Dream World, Deam City, The Three Cups Tavern.
"BOTTOMS UP LADS!!!"
""""""""CHEERS!!!!!""""""""
"HAHAHAHA!! THAT'S WHAT I CALL MEAD!! KID, POUR ME ANOTHER ONE!!"
"Urgh, alright Thor-san, here..."
"Poor me one too kid!"
"Me too hahaha!"
While Kioko had the chance of being groomed by one of the guardians of the Dream World, Ren on the other hand had it a bit more difficult.
The Three Cups Tavern was a well-known establishment in Dream City, it was known for the quality of its alcohol and dishes, and many were those who came from all around the Dream World to taste them, men and women alike.
In his search for power, it was exactly this place that Ren had chosen to start things with, he had chosen this place because he knew that some of the regulars there had powers that interested him. Just like Kioko, Ren had chosen to design his quirk, a quirk that would be the fusion of multiple powers he liked, he now wanted to meet these people to have more information on how their powers worked.
Unfortunately for our friend, the tavern's customers were quite boorish, so when he asked them for help, he ended up becoming a waiter without knowing.
'Coming here was a mistake!'
Ren was crying mentally, he was already regretting coming here, he should have gone elsewhere!
'No! I can't give up right now! This is an important moment in my life, I need to give it my all!'
Not wanting to admit defeat, Ren gathered his energy and started serving the customers with all his might, and oh boy, they were heavy drinkers.
"Oi! KID! I WANT ANOTHER ONE!"
"ME TOO!"
"YOU ARE TOO SLOW KID! FASTER!"
"YEAH! FASTER! FASTER!"
For the first time in his life, Ren wished he could go back to the simple days when he would only have to worry about sleeping and eating. His suffering had lasted the entire day, he had had to serve noisy customers like Thor (the GOW version), he had to stop numerous fights and he even had to take care of the drunk clients and send them to rest in the numerous rest dedicated rooms of the tavern, thankfully he wasn't alone and the tavern's staff took most of the load off of his shoulders.
"Alright, you can go and rest now Ren-kun, you have done enough."
"Ah, thank you Tohru-san!"
"And you guys should stop playing with him! I think you have tested him enough!"
Hearing Tohru, the dragon maid's words, Ren turned towards the customers with a surprised look on his face.
"Tested?"
Seeing the surprise on his face, all the customers snorted.
"Hmph! You are here for our powers right kid? How can we simply give them to you without knowing if you are worthy of them?!"
The person who answered him was a very tall, dark-skinned man with a large muscular, and well-defined build, the man had a full head of white hair which flowed into his back along with a long beard. Although everybody knew his real name, A, he was better known by the title Third Raikage and was a frequent customer of the tavern.
"Wororororo! He is right kid, how can you expect us to give you our powers if you can't even serve us some booze?!"
When he heard the words from the horned seven meters tall behemoth named Kaido, Ren realized how naive he had been. Why should they give him information regarding their powers without receiving anything in return?
"But don't worry now kid, we won't make it difficult for you. You have shown us your determination, go ahead and ask us what you want."
Hearing that, Ren let out a sigh of relief and started to explain what he was looking for.
"Thank you! I'm looking for lightning power holders, my goal is to design my own lightning base superpower by referencing other already existing powers... can you guys recommend me powerful lightning users? I would really appreciate it!"
Hearing what he was looking for, the first person to answer him was a tall and slim-tanned-skinned young woman with an ample bust holding a big barrel of alcohol in her hands. This young woman was an important member of the famous guild Fairy Tail, her name was Cana Alberona.
"Lightning users? Oh, then Laxus should be the one you are looking for."
After her, the others also started to give the names of strong lightning users they knew.
"Wororororo, I remember there is that weird kid who calls himself a god. He has eaten the Goro Goro no mi, he should be a good target for you. Plus, although I'm not a lightning user in the proper sense, some of my techniques are lightning based... I don't mind teaching them to you."
"Lightning to shock and awe eh? There is that girl I know, her name is Misaka, tell her that Sogiita sent you, she will help you hehe!"
"I am a lightning user myself, I don't mind teaching you my Hell Stab technique kid. My son Ai and his friend Darui are also strong lightning users... Mm, there is also that Uchiha guy, Sasuke if I remember correctly."
"Lightning? Then I guess I'm your man. The name's Cole, Cole MacGrath."
"Isn't Sinbad a lightning user? Does someone knows where he is?"
"LIGHTNING?! WHO IS BETTER SUITED THAN ME, THE GOD OF THUNDER, IN TEACHING THE WAYS OF THE MIGHTY THUNDER?!"
"Isn't Zeus the god of thunder too? Isn't he stronger than you?"
"SILENCE!"
Hearing all the names, ideas, and propositions, Ren could only smile, right now he was extremely excited, step by step, he was getting closer to his dream quirk.
"That reminds me of something kid. I heard that the old monster from The Aurora Palace has been doing crazy things for the past two days, they are looking for darkness-related powers or something... Do you think it's related to one of your friends?
Hearing this, Ren smiled again.
"Darkness uh... Haha, yeah, that has to be Kioko..."
Knowing that his friends were also working hard to find the best powers for themselves only motivated Ren even more.
'I can't fall behind!'
Seeing the determination in the eyes of the kid made the powerful warriors around him smile in appreciation.
"Yosh, let's help the kid find what he wants! Shame on us if he can't find what he wants!"
""""""""OOOOOH!!!!""""""""
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Dream World, Heaven Mountain.
The Dream World was a boundless world in which one could find basically anything and mystical places were plenty. Among this world's infinite treasures, there were some places that many avoided disturbing, not out of fear but out of respect, the Aurora Palace, Tempest City, Dream City, and many more were such cases. Just like the rest, Heaven Mountain was also such a place, it was a giant mountain surrounded by a vast and lush forest, and plenty were those who went there to relax, find peace, meditate, and seek guidance. The reason why people avoided causing mayhem in there was that just like the Aurora castle with Featherine, the ruler of Heaven Mountain was also one of the Dream World's guardians.
Currently, Hayato was at the entrance of the forest surrounding Heaven Mountain. It had already been five days since Dante had given them the task of finding the power they wanted to have, and even now, Hayato still had not found what he wanted. Now that there were only two days left, he was forced to realize that he now had his back against the wall and that he needed to do something fast.
"*Sigh*, Should I just pick a random one? No, I can't mess things up! I'm sure Kioko and Ren have already found their powers, I can't waste any more time!"
Unlike his two friends, Hayato had not been able to find what he was looking for in Dream City, unlike them, he had no idea of what type of power he wanted. Up till now, Hayato had always been careful of smiling even in the toughest times, but the reality was that he was full of insecurities. Hayato knew that he wasn't as smart as Kioko, as dependable as Ren nor did he have an amazing power like Dante, the truth was that he wasn't even sure of what he had to offer. These doubts about himself had made it so that he was unsure of what power was best suited for him and what path he should take.
After searching for four days in vain, he decided to leave the city and try something else. While he was pondering where he should go, he remembered something that Dante had told them a long time ago.
'You guys should avoid messing around in Heaven Mountain, the guy living there is one of those nigh-omniscient beings. If you ever do something stupid in there, he will immediately know it, and don't count on me to bail you out if he decides to punish you!'
Hayato's reason for coming here to Heaven Mountain was simple.
'If what Dante said is true and that this guy indeed knows everything, then he should know what power is best for me right?'
Hayato wasn't the type of person who would think too hard about his actions, if he wanted to do something then he would do it. Although he knew that the chances of the guy living atop the mountain helping him were slim, Hayato still decided to try his luck.
'You won't know for sure until you try!'
After he was sure he wanted to do it, Hayato left all his doubts behind and put a foot inside the forest surrounding the mountain... little did he know that things would not unfold as he had imagined.
"What the..."
When his foot touched the ground, the scenery around him changed instantly. When he looked around him, Hayato saw that he was no longer on the outskirts of the forest surrounding the mountain, he was now at the summit of the mountain. Rare were those who had the chance to reach the mountaintop, it was not a matter of strength, it was a matter of being granted access by the guy who lived up there.
"So that's what it looks like..."
The top of the mountain looked different from what Hayato thought, the place was quite pretty and full of life and greenery, and a weird feeling of peace emanated from there. In front of him lay a little patch of grass with a little pond not far from it, inside the lake, Hayato could see little fishes swimming happily, he did not know that those good-looking fishes were actually koi fishes that would later become true dragons. Although the fishes were eye-catching, they were not what caught Hayato's attention. What had caught his attention was the tree in the middle of the path of grass, more specifically, it was the humanoid being sitting on a giant pink lotus underneath the tree that had caught his attention.
The being under the tree was a mix between a human and a monkey, he wore a golden armor that covered most of his body, with a red cape draped over his shoulders. The most noticeable things about this being were probably the golden halo floating behind his head and the golden staff resting on his lap.
When he looked at the being, Hayato had an indescribable feeling, it was as if he had found peace, he felt as if he had found... Nirvana.
"How long do you plan on standing there?"
When he heard the voice in his head, Hayato didn't know how to answer at first, he was still under that weird feeling of peace.
"You are the one who came here seeking my help little one... I advise you to hurry, the time I will be giving you is limited."
When he heard that part, Hayato finally managed to get out of that weird state he was in and finally focused once more on the being sitting ten meters away from him, ten meters that weirdly seemed to extend for infinity.
"H-Hello s-sir, my name is H-"
But before he could finish his introduction, the being sitting in front of him who still had yet to open his eyes, said...
"I know who you are and I know why you are here. To find your path, you will need to understand yourself. Come and sit under this bodhi tree with me."
Without knowing, Hayato's body started to move without his consent, and in no time, he crossed the distance between himself and the being, he was now sitting next to him under the tree.
"Close your eyes and get rid of any unnecessary thoughts. The path to understanding is to accept yourself and keep discovering who you are. Don't be distracted by other people's narratives that may cause you to feel despair. When you find your way, you will find your destiny and your purpose for being here on Earth."
Each word the being spoke seemed to have a calming and enlightening effect on Hayato, with each word, Hayato was able to let go more and more and before long, he was finally able to enter a state of enlightenment.
Seeing this, the ever-so-calm entity stopped talking and went back to meditating, no more words were exchanged and the mountaintop returned to its usual peace.
.
..
...
Hayato stayed in that state of enlightenment for an entire day, and when he woke up, a lot of things had changed for him.
"Thank you."
Those were the first words Hayato pronounced when he regained consciousness, they were words of thankfulness.
"Now I know what to do."
This meditation session greatly benefited Hayato. It was not like he had suddenly changed and become a kind of monk or anything like that, no, it was more like he had finally accepted himself and now knew what were his strengths and weaknesses.
"Now that you know a bit more about yourself, it should be easier for you to find what you seek. Here, take this, it will help you in your task."
Soon, a little ball of light left the being's body and entered Hayato's brain. Soon, a look of understanding appeared on Hayato and he quickly bowed toward the being.
"Thank you, mister, this will greatly help me!"
What Hayato had just received, was information; information about multiple powers that would be compatible with him and the path he would choose.
Now that he knew what he wanted to do, Hayato decided to not stay there anymore and prepared to leave Heaven Mountain, he only had one day left before meeting his friends again.
"Thank you for everything, mister..."
"Wukong... My name is Sun Wukong."
Finally hearing the name of his benefactor, Hayato smiled brightly and again bowed deeply towards him, when he looked back up again, Hayato realized that he was no longer on the top of Heaven Mountain, he was now standing in front of the gates of a giant city the size of a planet... he was now standing in front of Dream City.
"Damn..."
That day greatly marked the life of our little Hayato, from that day on, he would never forget the name of The Great Sage Equal of Heaven... he would never forget the name Sun Wukong!
"Thank you again mister Sun Wukong, I will never forget your teachings."
Now that he had everything in hand to succeed in his quest of finding a superpower for himself, Hayato smiled brightly and started to run towards his inn in Dream City.
"I don't need to doubt myself anymore, I and the others are different, we are all good at different things and that's normal.
While my friends are good in complexity, my path shall be one of simplicity... Yeah, simple is the best hahaha!!"