The Gunman's True Identity

"Are you employees of the Stark Group?"

The armed thugs remained silent.

"Fine. I respect that you're tough guys."

Mike still stood behind Skye, continuing to teach her how to shoot. This time, the gun was aimed at the armed thugs.

Skye hesitated, a flicker of reluctance passing through her eyes. As he had said before, not everyone could easily bring themselves to kill their own kind.

"It's okay. They're wearing bulletproof vests," Mike reassured Skye.

The armed thugs below felt their scalps go numb. Aim at the head and hit the air; aim at the body and hit the head—basic rookie shooter behavior. They did not even dare dodge, afraid that dodging bullets would turn into deliberately moving into their path.

"W-Wait..." The leader of the armed thugs hesitated.

"You stayed silent when I told you to talk, but when you tell me to wait, I'm supposed to wait?" Mike's words sent chills through the armed thugs.

Bang!

Skye pulled the trigger.

Ugh!

One thug groaned and dropped to one knee. The bullet had struck his thigh, blood pouring out.

"Very good. You've improved a lot at controlling the recoil this time. Again..."

At that moment, sparks suddenly flew through the air once more as another sniper round was blocked by Senbonzakura.

"Heh heh, a second shot. So you really haven't given up. Not giving up is a good thing..."

With the second shot blocked as well, Black Widow relaxed and focused on observing the pink dust.

Mike smiled. "Now you can talk. Or do you want to bargain? I'm a reasonable man. Say whatever's on your mind. Anyway, no matter what you say, I'll pretend I didn't hear it."

Uh... that was called being reasonable?

"Ah! Motherfucker! You pretentious bastard, I'll—" One of the armed thugs snapped and cursed as he opened fire on Mike.

Naturally, every bullet was blocked by Senbonzakura. The pink dust formed into a massive fist and smashed into the shooting thug's chest.

At that moment, the sniper fired a third shot.

"Still trying? Admirable courage." Only then did Mike turn his gaze toward the shooting thug. The man was sent flying out of the exhibition hall and lay on the ground vomiting blood. He was not dead yet, but his condition was more terrifying than death.

"Don't test my patience, because I often forget to bring that with me." Mike spoke calmly, without the slightest hint of impatience.

But the thug leader was so terrified that he nearly trembled. Perhaps he had killed without blinking, but it had never been him dying. When death loomed before his eyes, fear arose almost instinctively.

"Y-Yes, we're employees of the Stark Group," the thug leader answered truthfully.

Just as Mike had expected. With Pepper coming to inspect the place, the Stark Group and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents would certainly tighten security immediately. Sneaking in one or two people was one thing, but such a large group of fully armed thugs? The most likely explanation was that they had already been inside the industrial park, perhaps even as part of the security staff.

How many people within the Stark Group could do that and would want to do it?

One name practically leaped out: Obadiah.

In fact, Obadiah had always been the prime suspect. This attack on the industrial park merely confirmed it further.

Mike sighed. Stark and Pepper really were too softhearted. If it had been him, after Obadiah fell, he would have immediately purged or marked everyone who had been close to Obadiah.

Were there innocent people?

Definitely.

But it could nip countless crises in the bud. As the leader of a corporation worth hundreds of billions, being softhearted was irresponsible.

"Forget it. Why am I worrying about this... It's not like I'm some diehard Stark Group shareholder." Mike grumbled inwardly, glancing at the thugs. "What? Can't bear to put down your weapons? Hands on your heads, all of you, and get on the ground!"

Mike raised his head and looked into the distance through the shattered glass. "It's you."

So the gunman was the very sniper who had targeted Mike in Hell's Kitchen. After his previous experience, he had chosen a more distant hideout. In fact, the Possession Card Mike had used was not Zoro's, but Zabuza Momochi's.

Mike's mission was to protect Pepper, not hunt down the gunman, so he could not leave Pepper behind. Besides, Skye was there too. Under such circumstances, no matter how powerful his Observation Haki was, he could only take attacks passively.

Taking hits passively was not Mike's style.

With Senbonzakura's integrated offense and defense securing their safety first, Mike used Zabuza Momochi's Possession Card.

Behind the curtain earlier, Mike had not only used Senbonzakura's Shikai, but also a Water Clone.

A specially modified Water Clone infused with a massive amount of chakra.

Ordinary Water Clones could not stray too far from their original body or they would vanish. Moreover, unlike Shadow Clones, when they died or ran out of chakra, they could not pass their "experience points" back to the original body.

So it had to be a specially modified Water Clone.

The gunman fired three shots, all without result. He was not discouraged and continued searching for an opening.

"Huh?!"

The gunman suddenly noticed something strange about the light ahead. As a sniper, he was particularly sensitive to light. He abandoned his sniper rifle, kicked off the wall, and used the force to leap backward, drawing a pistol in each hand.

Clang!

Snipers generally set up booby traps at doorways, so the Water Clone chose to attack through the window. For a ninja who could truly run along walls and rooftops, entering through a window was actually easier.

He kicked through the glass and jumped into the room, facing the gunman's two pitch-black muzzles.

The Water Clone had been prepared. His figure flashed, and instead of retreating, he charged forward.

Bang, bang, bang...

The gunman fired instantly, bullets sealing off every route forward. The Water Clone had no choice but to slash several bullets aside with his blade.

But his movement stalled.

The gunman had already retreated to the door, removed the booby trap, and opened it.

"Heh heh, hahaha." The gunman laughed viciously as he threw a grenade at the Water Clone and slammed the door shut.

Boom!

The blast wave smashed the door into the opposite wall.

As the gunman sprinted away, he pulled a detonator from his pocket. To erase the evidence afterward, he had also planted C4 in the room—enough to blow the entire room apart.

At that moment, the gunman wondered why there was one Mike in the exhibition hall and another here.

Twins?

Or some kind of superpower?

When he reached the corner of the corridor, the gunman pressed the detonator. He did not stop, instead jumping from a window, rappelling down with a prepared rope, mounting a motorcycle, and fleeing.

Boom!

An even more violent explosion erupted.

The room was blasted to pieces, leaving shattered walls and rubble. Flames roared, thick smoke billowed, and a bizarre giant water sphere appeared in the hall.

The Water Clone was wrapped inside the sphere.

Before the explosion, the Water Clone had used the Water Prison Technique in time, enclosing himself within it.

Bang!

The water sphere burst, and the massive amount of water instantly extinguished the flames.

Covering his nose and mouth, the Water Clone found the window and watched the motorcycle disappear into the distance. He did not continue the pursuit. Even a specially modified Water Clone could not ignore the limits of distance.

"But it doesn't matter."

This time, the gunman had not worn a helmet or mask. The Water Clone had seen his true face.

He could run for a while, but not forever. As long as he remained in this city, even if he fled to the ends of the earth, Mike was confident he would find him.