Thud! Thud!
"No need to worry, coach, uf, uf, I assure you it's nothing serious!" Thud!
Rick, one of the gym's trainers, naturally didn't believe Dylan. Nor did his intuition; the sheer intensity with which Dylan was training and hitting that punching bag spoke for itself.
Rick was also surprised. He didn't remember the young man being so strong!
Two years ago, a boy arrived at the gym wanting to fight. Rick still remembered those blue eyes full of savagery and hatred for the world. He decided to train the boy, and today he could be proud of having molded one of the best boxers not only in the gym but quite possibly in that part of the city!
He had spent two years on the other side of the punching bag, so he could tell by the force of the blows more or less how the young man was feeling, even if it made Rick question if Dylan was using steroids, and considering the scene with the two thugs outside...
"Sigh, alright kid, if you say you're fine, then you're fine. But what about this sudden increase in strength and speed, what do you have to say? Or are you going to tell me you've been holding back for two years?" After all, Rick wasn't the boy's father, and he was quite grown up, plus he certainly knew how to take care of himself.
He might as well change the subject then. Dylan's newfound strength and speed truly piqued his curiosity. If the boy was using steroids, he'd have to talk to him more seriously, as they both knew very well how he felt about that.
"Ugh, I know what you're thinking, and no, it's nothing like that. Even I don't know! For some unfathomable reason, I simply feel better than ever today! Hah!" Thud!!
With one last powerful punch that made Rick, who was holding the punching bag, take three steps back, Dylan finally decided to rest for a bit.
Rick looked at Dylan, who was smiling as he wiped the sweat with a towel and drank water. "Damn, kid! If you're not on some drug, then could it be... you manifested a mutation?" The last part came out almost as a whisper.
Dylan looked at Rick in surprise; this old retired boxer's intuition was truly too good!
"Maybe, who knows. I certainly don't know, besides, does it make a difference?"
"No, kid, it doesn't," Rick gave a knowing, helpless smile. He'd had some experience with one or two mutants in his life and didn't care if he had one more. And he was too old to care anyway.
"Well, whatever it is, it didn't just make you stronger and faster, but I can also see that your center of balance, footwork, stances, and stamina have improved a lot! Damn, if I were 20 years younger, I'd ask for some of whatever you took and go smash that "Battling" face in!"
Dylan laughed at that. Jack "Battling" Murdock had been a very skilled and resilient boxer in the past. He and Rick had fought more than once, with the win rate leaning towards Jack. It was a shame his story ended so tragically.
"Alright, kid, you've taken up enough of my time. You might have infinite energy because of youth, but my old bones are asking for a rest, yes?" Rick joked, then told Dylan to take care and left to get some rest. He knew the young man had things on his mind and wasn't paying attention to him, and with the boy's sudden improvement, he had even less reason to worry about him.
Watching Rick leave and giving him space, Dylan felt grateful. He knew the old man had more questions, but one of Rick's qualities had always been knowing how to respect others' space and privacy. Thinking about this, Dylan felt bad for a brief moment for having lied to the man.
Well, in truth, he hadn't completely lied, as he did indeed feel extraordinarily good at that moment!
As soon as he entered the gym, Dylan immediately chose to inject the Otsutsuki lineage. Perhaps he shouldn't have been so impulsive, as it caused a powerful wave of energy to surge through his entire body, accompanied by almost unbearable pain!
To try and distract his mind and avoid writhing on the cold gym floor, Dylan quickly began to train at an extremely high intensity! Fortunately, many had witnessed the small incident outside the gym, so they simply made a logical inference, just like old Rick.
Of course, they weren't entirely wrong. But the main thing was still the assimilation of the Otsutsuki blood. Even if what was being assimilated by him was a sealed and extremely diluted version, it wasn't something an average human being could simply assimilate like that!
Dylan was sure that if it weren't for his current body already being a very healthy and strong body, above the average of most people, even among those who take care of their bodies, he would probably have spontaneously combusted on the spot! Body and soul!
'Damn high-dimension sadist!'
But even his current body wasn't enough, and so he forced himself to train as intensely as possible. Only then could he not only expend part of the "immense" energy reserve that filled him but also accelerate the assimilation and genetic mutation.
Fortunately, his gamble paid off, and after five full hours without stopping, he could feel the frantic energy in his blood calm down, and all the pores and cells of his body relax and breathe; it was simply an extremely wonderful sensation. The contrast between before and now almost made him groan loudly in satisfaction!
Some people in the gym looked at him as if he were crazy. It had been five full hours, five hours of exercising and working out without stopping for a single second! Certainly, most of them thought he was high on steroids.
And in a way, they were right, so Dylan didn't worry about it much.
Sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall in a slightly more isolated corner of the gym, Dylan looked at his hands, which he repeatedly opened and closed.
At that moment, he felt like he could destroy a wall with one punch! But it was clear that this was an illusion, for now. At most, he was currently capable of creating cracks...
But it wasn't just strength, speed, reaction time, balance, and stamina that had seen an overall improvement. He also noticed that he recovered from injuries faster. Nothing supernatural yet, but his body's regenerative capacity had definitely been enhanced. He could feel in real-time old wounds that hadn't fully healed beginning to completely disappear.
"So this is the strength of an eight-year-old, huh." He chuckled.
His current physical capacity was comparable to that of young ninja academy students, many of whom were eight years old or younger! He should still be weaker than eight-year-old Itachi, but not for long.
Thinking about this, he chuckled again. The ninja world was also terrifying... It should be known that Dylan was currently capable of defeating 10 strong, adult men with fighting skills with relative ease, and that was without even using chakra!
The most important part for his current self was that his body was now capable of generating chakra, and his current chakra reserves already compared to a 10-year-old ninja child! And that was without even having started practicing!
Dylan, 18, was quite proud of himself.
Another important aspect is naturally the knowledge of the world and ninja subjects. Even subconsciously, Dylan began to apply basic taijutsu concepts and knowledge when training with old Rick. And this gave him direction.
The best way to learn was through real practice!
Thinking up to this point, his eyes narrowed. He would certainly have many chances for real combat experience very soon.
He knew that Troglodyte would not silently accept the fact that Dylan had ignored his call, and as soon as he resolved whatever he had to resolve, he would certainly want to teach him a lesson. Whether to vent his anger or to send a message.
There was also the matter of the small magnate; Dylan didn't expect him to be so dangerous, although he didn't know exactly how much. But he preferred to extrapolate rather than not.
'I can't train here anymore.' Dylan clenched his fists.
Whether for a bit more security, or because he felt he was already "burned" at that gym, or even more so because his training from now on wouldn't be something he could simply do in plain sight, he had to find another place.
Seeing old Rick heading towards the gym entrance, Dylan stood up and quickly went to him, telling him he couldn't continue training there and asking if the old man knew of a more... isolated place that would be good for him to use.
Of course, he could hunt for abandoned places, like unfinished constructions, etc., but if he could get a place with some useful equipment already available, then all the better.
Rick looked deeply at Dylan for a few seconds and then sighed. "As a matter of fact, I do know a place. It's an abandoned boxing gym, but I know the owner still keeps it up and sometimes makes exceptions for private use. I'll ask him a favor."
"Thanks, old man! Really, I appreciate it, for everything. If you ever need some strong arms, I'll be a call away, always."
"Alright, alright, enough with the chatter. Come on, I have more to do, and I'm sure you do too."
"If you say so. Right, what's the name of the gym?"
"Fogwell's Gym. It's in Hell's Kitchen. It's across from Nelson's and Murdock's office, remember it if you ever need a good lawyer."
"Are they that good?"
"Hey, don't underestimate them just because they're not one of those fancy, pretentious firms. They care, kid, and that makes all the difference."
"I'll remember... Wait, Murdock?"
"Yes, that's right, kid. The son of the battling. Small world, huh? The kid's the best lawyer in town, believe me, even though he's blind."
"The way you talk, he probably is. Who knows, maybe one day he'll end up saving my skin!"
"Heh, mock me if you want, but when you meet him you'll understand. Goodbye."