Chapter 13: High-Speed Movement

*Boom!*

Kaminari appeared behind Tetsutetsu once more, his fist crackling with electricity as it struck. Just before Tetsutetsu could turn around to defend himself, Kaminari had already dodged to the right and landed a punch on his dazed opponent's side.

To be fair, the reason Kaminari could attack so recklessly without worrying about causing real harm was thanks to Tetsutetsu's Quirk. His steel transformation made him the perfect sparring partner, a human punching bag that could take a beating without getting seriously injured.

As for Kaminari's current technique, it wasn't anything particularly complex. It was essentially an extension of his previous "electrotherapy" move, except this time he was using the electricity to stimulate his muscles rather than someone else's heart.

By directing a controlled amount of current to his muscle cells, he could temporarily enhance his speed, reflexes, and strength. The electric stimulation activated his muscles, allowing him to move with heightened agility. The increase in speed was the most noticeable, though his strength benefited as well. After all, speed without a solid foundation of strength wouldn't get him very far.

The idea for this technique came from his memories of past inspirations. While it wasn't quite on the level of Enel's lightning powers from One Piece, it was something akin to Killua's "Godspeed" from Hunter x Hunter. Of course, Kaminari's current version was still a far cry from that kind of mastery.

For now, it was more like a low-level version of "Godspeed," though he preferred to think of it as the first stage of his own path toward perfecting that kind of high-speed movement. And so, he had given it a fitting name:

"High-Speed Movement."

The name came to him almost by chance after he'd initially perfected the technique, as he had been fiddling with his Pikachu-themed alarm clock at the time. The move's description matched the ability "Agility" from Pokémon: "Makes the user's body lighter, greatly increasing speed."

It was simple and fitting—a reminder of his roots and inspirations.

*Boom!*

At this point, Tetsutetsu was starting to lose his footing. The repeated hits and constant electric shocks were taking their toll. His balance wavered, and with one last punch from Kaminari, he finally toppled to the ground, electric sparks still dancing across his metal skin.

"Tetsutetsu!" Kaminari called out, letting the electricity dissipate from his body as he quickly ran over to help his friend up. He hadn't expected the steel boy to go down like this. After all, Tetsutetsu had taken plenty of punches earlier without showing any signs of weakening.

"Huh? Oh, I'm fine!" Tetsutetsu said, shaking his head and standing up quickly as he brushed himself off.

"What were you thinking about?" Kaminari asked, skeptical that his punch had actually been strong enough to knock down someone as durable as Tetsutetsu.

"Hehe, I just got distracted for a second…" Tetsutetsu admitted, scratching his head in embarrassment. Then, with a puzzled look, he asked, "What was that just now? How did you get so much faster?"

Kaminari was about to explain when Tetsutetsu interrupted himself. "No, wait… you weren't that fast. I could still see your movements. I just… couldn't keep up."

Kaminari grinned, realizing that Tetsutetsu had hit the nail on the head. "Exactly. It's about agility."

"Agility?" Tetsutetsu repeated, frowning in confusion.

Kaminari nodded. "My movement speed did increase, but not to the point where you couldn't see me. Your eyes and mind could still follow what I was doing, but there's a difference between seeing something and being able to react to it."

He continued, "My attack speed, my ability to change direction, and my reflexes are all several steps ahead of your body's reaction time."

"So, that's it…" Tetsutetsu murmured, deep in thought as he tried to figure out how to close the gap between his reactions and Kaminari's movements.

Kaminari tapped his friend's steel-coated shoulder and added, "Plus, your body is heavy when you're transformed."

"Even though you're much stronger than the average person, your body mass and the density of your steel form slow you down in terms of quick movements. You might have raw power, but if you can't hit me, then what's the use? You can't just stand there and let me keep taking shots at you."

Tetsutetsu didn't like that, and his expression showed it. "But you haven't actually done any damage to me," he argued. "And I'm immune to your electricity!"

"It's like trying to swat a mosquito with a cannon," he continued, his frustration mounting. "Sure, you might be fast, but if you get caught even once, it'll be game over."

Gotcha, Kaminari thought with a small spark of satisfaction. His earlier taunts had worked; Tetsutetsu was riled up, and that's exactly what he had wanted. The steel boy's overconfidence had given Kaminari the opening he needed to try out a special move that might just be effective against him.

Of course, if Kaminari really wanted to hurt Tetsutetsu, he could push his Quirk to its limits and unleash a massive surge of electricity a million-volt shock, perhaps. He doubted that Tetsutetsu was completely immune to such an extreme amount of electrical power.

But that would have some… unpleasant side effects. Even if Tetsutetsu didn't sustain serious injuries, the resulting brain overload would probably leave him in a dazed state, giggling and giving a thumbs-up like a brainless idiot.

And Kaminari didn't want to win like that.

He rolled his eyes at Tetsutetsu's boast and asked, "Oh, you're not convinced?"

"Of course not!" Tetsutetsu huffed, his face a mix of determination and irritation. "If I just stand here, I bet you couldn't do anything to me! There's no way you can keep this up forever!"

"Funny, I could say the same thing about you," Kaminari replied dryly. "You can't keep that steel form going indefinitely, can you?"

Tetsutetsu flinched. "How did you know that?!"

The look of shock on Tetsutetsu's face was almost comical. He had been certain that he hadn't mentioned any limits to his Quirk.

"It's not that hard to figure out," Kaminari said with a knowing smirk. "When you get to U.A., you'll learn all about it."

Kaminari's eyes gleamed with intent as he sparked up once more, electricity starting to crackle over his body. "You think I can't do anything to you? Let's see about that."

"What are you planning?" Tetsutetsu asked, narrowing his eyes as he braced himself.

With a confident grin, Kaminari said, "I'm going to show you why I said you might still be living in a dream. Get ready, because you're about to learn just how powerful lightning can really be."

He let the electricity flow through him, feeling the familiar surge of energy build up in his muscles. "Don't worry," he added with a mischievous glint in his eyes, "this won't hurt… much."