Chapter 52: Brutal Training is The Only Training

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"A Lion Doesn't Concern Himself With The Opinions Of The Sheep"

- Tywin Lannister, (Game of Thrones)

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<(Omniscient POV) >

"You should have a very good reason to have interrupted my time with my wife Ubu." Ra's Al Ghul who was sitting in front of a grave calmly said without even taking a look at the figure standing behind him as he continued to arrange a bouquet of flowers.

"I do... Bruce has completed constructing his Mind Palace," Ubu answered with his head down.

Ra's Al Ghul's hands which were arranging a bouquet of flowers like an unstoppable well-oiled machine suddenly stopped as he lost his focus for a second, his eyes colored with surprise.

"Interesting. It seems that the kid truly has potential. If I remember correctly, this should be a record. I don't think anybody from the League has managed to successfully create their entire Mind Palace within a single day." Ra's Al Ghul had a small pleased smile tugging on his lips as he began to arrange the flowers even quicker.

"Your elder daughter did. She completed her Mind Palace in..." 

"She is a girl. It doesn't matter how quickly she completes her task because she won't be inheriting the League. All she is good for is birthing a new heir. Even the training my daughters received has been just to make sure they don't get used against me by my enemies or that their weak bodies don't deliver useless heirs." Ra's Al Ghul calmly explained with a neutral expression on his face like he was talking about the weather. "And they know this as well. I made sure of it." 

"I-I see my liege. But do you really think that rich little spoiled arrogant boy will ever be good enough to be the heir to the League? He will burn down this Establishment if he ever gets unrestricted reign over it." Ubu tried to let his thoughts known.

"It seems he really got over your nerves, didn't he? But you see old friend, the League is mine, and the decision on whether to let it be burned down by someone or not is also mine. You will NOT have any say over it." The old assassin said with each and every word of his possessing a unique tranquility of its own.

"Forgive me Ra's Al Ghul. I spoke outside my own limit. If you think Bruce is good enough to lead the League of Assassins, it means he is." Ubu submissively said making sure that Ra's had no misunderstanding of his intentions.

"Hmm... Now, let's go and see how much has he truly mastered the art of protecting one's mind." He said as he placed the now completely and neatly arranged flower bouquet on the grave and slowly stood up.

"Lead the way Ubu. Let's go and see my new favorite student." 

***

"Are you guys sure that this eerie-looking green crystal can test my mental protection? I mean I truthfully expected someone to just somehow force themselves into my mind. Touching a green glowing rock isn't exactly what I had in mind. Are you sure I won't get cancer or something from this?" Bruce asked trying to fish for more information.

But unfortunately for him, neither Ra's nor his trusted servant said anything. So, he just sighed and went ahead and touched the crystal without wasting any more time.

"WHAT THE HELL?" Bruce yelled in surprise which startled both Ra's Al Ghul and Ubu but none of them reacted as they heard his next words, "It's too cold. Somebody should have warmed this up."

"What about pain? Don't you feel any sort of pain in your head?" Ubu asked, trying to understand how deep the crystal's mental probe affected Bruce. The more pain one feels after touching the crystal, the deeper the probe has successfully pierced into their mind. Normally untrained people would immediately lose consciousness when they touch the crystal since the energy of the crystal would penetrate really deep into their mindscape but Bruce not even giving the smallest reaction after clearly touching the crystal made it very hard for either Ubu or Ra's Al Ghul to understand how effective his mental defenses really were.

"No, not really. I mean, there was a slight tingling sensation in my head like a couple of slimy tentacles trying to give me a massage but there wasn't any pain." Bruce answered. He knew what the crystal had tried to do but his newly created mental defenses combined with his carefully hidden thought-scrambling pendant made sure that there was no way any disgusting psychic tentacle could pierce into his mind.

"I see. Then congratulations Bruce Wayne. You have passed the first test. From now on, you are officially a student of the League of Assassins, one that I will train personally. I will create the finest weapon out of you, make you into the sharpest blade there is, and transform you into fear itself. But remember, the moment I feel that you have stopped improving yourself, the moment you stop giving your best, the moment you become dull, I will cut you down for a more deserving weapon to take your place. That is my promise, the promise of your new sensei, Ra's Al Ghul." The centuries-old assassin master said with a straight face, not trying to sugarcoat his words even the tiniest bit.

"I expect nothing less... And I accept. As long as you teach me everything you know, I am yours to command... sensei" Bruce answered as he went on his knees in a bow as a small show of respect to his new master while promising himself that this was gonna be the first and only time he would ever bow down before a nefarious villain. 

Bruce bowed today so that he would never have to again.

"Good, now let's start our training. I have a lot of things to teach you and a lot of things to correct in you. So that by the end of it all, you WILL be the most dangerous force in the world, one that humanity truly needs." The Demon's Head smiled as he placed his hand on Bruce's shoulder. "Come we have a lot to do."

***

<(Bruce Wayne POV)>

Agreeing to let Ra's Al Ghul be my sensei and giving him full control over my training might have been the biggest mistake I have ever made in my life. Because I was not at all prepared for the absolutely brutal and inhumane training that Ra's Al Ghul would start giving me. 

I mean even with my super body, I was barely surviving the punishment being given to me on a regular basis. I didn't even have to act too much to make sure that Ra's Al Ghul did not even suspect that I possessed any sort of extraordinary power or ability since I wanted him to know as less about me as possible.

But the real question in my mind was how in the goddamn hell did the real Batman survive this training. There is absolutely no way that a normal human like OG Bruce Wayne even if he does have a peak human body can survive a back-breaking workout like the stuff Ra's was making me do.

And I don't even mean that as a fancy sense of speech or something. He literally once forced me to carry two massive blocks of iron on my back and then made me go up and down the entire mountain multiple times as the starting workout which although barely made me sweat, still would have definitely broken any normal person's back.

And that was just the start. He would force me to wrestle with literal bears on the mountain, clash swords with dozens of his ninjas for hours on end, force me to take a bath in the bone-chilling cold ice water, and even make me balance on the slippery slope of the mountain. 

I am pretty sure if stuff went on like this, he would one day force me to make a leap of faith from the top of the mountain. In fact, he has actually tried to push me down the cliff multiple times, chalking it up to him trying to teach me to keep track of my surroundings.

Yeah, Ra's Al Ghul was a savage piece of shit who completely believed in the swim-or-drown tactics of teaching. However, fortunately for him, it worked out because I was gobbling up everything he threw towards me. Every lesson, every skill, every little trick up his sleeves, I was making sure to understand and learn everything.

He taught me hunting, fishing, survival, fighting, the importance of distractions and even torturing which believe me or not was actually quite an important part of the lessons. I knew I would most probably be using it the most among everything he taught me. And rightly so, since 90% of what Batman actually does in Gotham is intimidation which is a part of 'How to effectively torture your enemy mentally 101'.

Hell, the sheer number of skills he taught me was more than my father ever did. At normal times, the guy was quite likable as he acted as a dear close friend who wanted nothing more than just to help you reach your highest potential but the times when he talked about the slow gradual rotting of human civilization and how destroying them is the sworn holy duty of the League to better facilitate the cycle of the world was when you realized that the person sitting before you was one of the countless maniacs in the world who wanted nothing more than to just spread death and destruction in the name of helping the world.

The guy wanted nothing to do with redemption and doing good. All he cared about was his legacy, a grand death, and a truly deserving heir. He was absolutely nuts according to my standards of what sane individuals should be like in a normal world.

And that's why despite him acting like my best friend and a father figure all the time to brainwash me, I still saw straight through his deceptions, through his act. I knew who he was and a few sugary words of how he was proud of me wasn't going to change it.

But despite all that, I hadn't ever given him the tiniest bit of clue about me not completely believing him. As far as he was concerned, I was completely tangled in his web, a puppet dancing in his hands like the rest of the hundreds of loyal ninjas under him, blindly believing what he was selling.

Why? Because I was waiting, waiting for him to display even the tiniest chink in his armor so that I could take over everything he has in one fell swoop, his connections, his wealth, and even the very League he has worked so hard for.

Ra's Al Ghul thought that he had me playing in his palms, but he had no idea that I was always two steps ahead of him, two steps that would not only win me his entire legacy but make sure that my victory over him was as quick and effortless as possible.

Two steps that I was going to get really cozy with soon enough.

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