Who Was the Enemy?

The Hand claimed to be immortal, able to prolong their lives endlessly through special means. But that required remains to work with. When someone like Madame Gao was blasted into scraps by a single shot from the Energy Blaster, then let alone The Hand, even if an immortal descended in person, there was no bringing her back.

Poor Madame Gao probably never realized, even at the moment of death, that this time truly marked the end of her wretched life. She had officially become the first "Finger" The Hand had lost since its founding. Richard had no idea how enormous a shock this would bring to The Hand, nor did he know that his actions had directly caused the remaining four "Fingers," along with the large numbers of men under their respective control, to converge on New York City.

All he knew was that the vile old demon had finally been blown to pieces and received the judgment that had been four hundred years overdue. That was enough.

Of course, he did not forget to finish off the pitiful little ninja, Nobu Yoshioka. With one shot from the Energy Blaster, the red-clad ninja followed Madame Gao into oblivion, reduced to ash beneath the azure blast of energy.

Next, Little Gwen was returned to Captain Stacy by the older Gwen... That really did sound strange... Better to say she was returned by Spider-Gwen. Captain George Stacy had been beside himself with worry over his daughter's safety. When he saw her return unharmed, he was so overwhelmed that he nearly burst into tears.

Captain Stacy had never particularly liked those masked vigilantes who leaped from rooftop to rooftop. But seeing his daughter safe and sound, he was filled with gratitude toward the white-clad figure who had brought her back, and he deliberately overlooked those minor issues. He thanked Spider-Gwen over and over outside the police station, practically one step away from shoving two bags of gifts into her hands.

Spider-Gwen found the scene a little awkward. Not everyone got the chance to watch their own father thank them for saving themselves. Even saying it was a tongue twister. Though she knew this Captain Stacy was not truly her father, it was still enough to prove just how much her dad cared about her.

With Little Gwen safely home, Captain Stacy's public stance turned firm once more. He openly declared that even threats against his family would not make him change his mind. He would lead the New York Police Department in fighting criminal forces to the very end.

While Captain Stacy's side had its happy reunion, Kingpin's side was not doing so well. After the mission failed, The Hand refused to provide Kingpin with any further assistance—no matter what price he offered. That left Kingpin back at square one, once again at a disadvantage in the gang war.

Yet perhaps because of the inertia of history or something else, Kingpin ultimately still won the war. Just as the situation was becoming increasingly unfavorable for him, a super-assassin named Bullseye appeared. Kingpin had somehow dug up this freak, and his arrival directly determined the course of the conflict. Bullseye was like an unavoidable arrow in the dark. Whoever Kingpin aimed him at died immediately, no matter how tight their security was.

He came and went without a trace, and he was exceptionally skilled with bows and concealed weapons. His archery, in particular, was absurdly accurate, as though he had an aimbot enabled. Every casual shot was a headshot, and feats like piercing a target from a hundred paces came effortlessly to him. He was practically a fighter jet among assassins, and the police were completely helpless against him.

So, despite a few extra twists and turns, Kingpin ultimately claimed the throne as New York's overlord. Every faction lost key figures within their gangs, and in the end, they had no choice but to submit to Kingpin and acknowledge his dominance.

While New York was being thrown into turmoil, The Hand had also fallen into a level of tension unprecedented in centuries.

Midland Circle Financial appeared to be a legally registered financial company, but in truth, it was one of The Hand's branches in New York. The owner of Midland Circle Financial, Alexandra, was one of The Hand's five "Fingers," as well as a heretic who had fled from the hidden realm of K'un-Lun.

Now, she sat at the head of the company's conference room table, staring with unprecedented gravity at the other three people gathered around it—the remaining "Fingers" of The Hand.

As The Hand's supreme leaders, all four possessed illustrious identities and status, each a major power in their own domain. They managed different fields and rarely gathered together. The last time they had convened like this had been decades ago.

And this might have been the most grave situation they had faced since defecting from K'un-Lun.

"Madame Gao is dead," Alexandra said heavily.

Though they had all received the news before arriving, hearing Alexandra confirm it in person still shook them.

Death was a fear shared by all living things, and even more so by these undying beings who had lived for centuries. This had been the reason they first came together. It was their fear of death and longing for life that had driven them to covet K'un-Lun's forbidden art of immortality. After stealing its secret, they had fled together.

And now Alexandra was telling them that one of their immortal companions had fallen, as though silently foretelling that the next could be any one of those seated here.

A leader named Murakami asked in a low voice, "What about the Dragon Bones? Why couldn't they revive Madame Gao?"

"The enemy destroyed her body. The Dragon Bones can't revive her," Alexandra said darkly. "And Shin as well. After killing Shin, the enemy destroyed his body too, as if..."

She stopped there and did not continue. But everyone present understood what she meant.

A horrifying suspicion rose in every mind around the table.

The enemy knew the secret of their resurrection, which was the only explanation for why they had made sure to finish them off so thoroughly.

The four leaders fell silent for a long while.

This was a crisis unlike anything they had ever faced. The enemy knew their secrets and possessed the strength to kill Madame Gao. That meant whichever one of them faced that enemy would meet the same fate.

An enemy who knew everything about you was terrifying enough. Worse still was knowing nothing at all about them.

After a long while, Sowande—one of the four leaders and a warlord entrenched in Africa—asked in a deep voice, "How much do we know about this enemy?"

Alexandra shook her head. "Not much. We only know one name, or perhaps more likely, a codename..." She fell silent, seeming to deliberate for a long time before carefully speaking the title. "...'Shafolin.'"