At this moment, both Nomu were barely alive.
The spider-type Nomu had been pierced through by an ice bolt. The wound looked fatal at first glance, yet it still clung to a faint breath of life. The fire-breathing Nomu, on the other hand, remained trapped under hypnosis—its already fragile mind offering no resistance whatsoever to Shina Etsuha's gaze.
To Etsuha, these were perfect experimental subjects.
With his stamina mostly recovered, modifying the genes of two Nomu was well within his capabilities. He stepped forward and placed a hand on the fire-breathing Nomu. Instantly, the structure of its quirk genes appeared before his eyes.
Etsuha had long held several hypotheses. One of the most important was this: the human body has a limit to how many quirk genes it can تحمل. Without an ability like All For One, the more quirks a person possesses, the greater the burden on their body—eventually leading to instability or mutation.
Until now, he had lacked proper test data. He hadn't dared experiment recklessly. But these two Nomu had arrived at the perfect time.
"Two quirks… that should be the upper limit a Nomu can تحمل. If I want to add another, I'll have to remove one first…"
With that thought, Etsuha directly stripped the fire-breathing Nomu of its flame-based quirk.
In the next instant, the Nomu's body visibly changed.
It deflated—like a punctured balloon. Its once-bulging muscles shrank rapidly, its frame collapsing inward. In mere seconds, it looked far closer to a normal human than before.
"…So the Nomu's appearance really is tied to its quirk genes."
A chill ran down Etsuha's spine. Thankfully, he hadn't rushed into modifying his own body recklessly. What he was seeing now proved just how dangerous that could be.
After removing the fire quirk, Etsuha implanted a different one in its place—a reconnaissance-type ability he had previously copied from a Pro Hero at the agency. This quirk enhanced visual perception, allowing the user to observe fine details. It was purely supportive, with no offensive capability.
The gene structure was complex. By the time he finished attaching it, sweat dripped down Etsuha's face. But what mattered most—
The Nomu's body stabilized.
There were only minor changes. No violent mutation. No collapse.
"It worked…"
Excitement surged through him.
"As I thought—the number of quirk genes a body can تحمل is limited. Once that limit is exceeded, the quirks begin to erode the host itself."
Etsuha clenched his fists.
The strain quirks placed on the body was even greater than he had anticipated. A single quirk gene could be sustained normally. But once a second was forcibly added, it began to compress and overwrite ordinary genes, triggering abnormal physical changes.
Still, there were exceptions.
One was individuals born with dual quirks—like Shoto Todoroki or Bakugo Katsuki—whose bodies were naturally compatible with multiple gene chains.
The other exceptions were All For One and One For All.
Strictly speaking, those abilities didn't rely on direct genetic modification. Instead, they functioned as containers, capable of holding and transferring quirks without causing conflict within the host.
"In other words… if I want One For All, I can't just implant it into myself."
Etsuha narrowed his eyes, thinking deeply.
"But… I could give it to someone else first."
If he modified another person's genes to grant them One For All, and then had them pass it on to him, the quirk's inheritance system might allow it to integrate without rejection.
Of course, that was only a theory.
There were still many obstacles—whether the subject could survive the implantation, whether they would willingly transfer the quirk, and whether illusion alone would be enough to control that process. After all, genjutsu could distort perception, but it couldn't truly rewrite someone's will.
This experiment had opened countless new possibilities.
Originally, Etsuha had considered granting himself a super-regeneration quirk directly. But after repeated simulations, he realized the risk was too high. Adding another gene chain to his own body could easily result in catastrophic failure.
For now, that path had to be abandoned.
Due to limited stamina, Etsuha only performed minor modifications on the two Nomu. The results were consistent. Though… there was something odd.
Both Nomu seemed… dumber.
After releasing the hypnosis, neither of them showed any aggression.
Of course, that made sense. Their offensive quirks had been replaced with purely supportive abilities. Even if they wanted to attack, they simply couldn't.
…
Not long after, personnel from the agency arrived at the scene.
They stared at the two subdued Nomu in disbelief.
"Why are these two… so quiet?"
Normally, Nomu felt no pain and never stopped attacking. The other three had rampaged like madmen, forcing the Pro Heroes to destroy them. Yet these two… were calmer than house pets.
"Their abilities have been modified," Etsuha said casually, nudging one of them forward. "They can't attack anymore."
"…I see."
The staff nodded blankly.
In truth, they didn't understand a word he said.
Modify abilities?
That sounded completely absurd. Wasn't Etsuha's quirk supposed to be ice-based? What did that have to do with altering quirks?
They simply assumed he had gotten lucky—running into two defective Nomu.
But just as they were about to leave, one of them glanced up at a nearby building.
Part of it had been scorched black—clearly burned by intense flames.
His pupils shrank.
Etsuha used ice.
So where had the fire come from?
The answer was obvious.
It came from the two Nomu standing right beside him.