She wore glasses and a Judgment armband.
It was Konori Mii from Branch 177.
Konori's Level 3 ability was Clairvoyance, which didn't directly improve her combat ability.
But she'd undergone strict training as a member of Judgment and could easily subdue a grown man.
The instant Makoto appeared, she reacted and spun around with obvious caution.
Instead of attacking, Makoto simply held out the schoolbag.
"You can handle the rest, right?"
"Huh? Oh. Yes, thank you."
Konori immediately lowered her guard.
She accepted the bag with both hands, bowed politely to Makoto, then turned and returned it to the elementary school girl.
Misaka watched the entire exchange.
By now, she'd realized that Makoto had technically saved her.
There was just one problem.
She hadn't needed saving!
At worst, she would've fallen into the water.
She was a Level 5 esper.
Why would someone she believed to be merely Level 3 need to rescue her?
Electricity crackled across Misaka's cheeks as she stalked toward Makoto like an enraged Pikachu.
Makoto initially acted as though nothing had happened and calmly walked away.
The moment he passed through the park entrance, however, he abruptly accelerated.
He intended to leave Misaka behind.
Unfortunately, Misaka Mikoto wasn't that easy to shake.
Academy City's steel-covered environment was effectively her home field.
Her raw running speed couldn't compare with Makoto's, but she could manipulate the metal inside nearby structures and use magnetic attraction and repulsion to propel herself forward.
It made her move as though she'd suddenly strapped on a pair of high-speed skates.
Makoto didn't go all out.
He maintained a suitable distance and called back teasingly.
"Level 5, I just helped you. Forget thanking me, why are you chasing me now?"
"You bastard! Don't tell me you forgot my name after only one week!"
Misaka accelerated again.
"And I'm chasing you because I want a proper match!"
"You don't seem to think being a Level 5 makes me that much stronger than you!"
'So that's what this is.'
Makoto immediately understood.
Misaka hadn't yet experienced Academy City's true darkness.
To her, life after school was practically one enormous RPG.
Street delinquents were ordinary NPCs she could use for practice.
And Makoto had probably become some elite monster that had suddenly appeared on the map.
Unfortunately for her, this particular elite monster wasn't going to be easy.
Before long, the chase brought them to a small river.
Makoto wasn't even breathing hard.
Misaka, meanwhile, had developed two faint red patches on her cheeks.
She crossed her arms and tried to suppress the rise and fall of her breathing before speaking in the calmest voice she could manage.
"Nowhere left to run, right?"
"Accept my challenge and I'll let you go!"
"Don't worry. I won't hit you too hard."
A triumphant smile appeared on her lips.
She spread both hands.
Thick streams of electricity flowed between her palms.
Despite what she'd just said, she clearly wasn't planning to let Makoto walk away easily.
Makoto raised one hand.
He didn't try to stop her.
Instead, he said, "I'm fine with fighting, but there's no point doing it for nothing. How about we put something on the line?"
"Huh?"
Misaka stared at him.
"You actually think you can beat me?"
She waved dismissively.
"Fine, fine. Tell me what you want. If you win, I'll agree to it."
"As for what I get if I win, I don't need anything. Happy?"
Makoto answered instantly.
"Deal."
'As expected of the naive version of Misaka Mikoto.'
She'd casually agreed before even asking what Makoto intended to demand.
It reminded him of how she'd once trusted Academy City's researchers enough to hand over her DNA sample.
"Then let's start!"
Misaka flicked both hands outward.
A thick bolt of lightning shot from her palms toward Makoto.
Thunder boomed.
The attack looked terrifying, but its actual target area was extremely narrow.
The lightning struck toward the ground near Makoto's feet.
Misaka was clearly holding back.
Makoto had no intention of doing the same.
His opponent was a genuine Level 5.
Without Fate Burn, he wasn't arrogant enough to believe he could casually fight one with his bare body.
Well...
'Unless that Level 5 happens to be Shokuhou Misaki.'
Makoto mobilized a small amount of chakra.
His leg muscles contracted violently.
The ground beneath his feet exploded, leaving a crater nearly a meter deep.
Makoto appeared beside Misaka at a speed ordinary human eyes couldn't even properly track.
But to Misaka, it still wasn't fast enough.
For one thing, her ability could strengthen the electrical signals inside her own body.
That gave her dynamic vision sharp enough to visually follow bullets.
More importantly, Misaka's body constantly emitted an electromagnetic field.
The instant Makoto moved, she detected the disturbance in that field and realized an attack had begun.
Misaka had plenty of combat experience.
She immediately understood that she'd underestimated Makoto.
With a thought, iron sand surged together in front of her, forming a wall to intercept his attack.
At the same time, lightning gathered in her other hand.
This time, she was preparing a real offensive technique.
Lightning Spear.
A blue-white spear formed from a billion volts of electricity, capable of traveling in a perfectly straight line at the speed of light.
Misaka deliberately reduced its output.
She only wanted enough power to paralyze Makoto, not seriously injure him.
'As long as I stop his first attack, Lightning Spear ends this.'
Misaka completed all of those calculations and reactions in less than 0.1 seconds.
In terms of activation and response speed, even if she were dropped into the Jujutsu Kaisen world, she would rank among the absolute best.
Unfortunately, Misaka had still underestimated Makoto.
The wall of iron sand rose directly in front of him.
Makoto didn't dodge.
He clenched his fist.
Every muscle in his body tightened, and his punch drove straight into the barrier.
Misaka's eyes widened in shock.
The iron-sand wall had defensive strength greater than a car door.
Makoto punched straight through it.
The skin across his knuckles split slightly, leaving streaks of blood, but his fist continued directly toward Misaka's face.
At this distance, the punch was moving at more than two hundred meters per second.
And Misaka still reacted.
Her superhuman brain raced through the possibilities and immediately chose the optimal response.
The shattered iron sand surrounding Makoto's fist transformed into chains.
They wrapped around his arm and locked it in place.
Misaka thought the battle was over.
Then a sharp cracking sound suddenly came from the iron chains.
Makoto's fist was less than ten centimeters from her face.
And even then...
Misaka Mikoto could still react.
…