After finishing off Ajax's crew, Kurogai slowly walked toward Wade. At that moment, Wade Wilson lay in two halves on the ground, his body mangled from Juggernaut's brutal assault. Combined with the lingering effects of the Carbonadium extract, his regeneration was unusually sluggish. Even so, Wade wasn't dead. His vitality had always been monstrous compared to ordinary people.
"How's it feel, Wade? Pretty fun getting tossed around by Juggernaut, right?" Kurogai's lips curled into a dry smile. "Oh wait—I forgot. You can't talk yet."
He crouched beside Wade's broken body, chuckling at the rare sight of the mercenary completely shut down. Wade, of course, couldn't fire back—his throat hadn't finished healing. All he could do was glare furiously, his eyes practically shouting insults.
"Relax, I'll stop teasing," Kurogai said at last. He stood, then picked up the syringe embedded in Wade's muscle. The needle contained a sliver of Carbonadium, the unstable alloy Ajax had weaponized. Without hesitation, Kurogai pulled the shard free and absorbed it into himself. Small as it was, he wasted nothing.
But Wade's healing wasn't suppressed. His head began knitting itself back together, muscles reforming at a speed visible to the naked eye. His throat regenerated first, then his chest, slowly rebuilding his body piece by piece.
"F—k!" Wade's voice cracked back into the world as soon as his throat reformed. "I swear, I'm gonna carve 'Property of Wade Wilson' into Juggernaut's forehead! That bastard smashed my throat—do you know how important my throat is? Without it, I'm basically a sad mime!"
Kurogai sighed, massaging his temples. "Shut up, Wade. If you keep running your mouth, I'll seal it permanently. And I mean permanently."
That threat made Wade snap his mouth shut instantly. He knew damn well what Kurogai was capable of, and losing his voice forever was the one punishment he couldn't tolerate.
"Good. Much better." Kurogai's tone softened slightly. "Now that you're in one piece again, what's your plan?"
"Oh, don't you bring that up!" Wade exploded, his voice going shrill. "You bastard! You killed Ajax! He was mine! I've been building up to this for months, dreaming about it, fantasizing about the perfect bullet through his smug head—and then you go and kill him before I even get the chance! What the hell, man? You owe me an Ajax! I demand a rematch! Resurrect him so I can kill him myself!"
Kurogai stared at him in disbelief. "Wade… are you serious right now?"
"Dead serious! And also alive-serious, because I can't die," Wade shot back without missing a beat. "C'mon, you've got those spooky eye powers, right? Bring him back, I'll shoot him again, we'll call it even."
Kurogai exhaled slowly, patience wearing thin. He did have the ability to resurrect the dead—but wasting such a dangerous power on Ajax, of all people, was beyond absurd.
"Wade," he said flatly, "if I resurrect Ajax, it'll only be so I can let him kill you instead."
Wade went quiet for a beat, then muttered, "...Okay, fair point."
Kurogai shook his head and turned away, ignoring Wade's continued sulking. His focus shifted to the massive meteorite crater nearby. He could sense faint vibrations beneath the stone—steady, powerful tremors. Juggernaut was alive and struggling, hammering away at the rock in a desperate attempt to break free. But the meteorite's size and density far outweighed even Juggernaut's brute force.
Stretching out his hands, Kurogai invoked his power. "Universal Pull."
The massive meteorite groaned as it lifted, fragments of stone tumbling away to reveal the monstrous figure beneath. Juggernaut snarled, his body battered but unbroken, his fury undiminished.
"Coward!" Juggernaut roared the moment he saw him. "If you're gonna fight me, fight me head-on! Stop hiding behind cheap tricks and falling rocks!"
Kurogai's expression didn't change. "My power includes meteorites. If you don't like it, that's your problem. But Juggernaut, let's be clear—my time is valuable. If I don't have a reason, I won't waste it fighting you."
Juggernaut's eyes narrowed, then lit with challenge. "Fine. Name it. If it gets me the fight I want, I'll agree to anything."
Kurogai's voice was calm, precise. "Simple. If you lose, you'll submit to me. You'll fight for me when I call on you."
For a brief moment, Juggernaut's expression twisted in surprise. Then he grinned, a savage, eager grin. "Hah! That's it? Fine by me! I've got nothing to lose—and I'll crush you anyway!"
To Kurogai, it wasn't arrogance. It was practicality. He rarely bothered recruiting anyone. For most of his life, he had fought alone. But now, with his growing organization, adding a monster like Juggernaut to his ranks was a strategic move. And if Juggernaut refused? Then crushing him here would end the problem permanently.
Either way, this battle would end with Juggernaut serving his purpose.
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