Hugo

"What the hell is that?!"

John Sparletta, covered in dust from the billowing smoke, stared in shock at Black Gold as it charged into the bar like a tank.

"Maybe it's after the goods we transported last time."

"But that thing isn't with us. We were only helping! The other big shots are the ones who wanted it!"

John Sparletta said angrily.

"No use talking about that. Let's first see if we can deal with this strange thing."

Old Man Sparletta pulled out a mirror and used its reflection to observe Black Gold's position. With his other hand, he took out a grenade, pulled the pin with his teeth, waited three or four seconds, and threw it.

Boom!

The grenade exploded in midair as it neared Black Gold, knocking it off balance.

The next second, a rotating barrel extended from Black Gold's shoulder and sprayed bullets wildly in the direction the grenade had come from.

"What kind of fucking monster is that?!"

Simmons Sparletta was greatly alarmed. He hurriedly reached out and grabbed his son by the arm.

"Have the men hold it here while we leave first! The secret passage is in the restroom!"

In less than thirty seconds, their men had been routed by Black Gold.

The father and son fled in a panic, but after only a few steps, a dark figure dropped from the ceiling.

Shimizu landed and pounced on John Sparletta, pinning down his hands with his lower leg so he could not resist. He drew a pistol with his left hand and aimed it directly at Simmons Sparletta's forehead.

With a light tug of his right hand, heavy footsteps sounded. Black Gold, stained with blood and dragging a man in a suit, raised its arm.

Pneumatic Fist! The suited man's entire body was smashed into the wall, reduced to a puddle of flesh.

"We surrender..."

Simoni raised his hands at the man before him.

"A very sensible choice."

Shimizu tilted his head. Aman and Blondie immediately pulled off their belts and tied up Simoni and John.

"Accountant, Aman, you two handle the cleanup. Anthony, Jackson, take them to the second floor. I'll interrogate them personally."

"Understood, boss. I'll find all the money they've hidden here."

The accountant pushed up his glasses, a sinister smile on his face.

"Don't worry, boss. Anyone who dares make trouble, I'll send them to meet God!"

Aman carried a rifle over his shoulder, a cruel smile on his bloodstained face.

The Spaletta father and son were escorted by two lackeys all the way to a private room on the second floor.

"Kneel!"

Anthony and Jackson kicked the Spaletta father and son in the calves at the same time, forcing them to their knees before the table.

Shimizu swaggered over to the sofa, picked up the small knife beside the fruit platter, and weighed it in his hand a few times. Then, with nimble speed, his fingers sliced the apples on the platter into neat chunks.

Although Ninja Academy had only taught basic cold-weapon techniques, with Chakra enhancing his body, it still looked pretty intimidating.

"My knife is very fast. It may not be fast enough for those kendo masters to split bullets with a blade, but it's more than enough for cutting people. And I know a little human anatomy, so I can cut more than a hundred pieces of flesh off someone while making sure they feel the pain without dying or passing out."

"Sir, just ask whatever you want to know. I've seen enough threats in my life. I only ask that you spare John's life."

Simmons sighed.

"Dad, you..."

"No, no, no..."

Shimizu picked up a sanitary towel from the table and stuffed it into John Sparletta's mouth.

"You two, take this kid to a private room farther away from here. I'll interrogate you separately. If your answers don't match, that means at least one of you is lying. Then both of you will get to find out whether I can really cut off a hundred pieces of flesh. If everything matches, then I can agree to your request. How about it?"

A shy smile appeared on Shimizu's face.

He was still a little rusty at threatening people.

But that was fine. He would probably get the hang of it after doing it a few more times.

Anthony and Jackson dragged John Sparletta to the private room across the corridor.

"What do you want to know? Ask quickly."

Simmons closed his eyes.

"Very good. First question: how much are your gang's total assets worth? Where are they hidden?"

"The account books are in the upstairs office. There's roughly seven hundred thousand dollars in cash. The other real estate, like shops, is recorded in there too. There are two hundred thousand dollars in the office drawer, another hundred and fifty thousand in Gotham Savings and Loan Bank, one hundred thousand in Wayne Enterprises Private Bank, and the remaining three hundred thousand or so is in a safe in the supermarket warehouse at 31 Decker Street."

Compared to the two gang bosses he had encountered before, Simmons clearly understood better that eggs should not be kept in one basket.

"The bank locations and the passwords."

"One card is on me, and the other is on my son. The password is the date America was founded."

That would be 840512.

"Did you hijack Penguin's shipment a month ago?"

"We did take part in that operation, but that thing was never with us. Mr. Hugo is the one who wanted it."

"Hugo?"

Shimizu's first thought was Victor Hugo, the famous French writer from history, but that man had been dead for more than a century.

"Hugo Strange, a professor at Gotham State University and chief consultant at Arkham Asylum. Not long ago, he became a member of Gotham City Council."

That did ring a bell, though it came from the lingering memories of his original body.

When he had been locked up in Arkham, he had undergone one psychological evaluation with the man. But after determining that he was less dangerous than the other famous villains, he had never seen the scholar again.

"What is the shipment?"

"I don't know. It was packed inside a shipping container. I heard it was some kind of high-tech item manufactured by Dayton Industries in Metropolis. I don't know what it was called, what it did, or even what it looked like."

Dayton Industries?

He had never heard of it. He could look into it carefully later.

But as long as it did not interfere with his plans, Shimizu could not be bothered with such trouble.

Besides, Batman would deal with any trouble anyway.

After calling Jackson over to watch Simoni, Shimizu went to the room across the hall to interrogate John Sparletta.

Ten minutes later.

"That's all?"

Shimizu sighed and reluctantly played with the fruit knife in his hand, looking regretful.

Why were these two so sensible?

Even though he was a villain, keeping his word was still better than not keeping it.

So...

"Anthony, check whether the signal jammer outside has been turned off. If it has, send Penguin a message. The Spaletta father and son are his now."

He had only promised not to kill them. Penguin had not.