If possible, Hardy wanted both.
"I'll be staying here for a while to track the demon's whereabouts. If you agree, you can find me at Fujiya. By the way, your family seems quite influential—could you get me one of those firearms? But the bullets need to be made from Scarlet Ore. Only weapons forged from this sun-infused metal can sever a demon's head and kill it."
Sanemi Shinazugawa pointed at the gun on Uesugi Shin's waist.
His foolish younger brother actually wanted to join the Demon Slayer Corps. After several failed attempts to stop him, Sanemi set his sights on acquiring a firearm.
With a gun, at least he wouldn't be so easily killed by demons.
"If you want a gun that can shatter a demon's head or neck in one shot, you'll need something more powerful. I have the connections to get one, but the bullets must be crafted with extreme precision and require specialized equipment. I can't access that directly—I'll need to ask my elder brother at the Shiga Police Headquarters for help."
As Uesugi Shin spoke, a crow flew in through the window, cawing as it circled the courtyard.
Sanemi Shinazugawa glanced at the Kasugai crow, knowing it brought news, and stood up from the tatami.
"I'll wait for your news then. Just inform the people at Fujiya if anything comes up. I'll take my leave."
With that, Sanemi Shinazugawa hurried away, leaving father and son staring at each other.
"Sorry."
Uesugi Shin took a sip of tea and apologized.
"Hm? Oh, I forgive you for almost throwing the bowl at me earlier."
"No… I mean, I'm sorry for being so focused on work all these years and never really getting to know you. I always thought you were just out fooling around, and that applying to the police academy was just a whim. I never expected you to be so capable."
He was referring to Hardy's skills.
Hardy took a sip of tea as well.
In truth, Uesugi Shin was mistaken.
The original Hardy really had been a playboy, always hanging out with the wrong crowd.
"When Mr. Shinazugawa invited you to join the Demon Slayer Corps just now, what did you think? Will you accept, or stick to the original plan and have your uncle arrange for you to enter the Kyoto Police Academy?"
Hardy played with his teacup and asked:
"Could Uncle arrange for me to enter the police force directly? I want both a police salary and the Demon Slayer Corps. With a team wielding supernatural power like that, I imagine both the current authorities and the old shogunate of the Edo period would want to supervise and restrict them, right?"
"You mean…"
There are definitely government officials involved; otherwise, those lords couldn't possibly sleep so soundly."
Hardy chuckled.
Uesugi Shin nodded thoughtfully.
"When your uncle gets off work, I'll go to the town office and give him a call to ask about it."
In this era, telephones were a rare means of communication. Even though Uesugi Shin was the town mayor, there wasn't a phone at home.
In all of Kōnan Town, only a handful of places like the town office, the police station, and the post office had telephones installed.
...
...
DC Universe.
The gangland situation in Gotham was changing rapidly—so fast that it caught Bruce Wayne off guard.
"Young master, you've been working for twenty hours straight. I think you should get some rest."
Alfred, the butler, set a tray of desserts on the table and, full of helplessness, addressed the figure seated in front of the supercomputer.
"No, Alfred. I need to find out why Clear Water has changed so much. Compared to before he entered Arkham, both his abilities and personality have undergone significant changes. His obsession with stitching corpses has also disappeared."
Bruce Wayne stared gravely at the various screens on the computer.
These were all feeds from surveillance cameras he had installed in every corner of Gotham, as well as footage captured by Wayne Enterprises' high-tech satellites.
At the center was a video of Hardy using black gold to take down three Titan thugs in five seconds during a deal with Two-Face.
It was hard to imagine how Wayne Enterprises' satellites managed to capture this footage on a heavily clouded night.
"Maybe he was cured of his mental illness in Arkham?" Alfred shrugged and started making coffee.
"I can't rule that out, but I've investigated all of his treatment records at Arkham Asylum, and after analyzing them, I think that possibility is very slim," Batman replied in a low voice.
"But at least he hasn't caused any trouble so far. Compared to the Joker and the others, he's already much better, isn't he?" Alfred skillfully created a beautiful bat-shaped pattern in Bruce's coffee using chocolate and milk, then placed it in front of him.
He just wanted his young master to take a break, even though he knew it was almost impossible.
"The gangs under his control are indeed more orderly, but that's what makes him even more dangerous. It means that, as a force of darkness, he understands how to blend into Gotham even better. Alfred, he's giving his men professional training. This kind of training reminds me of Ra's. If he truly becomes part of the city's order, he'll be an even more troublesome opponent than Penguin."
Bruce Wayne spoke solemnly.
Penguin had money, territory, connections, and plenty of henchmen, but his overall strength was only so-so.
But the Puppeteer was different.
This guy was no ordinary threat.
Even Bruce Wayne couldn't figure out what powered that suit of armor.
In just a few months—less than a year—he'd developed a sizable gang and even formed alliances with Two-Face. He wasn't someone to be taken lightly.
Thinking of this, Bruce Wayne added a lot of new information to the file he'd created on the Puppeteer, and started a new sub-project:
Anti-Puppeteer Batsuit!
...
...
Hardy had no idea that his true identity had already been exposed to Batman.
With Batman's methods, it was only a matter of time before he found out.
The reason he'd faked an identity with Penguin before was to buy himself time to grow.
Now that his influence and strength had reached a certain level, Hardy's goals had been met.
But he was facing new problems.
"Someone died?"
In the office on the second floor of the bar, Hardy rested his chin on one hand and looked at the subordinate in front of him.
"No, but a lot of people were injured. Boss, it happened over on Chik Street. We wanted to turn the auto repair shop there into a branch of Hog Motors, but the Sons of the Scepter had their eyes on Chik Street too. It's right next to the Drella community, so..."
Aman hesitated.
His shoulder was wrapped in bandages, stained with obvious blood.
"The Gunner and the Gunsmith?"
"Yeah, those two bastards. They're both former Marine officers, experts in firearms manufacturing and repair, and crack shots. Even Falcone hired them as instructors for his men. We're no match for them—a few of our brothers got killed."