A few minutes later, Daredevil and Spider-Man appeared simultaneously in the skies over New York. The two landed on the rooftop of a skyscraper. Peter knew full well that Matt seeking him out meant there was finally a lead on the Hand.
Sure enough, Matt's first sentence concerned them: "Kingpin reached out to me. He wants us to join forces to deal with the Hand."
Hearing this, Peter felt a flicker of surprise. He didn't doubt that Kingpin was capable of collaborating with superheroes; after all, the big man was someone who knew how to yield when necessary and possessed significant foresight.
Ever since Peter had visited Kingpin in prison, the investigations into his secret identity had ceased entirely.
So, if faced with specific circumstances, the big man would indeed choose to cooperate with heroes. What Peter found strange, however, was that he had decided to seek Matt's help specifically regarding the Hand.
"Is the Hand really that big of a threat? Big enough for Kingpin to choose to work with you?"
Matt hesitated for a moment upon hearing this, his brow furrowing.
"I'm not sure. From my perspective, though the Hand has appeared several times and attacked me repeatedly, they haven't actually displayed any unexpected levels of threat..."
As a superhero, Matt evaluated the Hand primarily through the lens of combat effectiveness. He didn't feel that their martial prowess was exaggeratedly powerful. Looking back at the villains he had faced—including Kingpin himself and Bullseye—the Hand didn't seem particularly formidable.
If that was the case, why did Kingpin believe he needed help?
"In other words, from his perspective as a crime lord, Kingpin has seen something unusual," Peter noted.
Matt agreed with Peter's assessment, remarking with a sigh, "But the question is, what is it?"
Matt fell into silence while Peter scratched his head. "I don't know either. I've asked several people lately if there's anything strange happening in the gangs or similar circles. While there are many oddities, and most seem linked to the Hand, there's no way to connect them to the Hand's actual location."
Matt "looked" toward Peter, waiting expectantly to hear what the Spider had discovered during this time.
Peter's information sources were twofold. On one hand, there was F.E.A.S.T., where Aunt May worked and where Martin Li was located; he could gather news regarding the Chinese community there. As a member of the Defenders, Martin had certainly been doing his part.
Beyond that, Peter relied on the many ordinary people he knew, as well as individuals like Shocker's mother, whom he had made an effort to get to know recently.
During this period, New York had indeed undergone some dramatic changes.
"First, the volume of enhancers has dropped rapidly. Although it's not a full-scale offensive, the Hand has wiped out several gangs and killed a lot of people—and they have absolutely no intention of occupying those ecological niches. These gangs had originally filled the void left by Kingpin's territory, so their disappearance created a temporary vacuum in the underworld."
These vacant areas were quickly "invaded" and occupied by F.E.A.S.T. to reclaim ground from the criminal element. Martin Li still organized a "Inner Demons" group, but now the entire gang was responsible for maintaining order as a proactive social organization.
This was the only solution Peter and Martin had arrived at after their discussions. If they simply defeated the gangs and locked them up, new criminals would eventually replace them. It was better to rely on F.E.A.S.T. and Martin's influence to displace the gangs entirely.
Though for the current state of New York, this was still treating the symptoms rather than the cause. Many issues were not just structural but ideological, and having F.E.A.S.T. maintain order in a few neighborhoods couldn't solve everything.
However, during this process, Peter discovered something peculiar.
"You mean... the Hand isn't involved in selling the drugs?"
"I thought it was strange at first, too. They don't seem like the type to sacrifice profit for morality. And you have to remember, whether it was the Germans or the Japanese during World War II, they used enhancers as military supplies."
Peter offered a conclusion that was entirely speculative but lacked evidence: "So, either the Hand plans to supply their own goods—offering some unprecedented new enhancer—and thus needs to dismantle the existing sales network..."
"Or they are stockpiling these enhancers on a massive scale to prevent them from entering the market," Matt realized. He shook his head; Peter's logic made sense, but it still didn't help them pinpoint the Hand's location.
He finally understood what Kingpin meant by knowing Hell's Kitchen like the back of his hand. It wasn't just about knowing the geography; it was about understanding the operational logic of the underworld. He could spot the Hand's movements through the shifts in that ecosystem.
Matt took a deep breath. Was it truly necessary to rely on Kingpin to find these ninjas?
"I tried to track down the suppliers for these dealers before, but unfortunately, once I reached a certain level, the Hand had already stepped in to cut the ties. That makes me even more certain they are trying to sever the original supply chain. If they were actually trying to reduce the influence of drugs, it would almost be a good thing."
Even as he said it, as mentioned before, Peter had no intention of trusting the Hand's moral compass.
So, he had thought of another way.
"Fortunately, we have extra help. A friend who went off to look for his daughter has returned. He can help us with this."
"He knows where to find the Hand?"
Matt looked at Peter skeptically. Peter shook his head; the ally he found couldn't provide direct intelligence on the Hand, but he possessed a unique advantage.
He had fought the Hand before and remembered their scent.
That man was Logan. As an old adversary of the Hand, Logan didn't even need to investigate. As long as he caught a whiff of that specific scent in the vicinity, he could rapidly determine their position. With this edge, Peter believed they could successfully track the Hand down.
Hearing this, Matt felt a surge of excitement and began considering other factors. "Then I'll talk to Kingpin and agree to the cooperation—but we need to ensure his actions stay under our surveillance and don't interfere with us."
Peter added a final thought: "Also, we need to figure out exactly what he's planning in this situation. I have a hunch that Kingpin's goal isn't just to take down the Hand."
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