"Congratulations, you finally managed to hit me once."
"As a reward... you can all rest now."
As he spoke, Peter flicked his wrist, throwing Number Two, whom he had almost strangled to death, aside. He sent him crashing into Number One, making them roll across the ground together like gourds as their back injuries flared up simultaneously.
And then... Thud!
A headbutt covered in Armament Haki slammed into Number Three's forehead, instantly making Number Three's eyes roll back.
After casually tossing Number Three onto Number One and Number Two, Peter looked at the three of them and asked,
"Now, do you submit?"
The three Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Men, piled on top of each other, looked at one another. Finally, they could only manage bitter smiles that looked worse than crying and nodded in unison.
They couldn't win; they simply couldn't win.
Though the battle just now was brief, it had clearly delivered a message:
The combat power of this "Old Self" was strong beyond their wildest imagination.
And he was a pure Hexagon Warrior.
If he truly wanted to kill the three of them, they probably wouldn't have lasted even ten moves.
With such strength, it was no wonder he could have a beauty on each arm.
No wonder he dared to say he wasn't afraid even if the entire Spider Alliance came for him.
Old Self is awesome! (Voice cracking)
...Although the three Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Men realized they were no match for Peter, they still had no intention of giving up on their mission.
After all, this concerned the survival of an entire Universe!
So, seeing that a Physical Fight was not working, the three Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Men turned to a Verbal Contest instead.
"Bro, I know you're very strong."
"But no matter how strong an individual is, they ultimately cannot resist the will of the entire Universe!"
"Yeah, you wouldn't want the Universe you're in, your family, and your friends to completely collapse because of your own selfishness, would you?"
Hearing these words, Gwen and Felicia glanced at each other, a look of worry faintly appearing in their eyes.
They believed no one in this World could defeat Peter, but... could Peter really stop the collapse of an entire Universe by himself?
Whether they lost the Universe or lost Peter in the end, both were an "unbearable weight of life" for them.
While the two women were uneasy because of this possible outcome, Peter's cold sneer rang in their ears:
"So, for the survival of the Universe, I deserve to die?"
As soon as Peter said this, the three Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Men were stunned.
Mainly, they had never imagined that Peter Parker could say something so "selfish"!
In the silence, Number Three Good Neighbor spoke up:
"No, you don't need to sacrifice yourself."
Number Three took a deep breath and said:
"I think... you could completely join the Spider Alliance!"
"As long as you join the Spider Alliance and stay there long-term, it's equivalent to you disappearing from this Universe. Naturally, you won't affect this Universe anymore!"
Hearing this, Gwen's eyes lit up.
This seemed to be the optimal solution that would allow both the Universe and Peter to coexist!
She instinctively looked at Peter, clearly tempted by the idea.
But facing Number Three's proposal, Peter couldn't help but let out a cold sneer:
"You've certainly got it all figured out. Since you can't kill me, you want me to become an executioner just like you?"
Hearing the word "executioner," Number Three was momentarily stunned before shouting in dissatisfaction:
"What do you mean by that? Spider-Man never kills!"
"Doesn't kill?" The cold smile on Peter's face grew even colder:
"Then what mission are you executing right now?
'Correcting' me as an anomaly and making Gwen, who could have prevented the tragedy, do nothing while watching her own father die—how is that any different from being an executioner?"
"Oh, because I'm strong, I can go to the'sanctuary' of the Spider Alliance."
"But the victims of other Web Events, they have no way to deal with outsiders like you as I did, so they just deserve to die?"
"Aren't you just fucking bullying honest people!"
"That's different!" Number Three shouted angrily, the veins on his neck bulging out:
"You're equivocating! The reason you can enter the Spider Alliance is that you are Peter Parker.
Because you, or rather all Peter Parkers, are beings recognized by the Web, you can enter that special space.
Besides, do you even know what 'with great power comes great responsibility' means?
We are doing this for the good of your Universe!
Don't you understand yet! If you don't leave and don't let the Web Event happen, your Universe will collapse, and everyone will die!"
"Enough!" Peter rudely interrupted him:
"Did you not hear what I told Gwen before? On what basis do you conclude that the Universe will collapse if a Web Event is disrupted?"
Number Two Good Neighbor was still trying to calm the dispute, so he spoke earnestly:
"The leader of the Spider Alliance, Mr. Miguel OHara, witnessed the collapse of a Universe firsthand! He tried to change a Web Event and replaced a deceased version of us in another Universe to become Spider-Man.
But after that, the Universe he was in collapsed!"
Number One Good Neighbor also couldn't help but shout:
"Do you think you understand the truth about the collapse of the Universe better than an eyewitness?"
The three of them thought their words were enough to make Peter mend his ways.
But Peter's next words caused all of their brains to freeze up instead:
"And you call yourselves Peter Parkers? You've even forgotten the simple Controlled Experiment Method?"
"I'll only ask you one thing!"
"Does his lone experience represent a commonality across all Universes?"
"Besides him, is there any other Control Group?"
"In that Spider Alliance of yours, there surely isn't just the three of you, right? Among all of you, who has seen a second Universe collapse because of a Web Event?"
The three Spider-Men were suddenly speechless.
After a long while, Number One Good Neighbor spoke in disbelief:
"Are you really not crazy? This is a major matter involving an entire Universe and tens of billions of lives! Who would dare to use that many lives for an experiment?"
Hearing this, Number Two and Number Three Spider-Man also couldn't help but nod frantically.
To this, Peter offered this scathing critique:
"Because you don't even have the courage to conduct an experiment, you just watch versions of yourselves in different Universes repeat the same mistakes over and over, and even personally stop others from saving the loved ones they cherish.
If you ask me, you guys are truly brain-dead!"
"I'm certain now; I truly don't deserve to be Spider-Man."
"If the price of being Spider-Man is becoming a pathetic wretch like that, then I'd rather be a madman."
"If the family and loved ones I cherish are destined to die, then this Universe holds nothing for me to miss."
"So, the experiment you don't dare to do, I will do. I alone will bear the consequences."
"Whether you come to stop me or not, I'm definitely disrupting the Web Event in two days."
"You can go back and call for backup now. Let's see if your Spider Alliance can actually stop me if they come out in full force!"
"Of course, if you're willing to experiment with me, then I welcome you to stay and witness for yourselves just how foolish your previous ideas were."