Although the battle with Apocalypse had come to an end, the villain himself remained alive. Clearly, this matter wasn't going to be resolved so easily.
However, it no longer concerned Shin.
After this intense period of combat, Shin had come to recognize the flaws in his chaotic arsenal of powers. Elements like fire, lightning, wind, and poison weren't very effective in real combat. Often, a direct punch was more useful.
The truly top-tier heroes and villains in the Marvel Universe generally had resistance or outright immunity to toxins, electricity, and extreme temperatures, unlike the worlds of One Piece or Naruto, where the majority of characters were still mortal.
At this point, even the physical boost from his Zoan-type Devil Fruits was negligible.
The physical enhancement provided by Zoan-type Devil Fruits was usually a fixed value, not a percentage increase. For someone like Shin, who now possessed Kryptonian blood and had absorbed power from a solar storm, that minor strength gain was barely worth mentioning.
Among the Devil Fruits he had fused so far, only the Yamata no Orochi Fruit retained some value. The others had become largely irrelevant.
He had already planned to purge the remaining Devil Fruits from his system in order to further enhance his physical body and prepare to absorb a new power: the X-Gene.
Shin was particularly interested in the X-genes of Rogue and Mystique.
Rogue's gene, naturally, was remarkable, capable of absorbing nearly any kind of power. But its drawbacks were just as apparent. Shin wasn't sure if he could fully control that absorption ability. He had no interest in accidentally draining someone dry.
Mystique's X-gene had once been used in the creation of future Sentinels. It allowed for direct mimicry of other mutant abilities, representing limitless potential. But even if Shin managed to acquire it, there was no guarantee he could develop it to its full extent.
Of course, Shin was also intrigued by Apocalypse's genetic structure. Unfortunately, he had left behind very little physical matter. After being obliterated by Shin, most of his body had been vaporized into ash. Only a small amount of tissue remained.
Without the means to extract the X-Gene directly, Shin's only option was crude transplantation. As for using One Piece-style body transformation to naturally evolve X-Genes? That kind of method was well beyond him.
The technical gap between restructuring flesh and rewriting genetic code was simply too vast.
Luckily, Shin discovered that Nathaniel Essex, a mutant scientist captured during the Apocalypse conflict, known infamously as Mr. Sinister was an incredibly rare find. A genius in mutant biology and genetics!
Naturally, Shin didn't hesitate. He first scanned Essex's mind, then wiped selected portions of his memory. He discreetly implanted a biochip into Essex's brain and set him loose to pursue research.
Shin had even introduced Essex to the Sentinel Project, hoping the scientist might come up with something innovative.
Regardless of what Essex eventually developed, Shin could simply use the biochip to extract his findings. There was no risk of being cheated.
For the time being, Shin set aside his X-Gene ambitions. Though powerful, the genes were still beyond his full control. It was better to wait until Mr. Sinister made progress, or until Shin could reverse-engineer the X-Gene using the worlds of Naruto or One Piece, and then reap the rewards.
In the wake of Apocalypse's downfall, humans and mutants settled once more into an uneasy balance. Shin no longer intended to remain at Xavier's School. He was preparing to head to Kamar-Taj.
Ironically, it had been a random car accident that got him tangled in these recent battles in the first place. Otherwise, he'd have visited the New York Sanctum long ago.
Cyclops hadn't forgotten to repay him. Though the man didn't drive it himself, he gifted Shin a slick motorcycle. Packed with high-tech features, it was undoubtedly far more valuable than Shin's old car.
…
"Man, other people get sports cars and hot girls. Why do I have to bring a grumpy dude along!?"
Shin muttered in frustration as he revved the motorcycle. From the back seat, Wolverine replied gruffly, "If it weren't for those magic-users you mentioned who might restore my memory, do you think I'd be riding with you?"
After a pause, Wolverine muttered uncertainly, "Are Sorcerers even real? Is there really such a thing as magic? I've been alive a long time, and I've never seen any magicians."
"Maybe you're being scammed. Magic? Seriously..."
"Alright, enough!" Shin rolled his eyes. "Storm can cast spells, right? And haven't you spent most of those long years wandering around with amnesia?"
"Uh..." Wolverine was at a loss for words. Then Shin added, "Relax. The person I know definitely has knowledge of your past. Even if they don't know, they will after seeing you."
Now, Shin regretted ever telling Wolverine about potential memory leads. The man had looked so pitiful wandering aimlessly that Shin gave in and mentioned it. Now Wolverine was clinging to him like glue.
That said, Shin wasn't bluffing. Helping Wolverine recover his memories wasn't difficult. After all, he was headed to see the Ancient One, the Sorcerer Supreme. And every Sorcerer Supreme throughout history had possessed the Time Stone.
While using the Time Stone to predict the future could be inaccurate, there were just too many possible outcomes, viewing the past was far more reliable. Wolverine's history, though complex and dramatic, didn't involve multiversal gods or beings that could block cosmic sight.
Which meant there'd be no problem retrieving it.
And so, Shin and Wolverine made their way through the streets of New York, eventually stopping to grab hamburgers and some Mexican chicken wraps.
Just as they parked and were about to dismount, a tall figure came rushing toward them. A blond young man called out to Wolverine, anxious yet relieved.
"Thank God! Logan, where is this place? I finally found someone I recognize!"
Logan blinked in confusion. "Who the hell are you? Do I know you?"
He took a closer look. The man was tall, with strong eyebrows and honest, heroic features. Something about him did seem familiar.
Wolverine's eyes widened. Wait a minute... I do know him! Isn't this Captain America from the newspapers?
No wonder he seemed familiar. Honestly, was there a single American who didn't know Captain America?
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