"And Sasori, it's been a while. In just two years, you've grown so much and even joined the Puppet Corps."
The Third Kazekage patted Sasori's head, showing genuine concern.
Finally, his gaze fell on the only unfamiliar young man present.
"Lord Kazekage, this is Hardy. He joined the Puppet Corps this year as the top candidate in the selection exams!"
Jianye quietly nudged Hardy's leg and introduced him to the Third Kazekage.
Hardy had no choice but to act excited and stammered, "L-Lord Kazekage, my name is Hardy, and I'm eleven years old this year!"
"Ah, I'll remember you."
The Third Kazekage reached out with his other hand and patted Hardy's head, playing the role of a benevolent and approachable leader.
Those who could enter the Puppet Corps were all talented puppet masters. To place first in the selection was a sure sign of an elite jonin in the making—especially given Hardy's young age.
As the leader of Sunagakure, the Third Kazekage naturally paid attention to, befriended, and cultivated these young geniuses.
At least as a Kazekage, he did well in this regard. According to the original story, Sunagakure was at its strongest during the Third Kazekage's era—not only was his own strength among the top Kage, but the village also boasted the greatest number of top-tier ninja.
The older generation had the Chiyo siblings; the middle generation included Sasori's parents; and the younger generation produced Rasa, Karura, and Pakura.
Sunagakure's later decline into the weakest of the Five Great Shinobi Villages was simply a matter of bad luck.
Sasori's parents encountered White Fang, who was a natural counter to puppet masters, leading to the loss of their lineage. This left Sasori emotionally deprived and unstable, ultimately resulting in his assassination of the Third Kazekage.
After Rasa took power, he used political means to eliminate Pakura, who was a threat to his position as Kazekage. Karura died in childbirth with Gaara not long after.
In the end, even Rasa himself was assassinated by Orochimaru.
If, in Naruto's era, Konoha's decline was due to the deaths of the Fourth Hokage and his wife...
The inaction of the Third Hokage in his later years led to this situation, making Sunagakure truly unfortunate. In just over a decade, only Chiyo and Ebizō, those two old folks, were barely holding things together. They couldn't even find a single qualified candidate for Kazekage, so they had to force their jinchūriki into the position.
If it weren't for the incident with the White Fang, by the time Sasori's generation grew up, Sunagakure might have become the strongest among the Five Great Shinobi Villages.
One could say that the Third Kazekage laid a solid foundation for Sunagakure, but unfortunately, he ran into Konoha's White Fang, whose single battle shattered the village's normal succession.
"Kazekage-sama."
Sasori suddenly called out to the Third Kazekage.
"Sasori, what is it?"
The Third Kazekage crouched down, gently patting Sasori's head.
"Is the White Fang dead?"
The Third Kazekage's hand paused, his gaze dimming, but he forced a smile onto his face.
"Sorry, Sasori. The White Fang is very strong—I couldn't kill him. But with the help of Jonin Ishido, I managed to seriously injure him. If there's a next time, I'll definitely finish him off!"
Seemingly unwilling to see the disappointment in Sasori's eyes, the Third Kazekage turned to the others with a smile.
"As the Third Kazekage, I hereby announce: The original A-rank mission to capture Uchiha has failed, but this mission has been reclassified as part of the higher-level mission to ambush the White Fang. Now that Sakumo Hatake has been gravely injured, even with Tsunade around, he won't be able to return to the battlefield anytime soon. Therefore, the mission is a success."
The A-rank mission failed, but the S-rank mission succeeded.
It could be said that Hardy and Sasori were almost the first in Sunagakure's history to participate in and complete an S-rank mission while still being Genin.
The reward for the mission would also increase by at least double afterward.
...
...
DC Universe.
Gotham, the slums, Gotham's old industrial district, an abandoned factory.
"From today on, the Cole Gang is under my control. Flash Watt is in charge. Anyone have a problem with that?"
Hardy sat calmly in a chair, his left elbow resting on the armrest, chin propped on his hand, as he looked at the thirty or so thugs in front of him.
The two-meter-tall Black Gold stood quietly behind him, and together with the indistinct, bloody mass at Hardy's feet, created an intimidating scene.
That bloody mass was the former boss of the Cole Gang, Chidi Cole.
The thugs exchanged nervous glances and began whispering among themselves.
At that moment, a bald man wearing a gold chain suddenly raised his pistol and aimed it at Hardy.
"You're not wearing that suit of armor now, Mr. Watt. All I have to do is pull the trigger and you're dead. Looks to me like I'm more suited to be the boss of the Cole Gang."
Hardy burst out laughing.
"I like your courage. Your name is… never mind."
The hand Hardy had on the armrest flipped over quickly, and a slender steel nail shot out, piercing the bald man's forehead.
If he'd been facing someone like Deathstroke or Ra's al Ghul, they could have easily reacted, but this bald guy was just an ordinary person with a bit more muscle.
"I'm not interested in knowing the names of dead men."
The crowd of thugs, now terrified, quickly changed their tune and addressed Hardy:
"Boss Watt!"
"Long live Boss Watt!"
"Boss Watt is mighty!"
Their shouts overlapped in a noisy, chaotic chorus—anyone could tell at a glance this was just a ragtag mob.
A satisfied smile appeared on Hardy's face as he watched his fortune points increase on the panel.
It wasn't much, but it was rising.
Sure enough, becoming the boss of a faction really does increase fortune.
Next, it should be time to keep expanding my influence, right?
"Uh… Boss Watt, there's something I need to report to you."
A thug with messy, green-dyed hair raised his hand toward Hardy.
"Speak!"
Hardy crossed his legs.
"Chidi Cole had an older brother named Kerman Cole—he's the boss of the Two-Face Gang. Every month, our Cole Gang has to scrape together a payment for the Two-Face Gang. That way, they'll protect us, and we won't get hassled by other gangs or the cops."
"I get why being under the Two-Face Gang's protection keeps other gangs off our backs, but what does that have to do with the police?"
Hardy asked the green-haired thug curiously.
"Heh, boss, you must be new to this business, so you might not know yet, but the cops in Gotham all have their side hustles. All the big gangs have connections in the police department. They cooperate with the cops, pay them off, and in return, the police don't go after them. Sometimes, the cops even tip them off about raids."
"When the police need to boost their stats, the big gangs will obediently offer up scapegoats. They'll even keep the small gangs in line so things don't get too out of hand—gotta let the big shots save face."
Hardy nodded in sudden understanding.
Makes sense. For just a few bucks a month, why would the cops risk their lives fighting the gangs?