Nobita's Time Heist

[Superpower Training Box: It looks like an ordinary square box, but with proper training, any human can master the three classic superpowers from the Doraemon universe: telekinesis, clairvoyance, and teleportation. Normally, it requires spending thirty minutes each day on each superpower, and after three years, one can achieve 100% mastery. However, the actual situation varies from person to person. For example, Nobita only spent thirty minutes learning the basic uses of all three superpowers.]

After the purpose of the gadget was explained, the three of them went from being completely confused to speechless with astonishment. Compared to the AT field, these three superpowers that anyone could learn were clearly much more cost-effective.

Nobita's first training exercise for the three was to develop their potential. The time spent was irrelevant; the important thing was to grasp the feeling. The most powerful aspect of this gadget was that it required gradual, persistent practice. As long as one was willing to invest the time and practice diligently for three years, even the least intelligent person could master these three superpowers. They could even disregard X-ray vision; once they learned telekinesis and teleportation, most of the Angels would instantly become toys to be manipulated at will.

That being said, actually doing it is not necessarily that easy.

Especially for Asuka.

She stared wide-eyed at the superpower development box, feeling her eyes incredibly dry, and kept muttering to herself.

"It's moved, it's moved, it's moved..."

As expected, the box stood firmly on the table, without moving an inch.

"Hey, Shinji, you idiot Shinji!" She quickly gave up, lowered her voice, and tried to signal to Shinji sitting next to her. However, Shinji had already put on his headphones and completely disappeared into his own little world, not hearing her voice at all. In desperation, the girl had to reach out and forcefully pull an earphone cord out of his ear.

Shinji was terrified by her. Slightly noisy, elegant music came through his headphones. "Asuka? What...what are you doing?"

"Oh, a violin, huh? You have quite the taste." Asuka teased Shinji about the music he was listening to, then lowered her voice and complained, "Does this really work? Gaining superpowers just by staring at the box? It feels like an 80s scam."

"Nobita wouldn't lie to us." Shinji also thought it was a bit far-fetched, but he was still willing to believe the boy he had only known for a short time. "There are too many ways to waste time, there's no need to make up such a nonsensical excuse, is there?"

"What? Just because he publicly threw a bunch of zero-score test papers at you and slapped your dad in the face, you're now completely devoted to him?" Asuka raised her arm, gently nudged him, and said with a mischievous smile, "Idiot Shinji, after you master X-ray vision, who are you planning to use it on? That honor student?"

"What do you mean by 'used on whom'... This... This is only used when piloting an EVA..." Shinji immediately understood what she was implying. His gaze instinctively drifted towards Rei Ayanami's body, then quickly looked away. "Don't talk nonsense!"

"Hey~~~ That's not nonsense. I've seen countless teenage boys like you, and they're all pretty much the same." Asuka was quite open-minded about sex for her age, and continued to tease, "It's okay. After we learn X-ray vision, the three of us can look at each other, so no one will be at a disadvantage."

……

As the two were whispering to each other, the box placed in front of Rei Ayanami was lifted up by an unseen force field and slowly floated up.

As if a pause button had been pressed, Asuka and Shinji were both stunned, their expressions even a little comical. It was like the start of an exam, where two underachievers were still secretly whispering to each other, while the top student had already finished the last big question in those few minutes without batting an eye.

“I see, telekinesis, the ability to move objects with thoughts…” Rei Ayanami remained calm, her dark red, beautiful eyes fixed on the box, and nodded, “I understand completely.”

Chapter 372: The Restless Little Wild Beast

"Get moving, get moving, get moving... You better get moving now!"

Asuka bit her nails, muttering to herself in frustration. In her eyes, the superpower training box that hadn't moved at all seemed to have become an enemy deliberately opposing her, leaving her with a burning anger that she didn't know how to vent.

……

According to cloud time, about five days have passed since they started training.

For the past five days, Nobita didn't assign them any other tasks, focusing solely on developing these three basic superpowers. His reasoning was simple: without a solid foundation, even if they learned a great deal, it would be nothing more than a castle in the air, easily collapsing in actual combat. Furthermore, the war against the Angels would eventually end, and learning these three convenient superpowers would greatly benefit their future lives. Even if Gendo Ikari turned against them and tried to harm them, they would still have some means of self-defense.

However, during this period, the training atmosphere inevitably changed.

Rei Ayanami mastered three superpowers first, which seemed like a natural progression for her. After learning telekinesis, she mastered the remaining two in less than five minutes, applying the knowledge directly to other abilities.

While wandering around the NERV headquarters, Nobita saw quite a few classified files about her and learned a little about her identity—unlike ordinary people with mortal bodies, Rei Ayanami had no parents and was a "humanoid creature" cloned using the cells of the Second Angel, Lilith. Her physique was vastly different from that of ordinary people; she was exceptionally perceptive in many ways. According to her, she seemed to be able to sense the existence of "psychic power" like she could sense fluids, and the same applied to AT fields.

However, due to her overly acute senses, Rei Ayanami occasionally loses control when using her superpowers. Just like a baby who hasn't fully mastered their body and might involuntarily leak urine, her superpowers also sometimes "leak" out. She might inexplicably see through walls or make objects float or move to other locations even when she hasn't activated them, which greatly troubles her.

"It seems that only by increasing the amount of training can this be avoided." — This is the conclusion she reached after many trials.

If Rei Ayanami's rapid progress was due to her physical constitution, then Shinji's achievements were truly a testament to his exceptional talent.

In a sudden moment, he had an epiphany, let out a loud roar, and used his telekinesis to launch the training box away, which actually embedded itself in the wall like a bullet.

About a day later, he mastered teleportation and could move the box to other places.

Unlike Rei Ayanami, Shinji has mastered both abilities to a high degree, without any "leaking" of his superpowers. However, perhaps due to the lingering trauma left by Asuka's teasing on the very first day, he has been slow to master his X-ray vision.

"boom!"

"boom!"

"boom!"

"boom!"

……

Having already made some progress, the two sat down to one side and began targeted intensive training, using smaller marbles to shoot at each other's marbles. However, they first had to use telekinesis to levitate each other's marbles, and then use teleportation to continuously strike each other's marbles. It was a competition of agility and reaction time; whoever couldn't keep up first would lose.

"Snapped!"

As the last marble was shot down, Shinji breathed a sigh of relief; it was finally over.

Holding the marble with telekinesis and relying on dynamic vision to judge the opponent's marble's position was an incredibly taxing task on his mental energy, and he soon couldn't keep up. After five consecutive attempts, all ending in failure, he finally came to terms with the reality.

"Ayanami is amazing. When it comes to concentration, I can't possibly beat you."

"Thank you for practicing with me." The girl didn't react to his compliment at all. Even her businesslike reply was so distant. "You are indeed a little worse than me in terms of concentration, but you are actually better than me in terms of control over force."

"They're more like extensions of the senses; with practice, they'll become stronger. Telekinesis and teleportation both rely on powerful mental energy to drive something, and clairvoyance is the same. With experience, you can do it quickly," the girl assured her. "With your talent, you shouldn't have learned clairvoyance yet, so why?"

"Uh...this..."

Shinji was somewhat at a loss for words. His eyes unconsciously drifted to Asuka, who was sitting in the distance, staring blankly at the training box. He then gave Rei Ayanami a wink.

Unfortunately, his actions were like casting pearls before swine.

“It’s okay. As a reward for practicing with me, I can teach you.” Rei Ayanami didn’t understand what his gaze meant at all. “All you need to do is have a strong desire to see through something. Focus your gaze on one point and silently repeat ‘I see it, I see it’ in your mind, and you will be able to see through the internal structure of the box.”

"Can we only look at the box?" Shinji asked absentmindedly.

"..." Rei Ayanami gave him a meaningful look. "Or, if you want to choose to see through something else, I have no objection."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"You actually learned it! That's amazing!"

Misato and Nobita sat a little further away, giving the three world-saving teenagers enough space to talk, silently observing their every move like a homeroom teacher. Watching the two play marbles in the air, Misato's tone was both surprised and a little envious, "If you know this trick, you'll never have to worry about being late for work again. You can teleport over in a flash, just like that."

"Miss Misato, would you like to learn too?" Nobita took a training kit out of his pocket. "I have more here."

"Let's skip it. I don't need to save the world, and... it just doesn't feel right." Misato was quite open-minded and didn't show any greed for this kind of supernatural power that she could easily reach. She just shrugged. "If I learn something that most people don't know, going back to my original society will only increase other people's misunderstanding."

“This is one of the abilities they must master. If the battle gets out of control, at least they can save their lives.” Nobita’s expression was somewhat heavy as he spoke. “Rei Ayanami was so badly injured before because the angle at which the pilot ejected was out of control. The EVA unit is too tall. Even with protective measures, it is difficult to guarantee safety when ejected from that height.”

"If this happens in a test, wouldn't we be doomed if something like this happened in actual combat?"

“‘You must master it’…” Misato’s gaze swept over the three of them one by one, finally settling on Asuka, and she smiled, “Then you’d better be mentally prepared.”

“A strong-willed girl like her can be incredibly troublesome once she sets her mind on something.”

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

“It’s about time to go back. It’s 9 p.m. down there, time to rest. If they don’t see us for too long, the NERV people won’t let it go.” Nobita clapped his hands, trying to get the three children’s attention. “We’ll just spend the night down there symbolically, and then come back up.”

……

"You guys go back." Asuka almost gritted her teeth, glaring hatefully at the superpower training box. "I'll stay here. Goodnight!"

"Hey, Asuka, there's no need to rush. This isn't something that can be accomplished overnight," Shinji comforted her. "Look, I also have an ability that I haven't mastered yet..."

"You're just deliberately holding back your training so you can tell me all this, aren't you?" Asuka tapped the table excitedly, her eyes filled with barely concealed jealousy and anger. "You're so high and mighty, you idiot Shinji. I haven't fallen so low that I need you to cater to my feelings!"

"I..." Shinji's expression turned somewhat embarrassed after her little scheme was exposed in public. "I just wanted to..."

“I’ve decided to stay here! The flow of time here is different from down below, right? You guys go back to the surface to rest and get eight hours of sleep, which is a long time here too. If one day isn’t enough, I’ll do it for two, if two days aren’t enough, I’ll do it for three… I’m determined to learn it!”

Asuka turned her head, her eyes still fixed on the training box, and declared emphatically, "I don't want to be left behind by the honor student and the idiot Shinji!"

Chapter 373: The Value of Existence

Night had fallen.

Asuka grabbed the small cakes and pastries the robot brought her, not even glancing at what they were, and stuffed them into her mouth, as if just to obtain the necessary energy to keep her body running. Sensing her fatigue, the room's lighting automatically adjusted to a dim, yellowish hue, signaling that she should rest. But the girl was stubborn; after finishing the cakes, she gulped down several mouthfuls of iced coffee, and with sheer willpower, forced herself to stay awake, staring intently at the small square box.

"Thirty minutes have already passed," Nobita kindly reminded him. "Watching any longer won't have any effect."

"Whoa—!!!" Who knew that just that one sentence was like the last spark igniting a powder keg, causing Asuka to completely explode. She let out a sharp scream, grabbed her hair with both hands, pulled it violently, and stomped her feet, "You idiot Nobita! I was so close... so close to finding that feeling, why did you have to talk to me? You ruined everything!"

"Find the feeling." Da Xiong wasn't angry at her shouting so close to his ear, and asked with a smile, "What feeling?"

"It's that feeling... like it's about to move, but you need to put in a little more effort." Asuka herself wasn't very confident, but she still muttered, "About two days ago, I saw the box move slightly. I used my telekinesis to lift the right fulcrum about a centimeter. But when I let go, the box fell down again. I haven't been able to find that feeling since."

"is it?"

Seeing her mental state, Nobita couldn't help but recall the time he and Doraemon sprayed invisibility paint on Suneo and played a trick on him.

That said, it was Suneo who provoked him first, infuriating Doraemon to the point that he said all sorts of things, determined to make him embarrass himself in front of everyone. So, the two of them first concealed themselves and created various supernatural phenomena around Suneo, making him mistakenly believe he had superpowers. That kid was obsessed with becoming a big star, and after repeated experiments, he immediately gathered everyone in town, even using his father's connections to call in the TV station, wanting to perform a levitation act in front of everyone.

As a result, under the watchful eyes of everyone, he stared at the open space for a long time, his eyes almost popping out, but he couldn't even pull out a single piece of paper.

Asuka's current mental state is somewhat similar to his.

"There's no need to be so impatient. Thirty minutes a day is enough. After three years, you'll naturally learn it." Da Xiong picked up the box with one hand, weighed it in his hand, and said with a smile, "Learn to be friends with time."

Asuka's eyes darted around, and she suddenly asked, "You idiot Nobita, can you use these three superpowers?"

“I…” Da Xiong hesitated for a moment, but seeing that there was no impurity in the girl’s eyes, he gave up the idea of ​​comforting her with a white lie and nodded.

How long did it take you to learn these three skills?

"Well, everyone's physical condition is different. Your progress is a little slower than theirs, but that's normal. As long as you keep at it and work hard every day, you'll eventually..."

Asuka didn't want to hear this, and impatiently waved her hand to interrupt, "How long?"

……

"A few minutes, I guess." Nobita had a "you can't force me to listen" look on his face. "I'm just like you, I'm not a very patient person. I tried each ability for a few minutes, and if it didn't work, I would switch to the next one. As a result, while I was practicing the next one, the previous ability started to work."

"Later I learned that although I quickly mastered three superpowers, due to a lack of practice, they would be 'delayed' by ten minutes. The telekinesis released ten minutes ago would only affect objects ten minutes later; the teleportation initiated ten minutes ago would only successfully transport me to my destination ten minutes later. This is probably what they call 'haste makes waste.' I spent so much effort, but all I could achieve was this mediocre thing, hahaha..."

He tried his best to address the issue from a self-deprecating perspective, carefully avoiding touching on Asuka's sensitive and agitated nerves. Nevertheless, for a girl who hadn't yet entered the world of entertainment, the impact of this fact was still too strong.

few minutes.

Even the top student Rei Ayanami spent several hours figuring out the trick.

In other words, did this bespectacled boy, who seemed to be constantly radiating silliness, learn all three abilities almost instantly?

"..." She bit her lip, surprise, grievance and resentment flashing in her eyes at the same time. "In that case, I have even less reason to slack off. Reasons like different physical conditions or needing time are just flimsy excuses that are not valid at all."

"I was chosen to be born. If I can't be number one, then my existence has no value whatsoever!"

"..."

at last.

Finally, the girl revealed the fragile wounds in her heart.

From their very first meeting, Nobita was certain that none of the three pilots could escape; they all suffered from severe psychological problems. Unlike Shinji's self-doubt, Asuka, beneath her seemingly strong and willful exterior, actually harbored a remarkably fragile heart. She considered herself the best EVA pilot, and on her very first day, she insisted on training, never daring to slack off. "Becoming number one" seemed to be an obsession lingering in her mind; once that obsession shattered, she would fall into profound self-doubt.

At least in this training of superpowers, she had already been left far behind by Shinji and Rei. In particular, Shinji had even deliberately slowed down his own progress in order to take care of her, and this condescending pity only further wounded the girl's strong sense of self-esteem.

She'd rather not eat or sleep than not master this skill.

"Wow, Asuka, that's amazing." Nobita started with a classic compliment, putting his hands behind his head and laughing as he said, "When I was your age, I was just a clueless kid."

"Come on. I can't believe a single word you say." Asuka smiled, not following his train of thought at all, and shook her head instead, saying, "You can build such amazing structures and control the flow of time... These miracles that are unbelievable in the eyes of mortals are as simple as eating and drinking in your hands."

"If you wanted to, annihilating the apostles should be a piece of cake, right? Why go through all this trouble?"

She is indeed very smart.

She sensed a clear affirmation from Nobita's silence.

……

“You’re right. I’ve encountered quite a few things before you. In my opinion, the apostles aren’t really that scary. Their destructive power is quite limited, and there are many ways to deal with them. If we don’t consider other factors, I have a way to deal with them all in one night.”

Nobita's tone was very ordinary, without any hint of boasting. This was a conclusion he reached immediately after personally fighting the Apostle.

"However, in my interactions with you, I have gradually realized that... the so-called apostles seem to be just part of a larger plan. And your true enemy has always been lurking in the shadows, watching the changes in the situation."

Starting with a topic that Asuka was interested in, Nobita suddenly changed the subject and asked, "Speaking of which, I haven't told you about the great adventure I went through before, have I?"

Chapter 0: The Benefits of Getting Zero Points So Much

Nobita has experienced so many great adventures that if they were made into anime and shown one by one, they could run for at least a day and a night without stopping.

Since being drawn into the time-traveling heist, the adventures he experienced have abruptly escalated, turning into a somewhat inappropriate adventure story for young adults. He selected a few classic cases, and Asuka surprisingly put aside her usual talkative nature, staring at him intently and listening quietly to the entire story.

"Your planet is so crowded." In the end, the girl actually came to this conclusion, and even counted on her fingers, "In the smoky forest of the African Basin, there are upright evolved dog people; underground, there are upright walking half-dragon people; in the sea there are mermaids; in the Bermuda Triangle there lives a mysterious underwater civilization... Just thinking about humans having to share this planet with them makes me feel suffocated."

"You can even think like that?" Nobita was taken aback by her unusual way of thinking. "The point I'm trying to make is that I can't handle all of this by myself. Nobody can survive in this world alone, not even you. When faced with insurmountable difficulties, my friends will..."

Asuka interrupted him rudely, her eyes suddenly brightening as she stared intently at him. "You like that girl named Shizuka, don't you?"

"..." Nobita was momentarily speechless, suddenly feeling like a teacher who had given a long lecture in class, only for the students to remember a few gossip snippets. This embarrassing situation, observed by the girl, made her feel that she had gained the upper hand in the conversation. She raised her head slightly and revealed a satisfied smile.