The impact of Kingpin's explosive purge was significant and far-reaching.
As Harry said, if Kingpin's plan had succeeded, his influence in the New York underworld—and even nationwide—would have advanced further. But clearly, he failed; the enemies he had made in the past and those he had coerced would become the key forces in toppling this gangster king.
As for Hells Kitchen, Harry had, as he said, wiped out all the major forces, leaving none behind. Except for Madam Gao, who had left New York, most of the rest were behind bars, with a few still on the run, though they wouldn't be able to run for long.
As for Kingpin, because he had broken so many laws, he was sentenced to 690 years in prison.
'So this is how you do things? This is your way of 'clearing the pipes'?' At the scene of Kingpin's arrest, Kingpin seemed to have regained his vitality and spoke out to Harry. 'I will be back.'
'No, you won't.' Harry had no interest in bickering with him anymore. Even if Kingpin had the ability to rebuild his influence in prison, it would take a significant amount of time and be quite difficult.
And if he really insisted on doing so, Harry could have his father rack up some political achievements with him, arresting a few criminal examples whenever he had the chance; Matt and some superheroes would be very happy to do that.
Besides, just because New York doesn't have the death penalty now doesn't mean it won't in the future. This Mr. Kingpin seemed to think he was tough again after resting for a few days.
'How are you feeling, Matt?'
Harry patted Matt on the shoulder, almost knocking him over—the kid had gone to save people during the explosion a few days ago and had suffered quite serious injuries as a result.
At this moment, Matt's mood was, of course, as good as it could be. As his investigation progressed, he discovered that Hells Kitchen being in its current state was inseparable from Kingpin; it could be said that 90% of the crime was related to this fat man.
When he meditated at night, he would wonder what would have happened if Harry Osborn hadn't intervened in Hells Kitchen.
The imagined scenario made him shudder.
Without Harry, he would have had to find the mastermind behind Hells Kitchen. Before that, he would have had to deal with the Russian mob, the Yakuza, and people like Madam Gao to get Kingpin's name from them. Then, even if some of these people had really betrayed Kingpin, they would have been silenced forever in the big explosion.
And Matt, or rather, daredevil, would have taken the fall for it.
But he still had confidence that he could bring Kingpin to justice. However, what about after bringing him to justice? As long as Kingpin's criminal empire wasn't destroyed, he could get out whenever he wanted.
That would have been a struggle with no end in sight.
'Do you think there's any need for my friend to continue doing that?' Matt didn't answer Harry's question, but instead posed one of his own.
Harry was a bit surprised that Matt was actually willing to talk to him about daredevil.
'So, do you believe now that I'm a good, honest businessman?'
'A good, honest businessman who kicked Bullseye to death?' Matt shrugged. 'But Foggy and I really should get a new office.'
Harry smiled; that was more like it.
'Have you ever read Batman comics?' Harry didn't answer him directly.
In this World, which was primarily Marvel, DC comics existed; Harry had confirmed this.
'I'm blind, Mr. Osborn, I don't read comics.'
'...' Harry was stunned. 'Uh... then you can read the novels.'
'I've read them. What do you want to say? They're just fictional works.' To Harry's surprise, Matt had actually read them!
In Harry's view, the two actually had many similarities: the same symbolic costume to strike fear into enemies, training from a mysterious organization, and adherence to a no-kill principle.
Matt even came with a built-in sonar system, making Batman seem a bit undeserving of the comparison by contrast.
'I think your friend can continue doing what he's doing, but I think you should strive harder in your own field. Perhaps you could set a small goal for yourself, like Chief Justice or something.'
'I believe you've seen it this time, too. Perhaps a superhero can offer hope to people, but to truly let people live a good life, an honest system is much more important.'
Hearing this, Matt's expression turned strange. This was a path he had never thought of; after all, he hadn't had any good feelings toward official personnel before.
But upon reflection, it was indeed much better than being a lawyer; at least it wouldn't be so stifling.
And for Harry, if Matt was willing to sit in that position, he would certainly support him. Someone like Matt, who worked based on conviction, was simply the best employee—he didn't even have to pay him, nor did he have to worry about him suddenly turning against him.
'I heard that becoming a lawyer was your father's expectation for you, but if he knew you had become a judge or something similar, he would probably be proud of you too.'
'I will think about it carefully.'
It was clear that Matt was truly tempted.
Harry was also quite relieved that Matt was still quite green at this moment. If this was the daredevil who had matured a few more years, they probably would have started fighting the moment he kicked Bullseye to death.
Next, Harry took out a small box.
'A gift for your friend.' Harry turned on the switch. 'A portable sonar device that can emit sound waves at a fixed frequency while also having noise filtering capabilities.'
Matt's senses were beyond those of an ordinary person. When he was a child, he was often troubled by these super senses, and even now, noisy environments still had an impact on his combat ability.
And this device could greatly weaken the influence of noise on Matt; simply put, it assisted Matt in entering a certain state of specialized detection.
'Many thanks, but I'm not sure if it will come in handy.' Matt didn't stand on ceremony and accepted Harry's gift.
After accepting the gift, Matt hesitated for a moment and took a stack of documents out of his briefcase.
'There's one more thing. On the day of the explosion, there was a You-Know-Who hunting down those gangsters.'
'Oh?' Harry was stunned.
'I've investigated it; that guy doesn't belong to any faction.' Then Matt took out that stack of documents. 'And this entire stack of documents was provided by one person.'
Harry immediately became extremely interested, because the image of one person instantly appeared in his mind.
A person considered by the S.H.I.E.L.D. Director to have reached the level of a Level 10 Agent.
'Frank Castle, ******, was awarded the Medal of Honor, Navy Cross, 3 Silver Stars, 4 Purple Hearts, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his outstanding performance while in the Marine Corps. He's a tough guy.'
And as far as Harry knew, he should also have another name—'The Punisher'.
He just didn't know which stage of his life this Frank was currently in.
Judging by his behavior, perhaps he hadn't truly become The Punisher yet.
'These two people you're talking about are the same person, right, Matt?'
Matt didn't speak, but silently nodded.
'Interesting. I'll make contact with him.'
Harry had long wanted to form an organization like the 'Osborn Asset Protection and Recovery Squad,' but he had never been able to find the right candidates.
And Frank—fearless, fierce, experienced, and belonging to no faction—there was no one more suitable to be the Commander of this squad.