Chapter 82

"Ah, do you understand Japanese?"

"Kaa"

Shiro nodded in response to Dies' question.

"Well, I've been told by Yuki Kousuke to cooperate with you guys. Have you heard about this?"

"Kaka-ka"

Shiro chirped to convey that he had heard from his subordinates, the crows, and nodded.

"Kaa, kaka-ka, ka-ka"

"Huh? What are you saying?"

Shiro tried to convey that he had stopped several cameras inside the hideout with shockwaves, guided Rin, who was in the cell, and had already moved the hostages to the exit. However, even Dies, who was skilled in insight, couldn't understand Shiro's words.

"Since I don't understand what you're saying, can you answer my questions by nodding or shaking your head?"

"Kaa"

Shiro nodded to indicate understanding.

Through Dies' questions, Shiro conveyed that the hostages had already been guided to the exit and that a battle with the enemy boss, who seemed to be fighting Rin, was about to begin.

"So, we just need to suppress the others and rescue Lisa, right?"

"Kaa"

Shiro nodded to confirm.

"Then, I'll take out the armored vehicle on the left and the people around it. Reinforcements will probably come from the right, but can you handle them all?"

"Kaka"

Shiro chirped to say, "Leave it to me," and the crows around him began to chirp in unison.

"Whoa, what are you doing!?"

As Dies was surprised, the crows' chirping gradually grew louder... and suddenly, silence fell.

"…!?"

Not only the crows' chirping, but also the rustling of the trees, the sound of footsteps, and all other sounds disappeared. Dies was shocked by the sudden silence and tried to speak, but no sound came out.

"Kaa…"

In the silence, only Shiro's chirping echoed quietly. The space above Shiro's head began to distort, forming a spherical shape.

"…"

"Amazing…" Dies' words were swallowed by the silence and didn't reach anyone.

"Kaa…"

Shiro had been struggling with a strong sense of inferiority for some time. His master, who possessed abilities beyond human limits and could learn skills, abilities, and even the creation methods of special weapons just by looking at them. A legendary demon who could reproduce any ability or phenomenon with illusions and boasted high combat power without using abilities. A smartphone that excelled in information warfare and analysis, and could control golems and dolls with unparalleled skill, equipped with numerous excellent support abilities. A spirit who could dominate the magic in the air, cast powerful magic alone, and enhance the master's magic. And a sister, also a shikigami, who was one of the strongest in direct combat.

Shiro had been continuously searching for his own place amidst these surrounding entities. He had learned magic from Ul but had yet to achieve any results. In terms of reconnaissance and information gathering, he was far inferior to Nea. The combat power of Kousuke, Kuro, and Rin was beyond what he could achieve with a single effort.

"Kaka…"

After much deliberation, Shiro decided to pursue his characteristic of manipulating vibrations. Using his ability to control sound waves, he gathered the necessary energy from the surroundings and adjusted the power with precise control. The result was this technique, "Nagi."

"Kaa!!"

Shiro released a portion of the energy he had gathered, which distorted space, towards the enemy.

"The sound is back... ah!"

"Something invisible, guh!!"

"Where is it coming from, guwaaaah!!"

The released energy converted into shockwaves, striking the armed group one by one. Lightly equipped soldiers were hit precisely in the jaw or solar plexus, while heavily equipped soldiers were blown away along with the walls behind them, losing consciousness.

"Kakka"

Shiro quietly considered the energy mass distorting the space above his head. The energy consumed by the current attack was only a few percent of what he had gathered. If he released it all at once, it would have the destructive power to kill with one blow, and with precise control, it could be a non-lethal technique to subdue a large number of people. Feeling the potential of this technique, Shiro smiled quietly.

"I can't afford to lose."

Watching Shiro, Dies enhanced his leg strength and closed the distance to the armored vehicle in the blink of an eye, preparing to deliver a headbutt.

"What!? When did you...!"

"To avoid complications, I'll take care of this vehicle."

With that, the headbutt he delivered indented the side of the armored vehicle and blew it away along with the wall behind it. The armored vehicle, weighing nearly 5 tons with its equipment and crew, felt to Dies, who had fully activated his ability, like knocking over an empty plastic bottle.

"Dies!"

"...!? Lisa!"

Lisa, who was nearby, ran to Dies, who had just entered the building through the collapsed wall.

"I came to rescue you. I'm sorry for the delay."

"No, it's fine. Thank you, Dies."

Lisa hugged Dies with a relieved expression.

"What a touching reunion, a beautiful scene indeed."

Surrounded by a large number of crows, Vampi watched the scene quietly.

"Kaka…"

Meanwhile, Shiro, watching the scene, was inwardly anxious about how to handle the dangerous energy mass above his head, waiting to be released.

◇

"Hahaha! This is amazing!"

Since witnessing the boy who could manipulate gravity, Toujou had been acting with the assumption of supernatural powers in all situations. As part of this, various traps other than firearms were set up throughout the hideout to counter any threats within the range of his response. However—

"Too noisy, it's making me tingle a bit."

"Hahaha! Sound waves and electric shocks are ineffective! No, you must be cutting through the sound waves before they affect your body and channeling the electric shocks through your blade. Impressive!"

—Rin's extraordinary physical abilities and the ability to cut through sound waves had allowed her to overcome the traps set by Toujou one after another.

"Even tear gas and poison gas are ineffective due to some mysterious shockwave. It seems your abilities are not limited to cutting alone!"

"Yeah, that's right!"

Toujou realized that Rin had no intention to kill and was being careful not to injure anyone. He continued to run through the hideout, using numerous traps and even his own life as a hostage. Although it was a shameful act for a warrior, it didn't matter to Toujou in the face of the supernatural power he had been pursuing.

(This is not good... Even with the restraint, my options are almost exhausted. I still want to enjoy this situation, but it's time to call it quits.)

Considering the remaining traps and ammunition, Toujou decided to retreat. It was a late decision for his usual self, but the last bit of rationality he had left made the decision.

(If I escape to the storage area and collapse this section with a smoke screen, I can buy some time. Then, I'll escape using the vehicle in the storage area.)

As he thought this, Toujou rushed into the storage area and was met with an unbelievable sight.

"The vehicles, even the firearms, are... being crumpled?"

Not only the escape vehicles in the storage area but also various firearms, including their storage cases, were scattered like crumpled paper.

"What is this...!!?"

Turning towards the sound of metal groaning, Toujou saw another unbelievable sight. An armored vehicle, which was difficult to destroy and weighed much more than a regular vehicle, was floating in the air and being crumpled like paper. A white crow, floating in the air with nothing around it, seemed to be causing this phenomenon, and its gaze caught Toujou.

"...Hmph, I didn't consider the possibility of an ally."

"Finally caught up!"

Feeling a sense of despair and the joy of encountering a being with extraordinary abilities, Toujou submitted to Rin's hand strike and lost consciousness.

Today, the 100th volume of One Piece, a significant milestone, is on sale! ...And simultaneously, the 4th volume of "Reincarnated... Not!" is also on sale!

This volume includes the climax of the ability arc and the beginning of the magic arc. The bonus short story features Kousuke, Takigawa, Ishida, and Nea playing a game similar to Fortnight. I particularly enjoyed the chapter in One Piece 100 where Big Mom talks about honor.

I would be grateful if you could pick up the book when you see it at the bookstore.