Half a month had passed since the battle in Metropolis ended.
Shin had nothing to do and was now staying in a hotel in Gotham City.
"Promethium, Nth metal, and Amazonium… Although they aren't as abundant as in the comic world, there's still quite a bit to work with."
In DC comics, Nth metal subverts all conventional rules of physics and magic. It possesses the ability to negate gravity, allowing those equipped with it to fly. Additionally, it enhances strength, reduces energy damage, accelerates healing, and in its purest form, can even grant immortality.
Of course, the Nth metal in the movie universe didn't retain all those properties—either due to impurity or deliberate nerfing. Most of its effects had been stripped away, leaving behind only extreme hardness and anti-magic properties.
Even so, it was still useful to Shin. Unfortunately, Batman hadn't found much of it. He had even used some to craft a pair of brass knuckles, leaving only a few pieces for trade.
Promethium, with its energy-absorbing properties, was also quite valuable.
Amazonium, obtained from Themyscira, was similar to the mystical materials found in high-magic worlds. Beyond its incredible toughness and sharpness, it excelled in conducting energy.
If forged into a blade, even someone with Shin's average swordsmanship could refine it into a black sword within three days using his Haki alone. It was practically tailor-made for enchantment.
Simply refining a black sword wasn't of much significance to Shin, though. The DC movie universe lacked enchanters, and the old gods had long withdrawn from the world. Without an enchanter, imbuing the sword with additional properties was impossible.
Diana had given Shin some Amazonium as repayment for the curse of the Legendary Spring of the Drowned Twin. She had decided to keep the ability it granted.
Aquaman, on the other hand, had approached Shin with a different request—he wanted the curse ability removed.
His reasoning was simple. The Amazons of Themyscira were a warrior race, and Diana, passionate about battle, welcomed the additional ability, which both increased her combat power and created a worthy sparring partner.
Aquaman, however, was in love. More specifically, he was in love with Mera. The last thing he wanted was to create a love rival for himself.
"What's the big deal? Am I going to have to compete with myself?"
"What!? You say pouring hot water will fix it? Have you forgotten that Atlanteans live in the ocean? What's the use of hot water!?"
Luckily, Shin still had the curse from the Legendary Spring of the Drowned Man, which was enough to solve Arthur's problem.
Aside from Amazonium, Shin also traded Batman some water from the Legendary Spring of the Drowned Twin and Legendary Spring of the Drowned Good Man in exchange for his share of the metals.
Then there was the issue of the Mother Box. After Cyborg left with one of them, the remaining two lost much of their effectiveness.
Atlantis, with its advanced technology, had no trouble suppressing the Mother Box. In fact, this time, it was even easier.
The Amazons finally breathed a sigh of relief. It was at this moment that Shin proposed taking the Mother Boxes to another parallel world.
Under normal circumstances, the Amazons would have outright refused. Who knew if Shin was a spy from Apokolips?
But this time, he had killed Steppenwolf himself. Shin had contributed more than anyone in repelling the invasion. If he had been a spy, Apokolips would have conquered Earth long ago.
Given this, both Diana and the Amazons fully trusted him. After careful deliberation, they agreed to his request.
Shin was delighted and returned the favor by giving Diana a valuable gift—a Chakra Seed.
Theoretically, if one wasn't exposed to chakra for a prolonged period, even if they successfully awakened it, their chakra reserves wouldn't be particularly large.
However, chakra was the fusion of physical strength and spiritual power. As a demigod, Diana possessed an exceptionally long lifespan, with both physical and spiritual strength far exceeding those of ordinary Otsutsuki.
Even if the proportion of synthesized chakra in her body was low, her reserves would still surpass that of most ninjas. Once awakened, her chakra would rival that of a top-tier Kage.
While this wouldn't dramatically boost Diana's combat power in the short term, chakra was, after all, an extraordinary force that could be nurtured.
With prolonged training, the body would naturally adapt, leading to a slight increase in chakra reserves. For an average human with a lifespan of a hundred years, this growth was insignificant.
But for a demigod like Diana, whose lifespan spanned millennia—if not eternity—the potential was immense.
Moreover, Diana could share chakra with the Amazons of Themyscira. While they weren't demigods like her, their physical and mental strength were far beyond ordinary humans. Coupled with their long lifespans, their potential even surpassed that of the ninjas from the major villages in the other world.
Of course, the current Naruto world was an exception due to the existence of the Virtual World. Regardless, the Amazons' strength would take time to develop.
By the time their true potential was realized, the DC universe might have been rebooted multiple times.
Shin realized he had nothing left to do in this world.
The DC universe lacked a structured path to power. Martial arts could at most allow someone to defeat a hundred opponents—only slightly beyond real-world capabilities. Beyond that, superpowers were the result of luck, advanced technology, biochemical mutations, or alien heritage.
Even magic, which seemed like a trainable power, was ultimately just borrowed energy—one that often demanded a steep price, sometimes even one's soul.
To make matters worse, this was the DC movie universe, which was even more resource-scarce compared to the comics. Technology wasn't particularly advanced, and the number and strength of superheroes were drastically reduced.
If not for the allure of Superman's bloodline and the Mother Boxes, Shin wouldn't have gotten involved in this mess at all. Even if the entire DC world perished, it would just reset itself eventually.
Now that he had acquired both Superman's blood and the Mother Box, Shin saw no reason to stay any longer.
However, he hadn't forgotten about the lingering threat of Apokolips.
Steppenwolf had died on Earth. There was no way Darkseid would let that go unanswered.
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