Manhattan — Bowery Street.
On Bowery Street there was a place that claimed to help the homeless, a charity kitchen known as the Soup Kitchen. On the surface, it distributed food and relief supplies to the poor. In reality, however, it functioned as an intelligence center connected to the High Table, though it technically operated independently.
The ruler here—whose original name nobody remembered anymore—was now simply called King, or the King of Bowery Street.
At that moment, King was on the rooftop of the kitchen raising his intelligence transmitters.
Doves.
Coo~ Coo~
King held a white dove in his large, rough hands and gently stroked its feathers. His clothing looked like a chaotic pile of mismatched layers—something resembling the exaggerated "Bro is Sharp" street style—but in truth it was just shabby clothing piled on top of more shabby clothing.
"Doves… oh doves~~"
King paced slowly across the rooftop, gazing toward the distant Brooklyn Bridge.
"You've flown across all of New York, bringing me every secret I want to know. But tell me… have you brought any news of peace?"
A subordinate suddenly came running up the stairs.
"Boss, we have a guest."
"Which distinguished guest?" King asked lazily.
"Not very clear."
"???"
"It's a woman," the subordinate said. "But she's mute."
"Boss… I don't understand sign language. But she showed the badge of the Camorra."
"Oh~ the mute bodyguard~"
King suddenly understood.
"Bring her up."
A moment later, a short-haired white woman wearing a purple blazer appeared in front of King.
Behind her stood several elite assassins dressed entirely in black.
King looked the woman up and down and muttered to himself.
"I really don't understand something. Couldn't you find someone who can actually talk to help you deliver your message? Do you know how rare people who understand sign language are in this world?"
He placed a hand on his chest proudly.
"You're lucky today. You've met the great, all-knowing King of Bowery Street."
The woman remained completely expressionless, clearly unimpressed by the black man's theatrical arrogance.
Her fingers moved quickly.
Sign language.
"Where is Joseph Yacovelli? I need his address."
After finishing the gesture, she took out a gold coin and displayed it in her palm.
King shook his head.
"That information can't be bought with just one coin."
The woman silently produced another coin.
King shook his head again.
"Still not enough."
Sign language flashed again.
"How much do you want?"
King smiled widely, revealing perfectly white teeth.
"This isn't about coins. The truth is… I'm still searching for Yacovelli myself."
The woman immediately became furious. Her hands moved faster, her gestures sharp and threatening.
"You refuse to cooperate? Do you want to face the wrath of the Camorra? I will destroy everything here!"
King sighed dramatically.
"So many people have this bad habit of wanting to destroy things they can't obtain."
He spread his arms.
"But the great King of Bowery Street does not tolerate bad habits! Anyone from the High Table who wants my loyalty must first recognize my title as king!"
His boasting was delivered with such passion and enthusiasm that it only made the woman more irritated.
She gestured again.
"Three days. I'll return in three days. When I come back, you'd better have the information I want."
Her eyes were cold.
"Otherwise, Bowery Street will be destroyed."
After that, the woman turned and left with her assassins.
No one dared stop them.
King stared at their departing figures with a cautious expression.
He couldn't afford to offend the Camorra.
But he also couldn't afford to offend the New York Mafia.
"Being a king really does bring endless troubles~~~"
King sighed helplessly.
He couldn't understand the Camorra's intentions, but one thing was obvious: if such a powerful organization invaded New York, chaos would follow.
He needed to find a way to survive that chaos without being crushed by it.
"Doves… oh Doves~~"
King lifted the white dove into the air and released it.
"Bring me good news."
Not long afterward, another message arrived.
"Boss, the Dove are here."
"The doves haven't arrived yet."
King tilted his head and looked up toward the sky at a forty-five-degree angle.
"These aren't your doves. They're from Little Italy."
"???"
Holy hell.
We just sent away one female demon, and now another killing machine has arrived.
Did they schedule today together?
"Bring him up."
King sighed again. He needed to think carefully about how to continue his performance and bluff his way through the next conversation.
"Where is Joe Gallo?"
Luca tossed a gold coin to the black beggar.
__________________________________________________________________________
[Character Card: King of Bowery Street]
[Rank: A]
[Source: John Wick]
Skill:
[Carrier Dove:
Strong affinity with pigeons.
You can influence and guide pigeons' behavior to a certain extent.
Pigeons can be used to deliver messages and gather intelligence.]
[Learning Requirements: Friendship or higher; 40 Skill Fragments]
Skill:
[Seven In, Seven Out:
The first seven bullets fired from your pistol are more likely to strike vital points.
Critical hit rate +50%.
When stabbed with a knife, the first seven hits are less likely to be fatal.
Damage from the first seven knife attacks -50%.
Cooldown: 24 hours.]
[Learning Requirements: Close Friend bond level or higher; 60 Skill Fragments]
[Bond: Attention]
__________________________________________________________________________
King looked at Luca with a smile, then glanced at O-Ren Ishii, who stood nearby holding a katana.
"Butcher."
King nodded.
"I'll keep calling you Butcher."
He lifted one of the doves.
"If I call you Dove, I might get confused. A lot of people at the New York Continental Hotel still aren't used to your new nickname. Some of them don't even know you changed it."
He shrugged.
"Who would associate a Dove with the Butcher?"
While speaking casually, King quickly assessed the situation in his mind.
Camorra was searching for Yacovelli.
The Mafia was searching for Gallo.
Those two groups…
King suddenly felt trapped in a dangerous situation.
So which side should he choose?
Or should he stay neutral and remain just an information broker?
Luca flicked another gold coin with his thumb and smiled.
"Those who call me Dove are usually my friends. Those who call me Butcher tend to become my enemies."
He looked directly at King.
"So tell me, King… what would you like to call me?"
King burst out laughing.
"Don't put me in that position. Since you changed your nickname, I'll respect your choice and call you Dove instead."
He gestured toward the rooftop.
"I hope you don't mind that I raise doves here."
Luca nodded.
"A wise choice."
Then his tone turned serious.
"Tell me Joe Gallo's location."
King shook his head.
"One coin isn't enough."
Luca pulled out an entire bag of coins and dropped it on the table.
"Take as many as you want. I need the information now."
He looked at the doves calmly.
(TN: Okay, this become confusing, this doves that Dove, the one dove is animal, the other Dove with Capital D, is our MC)
"If that bag isn't enough… I may need to reconsider where these doves will live in the future."
King: "…"
Can you follow the rules for once?
"Hahahaha! Dove, you're a very interesting friend."
King laughed loudly to hide his embarrassment, then suddenly stopped.
"It's not that I don't want to tell you. The problem is… I genuinely don't know."
Luca didn't believe him for a second.
If even the King of Bowery Street didn't know where Gallo was hiding, then almost nobody outside New York would know.
"What about the Camorra?" Luca asked again.
"Who did they send to New York?"
King shrugged.
"Santino D'Antonio."
He waved a hand casually.
"That one's free information."
Of course.
That damned younger brother.
Luca frowned slightly.
Was Santino trying to infiltrate New York through the Colombo civil war?
"Where is he?"
"I don't know."
King spread his hands helplessly.
"You can't force me to say something I don't know. Just like you can't make doves talk."
Luca smiled faintly.
In the original storyline, King once helped the John Wick eliminate Santino.
And the reason was simple.
"King," Luca said calmly.
"When the Five Families controlled New York, you were able to survive on Bowery Street because they kept each other in check."
He stepped closer.
"But if Camorra takes control of this city… do you really think Santino will tolerate another king here?"
His voice turned cold.
"He won't."
"Bowery Street will become hell."
After saying that, Luca turned to O-Ren Ishii.
"Let's go."
"Since the King of Bowery Street won't give us the information, we'll find it ourselves."
He glanced at the doves.
"Hopefully these doves will still have homes in the future."
O-Ren Ishii laughed.
"The club could raise doves too."
Luca nodded.
"That makes sense. A dove raising pigeons is perfectly logical."
Coo~ Coo~
A dove landed on Luca's forearm.
"Look," Luca said with a smile. "Even the this dove like me."
At that moment, King finally spoke.
"Dove… I want peace."
"Can you give it to me?"
Luca turned slowly and narrowed his eyes.
"Everyone in New York knows one thing."
"My favorite thing…Is peace."
King smiled.
[Bond: Familiar]
---
Meanwhile, somewhere in New York.
Inside a luxurious room.
Santino D'Antonio stood before a massive floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the city skyline.
In the distance stood the New York Continental Hotel.
Decades earlier, the ancestors of the D'Antonio family had arrived in America.
But they were defeated by the American Mafia.
At that time there were no Five Families yet. No Commission either.
Italian immigrants were simply scattered groups fighting each other.
Santino sneered.
"What a ridiculous joke."
"A loser who fled Italy built such a massive empire in America… and now his voice at the High Table is louder than the Camorra's."
The Italians held two seats at the High Table.
In theory, they should have united against the other ten.
But internal conflicts made cooperation impossible.
"Father… am I really that worthless?"
Santino murmured quietly.
"Worse than my sister in every way?"
As his father's health declined, power in the family gradually shifted to the younger generation.
But the one benefiting was his older sister.
Santino himself had been completely ignored.
If nothing unexpected happened, his sister—not him—would inherit the Camorra.
How could he accept that?
But he didn't dare openly rebel.
His father was still alive.
Watching.
So if he couldn't win internally…
He would create power externally.
"The Colombo family…"
Santino smiled coldly.
"Is only the beginning."
---
Three days later, Bowery Street.
On the rooftop of the dove house, Luca held binoculars and observed several vehicles parked at an intersection in the distance.
The mute woman had returned.
This time with a fully armed squad of elite assassins surrounding the area.
"The mute killer…"
Luca chuckled.
__________________________________________________________________________
[Character Card Discovered: Ares (Unlocked)]
[Rank: C]
[Source: John Wick]
Skill:
[Tactical Dagger:
Increased combat efficiency when using daggers.
Slight increase in attack precision and lethality during close-quarters combat.]
[Bond: Strangers]
__________________________________________________________________________
Ares, Santino's mute bodyguard, was quite capable. After all, she could fight John Wick for more than ten rounds—definitely not some disposable thug who dies instantly.
Luca glanced at the panel.
A combat skill.
Useful, but unnecessary right now.
At that moment, voices came through his earpiece.
Leon and O-Ren Ishii.
And several Mafia assassins.
Everything was ready.
Luca pressed the headset and calmly issued the order.
"Kill them all ... Leave no one alive."
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