Unify American gangs?
What kind of joke was that?
When Wesley heard Hayato Gokudera's words, he felt utterly absurd—even found it unbelievable that Gokudera would say such things.
After all, he was Vongola's right-hand man. No matter how bad things were, he shouldn't lack basic common sense!
There were 50 states in the United States, 251 cities with populations over 100,000, 50 cities with over one million people, and countless small towns and villages besides.
In all these places, there were basically gangs.
If someone unified all American gangs, how powerful would they become?
Probably enough to decide presidential elections with ease.
The White House would never allow such a situation to happen. Even Kingpin, emperor of America's underground, wasn't truly the boss of all criminal organizations—he relied on factors like mutual interests, intimidation, and prestige to command respect from other bosses.
But even so, many criminal forces ignored him or were even hostile toward him.
And now, the leader of the gang that had unified the Harlem area was saying he wanted to unify all American gangs.
It was incomprehensible.
(Is this guy joking with me, or is he a fraud from start to finish?) Looking at the silver-haired youth before him, Wesley couldn't help wondering.
But looking at the other party's serious and earnest expression, it didn't look like a joke at all. As for the possibility of being a fraud... their conversation wasn't quiet and could be heard by anyone nearby.
If he were a fraud, the Vongola Family members standing guard nearby would never remain indifferent.
So either this guy was genuinely stupid, or all this was deliberately arranged by the Vongola Family's boss.
As for the reason behind such an arrangement, it might be that they had designs on Hell's Kitchen's power, or wanted to monopolize everything... In short, there were many possible reasons.
But regardless of the reason, staying here and getting entangled would be dangerous for him.
"Hoo~"
Wesley took a deep breath, nodded, and said, "Okay, since you've said so, then I'll relay everything truthfully to the Hell's Kitchen bosses."
After speaking, he turned and left.
Hayato Gokudera watched Wesley's back as he got in his car, then watched the vehicle drive away and continue slowly in the distance until it disappeared from view.
In the beginning, drawing attention didn't matter.
But now that they'd gotten attention and passed along the family headquarters' address, they couldn't allow continued surveillance.
Hayato Gokudera walked leisurely like he was taking a stroll and arrived at an unfinished building on the city's outskirts.
He stood downstairs and gave a faint smile toward the upper floors. "Even though I gave you time to escape, you didn't leave. Seems like you have full confidence in yourself!"
…
Rewind ten minutes.
Clint Barton, a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, had been ordered by Director Fury to monitor the Vongola Family's movements.
Because of the extraordinary strength the Vongola Family displayed, to avoid accidents, Barton chose to monitor from an unfinished building three kilometers away.
Although the distance was far, his eyesight was excellent—he could see clearly even at this range.
But unexpectedly, he'd been discovered.
Hayato Gokudera didn't hide his movements. He walked brazenly down the main road, and Barton spotted him from afar.
What should he do?
Barton was somewhat indecisive.
Although Fury had allowed him to judge situations independently in urgent circumstances, he also understood very well what this group with extraordinary powers meant.
If he took action and caused an unnecessary conflict, he'd be creating a major incident.
Barton glanced at the silver-haired young man walking slowly. After roughly estimating the other party's arrival time, he pulled out his phone and called Fury.
"What's the situation?"
The phone connected quickly, and Fury's calm voice came from the other end.
Barton reported the current situation simply and clearly, then patiently waited for orders.
Fury didn't make him wait long and made a quick decision.
"Test him, and decide how to handle it based on his strength! But remember, no matter what, you cannot reveal your identity!"
"Understood."
Hanging up the phone, Barton looked out—the silver-haired youth had come downstairs and was smiling at him.
"..."
Barton fell silent, then suddenly set up his sniper rifle, raised it, and fired.
…
BOOM!
The deafening gunshot suddenly rang out, and a blood-red disc appeared beneath Hayato Gokudera's feet. It slid with him like a skateboard, instantly moving him from his position.
The next second, a bullet the size of an egg tore through where he'd been standing.
"Anti-materiel sniper rifle!"
Hayato Gokudera instantly identified the enemy's weapon from the bullet hole, stepped on the disc, rushed into the building like riding a surfboard, then quickly ran upstairs.
While running, he calculated the enemy's position based on the gunshot sound and bullet flight time.
"Twenty-sixth floor!"
About ten seconds later, Hayato Gokudera calculated the result, then rushed up to the twenty-sixth floor within a minute and arrived at the room where the enemy had been sniping.
However, except for an anti-materiel sniper rifle carelessly discarded on the windowsill, there was no sniper in sight.
"Did he escape?"
Hayato murmured and walked toward the windowsill, wanting to see if the enemy had left any clues.
But when he reached the middle of the room, his keen hearing picked up a faint beeping sound.
Not good!
Hayato Gokudera realized something was wrong and tried to retreat from the room.
But it was too late.
Just as the crimson disc appeared beneath his feet, the time bomb hidden in the room exploded.
Immediately, flames and shockwaves swept through the entire room.
Barton emerged from the opposite building with his bow and arrow, staring inside with a vigilant expression.
"Tch!"
The red beam broke through the thick smoke and fired.
Barton rolled on the ground, dodged the beam, then quickly got up and shot an arrow toward the beam's source.
CLANG!
In the thick fog, the sound of metal colliding rang out.
Immediately afterward, machine gun fire roared, and bullets wrapped in red light followed closely.
Barton took off running, sprinting quickly through the corridor, dodging bullets while trying to figure out the enemy's ability in his mind.
The bomb he'd installed in that room was powerful enough to kill an elephant, yet the man was unharmed.
Also, before arriving, his hands had been empty with nothing else. However, the arrow he'd just shot was blocked by something, and then outrageous machine gun fire had followed.
Was it materialization?
When Barton had seen Hayato dodge the sniper rifle earlier, a crimson disc had suddenly appeared beneath his feet. Thinking about the bullets wrapped in crimson light, he couldn't help considering this possibility.
"ROAR!"
A cheetah's roar echoed through the corridor, and even the bullets' noise stopped as if frightened.
Barton halted, looked back, and saw a sight he'd never forget for the rest of his life.
Character Notes:
Clint Barton/Hawkeye - From Marvel Comics/MCU. A S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and master archer with exceptional eyesight and accuracy. Later becomes a founding member of the Avengers.