Chapter 02
"Pause," Jin commanded, his voice echoing slightly in the quiet of the workshop.
The massive holographic projection in the center of the room instantly froze. Suspended in mid-air was a high-resolution, three-dimensional recording of the Pro Hero Kamui Woods, caught mid-swing between two skyscrapers in Hosu City. Jin walked slowly around the frozen image, his eyes tracing the exact arc of the hero's wooden branches.
"Calculate the tensile strength required to support one hundred and sixty pounds of dead weight swinging at sixty miles per hour, Kuroda," Jin said, picking up a digital stylus from his workbench.
Kuroda, standing near the main terminal, tapped smoothly on his tablet. "Calculating, Young Master. However, I feel it is my duty to remind you that you cannot sprout timber from your appendages."
"I do not need wood," Jin replied dryly, bringing up a complex blueprint on his own monitor. He highlighted a small, cylindrical mechanism. "I need micro-filament cables. Brute force with the gauntlets is useless if I cannot reach my target. If my mobility is strictly limited to the ground, any low-level thug with a ranged Quirk will simply zone me out and overpower me. I need the high ground."
Kuroda placed his tablet down and stepped forward, carrying a secure, silver metallic briefcase. He set it on the workbench next to Jin and clicked the locks open. "In that case, the delivery from our shell company arrived an hour ago. The carbon-nanotube grappling wires you requested from I-Island's secondary suppliers."
Jin looked down into the velvet-lined case. Resting inside were two remarkably small, sleek metallic spools. They looked delicate, yet they carried a near-unbreakable structural integrity.
"They cost a small fortune to acquire off the record," Kuroda added, adjusting his glasses.
Jin carefully picked up one of the spools, feeling its dense weight in his palm. He slid it into the open casing of a heavy-duty utility belt he was modifying. "Worth every yen. Let us integrate these into the hip modules before we calibrate the firing mechanism."
The night air was crisp, carrying the scent of expensive, genetically modified roses from the expansive Tsukishiro estate gardens. Jin stood at the edge of the sprawling manicured lawn, dressed in a sleek, reinforced black tactical suit that lacked any colorful hero motifs. He was currently aiming his hips at a massive, ancient oak tree towering fifty yards away.
Standing a safe distance behind him, Kuroda held a silver stopwatch in one hand and a powerful flashlight in the other, illuminating the target branch.
"Trajectory locked. Firing in three, two, one," Jin announced, pressing the trigger mechanism wired into his custom gloves.
With a sharp thwip, the carbon-nanotube wire shot from his hip module, the small metallic claw embedding itself deep into the thick wooden branch. Jin tugged the wire twice to ensure it was securely anchored.
"Engaging retraction motor," Jin said. He tapped the secondary trigger.
The micro-winch motor screamed to life. Instantly, Jin was violently yanked off his feet. He flew through the air at an alarming speed, much faster than he had anticipated. Instead of gracefully swinging upward to land on top of the branch, his trajectory was completely horizontal.
Thud.
Jin slammed face-first into the thick trunk of the oak tree. The heavy impact shook the leaves above. Slowly, and somewhat comically, he slid down the rough bark until he collapsed into a heap on the perfectly trimmed grass.
Kuroda walked over at a leisurely pace, the beam of his flashlight illuminating Jin's groaning form. The butler reached into his tailored jacket pocket, pulled out a small, pre-chilled instant ice pack, and cracked it to activate the cooling chemicals. He offered it down to his young master.
"A magnificent flight, Young Master," Kuroda noted, his tone entirely devoid of sarcasm, which somehow made it worse. "However, the landing requires minor adjustments. Please apply this to your face immediately. If Madam sees a bruise on your forehead tomorrow at breakfast, she will subject us both to a reprimand I have no desire to endure. And I must also warn you, Mr. Tanaka, the head gardener, will be exceptionally displeased with the scuff marks on his prized oak."
Jin groaned, accepting the ice pack and pressing it against his bruised forehead. "The winch speed is too aggressive. It needs a variable throttle based on thumb pressure, not a binary on-off switch." He paused, wincing as he forced himself to sit up. "And tell Tanaka I will buy him a new greenhouse."