GA: Chapter 128: The One Who Was Chosen — It's Me! HenShin!
He was going to die. His little sister was going to die too.
He glanced sideways toward her. She was still there.
"You foolish girl — why didn't you run?"
He thought it without saying it aloud.
One death was better than two.
The mutated crab paid no attention to whatever passed between these two humans. To it, they were simply food.
It raised a claw casually and began walking toward the boy.
At that same moment, in Bai Xuan's home.
A red shape suddenly tore through empty space and vanished from the room.
Bai Xuan turned his gaze toward Haicheng with a quiet sense of knowing.
"I noticed you'd gone out once already after coming back from the Holy Lord's world — but I didn't expect the second Kamen Rider after Kabuto would turn out to be you."
"That does surprise me a little."
"After all, your settings are quite different from the other transformation devices."
"So this world really does produce people like him?"
He looked for a moment longer, then turned away.
These transformation devices were gifts he'd given to the world. If they found worthy masters on their own, that was something he could genuinely feel good about.
His gaze returned to Haicheng.
Just as the mutated crab raised its claw to finish the boy in front of it, a red shape came screaming down from above and raked across the crab's body, throwing off a shower of brilliant sparks.
The mutated crab let out a cry of pain and stumbled back several steps.
"That's—"
The boy stared at the red insect-like figure — unmistakably beetle-shaped but carrying a distinct mechanical quality — and his whole body lit up with sudden excitement.
He knew what that was.
Of course he knew.
That was the Kabuto Zecter — from the Kamen Rider Kabuto page on that mysterious website.
The first spiritual tide had awakened abilities, but there hadn't been any particular crisis at the time, so life had remained relatively peaceful. He'd still been young enough to follow his friends' recommendations and watch these things.
And the one that had captivated him most was Kabuto.
Not only did Kabuto's design match his aesthetic perfectly — the protagonist, Tendou Souji, was someone he had admired beyond all others.
He had dreamed of becoming someone like Tendou Souji.
Then it hit him — people had been posting online about obtaining things like Devil Fruits from the One Piece world, Imperial Arms from the Akame ga Kill world, even Clow Cards from Cardcaptor Sakura.
"Were all of those... real?"
"Is the person you chose... me?"
A flush crept across the boy's face. If the Kabuto Zecter had acknowledged him, it wouldn't just solve the immediate danger — it would give him the power to protect his little sister. More than that, it would mean something was recognizing him. Telling him he had the potential to become someone like Tendou Souji.
He extended his right hand, trying to call the Kabuto Zecter to him the way Tendou Souji did in the show. And indeed, the Kabuto Zecter turned and flew toward his outstretched right hand.
But just as his fingers were about to close around it, the Zecter curved away in a small circle and flew to his left — where it was caught by a man he had never seen before.
"The one who was chosen — is me."
The sunlight fell directly on the man at that moment, making the boy squint against the glare while something else settled quietly and sourly in his chest.
This feels like a scene straight out of the show. Which makes me... Kagami Arata?
He wasn't the same personality type as Tendou — but he wasn't anything like Kagami either!
CRASH.
Without warning, the man moved — a blur from a distance, and a kick sent a mutated crab that had been quietly creeping closer flying backward.
"Now isn't the time to be spacing out."
The man spoke flatly to the boy, the Kabuto Zecter in his hand.
"Who — who are you?"
The boy stared at him and asked.
"Grandmother always said — thou art he who walks the path of heaven, the one who rules over all—"
"Tendou Souji!"
The man pointed one index finger toward the sky and spoke with perfect calm.
Then, a moment later, he broke into a quiet smile.
"Just kidding."
"I'm obviously not him. I'm only a Simulator."
"A Simulator?"
The boy didn't understand.
"My ability is unusual — it lets me mimic someone's appearance completely."
"If that were all it did, it would be no different from a disguise. But unlike a disguise or simple imitation, the Simulator ability has one specific trait that sets it apart."
"It lets me transform into a person entirely."
"Appearance, body, personality."
"But the opportunity only comes once."
"I never thought I would use it to become someone else — until I tried transforming my appearance into Tendou Souji's out of curiosity one day."
"That was when it found me. But then it left again."
The man looked at the Kabuto Zecter in his hand with a complicated expression.
"Maybe because the master it recognized was Tendou Souji — back then, I only had his face, nothing more."
"But now... I don't think I have a choice."
Transforming his appearance, body, and personality entirely into Tendou Souji — his memories would still be his own, but would he really still be himself?
And yet — the ability to make that choice no longer felt like it belonged to him.
In the days leading up to this, he had seen too many deaths. Even someone without much capacity for compassion couldn't watch all of that and feel nothing.
What he felt was grief — grief at his own powerlessness.
Even if Haicheng were saved today, what about tomorrow?
Without strength, he would eventually die. Those civilians would too.
Given that — shouldn't he do something?
Use what he had.
"Compared to me, the world would lose something far more precious if he never existed here."
"No — not just him. Them."
From Kuuga all the way to Zi-O, he hadn't missed a single series. Every protagonist in every one of those shows was a kind of hero that was almost impossible to find in real life.
Protecting the world. Unafraid of death.
Compared to someone as ordinary as him — weren't they the heroes this world actually needed?
"I've been selfish for over twenty years. Maybe now I can actually do something for this country."
The man smiled.
And slowly, before the boy's eyes, the man began to change — shifting toward someone else entirely.
His bearing. His build. His face.
"What's your name?"
The boy spoke up suddenly.
"Me? You can call me — Chen Feng."
The man paused at the question, then answered with a smile.
Then the transformation completed. The warmth that had been in his eyes gave way to something calm and absolute — the kind of stillness that nothing in the world could disturb.
"Grandmother always said — all living things under heaven, every life, is equal."
"A person can change themselves for the sake of others, rather than changing the world for their own sake. Change yourself — and the world changes with you. This is the way of heaven."
"Chen Feng will always be Chen Feng. The heavenly path will always be the heavenly path."
"But right now — I am Tendou Souji!"
He raised his head. The mutated crab ahead of him had gone still, as if sensing the threat and growing wary.
His gaze was without warmth.
"He has always been waiting for this moment."
"And I — was born for this moment."
In Chen Feng's hand, the Kabuto Zecter trembled with unmistakable excitement.
Yes. This was exactly it. This was the master it had been created to find.
"HenShin!"
...
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