Pursuit

After a brief exchange, the underling checking the cash nodded to his boss. The boss stood up and shook the merchant's hand with a smile. "Pleasure doing business."

"Pleasure doing business."

Watching the two groups head off in different directions, Jilan Jiyu still didn't move. Instead, he hid himself even more deeply. He had only come to watch the excitement and had no intention of stopping them. Besides, he couldn't do much on his own anyway.

The merchant and his sharply dressed subordinates boarded a speedboat, apparently intending to head out to sea. The boss, dressed like a gangster, took his men toward the park entrance.

"I only meant to take a walk. I didn't expect to see a deal like that."

Jilan Jiyu warily looked behind him. No one from the Black Organization had suddenly appeared to drug him. He stepped out from behind the pillar and ran quickly toward the shore.

The speedboat hadn't started yet. The man in the black suit was starting it while the merchant stood onshore with the open box in his hands. He took something out and examined it. "I never expected something like this could enhance a Quirk... But why sell it to the rebels? Couldn't the Americans use it themselves?"

Jilan Jiyu enhanced his hearing with Hamon and just managed to make out what he said. His heart stirred.

Was the United States supporting the rebels now? Strengthening their forces and using them to test drugs at the same time... They really had it all worked out.

Now that heroes existed as a profession, there were naturally criminals who opposed them and used their own Quirks to commit crimes. In the war being fought over the holy land in Central Asia, the importance of Quirks had gradually become apparent. They believed Quirks were gifts from God, and their desire for the holy land grew ever stronger. Localized warfare had never ceased.

But all that was beside the point. Jilan Jiyu didn't care where wars were being fought. He was only interested in the drug that was said to enhance Quirks.

If my Quirk got stronger, would I be able to control the bloodlust that surfaced from time to time?

The coastline was long, and both men were focused on what they were doing. Neither noticed Jilan Jiyu slipping into the water.

When his subordinate called to him, the merchant put the drug back in the box and boarded the boat, making a point of placing it in front of him where he could see it.

"Vroom, vroom, vroom~"

The engine roared to life, and the speedboat began to move, slowly pulling away from shore.

Jilan Jiyu lifted his head above the surface and gulped down air. He took a deep breath and infused Hamon into a fish he'd caught while underwater. Its streamlined body instantly went rigid, like a dried fish.

Quirk-Killer Queen activated. The fish in Jilan Jiyu's hand became a bomb he could detonate at any moment. As soon as he let go, it shot straight toward the speedboat like an arrow loosed from a bow.

Using the water to conduct Hamon, Jilan Jiyu predicted the speedboat's speed. The literal fish torpedo slammed into the boat in an instant!

The boat suddenly lurched, catching the merchant off guard. He stumbled and nearly fell into the sea, but the man in the black suit quickly steadied it. The merchant said to him irritably, "Keep the boat steady! Don't you know I can't swim?"

"Yes, boss." The man in the black suit nodded calmly. "We probably hit something. It shouldn't be a serious problem."

Hearing that, Jilan Jiyu gave him a thumbs-up, then silently detonated the bomb.

The power of Killer Queen's bombs depended on the size and mass of the object touched. The fish didn't have much mass, but like the crow, it was enough to blast a hole in the metal hull.

"Why is the boat suddenly leaking?!" Feeling it start to sink, the merchant jumped to his feet in panic. The engine had been so loud that it completely drowned out the underwater explosion. He had no idea a hole had been blown in the hull.

"Boss, I don't know why, but the hull seems to be leaking. We have to abandon ship," the man in the black suit said, looking at the gauges, which had already stopped working. "We're not far from shore. We can swim there quickly."

"Didn't I tell you I can't swim?!" the merchant shouted, clutching the box tightly. "Besides, there aren't any life preservers here!"

The man in the black suit fell silent for a moment, then suddenly grew a whole meter taller, bursting out of his shirt and revealing organs that looked like fish fins.

"So your Quirk has something to do with fish! There really is a way out!" the merchant exclaimed in delight. "Quick, get me to shore!"

The man in the black suit looked around, forcibly pulled a plank off the boat and tossed it into the sea. He jumped in after it and pushed the plank over to the merchant. "Boss, jump onto this."

"My life is in your hands." Having made up his mind, the merchant tossed the box to the man in the black suit and decisively jumped down. But he missed the plank and floundered in the water for a few moments before he managed to feel for its edge.

"I hate water!" He climbed onto the plank and collapsed on it, spitting out the water in his mouth. "I feel like Rose in Titanic, lying here like this. Right, Jack?" he said weakly.

The man in the black suit—no, he'd already burst out of his clothes, leaving his lower half in a pair of big shorts like the Hulk's. The man in black shorts seemed much more agile in the water, and he played along with a quip. "Boss, I don't think I'm going to die."

They weren't far from shore, and it didn't take him long to bring the merchant to the beach.

The merchant crawled weakly ashore and coughed a few times on his knees. "I'm never taking a job like this again," he complained to the man in black shorts. "It's been miserable!"

"Again? There won't be an again for you!" a cold voice called out. A flashlight shone in the merchant's face, making him lower his head involuntarily.

"Who's there?" he shouted. "I'm just a tourist who nearly drowned!"

"Scab, you've spent years working as a middleman, transporting goods for underground organizations, smuggling and selling contraband. Isn't that right?" People in police uniforms suddenly emerged from all directions and surrounded him with their guns drawn.

"We only meant to take down an underground gang. We didn't expect to reel in a big fish like you this time." A police officer gestured, and the thugs who had traded with him earlier shuffled out of the shadows in handcuffs. "Don't bother denying it. We caught you red-handed, with the goods."

"You!" The merchant tried to get up in agitation, but two officers restrained him, leaving him kneeling on the ground, unable to move.

"Brother, we didn't have a choice! We're just trying to make a living, but we want to stay alive too!" the thug boss shouted, pleading his innocence. "Besides... that man was there!"

That man? Perhaps so he would understand before he died, the police loosened their hold on his neck. Scab turned stiffly, his pupils suddenly contracting as he struggled to force that terrifying name from his lips. "All... Might!"

His subordinate, the seemingly powerful man in black shorts, had been knocked unconscious at some point. All Might, wearing a plain T-shirt, stood beside him, giving Scab a smile of complete victory!

"I... lost." Scab lowered his head. Just as the police let down their guard and reached behind their waists for their handcuffs, he suddenly said, "But don't think you'll get the goods from me!"

His finger twitched, and the box that had been sitting on the ground exploded. Roaring flames instantly reduced its contents to ashes!

"Haha!" he laughed with difficulty. "My Quirk, Hand of Shadow, can move unnoticed in the darkness. You were never going to get your hands on it!"

"..." The police captain was silent for a moment, then ordered his officers, "Take him away."

They left as swiftly and silently as they had arrived. The police quickly wrapped things up and left this former haven for crime.

Surely, in the future, this would become a peaceful, harmonious haven for dates.

All Might walked at the back of the group. He suddenly stopped, took a long look at the boundless sea, and smiled.