"This... how is this even possible? You're not Wolverine, how could you have... adamantium?"
Tombstone's last words were a choked, disbelieving whisper, directed at the quiet, lethal woman who stood before him, her claws slick with his lifeblood. His grey, bullet-proof skin offered him no protection against the unstoppable force of Yuriko's blades, which had effortlessly sliced through his heart.
The mighty Tombstone, one of the five pillars of New York's underworld, fell like a statue suddenly losing its pedestal. The Hammerhead-Tombstone duo, the immediate threat, was neutralized in less time than it takes to blink.
Zhong Qiang, who had been caught up in the melee with a group of disarmed goons, paused, his mouth agape. "Holy smokes! Rhys, when did you pick up the ability to apply debuffs to the enemy? Seriously, you need to shout out those warnings a couple more times before they're dead!"
Reece Fisk, mid-sweep on a staggering gangster, shot Zhong Qiang a murderous glare. "Go to hell, idiot!" he snapped, but the annoyance was superficial. He then looked at Logan and Yuriko with a mix of awe and profound apprehension.
He had spent weeks training at the Wing Chun school, and while he respected Logan, the feral mutant often seemed more focused on cartoons than combat, making Reece subconsciously underestimate his rumored might.
Now, watching two of his father's most infamous rivals—men who commanded armies and feared little—fall like puppets with their strings cut, Reece realized the terrifying truth: the power wielded by Huang Wen's inner circle was far, far beyond the scope of mere organized crime.
The silent, lightning-fast Yuriko, who resembled Logan in her cold, predatory focus, was a force Reece had never even heard of.
Yuriko, having dispatched Tombstone with chilling efficiency, walked back towards Huang Wen, her movements stiff and eerily robotic. "Boss, should we… eliminate all of them?" Her tone was flat, devoid of human emotion, chillingly similar to the programmed obedience she displayed under William Stryker's control.
The scent of battle, the presence of Logan, and the rapid deployment of her claws had momentarily triggered her deeper conditioning.
"Wake up," Huang Wen commanded, his voice sharp and penetrating. He didn't physically touch her, but instead unleashed a brief, resonant wave of his Divine Power, directly impacting Yuriko's mind and rattling her consciousness like a powerful chime.
Yuriko's body instantly shuddered, like a machine rebooting from a forced error. The predatory gleam faded, replaced by a flicker of confusion and then deep remorse. "Master… I apologize," she murmured, bowing her head deeply in shame, her composure restored.
"It's alright, Yuriko. The old habits die hard," Huang Wen said gently, shaking his head. He then surveyed the street. Most of the remaining soldiers, now leaderless and terrified, were being systematically beaten into submission by the Wing Chun students.
"Alright, that's enough to keep the situation controlled. This exercise has served its purpose, allowing the trainees to expend their recent surge of energy and get some real-world practice. Hmm?"
Just as he was speaking, Huang Wen's eyebrow arched in a sudden, intuitive recognition of a distant, hidden movement. Logan, who had been watching Yuriko with concern, instantly tensed, his head snapping up to stare towards a particular rooftop across the street.
"BANG!"
Faster than sound, an ordinary-looking, standard-issue pistol—which had suddenly materialized in Huang Wen's hand—discharged a single bullet. The shot was not straight; it flew with a slight, almost imperceptible outward arc, heading directly towards the shadowy figure hiding behind a large neon sign on the roofline.
"CRACK!"
A throwing knife, made of specialized, gleaming metal, shot out of the darkness, colliding with the bullet. The defensive throw was hasty, however. While the knife successfully deflected the bullet, it only succeeded in slightly altering its path. The bullet still tore a shallow but painful gash across the arm of the person concealed in the gloom.
"Wait! Mr. Huang Wen! It's me!"
A figure, recognizable by his scarred, intense face and famous bullseye tattoo, jumped out from behind the sign in sheer panic, clutching his wounded arm. It was Bullseye.
"Bullseye?" Huang Wen raised an eyebrow, genuinely surprised. He hadn't used his Divine Power to guide the bullet; he had merely relied on his refined Gun-Fu skill and his vague, heightened senses, which had detected a tiny disturbance in the shadows. He hadn't expected to flush out such an 'old acquaintance.'
"M-Mr. Kingpin received intel that Hammerhead and Tombstone were mounting a coordinated attack on the young master," Bullseye stammered, looking around frantically.
He glanced from the lifeless bodies of the two crime lords to the bizarre, shimmering cloud of confiscated weapons suspended in mid-air, a hint of abject, naked fear flickering in his eyes. "The Kingpin was… naturally worried, so he dispatched me to confirm the situation. I assure you, I harbor absolutely no ill intentions!"
Bullseye had long nurtured a simmering resentment towards Huang Wen, the man who had forced him to kneel and had stolen his glory. But now, witnessing Huang Wen's casual ability to curve a bullet and the instant, brutal demise of two of the underworld's titans, all his grudges dissolved into cold dread.
"If you were sent here on a concern patrol, why in the heavens were you lurking like a frightened sewer rat in the shadows?" Reece Fisk, having punched the last remaining gangster to the ground, turned his cold gaze on Bullseye.
Bullseye's panic was genuine. "I… I only just arrived! I was trying to discretely ascertain the young master's exact position and the scale of the threat, when Mr. Huang detected me instantly…"
He knew his story sounded flimsy. Without James Wesley or the Kingpin himself to vouch for him, Bullseye was simply another armed man lurking on a rooftop, and he was acutely aware that Huang Wen could end him with another casual wave of his hand.
"I will notify my father of your… timely arrival," Reece Fisk said, his voice flat and indifferent, a true heir's cold calculation already taking hold. He then turned and offered a deep, formal bow to Huang Wen, ignoring Bullseye completely. "I sincerely apologize again, Teacher. My identity continues to drag unwanted trouble to your doorstep."
"It's nothing," Huang Wen dismissed the apology with a wave of his hand. His gaze drifted over the defeated, stunned gang members who were now either groaning or lying completely still, and finally settled on Huang Liang, who was catching his breath nearby.
Huang Liang, youthful and recently empowered, had done an excellent job. In the heat of the moment, his every move had been precise, aimed instinctively at the enemy's vital points. He had easily surpassed his goal of incapacitating ten opponents.
Driven by the conviction that these men were criminals attacking his Master's school and neighbors, he had held nothing back. However, a deep-seated instinct—the inherent morality of a truly good person—had prevented him from delivering lethal blows. The defeated gang members were seriously injured, broken, and incapacitated, but none were dead.
"The lesson is complete." Seeing that the primary purpose of the battle—the practical application and psychological tempering of his students—had been achieved, Huang Wen stood up, stretching slightly.
He waved his hand, and the entire mass of criminals, currently pinned by his invisible Internal Force, were released, immediately collapsing into a confused, agonizing heap.
"Jack, come here for a moment!"
Jack, eyes shining with excitement, delivered a final, unnecessary chop to an already immobile enemy and rushed over. "Teacher! What can I do for you? I'm here!"
"You are aware of Rhys's identity now—he is the son of the Kingpin," Huang Wen stated calmly, pointing to Reece. "Therefore, all of these… gentlemen, fall under your jurisdiction. You will take the full, exclusive credit for this incident, including the two leaders. Consider it your monumental achievement. But be careful: Reece's involvement must remain a phantom. The entire matter must be handled discreetly."
"You're… you're gifting me the capture—no, the elimination—of Hammerhead and Tombstone?!" Jack's eyes widened, his mind reeling. He hadn't initially recognized them, but Reece's warning had solidified their identities: two of the five untouchable, largest gang bosses in the New York underworld. The political capital to be gained from such a feat was incalculable.
"Yes. This is your chance to shine, Detective," Huang Wen confirmed with a slight, knowing nod.
Jack immediately snapped back to his professional, ambitious self. His face, usually jovial, hardened into a look of focused political shrewdness.
"Thank you, Teacher! I understand perfectly. I will notify my uncle's most trusted people right away to handle the cleanup. Don't worry, not only will Reece name be scrubbed completely, but this entire event will be sealed off from Chinatown, and the Wing Chun school will be completely exonerated!"
Jack pulled out his personal phone, already making the call. "The official narrative will state that these two gangs, Hammerhead and Tombstone, were meeting to secretly plot massive illegal operations—perhaps a merger—and that I, Detective Sergeant Jack, leading a rapid, unattached tactical team, moved decisively to neutralize the threat in a single, surgical operation."
He continued, "Oh, and the cherry on top: the 21st Precinct Chief's inexplicable lockdown order will be immediately investigated, citing 'collusion with gang members' as the likely cause, thereby elevating my position and clearing my department's name."