In reality, Peter and the others had overthought the situation. Their group was advancing with extreme caution, searching for the Hand's whereabouts while remaining on high alert for a potential ambush.
But the Hand hadn't set an ambush at all.
Or rather, the Hand hadn't had the time to prepare one. After taking down Daken, they had been preoccupied with a ritual to erode his will, intending to brainwash him into becoming a killer for the Hand.
Once that was done, they planned to release the news, knowing that the "Wolf Warrior"—Logan—would certainly come to investigate. Then, they could seize the opportunity to kill Logan and use similar methods, perhaps using Elektra to lure Daredevil in, picking them off one by one.
Since the brainwashing process wasn't yet complete, they hadn't planned on making a move. They had no idea they had already been rooted out.
Even more unbelievable was that Matt's group wasn't the only one coming for them. On the other side, Bullseye and the Prowler had already geared up and entered the tunnels from a different direction. Once Wilson Fisk realized that Matt had no intention of collaborating with him, he had deduced several things. He immediately launched his own plan, sending those two to handle the Hand first.
Thus, completely oblivious, the Hand was perfectly poised to take a beating.
"Wait a second—something's wrong. There are enemies ahead."
Halfway through the tunnel, Peter switched off his light and signaled for everyone to stop. Matt listened intently for a moment; there was no heartbeat, no sound of breathing, no footsteps—not even a hint of movement.
For a split second, he even wondered if Peter was mistaken. Fortunately, Peter hadn't come alone. Beside him, Logan gave a sniff and confirmed Peter's claim: "The kid's right. The Hand is just ahead."
Peter was so certain because he had previously gained the Shadow Sense of Spider-Man Noir. Although he didn't fully understand the mechanics of the sense, it allowed him to construct a mental model of his surroundings.
Logan's method was even simpler: he could smell them.
Matt, on the other hand, was effectively blind in this situation. The Hand's roster was practically designed to counter him; these undead ninjas had no heartbeats, no breath, and moved without a sound. To anyone else, they were dangerous assassins, but to Matt, they were completely invisible. How was he supposed to fight them?
This was a major reason why Matt had wanted the entire Defenders to help.
Peter and Logan didn't have this problem. They could even anticipate the Hand's strikes, preventing the enemy from utilizing their stealth tactics.
"I'm going to go ahead while invisible to scout. There might be an ambush. If the coast is clear, we'll move in."
Peter made the suggestion, and neither Matt nor Logan objected. Only Kitty asked in a low voice, "Do you need my help?"
"Hmm? I shouldn't think so—"
"If only your invisibility could extend to me. We could solve a lot of problems that way."
Kitty muttered this while casting occasional glances at Peter. Peter, of course, understood what was on her mind. After calculating Kitty's survivability, he immediately took her along—using his nano-suit to grant her invisibility.
The two moved quickly, bypassing the Hand ninjas standing guard and phasing through rock walls. They rapidly approached the Hand's base and slipped inside quietly.
"There are so many of them—"
Hearing Kitty's whisper, Peter nodded. The space here was massive, filled with a multitude of ninjas wrapped tightly in their gear. They stood there motionless, lined up like hanging carcasses.
However, Kitty's next remark nearly made him break character.
"It's nothing like 'Naruto' at all—"
Peter almost tripped. Kitty turned back to look at him with some embarrassment. "Um, what's wrong?"
"No, I just didn't realize you were into that sort of thing."
Kitty hesitated. In truth, she hadn't cared about those things before. It was only after receiving the memories of herself from another universe—giving her a clear understanding of Peter's interests—that she had specifically started watching it, hoping to have topics to discuss the next time they met.
But—there was no need to tell Peter that.
"What should we do? Should we take out these ninjas now?"
Having steered the conversation back to the task at hand, Kitty seemed quite eager to engage the Hand. However, this simple wish was checked by Peter.
"We're only here to confirm the Hand's presence. If we're going to attack, we need to bring Logan and Matt in. Come on, let's go."
Peter and Kitty quickly returned to the rendezvous point and informed Logan and Matt about the Hand. The two of them immediately surged forward.
This might not be the Hand's main headquarters in New York, but now that they had found it, they weren't going to let anyone leave!
As it turned out, an unexpected development occurred. When they arrived, they realized they weren't the only guests.
The Prowler and Bullseye had already charged into the horde of monsters, carving a path. For the two of them, a crowd of undead was the perfect place to unleash unrestrained violence.
Peter's group froze for several seconds before they could react. After taking a closer look at the battle, Peter was fairly certain that this pair wasn't actually a match for the Hand.
Or perhaps, they never expected to take down the Hand with just two people—unless Peter being there was part of their plan.
"What's the play? Do we help these guys beat up the Hand first, or do we hit everyone at once?"
Peter asked Daredevil's opinion, feeling uncertain. After a moment of hesitation, Matt chose to help Fisk's men fight the Hand first.
And so, the heroes charged in. At that moment, the Prowler, who had been struggling against the Hand, let out a remark of exasperated relief.
"Damn, you guys finally showed up. Any later and I was going to bail."
"Sorry to disappoint, Prowler, but you're also on my list of people to send to jail."
Peter landed on a Hand ninja, and after confirming the enemy was incapacitated, he moved on to strike the next one.
Facing Spider-Man's provocation, the Prowler simply shrugged. He didn't buy it for a second.
After all, this operation had been personally orchestrated by Wilson Fisk.
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