5 Ch. 5 - The Great Pretender's Black Panther

Walking outside Po's room, Leo walked downstairs just to see Mr. Ping working diligently in the kitchen while Po was taking orders from the new wave of customers.

Turning around, Leo silently walked out through the back door.

'I remember this is where Mr. Ping found baby Po.' Leo said to himself while scanning his eyes around the small and cramped alley with box-shape baskets scattered around.

'I shouldn't test it here, I remember this is where Mr. Ping usually gets his ingredients.' Leo shook his head and left the cramped alley.

Leo doesn't have any sense of direction as he walks but thankfully, he arrived at a forest.

'Always the forest, where reincarnators like me train their newly gained powers.' Leo chuckled at such a cliche canon event of reincarnators.

Approaching a nearby tree, Leo cupped his hands together before praying.

'God, if you're hearing this, please grant this poor tree a good life in the next life.' Leo finished.

"I'm sorry fella, but you'll be my target this time to test my strength." Leo said while caressing the tree's trunk.

'But first, let's do some simple push-ups.' Leo then went down to the ground and started exercising.

***

'It turns out, Black Panther is stronger than I thought. I can do 100 push-ups continuously with a proper form. Something that is impossible for the previous me.' Leo chuckled but could feel the excitement coursing through him.

'I want to test my strength and speed but I guess, it's already too late for that, the sun is going down and I think it's my shift next.' Leo stared at the almost dark sky before shifting his eyes towards the tree that he prayed to earlier.

'At least, let me see if I can lift the tree up.'

Bear hugging the tree, Leo bent his knees while maintaining his back straight.

"Huff...Huff...." Breathing in and out, Leo clenched his ass cheeks before using his entire strength to lift the tree.

"Hrrrggghh!" Clutching on the trunk as if his life depended on it, a few seconds had passed before Leo finally gave up.

"Huff....Huff.....This....isn't over, tree....huff..." Leo can feel his sweat rolling across his forehead and cheeks.

'So it's just a state of false empowerment earlier.' Leo mentally said with a chuckle.

'Well, I might as well as test my running speed by running back to Mr. Ping's noodle shop.'

Leo then went back down on the ground and assumed a running pose similar to those athletes.

*Boom*

With a stomp on the ground, Leo started running at incredible speeds yet not too incredible in this world where a Leopard could escape the inescapable prison with a single feather.

It took Leo 10 minutes before arriving back at the cramped alley and by this time, it was almost dark.

Entering through the back door, Leo watched as Mr. Ping and Po were working as usual but unlike Mr. Ping who was still invigorated, Po seems to be on the verge of passing out from exhaustion.

"Seriously, If I didn't know you'd become the Dragon Warrior in this world someday, I'd thought you're just a random fat panda." Leo mumbled to himself before rushing back up to Po's room.

'I think I was pretty fast. Though not as fast as Usain Bolt, but I'll be faster than him in no time, after all, I only possess 10% of Black Panther's powers.'

What truly amazed Leo was his stamina. He managed to run back here with his full speed for 10 minutes continuously without any rest.

What's more, like he mentioned earlier, he's still at 10% of the Template, which means his stamina itself is monstrous.

Now, Leo is excited to increase his percentage.

*Knock! x2

Failing to hear his surroundings, Leo was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard two knocks from the door.

"Leo....huff....huff.....it's....your turn....I hate stairs." Soon after knocking, without waiting for Leo's response, Po opens the door and starts limping in with his tongue flailing out of his mouth, clearly indicating how tired he is.

"You look like hammered shit." Leo exclaimed as he watched Po trudge towards his bed before falling and passing out.

*Bam!*

*Snore~*

Seeing that Po has passed and probably won't wake up until tomorrow, Leo shook his head with a smile.

'Watching his acts in real life makes it funnier than watching them behind the screen.' Leo then silently tip-toed out of the room before walking downstairs.

"Oh good! You're finally here! Wear Po's apron and take these bowls to table six, it's the table in the farthest corner." Without giving them to Leo, Mr. Ping quickly went down to business and stacked three bowls on his hands before pushing outside.

Like a dedicated employee he is, Leo swiftly took over the shift and worked tirelessly for two hours straight before customers stopped coming in.

"It's time to close, Po- I mean Leo. My bad, huhuhu." Laughing while covering his mouth, Mr. Ping started washing the dishes.

Meanwhile, Leo grabbed a towel in the kitchen before wiping the tables with nothing but water.

"Mr. Ping?" In the middle of cleaning and closing, Leo took the initiative to start a conversation and to also gain information.

"Hmm?" Without uttering a word, Mr. Ping expressed that he was listening.

"Can you tell me more about this place? I'm curious." Leo asked.

"Hmm...Even though I've been living here my whole life, I only know a few about the Valley of Peace. Valley of Peace was founded by an old Master called Master Oogway, I think he's also the greatest Kung Fu master even until this day. The Valley of Peace was called Peace due to the tall mountains surrounding the valley which serves as a barrier against invaders. You see that building on top of that mountain?" Mr. Ping suddenly stopped washing the dishes and pointed his feathered finger towards the tallest mountain.

Leo followed where his finger was pointing and saw the home of Master Oogway and Shifu, along with the Furious Five.

"That's the place where the founder lives along with his disciples called the Jade Palace. It's also the place where Po dreamt of going." Mr. Ping calmly smiled while staring at the Jade Palace.

"Po thought he could hide his secret dreams behind my back, I knew all along that Po wanted to meet his idols and also become a Kung Fu master like them." A sad look then bore on Mr. Ping's face.

"But I also know that he's not compatible to be one. Not because he can't, but because they surely won't let him. The standards in Kung Fu are something that Po won't be able to meet. Trust me, I know that because I used to have the same dream." Mr. Ping suddenly revealed with a chuckle, stunning Leo who froze in his place.

Oblivious to Leo's shock, Mr. Ping continues.

"But my flapping arms and weak stature snapped me back to reality. Kung Fu is not my path." Mr. Ping then bowed his head and looked down on the ground.

Suddenly, Mr. Ping turned energetic and continued.

"So....I decided to be a Noodle Chef! And I thank the heavens everyday for helping me choose this path. Anyways, I'll go back and finish my work. I'll leave you here first." Mr. Ping then strolled back to the kitchen with an adorable sway.

Meanwhile, Leo mindlessly resumed his cleaning while his eyes were staring at the Jade Palace on top of the mountain.

'I have a feeling I'll be meeting them someday. Call it a hunch.' Leo said to himself.

***

It didn't take long for Leo and Mr. Ping to finish closing up the shop.

"Goodnight, Mr. Ping."

"Goodnight, Leo."

After retreating back to their respective rooms, Leo looked at Po who was still fast asleep and sprawled all over his bed.

*Yawn*

"Nothing beats a good rest after exhaustion." After stretching and yawning, Leo quickly plopped down on his makeshift bed, forgetting that it was just a mere blanket and what he fell on was the solid hard ground.

*Thud!*

"Urggh." Leo groaned in pain before ignoring it and closed his eyes to sleep.

***

Feeling the heat on my face, I couldn't help but open my eyes just to be met with the sunlight hitting my eyes, blinding me, forcing me to close my eyes again.

"Oh fuck~." I groaned while stretching my arms to grab my phone, only to grab something soft and warm?

"What the?" Opening my eyes again, I turned my eyes on the side just to see a huge but soft belly on my palm.

"Shit! I forgot, I'm not in my world." I cursed while slapping my forehead.

Sitting up, I saw that the soft and warm thing I accidentally touched was Po's huge belly.

'His fur is kinda smooth.' I remarked as I stood up and left the room.

From the window, I can see that the sun has just risen and probably not the time yet for my morning shift.

So, I decided to think.

Think about how I can finish my main quest smoothly.

Since I introduced myself as having amnesia, which is probably known to this world already but not yet known, so I could play my cards right.

'Falling down the stairs and accidentally hitting my head on the floor would suffice, and then I could pretend as if I recovered my memory, or a part of it, since I want to try to finish the bonus Quest. The rewards are simply too enticing for me.' I said to myself and decided to set everything up.

From my sharp senses, I can't hear anything downstairs so Mr. Ping is probably still asleep.

'Time to make me a Wakandan!'

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[Next Chapter: Ch. 6 - The Great Pretender's Wakanda Homeland]

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