Nobu wielded his blade while Madame Gao raised her palm.
The two attacked from left and right simultaneously.
Hibari's expression remained cold. He raised his tonfas and blocked from both sides.
Clang!
Blade met tonfa, sparks flying.
Palm struck tonfa, shockwaves bursting outward.
This time, both sides understood each other's strength. Nobody was caught off guard, so nobody went flying.
The three combatants clashed briefly, separated, then immediately engaged again in close combat.
In an instant—blade flashes, palm strikes, tonfa blocks. Air pressure burst outward from their collisions, blowing away nearby rubble and debris.
Hibari's physical technique was formidable, but both opponents were Kunlun traitors who'd survived for hundreds of years, perfecting their chi manipulation and martial arts.
Even without daring to use Kunlun's true power, they weren't inferior to him. Two-on-one gave them an absolute advantage.
But as Hibari had said earlier, now he had the numerical advantage. Two Cloud Hedgehog spheres revolved around him, constantly creating pressure for Madame Gao and Nobu.
When one created an opening, the other would capitalize on it.
But whenever an opening appeared, the spheres would disrupt it.
As for abandoning Hibari to attack the spheres instead? They weren't stupid enough to leave an enemy of this caliber at their backs.
…
"What the actual hell is this?"
Jessica Jones lowered her binoculars with a bewildered expression.
She was on the rooftop of the building across from Midtown United Company.
Jessica had been drinking at a bar when Daredevil called. She'd come immediately.
Now she was witnessing the battle in the penthouse across the street and feeling absolutely absurd about it.
She wasn't an ordinary person herself, but the fight still surprised her. Specifically, the Box Weapons and Madame Gao surprised her.
Flying, growing, shrinking, splitting... The Box Weapons' extraordinary functions amazed and fascinated her.
As for Madame Gao, that was just nonsense.
It was absurd that an elderly woman had such speed and strength—but Jessica had also witnessed the old lady slap one of those massive spiked spheres into the air with her bare hand.
So that old lady was also enhanced. Great.
"That's why I called you all here."
Beside Jessica, a man in red tactical gear spoke quietly.
Three other people stood on either side of him and Jessica.
A handsome blond man, a bald Black man with an imposing presence, and a middle-aged man with short hair wearing a tactical vest.
They were the Defenders.
The so-called Defenders were an organization jointly formed by several enhanced individuals in Hell's Kitchen to protect civilian lives and property.
Daredevil—Matt Murdock. Power Man—Luke Cage. Iron Fist—Danny Rand. And Jessica Jones (who'd abandoned her hero name).
The fifth person was Frank Castle, the Punisher—the guy in the tactical vest.
He wasn't part of the Defenders because his philosophy didn't align with the other heroes.
But he respected what they stood for.
And when it came to taking down Kingpin, their goals aligned perfectly.
So when Daredevil had contacted him, he'd responded immediately.
"I was at my law office when I heard the sounds of combat," Matt explained to his teammates. "I rushed over immediately. This is what I found."
Jessica was getting impatient.
She waved her hand dismissively. "Whatever the reason, Kingpin and his crew are losing badly. If we join the fight now, we'll tip the scales instantly."
"I thought the same thing initially," Daredevil said quietly. "However, from their conversation, I learned the intruder's identity. He's the Cloud Guardian of the Vongola Family. Hibari Kyoya."
"The Vongola Family?"
Danny turned to look at Matt. "What's that?"
"A new mafia organization," Luke said grimly. "Just two days ago, they suddenly showed up in Harlem and took over every gang in the area."
"If that's the case, both sides deserve each other."
Frank said indifferently while assembling his sniper rifle.
Luke turned to look at Frank, frowning slightly.
He'd always felt this guy was too bloodthirsty. Not a good person.
Even though they needed strength to deal with Kingpin, Luke didn't want to cooperate with someone like this.
But the Punisher was Matt's contact.
Luke trusted Matt, so he tried to trust this guy too.
Still, seeing how casually Frank talked about killing, Luke felt compelled to speak up. "The Vongola Family supposedly has six Guardians. If the Cloud Guardian has this much power, the others won't be weak either. When they were fighting other gangs two days ago, I witnessed two of them displaying incredible abilities."
After hesitating a moment, he added, "Besides, I don't want to fight the Vongola Family."
"Why not?" Jessica looked over, confused. "Are you scared of how strong they are?"
"If I was scared of powerful enemies, I wouldn't have formed the Defenders with you!" Luke shot back, glaring at Jessica. "The reason I don't want to fight Vongola is because they've brought order to Harlem. There's no more drug or human trafficking in that district. And because the gangs are unified, security is actually improving."
He paused.
"If the Vongola Family falls, Harlem goes back to what it was before."
"But they're the mafia!"
Frank threw his assembled sniper rifle down and turned to stare at Luke with obvious dissatisfaction. "By your logic, should we be protecting Kingpin too?"
"They're different!"
"How?"
"They—"
Luke wanted to explain, but when the words reached his lips, nothing came out.
Because the Vongola Family had only been in Harlem for two days. Nobody actually knew what their true nature was yet.
At this point, saying they were different from Kingpin was premature.
After all, Kingpin had a good reputation once too.
"Stop arguing. The battle's reached its conclusion."
Daredevil's words drew everyone's attention back to the penthouse across the street—the floor had been buried under a collapsed roof.
At the edge of the ruins, only the blood-covered Kingpin, a gray-haired elderly person, Nobu's corpse, and an unharmed Bullseye were visible.
As for the Cloud Guardian, he'd disappeared.
"What happened? Where's the Vongola guy?"
Jessica, who'd missed the ending because of Luke and Frank's argument, asked urgently.
Daredevil said quietly, "Jumped out the other window."
"Who's that old person?"
"What old person?"
Daredevil was confused.
His enhanced hearing had an almost supernatural effect—he could create three-dimensional sound-images in his mind.
But there was still a difference between hearing and seeing. Some things couldn't be understood through hearing alone.
"That person who looks like they should be buried already... Wait, that's an Asian face. Shouldn't that be Madame Gao?"
Jessica stared through her binoculars.
"How did she age so much in such a short time!?"
New Character Notes:
Jessica Jones - From Marvel Comics/MCU. Enhanced individual with superhuman strength and limited flight/jumping ability. Former superhero who now works as a private investigator. Member of the Defenders.
Luke Cage (Power Man) - From Marvel Comics/MCU. Enhanced individual with unbreakable skin and superhuman strength. Community protector in Harlem. Member of the Defenders.
Danny Rand (Iron Fist) - From Marvel Comics/MCU. Martial artist with the mystical power of the Iron Fist, which channels chi into devastating strikes. Member of the Defenders.
Frank Castle (The Punisher) - From Marvel Comics/MCU. Former Marine turned vigilante. Uses military tactics and heavy weapons to wage war on organized crime. Not officially part of the Defenders but occasionally cooperates with them.