Chapter 114: The Villains' Savior
Inside the massive villa, the floor was covered with figures, all clutching their stomachs, writhing in agony.
Kaito Shirogane, accompanied by his two new followers, George and Ance, dragged the so-called gang members one by one into the main hall. He stood by the fireplace and clapped his hands. The groaning quieted down.
The horrific scene from moments ago had left the self-proclaimed B45 gang in a state of shock. They thought one of The Seven had arrived. No one could even touch his clothes. He was terrifyingly fast, and their guns were useless. A single touch from him was met with the sound of snapping bones.
"Hey, you dregs. You should be grateful. I had to work very hard to control my strength just to let you live."
Kaito wasn't exaggerating. He'd seen the update to his [Slaughterer] milestone after that "gentle push" had killed the taxi driver, and he now had a profound understanding of what his 17 points of Strength could do to a normal person. Because of this, in this fight, he had consciously aimed to only break their arms or legs, avoiding any blows that could rupture their internal organs.
The gang members on the floor, of course, were in no position to appreciate his "kindness." But George and Ance, standing behind him, did. They had, after all, seen him kill the massive Brute with a single light tap.
"What the hell do you want?!"
"Damn it, we don't even know you!"
The man with the shattered shoulder was covered in tattoos, a silver stud in his lip. His name was Bobby, and he was the leader of the B45 gang. This society, with all its problems—race, poverty, superpowers—had given rise to a massive number of gangs. There were over 30,000 gangs in America, with over 1.4 million members. They were a group of people consciously ignored by the mainstream value system. They didn't even see themselves as gangs; they just wanted to be "remembered."
Of course, this was just how the scum romanticized their own lives. A group of people with no jobs and no future would almost always turn to the opposite of order. And Kaito had decided to take this power into his own hands.
He used the toe of his boot to lift the man's head, looking down at him with a cruel smile.
"My name is Mercenary Tao. I'm the man who's going to lead you scum to do great things. Now we're acquainted. Your answer?"
Bobby's fists clenched. He had the ability to partially harden his body, a very useful superpower, both in bed and on the streets. But this guy… he was too fast. Before he could even react, his shoulder had been shattered.
"Great things? What a joke. What kind of 'great thing' would ever need guys like us?"
Bobby had once had a promising future. He had done well in high school. If he could have just gotten a student loan, he might have gone to a decent university and worked hard to escape his class and this neighborhood. But reality was reality. A domestic violence incident that had led to an accidental death had permanently closed that door.
He knew exactly what his crew was. They had no education, no skills, and no powerful superpowers. All they had was a bad temper. They weren't capable of doing anything "great." They were just a bunch of brothers, surviving in their own neighborhood, not even wanting to start trouble with other gangs.
SLAP!
A light slap from Kaito instantly made Bobby's face swell.
"If you have enough scum," Kaito said softly, "you can clog a river."
He grabbed Bobby by the hair and lifted the heavyset white man from the floor. The pain of his scalp tearing made Bobby cry out. The other members all stared, frozen.
Kaito looked at all of them, his voice low and clear. "From now on, I will lead you. And you will win respect. Everyone's respect."
He held his head high, his eyelids lowered as he looked down on them. He knew that for men like these, the word "respect" was paramount. Most of the time, the reason they bled and fought was because they felt they hadn't been given it. They had no social status. Their dignity was the only thing they had left.
While [Kalpa] and [Bad Kid] were scheming to join [The Boys] faction, and [Heartless] was busy infiltrating Vought, Kaito Shirogane was leading a growing army from one neighborhood to the next.
One by one, the gangs fell. These small-time groups, most with less than a hundred members, stood no chance. As more and more gangs were beaten into submission, Bobby and the others began to realize just how powerful this "Mercenary Tao" was. And… his ambition was now obvious: to unite the entire New York underworld.
By the time Kaito walked out of the slums, he had a following of over two hundred men, nearly all of them covered in tattoos. Bobby, George, and Ance, as the first to follow him, had become his lieutenants, walking at the front.
A force of this size was enough to make the ordinary people on the street panic, and the gang members reveled in their fearful stares.
Bobby hurried to Kaito's side. "Boss, if we want to keep expanding, there are a few guys we can't avoid."
"Akai of the Triad. He has about two hundred men and is a Supe himself. He's fast. Wiped out a few gangs on his own."
"Leon Burton of the [Latin Kings]. They say he's tight with Translucent from The Seven. He's also a tough bastard. They're one of the biggest gangs in New York, over a thousand members. They're into drugs, smuggling, guns… a bad crew."
"And last, there's this 'hero' called [Regenerator]. He's a pain in the ass. We all have to pay him protection money."
Bobby knew the streets. His shoulder was still healing, but Kaito had promoted him, and he now had more men under him than ever before. He just didn't understand why Kaito had ordered him to open up social media and live-streaming accounts. Would anyone really want to watch a bunch of gang members?
Kaito was scrolling through Bobby's phone, watching Homelander's social media account and the news being pushed by Vought. He was, for now, hidden in the shadows. He knew the [9527] survivor, [Heartless], was hidden inside Vought, but his exact identity was still unknown.
Suddenly, he saw a promotion for The Seven. In it, [Translucent], who should have been dead, was featured prominently. [Translucent]'s power was his carbon-based skin, which he could manipulate to become invisible or as hard as diamond, capable of ignoring even large-caliber sniper fire. When he attended events, he would usually wear a hat and gloves so the audience could see where he was.
But Starlight joining The Seven was a Season 1 event. And at this point in the timeline, Butcher and Hughie from The Boys should have already captured Translucent and killed him with an explosive suppository.
He tapped the screen. He guessed it was one of two things. Either the plot had changed, or… this was the man he was looking for.
The intel from [Black Butler] had described [9527] as a notorious "Farming Team." In the Nexus, there was a particularly harsh type of team contract, known as a [Leader Covenant] or [Servant Covenant]. Unlike a normal, equal contract, the team leader had to meet special conditions and pay a high price to create it. In return, the leader gained total control over the team members' resources. Members could not attack each other, and they couldn't even leave the team without paying an exorbitant fee to the leader.
At first, this was a contract only [Titled] Reincarnators used when hiring subordinates. But Reincarnators would always find a loophole. The "Farming Team" concept, a classic from the old infinite novels, had reappeared. Reincarnators would force weaker players to sign this contract, dominating their resources and using them as cannon fodder in team missions (where everyone gets a reward) to rapidly power-level themselves. And in Team Arena worlds, they would even sell their "useless" members to other teams to be killed in exchange for other resources.
[9527] was this type of team. And the three survivors—Kalpa, Bad Kid, and Heartless—were, coincidentally, all "slaves" from that team. It was almost certain that the [Card] and the failure of their special trial were connected to their successful mutiny.
Kaito looked at the image of [Translucent] on the phone. So, you're not just a simple bunch of survivors.
He suddenly stopped walking. The crowd of thugs behind him instantly stopped.
Kaito looked at Bobby. "This [Regenerator]," he asked. "He's been bullying you?"
Bobby was stunned. "Bullying" was a word that made these tattooed, muscle-bound men sound like harmless victims.
But Ance, the younger of the two he'd first met, was quicker on the uptake. He had sensed his new boss's plan ever since he'd been ordered to set up the video accounts. He nodded emphatically.
"Yeah, Boss! That guy is always using his 'hero' name to shake us down for money! He beats on our guys, too! He's a piece of shit."
Kaito patted Ance on the head. "Good. In that case, a man who disrespects the human rights of his fellow gangsters deserves to be punished."
"We'll have to arrange a little… performance for him."
George also caught on, and he and Ance high-fived, already turning to make the arrangements. Bobby was still confused.
Kaito grabbed the idiot's head and forced him to bow. "Listen, Bobby. In this world, you don't get respect just by acting tough. Guys like you, with no future, no capital, no prospects… you're everywhere. You're all just a bunch of impotent, desperate men, pretending to be strong. Aren't you all... just waiting for a savior?"
Kaito's posture was so straight it was almost unnatural, his smile cruel. But Bobby, for some reason, felt a surge of hope. There was just one problem…
"Boss… that guy is bulletproof. He can't even feel pain. How are we supposed to teach him a lesson?"
Kaito just shrugged. "Bulletproof?"
"I've never met anything I couldn't kill."
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Guys We cross the 700 power stone goal and as promise here the bonus chapter
Next goal 800 power stone,come on guys you'll can do it, good luck.
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