According to the information gathered, this mutant named John was nothing more than an ordinary American hobo. His mutation was particularly weak, offering no advantages beyond a grotesque transformation.
In reality, this was the case for most mutants. Nearly 80% of them had no practical abilities—only physical deformities that set them apart from normal humans.
Of course, these were not the unluckiest ones. Some mutants possessed powerful abilities but lacked the means to control them. These were the true tragedies of the mutant world.
Some would explode when overly excited, others would emit poisonous gas uncontrollably, and some had voices so destructive that a single cough could shatter glass across several city blocks. These mutants lived in constant fear, only to be captured and either locked away or dissected in secret laboratories.
Even the Brotherhood of Mutants had no use for self-destructive mutants. As for Professor X, while he was dedicated to mutant welfare, he wouldn't risk the safety of his students to shelter those who couldn't control themselves.
John, despite his weak mutation, was resourceful. Though his ability was limited to altering his appearance—offering no enhanced strength, speed, or durability—he had developed a terrifying skill. Using deception and intimidation, he had successfully pulled off over a dozen robberies.
"You're really something," Shin remarked, shaking his head in disbelief.
"You've pulled this stunt so many times without getting killed. That's quite the streak of luck."
"It was a close call a couple of times..." John said with a wry smile before lifting his shirt to reveal a deep gunshot scar.
"It happened last summer. I tried scaring a girl into handing over her money, but she panicked and pulled a pistol out of her bag. She emptied the whole magazine on me... Luckily, her aim was terrible, or I wouldn't be standing here."
Well, being a robber in the U.S. was risky. You never knew if your target was packing a gun—and chances were, theirs would be bigger and deadlier. It was one thing to be a thug, but pulling scams like John's was a gamble with death.
"I have a question. Do you know where the Brotherhood of Mutants is?" Shin asked.
John's face paled, and he shook his head vigorously. "I wouldn't dare get involved with those terrorists. A mutant like me, with nothing but a useless ability, would be nothing more than cannon fodder to them."
The hierarchy among mutants was brutal. Though Magneto preached mutant supremacy, the ones who stood at his side were hardly weaklings. There were no useless mutants in the Brotherhood—only those strong enough to earn a place.
For those with little to no abilities, joining the Brotherhood meant one thing: being thrown into the front lines like disposable pawns.
As for Professor X's school? That was only for teenage mutants. Outside of the elite X-Men instructors, there was no place for grown mutants there.
Finding work as a mutant was next to impossible. Any elite-level mutant with useful abilities was quickly recruited, leaving the rest with no real opportunities.
Ordinary schools refused to admit mutants with noticeable physical deformations, leaving many uneducated and without prospects. With nowhere else to go, they often turned to gangs or other criminal activities, further fueling the cycle of discrimination.
Even Magneto and Professor X had no real solution to this problem. There were simply too many mutants, and they lacked the resources to support them all.
This was the harsh reality mutants faced—one that couldn't be solved by simply advocating for equality.
"So, you don't belong to any major mutant faction?" Shin asked, sounding somewhat disappointed.
John began sweating profusely. Something about the way Shin phrased that sent chills down his spine.
"Uh… I'm part of the Scorpion Gang! We operate under Kingpin's criminal empire!"
Shin almost burst into laughter. Nearly every gang in New York had ties to Kingpin in some way. Dropping his name meant nothing.
Unless you were actively targeting Kingpin's core operations or slaughtering his men in droves, he wouldn't care in the slightest.
Despite the strict rules he imposed, New York's criminal underworld was far too chaotic for one man to control entirely. In a world like this, where gang members were killed on a daily basis, Kingpin couldn't afford to chase down every minor thug who ended up dead.
As long as the gangs paid their dues and didn't disrupt his larger operations, he wouldn't even notice if an entire crew was wiped out overnight.
However, John's mention of the Scorpion Gang gave Shin an idea. A faint smirk crossed his lips as his eyes glowed with a faint purple hue.
Though he had eliminated the Kotoamatsukami jutsu from his arsenal, his Rinnegan enhanced even the simplest of Genjutsu to a level beyond what Uchiha Shisui could achieve with his full strength. Controlling a minor thug like John was effortless.
John was technically part of the Scorpion Gang—at least in the loosest sense. His role was little more than that of a low-level errand boy. When fights broke out between rival gangs, his job was to make phone calls and hand out cash to settle disputes.
Even though this was the chaotic world of American comics, it was still the 21st century. The days of gangsters openly mowing each other down with submachine guns in the streets were mostly behind them. Even without real power, John could still get by through association.
He and a few other similarly weak mutants had joined the gang solely for protection. The Scorpion Gang, in turn, kept them around for one reason—to flaunt their supposed mutant connections.
'Look, we've got mutants in our crew! We're not just some ordinary street gang!'
"What a joke," Shin smirked, shaking his head. He had no interest in wasting time on John. "Take me to your boss."
Under the influence of Shin's genjutsu, John obediently led him to the gang's hideout.
Upon arrival, Shin wasted no time. He subdued the leading thugs, interrogated them, and extracted everything he needed to know.
Following the chain of command, he worked his way up—one layer at a time—using genjutsu to manipulate each rung of the organization.
After several hours of methodically controlling and questioning gang leaders, Shin finally reached the higher echelons of New York's criminal empire.
Now, he was on his way to Fisk Tower—the heart of Kingpin's domain.
*******************************
If you would like to gain early access, you can join me at www.patre on.com/bookbattalion
80+ Advance Chapters Now Available!