3rd Person POV
"Monster…" Sasuke muttered as he watched Cid trade blows with his shadow clone.
It didn't make sense. It shouldn't make sense.
Cid got chakra not even a month ago yet here he was, performing every jutsu Sasuke had taught him with ridiculous ease. His chakra control was absurdly precise. The way he could adjust his flow mid-movement… Sasuke wasn't ashamed to admit it he himself won't be that smooth if not for his templates.
Cid's footwork blended seamlessly with chakra reinforcement. His hand seals were fast, clean, instinctive.
This wasn't talent. This was genius in its purest form.
"He really is…" Sasuke exhaled slowly, the words forming without him realising, "…one of those people who stand at the very top of their worlds."
A natural prodigy shackled only by the limits of the universe he was born into.
Just like Yoriichi… and Yujiro. Sasuke thought.
His eyes narrowing as he pulled up his template assimilation screen.
[Batman 29%]
[Roronoa Zoro 6%]
[Rudeus Greyrat 19%]
Not enough. Not nearly enough.
I need to train even harder.
Especially now that he had someone in front of him who could leap forward with almost no effort. If he slacked even a little, Cid would surpass him in every field within months.
"I need more slashes…" he muttered, already planning tonight's training.
He dismissed the interface just as Cid finished his bout with the shadow clone and jogged over, still buzzing with energy.
"How was it?" Sasuke asked as the two of them headed back toward their hideout an old, abandoned hut tucked away at the edge of the town.
"It was amazing!" Cid practically bounced. "Now I can train while leaving a clone at home."
Sasuke gave him a sideways look. "Don't leave the clone for too long. If it pops with too much accumulated information, your brain might not be able to process it. You'll pass out or worse your mind will overload."
Cid nodded very confidently, the kind of nod that said I totally understand.
Sasuke, however, recognise that expression. He already knew Cid would absolutely try it later.
Shaking his head, he changed the subject. "Any information about what I asked for?"
Cid paused mid-step, his expression turning unusually serious. "No. In fact, nobody knows where the train or the light bulbs even came from. There's no recorded history about their origin at all."
Before this, Cid had always been so focused on magic that he'd practically ignored the technology around him. It wasn't surprising , this world's machines were familiar to him, so he'd never bothered questioning them. But the moment Sasuke asked him to look into their history, he realised something was off.
No records. No inventors. No progression.
Just… inventions that appeared out of nowhere.
Which meant mysteries.
Which also meant fun.
Sasuke hummed thoughtfully, falling into silence as they walked.
When he first arrived in this world, he'd quickly realised something, this place resembled the anime version far more than the novel. The technology was present though it felt as if the world had only just stepped into the very beginning of the industrial revolution… yet some inventions existed without any explanation.
Almost like someone hit fast-forward on only a few parts of history.
Is the Cult involved? Sasuke wondered. Could they be manipulating the world from the shadows, suppressing technological progress while secretly developing their own? It wasn't impossible, after all, they had the advanced Sanctuary. That alone proved they possessed knowledge far beyond what this era should have.
Maybe I should target them…There was a good chance they possessed something valuable. He remembered clearly, the Cult was skilled in bio-engineering, capable of creating clones and artificial life. If they could produce something like that, then who knew what other useful technology or knowledge they had hidden away?
The more he thought about it, the more certain he became.
He wasn't going to fall behind in technology, not when he knew exactly how powerful it could be. And especially not when he had the Batman template.
Sure, Batman wasn't on the level of Tony Stark, Reed Richards, or Rick Sanchez when it came to pure tech, but compared to this world? Hahahaha
This world wouldn't know what hit it.
And besides…
Sasuke was curious. If he could combine chakra with technology, like in that famous fanfiction named Boruto where they built tools to save jutsus.
"Sooo… should we go find the truth behind it? The conspiracies? The mysteries?"
Sasuke turned his head. Cid's eyes were sparkling again.
"Not yet," Sasuke answered calmly. "We'll investigate in the future. For now, rushing in blind is the worst thing we could do."
Cid blinked, the excitement dimming just a little.
"Think about it," Sasuke continued. "We don't know who's really behind all this, or what they've already created. Maybe they have weapons comparable to nuclear bombs. Maybe they've built teleportation chambers. Maybe something even worse."
Cid's expression shifted. Slowly, the sparkles faded.
"Charging in without preparation isn't just dangerous for you." Sasuke paused, then added, "It could put your family at risk too."
Cid went still. He didn't talk about it much, he acted like some lone wolf hidden mastermind but Sasuke could see it. Under all the theatrics, under the Chuunibyo layers…
Cid loved his family. Sure, maybe a little less than his beloved 'Eminence in Shadow' fantasies. But he still loved them.
And he wasn't reckless enough to gamble with their lives.
Before this, Cid hunted monsters only because he was absolutely sure of his own strength and he knew the general power levels of the people around him thanks to his family.
But now? Now he was facing something entirely different.
Enemies with unknown strength.
Unknown motives.
Unknown technology.
And Cid the hidden mastermind he is understood perfectly well the danger of underestimating an enemy.
"Is it possible they have weapons from movies and anime? Like mechas or lightsabers?" he asked quietly.
Sasuke considered it… then nodded. "There's a chance for anything."
He was paranoid enough not to dismiss any possibility.
"Anyway, stop digging for now," Sasuke said, tone firm. "We don't know how far their influence reaches. For all we know, they're already watching anyone who snoops around too much."
Cid nodded slowly.
"And honestly," Sasuke continued, "there's a good chance their destructive capabilities aren't that high. If they had world-ending weapons, they would've used them already instead of playing secret society in the shadows. But still better to stay cautious."