"Oh, a young Ranger, huh? Haha, full of energy. Name's Tiernan."
In response to Boothill's enthusiasm, the old man, who was none other than Tiernan, smiled and shook Boothill's hand.
Seeing that the old man was so easygoing, Boothill grinned, showing his sharp, shark-like teeth, but then froze when he heard the old man's name.
"Tiernan? Hold up, you're that legendary Tiernan?"
Boothill blinked his eyes a couple of times, looking genuinely surprised.
"No way, there ain't but one Galaxy Ranger named Tiernan in this whole damn universe, and he's supposed to be dead!"
"You're the guy who took down a Lord Ravager?!"
"How the hell are you still kickin'?!"
Hearing Boothill's skeptical questions, Tiernan showed little reaction and merely curved his eyes slightly, as if he were smiling.
Tiernan raised a hand, carrying the tolerance of an elder watching a junior act up, and then pointed to the strangely shaped, heavy bullet hanging beneath his neck, like a miniature sculpture.
"I already died once, several Amber Eras ago, in fact…" Tiernan said in a low, hoarse voice with a texture like metal grinding against metal. "Not long ago, I met a benefactor and was resurrected, so yeah, I'm Tiernan."
At this, the dozen or so Galaxy Rangers behind him nodded in unison.
"Resurrected...? What?"
Rappa muttered quietly while blinking her eyes in bewilderment, clearly not believing the old man's words at all.
"Huh? What'd you say, old man? Wind's too damn loud—I didn't catch squat," Boothill said, digging a finger into his ear as if he couldn't be bothered. "Dead for a few hundred years, and now you're back? You gotta be screwin' with me."
Tiernan and the Galaxy Rangers around him nodded again.
"Kiddo, I didn't get it at first either, but yeah—that's just how it is."
"Yeah, the cosmos is crazy huge—there's a whole lotta stuff out there you ain't never seen."
Loretta and Scarface spoke one after another from behind Tiernan.
In response, Boothill and Rappa exchanged a skeptical glance.
"Bullshit..." Boothill muttered under his breath. "These guys didn't go and guzzle too much fake booze from Penacony and get drunk outta their damn minds, did they?"
Rappa herself could not tell whether it was real or not, since she had never seen or heard of someone who had been dead for so long being resurrected perfectly intact, as if nothing had happened.
In her eyes, something was off—very off.
A trace of suspicion immediately formed not only in her mind, but also in Boothill's.
One should know that even though the special bullet hanging on Tiernan's neck was significant to the Galaxy Rangers, it was ultimately just an object, so anyone could pick it up, and it was not impossible that someone was pretending to be an old hero in order to run a scam.
Boothill had suffered plenty of losses due to somewhat similar situations in the past, so he had no choice but to be extra cautious—anything beyond his understanding had to be treated as a potential threat.
"Hard to believe if you haven't seen it yourself, so let's drop that," Tiernan said, shaking his head. "So, what are you doing here in Penacony?"
"Lord Ninja Hero, I am the Dazzling Ninja, AKA Rappa," Rappa said seriously as she stepped forward from behind Boothill. "Pinecany is being contaminated by a powerful memetic virus, suspected to be the testing ground of Evil Ninja Osaru! I have come here with Lord Silvergun Shura to punish evil and uphold justice!"
As these words fell, everyone silently stared at her, completely bewildered.
What Ninja Hero?
What Dazzling Ninja?
Who was even Evil Ninja Osaru?
And what in the world was Pinecany supposed to be? Penacony?
Tiernan and the others were veteran Galaxy Rangers who had been disconnected from the world for far too long, so they had no idea what Rappa was rambling about.
"For the love of..." Boothill groaned, smacking his palm against his forehead. "Ah, screw it. Guess I gotta spell it out myself!"
A few moments later, after Boothill 'translated' Rappa's words, Tiernan and the others finally understood what she meant.
Apparently, she believed there was an enemy here—an evil one—so she had come seeking vengeance.
"I humbly request that Lord Ninja Hero lead us to cleanse the filth! Eradicate the evil ninja! And restore clarity to this world!"
Rappa's words, filled with the passionate righteousness of a young Galaxy Ranger, rang out with conviction—even the older Galaxy Rangers around Tiernan were stirred by her speech. In the end, they all turned to look at Tiernan, waiting for this legendary figure to make his decision.
Boothill also dropped his usual flippancy, crossing his arms as he watched Tiernan seriously, waiting to hear what he would say.
"Well..."
Seeing everyone gazing at him, clearly wanting him to make the decision, Tiernan showed a troubled expression.
"I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. If the Dreamcluck Chicken you mentioned counts as a memetic virus, then that's something my boss created. It has nothing to do with Dr. Primitive, and it's harmless."
No joke.
Not only was Lucian standing behind Sunday, the mascot of Dreamcluck Chicken, but Lucian, now his boss due to their past agreement, was also the very benefactor who had resurrected him and his comrades, thereby making Lucian, without question, his greatest and most undeniable savior.
Now, knowing that these two youngsters were actually planning to crusade against his boss himself, he couldn't help but feel that this whole situation, as it stood, must be some kind of deep misunderstanding.
However, the moment Tiernan's words fell, the alarm bells in Boothill and Rappa's heads shot straight to maximum level!
Boss?
Even after learning the source of the memetic virus, Tiernan still didn't take any action and even seemed to be defending the mastermind!
Clearly, that did not align with the usual conduct of the Galaxy Rangers!
Boothill's gaze changed, like a hungry wolf eyeing fat prey, as he scanned Tiernan from head to toe.
"Tell me, old man, that honor bullet hangin' around your neck..." Boothill said slowly, his gaze sharp. "…You didn't just pick that up from some backwater dump, did ya?"
Hearing this, suspicion also filled Rappa's eyes.
"Lord Ninja Hero…" Rappa placed her hand on the spray can at her waist. "How will you prove that you are the actual Tiernan?"
Seeing their sudden wariness, Tiernan froze.
He honestly had not expected anyone—let alone fellow Galaxy Rangers—to question his identity. But then again, from normal people's perspectives, his experience was definitely absurd and crazy, so being doubted by them was reasonable.
"Proof, huh..." Tiernan said with a frown, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Perhaps only by meeting my boss—"
He had barely started speaking when—
"Hey, old man! Your shoelaces are untied!"
Boothill suddenly pointed at Tiernan's feet and shouted, his voice full of 'kind-hearted' concern.
*Swish!*
Everyone's gaze—including Tiernan's—instinctively dropped to his feet, but in that split second, Boothill moved!
He moved as fast as lightning, but his posture was anything but dignified, as he moved like a bandit, suddenly performing an awkward donkey roll and rolling straight to Tiernan's feet, then reaching toward the bullet hanging from his neck the instant he looked down at his shoes.
Boothill struck with pinpoint precision.
It was ruthless.
It was ghost-fast.
"Gimme that!"
Boothill roared, all his strength exploding at once as he intended to seize the bullet hanging from Tiernan's neck—the symbol of supreme glory and legend for the Galaxy Rangers.
*Swish!*
As a faint, tearing sound echoed, the bullet was already clenched in Boothill's palm.
In the next instant, Boothill sprang up with a fluid kip-up, smooth and practiced, and without giving anyone any time to react, he leapt back more than ten meters in a single bound.
"Daring to impersonate a hero, you damn impostor. I'm gonna shoot you dead with love right now! Let's see if you can resurrect again!"
Boothill raised his revolver, about to fire at Tiernan.
At once, more than ten Galaxy Rangers moved to shield Tiernan, drawing their respective guns and aiming them at Boothill.
"Lord Silvergun Shura! You—?!"
Rappa was completely stunned by the sudden turn of events.
Couldn't he at least give her a heads-up before acting?
"Heh, dead and resurrected, you said?" Boothill sneered. "You think I'm dumb? Only those corpo bastards would spew that kind of crap. Hmph, no way this bullet's gonna let some impostor mess up our hero's reputation."
Done with his speech, Boothill turned and bolted.
"Rappa, bail! Let's go get some backup!"
Seeing Boothill run away, Rappa, under the surprised gazes of passersby and the wary gazes of the Galaxy Rangers surrounding Tiernan, looked left and right and felt that he had a point.
Yes, they could not allow impostors to scam others, especially when they used the names of the Galaxy Rangers' heroes.
However, logically, shouldn't they stay and fight?
Why were they running like losers instead?
Rappa, feeling her brain start smoking, ultimately gave up thinking and ran after Boothill.
Tiernan: "..."
Being accused of being an impostor and even having his precious item stolen, Tiernan was not angry and remained calm. He simply felt that those two young Galaxy Rangers were overly cautious and excessively energetic.
"Are young Rangers these days all this shameless?! Damn twerp, that was straight-up bandit behavior!"
"Boss, let's go get it back!"
"Nah, no need. Let them be..." Tiernan said calmly with a faint smile, raising a hand to stop his comrades. "Once they realize it's all just a misunderstanding, they'll come back on their own."
Just like that, he did not pursue the two and instead took his comrades out for a drink, a smile still on his face.
===
Meanwhile, after running some distance away, Boothill noticed that aside from Rappa, no one was chasing him, which only deepened his suspicions.
"Hmph, see?" Boothill snorted, then glanced down at the bullet in his palm. "Every Galaxy Ranger knows this bullet's our damn treasure, and those guys didn't even flinch when it got snatched. Hmph, that right there proves they're impostors."
"As expected of Lord Silvergun Shura! Your mind works brilliantly!" Rappa nodded over and over with a smile. "I never considered testing their identity like that."
"Haha! You've still got a whole lotta learnin' to do, Rappa!" Boothill laughed, his chest puffed up all proud. "Don't let the fact you're stronger than me fool ya—your brain ain't nearly as sharp as mine."
"But... what if they're actually real?"
Rappa suddenly frowned and asked with concern.
Boothill, in response, smiled confidently.
"Heh, then I'm gonna eat a whole damn pound of fresh meat while standin' on my head!"
===
[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
[Support me and read next chapters early at: patreon.com/VALRRR]