"Mr. Ra's, I agree with your ultimate conclusion: only by eradicating all evil can we achieve true purity."
Hardy met the Demon's Head's gaze with unwavering eyes.
"Do you truly believe that?"
Ra's al Ghul pressed him.
He would never trust others so easily, even if he wanted to—over his centuries of life, he had witnessed far too much evil, deceit, and betrayal.
Of course I don't agree!
"I said, I only agree with your final conclusion, not your methods. At the very least, I don't agree with the way you pursue peace and purity."
On the surface, Hardy was answering Ra's' question, but in reality, he was gradually steering the conversation back under his own control. He continued:
"You've spent centuries, gained immense power, and amassed mountains of wealth. But let me ask you—has the evil in this world changed at all compared to centuries ago?"
"It hasn't. In fact, one could say that evil is even worse now than before."
"In other words, you've wasted centuries accomplishing nothing."
Ra's al Ghul shook his head.
"No. At the very least, my existence has indeed made some of the world's evil disappear. Without me, this world would be even darker and more corrupt."
Damn, this old man's will is really strong. He's not about to deny his past just because of a few words from me—not so easy to fool.
"But the fact remains: you've toiled for centuries and still haven't succeeded. That means your methods are flawed—or at least not entirely correct. They've had some effect, but only a minor one."
Hardy shook his head as he spoke.
"Tell me your thoughts."
The Demon's Head didn't mind hearing Hardy's opinion.
His daughter, Talia, had inherited part of his ambition and will, but she was still different in some ways. She was also a candidate to inherit the League of Assassins.
"If you want to change this world, you must first control it—or at least control a significant part of it. You need to become one of the most important, inseparable elements of this world. Only then can you begin to subvert it from within."
Hardy looked solemnly at the Demon's Head.
If you control the whole world, then all the world's fate will belong to you.
"Just like what you're doing in Gotham? Starting from the lowest-level gangs, growing step by step. So next, you plan to control all of Gotham's underworld and use that as a starting point to eliminate Gotham's evil?"
Ra's asked with interest.
"My next goal is indeed to unify Gotham's underworld."
Hardy replied.
"Prove to me that your method works. Gotham is a city of evil. If you can eliminate Gotham's evil, then you'll have the ability to eliminate the world's evil."
Ra's took a card from his pocket, which contained an address.
"From today, you are one of the deputy leaders of the League of Assassins. This is the location of our members in Gotham—they now answer to you."
He placed the card on the table, gave Hardy a deep look, and turned to leave, leaving him with one final sentence.
"Hardy, don't disappoint me. I very much look forward to someone inheriting my position. You have that potential."
Only a deputy leader... and there's even an "one of" attached.
Hardy felt a bit disappointed, but quickly perked up.
This old man has lived for centuries—how could he be so easily fooled into handing everything over?
To become a deputy leader of the League of Assassins just by talking is already a huge win!
Hardy watched as the Demon's Head left, but his attention was actually on his status panel.
Previously, synchronizing his main body's superpower had consumed a large amount of fate energy, nearly reducing his progress to zero. Only after his main body advanced to Special Jonin did he recover about half, reaching 26.3% on the progress bar.
Now, the progress bar was rising rapidly again, reaching 43.7% and still climbing slowly.
"Tsk, time to rest for the night. There's a lot to do tomorrow."
He needed to bring the League of Assassins' forces in Gotham under his control, research how to turn Solomon Grundy's body into a human puppet, and then take Mr. Freeze's wife, Nora, to STAR Labs in Central City for treatment.
After resetting the room's security measures, Hardy lay down and turned off the lights.
...
...
Demon Slayer World.
Night. Fujikasane Mountain.
Cold sword light, accompanied by flashes of electricity and wind blades, shimmered through the forest.
"That's the seventeenth one."
Hardy, carrying a bamboo basket on his back and gripping a Nichirin blade with faint blue patterns along its edge, decapitated another demon.
This sword had been temporarily given to him based on the breathing technique he'd learned for the selection. Usually, it was left behind by a fallen Demon Slayer Corps teammate.
It had been a month since he left Mt. Momoyama, and in that month, he had smoothly...
Under Soujima Jigorou's guidance, he had mastered the Constant Breathing technique.
Anyone capable of mastering Constant Breathing was, at the very least, qualified to become a top-grade swordsman just below the rank of Hashira. Arriving at Fujikasane Mountain for the new recruit selection, he was basically on a different level compared to the others.
"Sugoi! Another demon! Hardy-kun!"
A Demon Slayer Corps member with short black hair parted in the middle gulped nervously, gripping his sword tightly as he followed behind Hardy.
"Don't let your guard down, Murata. If a really strong demon shows up, I might not be able to look out for you in time."
Hardy slung his sword casually over his shoulder and strode forward with large, confident steps.
"That can't be right. Fujikasane Mountain is used for new recruit selection, so the demons here should only have eaten one or two people at most. Even if something unexpected happens, I should be able to protect myself, right?"
Murata said, a bit tense.
Hardy glanced at Murata and continued walking.
When he first encountered Murata, the guy had been locked in a fierce battle with a demon.
It was a demon that seemed weak to Hardy, but the two were evenly matched—until Hardy casually finished the demon off with a single slash.
After that, Murata had decisively clung to his coattails, sticking close to Hardy ever since.
In the original timeline, this guy became a full-fledged Demon Slayer and was even Tanjiro's senior. He wasn't exactly a genius, but the fact that he survived until the very end meant he was at least capable of being a qualified Demon Slayer swordsman.
If all the demons on Fujikasane Mountain were like the one from before, it would be tough for Murata to pass the final selection, but not impossible.
"I just wonder if we'll run into the Hand Demon."
Hardy thought to himself.
The Hand Demon was an aberrant demon with a Blood Demon Art—a power only possessed by demons who had eaten at least dozens of people.