"In that case, Rokuno-Bomb, activate!"
Having just acquired the formidable ability known as the Six Bullets, Kurogai couldn't resist testing it. A pistol materialized in his grip, and without hesitation, he aimed it at himself and pulled the trigger.
Boom!
The bullet fired, and at once Kurogai felt the fabric of reality warp around him. The world seemed to twist, retreating and rewinding at a rapid pace. In the blink of an eye, he was standing inside a store, beside a panicked Susan and her brother. The front of the shop was destroyed, reduced to rubble and broken glass.
"This… this is the battle between Hulk and Abomination?"
Kurogai's eyes lit with recognition. He instantly realized what had happened. His consciousness hadn't traveled to another world but had instead returned to the past—to a moment he had already experienced. He was standing at the exact scene of the Hulk's clash with Abomination, only moments after it originally happened.
Rumble!
A car hurtled through the air, thrown casually by the monstrous Abomination. It spiraled straight toward them. But before it could land, a massive figure of fire erupted behind Kurogai. A blazing giant, wielding a long flaming blade, appeared and cleaved the car neatly in two, saving Susan and her brother from certain death.
The next instant, the scene dissolved. Time accelerated, rushing forward uncontrollably. Everything around him blurred until, in a heartbeat, Kurogai found himself back inside his room in Wilson Fisk's manor.
"I'm back already? Does the ability only allow me to stay there for a short while?" He frowned, muttering to himself. "No, that's not it. I'm just not familiar with the technique yet. Once I master it, I should be able to maintain my presence in the past for much longer."
Kurogai exhaled slowly, piecing together what he'd just learned. Although he was adept at controlling new powers as soon as he acquired them, the intricacies of actual use always required practice.
"This isn't urgent. Let's check what comes next."
His gaze shifted, and his eye, the Emperor of the Time Clock, clicked forward another notch.
"Seven Bullets."
The hands on the ethereal timepiece jumped to the seventh scale, and at once a new power stirred within him.
Kurogai smirked faintly. "This one doesn't affect me directly. Looks like I'll need a test subject."
He raised a hand, tearing open a shimmering space door. A step later, he was standing in the middle of a dense forest. The air was thick with the scent of beasts, and almost immediately predators stirred in excitement, drawn to his sudden presence.
A cheetah lunged from the shadows, its fangs bared and claws slashing for his throat.
Kurogai didn't flinch. A pistol appeared in his hand, and with calm precision, he squeezed the trigger.
Boom!
The bullet struck the cheetah. Instantly, the beast froze mid-air. Its body locked in place, jaws gaping, expression twisted in ferocity—yet completely motionless, like a statue.
"Zayin… The target struck is frozen in time."
Kurogai narrowed his eyes, studying the effect. The cheetah hung there, suspended without even a flicker of movement.
"This ability could be terrifying in the right situation," he murmured.
To test further, he opened another portal and stepped out into the streets, where an ordinary man was walking leisurely. Kurogai aimed, fired, and the bullet connected. The man immediately froze in mid-step, perfectly still. After what felt like a long pause, the effect faded. The man blinked, yawned, and continued walking forward as though nothing had happened—completely unaware of the blank gap in his perception.
Kurogai returned to Fisk's manor, experimenting several more times along the way. At last, he concluded with certainty.
"So it doesn't just halt the body—it freezes the individual's time entirely. They won't notice, won't resist, and won't even recall the interruption. Completely undetectable."
His lips curled into a sharp grin. The applications of such a power were limitless.
Still, his thoughts soon shifted to a greater matter.
"Special metals are required to unlock the sixth pupil ring… but I've handled rare metals before, and none of them triggered the awakening. Why?"
Kurogai tapped his chin, considering. His mind raced back through his encounters—his scythe forged of dark alloys, Stark's customized alloys for the Iron Suit, even the components of the brainwave amplification device. All of them were exotic, yet none had stirred the eye.
"Unless…" His expression hardened. "It's tied to the flow of events itself. Vibranium. That's the key."
Vibranium had always been a critical element in the tapestry of this world's events. Its presence in major conflicts and technologies made it unlike any other resource.
"Then Wakanda will have to be my next destination," he whispered.
But almost immediately, his focus shifted again.
"No, not yet. The cosmic storm takes priority. It's already approaching, and it won't wait for me. Wakanda isn't going anywhere, but a storm of that scale only appears once in a long while. First the storm, then the vibranium. One step at a time."
Resolute, Kurogai's eyes gleamed with determination. His path forward was already written.
_____
Happy New Month.