"May the Force be with you," Liu A'dou said as he looked at his two apprentices. "The key to becoming a Jedi is crafting your own lightsaber. Today, you'll build your lightsabers however you like."
Ben was over the moon. They'd finally reached the stage of lightsaber construction, which meant his Force training had reached a solid level. Luckily for them, they had a great teacher. Liu A'dou didn't hold anything back and taught them everything he knew. Once they finished making their lightsabers, it would be time for their first mission—Liu A'dou already had it in mind: catching Kaitou Kid.
"You need to understand the process of building a lightsaber and make one that feels right in your hands. Remember, the most important thing is that it suits you," Liu A'dou said. "You have three days. Good luck."
There was no mystical atmosphere at all—they were just in Liu A'dou's garage. Everything they needed was already set up, ready for the two kids to get to work.
Countless American kids start their inventions in a garage. Now it was time for two aliens to do the same.
Ben and Kailan were both smart. Three days would be plenty for them to finish the task.
Meanwhile, Liu A'dou went off to prepare some gifts for his two little apprentices. A master had to worry about these things—teach them humility, show them there's always someone better out there.
So Liu A'dou put together a bunch of "good stuff" that would definitely give his two apprentices a run for their money.
Kaitou Kid had resurfaced, and this time his target was shocking: the "Ring of Faith" owned by New York's mob boss, Kingpin. That ring was Kingpin's first trophy. According to legend, it had belonged to a high-ranking Nazi officer during World War II, stolen from a grand cathedral in Italy. The Ring of Faith was said to have a long history, once worn by multiple popes. The whole ring was silver, and the legend went that after Judas betrayed Jesus, he bought a burial ground with the thirty silver coins he received. It was rumored the Ring of Faith was forged from those very thirty silver coins—though that story was probably nonsense. Still, the silver ring really was ancient, and every owner had modified it, setting thirteen gems into it: one big ruby in the center representing Jesus, surrounded by twelve small diamonds for the twelve apostles. Even without the wild legends, the ring itself was priceless.
But now it was in the hands of a mob boss. Kaitou Kid was basically poking a tiger right in the eye.
Because of the ring's connection to the underworld, Liu A'dou delivered the heist notice directly onto Kingpin's desk. As the top dog of New York's criminal world, over 60% of the city's crime was tied to him. Kingpin even claimed that after midnight, he alone ruled New York. That showed just how dominating this kingpin really was.
But no cunning fox could ever escape an old hunter's gaze. Liu A'dou had spent his life battling the Black Organization, learning every trick of the underworld. No matter how many hideouts a cunning rabbit had, Liu A'dou could find them.
So locating Kingpin's lair wasn't hard for Liu A'dou. Spider-Man and the X-Men had both failed to deal with Kingpin—now it was Liu A'dou's turn to face him. At the same time, he wanted his apprentices to learn how to handle a crisis. The mission to catch Kaitou Kid would definitely clash with Kingpin, and they needed to learn how to adapt on the fly.
Three days later, the two apprentices finally finished their lightsabers. Ben's lightsaber looked like a flashlight, clearly modeled after his master's design. Kailan's was slimmer and had a slight curve to it—resembling the curved royal sabers of the Green Elf royal family, which only royalty were allowed to wield.
"Very good." Seeing two pale blue beams hovering steadily in the air, Liu A'dou smiled and nodded. "My two fine apprentices, congratulations—you are now officially Jedi Knights." It had only been three months since they started, but he added seriously, "Your connection to the Force is still weak, and your lightsaber skills are far from polished. So I'm assigning you missions to train through real combat until you become true Jedi."
His stern tone made both apprentices tense up.
"Listen carefully. Your first mission is to catch Kaitou Kid," Liu A'dou said.
Neither apprentice knew much about Kid, but since he was just a thief, they figured he couldn't be that tough. Ben said, "I've heard of Kaitou Kid. He's a magician thief who uses flashy tricks to steal things."
'What nonsense,' Liu A'dou thought. He said, "You need to catch him. I've already found out what his next target is."
"Don't worry, I can capture him alone," Ben said confidently.
Kailan, speaking in her still-clumsy English, asked, "Master, what will Kaitou steal next?"
"It's the ring of New York's mob boss," Liu A'dou explained. He told Kailan what a gang was and described how brutal Kingpin was, how many underlings he had—including mutants—and warned them to be careful. "You're bound to run into the gang on this mission. You'll have to use the Force to protect yourselves and complete your task."
"May the Force be with us," Kailan whispered the movie line. This phrase had become her favorite. As a princess on Earth with no one to guide her, she had turned to the Force for direction. After starring in the movie, she'd made the line her personal mantra. This mysterious power gave her something to hold on to, and it made her stronger.
"One last rule: try not to hurt anyone. But if things get dangerous, don't hold back."
They both nodded seriously at his reminder. After giving them all the intel, the two young Jedi put on their robes, donned their masks, and headed out on their adventure.
Watching them go, Liu A'dou shook his head and sighed, "Youth really is wonderful."
The ring of faith, sealing Judas's betrayal and carrying the apostles' beliefs, was about to be taken by Kaitou Kid.
When Kingpin saw the heist notice, he crumpled it into a ball and tossed it in the trash. A petty thief daring to challenge him? Kingpin realized he'd been keeping too low a profile, letting small-time crooks forget how he ruled the streets. As New York's biggest mob boss, his authority was absolute. "Bring Bullseye to me," he ordered.
Though he looked down on Kaitou Kid, Kingpin didn't underestimate him either. He knew the thief had skills, so he called in his most trusted subordinate.
Bullseye was a mutant who could turn anything around him into a deadly projectile. Sometimes it seemed like the X-gene was as ridiculous as devil fruit powers—granting bizarre abilities to whoever awakened it. And plenty of mutants went bad; power could corrupt anyone.
Bullseye was addicted to violence and killing, a mutant who'd been through brutal combat training and real wars, a killer who struck fear in everyone. Kingpin paid him handsomely, enough to keep him completely loyal.
Since Kaitou Kid dared target him, Kingpin decided to use Bullseye to kill the thief. Then he'd hang Kid's body on the street as a warning. No one could cross Kingpin and get away with it. No one.