Geno from the Thunder Gang was precisely a piece placed by the Kingpin. His purpose was to support the Thunder Gang and establish a relatively close business relationship with the Hand, thereby gathering specific information about the Hand in New York. The ultimate goal, of course, was to enable Kingpin to strike a fatal blow and wipe them out when he finally made his move against the Hand.
Since obtaining the Terror Memory, Kingpin had been planning to unify the entire New York underworld and establish a new order. On this path to establishing a new order, the Hand, a former partner, would be a huge obstacle.
With the power of the Terror Memory, Kingpin was confident he had an absolute advantage in strength to crush the Hand's ninjas. However, the Hand was, after all, an ancient organization with a global presence. If they failed to strike at its core and eradicate it completely, it would inevitably leave behind many hidden dangers, which would be detrimental to the establishment of the new order.
This is why Geno joined the Thunder Gang and was able to get hold of mass-produced Gaia Memories, strengthening the Thunder Gang's power and allowing them to establish a deeper connection and cooperation with the Hand.
"No survivors were left at the site where the Thunder Gang was destroyed. Judging by such ruthless methods, it must have been the Punisher."
Kingpin's eyes narrowed, and he pondered: "Can the Punisher deal with a Dopant using a Gaia Memory? Or is the Punisher the Kamen Rider Accel chosen by that 'Foundation' that Utopia mentioned?"
"Since there were no survivors among the Thunder Gang, and even the boss using the Energy Memory was dealt with, how did Geno escape?" Kingpin's eyes flashed with a frightening light as he asked.
"Geno was not present when the Thunder Gang was wiped out..." David briefly explained Geno's situation.
Kingpin nodded slightly, thoughtfully: "So, this guy named Danny Rand, whose fists can use a strange energy, easily defeated the Dopant using the Energy Memory. And he seems to have some feud with the Hand and is looking for trouble with them."
David nodded: "That's right. So Geno thought he might be able to use this Danny Rand. That's why he immediately returned to inform me of the situation, only to later receive the news that the Thunder Gang was completely annihilated. Additionally, the identity of this Danny Rand has been confirmed: the heir to Rand Corp, who just returned to New York to inherit his father's company."
"Since the Thunder Gang has been wiped out, it proves they were just a bunch of useless trash. However, this Danny actually possesses the power to defeat the Energy Dopant, which is quite surprising. Since the Thunder Gang is gone and the original plan has failed, let's just let this Danny Rand, with his powerful fists, go find trouble with the Hand. I hope this Danny Rand with his 'Iron Fist' is strong enough, and preferably that he can force out all the Hand's underlying forces," Kingpin tapped the table.
"You should know what to do."
David nodded: "I will secretly provide Danny Rand with some information about the Hand. This will allow Danny Rand to successfully find the Hand's strongholds and escalate the conflict between the two sides."
"Also, tell Geno to lay low and not show his face recently. Whoever destroyed the Thunder Gang, Punisher or not, will definitely turn their attention to him, the sole survivor. Forget it, just have him leave New York and transfer him to Los Angeles."
"Understood."
Matt brought the witness who could testify to the Thunder Gang's crimes to Jessica's detective agency to meet his daughter. He learned about the encounter the two had from Jessica and Luke Cage.
"Danny Rand? K'un-Lun? The leaders of the Hand were actually traitors from K'un-Lun? And the Gaia Memories have appeared again, and seem to be mass-produced..." Thoughts raced through Matt's mind. The situation in New York was getting increasingly complicated.
After entrusting Jessica and Luke to continue protecting the little girl, Matt left with the witness, whose heart was now at ease after seeing his daughter. Soon after settling the witness, he received news of the Thunder Gang's demise, with no core members surviving.
The gang he was preparing to prosecute had vanished into thin air. Even if Matt was unwilling, he had no choice but to drop the indictment. He had originally intended to follow the trail of the Thunder Gang to find criminal evidence against the Hand, but now all those efforts were wasted.
In fact, it was precisely because the powerful criminal organization, the Hand, might be involved that Matt entrusted Jessica and Luke Cage, two detectives with superhuman abilities, to protect the witness's daughter.
The witness, however, was quite happy. He had been very anxious when he agreed to testify against the Thunder Gang to Matt, constantly worrying about his and his daughter's safety. But now that the Thunder Gang had been wiped out and he didn't need to testify, both he and his daughter were safe.
Matt returned to his apartment with mixed feelings. After entering and putting down his coat, he was about to get a drink of water. He suddenly sensed something was wrong, immediately turned around, and pointed his collapsible staff at the sofa behind him.
"Matt, has your vigilance weakened, or is something distracting you? Otherwise, with your senses, you should have detected my presence before you even entered the door," the old man sitting in the chair said.
Hearing the voice, Matt relaxed and sighed in relief, lowering his staff. He smiled bitterly: "Sensei, why are you here? You didn't even notify me in advance."
Stick smiled: "This was sudden. We detected a change in the Hand's movements. After investigation, it seems several Hand leaders are converging on New York. They are likely brewing a massive conspiracy, so I rushed to New York. I figured I'd drop by to see you and ask if you know anything about the situation?"
Matt hesitated slightly, then asked: "Sensei, do you know about K'un-Lun?"
"K'un-Lun! Where did you hear about K'un-Lun?" Stick stood up excitedly, asking impatiently.
Matt realized that Stick indeed knew about K'un-Lun. He then recounted the entire incident of Jessica and Luke meeting Danny Rand to Stick.
After listening, Stick sighed: "The bearer of the Power of the Dragon has appeared in the world. It seems a major catastrophe is indeed about to occur."
"What exactly is this K'un-Lun and the Power of the Dragon?" Matt asked, sounding anxious.
"The existence of K'un-Lun is ancient. It's a sacred place that preserves ancient chi cultivation techniques, but I don't know the specifics of K'un-Lun. However, the five leaders of the Hand are indeed defectors from K'un-Lun. Our organization, the Chaste (The Order of the Pure), was also founded by a martial artist from K'un-Lun precisely to oppose the evil Hand. According to records, the Power of the Dragon should be the strongest inherited power of the sacred land of K'un-Lun. The successive Iron Fist heroes only appear in the world to avert a great crisis," Stick said with a solemn expression.
"So, the Hand is planning something major in New York that could potentially cause a great disaster, which is why the bearer of the Power of the Dragon came to New York," Matt asked after a moment of silence to digest Stick's words.
"That should be the case. With the appearance of the Iron Fist, the Hand's current scheme must be extraordinary," Stick nodded.
"Should we try to contact this Iron Fist?"
Matt recalled Jessica mentioning that the Iron Fist gave them his contact information, and the name Danny Rand seemed familiar, like he had heard it somewhere recently.
"Do your two friends have the Iron Fist's contact information?" Stick asked.