Chapter 20

In a hidden Hydra base, several holographic images slowly appeared.

"It's been a month. Have we figured out why Baron Strucker's base self-destructed? Did Nick Fury notice anything unusual?"

"It doesn't seem so. If Nick Fury had noticed, I would have been the first to know. He's currently focused on preparing his Avengers Initiative. Just yesterday, he was discussing it with me, asking for my help in securing funding from the Security Council."

"What did the survivors say?"

"They only received a defense directive from within the base right before the explosion. They don't know anything else."

"Let's set this aside for now. It might have been one of those superpowered individuals messing up and accidentally triggering the self-destruct. I've always said we shouldn't waste our efforts on such trivial matters. Right now, we should be focusing all our efforts on completing the Insight project. Once the Insight project is successful, all of Hydra can step out of the shadows and openly rule the world!"

"Hail Hydra!"

"Hail Hydra!"

"Hail Hydra!"

The meeting among the top Hydra officials ended, and the screens gradually darkened.

Lights came on in the room, and a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties slowly stood up. He paced around the room, then pressed a button:

"Ward, come to my office."

This man was none other than John Garrett, one of the Hydra leaders previously dealing with Baron Strucker.

Originally an exceptionally skilled SHIELD agent, Garrett was left dying from organ failure after a mission. He joined Hydra's Deathlok program during this time, which temporarily extended his life.

To escape the threat of death and become more than human, he boldly betrayed SHIELD and embraced Hydra, becoming a double agent.

His dual identity in both SHIELD and Hydra allowed him to cultivate a loyal faction.

He had learned that the Strength Pills, now a worldwide bestseller, had long-term body strengthening effects, which led him to trade with the Hydra base in Sokovia under Baron Strucker.

Garrett exchanged a list of superpowered individuals he knew from his SHIELD duties for Dr. Smith, the inventor of the Strength Pills, and the corresponding formula.

But just as he received notice of the deal from Baron Strucker, before he could even reach the location, he heard that the Sokovia base had self-destructed.

Now, with Dr. Smith dead, the only way to get the formula for the Strength Pills was to target the CEO of Lee Corporation.

"Garrett, what's the mission?"

Moments later, a handsome, stern-looking young man walked in.

Garrett nodded at him:

"Good, Ward, you're increasingly impressing me. Take a look at this."

He handed a stack of documents to the young man named Ward.

Ward glanced at the documents, which included a photo of a smiling, mixed asian man and his detailed information.

Name: Juan Lee, Age: 20, Chairman of Lee Corporation...

"Get the formula for the Strength Pills, and find out their origin. It's that simple."

Garrett commanded.

Ward tucked away the documents and nodded:

"Understood."

For a top agent capable of disarming nuclear bombs, this task was straightforward. The target was just a regular businessman, at most protected by some skilled bodyguards.

...

Early morning at the Lee family's private airport in Sokovia.

"Uncle Li, I'll leave the business here to you for now. Contact me anytime if there's an issue."

After briefing Uncle Li, Juan, along with his wife Wanda and brother-in-law Pietro, boarded his private plane.

Now that the new drug had started production and Jack had mostly finished the preparations in New York, it was time to settle in New York and secure those six months of "small world" time.

If he remembered correctly, the alien invasion of Earth by the Chitauri was supposed to happen in 2012, which wasn't many years away. Relying solely on the Avengers to shape his destiny was not a wise choice.

His presence had already caused a significant butterfly effect on the future.

The Scarlet Witch had become his wife instead of joining Hydra, and the Sokovian base that was supposed to challenge the Avengers in their second team-up had already been destroyed by him.

Now as he moved to New York to complete his mission and claim his reward, he was uncertain how much more he would change things.

But he felt it was all worth it. Only by becoming stronger himself could he control his fate, instead of always relying on others.

Seven hours later, as the plane landed, Juan heard the mission alert sound in his ear.

[Side mission 'Settle in New York' completed. Six months of time have been granted, which can be used to live in any small world for six months.]

"I can finally train again!"

Although he could practice ninjutsu in the Marvel world, it was quite inconvenient unless he went to his secret base. A small mistake could lead to being discovered.

Practicing ninjutsu and martial arts shared a common principle: training alone would never make one a master. Real combat was necessary to improve strength quickly.

The reason the ninjas of the Fire Temple weren't strong was that they just stayed in their temple practicing alone.

Look at the ninjas from the Five Great Ninja Villages; all the powerful ones had fought their way through fields of death and war, and even the new generation faced numerous challenging missions.

In the main world, Juan couldn't find suitable opponents to practice his ninjutsu, apart from chakra, his other skills were not improving fast.

"Once we settle in our new home, I'll immediately go to the Naruto world to train."

As they drove to their new home, Juan listened to Jack report on the situation in New York while silently making up his mind.

Just then, he caught a glimpse of a news report on a monitor on a building outside the car window:

"Breaking news, breaking news, according to the latest information, Tony Stark, the CEO of Stark Industries and known playboy, has been confirmed missing in Afghanistan since yesterday afternoon at two o'clock. For more details, stay tuned to the Daily Bugle. I'm your favorite host, J. Jonah Jameson."

"Didn't expect to see such good news just as we enter New York."

Wanda, sitting next to Juan, also noticed the news report and her mood instantly improved.

Although she had let go of her hatred for Stark, she couldn't help but take pleasure in his misfortune.

But at that moment, Juan's ear once again rang with a new side mission alert.