Deep inside S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Triskelion headquarters.
The atmosphere in Director Fury's office was so heavy it felt like you could wring water from it.
The massive wall of floor-to-ceiling screens in front of his desk was divided into countless images: aerial footage of the ruins in Brooklyn, scattered glowing markers on a world map representing anomalous energy readings, and a blurry surveillance screenshot of Saitama eating a sandwich outside a convenience store.
Fury had his back to the screen wall. His single eye stared out at the glittering New York night beyond the window.
In his hand, the tablet was displaying the top-secret assessment report Natasha had submitted:
"Threat and Value Analysis of Saitama Gonzales (Codename: One Hit) – Highest Clearance Required."
The core conclusions were enough to make anyone's scalp go numb:
"Unknown source of power, impossible to replicate as an individual case. Personality profile trends stable, no desire for authority or antisocial tendencies detected, but motivations are extremely casual and fundamentally unpredictable.
Current technological weapons (barring specific magic and artifacts) evaluated as 100% ineffective against him.
Potential Threat Level: ∞ (incalculable).
Strategic Value: ∞ (incalculable).
Recommendation: Maintain observation and open communication channels. Direct hostility strictly forbidden. Attempt to establish a limited cooperation model…"
"His answer was very straightforward."
Fury wasn't alone in the office. Agent Hill stood in front of the desk, calmly repeating the message Natasha had relayed.
"'I don't like fixed rules and schedules. Things are fine the way they are now.'
In addition, Natasha noted that before he left, he showed… genuine frustration about missing the supermarket discount."
Fury was silent.
He had never run into a situation like this before.
He was used to recruiting talent, building teams, and taking control of power.
No matter how rebellious or troublesome a "special asset" might be, he could always find an angle—
Honor. Belief. A sense of looming threat. Even atonement, money, knowledge… there was always some lever.
But Saitama was like a perfectly smooth stone with no cracks for him to get a grip on.
He seemed completely cut off from the traditional values society attached to "heroes," living entirely in his own world. What he pursued… was so cheap it was almost laughable—
And yet the power behind it was so overwhelming that, for the first time in a long while, Fury felt a faint sense of helplessness.
"Frustration?" Fury finally turned around. There was little expression on his face, but his eye flashed with shifting light. "Because he missed a few pieces of discounted steak?"
"Natasha's observation should be accurate. He did go straight to the supermarket… and he came back empty-handed," Hill confirmed.
"…"
Fury's fingers tapped unconsciously against the smooth surface of his desk, making a rhythmic ticking sound.
Outside the window, New York's lights glittered like a river of stars.
A man like that, with the power to rewrite the outcome of wars—maybe even decide the fate of the entire planet—was actually disappointed over a pack of steak he hadn't managed to grab on sale?
It was practically the biggest mockery imaginable of Fury's lifelong pursuit of order and security.
"Director, new development!"
The voice from the control center cut in urgently.
"Doctor Banner's preliminary analysis just came through! The scattered energy fluctuations detected around the globe—while the originating energy signatures differ, their core frequency band… matches the Brooklyn incident's energy source sample at a very high level! The volatility is increasing, and… they're resonating with one another!"
Fury's fingers froze mid-tap.
His single eye suddenly sharpened like a blade.
He strode toward the screen wall, watching as those once faint energy markers on the map began to intensify and blink in a pulse-like rhythm, following some hidden pattern—
And in the process, they were sketching out a vague but unmistakably directional trend of convergence across the map.
(End of Chapter)
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