"No, Lester! That guy does have some ability." Kingpin shook his head and spoke unhurriedly in his deep voice to Bullseye, who stood before him in a black bodysuit. "But that's all there is to him."
"Even the most insignificant wretch should be destroyed if he dares bare his claws and fangs at us!"
"We must make it perfectly clear to them what they can and cannot do."
"This world needs order, and Kingpin is order!"
Those were arrogant words. Even though Kingpin suspected Minato Namikaze had some special abilities, he clearly didn't take him seriously.
That attitude was natural. After all, Kingpin himself had reached the limit of the fighting power an ordinary person could attain, and he had several people with special abilities working under him!
Just like the people standing in his office now: Bullseye, Doctor Octopus, Green Goblin, and Scorpion King!
Bullseye, Lester, was a professional killer and assassin. Born with a powerful talent for throwing, he could hurl any object in his hand at a target with incredible precision.
Besides his pinpoint throwing ability, Bullseye was also an expert martial artist and a sharpshooter with conventional weapons and edged weapons.
He also possessed superior strength and agility, stamina, speed, and reflexes.
Bullseye was exceptionally well-rounded.
As for Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus, they were familiar old friends who needed little introduction.
Scorpion King, Mac Gargan, was a mercenary. He wore a suit of exoskeleton armor resembling a scorpion and looked quite formidable.
But the armor affected its wearer's temperament, making him as savage and bloodthirsty as a scorpion!
Yet this group of people with such terrible dispositions could only watch Kingpin and Bullseye talk.
Were they the kind of people who followed rules?
No, they had merely submitted to Kingpin's tyranny.
That alone showed how powerful Kingpin was.
As for why Bullseye, Lester, could speak normally with Kingpin, it was because he had been among the first to follow him and was considered a trusted confidant. Naturally, he enjoyed some privileges.
When he finished speaking, Kingpin picked up his specially made cane, walked to the edge of the enormous floor-to-ceiling window behind him, and stood looking silently down at New York as night approached!
He savored the feeling, as though all of New York were in his grasp.
Of course, that was assuming there were no meddlesome vigilantes around.
People like Daredevil, the Man Without Fear, and the Punisher...
Spider-Man had yet to appear, so the main force opposing Kingpin in the Dark World consisted of these heroes, who were less famous than the Avengers.
After all, one side saved the world while the other fought gangs. Daredevil and his peers really were a bit low in comparison.
Now, perhaps the Yellow Flash had to be added to their ranks.
"Bullseye, find that guy and recruit him. If he joins us, everything that happened before will be wiped clean."
"What if he refuses?" Bullseye asked.
Kingpin turned around, a shadow passing through his eyes. He stroked his cane, then spoke slowly but arrogantly in his deep voice. "Do I really need to teach you that, Lester?"
"Only death can wash away an ignorant man's offense against a king!"
"Yes!" Bullseye answered at once, but just as he was about to leave, laughter rang through the office.
"Hahahaha..."
Bullseye and the others were startled. They saw that none of them were laughing, and neither was Kingpin. Nor did the laughter sound like anyone in the office.
The laughter was youthful and arrogant!
So who dared be so rude and offensive before Kingpin, the emperor of the Dark World?
Following the sound, everyone looked toward a corner of the room. There, a black-haired man in a black robe and a yellow one-eyed mask with black stripes had appeared at some unknown time. Sitting against the wall, bored out of his mind, he clutched his stomach and laughed wildly.
Although his face was hidden behind the mask, everyone present could tell from his manner and movements that he was the one laughing.
"Where did this clown come from? Are you looking to die..." Bullseye, the most loyal of them, immediately pulled out a dart and prepared to throw it, but Kingpin spoke up.
"Lester, wait."
After stopping Bullseye, Kingpin stepped forward. "Who are you? What are you doing here? Why are you laughing for no reason? If you don't give me an explanation, I'll make you understand the punishment for your offense!"
Kingpin had been facing the Masked Man's position. The others in the office hadn't noticed him appear without a sound, but Kingpin alone had seen clearly how he arrived.
A twisting vortex had appeared, and after it vanished, the Masked Man was sitting in the corner, quietly watching them talk.
Seeing was believing; hearsay was not!
It had to be said that even Kingpin didn't dare show outright hostility after seeing such an unprecedentedly flashy entrance.
Although he didn't think the Masked Man was stronger than him and his subordinates, making an enemy for no reason wasn't the way of a king.
But the Masked Man ignored them and kept laughing, as though he had heard a joke he couldn't help laughing at.