It was interesting how martial arts diverged between worlds. There were a fair bit of differences. First was how Earth bet's styles were a whole lot more defensive than let's call it Earth Nin's (I hope I never have to say that aloud) more offensive-focused approach.

Stormtiger shot an airblast at me, forcing me to get out of the way as he made space between us. I had noticed in the last time I exchanged fists with him, how much more he valued guarding his vital areas compared to me. I would have thought having a healer on the team would have made a difference in how he fought, but either he was a fighter before he became one or it's something else.

"I am half tempted to stand in front of those blasts to see if they do anything. It's just some wind isn't it?"

I attributed the more offensive approach of my instincts to how there was an entire branch of ninjas who were medically inclined, using their chakra to heal their allies, like a healer in a dungeon party. I wonder if my instincts would have been different if they came from a faction outside of the leaf village or if the whole world was like that.

Another air shot was sent at me, this time with a bit more power, forcing me to get out of the way again and walk right into the awaiting jaws of Cricket's kamas.

The second divergence I found was with how women fought. Women of Earth Nin didn't fight any differently than men. In the set of instincts, I had gained, there was nothing to indicate that I was fighting using a style specialized for women. It might be that the physical enhancement chakra provided gave an equal or equal-ish, playing field for earth nin's female fighters.

Cricket's fighting style wasn't immediately different from Stormtigers. But fight her enough and the differences emerge.

She doesn't try to grab me like Stormtiger. She doesn't go for face punches, her faints are better executed and the primary purpose she uses those kamas is to manoeuvre me to positions I would rather not be in.

Sadly I knew exactly how to fight someone wielding a kama. It wasn't that special of a weapon for my [Skills].

Faint, pick up the broken wooden leg from the floor, spin it just the right way to hook one of the kama onto it, make sure it doesn't cut it all the way through, and wait for her to come at me with the second one, push her as it comes down on my head. Throw the piece of wooden leg away, catch the second kama on the wooden handle, and wrestle it from her using my superior—

"Have some respect. We were having fun."

Get out of the way of the sudden 'surprise' air bullet from Stormtiger, just me having an ear plug didn't mean I lost all my spatial awareness.

And then walk into the second air bullet that was sent because my ninja instincts had prepped me for a longer time between air-based attacks.

Fuck, thankfully his air bullets were nowhere near as strong as regular bullets and it seemed as though he didn't have enough charge on that second one.

Should I end the fight already?

Nah, I already had a solution for Victor. I could still move and these two were probably the best ones to practice my martial arts on. So I let the fight continue.

Another difference was how many times I had to stop myself from going for the kill. They are so much better than me at not aiming their blows to kill. I had to stop myself from skewering them with a kunai so many times. I hate that I am somehow more aggressive in a fight than the Nazi Villans.

Ignoring that and moving on, the fourth difference I found was how much we valued movement. My instincts told me to be always on the move. Always be jumping from one object to another, always be moving, be callous with my endurance and never be a static target. It also told me to walk up vertical surfaces, it was one of those annoying instincts I had to suppress because I didn't have any chakra to even try that.

It was clear to see that my opponents were getting tired, they were getting sloppier as we exchanged more blows. This also meant they were using more and more of their powers. No one wanted to be a loser.

Stormtiger started to fly and produced winds strong enough to slow me down as I approached. His wind also started to throw broken pieces of furniture, interspersed with the air claw attacks and air bullets I had to dodge.

Cricket whereas started to increase the auditory assault. I was starting to feel noxious even through my earplugs. Throwing me off my dodging game.

It wasn't like I was going to not use my other abilities. I gave the mental command for the explosion seals I had near Stormtiger and Cricket to go off. Not close enough or large enough to kill them, but enough to knock each of them out. I hadn't thrown many kunai during the fight but each and every one I did, I aimed them to let me do this any time I wanted.

I didn't forget about Victor either. The second they dropped I teleported out of the drug house to the likeliest location I had picked for him to camp at, where I had already placed my teleportation seal. And to my mild surprise, my first guess was correct.

I probably could have knocked him out with an explosion as well but that was never the primary or secondary purpose of these fights.

"I always wondered, why did you choose your villain name to be so close to the real name of a hero in the town? Were you really that starved for options?"

I still had a lot of endurance, a lot to learn and a lot more incorrect anthropological analysis to be done about the martial arts of two worlds using my wildly narrow datasets.

While I suspected that he would have been the one that could teach me the most, since both of us basically downloaded these skills, he was in no mood for a long drawn-out fight. Unlike the other two, he wasn't playing around. So I had to step up my game.

I was already moving as fast as I could. The almost precognitive opponents from the last fight had pushed me to. What I wasn't doing was hitting as hard as I could.

I let go of my inhibitions. I lunged and manages to hit Victor on his chest, confirming what I suspected. He had some sort of Physical enhancement maybe even Invincibility. Othala's trump power, no doubt.

He was unmoved by my punch. Thankfully my own upgraded physiology kept my bones from shattering. It still hurt like hell.

Victor shot me a sadistic grin as he capitalized on my blunder and kicked me. I went flying to the other end of the room.

Before I got my bearings and turned around, he had already picked up a sword.

"How did you figure out I was here? How are you resisting my power? Answer this and the Empire might show some mercy."

Good to know that I was resisting his power. Though I don't know how long that will be the case. My skill did state that It was a minor resistance.

"I might actually consider answering those questions if you tell me why you didn't fire on me in the middle of my fight with those two."

He looks smug as he answers.

"The Empire doesn't kill capes. Unlike the cowardly forces of this city, we uphold the unwritten rules."

"The unwritten rules?"

Turns out the unwritten rules are some sort of code of honour between capes. No going after secret Identities, families etc… That puts a lot of things into perspective.

It also completely ruins my plan. My plan was to learn the secret identities of all empire members, run through my loops fighting against them, learning their techniques and in one run I keep I would have used everything I had on them to arrest every single empire member at once, seize their assets, ruin every single one of their operations and destroy the organization as a whole.

Imagine what kind of debut it would have been. A new dashing hero comes to the cape scene as she apprehends an entire criminal organization, the largest conflagration of White supremacist capes in America, burning down the support base of a villainous organization that has endured almost twenty years in a city with an active PRT base.

It would have been glorious. It's all ruined now. Or is it?

"And what happens to the capes that break 'the unwritten rules'?"

"Making an enemy of every single cape organisation in America for a start. Even the so-called heroes. Look up Midodjinn from Philadelphia. A thinker that found out the names of all the capes in one of their villain gangs. Didn't take more than three days for her and her entire family to be gutted and made an example of. Do you want that to happen to you?"

He continues as I stood there, listening.

"Why are you so focused on the identity part?"

"He smirks, I can tell when I am standing before an 'independent hero' who thinks they've found the one weakness no one's ever thought off. Don't try to hide it. Did you really think finding a capes identity wouldn't have landed you in hot water? There are thinker organizations out there that make sure that people like you are always caught. That's why there are thousand ways to figure out a cape's identity. But only the most dimwitted or honorless use any of those. However, it's not something you should worry about."

I scowl as I prompt him to continue.

"You will be dead in less than a month. That's how long an independent cape lasts on average. Know that the only reason you are standing here is that I didn't pull the trigger to blow up your head. You can avert that fate if you join us. We can—"

I let his attempt at recruitment fade into the background. It's not like I would ever want to be part of a Nazi gang. I wasn't enough of an idiot to believe him on everything he said about the 'unwritten rules'. though, I couldn't dismiss it either. Either way, It was obvious that I had to change my plans.

"Not interested. Let's finish the fight."

"The fight? Ah before that continues I have to remind you that below this room lives a respectable family. I caution you against using those explosion tinker tech."

I knew it, this was one of the three rooms with a direct line of sight to the drug house without anyone who lived there.

"Wasn't planning on it. I don't think I will need it either."

"Don't lie. You have no means of taking me down. Your martial arts are impressive but you can't bypass my durability."

"I don't need to."

The next exchange of blows begins as I throw a kunai at him. He brings the swords he had picked up during our conversation to divert them. Just as the sword touches it I release the seal inside. Chilli powder dust from my tests to see how solid the object I can store inside a seal comes pouring out.

But he was quick as he backpedalled. It had obviously inconvenienced him but it hadn't subdued him. What I wouldn't do for some containment foam PRT used. He slashes at the air as he makes space from the dust cloud.

I use this opportunity to throw more kunai at him. One was full of sand, the other full of glass shards.

I use this distraction to run up to him, tackle him and push him out of the room through the window of the building we were fighting in.

Mid-fall, I teleport back into the room pick up all my kunai and throw my teleportation kunai to the ground near where Victor was just starting to get up.

"I am indestructible. You know what that means, right? It means that your little tricks won't hurt me, and neither would a fall from the top of a building."

I wasn't really counting on that. I just needed him out of that building to make sure that I don't have to worry about the family down our floor when the fight escalated and he would inevitably start endangering them.

"You are too proud of a power that's not even yours. A flawed power."

I rush in again to his position, this time I didn't need any tricks. I let the instincts of a civilization that had martial arts as one of its central driving forces guide me into picking him up. His stolen mishmash martial arts styles from earth bet proving inferior to my stolen coherent martial arts style from a world that had created martial arts styles for people with enhanced bodies like mine.

I had learned after our first clash that he didn't have any strength bonuses. He was still a strong adult man and built like a bodybuilder. It wasn't easy but I was able to hold him down such that he couldn't leverage his indestructibility and I could leverage my minor strength advantage.

Now, How do I knock out an indestructible man? I could have tested the [Fuinjutsu Trap] on him but he was struggling too much for me to bring it out and seal him within it. I also can't wait for his indestructibility to run out because either he escapes, Cricket and Stromtiger wake up or some other backup gets here. It's when I am pondering how hard it would be to choke him unconscious using something in my storage seals that I feel that he had something around his waist.

It all happens simultaneously, I check out what he had on his waist, and find out that it's an explosive vest, I jump up to escape him which was the worst choice I had made the whole day, when he pulls on something and I explode in agony.

Searing heat was followed by my body being shredded to pieces by shrapnel. I die before I could scream.

AN: I swear there will be catharsis.