Top Floor, Fisk Tower.
Wilson Fisk stood before a massive floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the sprawl of Hell's Kitchen as the sun dipped below the horizon. The dying embers of the sunset cast long, crimson shadows across the city.
Tonight would be a night of revelry for some, but a sleepless nightmare for many.
A knock echoed through the room. "Enter," Fisk commanded.
The door swung open, and Bullseye stepped in, his eyes gleaming with a manic energy. "Fisk, hitmen from all over New York are converging on Hell's Kitchen. Shiranui Agency's people have already breached Madam Gao's building. Shouldn't we make a move too?"
Bullseye was never one to sit still. For him, a feast of slaughter was an event he refused to miss.
Fisk turned around, leaning on his cane. He looked at Bullseye with a stoic calm. "There is no need for us to act."
"Since the commission has been given to the Shiranui Agency, we leave everything in their hands. All we need to do is wait for the result."
Bullseye felt the restless urge in his chest but forced himself to settle. "Then I'll head down to the lower levels. I'll make sure no one tries to use this chaos as an excuse to bring the trouble to our doorstep."
Seeing that Bullseye wasn't going to be satisfied with staying idle, Fisk didn't refuse this time. "Go. If any of the Hand's survivors try to seek refuge here, stop them."
A grin spread across Bullseye's face. "Understood. Not a single fish will slip through the net and reach this floor."
He turned and left, closing the heavy office doors behind him. On the conference table, a smartphone screen flickered to life, displaying a single notification: Missed Call — Madam Gao.
Somewhere in Hell's Kitchen.
Matt Murdock, having just finished his day at the law firm, felt his heightened senses flare. The air in Hell's Kitchen was different today—charged, heavy, and wrong.
He checked the time on his tactile watch. "It isn't even dark yet," Matt muttered. "Why has the chaos started so early?"
His ears caught the distant, staccato rhythm of screams and the faint, metallic scent of blood. He didn't hesitate. Dashing into a secluded alley, he swapped his suit for his tactical gear. Seconds later, a grappling hook hissed through the air, and Daredevil vanished into the skyline.
Madam Gao's Headquarters.
Uchiha Sasuke and his team had torn a path of destruction from the third floor to the eighth. They were now only four floors away from the top.
The hallways were a tapestry of carnage. In just eight floors, they had neutralized over a hundred Hand thugs. The thick, iron scent of blood saturated the air.
As the team prepared to storm the ninth floor, a series of sharp whistles cut through the air. Shuriken streaked from the stairwell toward Iruka.
Zip! Zip! Zip!
Iruka's hand blurred to his waist, drawing a kunai. With a series of rapid-fire metallic clangs, he deflected every incoming projectile.
Nobu had arrived with his elite Hand ninjas. Seeing the initial ambush fail, Nobu signaled his men with silent hand gestures. They vanished into the shadows of the ninth-floor entrance, preparing for a coordinated strike.
Sasuke walked over and picked up one of the deflected shuriken, inspecting it with a curious gaze.
"So, there are ninjas here too?" he mused.
He applied a small amount of pressure to the metal. Snap. The shuriken broke easily in his hand.
Iruka observed the exchange, his eyes narrowing. "Stay alert. They might call themselves ninjas, and as Lord Hayate said, this world isn't as simple as it looks."
Though the impact felt weak to him, Iruka maintained his shinobi caution. He pulled two kunai from his pouch, each tipped with a Paper Bomb, and hurled them toward the ninth-floor corridor.
Nobu watched the two kunai fly in. He didn't recognize the paper attached to the handles, but he felt a sudden, instinctive spike of dread. Before he could order his men to intercept, the tags ignited.
BOOM! BOOM!
Nobu barely managed a desperate roll before the shockwave threw him backward. The ninjas closest to the blast were killed instantly, while those further away were slammed into the walls, dazed and broken.
Iruka didn't wait for the smoke to clear. He charged. Sasuke and Lee had done enough; as the team leader, he couldn't just coast through the mission.
Nobu struggled to open his eyes, but before he could even find his footing, a shadow loomed over him. A cold sensation swept across his throat, and the world faded to black.
Iruka moved through the floor like a reaper, his kunai finding the mark on every costumed figure he encountered. He realized quickly that he had overthought the threat; even if they used shuriken, the gap between these "ninjas" and a true Hidden Leaf shinobi was a literal chasm.
Sasuke and Rock Lee stepped onto the floor, looking at the bodies. Sasuke let out a huff of disdain. "Iruka-sensei, they're too weak. There's no point in clearing this floor by floor."
"I'm going ahead."
Sasuke gripped a kunai and surged upward, his speed turning him into a blur. "Pakkun, lead the way! I want Madam Gao back before dark!"
Pakkun shook off his lazy demeanor, his small legs pumping as he sprinted ahead of the Uchiha.
"Sasuke! Wait for me! Let's go together!" Lee shouted, his own speed erupting as he gave chase.
Iruka watched his students disappear up the stairs. He paused to pick up one of the Hand's short swords and a shuriken, tucking them away. He wanted to discuss the state of this world's "ninjas" with Hayate later. Then, he followed.
Sasuke moved through the remaining floors like a bolt of lightning. Hand members barely saw a shadow before their lives were forfeit.
Finally, guided by Pakkun, Sasuke reached the massive double doors of the penthouse. Just as he prepared to kick them in, they slid open automatically.
Madam Gao stood there, leaning heavily on her cane. She stared at the young boy before her, her voice calm but inquisitive.
"Little one... from which clan were you born?"
Sasuke didn't even bother to look her in the eye. A mere civilian—no matter how poised—wasn't worth his acknowledgement.