Another shocking piece of news surfaced not long after the disastrous raid on the Yakuza base. Mt. Lady had been found in a forest outside the city.
According to the official report released by the police, she had been kidnapped by Junsei and dragged there for questioning. Eventually she was discovered alive and rescued.
That was the official statement.
No one believed it.
Why would someone kidnap a hero, drag her deep into a forest, and then simply ask a few questions?
The explanation sounded foolish even to those who wanted to accept it.
Most people immediately assumed the authorities were protecting the heroine's dignity. The darker conclusion spread quickly among the public. If Junsei had taken her into a forest alone, then the implications were obvious.
People could imagine all the things he could have done. And the rumors grew uglier with every retelling.
Speculation turned into outrage, sympathy, and anger. Citizens rallied online and in public forums to support the poor heroine who had supposedly suffered under the hands of the monster known as Junsei.
The situation only worsened when rumors began circulating that Mt. Lady intended to retire from hero work.
That piece of information ignited the rumors even further. To the public, it confirmed everything.
What none of them knew was that the heroes and police were deliberately allowing those rumors to spread. As terrible as the speculation was, it served a purpose.
It hid the truth.
The real reason for Mt. Lady's retirement was far more alarming. Junsei had permanently weakened her quirk.
Her ability had regressed to the level it had been during her early school years, stripping away years of growth and development. For a professional hero whose career depended on that power, the damage was devastating.
But revealing that truth to the public would have been far worse. To the authorities, the implications were terrifying.
Junsei had demonstrated the ability to weaken quirks in a way disturbingly similar to AFO's quirk stealing. The fact he had so many abilities gave credit to the belief he was capable of stealing quirks or stealing their power partially.
This meant they were facing a villain even more dangerous than the demon who had ruled the underworld for generations.
The information was classified immediately.
Hero agencies and the police suppressed the details to prevent public panic and to stop opportunistic villains from rallying behind a new symbol of chaos.
——————
While the world argued and speculated, Junsei continued his experiments.
He moved quietly through the city, hunting individuals with excessive stolen life and observing how removing that life affected their quirks.
After many tests, his conclusions became clear.
A quirk behaved like a muscle. But it required two types of fuel.
The first was usage. The more a person relied on their quirk, the stronger it became. The second was life taken from the world.
To Junsei, the conclusion was obvious. Removing quirks freed life from humans.
And it revealed something even more repulsive about humanity. They stole life from the world to empower themselves, without even realizing it all.
Their greatest sins had always been greed and consumption. Even their evolution had been built upon those impulses. The realization only strengthened Junsei's beliefs about humanity as a whole. Their existence depended on taking from the world until eventually nothing remained.
Once that conclusion settled firmly in his mind, Junsei turned his attention back to Overhaul.
Right now, that man represented the only viable path toward ending the age of quirks and freeing life across the world.
Junsei needed to find him again.
He spread his awareness across the city, using birds and insects as his eyes and ears.
For hours, he searched. Eventually, he found the man. Overhaul was hiding in another traditional house on the opposite side of the city from his previous base.
Junsei immediately made his way there.
When he arrived, he jumped over the wall and landed directly in the garden. Several Yakuza members were stationed there.
They froze the moment they saw him.
Junsei looked at them calmly. "Where is Overhaul?"
Before anyone could answer, a man wearing white clothing and a mask similar to Overhaul's stepped out from the house.
"He is inside," the man said. "We have begun setting up another laboratory to continue our work."
He gestured politely. "Please follow me."
The man turned and walked back inside and Junsei followed silently.
Behind them, the remaining Yakuza stayed where they were, their faces stiff with unease.
None of them had forgotten who Junsei was or what he did. He had slaughtered their comrades only days earlier.
What they could not understand was how Overhaul could simply ignore that and invite him in just like that.
The man in white, better known as Chronostasis, led Junsei into the house and down a narrow staircase that descended into a basement. The space below was already beginning to resemble a laboratory. Tables were covered with medical tools, chemicals, containers, and pieces of equipment arranged with obsessive order.
At the center of the room stood Overhaul, carefully organizing his new workspace.
When Chronostasis and Junsei entered, the man in white spoke calmly.
"Overhaul. He is here."
Overhaul turned.
His eyes settled on Junsei, studying him quietly for a moment before speaking.
"I must admit," he said, "I had doubts about whether you would truly assist us. But after seeing the news, after seeing what you did to those heroes, I began to believe you."
He tilted his head slightly.
"Still… I am curious. How did you find us?"
Junsei did not answer the question.
"Show me," he said, "that you can create a bullet or drug capable of removing quirks."
Overhaul chuckled faintly.
"Straight to business."
He gestured toward the worktable.
"I can't say I dislike that. Very well. Come here."
Junsei stepped closer.
Overhaul gathered several vials filled with different chemical substances. Then, he poured all of them into a bowl-shaped container resting on the table.
The liquids mixed together.
Then Overhaul removed one of his gloves and placed his bare hand inside the bowl.
The materials immediately began to shift and distort. The liquid mixture hardened and reshaped itself under the influence of his quirk until it formed a rough, white stone-like mass.
Overhaul withdrew his hand.
"Using my quirk along with these chemicals," Overhaul explained, "I can produce this base compound."
Next, he picked up another vial.
Inside it was a dark red liquid.
"This," Overhaul said calmly, "contains blood from Eri… along with a small piece of her flesh."
Junsei watched him closely.
"By mixing this with the compound," Overhaul continued, "the quirk factor within the blood and tissue acquires a unique property. It begins to target quirks themselves and destroy them."
Overhaul uncorked the vial and poured the blood over the white rock.
Almost instantly, the stone began to dissolve. The liquid thickened as the reaction progressed, condensing until only a small quantity of dense, crimson material remained.
Overhaul tapped the container lightly.
"This is the substance we place inside the bullets. Once it enters the body, it erases the quirk. You are free to take it and test it as long as the targets are not my subordinates"
Junsei considered the result silently before speaking.
"So for this process to work… your quirk is required. As well as the blood and flesh of the human called Eri."
Overhaul nodded.
"That is correct."
Overhaul was gambling.
By revealing the entire method to Junsei, he was forcing Junsei to choose a side. If Junsei truly wished to erase quirks from the world, then witnessing the process firsthand would encourage cooperation.
And if Junsei had been lying, if he simply wanted the drug for himself, then this demonstration would show him that he could not replicate the process alone.
Either way, Junsei would need Overhaul. And Overhaul would gain an extremely powerful ally
Junsei frowned slightly.
"This amount is insignificant," he said. "If you intend to remove quirks from all humans, you will require far more."
Overhaul nodded again.
"Indeed. Our production is limited. I am searching for a method to mass-produce the compound, but the research requires time."
Junsei's gaze sharpened.
"Why?"
Chronostasis answered before Overhaul could speak.
"Progress is difficult," he said calmly. "More importantly, we are limited by how much material we can harvest from Eri. At the end of the day, she is still a human. We cannot extract endless quantities of blood and flesh. Overhaul must allow her body time to recover between procedures."
Junsei's expression darkened slightly.
"What if I bring you someone with a healing quirk?" he asked. "Would that accelerate the process?"
Overhaul shook his head.
"Healing quirks rely on the stamina of the patient. If Eri's body lacks the strength to recover, healing her repeatedly will not solve the problem."
Junsei's frown deepened.
"So you may require a long time," he said slowly. "Or you may never succeed."
Overhaul and Chronostasis instinctively stepped back, sensing the hostility in Junsei's tone.
Overhaul raised both hands slightly.
"I began this research not long ago," he said quickly. "And I have already reached this stage. The problem is not solely Eri's limitation."
He gestured toward the ceiling above.
"I must constantly monitor heroes, the police, and rival gangs. Every threat that interferes with my work costs valuable time."
Overhaul looked directly at Junsei.
"But we can help each other."
His voice became calm again.
"I will dedicate all of my effort to developing a drug capable of affecting the masses. In return, you ensure that no one interrupts my work."
He paused briefly before adding,
"We are not friends. Nor are we partners. However, we can benefit from each other."
Overhaul's eyes narrowed slightly. "What do you say? Put everything aside for a future without quirks."
Junsei stood silently for several seconds.
The laboratory remained completely still.
Finally, he spoke.
"Fine. I will protect this place."
Then he added coldly,
"But do not expect anything more from me."
Overhaul nodded once.
The arrangement had been made.