Chapter 109

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However, even though my encounter wasn't with Thanos at his peak.

The notebook also mentioned that I came across a Thanos with multiple stones, right? He's still one of the top figures in the universe, isn't he?

According to the "authentication" in the notebook, a Thanos with multiple stones dared to challenge Odin and the Ancient One!

In other words.

A Thanos of that state could be considered on par with freaks like Odin and the Ancient One.

And yet, me, "merely a mortal," still managed to draw blood from Thanos in that state?

That's already quite impressive!

After all, the great Tony isn't a god like Thor, nor has he undergone dark transformations like Scarlet Witch.

He's just an ordinary, Earth-born mortal, nothing more!

But what does "Gua Sha" mean?

When Tony Stark's gaze fell on this term, he furrowed his brows slightly.

Even for someone as knowledgeable and well-read as him, this was a term he didn't understand.

However, Iron Man had a feeling.

Based on the context, it seems like it's not exactly a flattering term.

"Jarvis, look up what 'Gua Sha' is."

Tony Stark casually asked his loyal AI butler.

"Gua Sha is a traditional Chinese medical treatment involving the use of a specific tool and technique. It involves repeatedly rubbing and scraping the skin with a certain medium."

Whoosh!

While explaining to Tony Stark, Jarvis also considerately projected a related video in front of Iron Man.

Tony Stark: "..."

Gua Sha?

This is what they're calling Gua Sha? 

Isn't this saying that my vigorous efforts against Thanos were merely skin scratching? 

Like giving him a little tickle?

Tony Stark's face darkened as if he had been slapped hard.

That's no way to mock someone!

Surely, that Zhou Cheng must be biased against me, right?

Otherwise, why would he always mock me?

"Undoubtedly, the battle between Doctor Strange and Thanos ranks as the sixth, right?"

"Even though Doctor Strange couldn't inflict even a scratch on Thanos, unlike Iron Man, that battle was still quite spectacular, at least in terms of visual effects."

"It could be said to be one of the most dazzling fights."

"Especially since Doctor Strange managed to hold his own against Thanos with multiple stones for so long without using the Time Stone, which is already quite remarkable."

"Doctor Strange again!"

Tony Stark's eyes brightened slightly, his lips curving into a smug smile.

The sixth rank was actually occupied by Doctor Strange, whom Zhou Cheng had ranked first.

Iron Man hadn't expected this, and it was indeed a source of pride.

"So this is actually Doctor Strange's true strength, right?"

Tony Stark naturally made such a judgment.

Even though Zhou Cheng had ranked Doctor Strange's battle against Dormammu first and made it clear that it was a battle of wits, not a measure of Doctor Strange's true strength.

This battle, however?

Zhou Cheng described it as "very exciting" and "visually spectacular," which means the fight must have been intense.

It should be a clash of true strength, not just cunning tricks.

As a result, Doctor Strange indeed didn't inflict any injury on Thanos, unlike me.

Yet, the fact that Doctor Strange could engage in an intense battle with a multi-stone wielding Thanos was still quite commendable.

Tony Stark expressed high praise.

"The Time Stone!"

Nick Fury, with another notebook in front of him, immediately paid close attention to this term.

This name, along with the previously mentioned "Power Stone," seemed to indicate another Infinity Stone.

So, the Time Stone is another type of Infinity Stone?

Although the notebook didn't elaborate much on this Time Stone.

However, being a Time Stone, it undoubtedly must possess the power to control time!

And Doctor Strange?

Exactly has the ability to travel through time!

Linking all the clues together, Nick Fury naturally made a guess:

Doctor Strange's ability to time travel is probably mostly due to this Time Stone!

Is this really what Infinity Stones are?

Possessing such incredible power!

Through this latest journal spoiler about another Infinity Stone, Nick Fury gained a clearer understanding of the Infinity Stones.

However, there's one thing.

Since Doctor Strange already possesses the Time Stone, why didn't he use it in the battle against Thanos?

He clearly used it in the battle against Dormammu, right?

So what exactly happened during the battle on Titan?

"What about the others on Titan? Spider-Man? Star-Lord and those Guardians of the Galaxy people?"

"Alright, the others didn't really stand out too much, especially since Star-Lord messed things up for everyone. Thumbs down!"

"So, all things considered, the seventh place, I think, should be Captain America's battle with Thanos."

"That battle was definitely Captain America's shining moment, someone who had no business fighting Thanos at all, yet managed to become Thor and befuddled Thanos with a series of combos!"

"That's definitely something Captain America can boast about for a lifetime."

Spider-Man?

Tony Stark immediately remembered.

Isn't this the "kid" mentioned in the notebook who hung up on Nick Fury's call?

Although no information about this Spider-Man has been found yet, Iron Man felt quite fond of him.

But even such a kid was involved in the battle on Titan?

Does the future lack superheroes to this extent?

Or has the war become so brutal?

Or perhaps, the battle on Titan happened in a relatively distant future.

So distant that the "kid" had grown up?

Iron Man thought all these were possibilities, but what exactly happened is something he couldn't determine now.

Tony Stark then brushed aside these thoughts and focused on the name "Star-Lord."

This is the second Guardian of the Galaxy member revealed by the notebook after Drax the Destroyer.

Not much is known, but the nickname "Star-Lord" indeed sounds pretty badass and authoritative."I just don't know how strong they are."

But after reading the descriptions in the diary, okay, Tony Stark thought he might have set his expectations too high in the past.

He didn't even bother to waste a bit of ink on the Guardians of the Galaxy, not even mentioning them.

He simply described them with one sentence, "No impressive performances," and moved on.

Even Star-Lord messed things up for everyone!

So Tony Stark now had a rough idea of what level and standard the Guardians of the Galaxy were at.

Since this team dared to call themselves the "Guardians of the Galaxy," choosing such a flamboyant and arrogant nickname, it was evident they had some skills.

But in the battle against Thanos, both Tony Stark and Doctor Strange had performances praised by Zhou Cheng, while no one from the Guardians of the Galaxy made the list.

So, their strength must be inferior to both Tony Stark's and Doctor Strange's.

However, one thing was for certain.

The diary mentioned that the Guardians of the Galaxy and the Avengers had joined forces in the past.

So, it seemed they teamed up to fight Thanos.

Nothing more needed to be said.

But as Iron Man's gaze continued down, he showed a look of surprise and confusion.

"Captain America turned into Thor?"

"What does that mean?"

Tony Stark was a bit baffled by this spoiler.

Literally, the diary was saying Captain America turned into Thor, but how could that happen?

Even as a super-soldier injected with a super serum, Captain America was still a mortal.

How could a mortal become a god from the Asgardian pantheon?

Can people really turn into gods?

But according to the diary, this wasn't some exaggeration or figure of speech.

It explicitly stated that Captain America turned into Thor.

After all, before becoming Thor, Captain America "wasn't qualified to fight Thanos."

But after becoming Thor?

He left Thanos completely bewildered with a combo!

The difference in strength before and after was just too great!

So, what exactly happened?

"Rogers, his potential is so great!"

Not just Tony Stark, but Nick Fury also began to see Captain America in a new light.

Although Fury always valued Captain America, to be honest, in terms of strength, Fury hadn't really thought Captain America was that strong.

After all, being the director of SHIELD, he was well aware of the strength of a super-soldier injected with the serum.

Among all the superheroes spoiled in the diary, probably only Hawkeye Barton and Black Widow were exceptions.

Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Scarlet Witch, Doctor Strange, etc.

In terms of performance, each of them far surpassed Captain America, even to the point of leaving him in the dust.

So why would Captain America be considered one of the three great leaders of the Avengers, alongside Iron Man and Thor?

Could it be due to his charismatic leadership?

Captain America's charm, to compel those talented superheroes to fully respect him?

Fury had his doubts in the past.

But now it seems Nick Fury might have found the truth.

Captain America had the ace up his sleeve of turning into Thor!

No matter when, it's always true power that earns others' recognition, not some intangible things like charisma or being a moral paragon.

However, Fury could never have guessed he was completely wrong.

The reason why Captain America became one of the Avengers' three leaders had nothing to do with his strength, as Captain America's strength really wasn't that great.

So, Fury was truly full of anticipation now.

Though he didn't know how Captain America managed to turn into Thor, he was eagerly looking forward to that day.

"There shouldn't be much to say about the final battle, right? So what battle could be ranked as the eighth?"

"One that was both exciting and classic would have to be the battle between Hulk and Thor in the arena on Sakaar."

"It just goes to show, Hulk is Hulk, beating Thor in front of so many people as if he were a toddler."

"He even used Thor as a hammer, smashing him on the ground, creating yet another classic scene."

"But the battle was only halfway through, Thor was about to unleash his full power but got electrocuted by the Grandmaster."

"It's really hard to say what the outcome of that battle would have been."

Hulk smashing Thor!

Speaking of this, Tony Stark couldn't help but perk up, becoming fully alert.

The diary had mentioned Hulk smashing Thor, so it was now certain that Hulk was the one Tony had speculated all along.

Tony Stark was genuinely surprised and couldn't help but want to comment.

Hulk was a failed attempt by the military to replicate Captain America, a mutation from gamma radiation exposure, right?

Simply put, a "mutant."

Yet, he mutated to such an absurd extent that he could "rub a god the wrong way"?

Is that really logical?

Okay, the era of superheroes in the future is indeed chaotic, worrying about what's logical or not is just nitpicking.

So, the battle mentioned in the diary about "Hulk rubbing Thor the wrong way" must be the one currently happening on Sakaar, no doubt another alien planet.

So, did the future Hulk, like himself, also venture into the universe, ending up on an alien planet?

Epic!

Tony Stark had considerable praise for Hulk.

However, the diary seemed to imply that when Hulk was smashing Thor, Thor wasn't at his full strength, or rather, wasn't in his peak condition.

After all, Thor hadn't "unleashed his full power" yet.

Zhou Cheng also believed that once Thor unleashed his full power, the outcome of the fight would have been unpredictable.

It's evident that Thor remained as strong as ever, nearly killing Thanos with all the stones with a single strike.

But why would such a formidable Thor be electrocuted by the Grandmaster?

Wait, electrocuted again?

Huh?

Why did I use the word "again"?