Chapter 17: New Identity
"Bang!"
Smoke emerged, and Hardy quickly transformed into a different face.
Square face, sharp brows, high forehead of a Caucasian male.
If dressed in a suit and sunglasses, he would resemble the classic image of a mobster.
This face belonged to Keanu Reeves.
Hardy had considered transforming into the images of David Beckham or Leonardo DiCaprio, but Beckham was already present in the city and had been famous for over a decade, now playing for a club in the Major League Soccer. As for DiCaprio, his level of attractiveness was too attention-grabbing.
A regular handsome face like Keanu Reeves would suffice, and his demeanor was more suitable for Gotham.
The commotion caused by Hardy's transformation startled the Penguin, who almost thought Hardy was going to attack.
Even after recovering, one of the Penguin's hands remained on the handle of his high-tech umbrella, his small eyes fixed on Hardy.
"Incredible ability. I never expected you to have such a skill besides Clayface," the Penguin said. Clayface, also known as Basil Karlo, had come into contact with toxic radioactive chemical waste, causing his body to mutate. He could transform his entire body into a substance resembling clay, shape-shifting into any weapon, penetrating any object when soft, and being as hard as rock when solid. He could also transform into anyone, even mimicking genes. Since Clayface's body had become different from any carbon-based life form, he no longer possessed genes.
This was a more potent transformation ability than shape-shifting.
"Use this face to create an identity for me," Hardy said.
"I understand. I'll need you to take a photo for the ID, measure your height to match the information on the ID. It will be ready in a day... Uh, where are you currently staying?"
"I'll come back in a day to pick it up."
Three days later...
After obtaining a new identity, Hardy also acquired a house and a box of books.
Buying a house was not for investment purposes but because Hardy wanted a quiet place to create puppets. It would be too inconvenient if he rented a place, as the landlord would likely not appreciate him converting an entire floor into a puppet-making workshop.
Having an identity allowed him to purchase high-value immovable properties like a house.
The location didn't have to be prime, as that would cost too much money.
Fortunately, Gotham was not as expensive as Metropolis. Although both were international metropolises based on New York, property prices in Metropolis were much higher than in Gotham. Despite this, the price per square foot of the house Hardy bought was still not cheap, averaging over six thousand dollars per square foot.
After buying the seventy-square-foot house, Hardy borrowed some money from another gang leader, paying a fifty percent fee to launder the money through the Penguin. With the remaining funds, he purchased the materials needed for making puppets, as well as computers and tools. Hardy was left with less than twenty thousand dollars.
In Gotham, as long as he didn't overspend, this money would last for a year or so.
"No time to waste, let's learn and make puppets!" Hardy picked up a book on microcontrollers and CNC electronics and began studying.
In the world of Gotham, Hardy, the incarnation, led a relatively leisurely life after completing his tasks.
He spent his days studying or making puppets.
Meanwhile, the original Hardy in the Naruto world was busy.
The Sixth Puppet Brigade was not usually this busy.
However, it was not a normal time; it was wartime.
Hardy had just withdrawn from the battlefield of the Great Ninja War.
The primary task of his squad was to process the puppets recovered from the front lines.
If they were still usable, they would be repaired; if not, the salvageable parts would be removed for further use.
There was room for profit in this process, as the judgment of whether a puppet was good or bad, which parts were usable, was subjective. By labeling good parts as bad and usable parts as unusable, one could profit.
Unfortunately, Hardy couldn't do this.
Not because he was honest, but because Sunagakure was too poor and utilized every resource to the maximum.
If caught embezzling, the consequences would be severe, and Gaara managed to prevent such incidents through his management methods.
The same batch of puppets would undergo repeated inspections by three random teams from the Puppet Brigade. If issues arose, the captain would investigate.
If the problem wasn't identified, the ANBU would be called in for further investigation.
Corruption required the intervention of influential figures with great power of manipulation.
However, these individuals were high-ranking ninja, and at least for now, they wouldn't pay attention to low-level puppets.
What they dealt with, there was no chance for me to handle.
Perhaps there was indeed room for manipulation, but Hardy was not willing to risk losing a promising future to gain a little profit.
However, the rewards were quite generous.
At least it was more than what they used to earn as ordinary ninjas on missions, and there wasn't much danger involved.
Moreover, these puppets were sent back in batches, so if they worked quickly, there would still be some rest time in between.
"Sigh... Finally finished dealing with this batch of puppets."
In the puppet base, Hardy lay unceremoniously on the sofa.
Yuki was lying on the other end of the sofa.
And after finishing his work, Scorpion was still busy at the workbench.
"Hey, Scorpion, kids need to rest more, or it will affect their development!"
Seeing Hardy lying limp on the sofa, he immediately tried to persuade Scorpion to join them.
"If you keep this up, the next time we fight, you will lose, and there won't be a next time after that."
Scorpion continued working, following the instructions from the notes he received from Ishihito, making puppet parts.
"Tsk, don't say that! I work hard too! It's just that my recent energy hasn't been focused on making puppets."
Hardy waved his hand.
Recently, the embodiment of Gotham World had been studying diligently, trying to integrate modern engineering into puppetry.
In addition to his work, Hardy also spent his spare time practicing dark secret techniques.
After all, his puppet manipulation skills might be the lowest in the team, and among the only two genin, Scorpion's puppet manipulation skills were half a step higher than his.
After resting for about ten minutes, Hardy, feeling uncomfortable from being wrapped up by Scorpion, somersaulted off the sofa.
"Alright, I'll join in the training too."
Hardy shot out ten chakra threads from his hands, connecting with Fatty and Tom, starting to practice dark secret techniques.
"Tsk, aren't you kids too? How come everyone is so engrossed! Aren't you afraid of not resting enough and not growing tall?"
Seeing this scene, Yuki also joined in.
While the other two were busy, she was just lying there, feeling out of place.