After hearing Shin's answer, Kingpin wasn't surprised. After so long under his control, unfortunate as it was, he had come to understand Shin's character.
This guy wasn't a superhero at all. At best, he was an anti-hero. Just think about it what kind of normal hero would manipulate someone without saying a word?
In truth, he was more like a madman who followed his own likes and dislikes than any laws or rules.
Shin... really might kill him.
After all, whether New York fell into chaos or how many civilians died, it didn't mean much to someone like Shin. He might just kill Kingpin outright and take his place as underworld emperor. With that kind of flexible moral compass, it wasn't impossible.
Of course, there was also a good chance Shin would just let him go as long as...
"As long as you can give me enough compensation, this matter ends here," Shin said as he looked at Kingpin.
"I'm compensating you?!" Kingpin replied incredulously. "Compensating you for controlling me?"
"You and I both know what the compensation's for, so don't play dumb," Shin said coldly.
"The Arc Reactor, shares of Stark Industries, shares of Oscorp, your own strength... You owe me a lot!"
"And if you push me too far, aren't you afraid I'll cut you off?"
Kingpin's face darkened, and he snorted in disdain.
He wasn't afraid of official suppression or retaliation. His organization had grown to a point where it couldn't be easily dismantled. Any major force wanting to oppose him would need to be ready to bleed too.
But Shin's words were just a surface excuse. What Kingpin truly feared... was Shin himself.
After a long silence, Kingpin lit a cigar, took a deep puff, and said, "I can give you the Oscorp and Stark Industries shares along with directorships. Then we're even."
Though those assets had been acquired through Kingpin's wealth and influence, losing them would be a massive blow to his organization. It could even regress beyond its former state, it's a serious setback, no question.
After all, Kingpin's group had paid for those shares. Losing them now would be a real loss.
But Kingpin had confidence in his future. Just the tech from the compact palladium reactor combined with exoskeleton armor, leftover scraps that Stark Industries didn't even want, was enough to sustain his company's current operations.
As for his underground empire? Kingpin could feel that his own strength was still climbing. Especially after Shin had landed that blow on him, he'd not only grasped Armament Haki infusion but had also begun to touch upon a threshold of power similar to, but distinct from, Conqueror's Haki infusion. A new surge in strength was coming.
In the underworld, strength was everything. As long as one showed overwhelming power, he could quell any rebellion.
Why else did Kingpin constantly invite top fighters to duel him? And why did he always wound them badly? It was a deterrent to the underworld forces under his control.
Shin believed he could've gotten even more... but it wasn't worth the effort. Truthfully, the only reason he wanted shares in Stark and Oscorp was because he coveted their laboratories.
Everything else was meaningless to someone like Shin. Money and power didn't matter to someone who could travel through different worlds.
In fact, Shin had already swallowed all the equipment in those labs using the Munch-Munch Fruit and rebuilt many of them in other worlds for his own experiments. But tech in the Marvel world evolved rapidly what was cutting-edge today could be obsolete in a month. The labs of those two companies, however, always stayed at the top. That was their true value.
"In addition, I want your intelligence network," Shin said. "At least the basics, superhero and supervillain data. We share fundamental intel from now on."
This wasn't much to ask. Superheroes and supervillains couldn't stay hidden in this world. Shin wasn't after secret identities.
The underworld under Kingpin only had marginally better access to data. With time and effort, anyone could dig up most of that info anyway.
"Alright, I agree," Kingpin nodded.
Just then, Luke Cage, who had mostly recovered, stood nearby listening to the exchange. He had held back for a while, but finally couldn't remain silent.
"He's Kingpin! The biggest villain in New York!"
At Luke's words, Kingpin turned a cold gaze on him. "Luke Cage, real name Carl Lucas. If I recall correctly, you were once just a street thug, you did time too. What now? You become a superhero and suddenly think you're a paragon of justice?"
Shin hadn't known any of that. He didn't even know this big guy's name. As for his sudden moral outburst, Shin didn't care at all.
Kingpin may have been a villain, but he was the lawful-evil kind, not chaotic. Keeping him around wasn't exactly beneficial to the world, but it didn't do much harm either.
Compared to aliens constantly trying to destroy the Earth, or factions like mutants and military forces plotting genocide, Kingpin's sins were considered minor.
And in the face of future global threats, even someone like Kingpin would have to step up, after all, if the Earth went down, so would he.
In many comics and animated series, whenever a world-ending threat emerged, Kingpin would still fight alongside the heroes. Of course, he'd still fight them afterward too.
"I used to be a gangster... but now I want to do the right thing!" Luke Cage said, staring hard at Kingpin.
"Great. I'll leave him to you," Shin said, patting Luke on the shoulder. "You planning to kill him or throw him in jail?"
Kill Kingpin? Luke was immediately stuck.
Sure, this was the best opportunity. Kingpin was still recovering from his injuries. But killing a man in cold blood? That wasn't exactly the superhero way.
Besides, he hadn't even exposed any conspiracies yet! He didn't have a personal vendetta against Kingpin, it was the Purple Man who had controlled him. Kingpin had merely hired him.
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