As requested, Hardy demonstrated all six forms of Thunder Breathing before Jigoro Kuwajima.
After watching, Jigoro fell silent.
It wasn't as he'd expected—barely able to perform the full forms—but rather, Hardy's moves were smooth and showed a certain degree of proficiency.
"It seems you won't need long to learn everything I have to offer."
Jigoro stroked his beard as he spoke.
He could teach far more than just the forms of Thunder Breathing—his research into Breathing Styles was deep and thorough.
It wouldn't be long before the Demon Slayer Corps gained another Hashira. With Sanemi Shinazugawa already holding the Wind Hashira position, if Hardy became a Hashira, he'd likely inherit the title of the Thunder Hashira.
All he could do now was help shorten that time and make Hardy even stronger.
"Hardy, your strength is already sufficient. With more than a month until the next Final Selection at Fujikasane Mountain, I'll take charge of teaching you Constant Breathing. If you can master that, you'll be very close to becoming a Hashira."
"In that case, I'll be relying on you for the next while, Master Kuwajima."
Hardy bowed to Jigoro Kuwajima.
With more than a month, and some spare time in between, he should be able to finish crafting the puppet exoskeleton.
…
…
The exoskeleton puppets in the Demon Slayer world had limited strength.
This was due to the constraints of available materials, so their main purpose was to assist in battle and support the avatar's use of Breathing Techniques.
But was it possible to create a puppet strong enough to fight alongside Breathing Techniques, yet also possess sufficient durability?
The puppets from the Naruto world are sufficient for now. With Hardy's current abilities, controlling a fourth puppet is still a bit beyond his reach.
However, Hardy's avatar in the DC world has ample resources at his disposal, and the DC world itself boasts highly advanced supporting technologies. After such a long period of chakra training, he's now capable of manipulating two puppets simultaneously.
Originally, Hardy's plan was to pair Black Gold No. 1 with Black Gold No. 2, but now it seems he can retire Black Gold No. 1 and keep it as a collector's item.
Hardy isn't worried about theft either, because aside from himself, no one in the DC world knows how to use chakra threads to control puppets—no one else could even power up Black Gold.
Unless someone had a miniature reactor as an energy core, plus advanced information technology to develop an operating system and integrate a suite of auxiliary hardware into Black Gold.
But if someone had that kind of capability, they could just be Iron Man and build their own suit—there'd be no need to steal Black Gold.
The only real hassle is getting his hands on certain high-quality items that require special channels—Penguin is no longer willing to sell to him.
As the Hog Joint Alliance has grown, the two biggest crime factions in Gotham are now the Hog Joint Alliance and the Iceberg Lounge.
Things are peaceful for now, but that's only because both sides are still reaping massive profits from Falcone and the Two-Face Gang, and haven't finished digesting them yet.
But two tigers cannot share one mountain. Sooner or later, the Hog Joint Alliance and the Iceberg Lounge will come into conflict, until one side wins, or a third force rises to create a triangular balance of power and mutual restraint.
Penguin sees things clearly: over seventy percent of the Hog Joint Alliance's current clout comes from Hardy's personal combat strength.
If Hardy were gone, the massive Hog Joint Alliance would collapse overnight.
On the surface, Penguin still does business with Hardy as usual—everyone makes money and has a good time. But when it comes to items like the high-strength flexible rubber from Wayne Enterprises, Penguin always claims to be out of stock.
Fortunately, Hardy has found another channel.
The physics lab at Central City University.
On his last trip to Central City, Hardy not only gained superpowers during a particle accelerator experiment, but also used money to forge connections with the university's physics lab.
Not only did he use their equipment to manufacture several batches of Titan II serum, he also got to see a number of impressive inventions developed by the university.
For example, a new material jointly developed by the physics and chemical materials departments.
Graphene-reinforced elastomer—this stuff is the perfect replacement for high-strength flexible rubber, boasting excellent strength, stretchability, and toughness.
Due to cost, it hasn't left the lab for commercial development, but it's more than enough to provide the new puppet with a more complete, tougher, and more space-efficient pneumatic drive system, allowing for a more streamlined, mechanically optimal body.
There were plenty of other good things, too.
Back when he built Black Gold, he only had a budget of a few hundred thousand dollars. Now, that budget has increased tenfold or more, so naturally Hardy is using all the best materials he can get his hands on.
The frame is primarily titanium alloy and cobalt-chromium alloy—both extremely strong and low-density metals. The bulletproof outer armor combines these alloys with even lighter composite ceramics and carbon fiber.
The puppet is equipped with the same rocket and other weapons as Black Gold, plus a high-voltage electric sword and a built-in air filtration and circulation system.
That's to prevent poisoning.
After all, you can't just rely on breathing techniques when Joker uses laughing gas or Scarecrow unleashes his fear toxin.
"Tsk, as expected of me."
In his workshop, Hardy stroked his chin as he gazed at the white metal puppet—about the same height as Black Gold, but with elegant, streamlined lines.
Its figure was slender yet powerful, and the multifunctional optical lenses in its eyes glowed with a faint blue light. Though it hadn't been painted yet, the white color scheme combined with the design gave it a strong sci-fi vibe.
Hardy decided to keep the main color when applying fireproof paint—if for no other reason, then simply because it looked cool.
"I'll call you White Knight."
Hardy patted the White Knight's metal shoulder, and a panel interface appeared before his eyes.
[Puppet Name]: White Knight
[Overall Specs]:
Height: 2.02 meters
Weight: 134.39 kilograms
Materials: Lightweight alloy, composite fiber, graphene-reinforced elastomer...
Power Source: None
Control Method: Chakra threads
[Puppet Rating]: A- (A)
[Overall Assessment]: An armored combat puppet, the product of a high degree of integration between modern engineering and puppetry. With some high-tech enhancements, it combines speed and power, boasts tremendous close-combat strength, and is equipped with heavy firepower. When merged with the operator, its power scales further with the user's own combat abilities. With the addition of certain superpowers and extra modules, it can even gain flight capabilities.
Its rating is the same as Ivan the Great, but Hardy believes White Knight's combat prowess surpasses Ivan's.
Donning the White Knight, Hardy walked to the spacious underground parking lot beneath his car dealership to run some tests.
Although he could run simulations on the panel, Hardy still needed hands-on practice to master the puppet's controls and avoid mistakes in real combat.
The only thing that was a bit annoying was that, despite the garage's size, it still felt a little cramped when he tried flying around in it.