Without a doubt, Kingpin was ruthless.
He crushed the weak. If the strong were willing to submit, he brought them under his command; if they refused, they met the same fate as the weak.
After the mysterious Masked Man defeated them with a single fireball, it was clear that the four of them could no longer be called strong.
What were they supposed to do?
They couldn't let Kingpin discard them!
It wasn't that they were particularly loyal to Kingpin. They knew what a terrifying fate awaited them if he discarded them.
They had once had the good fortune to witness it, but the mere sight had sent chills down their spines.
That kind of ordeal was a fate worse than death!
They absolutely refused to experience it.
So...
The four supervillains exchanged glances, each seeing the same resolve in the others' eyes.
They would kill the Masked Man and reclaim their standing.
With that, all four of them climbed as hard as they could!
Green Goblin, who could fly, arrived first. He saw what was happening inside and gaped in shock, nearly falling off his glider.
Scorpion King and Doctor Octopus followed close behind. Their reactions were much the same as Green Goblin's; both were so terrified they could barely stand.
Bullseye came up last. He put away his chain and pulled out six darts, ready to give the Masked Man a taste of what he could do.
Clatter...
The darts slipped from Bullseye's hands. His eyes widened, his pupils filled with disbelief!
He saw that his incomparably powerful boss, the emperor of the Dark World in New York and indeed all of America, the great Kingpin who had nearly been elected mayor, was now pinned helplessly to the ground beneath the Masked Man's foot!
And the foot was on his face!!
Not only was Kingpin's power and influence unmatched, but his own fighting ability was also astonishing.
Each of the four villains had fought Kingpin, and he had defeated them all, one by one.
Otherwise, given their temperaments, how could they have been so obedient?
But now, Kingpin, the strongest fighter among them, had actually been defeated!
His cane had fallen to one side, and there were no signs of an attack on his white suit.
Clearly, Kingpin had been subdued in a single blow!
What on earth had happened!!
In fact, Kingpin wanted to know what had happened too.
After seeing his four subordinates blasted away by the fireball, Kingpin knew his earlier guess had been wrong.
This wasn't projection technology, but some kind of ability that could evade attacks!
He immediately raised his cane and, taking advantage of the Masked Man having his back to him, brought it down hard.
There was no shame in a sneak attack. Dying at an enemy's hands, losing to an enemy—that was what was shameful!
But without even causing a ripple, Kingpin's cane passed through the Masked Man's body and smashed straight into the ground.
Thud...
Cracks spread across the ground, even larger than the ones made by the four villains.
That showed that Kingpin was stronger than the four villains.
However, that was of no use.
When the Masked Man slowly turned around and the right eye visible through his one-eyed mask glowed a deep red, Kingpin's defeat was already certain.
A strange triangular shuriken spun slowly within the red eye.
Kingpin's gaze went to it involuntarily, and then his entire soul seemed to be sucked inside.
By the time he came to his senses again, he was already beneath the Masked Man's foot.
What terrified him even more was that he couldn't muster the slightest urge to resist.
"This is my master. I must pledge my loyalty to him!!"
The words kept surfacing in Kingpin's mind, and his restless heart gradually grew calm.
Although he didn't know the Masked Man's name, what he looked like, or what he wanted, Kingpin now felt that this was his master, the one he would devote his life to serving!
At that moment, Wu Chen, who was playing Obito, was utterly shocked.
He had considered how powerful Genjutsu might be in the real world, but he hadn't expected it to be this powerful!
As formidable as Kingpin was, a great power in his own right, his willpower might not have been on Captain America's level, but it was certainly not weak. It might even have been stronger than that of most superheroes in the Avengers.
Yet even Kingpin was completely powerless to resist Genjutsu.
Looking up at Kingpin, who had tried to ambush him, Wu Chen wondered if, since he had already gone this far, he could control Kingpin the way Obito had controlled the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura.
He acted on the idea, and it worked.
Wu Chen ordered him to lie down, and Kingpin did so.
He raised his foot and planted it on Kingpin's head, and Kingpin showed no intention of resisting.
Even without Kotoamatsukami, just Genjutsu empowered by the Mangekyō Sharingan could achieve this effect!
Sure enough, the Ōtsutsuki bloodline was awesome!
Originally, Wu Chen had planned to come in and beat Kingpin senseless.
He would beat him into submission, then have Kingpin help him with his business.
For example, he could have him help make the Akatsuki's power and prestige known. That was a necessary step, part of his later plans.
He could also have Kingpin help him amass wealth. After all, once the shop opened, money had suddenly become important to Wu Chen.
Those were all things Wu Chen needed and Kingpin was capable of doing.
But now, it seemed there was no need to beat him into submission at all. A single Genjutsu could take care of it.
In that case, could I take over Hydra?