Chapter 199 Superpower— Provocation

Tsukishima Tsukimi was born without superpowers. Just like Satoshi, he also had the Alpha Gene in his blood, but somehow, his superpowers never showed... or at least, that's what he thought.

As it turned out, his superpower had actually manifested earlier than most, but he didn't realize it at all. Figures, his superpower wasn't all that noteworthy, after all, and if he were to be given a choice whether to have his power or not, he'd most likely choose the latter as it was more of a burden than a superpower, to begin with.

It all started when he was ten years old, no, it was probably earlier than that. He just didn't notice it. His family went to the beach and while playing beach volleyball with his friends, someone dropped the ball on the other side of the net and he immediately said 'you suck' to that person.

For some odd reason, everyone, including those on his team, got angry at him and started beating him up to the point where he got his ribs broken and his face was a mess of swollen flesh. He was immediately taken to the hospital and the local news even covered the story. Of course, it was a great embarrassment to the parents of the ones involved but for Tsukimi, it was a traumatic memory.

Since then, every single comment he lets out gets him beaten to a pulp. He couldn't tell why such a thing only happened to him though. Even when he compliments someone, it comes out as an insult and he gets beaten up.

In the end, he decided not to talk anymore. When he reached middle school, his condition became worse to the point that everyone thought he was dumb— that he couldn't speak at all. And while all of that was happening, a thought occurred in his mind.

'I get beaten up because I was weak.'

'If I were slightly stronger than them, I'd have stood a chance.'

'It was my fault I was this pathetic.'

Although he went on a completely different way of approaching his uniqueness, it all worked out in the end. He started weight training, then stamina training, and it reached the point where he could finally stand up to those who tried to beat him up.

Sometimes, he would even go at a crowd and say something, only to be beaten up. Of course, he wouldn't stand a chance against them but it most certainly gave him a clear gauge as to how strong he currently was.

And while all that was happening, he finally realized something— something that he should've realized a couple of years ago.

His words... are his superpower.

It didn't even occur to him at first. The only time it did was when he tried to provoke someone a second time, to which he responded with how he was doing all he could in his life but it still wasn't enough. While he was giving that speech, Tsukimi gave him a good punch in the face and the fight was over before it even started.

The more he used his words, the more it became plain to him that that was his superpower.

Superpower— Provocation.

.....

"Oi, kid! What are you crawling out there for? You a worm or something?"

Satoshi wanted to punch him so hard that he even started crawling backward. He couldn't tell why he was riled up with such simple words but that's what happened. Somehow, his body just started moving on its own.

[You've been hit by a superpower that affects the mind, Satoshi]

[Negating the effect]

"Thanks, Dex," Satoshi said, realizing a bit too late that the guy just used his superpower on him.

"..."

"Wait,"

"That didn't work?!" Tsukimi exclaimed, clicking his tongue as he started making his way through the tight-rope course. It's not like that affected him though since he knew that his superpower only worked on the majority. As much as he hated to admit it, there are some who couldn't be affected by his superpower, and those people have a strong mental fortitude than normal.

"To think that he's one of those guys, what a blessed kid," Tsukimi said to himself, smiling. There was no need for him to provoke the son of the Midoriyama Duo after that happened. He even concluded that his superpower won't work on him the second time.

And with that, Satoshi cleared the fourth section of the obstacle course.

.....

Meanwhile,

They'd already done a couple of tries but they just couldn't get over the rope climb no matter how many times they tried. Midori and Hiroshi sighed in frustration as Pietro Axor (Oversight) and Taniguchi Kyou (Saturn) already went ahead of them. At this rate, they won't even get to the top one hundred, much less the seeded top fifty that would qualify for the Superhero License.

"Tsk!" Midori clicked his tongue, punching the slab of wood in front of him, behind it was where everyone else was rappelling for the third part of the obstacle course.

"Wait... " Hiroshi called out, causing Midori to open his eyes once again.

"What is it?" Midori asked.

"Nothing much, it's just that... hmmm..." Hiroshi mumbled, glancing towards Midori and then at the wall that he just punched.

"If you have something to say just say it. It's not like it's going to hurt. And if by any chance you have an idea how we'll be able to get through this and pass... just say it!" Midori scratched his head, wondering why Hiroshi was mumbling to himself when all it did was waste their precious time.

"I mean... it didn't really say that we have to climb through the ropes, right? And also, didn't Satoshi clear the mud pit by jumping through the logs, right?" Hiroshi continued.

"Yeah, you're right... and so? What do you suggest we do now?" Midori asked, too slow to get what Hiroshi actually meant.

"I mean, can you just punch our way through?" Hiroshi said, grinning.