After getting off work, Aoyama Akira walked around the surrounding neighborhood for a while. As expected, there was no sign of Koro. If the dog were that easy to find, the elderly woman wouldn't have been so anxious.
There was no need to rush. Akira decided to head home instead. On the way, he passed by Marufuku Ramen and went in for a meal. Marufuku-san was just as warm and welcoming as ever, greeting him with a familiar smile.
After eating, Akira didn't leave immediately. He rested for a short while in the shop, then headed straight for Seaside Park. Once there, he ran half a lap around the park. Naturally, he deliberately avoided the area where All Might and Midoriya Izuku were training. He had no intention of passing anywhere near that zone.
Seaside Park was enormous. For Akira, the run was nothing more than a warm-up.
What he needed to focus on now was training his Quirk.
Seven or eight months sounded long—but it was also terrifyingly short. For Akira, time was tight.
The other three travelers were out there as well. He had seen the future from his own perspective, which meant they had likely seen him too—from theirs. Back then, Akira had only been able to observe them from the rooftop vision.
Likewise, they would only have seen him from their own angles.
That meant Akira had no idea what he would look like five years from now.
The only thing he could do was train relentlessly in the present.
Otherwise, he would be eliminated.
And what did elimination mean?
Death.
Death was the inevitable end of all humans—but Akira had no intention of dying violently. Perhaps if a Quirk was pushed to its absolute limit, it could undergo a qualitative transformation. Maybe it could extend one's lifespan… or even reach something far beyond ordinary limits.
"Power focused into a single point… that point becomes unstoppable," Akira muttered.
Standing in front of an abandoned refrigerator near one of the dumping areas, he raised his right hand and concentrated Holy Light into his index finger. The energy slowly gathered, compressing tighter and tighter.
Akira's gaze sharpened.
He thrust his finger forward.
"Bang!"
A loud impact echoed through the air. A burst of golden energy shot from his fingertip, instantly piercing straight through the refrigerator and blasting a hole nearly twenty centimeters wide—like it had been struck by a high-powered rifle.
The raw force wasn't quite on that level, but the destructive effect was frighteningly close.
"So it really is this strong…" Akira muttered, staring at his finger in excitement as the faint golden glow slowly faded.
He didn't let himself get carried away.
Next, he focused on channeling Holy Light into his right foot. At his current level, the Quirk could only cover the soles of his feet or the palms of his hands—nothing more.
"Go!"
Akira kicked forward with full force.
The refrigerator let out a dull crash as it was sent flying seven or eight meters away. A deep indentation was left where his foot had struck it. The appliance was completely ruined.
He continued experimenting.
Holy Light flowed across different parts of his body—arms, shoulders, even his eyes.
The moment the light covered his eyes, Akira was shocked.
His vision more than doubled in clarity. Objects that had once looked blurry in the distance were now sharply defined.
"What if I try covering my brain…?"
He carefully guided Holy Light upward. The energy entered his head, but only managed to cover about half of it. Nothing dramatic happened. He simply felt more alert, his thoughts clearer and more focused.
Even so, Akira wasn't discouraged.
Holy Light was undeniably powerful. If properly trained and developed, its future potential would surpass most Quirks.
Several hours passed in the blink of an eye. By the time Akira finally stopped, it was already midnight. He sat on the ground, sweat dripping down his face as he rested. In those few hours, he had practically relocated half the nearby piles of discarded junk.
Using a mix of brute strength and Holy Light not only trained his Quirk—it also strengthened his body.
"Time to head back," Akira sighed as he stood up. "I've got work again tomorrow morning…"
"Keep it up, Midoriya boy! Your efforts will pay off! Go beyond!"
A voice rang out in the distance.
Akira immediately coated his eyes with Holy Light and looked toward the sound. In the distance, he saw Midoriya Izuku running forward with his teeth clenched, a massive piece of scrap metal strapped to his back.
Behind him, All Might stood smiling, loudly cheering him on.
He really was an incredible teacher.
Akira had no intention of lingering. He turned and left in the opposite direction.
Midoriya Izuku had started his physical training much later than Akira. That couldn't be helped—he had been born with extremely low physical ability and needed extensive conditioning just to withstand One For All.
Training late wasn't a problem.
Getting into U.A. High School was what truly mattered. For Midoriya Izuku, there was nothing more important right now than that goal.
Akira was different.
He had no family in this world. All he needed was to live properly. There was no reason for him to train until dawn every night—especially when he still had to work during the day.
Midoriya had his mother at home, which meant he carried far less pressure in daily life.
Akira, on the other hand, had to earn his own living.
Their situations weren't comparable.
Broken House operated with regular days off, allowing the body to recover properly and actually improving training efficiency in the long run.
After returning home, Akira took a hot shower and went straight to sleep.
The next day, he reported to Broken House again at eight in the morning. Business remained light—only two or three orders throughout the day.
Still, Akira felt satisfied. At least he didn't have to dig through another foul ditch like the day before. Most of the work involved moving heavy items or manual labor.
He didn't mind that kind of work.
If anything, he liked it—it doubled as strength training.
The rest of the orders were similar in nature, nothing particularly troublesome.
A week later, while heading toward Seaside Park, Akira suddenly spotted Koro.
The dog was rummaging for food in a narrow alley. It was filthy, its fur matted and darkened with grime, and it looked noticeably thinner than in the photos.
Just as Akira stepped forward to pick it up, a man approached from the opposite side. He looked to be in his thirties. Seeing Akira reach for the dog, the man snapped, "Kid, go play somewhere else. That dog's mine."
Akira froze for a moment—then understood.
This man was trying to claim Koro for himself. Judging by his attitude, it clearly wasn't the first time he'd pulled something like this.
"How can you prove that?" Akira replied calmly. "This dog's filthy and malnourished. It obviously hasn't been cared for in days. There's no way it's yours."
Akira wasn't afraid of him at all.
If the man wanted to start a fight, Akira wouldn't mind testing his Quirk on a real person. He hadn't sparred with anyone in months. If this guy didn't know when to back off, then he was just asking for trouble.
The man was stunned.
He hadn't expected a teenager to talk back so boldly. Normally, kids would shut up the moment he raised his voice.
He hadn't expected to run into someone so nosy today.