A Reliable Tool
A/N: Honestly just realized I've been calling Huntsman, Hunters like from HxH. My bad if that was confusing. I went back and fixed all of the instances of that, so hopefully, no one else sees it.
It was obviously a threat, and it caused Torchwick to sighed to himself. "Looks like the Purple Lotus isn't as smart as I thought." Without hesitation, Neo walked in front of Torchwick and looked towards the three men on the other side of the table. "Heh." The Leader sneered as he nudged his head towards the crowd around him.
In seconds more members of his group appeared surrounding Torchwick and Neo entirely. These kinds of scenes were normal, and most people simply stood by and watched while others ignored the commotion and continued walking by. "Well, I was feeling a bit angry with how my trip here was wasted."
Holding his cane in his other hand, Torchwick's grip tightened. It seemed it was going to be an all-out brawl between them and the group surrounding them. However, before anyone could even make a move, a groan came from behind all of them. A Member of the Purple Lotus who was playing spectator had his eyes turn white and vacant as he fell to the ground immediately.
Standing directly behind him was none other than Shen with a smile on his face. The gloves covering his hands were glowing with a strange purple glow. "Who the hell are you?" Two nearby Members of the Purple Lotus looked at Shen. Immediately the Leader noticed L1 and L2's clothes and then smiled.
"I see your members of the White Fang. I didn't know you operated this far out from your holes in the ground. But I guess animals tend to wonder." Both Torchwick and Neo stared at Shen quietly, expecting him to say something in return. However, Shen instead looked directly towards Torchwick. "Your reputation precedes you or should I just say infamy?"
"Who are you?" Torchwick was sceptical as he spoke. "A person who can help you meet your interest. You're still looking for a way to hide from the authorities, correct?" The Leader of the Purple Lotus stared at Shen with an enraged look. "Ignore me huh? Fine White Fang or not you don't hold any power here. Kill them and then deal with Torchwick and the bitch."
Both L1 and L2, who were standing behind Shen, reached for the weapons on their waist, but Shen stopped them. 'There's no way I'm letting free XP go to waste.' Shen smiled as the muscles on his body bulged slightly. There were six Enemies in total surrounding them. As soon as their Leader gave the word, they reached behind them and pulled out sets of daggers.
None of them had Huntsman-based weapons, but Shen could see the daggers were infused with Dust which gave them elemental properties. 'I wonder how much they are worth.' Kicking things off, two of the Purple Lotus Members attacked Shen from behind. Their daggers were infused with fire and ice Dust, respectively.
The one closest slashed at the back of Shen's neck, leaving a trail of fire in the air. Shen glanced back as he took a step forward and rotated his body. It was a casual movement, but the next moment, his arm swung around and slammed into the side of the attacker's head. On impact, the Purple Lotus Member's breathing stopped as his neck was displaced.
His body was sent flying towards the feet of the spectating crowd as the second attacker yelled. "Bastard!" Jumping up to head height with Shen, the second Purple Lotus attacker swept his leg through the air in an attempt to kick Shen. 'All of their attacks look like they're in slow motion. I really did get a lot stronger even though my Level barely went up.'
Shen was feeling the full effect of his new stats, and with these guys being at a lower level than a Pro Huntsman, they stood no chance. Shen reached out and grabbed the man's leg by his ankle pulling him closer. "Huh?" Completely losing his balance in mid-air he had no way to defend against what happened next.
Without mercy, Shen slammed his free hand into the upper leg of the man. With two forces pushing against it in different directions, only one possible outcome was left. "Agh!" With a crack, the man's legs snapped like twigs as they were bent, and he fell to the ground. Ignoring his screams, Shen slammed his foot down onto the man's chest and looked back at the remaining Purple Lotus Members.
"You all went quiet all of sudden. Didn't you all plan to attack me at once? Don't you want to save your comrade? I can guarantee this hurts… A Lot." Shen's words were validated as the Purple Lotus Member under his foot screamed louder. He was no longer worrying about his leg but was clearly trying to force Shen's leg off of him. "Help me… Help me dammit!"
He screamed at the other, but they didn't make a move. Watching the scene from the sidelines, Torchwick suddenly felt he had gotten an opportunity. On the other hand, the Leader of the group, who was originally smiling had a terrified look on his face. Shen's smile seemed demonic in his eyes, and him dispatching two of his men in an instant was only adding to it.
"Retreat… We're leaving!" With that, he quickly turned around and began to run. Seeing their boss run the remaining courage, they had disappeared. They immediately tried to run as well, but Shen shook his head. "No honour among thieves I suppose." As they tried to run to a nearby alley, they suddenly felt themselves being forcefully stopped.
Wrapped around their necks like a collar, all four of them looked back and saw a red string leading to Shen's fingers. Without another word, Shen used all his strength and clenched his fist, yanking all four strings. All four of them were sent flying through the air towards Shen as they screamed. "Boss! Wait!"
Their voices only lasted for an instant as the next second, Shen pulled them down to the ground at a deadly speed. By the end, the crowd had witnessed five men become corpses. Some lying dead and bleeding on the concrete ground, while some were unlucky enough to be slammed into a table. 'That should have been enough of a show for news to spread a bit.'
Shen then heard clapping as he looked over and saw Torchwick clapping while smiling. "Wonderful! I didn't know the White Fang had someone so capable." Unlike before, Torchwick was completely interested in Shen, and of course, Shen knew why. He had watched the show even to the point of Torchwick's death, and he knew how he operated.
The main reason he intervened wasn't that he was feeling heroic. No, the fact is Torchwick was simply too tempting to resist. He was smart and clever while also being fairly capable in a fight to the point he could beat someone like Blake. That aside, he also had Neo, who would follow him to the ends of the earth. She was a powerhouse in her own right.
These two were just what Shen was looking for. 'It's too much of a waste to let someone so useful die following an idiot like Cinder. Salem will just have to make due.' Shen simply smirked at Torchwicks's words as he prepared to say something. "Please… Let me go." A trembling and weak voice came from under him as Shen looked down.
"Oh, I forgot about you." The man's eyes widened a bit. Shen had honestly forgotten about his existence due to Torchwick. "I have a family… I didn't want to attack you, I'm just trying to get by… Please let me go, I'll never bother you again, I swear." Shen's face remained unmoved as he spoke. "Sorry, maybe if you were worth something I would be interested."
Shen's eyes grew cold as the man felt his heart sink. "In the end, people like you are more useful to me dead." With that, Shen twisted his foot a bit and the sound of something being punctured echoed from the man's body as he went limp. "In any case Torchwick I'm interested in speaking to you in private. Shall we?"
Torchwick didn't flinch, seeing how cold Shen was and smiled. "Of course after you." Torchwick handed the briefcase he was holding over to Neo as Shen turned around and began to walk away from the scene. The crowd split for them, but no one followed. This was a more serious matter than meets the eye.
Shen led Torchwick and Neo to an isolated part of the city with L1 and L2, making sure no one followed them. "This should be fine." Shen turned around as Torchwick spoke. "So the White Fang is willing to take me in. What's the catch?" Obviously, Shen had a motive for doing this and Torchwick wasn't dumb enough to think otherwise.
"Tell me Torchwick what's your take on the White Fang. And you don't have to lie or cover up any disdain; nothing will change." Shen spoke in a laid-back attitude, and when Torchwick looked at both L1 and L2 standing guard, he saw no change in their expressions. "Well, then I personally believe there are a bunch of useless muts."
"They have so much support and backing yet the best they can do is terrorism. If I was their leader I could have them become a criminal empire. Forget the Schnee Dust Company if they were organized properly they could easily take whatever they wanted without issue. But in the end, they act purely out of hopes to earn human's respect. It's a foolish endeavour."
Shen's expression did not show anger or displeasure as Torchwick expected and even L1 and L2 didn't seem to care. Instead, he heard Shen say something he didn't expect. "Indeed you're right. The White Fang is being run by people who are rather incompetent I can say that much. Their leadership is in a need of change."
Shen's words bordered on the concept of a coup in the eyes of the White Fang, but he spoke them without reserve. "There are bigger things that the world should be focused on than the White Fang but everyone's blind to it. So I'm going to use that to my advantage. I'll start with this city and slowly move on from there."
Shen smiled to himself as his eyes glazed over. "Even if the White Fang doesn't fall in line I can guarantee that the Mistral Branch will be under my control." Torchwick listened to Shen speak and he could hear the ambition and urge for power in his voice. He had met a few people like Shen before people who were willing to do anything and did to obtain their goals.
And although most of them failed, the few that didn't rose higher than anyone else. "That sounds good, but what does that have to do with me? And how do you know you'll even succeed." Torchwick's question caused Shen to stare at him. "Because I need someone who can get the job done. A tool that I know won't fail."
Shen tilted his head as he said something else. "Besides, don't you feel like taking a gamble? If I succeed well… You'll be in a position you never imagined. And if I fail then it's just another idiot trying to do the impossible am I right?" It was Shen's last words that triggered Torchwick as he narrowed his eyes.
"Interesting… Out of all the Faunus, I met you may be the only one I can partially agree with." As Torchwick said, he turned around and took the briefcase from Neo before handing it to Shen. "So what exactly do you need me to do?" Shen pulled out his scroll as he messaged someone. "Prepare to move everyone into the city at the location I send."
Shen then closed the scroll as he explained. "That group… The Purple Lotus right? Where is their base located in the city?" Torchwick thought for a moment before answering. "There is a medium-sized group that deals in transporting stolen vehicles. As such, they mostly stay in The Lower Valley protecting their warehouse."
'Hmm, then I guess that will be the first place I take out.' Shen had Torchwick give him exact directions as he said something. "Meet me there in about… Two hours no it should only take one at most." Torchwick was still confused by Shen's meaning but simply nodded. "Alright then. Let's go Neo since we're here already. I might as well take care of any of my unfinished business in this city."
Neo nodded as her eyes landed on Shen who was surprisingly looking at her as well. 'I doubt I can Mental Refit her, however, her powers are useful. I guess controlling Torchwick will be enough for now.' Shen turned away from her as he began walking in the direction Torchwick disclosed.
Neo's eyes narrowed a bit as she turned and followed behind Torchwick.