Chapter 40: The Deal

"If the coin shows heads, you're still a loyal subordinate. If it's tails…"

Harvey Dent slowly removed his left hand.

"What a shame—it's tails."

Harvey Dent shook his head in feigned regret.

"Mr. Puppeteer, consider this man my apology for today's unannounced visit. Now, would you be willing to have a conversation with me?"

"What do you want to talk about?"

Shimizu asked, his eyes fixed on Harvey Dent.

The latter gracefully opened the car door and gestured for Shimizu to enter.

"Shall we speak in private?" he offered.

Shimizu paused for two seconds, then clasped his left hand behind his back, silently releasing several chakra threads. With this, he could summon the upgraded pneumatic arm of Black Gold at any moment. Only after taking this precaution did he enter the vehicle.

The window was left open so the chakra threads could pass through unimpeded.

Harvey Dent sat down beside Shimizu and signaled the driver.

The car slowly pulled away from the crowd, stopping at a distance. The driver promptly exited the vehicle to ensure their conversation remained confidential.

"I initially came for one reason, but after seeing you in person, I now have two. The first question is: What is your relationship with Ra's al Ghul?"

Ra's al Ghul, the Demon's Head, leader of the League of Shadows—Shimizu immediately understood Dent was mistaking his ninja skills as signs of League affiliation.

"I have no connection to him. My techniques just happen to resemble those of the League's members."

Shimizu replied, staring at Dent's distorted face.

Whether Two-Face believed him was unclear, but he simply nodded. Then he pulled out a newspaper from the front seat and handed it to Shimizu.

"You were there that day. I want to know—does that thing still exist?"

The front page displayed a photo from the rooftop of Arkham Asylum, showing Batman confronting Titan Joker.

It was the enhanced Titan Venom, and Shimizu did, in fact, still have a sample.

Back when Joker needed powerful cannon fodder to distract Batman, he handed each Arkham inmate a vial of Titan II.

To escape, Shimizu had injected his dose into a guard to divert Nightwing's attention. He got away—but he had saved part of the vial, roughly 10–20 milliliters.

"Joker already proved this stuff can't take down Batman or his Bat-brats."

Shimizu leaned back into the leather seat, glancing over the newspaper.

"But that doesn't change the fact that it's useful, does it?"

Dent toyed with his coin, eyes fixed on Shimizu.

"At the very least, the monsters it creates can distract Batman. That alone makes it a valuable card to play."

Shimizu said nothing, but Dent was calculating. He wasn't sure if Shimizu still had a sample, but the odds were high.

After all, Joker's Titan serum was all destroyed that night—any remaining samples would only be in the hands of Arkham escapees.

Dent had done his homework: Shimizu had used the Titan serum to draw Nightwing's attention and slipped away during the chaos of Batman's battle with Joker. He was the most likely to still possess some.

But Dent also hesitated.

It wasn't just Black Gold's raw power—Shimizu's combat ability was hard to gauge.

If not for that, Dent might've resorted to force already.

Shimizu, too, was weighing his options.

The Titan serum wasn't much use to him right now.

To break it down or replicate it required solid knowledge of biology and chemistry—skills Shimizu didn't possess, nor did he have the time or energy to acquire them.

But Harvey Dent? He might have the resources.

As a former district attorney turned crime boss and supervillain, Dent's connections and leverage far exceeded what Shimizu could muster.

Still, Dent wasn't Shimizu's only option—unless he made an offer too good to refuse.

Dent clearly understood this too.

"I don't know if you truly have it, but let me state my terms."

Two-Face laid a map of Gotham on the seat between them.

"I know you've secured two streets so far. That's nothing. From here to here—two full streets and a small residential block—you can have it all. That would connect your turf into one solid piece. But how do you hold it? That's your problem."

Shimizu stayed silent.

Given enough time, he could've taken that turf anyway.

"I can bring in Victor to help study the substance. When it's done, we split the results three ways. And during the process, I'll draw the attention away from you."

Victor?

Shimizu quickly searched his memory. The name lined up with a well-known Gotham villain:

Victor Fries — Mr. Freeze. A renowned cryophysicist and biochemist in the DC universe, with advanced engineering knowledge.

He'd built his own cryo-suit and freeze weapons. That alone proved his scientific prowess.

If it was him, there was indeed a chance.

"Not enough," Shimizu said flatly.

The moment he heard Mr. Freeze's name, he had already made up his mind.

Not only because Dent's offer was solid, but because Mr. Freeze was a top-tier scientist in the DC world.

Harvey Dent's scarred face twisted into an ugly grin.

"'Not enough'—not 'no.' That means you do have a sample. And it means there's room to negotiate."

"One million dollars in cash. Leftover from a bank job yesterday—so you'll need to launder it yourself. Plus, a batch of used firearms from the GCPD and two armored cars. With all that, you'll be able to hold your new turf."

Shimizu still shook his head.

Just as Dent's expression started to darken, Shimizu added:

"I want you to personally introduce me to Victor."

"There's no way to meet him without going through me. I'm funding his research to revive his wife. That's the only reason he agreed to work with me."

"And you, I imagine, don't have the capital to compete," Dent said, flicking his coin and staring intently.

"No, no, Mr. Dent," Shimizu replied. "The Titan serum isn't something I care that much about. That stuff is far weaker than my creation."

Shimizu's left hand, hidden behind his back, clenched tightly.

Two seconds later—with a booming crash, Black Gold punched through the wall and stepped into the room through a cloud of dust and debris.

(End of Chapter)