"The Hand..."
Inside the academy, Logan couldn't help but frown upon hearing Peter mention that name. Although his memories had been restored, many things had naturally faded into the background.
His recollections of Japan, in particular, were not pleasant memories; he had almost entirely put them out of his mind.
"I don't remember much about them, but if I'm not mistaken, they were the ones who killed my wife... Daken's mother."
As a man cursed with a solitary star of misfortune, Logan's life had always existed in two overlapping states: if he stayed near those he cared about, they would suffer—take Jean, for example. And if he wasn't near those he cared about, they would still suffer—like Daken's mother.
Hearing this slightly familiar name, Peter remembered Logan's son, who had already appeared in this universe. He was one of the prisoners who had escaped from the Raft during the jailbreak and had yet to be recaptured.
"However, if you're planning to ask me exactly what kind of organization they are, I can't give you an incredibly detailed answer. All I can tell you is that they are very ancient. I saw them in the Pacific Theater, and on the Japanese home islands."
Logan tried his best to recall details about the Hand. After Cap disappeared, Logan had been assigned to a unit in the Pacific Theater to fight the Japanese. He was eventually captured on the battlefield and held in a concentration camp located in Hiroshima.
He was liberated after the war and lived in Japan as a veteran for a long time. It was during that time that Logan had a child with a Japanese woman—Daken.
So, in a way... he realized he wasn't actually that familiar with the Hand himself.
"The only thing I know is that these guys aren't much different from the Japanese during the war. They basically still maintain that pathological mindset from the war era. Of course, that might have something to do with their soldiers."
The Hand's subordinates were very unique. They weren't particularly strong, but they couldn't be killed—because these soldiers were already dead.
It was by relying on these undead soldiers, like the living dead, that the Hand was able to maintain such a powerful influence in Japan. Aside from that, Logan truly felt there wasn't much else about those guys worth worrying about.
"Furthermore..."
Logan thought carefully about all the intelligence regarding the Hand before offering a piece of information he wasn't entirely sure about: "There's no evidence for it, but I remember someone saying that the Hand used to be more of a religious armed force in old Japan. It was during World War II, when the Germans sent Hydra to support Japan, that the Hand was transformed into what they are today."
Hydra again...
Peter frowned. The current depth and breadth of Hydra's infiltration in the 616 universe were unclear. Aside from one point Peter was fairly certain of, he couldn't be sure of anything else: the infiltration occurring in the 616 universe was definitely more absurd than in the MCU.
Roxxon and the Hand were both connected to Hydra. This organization, which lacked any high-end combat power of its own, now seemed to have become a sort of broker, linking different villains together.
"I plan to cooperate with Matt and the others to take down the Hand members who have come to New York. I was hoping you could join us. After all, when it comes to actual combat experience, you're the only one who has fought them, Logan."
Logan simply gave a nonchalant nod. For Logan, who was currently bored out of his mind, this was just a way to relax.
With the Professor's return, he was even more idle now. Consequently, Logan's primary focus was on searching for X-23, but it wasn't going well. It was also related to Hydra, yet Logan couldn't find a single clue regarding X-23.
Taking this time to deal with the Hand, who might be connected to Hydra, wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
After finishing his chat with Logan, Peter intended to say his goodbyes. He walked out of Logan's room, momentarily unsure of what to do next.
Did it really just come down to waiting for the Defenders to further investigate the enemy's location before launching a raid?
No, that wasn't right. While Spider-Man might be free for the moment, Peter Parker was about to get busy. School was starting soon, and Peter would be a sophomore.
Although nothing much had changed physically, it would truly keep Peter occupied. Various activities and other related matters would start popping up like mushrooms after rain.
"Maybe this is an opportunity for Peter Parker to return to his life as a student."
As Peter walked down the hallway, he began to think about how to handle life in his sophomore year. Then he stopped and looked outside at the children playing happily at the academy.
"A normal high school life... I'm probably out of luck there."
"I agree."
A sudden voice interrupted Peter's rambling thoughts, nearly giving him a fright. Peter spun around quickly to see Illyana leaning against the wall, eating an apple.
"You scared the life out of me."
"Did I? If Spider-Man were to be scared to death by something like this, I bet all of New York, especially that J. Jonah Jameson, would report it with everything they've got."
"Please, no. The thought that my own obituary might be written by J. Jonah Jameson makes me feel sick."
The two engaged in casual conversation. Peter asked, somewhat offhandedly, "How's school life?"
Illyana's expression suddenly became very... strange.
"It's hard to say... if you've ever seen a school where winter and summer vacations don't exist, or rather, where they don't matter, you'd definitely feel like you're in school every single day. Many mutants don't have homes, or they can't go back. A significant number of students have parents who don't want a mutant child, so they're essentially dumped at the academy."
There were others, like Illyana, whose family was basically at the academy. Those who were both mutants and could actually go home for vacations were few and far between.
"The situation for mutants will definitely keep getting better. After all, there are more and more superpowered people in this world."
Illyana just shrugged. She felt her sense of belonging to mutantkind wasn't very strong; neither X-Men affairs nor academy matters particularly appealed to her.
"It would be nice if something happened on Strange's end..."
"Normally, shouldn't one hope for world peace?"
Illyana looked at Peter very seriously. "Do you really hope for world peace?"
"Uh, well, yeah?"
"Then why are you so busy every day?"
Peter thought about it very seriously before giving an incomprehensible answer.
"Actually, school is about to start for me."
"???"
"What I mean is, I'm going to be even busier."