After Dan left, Stick immediately led the Chaste soldiers to clean up the mess, intending to eliminate the few remaining Hand ninjas.
The Hand ninjas were already at a disadvantage, and many had been consumed by "The Beast," so there were only a handful left now.
Three of the five leaders were dead, and the remaining Madame Gao and Murakami immediately fled.
The outcome of the battle was no longer their concern; regardless of who won or lost, they risked being eliminated themselves, so naturally, they couldn't stay to watch.
The power of the Dragon Bone had been taken by Dan, and there was nothing left on-site worth holding onto.
With their leaders either dead or fleeing, most of the remaining Hand ninjas were surrounded here, except for a few elite experts who quickly escaped the siege. The rest would be wiped out in a short time.
Matt immediately checked on Elektra, finding he couldn't wake her up. After explaining the situation to Stick, he quickly rushed Elektra to the hospital for examination.
"The dust has settled. The demon was defeated by Danny, and we have thwarted the Hand's conspiracy. The rest is none of our business. We should be able to head back," Luke Cage said to Jessica, watching Matt's hurried departure.
Jessica nodded in agreement.
Madame Gao and Murakami fled in disarray, both wearing extremely gloomy expressions. Not only did they fail to obtain the Dragon Bone this time, but they also suffered heavy losses.
Madame Gao, in particular, had brought essentially all of the Hand's elite ninjas from New York, and it was estimated that very few would manage to escape.
"What should we do now? My forces have been severely decimated this time," Madame Gao asked after running a distance and estimating that they were safe.
Murakami shook his head: "The loss of ninjas is secondary, even though the elite ninjas involved in the operation are basically not coming back. However, that is only the loss of the New York branch. For you, who controls the organization across the entire North American continent, while it is a major blow, it hasn't wounded the true foundation, has it?"
Madame Gao paused slightly, then nodded, tacitly agreeing with Murakami's words, and immediately stated: "The key is the Dragon Bone. We don't have much of the Dragon Bone that we originally brought from K'un-Lun left. Since we didn't get the Dragon Bone beneath New York this time, how are we going to continue extending our lives?"
Losses in power are insignificant. At worst, they could take over the forces controlled by the three deceased Hand leaders.
For Madame Gao and Murakami, this presented an opportunity to divide the Hand's influence, which could actually significantly expand the power they controlled.
The crucial problem was not obtaining the Dragon Bone. Without the power of the Dragon Bone to extend their lives, neither of them had much time left. Even if they took the remaining Dragon Bone quota belonging to the other three, it would only grant them less than five years of extra life.
"In that case, why not submit to me? I can provide you with an endless supply of life energy."
"Who's there?" Hearing this third voice, Madame Gao and Murakami immediately became alert, assuming a defensive posture ready to strike.
"Don't be nervous. I come bearing goodwill," Kingpin stepped out of the shadows, smiling softly as he spoke.
Kingpin's appearance on Madame Gao and Murakami's escape route, and his knowledge of the Hand leaders' situation, was naturally due to intelligence provided by Dan.
Although the original plan was to destroy the Hand and unify the underground criminal order in New York, Kingpin certainly wouldn't miss the opportunity to potentially subdue the Hand, a global assassination organization, for his own use.
"Kingpin?" Madame Gao immediately recognized her partner in the New York underworld.
"What arrogance! He's just a mere boss of a New York underground gang, yet he thinks he can make us submit and wants to control the Hand," Murakami sneered slightly, speaking with disdain.
Murakami had heard Kingpin's name as the Hand's collaborator in New York.
Madame Gao's expression was strange: "Kingpin, what do you mean by saying you can grant us an endless supply of life force?"
Kingpin tossed out two coins.
Murakami and Madame Gao caught them, half-believing and half-doubtful. They gently sensed the coins and immediately their expressions changed. These mysterious coins contained a powerful life energy.
While not as high quality as the Dragon Bone, both could use the life energy within them to increase their chi and continue extending their lifespan.
"Well?" Kingpin asked.
Madame Gao took a deep breath: "Where did you get these coins?"
Murakami was more direct. He immediately stepped forward, trying to restrain Kingpin and force him to reveal the origin of the life coins.
Seeing Murakami lunging at him, Kingpin shook his head and calmly pulled out the Fear Gaia Memory.
"Terror"
After transforming into the Dopant, he easily grabbed Murakami's arm.
"How is this possible?" Murakami's eyes were filled with disbelief. It was one thing to be powerless against a demon like "The Beast."
What was this power Kingpin possessed? He was actually able to block his attack, which contained the chi cultivated over hundreds of years.
Although he had previously burst out all his chi at once to escape "The Beast's" control and had not fully recovered, his attack was certainly not something an ordinary person could withstand.
"Kingpin, we can make a deal. You provide us with these life-containing coins. The Hand can assist you to the greatest extent," Madame Gao said, her eyes narrowing slightly.
At the same time, she was inwardly marveling. Is this the power of the Gaia Memory? It's truly formidable.
However, if I could obtain this Gaia Memory myself, I would definitely become even more powerful.
Kingpin shook his head at the suggestion and flung Murakami away: "I'm not here to negotiate with you. You have only two choices: submit, or perish."
"Delusional! When the few of us founded the Hand and dominated the world, your grandfather hadn't even been born yet," Murakami retorted angrily, making a threat.
Kingpin sighed, shaking his head slightly as he said: "Only talking about age and seniority. This is the typical statement of incompetent people who have been eliminated by the times. I thought you would be a bit smarter."
Murakami's eyes were splitting with rage, but he was wary of Kingpin's powerful strength and dared not directly engage.
"If our chi hadn't been depleted earlier and hasn't recovered yet, you wouldn't be able to defeat me," Murakami said, still very confident in his hundreds of years of cultivation, even though those hundreds of years were mostly spent bullying ordinary people.
"Madame Gao, let's retreat for now, and we'll deal with him later, forcing out the source of these coins," Murakami called out to Madame Gao. Even in his weakened state, escaping would be no problem.
Kingpin shook his head, seemingly regretting: "What a shame. It seems that unless I let you personally experience what true fear is, you won't willingly submit to me."
He raised his right hand, and the eerie blue Fear mud spread out.
Murakami watched the Fear Mud closing in on him, secretly realizing the danger and trying to escape.
However, influenced by the energy of fear, his movements were delayed by half a beat.
He was then engulfed by the Fear Mud.
"Ah!..."
Murakami let out an incomparably miserable scream.
A moment later, the Fear Mud receded. Murakami lay weakly on the ground, his eyes filled with immense terror directed at Kingpin. He trembled and instinctively tried to push himself away from Kingpin.
"Hahaha," Kingpin laughed heartily, then said to Murakami: "You will live the rest of your life in endless fear of me. Carry this fear and live on."
Of course, these words were mostly directed at Madame Gao next to him.
"So, Madame Gao, what is your choice?"
Madame Gao pressed down on her right hand, which was trembling from the intense, inexplicable emotion of fear, and replied: "From now on, the Hand will follow all of your commands."
"Good," Kingpin nodded with satisfaction.
"Submit willingly to me, and I will not treat you poorly. Mr. Murakami, you don't object, do you?"
Murakami shook his head tremblingly.
P.S.: Using water and a water bucket as an analogy.
The life energy collected in the life coins is the water. Using the life coins allows for continuous refilling of water, extending life.
However, it cannot break through the theoretical human lifespan limit.
After all, if the bucket holding the water is completely rusted, no amount of added water will keep it full. Adding too much water at once might even cause the bucket to break.
The leaders of the Hand were able to directly absorb life force to extend their lifespan because they had previously absorbed the power of the Dragon Bone and cultivated chi, which strengthened the bucket holding the water.
Their bodies, to some extent, have surpassed ordinary human limits, allowing them to directly absorb life force to extend their lives.
The bucket is strong enough to continuously be refilled with water.
(End of this chapter)