Chapter 42 – An Unexpected Gain
"Even if we die, Lady Gao will resurrect us. Death is nothing more than a short rest for us."
"Good, that makes it even more interesting." Uchiha Akira drew his blade and decapitated the ninja. Without a doubt, the man died instantly. Even his soul vanished. Akira wanted to see how the Hand planned to resurrect someone whose very soul had been destroyed. This time, however, the departing spirit carried a faint crimson hue as it flew toward him.
Soul Furnace: 869/10000, Lv2
The soul of just one ninja was nearly worth the same as when he had killed Bullseye earlier. It seemed the Hand was truly a treasure trove for him to exploit.
Glancing back at Jean, Akira noted she showed no negative reaction.
"Can you endure it?"
"It's fine. I'll get used to it." After all, Jean was still just a young girl, so Akira paid close attention to her mental state. What surprised him, though, was that she too absorbed some of the soul energy that had dispersed.
Yet apart from Izumi and Jean, no one else present could absorb the soul energy—not the other Hand ninjas, nor Daredevil. After all this time, Akira still couldn't figure out the exact criteria by which the Soul Furnace judged who could absorb it.
Could it be based on his subconscious perception of allies and enemies? Since he instinctively saw Izumi and Jean as "his people," the escaping soul energy allowed them to absorb it, whereas Daredevil and the others remained outsiders in his subconscious.
Of course, the system gave him no answers.
"Fire Style—Dragon Flame Jutsu!" Akira unleashed a powerful fire technique, engulfing all the Hand ninjas in blazing flames. Within the inferno, the Soul Furnace's counter kept ticking upward.
Soul Furnace: 1904/10000, Lv2
Akira was extremely pleased. This single harvest nearly equaled several months' worth of progress. As the saying went: a horse grows fat on night grass, and a man grows rich on windfalls.
"I feel something unusual has merged into my body. Akira, if I'm not mistaken, this has to do with you, right?" Jean seemed unconcerned about the deaths around them; her attention was entirely on him.
"It's my ability," Akira admitted. "But keep it a secret. It's my little secret."
"Alright, I won't tell anyone." Jean's eyes lit up, clearly delighted to be entrusted with his "little secret."
"Izumi, check if that woman's going to die." He was, of course, referring to Elektra, unconscious in Daredevil's arms.
"Stay away!" Daredevil glared warily at them, clearly distrustful.
"Break the arms of that red-suit pervert first, then check whether the woman can be saved."
"Yes, Lord Akira." Izumi had long wanted to act. She stepped forward and sent Daredevil flying with a kick.
Matt's entire body reeled. Why couldn't he even handle a young girl? His billy clubs never got close to Izumi; within moments she had subdued him again, casually breaking both his arms.
"No! Don't hurt Elektra! Come at me instead!"
Ignoring the writhing Daredevil, Izumi examined Elektra's condition. Her body showed signs of heavy blunt trauma. Izumi's hands glowed with green healing chakra.
Moments later, Elektra's injuries eased, and Izumi stopped. The clan leader's intention was clear—save the woman's life, but nothing more.
Daredevil finally realized he had misunderstood. It looked like they were actually healing Elektra with some sort of supernatural power. Broken and defeated, he stopped resisting.
"Where's the Hand's main base? Tell me, and consider it payment for saving this woman."
Originally unwilling to answer, Daredevil relented after seeing Elektra treated, and revealed the Hand's New York stronghold.
"The location is…"
"Hey, red-suit pervert, you got a phone on you?"
"…Yeah. Why?" As soon as Daredevil replied, Akira broke both his legs. Together with the arms Izumi had broken, Matt was now completely crippled.
"Don't worry. I already called 911. Wait for the ambulance. Honestly, I just don't like you, so I beat you up." Akira commented with malicious amusement, then, ignoring Daredevil's pained expression, vanished with Body Flicker Technique.
Luckily, Daredevil's mentor Stick arrived before the ambulance, just in time.
"How did the Hand torture you like this? No, that doesn't make sense. The Hand wouldn't have spared you. Who did this?"
"It was that same group as before—the strange ones cleaning up Hell's Kitchen. Tonight they had two girls with them. I couldn't even beat one of them…" With Stick's help, Matt removed his mask, grief etched on his face.
Even when his limbs were broken, Matt hadn't felt this dejected.
"How's Elektra?"
"Relax. Her breathing is steady enough."
As a superhero, Matt felt utterly powerless tonight. He had nearly failed to save the woman he loved, relying instead on the pity of others. Worst of all, he had no strength to fight back against such overwhelming foes.
"Master… am I useless?" Rain suddenly poured from the late-summer sky, cold drops striking his face like the harsh truth of reality itself.
"Matt, human strength has limits. Sometimes one man alone isn't enough to confront evil. Leave the Hand for now. Focus on recovering first." Stick had always been proud of Matt, but even he had to admit—the world was far more complicated than they had imagined.
Meanwhile, Akira, Izumi, and Jean had already returned to the mansion, missing the sudden autumn storm.
"Why did you let that red-suit guy go?" Jean asked curiously.
"He's actually a decent person, always fighting evil in Hell's Kitchen. I wasn't about to kill someone like that," Akira shrugged.
"Then why beat him up so badly?" At the mutant academy, students were taught self-defense, not deliberate cruelty.
Seeing Jean's probing gaze, Akira replied helplessly, "Because he picked a fight with me before, and I don't like him. He acts self-righteous—claims to fight crime, but always hands criminals over to the police. Then the mob either bails them out or replaces them with scapegoats."
"Some people believe only the law has the right to judge criminals. They think I have no right to use vigilante justice."
"He even tried to capture me once to throw me in prison. So whenever I see him, I feel like teaching him a lesson."
Akira made no attempt to hide his disdain. Sanctimonious types were the most annoying of all.
"I see. Next time I meet him, I'll give him a good beating too!" Jean raised her tiny fists and pulled a mock-ferocious face.
"Jean, shouldn't you head back? It's getting late."
"It's fine. I'll just stay here tonight."
Helpless, Akira had Izumi arrange a room for her.
Gradually, Akira began to notice something strange—Jean Grey really seemed intent on clinging to him.