The Next Day-
Elsewhere-
Mei Terumi arrived in the Summoning Realm, bringing with her 42 pieces of 084 items that had just been delivered by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.
Charles, staring at the towering stack of crates beside Mei Terumi, exclaimed in surprise, "How did you pull this off?"
"How many enhancement serums did you sell?"
With a slight smile playing on her lips, Mei Terumi began explaining her plan to Charles.
After listening to Mei Terumi's strategy for acquiring the 084 items, Charles burst into laughter:
"Ha-ha-ha!"
"That's a brilliant idea! I initially thought securing just a quarter's worth of future funding would've been great."
"But I didn't expect you to leverage the Jinchūriki situation and secure an entire year's training budget!"
"This move—absolutely genius—we've hit the jackpot."
Seeing Charles's excitement made Mei Terumi equally delighted. She then asked, "How can we confirm the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D.? Are there any significant events we can look out for to ensure we act at the right time?"
Charles pondered for a moment before replying, "When you see news of Captain America being declared a fugitive, it means S.H.I.E.L.D.'s collapse is just a few days away."
"At that point, the entire organization will be in turmoil. Even the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy won't be spared. Just have Ao keep an eye on the situation then."
Hearing such a clear indicator, Mei Terumi nodded. News of Captain America becoming a fugitive would indeed shake the entire United States.
"Should we take advantage of the chaos, or support one of the sides?"
Charles considered the question. With Ao's strength, he could dominate whichever side he chose at the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy unless someone managed to catch him off guard.
However, in reality, once S.H.I.E.L.D.'s files and Hydra's infiltration are fully exposed, there will still be prolonged conflict.
The Avengers will regroup to systematically eliminate Hydra-controlled bases. Although S.H.I.E.L.D. will disband as a result, Hydra won't survive either.
Moreover, Orochimaru's Sound Village has already established connections with Hydra. There's no need to worry about that side, as they'll use the chaos to consume Hydra entirely.
"We don't support anyone. S.H.I.E.L.D. is destined to dissolve, and Hydra won't survive either."
"Have Ao explore and extract as much benefit as possible. Of course, if he feels confident in his charisma, he can try recruiting some people as external agents for your village."
"After all, S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy has a lot of talented individuals."
Hearing Charles's words, Mei Terumi nodded and added, "Since S.H.I.E.L.D. is facing such a crisis of dissolution, should we just eliminate their leader, Nick Fury..."
She then made a throat-slitting gesture.
Charles shook his head and replied, "There's no need. Killing him won't work."
Charles knew all too well that Nick Fury likely had clones of himself stationed not only across the globe but even on space stations. If the original died, a clone would activate, complete with all his memories.
Eliminating one Nick Fury wouldn't achieve much. Even if they used Selene's vampire abilities to extract his memories, they might still not uncover the locations of all his clones.
Given Fury's cautious nature, he likely didn't even know where all the clones were placed.
Mei Terumi, startled, asked, "Does he have some kind of immortality or Hulk-like strength?"
"Neither. But this guy has cloned countless versions of himself and hidden them all over the planet."
"Killing one of him doesn't have much impact."
Mei Terumi froze for a moment, then asked in confusion, "Cloning technology? Isn't that still underdeveloped in this world?"
"Moreover, cloning humans is prohibited by UN laws..."
Mei Terumi paused, then recalled S.H.I.E.L.D.'s unique identity and the extraordinary authority granted to such an organization.
"As expected, organizations like these always have their own survival strategies and contingencies."
"They truly don't need to worry about their leader being assassinated."
Charles nodded in agreement, then waved his hand, storing all 42 pieces of 084 items into his dimensional storage space.
"I hope the chaos within S.H.I.E.L.D. will bring me plenty of profit."
"I'll need to brief the Sound Ninja on some matters. I won't stay long—you should get some rest as well."
As Charles prepared to leave, Mei Terumi recalled Ao's repeated advice.
She stepped forward, hugged Charles, and whispered in his ear, "Consider this my reward."
She then planted a kiss on Charles's cheek. Without waiting for a response, Mei Terumi immediately deactivated the reverse summoning technique, vanishing in a puff of white smoke.
Charles blinked, momentarily stunned by what had just happened.
"Ambushed again..."
He wiped the cheek that had been kissed, sensing Mei Terumi's underlying emotions.
However, he chose not to comment and instead retrieved a mask from his storage space. After putting it on, he set off toward Orochimaru's base.
…
At the Mist Village Outpost-
Mei Terumi returned to her room, her face flushed with redness.
Despite being the Fifth Mizukage of the Mist Village and a powerful kunoichi with mastery over two Kekkei Genkai, she had never experienced romance before—let alone made such a bold move.
Embarrassed, she buried her face in her pillow, her mind filled with images of Charles's handsome face.
To Mei Terumi, Charles Doyle was the perfect partner—attractive, powerful, and someone she didn't have to worry about injuring or melting accidentally with her abilities.
The only downside was that it seemed Tsunade had already claimed him.
Although Tsunade appeared only in her twenties due to her Transformation Technique, Mei Terumi couldn't help but see her as an older woman.
Rumors of Tsunade and Charles being together had already spread in Konoha.
Yet, Ao still often encouraged her not to give up. A man like Charles Doyle was one of a kind—missing out on him would be a lifelong regret.
"I just hope my actions didn't upset him..."
"Is it really true that when a woman pursues a man, the obstacles are negligible?"
…
At a Hidden Base of the Sound Village...
Orochimaru, seeing the masked figure appear nearby, immediately recognized him as Charles Doyle, despite the complete lack of resemblance in appearance or demeanor.
"My lord!"
Charles nodded, unsurprised that Orochimaru could identify him.
"How is Lorelei's research progressing?"
At the mention of Lorelei, Orochimaru's expression turned ecstatic.
"Her body is incredible!"
"The density of her physique is three times that of an Earth human, and this is without utilizing any energy."
"In other words, even without tapping into her abilities, her threefold density makes her impervious to conventional weapons like swords and firearms."
"Her raw strength alone exceeds 30 tons, not accounting for the abilities she wields."
"In terms of physical constitution, even the ninja physique cannot compare to hers."
"While we ninja have cells with three times the energy capacity of ordinary humans, Asgardians possess an overall density three times higher."
"This could be one of the reasons for their longevity. Moreover, the energy she wields is fascinating—entirely different from ours."
"Her body holds countless secrets. To fully uncover them, I'll need time and more experiments."
Charles nodded in approval, recognizing that Orochimaru's research on Asgardians would likely yield significant results.
"Since Lorelei is now in your hands, feel free to proceed with your experiments."
"This time, I'm here to inform you of something."
###
Access all remaining chapters right now: p#tre#n...com /gfdsa