Chapter 17: I’ve Got a Big Problem

"Robin? Shouldn't you be in Gotham City?" Kaito Haruno recognized Damian's outfit under the streetlight and immediately knew who this guy was. However, Kaito had no idea which Robin he was facing. Everyone has their moments of being a bit dramatic; he remembered how he used to mimic the gestures and speech of the main characters from his favorite animated shows. Who knows which Robin this was?

"You know me?" Damian raised an eyebrow, pleased to hear Kaito mention his identity in Gotham. He had always thought his fame was limited to Gotham, where he was merely seen as Batman's sidekick. But as someone groomed from childhood to be the heir of the League of Assassins, he possessed numerous skills. He had taken many lives, but now he was just trying to keep himself in check under Batman's guidance.

Yet, no matter how strong he was, he was still just a 15-year-old kid who craved recognition. Hearing Kaito call out his codename made Damian happy and softened his attitude towards Kaito, who he saw as a newcomer.

"Well, I'm not living under a rock; I have TV and the internet. It's not hard to know about you," Kaito replied through his mask. Although he made a good point, Damian frowned. So he was famous because others took the initiative to learn about him.

Kaito couldn't understand why Robin was asking him this question. It was a bit awkward that the target he was after had been intercepted by Robin, but for the sake of his mission, he wasn't going to let this unfortunate guy go. Slowly stepping forward, he asked, "So, even though you caught this guy, can you let me hand him over to the police?"

"No way, I still need him. Besides, I didn't catch him for you; you failed to do so, and I took over," Damian corrected him.

"Well, I could hand him over to the police, and then you can grab him for interrogation later," Kaito replied, momentarily stunned by how stubborn this kid was. Couldn't he see he was almost there? If it weren't for that troublesome Batarang attracting attention, Kaito would have caught him first.

"That's too troublesome. I hate complications."

"No negotiation?" Kaito pressed.

"No negotiation."

"Oh, well, good luck then."

Kaito offered a dismissive reply and turned to leave, leaving Damian momentarily dumbfounded. Was this guy really that easy to deal with? "Hey, turn back! I'll agree if you do!" Damian thought. This encounter had nothing to do with Kaito's mission; he was just a Robin who had finally snuck out of Gotham City and couldn't resist jumping into action upon spotting a fellow ninja.

Damian, being prideful, found Kaito's casual comment irritating and shot back a few snarky remarks. But he didn't expect Kaito to be so laid-back. If you don't want to negotiate, fine! I'll find someone else! Kaito's indifference left Damian at a loss for words. Watching Kaito saunter away, Damian felt frustrated. Unable to hold back, he hurled a short stick from his belt towards the back of Kaito's neck.

Using his Observation Haki, Kaito tilted his head slightly to dodge the stick, which struck the lamp post ahead, leaving a crack. He turned back to look at Damian, surprised by the force behind the throw. Did he want to kill him or something? That was ruthless.

"What's your deal? You're wearing armor," Damian complained.

"And that means you can use that much force? Didn't Batman teach you properly?" Kaito shot back.

"Don't bring Batman into this! Newbie!" Damian snapped, anger flaring at the perceived disrespect towards his father. He could insult his dad, but no one else could!

"So, Batman did teach you, but you didn't learn well enough? It seems like Batman's training isn't rigorous enough; you're quite the disobedient little bird," Kaito taunted.

"You want to fight, huh? Newbie!" Damian was getting serious. Even if he was in the wrong, Kaito shouldn't speak to him like that.

"I'm not a newbie! You should call me Kamen Rider!" Kaito retorted.

"I don't care!"

With that, Damian's hands flickered, and several Batarangs flew toward Kaito at odd angles, their speed blurring them to the naked eye. Kaito activated his Haki, dodging just in time, but the Batarangs altered course mid-flight, catching him off guard. He tried to evade, but two Batarangs still left scratches on his armor.

The G3 armor, which could withstand bullets, was marked by the Batarangs Damian threw. Kaito was furious. He had tried to talk things out calmly, yet here was Damian attacking him. Was there no sense of fairness anymore? Just because you have Batman backing you up, you think you're tough? I have my own system! Kaito, usually so laid-back, couldn't help but get angry.

After dodging Damian's Batarang assault, Kaito charged at him. This was exactly why the G3 armor existed! But from the previous damage, Damian realized this armored newbie wasn't as weak as he appeared. At least he was nimble enough to evade even in such heavy gear.

So, Damian had no intention of clashing head-on with Kaito. He performed a flip in mid-air to dodge Kaito's grasp, leaving a handprint on the car's roof as he landed. Kaito kept pursuing him; the weight of the G3 armor didn't hinder him at all, but the bulky parts made certain maneuvers a bit cumbersome. As Damian rolled to his feet, he pulled out a long knife from his back and swung it at Kaito.

[System, Lake Toya!] he thought to himself, and the high-quality replica of Lake Toya appeared in Kaito's hand. To Damian, it looked like Kaito had conjured a wooden sword from thin air. The sword quickly transformed from its original wood color to black, clashing against the long knife from the League of Assassins with a metallic clang.

This strange phenomenon surprised Damian. While the long knife wasn't an indestructible artifact, it shouldn't have been stopped by a wooden sword. That didn't make sense. Naturally, Damian linked this occurrence to the strange black substance on the wooden sword, thinking it was some high-tech military product not available on the market.

The two swords quickly separated, and the two began to clash back and forth. As a trainee from the League of Assassins, Damian was well-versed in various weapon techniques, so his swordsmanship was nothing to scoff at. Kaito had also specialized in swordplay; while he wouldn't be considered a master, he knew the basics, and if things got tough, he could rely on his G3 armor to take the hits.

As for the swordsmanship skill the system had given him, Kaito didn't want to talk about it. He could say that after he had made some sarcastic remarks about the Lake Toya to the system, the petty system had completely changed his swordsmanship skill. By the time Kaito was ready to utilize the skill, its content had already shifted. In short, it was all about "how to quickly chop your enemies down: the forceful chop edition, the swift chop edition, and the careful chop edition."

Kaito was utterly speechless at the system's twisted sense of humor. Thankfully, he still had the high-quality replica of Lake Toya. Although his swordsmanship had been turned into a chopping specialty, it didn't matter much to Kaito. At least he could hold his own against Damian. Damian was taken aback by how tough Kaito was. With that bizarre wooden sword, his heavy armor, and his strange abilities, Kaito was the type of opponent Damian hated most because he couldn't grasp his fighting style. Not to mention that Kaito was nearly on par with him in swordsmanship and fighting skills.

With Damian feeding him attacks, Kaito started to genuinely master his chopping and fighting skills. Fighting a low-level mob was entirely different from facing Damian, a mere mortal hero from the DC universe. In this knightly universe, every hero could take on a powerful opponent.

"Enough!" Just when Kaito and Damian were locked in their fierce struggle, Nightwing descended from a building, his retractable staff slamming down between them. With a flick, it sent both Damian and Kaito flying.

As Nightwing landed, he caught Kaito's eye, who had stopped fighting, then saw Damian trying to press on and quickly stepped in front of him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Isn't this enough chaos? Robin!"

"Who the hell are you?"

"My name is Nightwing, the first Robin."

What the heck! Kaito was bewildered by the conversation between Nightwing and Damian. In front of him stood a prominent figure, and judging by the timeline, it couldn't be Dick Grayson. When Dick was Robin, he followed Batman's orders and wouldn't be this outspoken. It couldn't be Jason Todd either; he was a well-behaved kid and had a good nature.

With this deduction, the Robin he was fighting had to be the troublesome child Batman was always worried about: Damian Wayne. The kid who always bragged about inheriting Batman's legacy. This was a big problem! Watching the argument unfold between the two, Kaito could only think about how he had gotten himself into something serious.

(End of Chapter)