[Kamui] really wasn't the greatest hero na, but it still beat sothing ridiculous like [Red-Eyed Man]. The Hero Association's executives had a strange obsession with slapping "Man" at the end of every na, and Shinji couldn't understand how anyone thought [Red-Eyed Man] sounded good.
"Alright, I'll try to argue on your behalf." The man in the suit nodded, then continued, "Back to the main topic. Today's interview is being conducted by the four of us. As the top-ranked C-Class hero, you've earned the right to advance to B-Class. Of course, you also have the option to stay in C-Class and hold onto your top position."
"So, Shinji, what's your decision? If you move up to B-Class, you'll be starting at the very bottom of the rankings..." the suited man confird.
"I choose to advance," Shinji answered without a hint of hesitation. There was no point in clinging to the C-Class. On top of that, heroes in C-Class had to submit weekly activity reports, which he found annoying.
"I see, so you've decided to move up..." the man noted, scribbling sothing in his notebook. "Then we'll proceed with a few simple questions."
The woman sitting on the far right took over, her tone calm and professional. "I'll be recording your answers for the psychological assessnt."
---
While Shinji responded to the questions, several people were observing him from behind a one-way mirror located on the upper wall of the room. These individuals weren't part of the regular review team.
They were mbers of the Hero Association's Special Review Committee, a unit tasked with independently overseeing promotions and rank advancents to ensure the process remained fair and free of manipulation.
"So that's Shinji. What do you think about those cheating rumors?"
"His scores during the physical and endurance tests were completely average. I don't see how soone like that could suddenly show such a dramatic improvent in just a few days."
"Maybe he was hiding his strength during the earlier tests. But if so, why hold back? The motive isn't clear."
"There's no evidence to support that theory. Suspicion alone doesn't prove anything. In any case, he chose to advance. Let's watch and see. If he's got what it takes, he'll survive in B-Class. If not, he'll face the consequences himself. Don't underestimate how brutal the competition in B-Class is."
"He might also not be hiding his powers but training to get stronger. Maybe he has a ridiculous growth rate to get stronger."
Growing stronger… that thought sure marveled all the present.
The mbers continued whispering back and forth, their eyes fixed on Shinji. Of course, Shinji was fully aware that he was being monitored, but he didn't care at all.
"We've contacted the advisor. Should we patch him in now?" asked a liaison positioned behind the committee mbers.
"Yes," one of them responded without looking back.
The connection was established smoothly, and a voice ca through.
"Hey, I'm busy right now. Keep it short."
Appearing on the large screen was a striking young man with golden eyes and flowing blue hair. It was none other than Sweet Mask, the top-ranked A-Class hero.
"Sorry to bother you again. Regarding the top C-Class hero's application to advance to B-Class, we need your final approval as per standard procedure, Sweet Mask," one of the committee mbers said.
"Promotion to B-Class? That's sothing you guys can decide yourselves. C-Class, B-Class, whatever. It makes no difference to ," Sweet Mask replied with clear disinterest.
"Y-you're not wrong... but this is part of a policy set by the board. To maintain public trust in the Association, we still require your input as a consultant, even for relatively minor cases like this..." the reviewer said awkwardly, clearly trying to tread carefully. He didn't want to offend Sweet Mask, but he also couldn't ignore the rules laid out by the board.
"Only heroes ranked A-Class and above require my input. Heroes at that level carry real weight in society, and if soone in my tier does sothing wrong, it reflects on as well. But B-Class..." Sweet Mask looked like he was about to launch into one of his usual rants about B and C-Class heroes, but he caught himself and shrugged. "Whatever, I'll just take a quick look."
Finally…
"The person currently being interviewed is Shinji, the top-ranked C-Class hero, though he doesn't have a hero na yet," one of the special review committee mbers quickly summarized before switching the screen to show a live feed of Shinji.
"...His eyes look a bit unusual, but that's it. As long as he's not involved in any scandals, just let him move up." Sweet Mask gave his final word without hesitation, then ended the call and returned to whatever he had been doing before.
---
By the ti the promotion process finally wrapped up, the entire morning had passed. Shinji's advancent was now official. In his hand was a new certificate — an "Approval of Promotion," confirming that the Hero Association had formally allowed him to move up to B-Class. For the mont, he sat at the very bottom of the rankings: B-Class, Rank 101.
[Alert! The host has advanced to B-Class. Rewards: 10 points. Flying Thunder God Technique is granted!]
Flying Thunder God Technique?
Hearing the system's notification, Shinji paused in surprise. He had expected to receive a standard reward like points for ranking up, but this was sothing else entirely. The Flying Thunder God Technique was no ordinary ability — it was an S-rank space-ti ninjutsu. Like Kamui, it manipulated space and ti, and while the two techniques overlapped in concept, each had distinct advantages.
Double Kamui was certainly more flexible in many ways, but that didn't an Flying Thunder God was inferior in Shinji's hands. He had already experienced how valuable Kamui could be, and now this technique gave him even more tools to work with.
After returning ho, Shinji got to work preparing lunch. As usual, Saitama showed up right on cue, dropping by to mooch a free al without hesitation.
---
During his afternoon break, Shinji sat down to examine the Flying Thunder God Technique more closely.
Thanks to the system, he didn't need to go through a learning phase — he had already mastered it completely the mont he received it. He could now place what the system called a "Flying Thunder God mark" — more accurately, a spiritual imprint — on any object or person.
Because Shinji lacked chakra, the system had adjusted the technique to operate using spiritual energy instead. With a single mark placed, Shinji could teleport to its location instantly.
In theory, this version of teleportation was just as fast, if not faster, than Kamui's, since Kamui required routing through a space-ti dinsion as a middle layer. Flying Thunder God, on the other hand, operated without any such delay.
Still, Kamui's greatest strength wasn't just teleportation. Its real power lay in its intangibility — the ability to phase through physical attacks and crush enemies over long distances with spatial distortions. That made Flying Thunder God and Double Kamui two entirely different tools in Shinji's arsenal. Rather than replacing one another, they worked in tandem, each covering the other's weaknesses.
This synergy was especially noticeable over long distances. In close combat or within line of sight, it was harder to determine which was faster. Double Kamui could open two portals simultaneously — for instance, Shinji could absorb himself with his right eye while creating an exit portal elsewhere with the left. That dual-channel transfer made Kamui's instantaneous movent formidable. The full version of Kamui was also far quicker than the single-eye variant.
Even so, sothing still felt incomplete. With a subtle frown, Shinji opened the points shop to check its contents, and imdiately noticed several new items available for exchange.
Physical Constitution
Hashirama Cells
Blade of Red Night
Fourth Hokage's Kunai
Rasengan
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