"I won't be teaching you shuriken jutsu right now," Max said. "I'll leave my wood clone to oversee that training. For now, we'll move on to chakra control. But first—" he gestured toward the weapon rack, "—which weapon do you choose?"
Thena pondered for a moment before picking up a staff. She gave it a few experimental swings.
"Ah, a staff," Max remarked with a small smile. "Good for beginners, and best if you prefer bone-breaking attacks. You wanna go with it?"
Thena shook her head. "No, let me try another one," she said, setting the staff down. She moved to the sword rack and picked up a blade, testing its balance.
"I think I'll go with the sword," she said.
"Any particular reason?" Max asked.
"It just feels… right. And I don't think dragging a fight out for too long is a good idea. So I think this will do," Thena replied.
"Good point," Max said approvingly. "You can always learn to use another weapon later, but since you've chosen the sword, we'll stick with it."
He then sealed the remaining weapons back into the scroll, leaving only a handful of kunai and shuriken behind.
"From now on, that's your training sword," Max said. "Take good care of it until I decide you're ready for a new one. Now follow me."
Thena followed as Max walked toward a nearby tree. He turned back to her and said, "Being a shinobi means you have to be stealthy at all times. To achieve that, we use a tiny amount of chakra—almost negligible—to cushion our footsteps, making little to no sound. It's simple, really. It comes down to how you place your foot on the ground, and that little bit of chakra control I mentioned."
He continued, "As shinobi, we often had to take infiltration missions that required avoiding main entrances. That meant scaling high walls. And how did we do it, you might ask? Like this."
Max calmly began walking vertically up the tree.
Thena's eyes widened in awe. "Wow, that's awesome, Dad! Please teach me!"
"I said I was going to, didn't I?" Max replied with a grin, scratching the back of his neck. "Anyway, shinobi in my world could walk—or even run—on any surface: horizontal, vertical, diagonal, even on water."
He jumped back down to the ground. "The key is to channel a steady amount of chakra to the soles of your feet to create a suction force that keeps you attached to the surface. Too little, and you'll fall. Too much, and you'll get blasted off the tree."
He then added, "Before you try, lift your shirt."
"Wha—what!?" Thena sputtered, taking a step back.
Max sighed and facepalmed. "The tattoo on your stomach is actually a seal. I need to remove it so you can mold chakra properly."
Thena's cheeks flushed. She had been meaning to ask him about it before but was too shy to bring it up. "Why did you put it there in the first place?" she asked.
"I placed it there to prevent your chakra from rampaging out of control," Max explained.
"Fine!" Thena said, reluctantly pulling her shirt up to her chest without meeting his eyes.
Max rolled his eyes. "Brace yourself. This is going to hurt," he said.
His fingers lit up with glowing kanji representing the five elements—fire, earth, wind, water, and lightning. He pressed his palm against Thena's stomach and muttered,
"Five Elemental Seal: Release!"
Thena was suddenly blasted backward, her body flung through the air. Before she could crash into a tree, Max appeared behind her in a blur and caught her mid-air.
She coughed weakly, clutching her stomach. "W-what… was that?"
"It was the only way to remove the seal," Max said calmly, setting her back on her feet. He pointed toward a nearby tree. "Now, try focusing your chakra. Walk up that tree."
Thena took a deep breath and stepped closer. She lifted one foot and placed it against the bark.
"Feel your chakra and guide it toward your feet," Max instructed. "Don't force it—just let it flow naturally."
Thena nodded and placed her other foot on the trunk, carefully adjusting her balance. Slowly, she began walking upward.
"Look, I can do—!"
Before she could finish, her chakra surged uncontrollably and she was violently blasted off the tree. Max caught her again with ease, landing softly as he placed her back on the ground.
"You have to focus at all times, Thena," Max said patiently. "This will take some practice. You have a lot of chakra for your age, which makes control tricky."
He sighed and made a hand seal. "Now, I must go, but I'll leave you with my wood clones to continue your training."
In an instant, three wooden figures emerged from his body, each identical to him.
"They're… actually solid?" Thena asked, poking one of the clones curiously. "Are they like you?"
"Yes," one of the clones replied. "We share the same memories and knowledge as the original."
The real Max nodded and pulled out two exercise books and a couple of pens, handing them to the clones.
"First clone," he said, handing over a notebook, "write down everything about chakra theory and the three Academy jutsu."
Then he turned to the second clone. "Document every jutsu we know. Categorize them by nature type and rank."
Finally, he looked to the third. "You'll be overseeing Thena's training here."
All three clones nodded in acknowledgment.
"Good," Max said, turning back to Thena. "I'm going to grab something to eat. I'll be back soon."
And with that, he vanished in a flicker, leaving Thena standing before the tree, determination burning in her eyes.
Nanda Parbat
Pain stood over an unconscious Nyssa and a panting Lady Shiva. One sleeve of his cloak hung in tatters, sliced clean off during their fierce battle. The ground around them was cracked and scorched, faint wisps of smoke still rising from the destruction.
"I have to say," Pain began, his voice steady and emotionless, "your combat skills are impressive. They could still be refined further under my guidance."
He tilted his head slightly, his ripple-patterned eyes locking onto her. "So, what do you say? Will you join me in my crusade?"
Lady Shiva Sandra—lifted her gaze, her breathing heavy but controlled. "What exactly do you hope to achieve?" she asked, her tone measured.
"Don't compare me to Ra's," Pain replied. "Though our goals may seem similar, our paths are not. His methods are crude. I seek not to erase the world, but to reshape it—to change the system itself, and the way people think."
He paused, letting the silence stretch between them before adding, "And I'll say no more than that. Actions speak louder than words."
For a moment, the only sound was the wind whispering through the courtyard. Then, with a calm exhale, Sandra straightened her back and spoke.
"Then I am at your service."
Pain regarded her quietly, his expression unreadable. That was easy… suspiciously easy, he thought. Still, he chose to let it go for now but he will definitely keep an eye on her.
Turning to the remaining assassins, he raised his voice just enough for all to hear. "Take the injured to be healed. Rest well. In a week's time, I will personally oversee your training."
"Yes, Lord Pain!" the assassins responded in unison, bowing low before moving to carry out their orders.
Pain's gaze fell on Nyssa's unconscious form. "Take her as well," he said. "Guard her at all times. No one is to approach her without my permission."
Once the assassins obeyed, Pain turned back to Sandra. His tone was calm, yet carried an undeniable weight.
"I do not take kindly to betrayal," he said. "But I reward loyalty very well. Now go—rest and recover."
Sandra nodded once before disappearing into the shadows with the others.
Pain's gaze lingered on the retreating figures. His expression hardened as he looked over the few assassins still struggling to rise.
Pathetic, he thought. Their performance was shameful.. They charge without strategy or coordination . The only commendable thing they managed was trying to obscure his vision, and even that was poorly executed.
He looked down at the torn fabric of his cloak, brushing away a streak of dust.
They fight like civilians handed weapons and told to kill. If my plans are to move forward smoothly… he clenched his fist. That will have to change
------------
Evening, Max's hideout
In the dim light of his base, Max sat on a chair, eyes narrowed as he adjusted the microscope lens. A pale, white arm lay on the table beside him. He picked up a scalpel, sliced off a small piece of flesh, and placed it under the microscope; then he added a few drops of a clear liquid that dissolved the sample into a green, translucent slurry. He drew the mixture into a syringe, took out the guinea pig he'd recently bought, and held it in his grasp. The animal squirmed and bit his finger. "Dammit, you little piece of—" Max cursed, then grabbed it by the scruff and jabbed the syringe in.
At first there was nothing. Then the guinea pig started squeaking in pain as its body began hardening like a tree, from its legs upward until it completely solidified. A small flower bloomed from its head. Max sank into his chair, disappointment washing over him. "Ah,this is hopeless. I know next to nothing about genetic manipulation and enhancement," he muttered. He had wanted to use white Zetsu cells to create super‑assassins with fast recovery, enhanced speed, strength, agility, durability, and heightened senses ,but that probably wasn't happening anytime soon.
Max tapped a finger to his mouth and reviewed his options of who might be able to help. After all, DC had a huge roster of mad scientists and geniuses, but only a few fit his criteria,because he'd kill most on the spot for how twisted they were. Silas Stone? Nah; more cybernetics than biology, and Cyborg would surely notice if Silas disappeared, which could involve the whole League. Lex Luthor? Hard pass for obvious reasons. Dr. Milo? Maybe, but Max would likely kill him on sight out of disgust; Milo was probably in Arkham, and Max wasn't about to break him out.
Then there was Dabney Donovan,Lex Luthor's top scientist, the man who helped create Superboy. Donovan was capable, and Max could always nab him from Luthor, but that would be a last resort.
His eyes widened with realization. "Dr. Kirk Langstrom," Max muttered. In the version he remembered, Langstrom had worked for Ra's until switching to Slade; since Ra's was still alive, the doctor is probably still within Ra's sphere of influence and could be reached through him. Langstrom had created the Man‑Bat formula that could transform people into bats,he was clearly capable of genetic manipulation, so he should be able to do something useful with Zetsu cells. He just has to meet him in person as Pain of course and get him to work on a new project,but he won't force him like how Ra's did; he'd promise him a tempting reward.
End of chapter