Hiding in the sand, splitting into many places, starting with Arkham

"Who is the distinguished guest wanting to discuss business with me tonight? To be honest, since I came out of that place and started hustling, not many people have approached me for business deals."

Walter straightened his collar and followed the Penguin towards the private room in the Iceberg Lounge.

"Oh, Walter, my friend, don't tell me you didn't do business with that Harvey Dent fellow. I can't believe he'd give you that territory for nothing."

The Penguin adjusted his glasses and chuckled.

"So, who is this person who wants to do business with me? Who is influential enough to get you to introduce us, and what do they want to discuss?"

"His name is Maroni, and he has quite the history with Two-Face."

The Penguin said.

"History?"

"Harvey Dent's face was disfigured by Maroni throwing acid on him in court. Thank Maroni for removing a shining knight for Gotham and giving the dark knight a huge headache."

The Penguin shrugged.

"Two-Face's gang must have given him a lot of trouble, right?"

"Of course. Maroni was almost thrown into a vat of acid at a chemical factory by Harvey Dent, but he sought refuge with Falcone, who sent people to rescue him."

The Falcone family, Two-Face's gang, and the Penguin's Iceberg Lounge are the three most powerful gangs in Gotham, spanning both the legitimate and criminal worlds.

The Falcone family is the strongest with the deepest roots, the Iceberg Lounge is the wealthiest, and Two-Face's gang is the most numerous and their overall strength is on par with the other two.

In the past, the position held by Two-Face's gang was occupied by Maroni's crime family. At its peak, it even rivaled the Falcone family, aiming to overthrow Falcone and become the largest gang in Gotham.

However, Two-Face stepped on them to rise to power, causing Maroni's family to decline significantly, but it remains a major gang in Gotham, in a semi-cooperative, semi-subordinate relationship with the Falcone family.

If the Cole gang of the past was an insignificant small gang and the Spavaleta gang was a slightly stronger third-rate small gang, then the current Hogg Syndicate has barely met the standards of a second-rate gang in terms of territory and numbers and can be considered a large gang in the slums.

The Maroni family currently has more territory and members than the Hogg Syndicate, but the assets in their territory, the overall quality of their personnel, and the number of weapons are far superior to the Hogg Syndicate, which lacks a solid foundation.

After all, a starved camel is still bigger than a horse. The overall quality of the Maroni family's gang members is not inferior to that of top gangs. Falcone also needs a useful knife to contain the increasingly powerful Two-Face's gang.

The only truly first-rate gangs are Two-Face's gang, the Iceberg Lounge, and the Falcone family. Their territory, numbers, and assets are several times that of second-rate gangs, and their gang members have high combat power and loyalty. They are not only influential in the underworld but also have deep ties with the upper echelons of Gotham's government.

Walter followed the Penguin into the most luxurious private room in the Iceberg Lounge.

It was lavishly decorated, with white chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, emitting a soft light that reflected on the delicate white wool carpet.

Several famous paintings hung on the walls. Walter couldn't make out what they were, but he recognized the names of Da Vinci and Picasso.

Walter was a little disappointed.

He thought the Penguin would arrange some escorts for him and Maroni to talk business.

A middle-aged man with a receding hairline, wearing a suit, stood up from a leather chair and extended his hand to Walter.

"Oh, you've finally arrived, Walter, boss of the Hogg Syndicate."

Out of courtesy, Walter shook his hand.

"I presume you are Mr. Maroni?"

"It seems Cobblepot has already introduced me to you, so I won't introduce myself again."

Maroni sized up Walter.

The man in front of him was wearing a low-quality handmade windbreaker, clearly imitating the style of Italian Brioni menswear, but the tailor's skills were so poor that he created a windbreaker that looked somewhat tasteful but was actually mismatched.

This must be a capable but unsophisticated gang leader with little contact with high society.

"Gentlemen, I wish you a pleasant discussion."

The Penguin smiled slightly at the door, gave a slight bow, and closed the door as he left.

"Would you like to try one? Opus X cigars are the most popular cigars in the world. This box is a limited edition, costing $30,000 a box. And this is French Burgundy wine, known as the Queen of Wines, costing $10,000 a bottle. These are my gifts to you, to celebrate our successful cooperation."

"Thank you!"

Walter nonchalantly plopped down in the seat opposite Maroni, taking the so-called most popular cigars in the world and the Queen of Wines into his arms.

"Won't you try them?"

Maroni smiled.

"Ah, sorry, I've always believed that alcohol and nicotine affect health, especially interfering with the brain's ability to make correct judgments, so... can I take these things back as a souvenir?"

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Actually, Walter wanted to take them back and sell them.

The three ninja prohibitions are rules that every ninja school student must learn, and Walter has been following them since he was a child.

Cigarettes don't matter, many ninjas smoke, but Walter doesn't have the habit of smoking, so it's better to sell them all.

"Ahem, now that you've accepted the gifts, I should talk to you about business."

Maroni sat up straight and changed his expression.

Walter made a gesture to proceed.

"I know that Mr. Walter recently made a deal with Harvey Dent and obtained a large piece of territory. I believe Mr. Walter also knows that I have a bit of a history with Harvey Dent, so I would like to complete this deal with you on his behalf."

So, he's here to snatch business from Harvey Dent.

"Does your excellency know what kind of business I'm doing with Mr. Harvey?"

Maroni laughed, reaching out to move the newspaper on the table.

"Yes, of course, I know. A very big business, so big that you even brought out Victor."

Underneath the newspaper was another newspaper.

Walter was very familiar with the cover of this newspaper.

Under the thunderous rain at the peak of Arkham, the scene of Batman confronting Titan Joker!

How did Harvey Dent do the confidential work!

"That is a very powerful force, so powerful that it can make Batman frustrated and even break Batman's spine. And the only person we can find who may still retain the seeds of this power is you!"