IPEA

"Hmph. With you here, unless it turns into a fight to the death, your people will definitely be able to bring the Ketsuryūgan back to Sunagakure. Whether I keep my promise is fundamentally irrelevant—it would only mean a few more deaths.

In any case, Kumogakure and Sunagakure may have many opportunities to cooperate in the future. I hope we can begin by establishing a basic level of trust between us.

No matter what, Kumogakure and Sunagakure are not direct rivals. On the contrary, we share the same enemies."

The Third Raikage pondered for several seconds before answering.

So this old man had actually been considering whether to break the agreement?

"In one day, ninjas from the Underground Bounty Office will send word to Kumogakure and tell you the location," Shimizu said.

"That works, but not old people. What I want are people capable of passing down the Ketsuryūgan bloodline. There must be both men and women, and at least one of them must have awakened their eyes. Otherwise, I’m afraid you’ll just find a few people without Ketsuryūgan blood and use them to pad the numbers."

This old man really was not the brute he appeared to be.

That had indeed been exactly what Shimizu had been planning.

But since the other party had already raised the issue, he could no longer play such petty tricks.

"Deal."

Shimizu looked at the Raikage and son, then took a step back.

Under the control of Chakra Threads, Daiwan moved forward accordingly, splitting into more than a dozen modules that assembled themselves onto Shimizu’s body.

Little Boy and the fat man were also sealed into the Sealing Scroll Shimizu tossed out amid a puff of white smoke.

"Then I’ll take my leave."

Shimizu bid the Raikage and son farewell. Daiwan spread its broad glider wings, and with Airflow Manipulation and plasma thrusters infused with Separation Release Chakra, sent Shimizu soaring into the sky.

"Who would’ve thought it? Who would’ve thought Sunagakure would produce such a young man?"

The Third Raikage clicked his tongue and shook his head as he watched Shimizu vanish into the sky as a tiny black dot.

Konoha was probably in for a rough time in the next Ninja World War.

That was good news for Kumogakure… probably?

DC World, Metropolis, United Nations Headquarters.

"Mr. Wade, I’m delighted to be colleagues with you again. Ah, and you too, Ms. Amanda."

A certain bald man wore a fake smile as he shook hands with Shimizu and the dark-skinned, heavyset woman respectively.

"Our past cooperation was very pleasant. I hope it can continue in the future," Shimizu replied with an equally insincere smile.

By pulling some outrageous moves against Atlantis, Lex Luthor had successfully cleared his name and returned to the surface.

Most of the hundreds of billions in assets he once possessed in this country had been secretly transferred away, but what he left behind was still enough to make people salivate, especially LexCorp’s technology and personnel.

After Lex Luthor fell from power, capital from every sector of society had feasted on LexCorp’s remains until their mouths dripped with grease.

This included Shimizu’s Wade Group and Bruce’s Wayne Enterprises. Green Arrow Oliver’s Queen Group had gotten involved as well.

That was simply how capital operated in this country.

Financial capital scrambled for assets, while technology companies fought over talent and technology.

Shimizu had benefited the most in the fight for talent and technology. After all, the closer one was to the source, the easier it was to get the prize—especially the scientific researchers from TSL Group.

Lex Luthor definitely wanted to reclaim everything he had once possessed, and perhaps even more.

But too many people had divided up LexCorp, and the combined force behind them was too enormous. A smart man like Lex Luthor would not come at them head-on. He would inevitably have to make choices and concessions.

As for Shimizu, he had acted within the rules throughout the entire process. Even when poaching people, he had offered high salaries to recruit them away. It would certainly be difficult for Lex Luthor to take them back.

Who could blame them? After his defeat, LexCorp’s future had been uncertain.

It was merely a case of good birds choosing the right tree to roost in.

Still, with Lex Luthor’s methods and the status and resources he had newly acquired, he would be even more troublesome than before.

After holding detailed discussions with Bruce Wayne and then convening a meeting with the Justice League members, Shimizu had effectively entered the game himself and accepted "recruitment."

At least after Batman’s persuasion, everyone had realized that organizations like theirs truly needed a stable channel for maintaining contact with the authorities.

Only then could they maintain mutual understanding in certain matters.

It was called recruitment, but Shimizu was not like some reincarnation of Tian Kui Star from the Great Song Dynasty. His life and property were not in someone else’s hands, nor was he some loyal, valiant general.

He still retained a high degree of independence. After all, those people needed his power and influence; he did not need this position—at least, that was how everyone saw it.

If he ever became unhappy there, he could simply leave, and no one would be able to do anything about it.

After all, several members of Congress had already died, along with a whole host of people behind them, yet not a single one had been able to touch Shimizu.

Those who had entertained such thoughts and acted on them by sending people after him had all been tied into sacks, encased in concrete, and dumped into Gotham’s great river.

Hogg United was highly practiced at that sort of thing. They were professionals in that field.

His goal was merely to use this to gain a certain standing within the authorities, obtain fortune, and conveniently leverage official power to secure further advantages for the development of the industries and forces under his command.

As for actually helping America control the supernatural world, there was no way Shimizu would do something like that.

Returning to Shimizu, Amanda, and Lex Luthor as they emerged from the United Nations building in Metropolis.

Just moments ago, they had received joint authorization from the United Nations Security Council to establish the International Paranormal Events Authority, responsible for supernatural phenomena across the "entire world."

Its abbreviation was IPEA.

It was called the United Nations, but behind it were really America, Britain, and France.

America was not content to merely get involved in the benefits brought by supernatural incidents within its own territory. After discussing the matter with the other four major powers, it had established an organization similar to S.H.I.E.L.D.

However, this organization had little authority over Asia, since that was the Zi Qiang Department’s territory. Its ability to intervene in Europe and Africa was also relatively limited, as Britain and France intended to establish branch offices in Europe and manage them independently, while Africa was following suit.

But given America’s nature, it would definitely find a way to stick its foot in. At the very least, the African IPEA branch would most likely soon fall under America’s control. The European IPEA would also be heavily influenced, though it should retain most of its autonomy.

Of course, for the time being, their operations could only be spread across the Americas—America’s backyard.

Australia had also been placed under the management of the Americas branch.

Since it was still in its infancy, IPEA currently had no leader.

The Security Council had wanted to appoint Amanda directly, but she could not keep Shimizu in check, nor could she keep Lex Luthor in check.