Chapter 169: Gotham's Ren Arakawa! (Early Morning Update, Asking for Forgiveness)
(The content of the Ace chapter has been changed. Sorry, I watched it too many years ago and overestimated the combat power of the pirates on the Sabaody Archipelago.)
(To show my apology, no matter how sleepy I am, I'll add an extra chapter in the early morning. I'll still write ten thousand words during the day. My apologies once again.)
Ever since Bruce Ren could remember, his parents had taught him:
"Whatever you do, never act impulsively. Impulse is the devil."
But when he truly acted impulsively, when he became a devil...
He suddenly discovered what a joyful thing it was to be a devil!
After Bruce Ren synchronized the abilities, the hoodlums in the alley were in for a miserable time!
He hadn't even assimilated the memories yet, only the various heaven-defying abilities.
But merely Observation Haki and the Gene Lock were enough to make a yellow-haired thug, who came flying with a kick, end up in a brutal split!
"Ouch! Ow ow ow! You're killing me!"
The thug clutched his crotch, his eyes rolling back in pain.
For an adult male to be forced into a split—the pain was worse than a kidney stone dropping into the urethra.
Bruce Ren was extremely surprised!
He didn't know how it happened, but his body would automatically make judgments based on the opponent's movements.
It was like muscle memory; he didn't need to think, his body would naturally execute the correct actions.
When a fist came, he easily dodged it. Seizing the moment the opponent's armpit was exposed, he pinched his thumb between his middle and ring fingers and jabbed it into the guy's armpit.
The green-haired thug screamed wildly.
When a leg kicked, he used a sweeping leg, making the red-haired thug's chin collide with the curb, shattering his front teeth.
After a few rounds, those scoundrels who had just been so arrogant were now collectively writhing on the ground.
Not only was it incredibly painful, but it was also extremely humiliating.
The four other Ren Arakawas watched the new Ren Arakawa's performance, all expressing their admiration.
Stephen Ren Arakawa: "As expected of me! His methods are extremely cruel!"
Bruce Ren dealt with the thugs and helped the old Korean man up.
The old man looked at Bruce Ren's face and exclaimed in shock, "Are you the little boy Jennifer's family took in?"
Bruce Ren nodded. "Yes."
"Oh my god! How are you so powerful?! You... you actually took care of them all by yourself. Is this kung fu? How did you learn it?"
Bruce Ren replied, "I learned it from watching movies. Hurry home now. These vegetables are ruined. And don't go out so late anymore."
After sending the old man off, Bruce Ren turned to look at the thugs who were still letting out heart-wrenching screams, shook his head, and walked toward home.
On the way, he asked curiously, "Am I dreaming? And who are you all?"
Pirate Ren Arakawa: "See? I told you. He doesn't have an online novel background. How could he accept such a reality so quickly?"
Main God Ren Arakawa: "Just synchronize his memories directly."
As soon as he finished speaking, Bruce Ren's head suddenly throbbed with pain!
With a buzz, he felt as if thousands of soldiers and horses had charged into his brain to do battle!
But this pain didn't last long. It was immediately followed by the implantation of four perplexing memories into his mind.
The Uchiha clan's Ren Arakawa.
Stephen Ren Arakawa, who worked off the books in the Marvel world.
The Pirate Ren Arakawa, who was imprisoned in Impel Down.
The Main God Ren Arakawa from the Main God Space in the novel "Terror Infinity."
"Dump trucks..."
"Rebirths..."
"So... this is what my previous lives were like?"
Bruce Ren's sigh made Stephen Ren Arakawa laugh.
"See? I handled it pretty well back then. I was just thinking about delivering my takeout quickly. I didn't get all hysterical like this."
Pirate Ren Arakawa: "I'm too lazy to even comment on you."
Uchiha Ren: "Alright, the memories are synchronized, so you know what you need to do. The problem now is, the city you're in is called Gotham... is it really *that* Gotham?"
Bruce Ren nodded. "I've seen Batman before."
The other Ren Arakawas were stunned. "Huh? That happened too?"
Bruce Ren said, "I was on the subway and saw a drunk man push a female student onto the tracks. The drunk stood by the platform's edge, kicking the woman's hand so she couldn't get back up."
"I don't know what I was thinking at the time, but I pushed that drunk aside. But just then, the subway arrived. I blinked, and a dark shadow pulled the female student out."
"When I saw Batman's strange appearance back then, I even thought he was a benevolent pervert."
The other Ren Arakawas were stunned for a moment. At the same time, Bruce Ren also synchronized his eighteen years of memories of living in Gotham to them.
After a long while, Main God Ren Arakawa said, "The DC world is not peaceful. We still don't know which universe you're in. If it's a relatively safer movie universe like the one Marvel Ren Arakawa is in, that would be a bit better."
"Although the Justice League faces world-ending crises, those superheroes have overcome the challenges."
"But if it's the comics..."
All the Ren Arakawas had read quite a few DC comics.
The company primarily focused on a dark style, and its villains were one more brutal than the last.
Crises also followed one after another, often involving global destruction or multiverse-level threats right from the start.
Thinking of this, Bruce Ren swallowed hard. "If something like Zombie Superman or The Batman Who Laughs appears... my life is definitely over."
Uchiha Ren sighed. "I was hoping that a brother would appear in this era, and he could become an absolute powerhouse in his own world by borrowing the abilities we share! No matter what, he'd be much better off than we were back then."
"But looking at it now, I really overthought things."
"The DC world is fraught with internal and external troubles. Internally, there's an easily corrupted Superman, and externally, there's Darkseid's army."
"And they constantly have major events that require resetting the timeline."
Bruce Ren swallowed hard. "There's a good chance I'll be the first to die."
Main God Ren Arakawa sighed at this moment. "What a pity. It would've been great if it were a brother from a world with no pain or suffering. Now, we have a DC brother with an equally explosive difficulty level. How am I supposed to 'eat' my own kind? If I don't 'eat' them, how do I get new chips?"
Bruce Ren, shedding the cowardly demeanor he had maintained his entire life, retorted, "Once I develop, the returns will definitely be much higher than the initial investment!"
Pirate Ren Arakawa: "So now the new question is, how do we increase our strength in the DC world? It seems like this place is all about superpowers. If you weren't born with them, you just don't have them. It's tough."
Bruce Ren said, "Mutations, alien technology, mysterious forces like Shazam's..."
He thought for a moment. "If worse comes to worst, I'll go to a lab and let a spider bite me!"
Stephen Ren Arakawa: "You're mixing up roles! That's what *I'm* supposed to do!"
For a moment, Bruce Ren was still a bit flustered.
Just then, he had walked back to his apartment hallway. As he was about to open his door, his neighbor across the hall pushed his own door open.
The person inside was wearing a comical suit, his face painted with colorful makeup.
He had a red nose and greeted him as soon as he opened his mouth.
"Hello there, I'm the new guy who moved in, Jack Napier!"
"Jack?" Bruce Ren was stunned for a second.
"Alright, no more talking. I'm going to be late for my appointment, I'm off!" He waved to his wife inside the apartment. "Honey, wait for me at home, I'll be back after my performance!"
"Okay!"
Bruce Ren watched this Jack walk down the stairs and suddenly felt like he had seen this scene somewhere before.
Damn it! He remembered!
*The Killing Joke*—The Birth of the Joker!
Realizing this, he immediately complained, "I live across from the Joker?"
(end of chapter)