Chapter Thirty-Two: Nick Fury Battles Loki

"That was a perfect handoff!" Yang Xin slapped his thigh hard, speaking with excitement.

"Let Hammer Industries and the military play their game. It’ll keep them busy for a while, so they won’t have time to bother us. Oh, by the way, I have good news—Natasha is coming back soon."

Yang Xin was taken aback. If Natasha was returning, that meant Bruce Banner would be coming too. Before the Endgame, Bruce Banner had resolved his issues with the Hulk, merging together as one, but at this moment, Bruce Banner was still a powder keg ready to explode at the slightest spark.

Nick Fury dared to let Bruce Banner board the Helicarrier at this stage—he must have nerves of steel.

Yang Xin voiced his doubts at just the right moment.

"Because you’re here," Nick Fury replied calmly.

"Damn! You put way too much faith in me." Yang Xin was speechless.

Nick Fury rolled his eyes, then suddenly raised his hand, pressing his earpiece to listen intently.

"What’s wrong?" Yang Xin asked.

"There’s an anomaly with the Cosmic Cube. Come with me!"

"That fast!" Yang Xin blurted out reflexively. An anomaly with the Cosmic Cube meant the plot of the first Avengers movie was officially beginning.

"What do you mean, that fast?" Nick Fury asked.

"Oh, nothing. The grand era is about to begin. By the way, who’s guarding the Cosmic Cube?"

"Agent Barton."

"Hawkeye… Together with Hill, Nick Fury, Coulson, and Melinda providing backup outside, it should be more than enough to handle Loki," Yang Xin thought to himself. Feeling reassured, he immediately said, "Let’s go!"

Having spoken, Yang Xin took the lead, calling Hill and the others to follow. Nick Fury didn’t mind, quickly arranging for a helicopter to be on standby.

The group took the helicopter to a secret base. Yang Xin found it odd—why build the base underground? To prevent aerial attacks from hostile forces? But even underground, you can’t really prevent a sudden assault, and you’re more likely to get buried. Besides, constructing underground facilities costs far more than building above ground defenses.

"Coulson, Melinda, stay on the surface. Dino Express is on emergency standby," Yang Xin said, following Nick Fury into the underground military base.

Upon entering, the Cosmic Cube’s energy began to overflow. Nick Fury’s Sharingan spun rapidly, slowly absorbing the rampant energy, gradually stabilizing the Cube.

Just as everyone breathed a sigh of relief, the Cosmic Cube suddenly emitted a powerful hum, erupting with intense blue energy.

Nick Fury grunted and staggered two steps back, clutching his Sharingan. Yang Xin understood: the Cube’s sudden eruption had caused a massive energy leak, much greater than the Sharingan could absorb, resulting in a violent backlash. Thankfully, Nick Fury had deactivated his Sharingan in time, but even so, he was still badly shaken.

The Cosmic Cube flared up again, space twisting into a black hole, from which Loki emerged. Without hesitation, Loki launched an energy attack—not seeking to do great harm, just covering his tracks—then swiftly snatched the Cosmic Cube.

A whoosh sounded in Yang Xin’s ear—a blur flashed past.

Hawkeye had activated his panther speed, but instead of drawing his bow, he drew a knife, slashing towards Loki’s arm holding the Cube.

With a clang, Hawkeye’s blade didn’t land; it was blocked by Loki’s scepter.

"Drop the knife, fall back, attack from range!" Yang Xin shouted, knowing full well the Mind Stone in Loki’s scepter could corrupt anyone it touched.

Hawkeye didn’t hesitate, immediately dropping his knife and executing several gymnast-level backflips to evade Loki’s attack, then pivoted to stand shoulder to shoulder with Yang Xin and the others.

"Why is he back again?" Hawkeye said coldly, nocking an arrow and aiming straight at Loki.

"He’s not here with good intentions. Let’s take the Cube first," Yang Xin replied, reaching into his fourth-dimensional pocket and pulling out the Mark V suitcase armor, suiting up on the spot.

Hill drew the Sword of Wisdom, shouting for power. In an instant, she transformed into She-Ra, mounting her trusty steed, Swift Wind.

"Why does the Valkyrie of Asgard stand with Midgard?" Loki asked, startled at the sight of She-Ra’s mount.

Hill said nothing, only gripped her sword more tightly.

"Attack!"

To everyone’s surprise, Nick Fury was the first to strike. He flung a volley of kunai, each trailing chakra steel wire. The kunai collided midair, arcing to bind Loki tightly.

"Sharingan Windmill Blade: Great Sword!"

Yang Xin was astonished; the scene was becoming ever more surreal. Nick Fury seemed more and more like an Uchiha.

"Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu!" Nick Fury formed hand seals rapidly, tilting his head back to unleash a fireball.

Seeing this, Yang Xin quickly pulled a napalm grenade from his fourth-dimensional pocket and hurled it.

A thunderous explosion shook the entire underground base, threatening to bring the structure down.

Yang Xin hadn’t expected the combination of napalm and Nick Fury’s fireball to be so destructive. He hurriedly pulled out the Mark III, IV, and VI armors, signaling everyone to suit up.

This base was buried dozens of meters underground—if a collapse occurred, it would be catastrophic.

"No need! This base can withstand a magnitude nine earthquake!" Nick Fury insisted, though he kept the armor close by, just in case.

"Did we get Loki?" Hawkeye relaxed his grip on the bowstring, realizing this level of battle was far beyond his involvement. Still, he wasn’t discouraged; as a warrior, resilience was key, and Hawkeye had already found his own path.

"I doubt it. Loki has the blood of Frost Giants. This level of attack might injure him but probably won’t take him out," Yang Xin said, activating the armor’s infrared scan.

Sure enough, Loki was still standing there in the infrared view—disheveled but very much alive.

With a sweep of his arms, Loki unleashed a wave of frost, extinguishing the blazing fire. Without a word, he grabbed Dr. Selvig and made a run for it.

At the same time, Loki’s body flickered, splitting into eight images that darted off in different directions, trying to confuse Yang Xin and the others.

"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu," Nick Fury’s hands blurred through seals, and eight clones sprang forth, chasing after Loki’s illusions.

"Damn! Six six six! Nick Fury’s pulling off some next-level moves. This isn’t S.H.I.E.L.D. at all—this is pure Naruto!" Yang Xin remarked, pulling a speaker from his pocket.

Instantly, stirring Japanese music filled the base.

Nick Fury’s clones froze at the sound, then, as if fired up, burst into wild shouts in Japanese and chased Loki’s images even faster, breaking apart the illusions with a few swift attacks until only the real Loki remained.

Loki shot a fierce glare at Yang Xin and the others before activating the Cosmic Cube, vanishing with Dr. Selvig.

Nick Fury stared at the spot where Loki had disappeared, his crimson Mangekyo Sharingan fixed on Yang Xin. After a moment, he asked, "What’s the name of that music?"

"NARUTO Main Theme! In the world of Naruto, whenever this song plays during a battle, that little blond guy never loses."

"That song is mine now. From now on, it’s my theme," Nick Fury said coolly, looking more and more like an Uchiha with each passing moment.

Just then, Coulson’s voice came through Yang Xin and Nick Fury’s earpieces: "Director, Consultant, you’d better come up here…"