"I should thank you for using that dragon bone to enhance my potential. It made me realize that the limits of humanity are far greater than I ever imagined." Kingpin slowly removed his suit, steadying his emotions as his aura surged.
"But if you thought you could control the underground emperor of New York, you've made a grave miscalculation!"
At his words, hidden doors opened one after another around the room, and several extraordinary superhumans emerged.
Shin swept his eyes across the room and immediately spotted five figures standing together, among them, was the old Madame Gao, who had previously been slammed into a wall.
These were clearly the Five Fingers of the Hand. Alongside them stood a young woman radiating a dark and violent aura, clearly possessed by some demonic force. That had to be the Black Sky of the Hand.
Then came a man with a toothpick in his mouth and a target insignia on his headgear—clearly Bullseye.
Another figure exuded dual auras. As he stepped forward, his body erupted in black mucus, wrapping him in a grotesque transformation. He became a towering black creature with fanged jaws and a lolling tongue, his eyes now blank white patches.
This was Venom, originally a Spider-Man villain who had grown popular enough to become an anti-hero. Now, Shin wasn't sure where he stood, a villain or an anti-hero?
The next man appeared strong and muscular, though not remarkable at first glance. But Shin could faintly sense an elemental signature from him.
That dry, gritty sensation reminded him of a certain desert warlord. With a moment's thought, Shin concluded this was Sandman, Spider-Man's version of a "budget Crocodile." While Sandman might give Spider-Man some trouble, especially with no Haki or energy-based attacks, he was hardly a concern for Shin.
Then there were three others.
A white woman in her twenties, a heavily muscled Black man, and a strange individual decked out in flamboyant purple even his skin was purple.
"Purple Man..." Shin murmured.
This man was an outlier even in the world of Marvel comics. His power, a pheromone-based mind control, was not exactly mental manipulation, but equally invasive.
Most mind controllers in comics, whether heroes or villains, had personal ideals or moral boundaries, some twisted, but still present.
Purple Man was different. A textbook pervert with zero restraint, he used his powers for petty crimes and sadistic pleasure. In a world of cosmic threats and noble aspirations, his vulgarity stood out like mud in a crystal lake.
Shin vividly recalled the unfortunate superhero Jessica Jones, who had been a victim of his control. It was rare to see a heroine turned into a mindless brute.
Glancing at the black-haired woman standing beside him, beautiful, but with a shadowed, conflicted expression Shin easily guessed her identity.
That had to be the unlucky superheroine. As for the Black man next to her, Shin wasn't sure yet.
By now, Kingpin had removed his shirt, revealing his newly sculpted physique. Ever since consuming the artificial Devil Fruit, he had trained obsessively. The result was a body much stronger than before.
The assembled villains all took battle stances, itching to strike.
"So these are your trump cards? What a circus of fools."
"I'm curious how did you break free from Kotoamatsukami?"
Shin narrowed his eyes at Kingpin and noted he wasn't even wearing a mind-protection device.
In fact, other than the host of Black Sky, all the others were outfitted with mind-control blockers. That in itself was impressive those devices weren't easy to acquire in large numbers.
"Hmph," Kingpin grunted darkly. "You'll find out soon enough."
As he spoke, his eyes flared and a powerful wave of spirit energy burst forth, slamming toward Shin. At the same time, he shouted, "Go! Kill him!"
"Wait... that's Conqueror's Haki!?"
Shin ignored the approaching attacks. His expression twisted with envy and disbelief.
Kingpin, of all people, after ingesting an artificial Devil Fruit and attaining One Piece-level physique, had awakened Conqueror's Haki?
How was this fair!?
Shin had traveled across worlds, mastered countless powers, and traversed the entire One Piece world yet had never even glimpsed his own Conqueror's Haki!
As Bullseye spat a toothpick and flung knives, the Five Fingers of the Hand launched martial arts strikes. Black Sky's host Elektra slashed with her sword. Luke Cage and Jessica Jones threw punches. Sandman and Venom launched their respective attacks.
Shin didn't flinch. His eyes remained locked on Kingpin. With a casual wave of his hand, he pushed forward.
A monstrous surge of Armament Haki erupted like a shockwave, flooding the hall. With a thunderous boom, all the attackers coughed blood and were blown back.
Kingpin stood stunned. He had believed he understood Shin his mental abilities, his use of dimensional space, and his control tactics. He had prepared for all of that.
But he hadn't anticipated this... a raw, overwhelming display of physical power.
As the final target, Kingpin barely managed to cross his arms before impact. His own Conqueror's Haki, released seconds earlier, instinctively coiled around his body like a desperate defense mechanism.
With a deafening crash, Kingpin spat blood and was launched backward, slamming into the floor-to-ceiling bulletproof glass behind him.
Fortunately for him, the window was made of ultra-durable, centimeter-thick ballistic glass, capable of withstanding even missile strikes. If it hadn't been, he would've fallen from the Fisks Tower's towering height.
And if the window had shattered, the fall wouldn't even be the issue.
Ordinary humans would've been reduced to pulp. Even Kingpin might not have survived.
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