"Perfect timing!" Seeing the giant eagle closing in rapidly, Takeru smirked and stood his ground, waiting for it.
Soon, the distance between the eagle and Takeru shrank to ten meters...
"Paralysis Roar!" Takeru murmured softly. A peculiar wave emanated from him, swiftly spreading toward the eagle.
Upon contact, the eagle's body stiffened instantly. Its dive turned into a free fall. Takeru quickly used his telekinesis to catch the falling creature, preventing it from being harmed.
Gazing at the massive eagle with a wingspan of five to six meters, Takeru couldn't help but marvel.
He then leapt onto the eagle's back, placed a hand on its head, and activated his hypnosis ability. Soon, the light faded from the eagle's eyes.
But that wasn't all. While the eagle was in a dazed state, Takeru materialized several Nen Needles and inserted them into its head, forcibly taking control.
"Get up. Return to your flock." After gaining control, Takeru immediately issued a command. This command wasn't conveyed through language but via a wave-like ability that allowed the eagle to instinctively understand the intent, regardless of language comprehension.
This type of command worked better on creatures or humans with higher intelligence. It was utterly useless against creatures with little to no intelligence, like ordinary poultry or insects.
Fortunately, this mutated giant eagle possessed considerable intelligence and quickly grasped Takeru's meaning, beginning to take flight.
Takeru held on tightly as the eagle ascended.
He hadn't killed it precisely to use it as transportation to reach the others. While he could have used telekinesis and Geppo, that would have been far too conspicuous.
After a bumpy flight, Takeru soon reached the other four giant eagles. Seeing them, Takeru had no intention of conversation. He simply leapt onto the head of another eagle and, before it could react, delivered a powerful punch cloaked in Gyo...
Boom!
An explosive sound echoed as the eagle died instantly, its body beginning to plummet. Takeru used his telekinesis to halt its fall in mid-air.
He then scanned the ground below, found a deserted area, and hurled the carcass toward it.
The remaining three eagles met the same fate. There was no helping it… while these creatures were formidable threats to ordinary people, to Takeru, they were no more troublesome than infants.
After swiftly dispatching them all, Takeru sent each carcass hurtling toward the same deserted spot.
As for the last remaining eagle, the one he initially controlled, Takeru commanded it to fly toward a wooded area near his apartment.
After landing it there, he finished it off and swiftly made his way back home.
In a secluded spot, Takeru removed his disguise and extracted the Nen Needles.
After completing these steps, he hurried back home.
Upon returning, he immediately dismissed the five extra Shadow Persons he had summoned earlier...
"Onii-chan, are you alright?!" Seeing Takeru return, Miu rushed over, worry evident on her face.
"Don't worry, I'm fine. A mysterious person dealt with the monsters." Takeru reassured her gently.
"Is that so? That's great!" Hearing this, Miu sighed in relief.
She didn't doubt Takeru's words at all. While part of her wished Takeru had been the one to solve it, his safety was what truly mattered.
Takeru, however, was deep in thought. He had considered keeping the giant eagle under his control for future use but decided against it for several reasons.
First, his control techniques weren't yet fully polished and lasted only about half a day. Second, the eagle's enormous size would only attract unwanted attention and trouble if kept nearby.
While Takeru resolved the crisis, the police quickly cordoned off the eagle carcasses. Seeing the brain damage resembling a bomb blast, but without any burn marks, left all onlookers speechless.
When the eagle attacks were detected, the police had swiftly implemented emergency measures, including evacuation orders. The military had even dispatched fighter jets. However, before the jets could provide support, the eagles were already eliminated...
Satellite footage revealed an unidentified man, but database searches yielded no matches. A few similar-looking individuals were quickly ruled out.
Subsequently, the police began an investigation, aiming to locate Takeru and potentially recruit him.
In the past, the military might have attempted to control such individuals. However, after an incident where they tried to interrogate and subdue a suspected ability user using special methods, resulting in several police casualties and the individual's death, they became far more cautious.
Following that incident and the increasing frequency of worldwide disasters, authorities dared not act rashly.
Through continuous intelligence gathering, the government had long theorized that the world was undergoing a significant transformation. What most terrified nations was the failure of certain powerful thermal weapons...
Currently, the most potent weapons might be those mounted on fighter jets and tanks. 'Peaceful' weapons had completely ceased functioning over a month ago.
This recent event further solidified the government's belief that the key to resolving these global disasters lay with these suddenly emerging ability users.
Takeru was unaware of these developments. He knew that national authorities would eventually discover them, but their attitude remained uncertain.
If they adopted a recruitment policy, Takeru and the others wouldn't oppose the government. However, if they took a hardline stance, Takeru would make them understand the consequences when individual power surpasses that of a state.
Of course, Takeru realized his current defensive capabilities, while strong, couldn't withstand humanity's most powerful thermal weapons.
Yet, he wasn't afraid because he wasn't stationary… he could move.
His focus on hypnosis and control was precisely to have a means of counterbalance should conflict arise...
Naturally, Takeru couldn't predict the government's actions. He sent a warning in the group chat, advising everyone to avoid exposing their special abilities. Details would be discussed at school the next day, as he feared electronic communications might be monitored.
…
The next day arrived swiftly. When Takeru left home, he noticed something amiss in the surroundings. Several men in business suits were conspicuously present.
Under normal circumstances, Takeru might not have thought much of it.
However, Takeru could tell these individuals were no ordinary people. Each likely had physical attributes of 25 points or higher, exhibited heightened alertness, and, while appearing to chat casually, were constantly vigilant of their surroundings.
Initially, Takeru thought they might be targeting him or that security had been tightened due to yesterday's incident. But he soon realized their target wasn't him...
"Takeru-kun, is something wrong?" Ebina, walking beside him, asked curiously, noticing his distraction.
"Hmm? It's nothing. Just lost in thought." Takeru replied with a smile.
"Is that so?" Ebina didn't press further and continued walking to school with Takeru.
Upon arriving at school, Takeru expanded his Observation Haki and quickly noticed that Sobu High was surrounded… discreetly, but undoubtedly encircled.
Seeing this, Takeru understood someone had likely been exposed. This operation was probably a waiting game to identify others.
With a soft sigh, Takeru noted these individuals showed no apparent hostility.
'It seemed things might not develop in the direction we least wanted to see...'
Shaking his head lightly, Takeru proceeded to his classroom as usual. As time passed slowly, under Takeru's discreet surveillance, a few individuals began to move...