The only one who knew about the Divine Tree's maturity immediately was the Ancient One. The others only gradually became aware of it later.
The sudden appearance of a hundred-mile desert left the United States Geological Survey baffled. Fortunately, that area was sparsely populated, with only Hyuga Mirai's second mechanical factory nearby, so not many people would know about it for a few years.
However, those keeping a close watch on Hyuga Mirai would certainly notice immediately. Without the barrier, even an ordinary civilian could drive to the area where the Divine Tree had been planted, take some photos, collect some samples of the desertified soil, and leave.
Among the Eternals, the most suited for gathering intelligence was Sprite, followed by Druig. He could easily control any ordinary person to do his bidding, almost never exposing himself.
Druig had controlled quite a few employees at Future Biopharmaceutical Company, but he didn't dare make any unusual moves. Ordinary employees had no access to the company's higher secrets and no authority to go to the upper floors.
If he exposed himself carelessly, stealing intelligence would become much more difficult.
Druig had that ordinary person bring back the photos and samples of the desertified soil for everyone to see. However, Sersi was the first to shake her head and say,
"How is that possible? Sprite went there more than once. It was definitely not a desert..."
As she spoke, Sersi pulled out the photos and videos Sprite had given her. The other Eternals gathered around to compare Sprite's photos with those taken by the civilian controlled by Druig. From one similar angle, the change was evident.
This place used to be farmland, planted with various crops and vegetation. But the photos Druig brought back showed a vast desert.
"Something must have happened here to change the environment over such a large area. And it's different from Sersi's abilities... Sprite probably discovered something and was killed for it."
Ajak concluded after reviewing the materials. They didn't yet know the extent of the changes here, but after Druig returned, Phastos began hacking into satellites to get a complete image of the area.
"Oh my god, look at this."
Phastos soon pulled up satellite imagery and showed it to his companions.
A desert with a radius of nearly fifty kilometers now occupied this area. Phastos then retrieved satellite images from previous days. From one day onward, it had suddenly become like this. The massive tree Sprite had mentioned was also gone. The appearance of this desert was likely related to that tree.
"Phastos, come with me to contact the humans. As for the rest of you, absolutely do not act impulsively."
Although Ajak was speaking to everyone, her gaze was fixed on Ikaris. He was the strongest among the Eternals. Because of that, he looked down on humans, a tendency he had shown before.
But that wasn't possible now. There were simply too many beings on this planet stronger than them. The Hulk and Spider-Man from a while back, for instance. Except for Ikaris and Makkari, no one else could handle them. With Sprite already dead, they absolutely couldn't afford to lose another companion.
Facing Ajak's gaze, Ikaris finally nodded reluctantly, agreeing.
"Director, Iron Man suits have been continuously flying out of Stark Tower recently. Seven different models with varying firepower have appeared. They usually test their weapons here..."
After the assistant showed Nick Fury the satellite footage, the black bald man cursed "Motherfucker" under his breath. Wasn't Stark Industries' weapons division shut down? Where did he get such powerful weaponry?
Nick Fury immediately asked,
"What about Stark himself?"
"He did community service yesterday. He should be resting at Stark Tower today. He still has seventy-six days of community service to complete."
"Send him... Forget it. If there's any damage over there, have them take it up with Stark Industries directly."
It should be called Stark Energy Group now. After the legal battles concluded, Stark Industries announced its entry into the clean energy sector. With his invention of the Arc Reactor, even if the U.S. government obtained the same technology, they couldn't advance it further.
Stark had already upgraded the Arc Reactor three generations. No organization in America, or even the world, could surpass Stark Corporation in clean energy. And energy, to some extent, represented weaponry. With a slight conversion, it could bring immense destructive power.
Stark was currently conducting such experiments. He had left the Avengers but wanted to maintain peace in his own way. He had moved his residence to Stark Industries Tower because New York State had passed the Superhero Registration Act.
Tony Stark had registered an Iron Legion called "Super Iron Man." Besides a few suits piloted by Tony Stark himself, the rest were essentially humanoid arsenals.
Nick Fury desperately wanted Tony Stark to rejoin the Avengers. That way, they could fully develop the Phase Two weapons based on the Tesseract. But Stark had his own plans, and Fury couldn't persuade him.
What Nick Fury didn't know was that the Iron Legion Stark had shown wasn't his real main force. Tony's true trump card was a humanoid robot codenamed "Iron Turret." It stood 3.5 meters tall, weighed 5.9 tons, and carried fifteen different types of weapons, accounting for 25% of its weight. The Arc Reactor it carried was five times more powerful than those in standard suits.
Tony was currently pondering its stability and maneuverability. After development, he planned to name it "Mark Heavy Armor No. 1" and use it as the prototype for a heavy armor series, developing other models.
"What are Dr. Banner and Natasha doing?"
"Dr. Bruce Banner is still in the lab conducting energy research. Agent Natasha Romanoff and Agent Clint Barton are on a mission."
"Cancel Agent Romanoff's mission. Just have her focus on keeping Dr. Banner calm."
After saying this, Nick Fury intended to check on Loki. He had been locked up for a while now. This Asgardian seemed quite patient, not saying a word except for requests for food and water.
"Director."
Just as Nick Fury was about to talk with Loki, an agent came to report: "Someone has approached Dr. Selvig and is inquiring about extraterrestrials. This person matches a SHIELD Level 5 threat by 97%. Furthermore, a few days ago, there were unusual thunderstorms in that area..."
"Motherfucker."
Seeing the face on the screen, Nick Fury cursed instinctively. The person seeking out Dr. Selvig was Thor, the Asgardian who had appeared on Earth two years ago.
Extremely powerful. Conventional weapons were useless. Last time, he had destroyed a small town, and it was uncertain if that was his full strength.
Nick Fury thought for a moment, then decided to negotiate with him. The reason Thor was classified as a Level 5 threat by SHIELD was that he seemed to harbor no ill will towards Earth. Otherwise, given his power, he would be at least Level 6 or 7.
But Nick Fury didn't know the relationship between Thor and this Loki. If they were enemies, it was fine. But if they were family, what if Thor tried to take Loki away?
"I'll handle this first. Remember to inform Agent Romanoff."
Nick Fury said before leaving. After the thorough beating he'd received last time, Bruce Banner had become somewhat manageable when transformed into the Hulk. But among all the Avengers, only Natasha could talk to the Hulk for any length of time. Anyone else risked angering him after just a few sentences.
Now, Bruce Banner was both the brain and the strongest fighter of the Avengers. So Fury prioritized Dr. Banner in many matters.
After acquiring the Mind Stone, Hyuga Mirai found himself with little to do. He now hoped Thanos would hurry up and come to Earth.
Out of boredom, he even made a little Superman outfit for Yuzuki. But after trying it on, he thought it looked terrible and scrapped it, keeping only the cape. The cape was purely for Hyuga Yuzuki to play with. She would probably develop the ability to fly on her own soon enough.
Given Hyuga Yuzuki's lineage, she would likely master the Six Paths Senjutsu and Yin-Yang Release around the age of ten. If Kurenai Yuhi had conceived after eating the Divine Tree fruit, then Yuzuki might master the God Tree's Net release around ten years old.
In short, her talent was undeniable. She just had too much energy and wanted to follow Hyuga Mirai around all day.
One day, while Hyuga Mirai was studying the Space Stone, Peter Parker sent him a message: "Sir, I've met someone who left HYDRA. He wants to join the Super Heroes..."
Upon seeing this message, Hyuga Mirai directly connected to Peter Parker's communication device and saw the scene around him.
Standing in front of Peter was Brock Rumlow, a former core member of HYDRA. After the Avengers exposed HYDRA, Rumlow and others had gone into hiding. Unexpectedly, he was now approaching Peter voluntarily.
"Peter, you already have him in cuffs. Why not just take him to the NYPD?"
Peter Parker quickly said, "No, sir, I didn't cuff him. He cuffed himself when he saw me. I didn't sense any danger..."
Cuffed himself?
Hyuga Mirai thought for a moment, glanced at the information about Brock Rumlow beside him, and said, "Bring him back, Peter."
"Okay, sir."
After ending the call, Peter Parker patted Rumlow on the shoulder and said to him, "Man, you're lucky. Looks like you've got a good chance of joining the Super Seven Team. You gambled right."
"Even if I don't make the team, just being head of security would be enough. SHIELD's pursuit is too intense. I'm hoping to find a place where I can live."
Brock Rumlow spoke very proactively. During the time HYDRA was dismantled, he had joined a gang, but within days, SHIELD agents and the LAPD wiped them out. Then he joined a mercenary group, but almost got shot to pieces by US military helicopters.
Rumlow thought it over. Unless he fled to another country, only a few organizations in America could protect him. Stark Industries was out of the question. The most promising was Future Biopharmaceutical Company.
"Man, you won't need those."
Peter Parker pointed to the cuffs on Rumlow's hands. Hearing Peter's words, Rumlow simply removed the cuffs. Though he wasn't a superhuman or a cyborg, his strength couldn't be contained by a pair of handcuffs.
After getting into Peter's car, they soon arrived at Future Biopharmaceutical Company and took the private elevator to the top floor.
Upon entering, Peter Parker and Rumlow saw Hyuga Mirai and his daughter.
Peter greeted with a smile, "Hey, sir, and Yuzuki."
"Hmph!"
Yuzuki snorted, then took her toy and went to another room. Though not yet a year old, her immense mental capacity allowed her to learn extremely quickly. Her memory and comprehension were already equivalent to a three-year-old.
She was annoyed by the interruption, even though she had seen Peter a few times before.
Seeing Hyuga Mirai, Rumlow was inwardly surprised. He hadn't expected the man behind Future Biopharmaceutical Company to be so young and appear so ordinary.
"Rumlow, why do you want to join the Super Hero Team?"
"Mainly for safety. In America, this is the only place that can guarantee SHIELD won't pursue me."
"Besides that?"
"I want to get stronger. Stronger than Steve Rogers."
With each question Hyuga Mirai asked, Rumlow answered involuntarily. He couldn't lie, unable to stop himself from revealing his thoughts completely.
"Quite simple. I thought you'd want to revive HYDRA or seize power, something like that. Rumlow, you were a high-ranking member of HYDRA. Why give up so easily?"
Brock Rumlow regained freedom of speech. A flicker of fear crossed his eyes. He then said, "There's no hope. All of America is against HYDRA. I tried gangs and mercenaries, but SHIELD found me quickly. If Mr. Mirai won't take me in, I'll have to find a way to run."
"No need for that. You can stay. But you can't join the Super Seven Team just yet. Show us what you can do as a candidate first."
Hyuga Mirai's decision surprised Rumlow. He had expected the recruitment process to be much harder and more tortuous.
"I heard your HYDRA codename was Crossbones. Don't use that from today. It's a bit unpleasant. Change it to Weapon Master. Your combat skills are decent."
"As for SHIELD, don't worry about them. They can't touch you now, as long as you follow the rules."
Rumlow, now Weapon Master, nodded to Hyuga Mirai. He was now a candidate for the Super Seven Team. "Yes, Mr. Mirai."
(End of Chapter)