Elektra was not Yoshioka Nobu's equal. Even though she had prepared herself mentally for the fight, seeing her thrown to the ground by Nobu made Stick's face harden with anger.
But there was no reason to be surprised. While Elektra had endured harsh training under Stick since childhood, Nobu's upbringing was just as brutal—perhaps even crueler.
The Hand had selected dozens of highly gifted children across Japan to be molded into living weapons. Out of all of them, only Nobu survived.
The Hand might have the power to resurrect their dead, but resurrection was never limitless. Each death took something—fragments of memory, sanity, soul—and after too many resurrections, even the strongest warrior devolved into a mindless beast.
That was why the Hand restricted how many times its operatives could be brought back. Nobu's survival wasn't just due to skill but sheer willpower. He had clawed his way to the top, becoming the deadliest weapon under the five leaders of the Hand. His strength could not be underestimated.
Elektra's body bore the cost of that reality. Nobu's twin black daggers slashed her repeatedly, dozens of shallow but deep-burning cuts crisscrossing her arms and sides. Blood soaked her clothes, and when he finally caught her with a devastating shoulder throw, her spine smashed into the concrete floor. She lay there gasping, unable to rise, Nobu's blade hovering at her throat.
Stick gripped his staff tightly, ready to intervene—but then, unexpectedly, Nobu stopped. His cold, predatory eyes locked on Elektra's for a long moment. Something flickered there—recognition? Amusement? He withdrew his blade and turned, heading toward the elevator at the far end of the chamber.
With a single slash, Nobu severed the bloodline conduits feeding into the ancient cauldron, shoved it into the freight elevator, and hit the button to leave. But the elevator didn't move.
A frown creased Nobu's face. He sensed sabotage. His gaze snapped to Elektra, still sprawled on the ground, and for an instant, his expression twisted with hate. Elektra herself blinked in confusion but then smirked through the pain.
"You're finished," she hissed, her voice sharp. "Completely finished."
Someone else had intervened. Nobu's daggers clinked as he spun them with a flick, connecting them with a silver chain. With practiced ease, he began whirling them, the blades spinning faster than the eye could follow.
"Who's there? Show yourself!" Nobu's voice was a low snarl, his head snapping around the room. No one responded.
The underground chamber was silent, save for Elektra's ragged laughter.
Nobu's eyes narrowed. Without warning, one of his blades shot toward Elektra's throat like a bolt of black lightning.
Elektra, bleeding and barely able to lift her arms, tried to block with her sai, but she was too slow.
A figure leapt from the shadows—a silver blind staff intercepted the blade mid-flight, deflecting it with precision. The weapon spun harmlessly away before snapping back into Nobu's hand by the chain.
Stick stood there, his expression calm but his presence radiating lethal intent.
"So, it's you, Stick," Nobu said through clenched teeth. He knew the old man well. For years, they had hunted each other across continents. Stick had killed countless Hand operatives, while many of Stick's own recruits had perished under Nobu's blade.
Their rivalry ran deep.
"It's been a while," Stick said, lowering his staff slightly, a faint smirk on his face. "I'm surprised you're still alive. I heard you died recently… under Magneto's hand, wasn't it?"
Daniel, lurking in the dark, stiffened.
'Magneto?'
He hadn't expected that name to surface here. What was going on?
This wasn't a comic book plot. There were no convenient chapters or limits on how threads intertwined. This was the real world, and Magneto's involvement meant complications. Serious ones.
Daniel recalled what intel he had on mutants. While he hadn't dug deeply into the Brotherhood, Sunil Bakshi had supplied him with reports. Recently, many young mutants had vanished—some from the Brotherhood itself. Professor Xavier had noticed as well, but even with his telepathy, he couldn't track them. The disappearances were too well hidden.
The Hand was a prime suspect. Their global trafficking network had long dealt in human lives. If mutants were being taken, the Hand would be one of the first places Magneto would investigate.
If Nobu had crossed paths with Magneto, his death was inevitable. Magneto's power dwarfed his own. And yet, here Nobu stood, resurrected.
'If Magneto knew the Hand could bring Nobu back from the grave… he'd burn them to ash,' Daniel thought grimly.
"I don't need you worrying about me," Nobu said coldly. "Magneto's gone. Stick, your time—"
He stopped mid-sentence, his gaze shifting sharply. Elektra, seeing an opening, raised her sai to strike. But Nobu's sudden shout froze her in place:
"What… It's her!"
His words, sharp and almost panicked, stunned both Stick and Elektra. Nobu's eyes burned with disbelief as he looked directly at her.
A chill rippled through Elektra. She didn't understand why, but something about his tone hit deep, stirring old ghosts in her mind.
"Elektra, kill him!" Stick's voice cut through her confusion, firm and commanding.
But Nobu's voice boomed over his:
"Do you even know who he's asking you to kill? Do you know who Stick truly is? He's no savior, girl—he's your greatest enemy. For over twenty years, I've hunted you because of him!"
Elektra froze, torn between them. Her grip on her sai trembled.
"Don't listen to him!" Stick barked, his tone sharp, almost desperate. "Elektra, I raised you! You know what I've done for you. Don't let him twist your mind."
Nobu's cold laugh filled the room. "He's been using you all along. You were nothing but a weapon to him. Look at your life—your suffering. Who put you through all that? Think, Elektra."
Her breathing grew uneven as old memories resurfaced. She remembered being taken into the Chaste, how no one there had truly welcomed her. They saw her as dangerous, untrustworthy—some even tried to kill her.
"Elektra, stay with me," Stick urged, his voice softening, almost pleading now. "Don't let that bastard get into your head."
"Shut up!" she snapped, her voice cracking. The sai in her hand wavered, now pointing at Stick. Her eyes were wild, flickering between fury and hurt. "Did you… did you really mean to kill me once?"
Daniel's brow furrowed as he listened. He'd known Elektra's past was dark, but this… this was something else.
"Three times…" Elektra's voice trembled with barely restrained anger. "Three times I was betrayed—forced to die by my own people. They all hated me. They whispered that you sent them to finish me. I never believed it… until now."
Nobu's voice was like poison:
"Of course he did. He's jealous. He saw your potential. A teacher always fears a student who surpasses him. You've become better than him, Elektra—better at killing, better at surviving. He wants you gone."
Elektra's face twisted, her rage boiling over. "You… you've been using me since the day you adopted me. I see it now. They were right all along. You were going to kill me too."