Chapter 356 Battle of the Toys 10
Before the term 'epic' was being thrown around like a label, people had a different meaning for it. Today, most of the time, we use it to represent our love for a project or to express our surprise or shock. But many years ago, that term had a meaning far more invested than that.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were the closest thing to being an actual epic. It was born in the golden age. During that era, dying hair was in and disco music blasted down the streets. The special effects from Alien were considered groundbreaking, and the gaming world was dominated by arcade machines.
Back then, Jordan was unstoppable, Chow Yun-fat was a big cinema name, we were blessed with Teresa Teng's songs, and Michael Jackson was still black.
Back then, there was no capitalism, and North Korea wasn't a thing, Chinese football was still the best in Asia, and artists dared to speak their mind on television.
It was a memorable era—an innocent era.
But since who-knew-when, the proliferation of cars shortened the distance between cities. And today, while electronic devices pulled us closer than ever before, our hearts couldn't have been farther away. The years where whole families were gathered in front of a television were over, because everyone had their little screen to themselves. In this era where information could be transferred freely and easily, we became more blind and lost.
Back in that golden age, things weren't that complicated. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was popular, and its charm was reflected in its ratings. It was a cartoon that would make children sit before the television for several hours of the day. A new setting, an interesting plot, insightful conversations, and just the right amount of violence… it was unreasonable that it wasn't as popular as it should have been.
Raphael, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello—the stories of these four mutant turtles with distinct personalities and how they fought crimes carried on for years after years. They could be found in comics, small screens, big screens, games, and they even had their own rock band. The actors wore the costumes and went on stage to sing. In the early nineties, when special effects weren't that good yet, TNMT had three live-action movies. Even in the 21st century, the TMNT cartoon show from 2003 was still enjoying rave reviews.
Naturally, it was impossible for characters of their fame to not have toys made after their image. As the memory of a generation of children, the figures of TNMT would naturally side with the Classic.
"Hey! When did you guys get here?" Jazz raised his voice to ask.
"We have been here long enough," Raphael answered in his low voice. Leonardo then added, "Optimus Prime had us tail you silently and provide support when necessary."
"Hmm…" Nightbeat said contemplatively. "I should have known Optimus Prime would have anticipated this. He has considered the possibility that the Lego House will break off from us completely. With the four of you as reinforcement, even if we are trapped inside the Lego House, there will be a very high chance we will be able to escape."
"I am afraid it is more than that." Xiao Tan suddenly interrupted them. "How come it feels like it's because Optimus Prime still does not quite trust me and Brother Jue? He might have sent people to silently come after us to prevent us from doing anything funny."
"The nature of the order is no longer that important." Leonardo's answer had basically confirmed Xiao Tan's prediction. Indeed, one of the main reasons Optimus Prime had the turtles follow the gang was for them to keep an eye on the travelers from another world. The four of them were ordered that unless it was truly necessary, they were not to show themselves. They were told to appear only when Nightbeat and Jazz were in true actual danger. However, plans changed and several factors ruined their original plan. No one expected that Kenshin would be able to sense their presence. Leonardo turned his focus to Kenshin and said, "Do you mind if I ask how you discovered us?"
That was indeed a question that confused the turtles. As ninjas, their ability to make themselves disappear and hide from view was exceptional. When truly necessary, they could even hold their breaths for a long time to conceal themselves.
"Actually, it was not me who discovered you," Kenshin replied. "It was Mr. Feng Bujue." He paused and continued, "Perhaps he found out while you were following the two." He held his chin and said, "When Zoro used Ittoryu-Bird Dance as a trial attack, that Mr. Feng was able to assess the skill's damage. He was able to divert the potential damage. Of course, that was not all. During that particular moment, he was able to split his opponent's attention into two and then glanced at the direction where the four of you were hiding. I believe he was checking if you would have done anything in that situation."
As Kenshin spoke, he slowly turned around to face the turtles. "If I had not witnessed that with my own two eyes, I would not have believed that it was possible in this world. Those who are fearful of death and those who are seeking death would not be able to react in such a manner when they are being attacked, but the man managed to do just that."
"But you are no weakling yourself. Just by watching Feng Bujue, you discovered where we were hiding?" Leonardo asked.
"Hah. It was basically impossible not to notice." Kenshin then gave out a long sigh. "Please put yourself in my shoes. During their duel, a sharp blade was coming toward me, and I raised my sword to block it. At the same time, I stole a moment to look around. You happened to see me do that. You wouldn't care why I was doing that, right?"
"That might not be necessarily true." Feng Bujue's voice was suddenly heard. Everyone turned to see who it was. Sogou was the first to speak. He added weakly, "Ah. He has returned much earlier than expected. So, you really dumped the man behind after turning two corners?"
Feng Bujue did not answer, but he continued to address Kenshin. "If I saw a man with two wounds on one side of his face, then I would assume that that person is one who remains very vigilant even in battle and during a duel."
Kenshin did not respond to Feng Bujue's attempt at a joke. With a detached tone, he said, "Since Mr. Zoro has been led away and you guys outnumber us… it means that I would have…" As he spoke, he placed his hand on the hilt of his blade. At the same time, the four brother turtles leaped backward and retreated away from Kenshin. An invisible circle formed around Kenshin. The space within this circle was extremely dangerous, and only experts and highly skilled swordsmen would be able to sense the presence of that circle.
"Guys, leave him to me." As the leader of the turtles, Leonardo naturally took on the most dangerous task for himself. "Raphael, Donatello, the two of you should focus and deal with Sogou. Michelangelo, you go and help Jazz, and the rest may deal with Gourry."
"Yay. Finally. It's time to punch something." Raphael was very eager to work his muscle.
"Be careful, buddy. That man is not as simple as he appears," Leonardo reminded his friend as he leaped into battle.
Michelangelo laughed and said, "Here I come!" Michelangelo was as excitable as always. He swung his nunchucks as he joined Xiao Tan in battle.
In just a second, the wind of the battle had changed. Feng Bujue, who had just returned, now appeared to be a bit extra.
Meanwhile, inside the Lego House, something was happening on the rooftop of one of the Lego buildings. The whole roof was actually made from Lego blocks as well. Other than the lighting fixtures, there was basically nothing else that was not made out of Lego blocks.
One minute earlier, there were two figures standing at the edge of the roof. They watched the battle outside through the glass panel of the window. They were Lego Batman and Lego Ironman. These 'lego-ized' superheroes naturally had a cute appearance. Their limbs and torso were made from blocks, and their heads were larger than their bodies. They were generally smaller than most humanoid toys, and they looked like little children.
"How much longer do we need to stay here before we go and stop them?" Tony (Ironman) asked. His speaking voice sounded like it had been heavily modulated. It was the kind that sounded like it had come from an actual Ironman suit.
Bruce (Batman) scrunched up his face and replied, "I suggest we stay out of this."
"But this is Lego House territory. It doesn't seem right for us to just cross our arms and do nothing," Tony said.
"Haven't we been doing exactly that for quite a while already?" Bruce said. "Just wait a little while longer. They are about to finish the fight soon."
"I think I have heard that exact same sentence before," Tony said as he scratched his helmet. Since he was a Lego toy, the helmet could not be removed. "Oh, right… it was on the night before Children's Day, when Hulk and Bane were playing wrestling." He paused. "I remember that night perfectly because we almost missed the deadline for rebuilding the city, didn't we?"
"That was different. That incident happened inside the house. This time, everything is happening outside." Bruce paused before continuing. "Besides, this fight is quite a sensitive and risky one. We need to try to not get ourselves burnt by the flames of war."
"It's not that we are trying to attract the fire, but the fire has burned the doors of our house," Tony argued. "I knew that Novel is responsible for theft of our blocks. I believe they wanted to add Lego weapons to their arsenal. Jazz and the guys are here to demand an explanation from us."
"You mean we should bring our army out now and kill the people from Novel to clear our name?" Bruce asked.
"That is a matter of choice," a third voice said. Bruce and Tony turned around to see Joker, who slowly walked toward them while balancing himself on the edge of the roof. His arms were outstretched. He looked like a tightrope walker, and he was doing a very bad job at it. "Novel has added Lego weapons to their armory. On the surface, it might look like they merely wanted to make their army stronger. If you think about it, you will discover they have a very different purpose in mind," Joker commented and followed with a wicked laugh.
Bruce answered, "To pull us Legos into the war?"
"Indeed. If Classic had not conducted a clear investigation and decided that it was us Legos who volunteered to aid Novel, perhaps they would have announced a declaration of war on us. In fact, they might not even announce such a declaration and assault us directly." Tony said, "If we get into this war, both sides will have much to lose, and that will only turn former friends into enemies."
"Hmm… When that happens, even though we know that it is a trap set up by Novel, we would have no choice but to seek for an alliance with them," Bruce said conclusively.
Joker laughed and said, "Like I said, this is a matter of choice." He extended his finger and continued, "We should seek an alliance with Novel now, because if we do it soon, we might still be able to settle conditions with them." He extended a second finger. "Or we can choose to side with Classic and do our best to prove that we Legos did not voluntarily provide Novel with any support."
At this point, Joker had walked to the edge behind Bruce and Tony. He leaped down and stood before the two. He pointed to the fake flower that was attached to his lapel. "Hey! How about a sniff, Bruce?"
Bruce glanced at the fake flower and scoffed. "Only Thor will fall for a trick like that."
"Well, that is the choice. Bruce, to sniff or not to sniff?" Joker smiled wider. He always wore a smile. He looked at Bruce with absolute sincerity.
"I choose the third," Bruce said as he reached out to pinch at the base of the flower, then he turned at a 90-degree angle to face Joker. "We are joining neither Classic nor Novel. We will prove our innocence to Classic, and we will give Novel a sufficient warning. That is how we remain neutral." He then pressed the button on Joker's "water-squirting flower." However, no water came out. The flower soon dissolved into a pile of sticky goo in Bruce's hand, and it glued his Lego hands together.
Joker laughed and said, "You should have just picked from the choices that you were given. Isn't that right, Bruce?" Joker proudly strode away and then jumped onto the balcony with a huge laugh. Tony, who was at the side, turned around to hide the fact was he was struggling not to laugh.
Bruce looked at Tony and then lowered his head. With a grunt of annoyance, he swiftly caught up to the laughing Joker and maliciously pushed him from behind. However, his hands, which were still sticky from the glue, stuck to Joker's body, and they both fell off the side of the balcony, screaming all the way down.
Tony poked his head out from the edge of the roof with a smile on his face. He sighed. "Those two do not have the ability to fly, but they have this strange penchant for falling off high places."