Chapter 497: Tony's Refusal

Hearing the director's arrangement, Coulson nodded: "Having agents keep watch in person will also prevent the other side from altering the surveillance footage."

"How are you and Barton holding up after the attack?"

"Did Barton and the serum come out unscathed?"

Coulson shook his head: "Barton safely protected the physical enhancement serum, and I've already handed it over to the research institute for further study."

"As for Barton, he sustained some injuries protecting me and the serum. He's currently undergoing treatment, but given his constitution, he should recover quickly."

"As for the other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents..."

At this point, Coulson's voice grew somber. Despite witnessing many life and death situations, it still pained him:

"Only the two of us survived. The others all perished."

Nick Fury patted Coulson on the shoulder, then spoke seriously: "They will pay the price. No one can provoke S.H.I.E.L.D. and escape unscathed."

Coulson nodded, confident in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s strength. After adjusting his composure, he asked: "Director, did you gather any intelligence from your meeting with Tony Stark today?"

Hearing Coulson mention the meeting, Nick Fury recalled his encounter earlier in the day.

…

Nick Fury had visited Tony's beachfront villa directly today. However, JARVIS had been upgraded, preventing him from entering as he did before, allowing access only after Tony's permission.

Tony led Nick Fury to the living room, where they both sat on the couch. Tony leaned back and looked at Nick Fury: "The Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. pays me a visit. What brings you here this time?"

"If this is about that Superhero Boy Band, you can count me out. I have no interest in joining it whatsoever."

Nick Fury glanced at Tony leaning on the couch and then at the pet dog with a ninja headband near his feet. He said directly:

"Tony, I want to understand what the Sand Ninja Puppet Shop's puppets represent."

"Kankuro from the Sand Ninja Puppet Shop often visits you, so you must know a lot about them."

"S.H.I.E.L.D. needs information about them for future reference."

Tony scoffed: "Nick Fury, who do you take me for?"

"Your agent?"

"You expect me to extract information for you? Have you lost your mind?"

Tony pointed at Nick Fury: "I'm an advisor to S.H.I.E.L.D. only because my father was one of its founders. But I'm not your foot soldier."

"You can't afford me!"

Listening to Tony's mocking tone, Nick Fury remained unfazed and instead spoke seriously: "Tony, you consider them friends, but do you realize they aren't from Earth?"

"When it comes to extraterrestrial beings, we should band together and stand united."

But Tony scoffed and said: "Wow, how rare to hear you being so straightforward. But how does this concern me? I'm not just going to help you without a solid reason."

"S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were able to discover they aren't from Earth? That's quite impressive."

"I didn't expect you to have that capability, truly beyond my expectations."

"But what does that have to do with me? Must I tell you?"

Hearing Tony's words, Nick Fury furrowed his brow and asked, "Did they tell you?"

"Of course, they told me, and I even visited them."

Nick Fury was taken aback and asked incredulously, "What? You visited them?"

"Yes, I did."

"Nick Fury, don't even think about getting any information from me. I won't tell you."

It was clear that Tony and Nick Fury were talking about different places. Tony Stark visited the wizarding world, while Nick Fury referred to the ninja world. The misunderstanding arose from this difference.

Nick Fury couldn't believe that the Leaf Ninja Village was so open that they invited Tony Stark for a visit. He wished S.H.I.E.L.D. could have such an opportunity to understand the other world directly.

"Tony, could you share your observations and experiences from over there?"

"Not a chance, not a chance."

"Don't even think about it. I won't tell you a thing."

"If you want to know about it, figure it out yourself. Stop trying to pry information out of me."

Seeing Tony's firm refusal, Nick Fury said, "Tony, S.H.I.E.L.D. recruited a ninja, and I'm sure you'll find him interesting. How about we exchange information?"

When Nick Fury mentioned recruiting a ninja, Parker, the dog lying on the ground, lifted his head and glanced at him indifferently, while Tony remained uninterested and said, "No need."

Realizing Nick Fury's visit was solely to gather information, Tony stood up and said, "Director Fury, I have other matters to attend to, so I won't entertain you further."

"JARVIS, see him out."

Seeing Tony dismiss him, Nick Fury knew he wouldn't be getting any information and left Tony's villa without further delay.

As Tony watched Nick Fury leave, he thought about the ninja Nick Fury claimed to have recruited.

"Parker, what kind of ninja do you think Nick Fury might have recruited?"

Parker stood up, shook himself, and replied, "Tony, you don't need to worry. Any ninja Nick Fury recruits is either a fraud or unimportant."

Tony nodded, but he still tried to call Charles, only to find out that the other party was out of service.

"I wonder where that guy ran off to again. Maybe he's back in the wizarding world."

"Forget it; I'll deal with it when I see him next time."

After speaking, Tony went down to his underground lab to continue improving his suit. He was intent on building a suit capable of defeating Charles.

…

Nick Fury concluded his recollections and said somewhat helplessly, "Tony refused my request, and he has already been to the other side. He trusts Charles more than we do."

Coulson expressed his amazement: "He has been there already? No wonder."

Then Nick Fury looked at Coulson and said, "In the meantime, focus on selecting 084 items and prepare for the first transaction."

"As for information on the Sand Puppet Master, it seems we'll have to use energy blocks to acquire it."