Chapter 163 Tools
[ Tatsumaki received what everyone expected, hesitated for a while, threw it away, but then had a nightmare that night and woke up terrified, so she quietly picked it up again.]
——————
——————
"Incredible!" The hero, covered in bandages, sprang up from his hospital bed.
The body was miraculously free of injury.
There were several other heroes nearby who had also been ejected due to similar injuries.
"Thank you so much, Mr. Aokiji!"
They thanked Aokiji with deep respect and gratitude.
Seeing that everyone in the ward had regained their mobility, Aokiji waved and left with a red bubble.
We arrived at the next ward.
" Senior Aokiji!" Mizuki greeted him warmly.
She had just heard the commotion outside, and naturally heard Aokiji's name.
As one of the few female heroes, and the only female hero in the previous hero lineup that stopped the monsters, Mizuki was placed in a separate ward.
One of her legs was in a cast and suspended in sling.
"Hehe." Mizuki chuckled sheepishly, "That monster was too strong; my pole vault kick had no effect."
"Your actions have been very effective." Aokiji walked to the bedside.
"Without your delay, the monster would have already caused serious damage to the city before I arrived to help."
"Thank you for the encouragement! I will continue to work hard on the path to becoming a hero!" Mizuki shouted energetically, raising her fist.
"I'll help you expel the pain. Although it's not a complete cure, it will allow you to quickly regain your mobility."
Aokiji raised his hand and placed it on her hand that covered by plaster.
The Paw-Paw Fruit ability is about to be activated.
But her heart was pounding with nervousness.
It won't be like last time, where it spreads to the bone marrow or even... the account creation screen, right?
Last time she barely managed to keep quiet.
She took a long shower after she got back.
this time...
Mizuki stared at her hand resting on the plaster cast, nervously bracing herself.
Red energy overflows.
Gradually, a bear paw-shaped bubble formed and merged into the large bubble behind Aokiji, almost reaching the ceiling of the ward.
"Okay, it shouldn't hurt anymore now, right?"
"Huh? Yes, it does! It doesn't hurt at all anymore!"
Mizuki felt somewhat fortunate.
Thankfully, it didn't have the same effect as last time, all that preparation for nothing...
She blinked twice.
Only then did she realize the strange sensation she was experiencing.
What's going on? There's clearly no transmission, so why is it still happening...?
The bewildered Mizuki hadn't yet figured out the reason.
Aokiji did not lower his hand from the plaster cast.
"I'll also remove your cast so you don't have to bother the doctor."
"Oh, okay, thank you, Senior Aokiji... Wait a minute!"
Mizuki nodded habitually, but suddenly realized something was wrong.
However, it was too late for her to say it.
"Gurgle—"
"What's wrong? And what were you trying to say just now?"
"N-nothing..." Mizuki bent forward.
He tried her best to keep her expression unchanged.
She raised a slightly strange smile.
"Thank you, Senior Aokiji."
The force required to deflect blood is vastly different from the force required to deflect plaster casts.
Mizuki also gained a deeper understanding of the wonder of the Paw-Paw Fruit's abilities.
The relief lasted for a long time.
The tremor caused by the [bounce] seems to still linger.
But they can barely hold on.
"Speaking of which, what happened to that monster, Senior Aokiji?"
"Cut him down with one stroke."
"As expected of Senior Aokiji, he's really strong!"
Mizuki blushed and exclaimed excitedly.
The monster that left the heroes helpless and forced them to risk injury to stall for time was defeated in a single move by Senior Aokiji.
All the pain from everyone's injuries was dispelled, and all that was needed was to find a monster who wasn't worth recruiting. Aokiji didn't have anything else to do for the time being.
He decided to stay and chat with Mizuki.
"How have you been feeling these days of heroism?"
"It's a little different from what I imagined," Mizuki answered truthfully.
"It's harder and more dangerous than training and competition. If you're not careful, you'll end up in the hospital like today."
"However, everyone's gratitude is very different from the cheers from the audience at the competition venue." Mizuki pondered, tilting his her to organize her thoughts.
"It's a more inspiring and empowering sound, so it feels great!"
Mizuki smiled brightly.
The orange-haired girl in a high ponytail swayed slightly as she spoke.
Aokiji took an apple from the fruit basket on the bedside table and peeled it.
"Don't you feel a little regretful? You've spent so much time on various sports, and now you're a hero. Many of your skills aren't suitable for combat."
"It's alright." Mizuki didn't think anything of it. "At least it was these training experiences that allowed me to develop my current physique."
Aokiji broke the apple in two.
He handed half of it to Mizuki.
After taking it, Mizuki bit off most of it in one go, and mumbled indistinctly:
"Moreover, I feel very fortunate to be able to bring out the brilliance of sports in the profession of heroism."
She initially joined the sports world because of her exceptional talent.
In the process, she gradually developed a love for sports.
Furthermore, driven by a sense of justice and guided by Aokiji's performance at the time, she also harbored considerable enthusiasm for the hero profession.
Combining two interests brings even greater joy.
Compared to that, the injuries sustained in making choices and upholding justice are nothing.
The light shining in her eyes was clearly visible.
Aokiji couldn't help but sigh, "Maybe what I'm lacking is your passion."
Mizuki tilted her head, puzzled: " What does Senior Aokiji mean?"
There was no need to hide anything, so Aokiji explained to her the difficulties he was currently facing in kendo.
After listening, Mizuki pondered for a while, then tossed the remaining apple into her mouth, chewed it casually a couple of times, and swallowed it.
She then began to encourage him:
"I don't know anything about swordsmanship, but I don't think it matters."
"At first, I didn't like training at all. I found it both bitter and tiring."
"But gradually, the improvement in training results, the honor of winning awards in competitions, and the pursuit and breakthrough of limits in the process, all of these made me start to like sports."
" Senior Aokiji, you can definitely do it too!"
Aokiji shrugs.
Helplessly, I said to her:
"That's the problem."
"My original skill level had already pushed my swordsmanship to its limit, so I could no longer enjoy improving it further."
"As for honors, if I come up with any new abilities or technologies, people will make a few comments, but it won't be surprising anymore."
"As for breaking through the limits, we are currently stuck at this stage."
"And to be honest, I haven't put much passion into any of my abilities and skills; I just see them as my strength."
"You could say it's just used as a tool."
"It's okay!" Mizuki encouraged him, still full of energy.
"I now treat the skills I honed in sports as tools. It doesn't matter if I don't love them; their value ultimately depends on how I use them!"
"In the end, swordsmanship and Psychic Power are both part of you, Senior Aokiji."
" Senior Aokiji can protect the people, defeat monsters, and safeguard the peace that everyone is working hard to maintain. That's enough!"
There's nothing wrong with using kendo as a tool!