To be honest, sitting on a cruise ship on a cold winter night, with the wind blowing in while roasting by the stove and drinking, enjoying what's called elegance, really isn't something ordinary people should indulge in.
The waters of Tokyo Bay are vast, and this sneaky wind slips through every crack in the cruise ship. Su Ming noticed some drunken people whose fingers turned blue from the cold.
But this issue didn't affect the few of them.
Amidst the flattering nods and bows of the boss, the three sat in a private room. Even if those drinking guests were dressed in fine clothes or had high social status, they were still silent like cicadas facing the passing foreigners.
"Boss, bring out the best drinks and dishes you have here," Su Ming said as he glanced around the cabin. This cruise ship was huge but looked a bit old.
But it's acceptable; during World War II, Japan requisitioned many civilian ships for transporting supplies. A slow large ship like this not being sunk and being returned after the war is already fortunate.
"Hoha!" Perhaps the Tokyo boss had seen many foreigners, so his response was very dignified.
He first knelt down to give a ceremonial bow, then sat upright like a Samurai, nodding seriously with a solemn face, and crawled backward out of the cabin.
Natasha pouted slightly disdainfully, not used to being waited on.
However, Su Ming was very satisfied. He sat on the low platform, opened the window to let in the breeze: "Look at this, Japan's service industry is truly top-notch, you can't deny it. Have you ever seen anyone taking orders on their knees in the United States?"
"I now understand why these people are so obsessed with war," Natasha sighed.
Su Ming indifferently looked outside the window. Winter always made the sky seem particularly high, and the stars appear brighter: "War is an extension of politics, and the United States government has always served the economy, there's nothing strange about it."
Gin also consoled, pulling Natasha to sit beside her. She sat cross-legged because sitting on her knees was uncomfortable: "Exactly, you don't have to think about these things, leave it to him."
Natasha looked at her speechlessly and muttered quietly: "If you do this for too long, your intelligence will deteriorate..."
"Hm?" Gin's eyes instantly widened like a cat's.
"Nothing... nothing," Natasha lowered her head guiltily, looking at her own boots.
Su Ming rubbed his nose, not minding Gin always being by his side, but Natasha still needed to think for herself: "Let's not talk about those things, I just glanced at the menu, and the stuff here looks good. Today we're going to try the sushi boat."
The three of them chatted in English, while the Japanese people outside their private room silently settled their bills and left. Being in the same place with American patrons made them feel as anxious as if nuclear weapons could drop on their heads at any moment.
Su Ming had a plan.
First, finish the meal here, then take the two of them to a place near the Port District in Roppongi to drink, and after midnight, switch to Ginza to continue.
When morning comes, they would go find Japan's famous swordsmith, Master Muramasa, to see the so-called Demon Sword that could cut everything at the atomic level.
Speaking of which, Diana's Fire God Sword also claimed to cut things at the atomic level, but several times Su Ming has seen things she couldn't cut, which was quite awkward...
There are two Muramasas in Marvel, one is the actual Demon Sword Muramasa, also called the Black Blade, Undying Slash, capable of killing self-healing ability users.
This sword was later broken in the comics, taken by Romulus for reforging. The blade and hilt were reforged into two different weapons, a claw and a sword, both called Muramasa.
It seems Marvel has a grudge against self-healing abilities, with various inhibitory tools emerging one after another. Su Ming wanted to investigate whether anything could inhibit his ability.
Anyhow, old Muramasa wasn't a good guy, immortal and morally ambiguous.
He was not only a blacksmith but also a great swordmaster. Every time he forged a new blade, he would take his hundreds of lackeys out to 'test the sword' on someone.
The master blacksmith was different from others. General Samurai testing a sword might cut down a few commoners to get a feel.
But he'd slaughter everyone in a town, and his followers, like hunting dogs, would draw a hunting ground for him to slowly hack away day and night for days, delving into the sword's shortcomings.
After countless repetitions over hundreds of years, his skills had reached perfection. At one point, he felt himself making no progress and became very frustrated.
One night he dreamed of some faceless giant god teaching him a new technique.
About how to cleave his own soul and forge swords with the soul. As long as the soul-containing sword existed, he would remain immortal.
After waking up, he wasted no time replicating it, forging a black blade, which became brighter like red light as it killed more.
He named it after himself because it was part of his soul.
The soul inside was extremely bloodthirsty, including Muramasa himself, and the weapon would backlash on anyone, with a history of those who took up the sword meeting a bad end. Ultimately it returned to its maker's hands, awaiting the next owner.
Muramasa, after all, was a blacksmith with some artisan quirks. If you could take Muramasa without any trouble, he'd give the sword to you for free and treat you as an esteemed guest.
Su Ming wanted to try it, to compare it with his Godslayer, to see which was more dangerous.
Soul forging sounded somewhat like DC's Naboo's Soul Casting Technique. Was there any connection or common ground here?
Once the weapon was in hand, they would go find Miyamoto Fan Yun, also known as Ogun (Ogun), the next afternoon.
He was a person of Romulus but perversely fell in love with Logan, and at the same time was this era's sword saint in Japan.
Su Ming wanted to practice martial arts and learn from others.
After that, he planned to buy some local specialties from various parts of Japan, then return to the United States, leaving Natasha at school, while he and Gin went to Warnerheim to stay for three to five years.
"Oh, our sushi boat has arrived, quite affordable indeed."
Thinking about his plan, Su Ming saw a wooden boat-shaped container, like a bathtub, being carried in, filled with various sushi and rolls. When placed on the table, it made a dull thud, and the waiter was so tired, his back couldn't straighten.
Seeing the brightly colored, packed sushi platter, he happily tipped each waiter a US dollar, waving them off.
"Go ahead, don't be shy," Su Ming said, pulling out chopsticks and smiling at Natasha.
But Natasha was looking out the window, her expression puzzled.
Su Ming dipped a piece of fish in wasabi and put it in his mouth, following her gaze. He noticed she was staring at a huge cruise ship passing very close by.
He just glanced at it, then turned his head away, pretending not to notice anything.
"Don't you think it's strange?" Natasha rubbed her small face. "Such a large ship, passing so close to us, yet we're not shaking at all. Logic says the water pressure should make us collide. Also, there are no lights on the ship; isn't it supposed to be a docking vessel?"
Su Ming ate another lobster roll and said unclearly, "Look here, aren't you young? There's a deadly FLAG when you meddle during a vacation. Usually, if you get involved, it's a big deal, and definitely unlucky. Let's eat, not watch, not care, not ask. Once you can resist your curiosity, you'll be a successful special agent."
Natasha speechlessly watched the big ship almost graze by the window as it left. She could even see the scratched barnacles near the waterline, making her feel restless, like a cat scratching. Until Gin stuffed a piece of fish into her mouth.
The wasabi's taste made her face quickly turn red, even bringing tears to her eyes.
After she and Gin fooled around, looking out the window again, all she saw was the moon's reflection on the sea.
The ship was gone, leaving her feeling lost, like she had missed something.
Su Ming chewed the octopus in his mouth, took a couple of breaths of cold air, and placed his hand on the delicate white porcelain sake cup. "Natasha, what's your plan?"
"Uh, find the manufacturing place of the turtle shell, then discover who plans to deal with Logan." Seeing Deathstroke becoming serious, Natasha obediently said.
Su Ming nodded, picking up an eel sushi from the boat. "Since you have a plan, focus on your mission and don't be distracted by outside interference. Gin and I can feel what you're feeling. That ship has something calling others to look at it. But the more it does so, the more wrong it is. Calm down; it has nothing to do with your goal or mine. Don't let it interfere."
Natasha took a deep breath, closed her eyes, sat quietly for a while, then opened her eyes and nodded seriously. "I understand, thank you."
"You're welcome, let's eat."
Su Ming skipped over this part with a smile. This is a trip, not a school trip, no need to make it like teaching.
Natasha used her chopsticks well, picking up a piece of fish, intending to put it in her mouth, but her gaze was again drawn outside.
On the distant ocean surface, at the line where sea meets sky, a faint white line was constantly twisting.
"What's that?" She squinted, trying to see the dark sea clearly.
Su Ming clicked his tongue. Sometimes, you don't look for trouble; trouble finds you. He was just quietly eating here, not letting anyone rest.
"Gin, watch our food; I'll be right back."
With that, he directly flipped through the window, and before landing on the sea, the black and yellow uniform was already on him, with the Magic Floating Cloak taking him towards the horizon, a deep trench carved in the sea surface.
Heading towards the city was not a tsunami, but something even more troublesome. That distant white line under the moonlight was actually an army of various sea creatures.
Enormous whales like moving walls, and intermixed were many other creatures constantly stirring up waves.
Besides the usual and unusual enlarged fishes, there were also humanoid beings with pale blue skin, wearing coral and shell armor. Su Ming recognized them at a glance as Atlanteans.
These guys were always so aggressive, just a little conflict with land people, and they noisily threatened to flood the land.
Su Ming was concerned about whether these people were with Namor or the U Demon?
If it's with Namor, then fight to the death. If it's with the U Demon, then maybe negotiations.
No choice, Namor's head is completely water, unless he's beaten awake and in pain, he hears nothing. But the U Demon knows how to choose timings and assess situation.
Actually, if it wasn't today, or if their target wasn't Tokyo Bay, Su Ming wouldn't care how they caused trouble.
As long as it didn't impact Earth's safety or dimension, time stability, Su Ming was lazy to deal with such idle matters.
But today and tomorrow, he had plans. If they flooded the fun places, his travel plans for the night would fall through, wouldn't they?
Thus, the unfortunate Undersea People stood on the opposing side.
The Godslayer in his hand suddenly extended, forming a thin line hundreds of meters long. He swung it round towards the sea surface, and a wall of water rose suddenly.
"Stop! Cross the line and you'll die!"