The elevator slowly ascended, bringing Qingshui to the top-floor office.
Standing by the pristine floor-to-ceiling window was a burly young man.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't a little bird following Bat around?"
Qingshui whistled and settled into the boss's chair, looking at the burly young man in front of him.
Jason Todd, the second Robin, and the future Red Hood.
Earlier that morning, Ninja Master had called him, informing him of a few things.
When Jason was previously at Arkham Asylum, Joker had imprisoned him in the asylum's basement for a year.
He had been tortured by the insane Joker for a year and waited for Batman for a year, only to finally meet death.
Then, Ninja Master, who was still selecting an heir, found him and revived him using the Lazarus Pit.
If Jason could be a breakthrough to get Bruce to agree to inherit the leadership of the League of Assassins, that would naturally be best. If not, then if Jason could defeat Batman and destroy Gotham, that would also prove Jason had the capability.
However, the difficulty of the latter goal had likely increased by nearly double compared to before, because Gotham now had Clearwater, who had fought Batman to a stalemate twice.
Of course, Qingshui didn't want to see that. He was still hoping to inherit the old man's centuries of accumulated wealth.
Even though the second Robin was exceptionally well-trained by Batman, he wasn't on the same level as Batman in all aspects. While he understood Batman well, once Batman collected himself, Robin wouldn't be his match.
Qingshui couldn't let Jason succeed either, but that didn't stop him from using Jason.
"Ninja Master said you'd give me what I want."
Jason Todd stared at Qingshui.
Qingshui remained noncommittal, instead crossing his legs.
"I know what you're thinking and what you want to do, but I'm not under Ra's al Ghul's command. Although I'm considered an heir to the League of Assassins, my relationship with Ra's is more like a mutually beneficial collaboration."
"I also know what you want to do."
Jason looked at Qingshui and uttered a name.
"Hamilton. You want to back that idiot for mayor and then control Gotham City Hall's power. The mayoral election is this week, right?"
Qingshui raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Are you threatening me? Something even that Bat couldn't do, and you think you can?"
Despite his words, Qingshui knew that Jason Todd was indeed capable of causing trouble.
Even if he could take him down here, as a member of the Bat-Family, Jason Todd would undoubtedly have left contingencies outside.
"I'm not like that Bat."
Mentioning Batman again, Jason Todd's expression changed, taking on a more aggressive edge.
"In this matter, I can help you once, allowing you to achieve certain goals."
"Very good, then we can talk. Let me think, what can you do? How about Cobblepot's head? That guy's been quite annoying lately."
"I need some manpower, weapons, and funds as a deposit. The manpower should ideally be elites, like the person who just brought me in."
Jason Todd turned his head and looked outside.
Standing guard outside was Rattlesnake.
The members of the League of Assassins were all quite capable, and it was expected that Jason would take a liking to them.
"Deal."
Qingshui called Rattlesnake in, gave him the instructions, and then had him take Jason Todd to make those preparations.
The second Robin, soon to become Red Hood, was a very useful tool.
The classic three-pronged approach to political maneuvering: inviting guests, beheading, and taking subordinates.
This could be a set process, or three different methods.
Jason Todd was, after all, the second Robin trained by Batman, and Batman had even said he was the best of all Robins. It would be difficult for anyone other than Bruce Wayne to truly make such a person their subordinate.
As for beheading, there's no need to elaborate. The current relationship between him and Batman was very strange; both were tacitly maintaining a balance, neither absolute adversaries nor definitely teammates.
But if he were to kill Robin, then he and Batman would truly be mortal enemies. Did his Hogg United still want to develop?
Qingshui was currently planning to go from black to white, using Hamilton's election as mayor to gain a higher public status and develop his influence. If he were to truly go against Batman, then Master Wayne could absolutely show everyone what it meant to be Gotham's Wei Bancheng.
Not to mention, Jason Todd had been invested in by Ninja Master, and Qingshui was still eyeing the old man's centuries of accumulated wealth.
So, naturally, only the "inviting guests" option remained, where both sides could get what they wanted.
The second Robin was meticulously trained by Batman; his combat ability and tactical prowess were both excellent. While he was still far from top-tier tactical masters like Batman and Deathstroke, once he abandoned his moral bottom line, he was fully capable of killing Penguin.
"Let the chaos begin. And then it will be my time to end it."
Qingshui leaned back comfortably in his chair.
The current Fortune progress bar had reached 94.8%.
Thanks to his main body's promotion to Jonin and the Avatar's promotion to Hashira in the Demon Slayer World, the next world was not far off.
If his upcoming plan succeeded, he might even have some surplus after opening the next world.
...
...
Demon Slayer World.
The Hashira were having a meeting.
"Did Gyomei and Kyojuro also encounter the Twelve Kizuki?"
Qingshui looked at Rengoku Kyojuro and Himejima Gyomei, who were completely unharmed, with some surprise.
What madness has gotten into Muzan, to make the Twelve Kizuki act so brazenly?
"Namo Amitabha, I encountered Lower Rank One, a Dream Demon, capable of luring people into hallucinatory dreams through eye contact."
Himejima Gyomei recited a Buddhist chant and "looked" towards Qingshui.
"Li Hashira, congratulations, you've also entered that realm."
"You're too kind. That Lower Rank Demon was truly unlucky to run into you."
It was well-known that Himejima Gyomei was blind, so Lower Rank One Enmu's hypnotic eye contact ability was completely useless against him. Even if Enmu had other tricks, he wouldn't be a match for Gyomei.
As the strongest Hashira in the Demon Slayer Corps before, and now having awakened the Transparent World, he was fully capable of soloing any Demon below the top three Upper Ranks. Akaza's battle aura sensing ability would also be useless in the face of the Transparent World, which could completely conceal one's presence.
Moreover, since Upper Rank Two had died by Qingshui's hand, unless Muzan and Kokushibo made a move, no Demon would be a match for the Stone Hashira.
"Tsk! How did you get there faster than me?"
Uzui Tengen rubbed his head.
"But I should be close too. If I could also have a Twelve Kizuki as a whetstone, I'm sure I could also splendidly enter that realm. Oh, Kyojuro, what about you?"
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