Chiyo heard Pakura's words but didn't get angry. She just let the young girl vent. With her current mindset, she wouldn't hold a grudge against someone who had already died once.
"The fact that the Lord Charles brought me to this world means there must be something useful that I can do."
"Pakura, where are Gaara and the other two youngsters? I don't see them around."
Pakura, seeing the old woman remain unfazed, felt somewhat deflated and replied, "They went shopping and haven't returned yet."
Since the three were not around, Chiyo didn't inquire further about them but instead asked about her accommodation.
"Pakura, from now on, I am also a member of the Sunagakure Puppet Shop. Where is my room?"
"I'll show you your place in a moment. Did Lord Charles give any other instructions for you?"
Chiyo responded slowly, "Nothing special for now. He just asked me to teach Kankuro more puppet techniques and to handle other matters together."
With that, Chiyo subtly divided half the power with Pakura. However, there were only five people in the entire Sunagakure Puppet Shop, so there wasn't much power to share.
Pakura nodded, "Kankuro does need to improve his puppet skills. Otherwise, it's a waste of good materials."
Chiyo noted Pakura's mention of good materials but did not ask further.
"I'll take you to your room first. From now on, you will live with us here."
Pakura then led Chiyo to choose a room, prepare living supplies, and explain the business scope of the Sunagakure Puppet Shop.
…
Elsewhere-
Zaku Abumi and Dosu Kinuta walked down a street on Staten Island. Although they were just teenagers, their unique attire deterred people from approaching them.
Their sound ninja headbands were seen as cosplay, especially with the rise of ninja popularity and authorized merchandise. Most cosplayers wore Konoha headbands, so sound ninja ones were rarer.
Zaku and Dosu encountered no trouble as they arrived at the entrance of the Sound Ninja Base. Zaku pressed the doorbell, and soon, Kin Tsuchi's face appeared on the screen.
Inside the base, Kin Tsuchi recognized her teammates through the smart doorbell and said, "Zaku, Dosu, I didn't expect you two to come as well. I'll open the door."
Kin quickly opened the door and welcomed her teammates. During her time at the Sound Ninja Base, Kin felt somewhat depressed.
Among five people in the base, she was the weakest.
Unlike in the Sound Village, where there were many people and she had her team, here she was the weakest and constantly got beaten by the Sound Four in sparring matches.
Seeing her teammates arrive, Kin was naturally happy.
"Welcome, you two. Our strength has increased significantly now."
With the two successfully entering the Sound Ninja Base, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent monitoring from a distance was shocked.
"They really went in."
Recently many fans had visited them while cosplaying sound ninja, but they were all thrown out by the Sound Ninja.
These Sound Ninjas had little patience for fans disrupting their lives.
"Could they be real Sound Ninja Village members and not just cosplayers?"
"Has the Sound Ninja Village sent more people? I need to report this immediately."
The agent quickly reported what he saw to headquarters.
…
S.H.I.E.L.D. Triskelion-
The door to Nick Fury's office opened, and Natasha Romanoff walked in.
"Director, you wanted to see me?"
Nick Fury looked at Natasha, "How's the progress on your last mission?"
Natasha shook her head. "I visited Charles Agency several times but didn't meet Charles Doyle himself. Selene, who manages the agency, said they haven't started selling the physical enhancement serums yet, only taking on missions."
"I told her about the Sunagakure Puppet Shop selling enhancement serums, but she didn't care and said I could buy from them if I was in a hurry."
Nick Fury nodded.
"We don't have the resources the Sunagakure Puppet Shop needs, and Charles Agency's enhancement serums are more potent."
"Strengthen your connections there. Try to finalize a deal as soon as possible."
Natasha slightly frowned. Last time, Fury wasn't in a hurry, but now he seemed urgent.
Though puzzled, Natasha replied, "Yes, Director."
Fury continued, "There's another mission for you, also related to Charles Agency."
"We failed to capture the target today, so I plan to commission the mission to Charles Agency."
"We already gathered the items at the target's hideout that might be useful for the mission."
"Signing the commission is your job."
"Even if Charles isn't at the office, it shouldn't be hard to sign this commission."
Natasha asked, "Are we targeting the leopard man or tracking all residents of the hideout? If there's an issue with the items, the results might vary."
Fury knocked on the table, wondering if Natasha was playing dumb or if the crash had affected her mind.
"Our target is the 084 object. The items are just for assistance. How they identify the target isn't our concern."
"The mission is to locate the 084 object, not the hideout's residents."
"Yes, Director."
"The reward will come from the batch of energy blocks."
"Understood."
"Alright, you're dismissed."
As Natasha left, Nick Fury leaned back in his chair, feeling increasingly bewildered by the Earth's situation.
If there were indeed so many powerful factions, why had they allowed World War I and World War II to happen, especially those with advanced technology?
Could it be that these factions only developed after finding alien ships during or after the wars?
If these were Earth-native forces, were they aware of alien ships? And what about the current mission target? Had they completed a transaction with the Sunagakure Puppet Shop?
Although the target left with the same box they had brought in, it didn't mean a transaction hadn't occurred. It could be a trick, with the exchanged items still in the box.
At this moment, Nick Fury pondered many things. But his thoughts were interrupted by a phone call. He answered it.
"What?"
"Two new ninjas seem to have arrived at the Sound Ninja Village base, and an old lady entered the Sunagakure Puppet Shop and hasn't left."
"The person who escorted her in was the chairman of Pym Technologies."
"Okay, I understand."
Photos of the individuals quickly arrived via email. Looking at the pictures, Nick Fury rubbed his temples.
A young man with a unique outfit labeled "death," a peculiar boy wrapped in bandages with hair down to the ground, and an old lady with no ninja markings but seemingly in poor health.
Also, there was Hank Pym's daughter.
Nick Fury was well aware of Hank Pym's profile. Despite Pym leaving S.H.I.E.L.D. for certain reasons, Fury's attention to him hasn't diminished at all.
The fact that his daughter escorted this elderly person to the Sunagakure Puppet Shop hinted at some kind of plan.
Nick Fury analyzed the data, one hand supporting his chin.
Could Hank Pym have some new intentions, perhaps to use the ninjas' power? Or was it simply his daughter's idea?
The escorted person might not even be an old lady. Even with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s technology, such a disguise was easily achievable let alone ninjas.
Nick Fury also noted the incident where the old lady was pushed by a robber but was unharmed—clearly a disguise.
She might not be an elder. As for whether she was a ninja, Fury shook his head. It was hard to say, but probably not, since even rogue ninjas usually wore headbands.
Regarding the two young men, their attire clearly identified them as Sound Ninja Village members. Being allowed into the base confirmed this.
It seemed that after losing Kimimaro, the Sound Ninja Village was reinforcing its numbers, sending a total of three ninjas. But why were they always young?
Nick Fury couldn't figure this out at the moment. Additionally, after Mist Ninja took Kimimaro, they had remained silent. Was someone mediating, or was there another conspiracy brewing?
Looking out the window, Fury reflected on the increasing number of superhuman forces and individuals on Earth. It seemed that more and more such people emerged after Tony Stark became Iron Man.
…
Wakanda – Palace -
At this moment, T'Challa had returned by jet. T'Chaka looked at his son and asked, "Was the transaction successful?"
T'Challa pointed to the box beside him. "Everything's inside. The transaction went smoothly, but some things were exposed to S.H.I.E.L.D."
T'Chaka frowned and asked, "What happened?"
T'Challa explained the details of the transaction, including the order of vibranium, the S.H.I.E.L.D. ambush when leaving the Sunagakure Puppet Shop, and the possible exposure of their stealth aircraft and laser weapons.
After hearing his son's report, T'Chaka's frown deepened.
"T'Challa, you acted hastily. You shouldn't have pre-ordered the physical enhancement serums."
T'Challa was puzzled. "Why, Father? We need those serums."
T'Chaka shook his head. "In total, we have ordered 133 enhancement serums. Do you know how much vibranium that represents? Ordering so many before consuming the current batch signals that you have more vibranium than expected. This behavior puts Wakanda at great risk."
T'Challa realized his mistake but couldn't retract his words.
"What should we do now?"
"They warned me not to deceive them. I suspect they have a way to find me; her tone was very confident when she warned me."
T'Chaka responded, "The transaction will continue, but we need to change the location. One and a half tons of vibranium isn't easy to carry."
"Take the Royal Guard for the transaction. Even if there's foul play, you won't be at risk."
T'Challa nodded, agreeing with his father's plan. Knowing the strength of ninjas, he didn't believe his vibranium suit would ensure absolute safety.
"Yes, Father."
T'Chaka looked at the box of enhancement serums and said, "Send one to Shuri for research. See if she can replicate it. If progress is made, authorize further experiments."
"Distribute a third to the Royal Guard members and store the rest. These will be our royal assets."
T'Challa agreed, "Father, arrange it as you see fit."
T'Chaka continued, "Okoye will inject one serum. For the other nine, select the best Royal Guard members through competition and give the serums secretly."
"I'll inform Okoye to keep this operation confidential. You must not leak information about these enhancement serums."
"Understood, Father."
Compared to T'Challa's immaturity, King T'Chaka is much more experienced in handling things.
To him, the enhancement serums were an invaluable asset.
With these, their royal family would remain strong against future succession challenges from other heirs.