(Entry #1)
This is my first entry in this diary. I don't need to write anything as my mind is far beyond taking notes, but it will be something new. I enjoy trying out new things, so this is happening. Maybe one day I can read it and see just how awesome I truly am.
My first destination is... America. I know it's not really interesting, but it works fine for me not to have to board a plane right away. I am going to pay Ted Grant, AKA the Wildcat, to give me some introductory Boxing lessons. I am thinking of making a bet with him. Something like: I will pay him 100'000 if he wins, and if I win, he'll give me back 100 or something like that. But that might not work, since he may see me as an arrogant and rich snob.
So I'll just pay him normally and then leave after... I don't know for 2 days? Yeah, no more than three, that's for sure. And that's only if I slack off. We'll see.
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(Entry #3)
It happened. I finally got Ted Grant to agree to train me for a few days. He didn't want to, as he saw me as a youngster with a loud mouth, but that was alright with me. No one knows who I am, thanks to the disguise I am using during this training trip. So he had no way to know that I was billionaire Bruce Wayne.
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(Entry #4)
First day of training with Ted Grant. I underestimated the potential of humans in this world. They are capable of fascinating things. Mr Grant is no weak man. On the contrary, he is very powerful, and his fighting style is impressive. But... that's all there is to it.
Why am I saying it like that? Because I also underestimated myself. I can literally go on forever. I do get tired, but I can mentally push myself further and further. It is an amazing feeling to really use my body and fight with it. It was so extreme that Ted Grant actually called it a day. He needed a break, and I was happy to give it to him.
I had improved tremendously today. I learned how to block, move my legs, punch correctly, and so on. It was impressive and very easy to pick up on.
My mind works in wondrous ways, allowing me to pick up on anything nearly instantly. I don't think it would take me more than two days to defeat Ted Grant. I don't have to build up muscle, so that part of my training is already taken care of. Meaning I only need to deal with the skills and technical parts.
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(Entry #5)
Well, that was anticlimactic. Second day of my training with Ted Grant, and I can already see the smallest openings in his fighting style and abuse them. He lost to me even before lunch. I still paid him for the full second day of training, and then... I left. I simply left.
I have learned everything I can from him, so there's no use staying any longer. For this reason, I am off to look for the next person who can teach me, and I think I have an idea of who that could be.
Let's hope he is more skilled than Ted Grant.
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(Entry #8)
I found a small village on this mountain. I must say, I am impressed with the Himalayas. It was a blast and a challenge for me to climb up and find this village. The man I am looking for should be somewhere higher than this village. His name is Shihan Matsuda. Why am I here when there are teachers like Don Miguel, the criminal speed driver in Brazil? Because I want what Matsuda teaches first.
Finding out about him was not easy, but after following the rumours and asking around like a tourist, I eventually managed to achieve what I set out to do. I was told where he was most likely to be found.
Matsuda's training approach is geared towards martial arts (Bujutsu), and mastering the mind & body, as well as MIND OVER MATTER, with intense meditation training. Thanks to the personal training I developed, I already have this somewhat down, but I am interested in learning more. I might be a man of science, but I am not stupid enough or arrogant enough to NOT learn something because I look down on it.
I will learn everything I can, as I always do. Meditation is an important skill. That's also why I will search for the Yakuza Assassin Tsunmento, Master Kirigi, Chu Chin Li, and others about whom I have heard rumours on my travels. You can never know too much of something. That is what I truly believe.
Tomorrow, I will make my way further up the Himalayas to find Shihan Matsuda.
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(Entry #9)
I found him.
Today was my first lesson on martial arts. Master Matsuda is a master martial artist, and I can see that. It is very different from what Ted Grant taught me. It is not just about the physical aspect of it. Master Matsuda also teaches me meditation and some of his experiences.
He is a very paranoid man, and I try to take everything in as best as possible... which is thankfully very easy. He has commended me on my already impressive power over my own body. But there is more to learn. He showed me how he could melt ice while sitting on it and thinking about 'warm thoughts' ...
Yeah, I also thought he was an idiot, but I was proven wrong.
I can't wait to learn more. I feel like I can finally do what I love, learning. After 8 years of being the only member of the Waynes, Bruce Wayne, I can finally focus on becoming Batman in practice, not just in theory, with gadgets and technology. But I still need more time and training.
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(Entry #17)
Zanjutsu is a useful martial art to know. I enjoy the high-speed clashes that come from a good hand-to-hand fight, as I have already figured out at the beginning of my journey, but sword fighting or Zanjutsu has a special thrill to it. At least right now. Whenever I learn something new and am much less skilled, I get this thrill. It got less, however, the better I got, forcing me to seek greater challenges, knowing that the greatest challenge will be the goal I aspire to.
It's been 4 weeks since I stayed with Master Matsuda and his wife. The wife is a strange one. I can see that she lies whenever she talks about her love for her husband, which I find strange. It seems that she has ulterior motives. She is after his money, at least I would say that if I knew he had any. So, most likely, there are other feuds she has with him, or some kind of dangerous past.
And lo and behold, the sword-sharpeners' daughter, Mio, tries to get close to me ... for some reason. I don't care about that. I am here to learn and nothing more.
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(Entry #19)
"Guard yourself, young man. Let no one in. Distrust everything and everyone. Only then will you become a true warrior," Matsuda said to me today.
"Why are you this paranoid? Is it because of your wife?" I asked.
"What about my wife?"
"Oh ... I guess you didn't know then. No... You do know, but choose not to think about it. You ignore your own advice. Why?"
"She is my wife. I had already gone against my advice when I fell in love. That is what love is all about."
It seems Master Matsuda knows about his wife's ambition to get his money, but he chooses not to do anything about it because he loves her. How stupid. But I understand that. It is a good lesson for me as well. I really have to become more reserved if I want to become the symbol.
Maybe I should burn this diary after finishing my journey. No, I most definitely will.
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(Entry #24)
I learned the 'Illusion cut,' the unreal sword technique Master Matsuda taught me. You strike a coconut mid-flight, and it has to land in one piece. That's why it is called the illusion cut, because it is still in one piece, or so it would seem.
I believe I am nearly finished with my training here. I have increased my mental strength through the meditation I do every day, allowing me to be far more focused than I was before.
I managed to take the training further and beyond what Master Matsuda himself can do. By thinking warm thoughts alone, I can stay in the cold mountains without feeling cold and without suffering the effects of cold weather. It is so warm, in fact, that I can melt all the snow that falls on me and create steam, heating up.
Freaking amazing.
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(Entry #32)
Well, it is time for me to leave. 9 weeks of training and I am not only finished but also beyond my Master's in everything he taught me.
I don't want to be arrogant, but that is quite the feat after only two months of training. I also took some time to learn some blacksmithing from Mio's daughter. I mean, if she wants to get close to me, why would I not use that chance to learn from the blacksmith?
I am leaving today, and I'm happy that Master Matsuda is still alive. He knows about Mio since I told him about her, but whether he will do something about her, I know not.
"Always remember, boy, Death comes to those who foster close personal relationships. Stay true to your path and conquer your dark side if you wish to become a true warrior. [...] If you are in search of more training, then I would recommend you to my old friend Chu Chin Li. He can teach you more than I can. Farewell."
"Thank you for all your teachings. I wish you luck with your wife."
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(Entry #34)
I met with Master Shao-La today. What an eccentric little woman she is. I have already learned everything she could teach me. Why? Because I left as soon as she told me what she would teach me after only one day.
Taoism. It was all about emptying my mind... That's not for me. I did listen to her monologue and let her tie me to this... kite-type device that she steered. She wanted me to get the idea of emptying my mind. I can see the potential it holds for fighting, but that's it. And I have even created a theory that I will test on this journey.
I call it... Ultra Instinct. Yes, I don't know why, but it seems fitting. Having your body move without thinking is what I desire in the future. Imagine the power I could unleash and the skills would have. I could think about other things while fighting and not even bother to think about my enemy. Cool ...
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(Entry #35)
I joined the adjoining temple of the dark Hsien-Tan, Shao-La's opposite number. He was amused when I told him I left on the first day, and he agreed to teach me because of something he had seen in the future. We had an interesting first meeting.
"You come from afar to study Shao-La's way," he said.
"Not really."
"Good. It is the way of the weakling. The willow that bends, after all."
He then stopped walking and said.
"Did she show you this?" he says and then... seemingly turned invisible.
It took me a second to take everything in and find him. He was in the same position but... somehow transparent? Truly impressive and very useful for my future plans.
"Oh? What a little monster you are. To be able to see me without any training... I would say it's impossible, but I just witnessed it. Come, let us begin. You have others to visit, no?"
"I guess. Impressive display though."
"Hehehe, you have seen nothing yet..."
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(Entry #38)
Yeah, Taoism is not for me. I mean, I understand it, but why would I let go of everything that makes me who I am just to learn this? If I want power, I just create a device that gives it to me. But why would I lose myself? I don't enjoy that. Thankfully, Hsien-Tan didn't preach to me about that. He understood me better.
I am now leaving again. It was interesting, and he is a rather powerful old man, but I don't see myself ever becoming what he is.
Stagnant. The cancer of humanity, in my opinion.
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(Entry #47)
Well, China is an interesting place to be as a foreigner. They aren't that welcoming, it would seem. But what do I care about that? I care about the new teacher I have found.
Master Chu Chin Li.