"This is… my eyes have really changed!"
Although the structure of his eyes still resembled that of a normal human, their function was now entirely different. Aizawa Shouta was stunned to discover that he could now consciously control the size of his pupils, regulating the amount of light entering his eyes. Even when faced with sudden, intense brightness, his eyes no longer reflexively shut—instead, his pupils shrank to needle-like points, minimizing the impact.
Even more astonishing was the surface of his eyes. They no longer required blinking to stay moist. A thin, specialized film covered each eyeball, continuously absorbing and redistributing tears from the lacrimal glands. This allowed his eyes to clean and hydrate themselves automatically.
Even if he kept his eyes open for minutes at a time, he felt no dryness whatsoever.
Refreshing.
Far more refreshing than any eye drops could ever be.
For a brief moment, the world before him seemed sharper, clearer—almost unreal. Aizawa Shouta stood there in a daze.
And yet, the transformation had already been completed.
"Are these really… my eyes?" he murmured, unable to fully process what had just happened. These were no longer ordinary human eyes—their structure had evolved into something more refined, more efficient.
"More or less." Shina Etsuha took a sip of water, completely unfazed by Aizawa's shock. "They look great, don't they? But this is about the limit of what I can do. If you're thinking about boosting human strength dozens of times through genetic modification… that's impossible."
"Why?" Aizawa turned sharply toward him.
Etsuha explained calmly, "Genes require reference material. Take your eyes, for example—I combined traits from cats and octopuses to achieve this result. Without existing genetic templates, modification simply isn't possible. I can't just invent genes out of thin air and expect them to function."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"You can't turn a human into something with the strength of an elephant without fundamentally changing their body structure. And if you do that, they're no longer human—they're something else entirely."
In other words, to obtain the strength of an elephant through genetic modification, a person would have to become physically similar to one. That was the hard limit of Etsuha's ability.
As for incorporating genes from creatures like tardigrades or ants, it wouldn't work as people imagined. Their extraordinary abilities stemmed from their unique biological structures—not just their genes alone.
"Of course," Etsuha added thoughtfully, "there might be exceptions. If I find the right gene sequences and apply them correctly, it's possible human strength could improve. But that's still uncertain."
"I see…" Aizawa nodded slowly, finally regaining his composure. Even so, the ability Etsuha possessed was nothing short of monstrous.
Etsuha simply smiled.
In truth, there was something even more terrifying about his power.
As long as he had seen a gene sequence, he could theoretically replicate it.
For example, after analyzing the genetic structure behind Aizawa Shouta's quirk, he could potentially transfer that same ability to someone else.
In other words—
Aizawa's quirk could be copied.
Of course, Etsuha was nowhere near capable of doing that yet. The genetic chains tied to quirks were incredibly complex. Attempting such a feat with his current limits would completely drain him.
Aizawa tested his "Erasure" ability using his newly modified eye. With the help of a nearby staff member, he confirmed something unbelievable—
He could keep his eyes open for over ten minutes without blinking… and his quirk remained fully active the entire time.
The result left him exhilarated.
After paying Etsuha, Aizawa immediately requested treatment for his right eye as well. However, by the time the second modification was complete, most of his physical strength had been drained. Even standing became a struggle.
"Ha… ha… this isn't the place to talk," Aizawa said between breaths, wiping sweat from his forehead. "Let's find somewhere private."
Etsuha raised an eyebrow but didn't object. He led the two men into a storage room within the office, clearing away clutter to make space.
"No one will disturb us here," he said. "Go ahead—what do you want to discuss?"
Aizawa practically collapsed into a chair. After catching his breath, he finally spoke.
"Actually… I'm not the one who came here for treatment."
"The one next to you is," he added.
"All Might?" Etsuha said immediately.
Both Aizawa Shouta and All Might froze.
"How did you know?!"
Etsuha rolled his eyes. "Same type of injury. Same body proportions. I'd have to be blind not to figure it out."
Then his expression grew more serious.
"The reason I asked All Might to bring other heroes is simple. After treatment, he's going to be completely exhausted for a while. During that time, he'll be vulnerable."
He glanced at Aizawa.
"And in your current condition… how exactly are you planning to protect him?"
"…"
Both men fell silent at the same time.
Only now did they realize—
They hadn't thought that far ahead at all.
..
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