"Buy me ten seconds!"
Kingpin barked the order at the few bodyguards he had left, then immediately thrust out his right hand and began turning his fist into steel.
In the blink of an eye, his hand became a steel fist.
But for Kingpin, that still wasn't enough.
That old blind man and that woman were far too dangerous. Their movements were sharp and lethal, far beyond what ordinary people could achieve.
He had to kill with one strike.
He had to superheat his fist.
Kingpin began forcing his power into his arm, heating the steel again and again.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
At the same time, the two remaining bodyguards opened fire on Stick and Elektra, bullets tearing through the air one after another.
Even Wesley, refined as he was, pulled out his gun and joined the resistance.
No matter how skilled Stick and Elektra were, they were still flesh and blood. They couldn't ignore bullets. Forced back, both of them took cover behind nearby obstacles.
For the moment, they were pinned down.
But only for the moment.
Because bullets ran out fast. A handgun could only hold so many rounds.
Their blades, on the other hand, weren't going to rust away anytime soon.
And the worst part was, they didn't even need to wait for the ammunition to run dry.
They could kill them long before that.
A flash of cold light suddenly sliced through the air.
Elektra popped out for just an instant, and one of her short blades shot forward like a streak of silver.
It punched straight through a bodyguard's chest.
What the hell?
The other bodyguard's face changed. He instinctively glanced at his companion.
A thrown blade?
That was insane.
That split second of distraction cost him everything.
Another blade flashed through the air and pierced his chest too.
At that point, everyone was dead except Kingpin and Wesley.
Wesley's bullets were nearly gone as well.
"No ammo left?"
Elektra stepped out from behind cover with a cold smile, casually ripping one of her blades free from a corpse and spinning it in her hand.
Stick emerged too, sword in hand, moving toward them like death itself.
"It seems we've reached the end."
Kingpin's heavy voice broke the silence.
He stepped forward and came to stand beside Wesley, staring straight at the old man and the woman closing in.
By now, his fist had turned a blazing crimson, burning with terrifying heat.
There was only one road left now.
Fight.
The two of them stood there with grim, unyielding eyes fixed on the approaching pair, both fully aware that life and death would be decided in the next few moments.
"What's wrong with your fist?"
Elektra stopped short, shock cutting through her voice.
She stared at Kingpin's hand in open disbelief.
It was glowing.
What kind of fist was that?
"Elektra, what is it? I can sense a powerful energy."
Stick spoke as well, his tone sharp.
"His fist is glowing," Elektra said in a low voice. "Like... like a red-hot iron bar."
A moment ago, she had thought these two men were already dead meat.
Now, she wasn't so sure.
"A glowing fist?"
Elektra didn't understand what she was seeing, but Stick's heart jolted.
A glowing fist...
Could this man be... Iron Fist?
Had the next Iron Fist already emerged?
"Iron Fist?" Stick asked out loud.
"Obviously."
Kingpin glanced at his burning steel fist and answered as if it were self-evident.
A steel fist was a steel fist.
"If you don't back off now, I'll use this iron fist to smash your heads in!" he roared.
If the sight of his fist alone could scare them off, that would be the best outcome.
"Forget Iron Fist. I wouldn't care if it were a titanium fist. No one is saving you tonight."
Elektra let out a cold snort and shot straight at Kingpin.
She had no idea that what Stick meant by Iron Fist and what Kingpin meant by iron fist were two completely different things.
Kingpin didn't waste another word. He swung his burning fist and charged her head-on.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Taking advantage of the moment, Wesley snatched a gun from the ground and fired wildly at Elektra.
She immediately abandoned Kingpin and rushed at Wesley instead.
Meanwhile, Stick clashed directly with Kingpin.
Kingpin was already a formidable fighter even without his Devil Fruit. Now, with a red-hot steel fist, he could actually go toe-to-toe with Stick for a time.
The fight was fierce.
But Stick no longer wanted to kill him.
Because Iron Fist was meant to oppose the Hand.
As far as Stick was concerned, this fight had already changed. Now he wanted to test this supposed new Iron Fist and see just how strong he really was.
And from what he could tell, the strength was there.
The style, though... it didn't resemble K'un-Lun in the slightest.
While Stick and Kingpin fought, Elektra had already closed the gap with Wesley.
Wesley kept firing at her in desperation.
But as one handsome idiot had once said, guns were weapons for lesser men.
At this range, a gun's advantage disappeared almost completely.
Elektra twisted and darted through the barrage like a cat, weaving left and right until she broke through and arrived right in front of him.
Her blade shot forward and plunged straight into Wesley's heart.
His whole body jerked.
It was like someone had hit pause on him.
The gun slipped from his fingers and hit the ground.
"Killing you this easily is letting you off too lightly."
Elektra yanked her blade back out, her voice cold as ice.
Wesley's eyes bulged wide, his mouth hanging open in pain and disbelief.
Using every ounce of strength left in him, he suddenly reached out and grabbed her.
"And what exactly can you still do now?"
Elektra sneered.
Then—
Bang!
A bullet burst from Wesley's fingertip and slammed into Elektra's chest.
Blood sprayed.
"What the hell?!"
Pure instinct took over. Elektra slashed down at once and cut off Wesley's head.
His body crumpled to the ground.
But she barely noticed.
There was only one thought in her mind.
What the hell had just happened?
How had she been shot?
"Wesley!"
"Elektra!"
Two cries rang out at the same time.
Kingpin and Stick, who had been fighting nearby, both broke away instantly and rushed over.
One dropped to his dead subordinate with grief written all over his face.
The other hurried to Elektra, his voice tight with urgency.