"Buddy, it took me a long time to decide to shut down the weapons division. It has huge significance for my life."
"Stark Industries' weapons division isn't just about making weapons. Its industrial manufacturing capability is the most valuable part, isn't it? Besides, your life is about to end. If you're unwilling, then go back and wait. Others might be able to save you too—there's no need to cling to Future Biopharmaceuticals."
Hyuga Mirai interrupted Tony Stark. He could make these things himself, but taking over something ready-made was fine too—after all, Tony Stark had come knocking on his door.
"I… need to think about it." Tony Stark was deeply conflicted. He worried that the man before him would use Stark Industries' weapons division for bad purposes. Tony himself no longer wanted to produce weapons, which was why he had shut the division down.
"How can you solve the palladium poisoning in my chest? The only thing I can think of is developing a special drug to suppress the spread of palladium, so—"
Hyuga Mirai shook his head. "Mr. Stark, I'm using the simplest method. I'll remove the shrapnel from your chest, then heal the wound. That way, you won't have to worry about palladium entering your bloodstream anymore."
"…That simple?"
Tony Stark stared at Hyuga Mirai in shock. What he had just heard made him feel like the other party was lying.
"You may not understand my condition. The shrapnel in my chest is currently—"
"Mr. Stark, it's you who doesn't understand our capabilities."
At this point, Hyuga Mirai had little interest in continuing the conversation. He then issued Tony Stark an ultimatum. "Mr. Stark, if you don't plan to make this deal, then go back. Maybe someone else can save you—you just haven't found them."
Someone else… Before coming, he had had JARVIS search almost all medical records in the world related to chest injuries. There was virtually no hope of a cure.
Tony Stark picked up the contract again and looked it over. "Fifty billion is a very reasonable price. Even the board won't say much. This way, both the company and I have an explanation. But are you sure you can cure my body?"
Although it wasn't a lump-sum payment, Tony Stark believed the other party could come up with that much money, judging by those special drugs capable of treating terminal illnesses.
If the price were lower, Tony Stark was even prepared to pay out of pocket. After all, Stark Industries still had other directors. If he sold the weapons division at a low price just to treat himself, it would definitely cause a huge stir once the news got out.
After saying this, Tony Stark saw Hyuga Mirai frown slightly and rub his brow. He quickly added, "Alright, alright, I believe you. I'll sign the contract. But I won't leave behind weapons production data or weapons procurement contracts and the like. What you can buy is only the equipment."
He would not produce weapons, and he would reclaim all Stark weapons data. This was the limit of what Tony Stark could do. He couldn't control others—there were more than ten arms companies of all sizes in the United States alone. The Stark weapons division was only one of them.
"Sign it, then prepare for surgery."
"So fast? I mean, don't we need to make some preparations?"
"No need. If you're signing, do it quickly."
The surgery ended very quickly. With Hyuga Mirai's abilities, even if Tony Stark's lower body were completely cut off, he could regenerate it within seconds.
The arc reactor was removed, the shrapnel taken out of his chest, and then Yang Release chakra was used to regenerate flesh and blood. That completed the treatment.
When Hyuga Mirai woke Tony Stark, he was still very confused. Checking the time, only three minutes had passed.
"Is the surgery over? Or should we continue tomorrow… What? Where's my reactor? Where's my wound?"
Tony Stark shouted in shock. After waking up, he felt his chest incredibly light. Looking down, he realized the reactor in his chest was gone, and the crater blown open by the explosion had disappeared as well. When he reached out to touch it, he could feel his own flesh.
This was simply incredible. Before the surgery, Tony Stark had even checked the time. He was now absolutely certain that only three minutes had passed.
"This is your reactor. There's still a small amount of residual radiation on it, but with your capabilities, you should know how to isolate it. From now on, this reactor won't pose any threat to you."
After saying this, Hyuga Mirai handed the reactor to Tony Stark. The reason this thing had caused such severe palladium poisoning was because it had to be pressed tightly against his wound to hold the shrapnel in place.
Now that Tony Stark's wound was gone, with a slight modification to the reactor, that faint radiation posed no danger at all.
"Unbelievable. You're truly the best doctor I've ever seen in the world. By the way, can I get a permanent medical card?"
"Do you really think you can afford to hire me as your private doctor?"
Hyuga Mirai's rhetorical question left Tony Stark speechless. Healing his injuries and even regenerating flesh in such a short time—Tony would believe it even if it were called magic.
Moreover, just a single treatment had cost Stark Industries its weapons manufacturing division. With such an astronomical price, Tony knew that even selling Stark Industries wouldn't be enough to buy a permanent medical card from Hyuga Mirai.
"No matter what, you saved my life. Thank you, buddy."
Tony Stark sent Pepper a message, asking her to arrange a vehicle to pick him up. Although Hyuga Mirai said he could fly back, without JARVIS' arrangements, Tony didn't want to take the risk.
In fact, he wanted even more to chat with Hyuga Mirai about artificial intelligence. He felt they would have a lot in common. But seeing Hyuga Mirai's expression, Tony knew the other party wasn't in the mood right now.
"Buddy, tomorrow I'll arrange a press conference. After that, you can send people to Stark Industries to take over the weapons division."
"Mm."
After responding casually, Hyuga Mirai waved his hand, telling Tony Stark to head back. He wasn't worried about Tony reneging. For now, Stark Industries was still under Tony's control, and after today's experience, Tony had already seen a bit of Hyuga Mirai's methods.
An artificial intelligence even more powerful than JARVIS, and medical healing abilities comparable to creation magic—reneging rashly was something Tony neither wanted to do nor could do.
Stark Industries' weapons division possessed extremely powerful manufacturing capabilities. It wasn't limited to weapons; it also involved tanks and fighter jets, and could even manufacture military satellites. After Tony Stark announced the shutdown of the weapons division, Stark Industries' stock price plunged by nearly half. If not for transitioning into energy, Stark Industries could be said to be finished.
If the weapons division were spun off and listed independently, it could develop into a Fortune Global 500–level enterprise.
More than fifteen large manufacturing bases and a powerful supply of mechanical components were the core wealth of Stark Industries' weapons division.
With this in hand, it could save No. 18 two years of time. Now she only needed to send out some androids combined with intelligent control to take over the entire Stark weapons division.
After that, Hyuga Mirai connected to the terminal and asked, "No. 18, have you found a suitable location?"
"Seven in total: three islands for sale and four ranches for sale. All are large enough to meet the minimum requirement for planting the Divine Tree. However, the first three are overseas; only one is in the United States."
A large amount of projected data appeared before Hyuga Mirai, including basic information about the locations and No. 18's analysis. The last ranch was one No. 18 had just added, because ten miles away from it was a large mechanical factory belonging to Stark Industries' weapons division—now Hyuga Mirai's.
"Let's choose this one. It'll be convenient to modify things a bit. Just get it done."
Hyuga Mirai made the final decision. For the extraordinary and ordinary alike, where the Divine Tree was planted made no difference.
"Uncle Ben, Aunt May, I have something I'd like to discuss with you."
That evening after returning home, Peter Parker called Ben Parker and May Parker over, preparing to talk with them about what had happened during the day at Future Biopharmaceuticals. Of course, he wouldn't reveal his identity as Spider-Man. But after hearing Hyuga Mirai's words, Peter thought it over carefully and felt it was still necessary to talk to his family.
"Peter, are you holding a family meeting? How was your visit to that company today? What did you do there?" Ben Parker asked curiously, putting down his water cup.
"It felt good. I helped their boss with a small favor. They invited me over this time to thank me. Nothing important."
After that, Peter Parker organized his thoughts. This was something he had thought about for a long time before saying it to Uncle Ben and Aunt May.
"I have a friend. He's been pretty troubled lately, so he consulted me about some things today."
Ben Parker and May Parker exchanged glances. Then Ben Parker shrugged and said to Peter, "Hmm, you have a friend who's troubled. And then?"
Peter didn't notice that both Ben and May had an expression that said: Is this friend actually you?
In the past eighteen years, Peter Parker had only made one friend. He had been here for less than a year, and suddenly he had a close confidant. Neither of them believed it.
"My friend told me that he's actually Spider-Man—the nighttime hero who goes out every night to fight crime and promote justice."
Upon hearing this, Aunt May immediately asked, "Peter, you're Spider-Man? You told me you go out every night to take photos, and it turns out you're going out to fight?"
"It's not me, it's my friend. I really did go to take photos. I'm a part-time photographer for the Daily Bugle!"
"May, let Peter finish. He said it's his friend," Ben Parker said, trying to calm her. If they didn't listen to the whole thing, how would they know what had happened to Peter?
"Peter, go on."
"Alright…" Peter Parker glanced at the two of them. He felt that what he'd just said didn't seem very effective, but he continued anyway. "My friend helped a big boss, so the other party took a liking to him and wants to invite him to become the endorsed superhero of their company, enjoying all the benefits."
Peter Parker turned himself into his "friend," telling Uncle Ben and Aunt May everything that had happened today.
The two of them were also shocked. They hadn't expected their nephew to be a 'vigilante,' and now a company had taken a liking to him and wanted to turn Peter into someone like Iron Man.
After hearing it, Ben Parker repeated the question. "So, you… your friend was chosen by which company? They want him to be their company's superhero?"
Peter Parker nodded. That was basically it.
"Peter, do you think this is a good thing or a bad thing for you—for your friend? Does your friend really like being Spider-Man, this kind of 'vigilante'?"
"He probably likes it," Peter Parker thought for a moment, then answered with great certainty.
He had carefully read the contract Hyuga Mirai gave him and was very satisfied. It wouldn't make Peter Parker's identity public, and it would handle all follow-up matters, such as the New York Police Department's hostility, as well as salary, compensation, and intelligence support when capturing criminals.
All he needed to give was Spider-Man's fame.
In Peter's view, this was an extremely high-quality choice. If he refused, he would still be the same as before—listening for news on the radio, wasting time for part-time work, and so on.
He was only missing a unified reason.
"Since your friend likes it, then go for it, Peter. If there's anything troubling, you can keep coming to us to talk it over."
As soon as Ben Parker finished speaking, Aunt May became a bit anxious. "Ben, this is about fighting. Peter should—"
"May, that's his friend, not Peter. And Peter is already eighteen. He can make his own choices. Telling us is just showing respect for our opinions."
Before she could finish, Ben Parker pushed Aunt May toward the bedroom. As they walked, he also said to Peter, "Dinner's in the oven. Remember to clean up after you eat."
After the two left, Peter Parker recalled things with some confusion. Had he accidentally let something slip? Why did Aunt May keep suspecting him?
But it didn't matter anymore. Since Uncle Ben supported him, it meant his choice was right.
Thinking of this, Peter Parker took a pie from the oven and ran upstairs to reply to the email from the boss of Future Biopharmaceuticals. If he didn't handle this first, he probably wouldn't be able to eat at all—though the dinner pie really was a bit hard to swallow.
"Dear Mr. Future, after careful consideration, I am very honored to accept your company's invitation."
After reading this email, Hyuga Mirai handed the matter over to No. 18.
The first candidate for the superhero squad was in place. However, Peter Parker was still a bit young to be the captain. As for the number of members, it was temporarily set at seven—the United States was always superstitious about the number seven being lucky.
"We'll handle things tomorrow. You workaholic."
"This isn't work, Kurenai."
Hyuga Mirai turned his head to respond, but after seeing Kurenai's attire, there was no need to say the rest.
(End of Chapter)
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