Six years passed in relative peace. Junsei lived alone in the deepest parts of the forest, far from any trace of humans. With the knowledge carried from billions of former lives and his unusual ability to draw upon their aspects, survival came easily to him. The cold did not trouble him. Wild animals posed no threat and were even friendly. Poisons, venom, sickness, even injury lost their meaning. His body adapted and corrected itself.
Over those six years, his understanding and control of his power deepened. What had once required his focus and attention now came to him like true instinct. He learned to draw upon dozens of reincarnations at once, blending strength, perception, endurance, and form without restrain. His connection to other creatures also changed. He no longer merely understood what they felt or communicated with them; he could step into them, see through their eyes, hear through their ears, guide their movements as naturally as his own limbs.
After the first year, he stopped thinking about humans altogether. They were out of sight, out of mind. The forest, however, was not indifferent to him. Without ever asking, Junsei found that the living world around him acted with purpose. Insects, animals, birds, and even plants behaved as though sharing a single intent: to keep humans away from him.
Predators such as bears began appearing along hiking paths, driving people back with fear. Insects bit relentlessly, swarms forming where humans lingered too long. Snakes slithered onto trails once considered safe, sending hikers and rangers fleeing. Trees near the forest's edge stopped bearing fruit, mushrooms and flowers withered and in their place, poisonous growths flourished.
Just as Junsei could sense the state of living things, they seemed able to sense him. They understood his desire to remain hidden, to be left alone, and they responded. He had never felt so safe. Not in this life, nor in any before it. It was as though the world itself had decided to shelter him, and Junsei found that he welcomed it.
——————
At the forest's edge, near the mountain Junsei had crossed six years earlier, a businessman stood beside rows of heavy machinery. Dozens of workers waited nearby. The man looked toward the forest, then back at the police officers barring their way.
"I don't understand why you're stopping us," he said quietly. "I have permits to build a road and a resort deeper inside. The land review showed it was safe. What danger are you talking about?"
The officer facing him replied carefully, "Mr. Yaoyorozu, I understand your frustration. But we've had a sharp increase in reports of bear sightings, snake bites and toxic insects injuring people. Something has changed in that forest. We can't allow workers in when it's clearly a hazard."
Mr. Yaoyorozu frowned. "It can't be that bad, can it?"
"It is," the officer said with a sigh. "We've never seen numbers like this. We may need specialists to reassess the area and determine the cause."
Mr. Yaoyorozu nodded slowly. "I find this hard to believe, but I won't risk my workers' lives. I know a few heroes and wildlife specialists who can examine the forest. I'd like you or someone familiar with the situation to accompany them and share what you know."
The officer nodded his head. "Thank you for understanding. When the specialists arrive, we'll help however we can to find out what's happening here."
——————
A week later, Mr. Yaoyorozu returned to the mountain's edge with a force far greater than what the supposed goal required. Waiting for specialists to evaluate the forest and then for yet another team to decide on containment or wildlife control felt like an unnecessary waste of time. He was a man who preferred decisive action. If the forest required evaluation, then it would be evaluated properly. If it needed cleaning up, then that too would be done, all at once.
To that end, he had enlisted the pro hero team Wild Wild Pussycats, whose teamwork and experience made them ideal for forest and mountain missions. Alongside them came Flame Breath Man, a pro hero famed for his ability to breathe fire, useful for driving off animals and dispersing swarms of insects should they appear. The final hero was Slingshot, whose quirk allowed him to turn his own hair into explosive sleeping pellets, perfect for subduing large animals like bears without causing permanent harm.
Beyond the heroes, more than thirty forest rangers accompanied the group, each trained for hostile wildlife encounters, along with a medical team of five to ensure everyone's safety. Some might have called it excessive. Mr. Yaoyorozu called it thoroughness. He had never believed in leaving room for error.
This time, he had also brought his daughter, Momo. She had insisted on coming, calling the expedition a valuable learning experience, and after some hesitation, he had agreed. When the police arrived, led by the same officer who had stopped him a week earlier, he greeted the man.
"I'll explain what we know so far," the officer said, "and I'll be joining you with a few of my men. We're familiar with the area."
Mr. Yaoyorozu thanked him sincerely and explained his wish for Momo to accompany the team. No one objected. With nearly fifty trained individuals entering the forest, the idea of a kid joining them seemed harmless. Besides, everyone was being paid well, and no one felt inclined to argue.
After some time, the team moved beyond the mountain and into the forest. Momo and the medical unit stayed near the center, guarded by rangers, while the pro heroes took the lead. Almost immediately, they noticed signs of hostility, snakes slithered across their path, insects leapt toward them, spiders and scorpions moved straight toward them, and mosquitoes swarmed with unusual aggression.
Yet none of it posed real danger. Between the heroes and the rangers' own quirks, the threats were handled swiftly and efficiently. They pressed on, deeper and deeper into the forest.
Then slowly everything went silent. No insects buzzed. No bird chirped. No kind of any animal sounds.
Mandalay was the first to notice.
"Why is it so quiet?" she asked slowly. "Did everything gather at the edge of the forest?"
Tiger scanned the area uneasily. "Yeah… this is weird. I don't like it."
Others began to tense, something about the forest felt unnaturally wrong.
A ranger suddenly spoke, his voice tight with urgency. "We're being surrounded."
Everyone turned to him. "My quirk detects mammals within a certain range," he continued. "And they're everywhere."
Before anyone could respond, animals emerged from all directions. Bears stepped forward in alarming numbers, a dozen of them, while rabbits, foxes, wild cats, and countless other creatures stepped out from the undergrowth, forming a tightening circle around the group.
Slingshot swallowed audibly. "This isn't normal," he said. "Animals don't behave like this. Is someone controlling them?"
Flame Breath Man looked up. "Guys… above us."
They followed his gaze. Hundreds of birds perched in the trees overhead, staring down in eerie silent unison. Only then did they notice the trees themselves, motionless yet crawling with insects, all of them watching.
Pixie-Bob's voice wavered. "What do we do? We're surrounded."
Mandalay's expression hardened. "We fight with everything we have." She issued orders quickly.
"Pixie-Bob, keep the animals away from us, especially snakes and ground insects. Don't let them close. Slingshot, focus on the bears. Flame Breath, handle the birds and flying insects. The rest of you, fight if you have to."
Panic rippled through the group. Most of the rangers and officers went pale. They had faced dangerous wildlife before, but never like this
Rangers and officers drew their weapons almost in unison, muzzles swinging wildly from shadow to shadow, fingers tense on triggers. Yet not a single shot rang out at first. No one quite dared to be the one to begin. At the center of the formation, Momo remained frozen beside the medical team as the forest closed in around them.
Then a single bird chirped. The forest exploded into motion.
Without hesitation, Pixie-Bob drove her quirk to its limits. The ground heaved and surged outward in a violent wave, throwing up walls of earth in every direction to force the animals back or even kill them. At the same moment, Flame Breath Man inhaled deeply and released the greatest torrent of fire he had ever produced, a roaring inferno that tore through the air above them, scorching feathers and driving shrieking birds from the sky.
Rangers and police officers with offensive quirks unleashed them all at once, bursts of force, flashes of energy, concussive waves, while the rest opened fire, bullets tearing through the mass of bodies surging toward them. The noise was deafening. Momo clamped her hands over her ears and crouched low, trembling as the world became fire, earth, and screams.
Their combined assault was devastating. The animals were packed so tightly that every strike found a target; bodies fell, and the advance staggered. But it did not stop. From the trees, from the undergrowth, from every unseen corner of the forest, more creatures poured in relentlessly. Flame Breath Man finally broke off his attack, gasping for air.
"There's no way," he said hoarsely, "I can stop all of this."
Mandalay's eyes darted across the battlefield, her mind racing. Charging back the way they had come was one option, but how many animals waited along that path? And if the entire forest was against them, how far would the pursuit go? Saving everyone under such conditions felt impossible.
Then, as abruptly as it had begun, the assault stopped.
The animals halted, drawing back just enough to keep their distance. The sudden stillness was almost worse than the chaos. Confusion spread through the group, until a deep, thunderous roar rolled through the clearing.
They turned as one.
A massive bear stood ahead of them, its eyes glowing an unnatural blue as it stared directly at the group.
Mandalay sucked in a breath. "That bear, it's controlling them! It's an animal with a quirk!"
In an instant, every weapon swung toward the bear. Ending it felt like the only clear path to survival. But before anyone could act, the blue glow in the bear's eyes faded, returning to a dull, natural brown. Around it, the animals began making more distance from them.
Pixie-Bob whispered, almost disbelieving, "What is going now? Are they… letting us leave?"
"I don't know anymore," Mandalay replied quietly. "But if they're keeping their distance, I think it's safe to retreat."
Before anyone could move, Ragdoll stiffened.
"Guys," she said slowly, "someone's coming from the deepest side of the forest."
She swallowed.
"And it's fast. Really, really fast."