"The people here are all so strange—blond hair, blue eyes—and the food isn't that great either."
Hyuga Mirai, Kurenai Yuhi, and Tsunade were eating at a restaurant in Washington. The food really was average; having grown used to refined cuisine, Kurenai found the rough style hard to swallow.
As they neared the solar system, Hyuga Mirai put away the spaceship, then used Yomi Hirasaka to arrive on Earth. Several hours had passed, yet he still hadn't sensed anyone watching him, so it was likely no one had noticed him.
Whether it was Odin or the Ancient One, or even higher-dimensional beings, even if they stood right in front of Hyuga Mirai, they might not necessarily be able to observe him.
"These clothes are uncomfortable too, Mirai. Can people really wear this in public?"
Kurenai looked down at the tight little suit she was wearing. It perfectly showed off her slim waist and curves, but wasn't this the kind of outfit she only wore in private with Hyuga Mirai? Now it seemed many women on the street were dressed similarly.
"Heh heh, Kurenai, you've already been brainwashed by him," Tsunade said with a snort after swallowing her steak.
Kurenai retorted bluntly, "But Tsunade-onee, you were louder than me last night."
"Cough, cough~"
Caught off guard by such a bold remark, Tsunade nearly choked. She hurriedly coughed twice and looked around to see if anyone had noticed.
Seeing Tsunade's concern, Kurenai smiled. "Don't worry, Tsunade-onee. The people around us will ignore our presence. I used genjutsu the moment we came in."
Reassured, Tsunade reached out and knocked Kurenai on the head. To deal with someone scheming, you had to use violence—this was what Kiyo Hyuga had told her before leaving.
No. 18 hadn't come along; she had gone to gather intelligence. To No. 18, the internet held no secrets. Even S.H.I.E.L.D.—as long as their staff connected their phones to the internet, she could infiltrate them.
Moreover, the data on the internet further enhanced No. 18's computing and processing abilities. Though she was now considered a life-form, those abilities remained intact.
Besides, this Marvel universe's timeline was only at 2008. Two months ago, Tony Stark had announced he was Iron Man, and the aftershock still hadn't faded.
It would still be a few years before Loki invaded Earth. Hyuga Mirai could find an opportunity to take Loki's scepter; if possible, he didn't want to miss the Space Stone either.
The six Infinity Stones represented the most fundamental forces of the universe, while the growth of the Divine Tree required absorbing the origin of a life-bearing planet. Hyuga Mirai urgently wanted to know: if he could make the Divine Tree absorb the energy contained in the Infinity Stones, could he raise the tree's growth limit?
The Tree of the Universe? Or evolving from a subsidiary tree into a mother tree?
If the Divine Tree absorbed the power of all six Infinity Stones, could the fruit it bore allow Hyuga Mirai to break through the limits of a single universe and open a path across the multiverse to the universe where the ninja world resided?
These were all things Hyuga Mirai wanted to research. The best answers should lie within the Infinity Stones—this was the optimal path from a single universe to the multiverse.
"Next, we'll first put down roots here, then explore slowly. We need to plan for all six Infinity Stones."
Hyuga Mirai explained to Kurenai and Tsunade, then had No. 18 project some of the gathered information onto the terminal for them to review.
"Las Vegas?"
Tsunade's eyes lit up when she saw the place. So many casinos, and far more gambling methods than in the ninja world—it made her itch with desire, though she concealed it well.
Most importantly, she had no money right now, and her pride wouldn't allow her to rob people or use genjutsu.
Hyuga Mirai instructed No. 18, "No. 18, help us take care of our identities, and earn a bit of money on the side. No need for much—one or two hundred million will do."
The next second, the identities of the four of them were settled, along with a full set of replacement documents. As long as they took the time to collect them, they'd have perfect personal histories.
As for the money, No. 18 skimmed some funds from unclaimed accounts, then made a few rounds in the financial markets. The account balance quickly doubled. With the strongest insider channels, the financial market was basically her personal bank.
As for whether to live in seclusion as ordinary people or establish a force, Hyuga Mirai thought briefly and chose the latter. He still had some Divine Tree saplings with him. Before obtaining the Infinity Stones, he could plant one first and raise Kurenai's strength to the Six Paths level.
Her body had been enhanced multiple times by Hyuga Mirai. She already met the Six Paths standard—powerful physique, flight, genjutsu ability, even the capacity to absorb stellar energy—but she lacked the Divine Tree's abilities: Truth-Seeking Orbs, Kekkei Mora, and immortality.
"Let's go. Next, we'll establish a pharmaceutical company in New York. There are still plenty of incurable diseases in this world, but all of them can be treated with special medicines. We'll use that as our starting point."
Hyuga Mirai said to Kurenai and Tsunade. If nothing went wrong, Loki would lead the Chitauri army to attack New York four years later—that would be the perfect excuse to obtain the Mind Stone.
However, once he obtained the Mind Stone, the future timeline would certainly change. Whether the Ancient One would come looking for him then was something Hyuga Mirai couldn't be sure about.
"Before establishing the company, I think we should properly explore some cities in this country," Tsunade said seriously, though her eyes had already unconsciously turned into the character for "gamble." Arriving in a new place naturally made her want to experience the local gambling style.
Hyuga Mirai directly wrapped an arm around Tsunade's slim waist and forcibly carried her outside. "There'll be opportunities later. For now, you're my head of pharmaceutical R&D. I can't do without you. Kurenai, let's go."
"You're feeding me empty promises again. Last time you said it was just one favor, and I ended up working hard for three years."
"This time it's real. Trust Ayako's father, Tsunade."
Once Loki arrived, Earth would have two Infinity Stones. Thanos might then choose this place as a battlefield. Even if Thanos could only use twenty or thirty percent of a power representing the origin of a universe, it would still be terrifying. Hyuga Mirai needed to think carefully.
Still, the Divine Tree had to be planted. Once it matured and produced a chakra fruit, it would greatly strengthen Hyuga Mirai's side.
"Mr. Parker, this is the job arranged for you by Kamar-Taj. Also, Peter's schooling has been taken care of."
On the third day after moving into their new home, Ben Parker received the job arrangement from Kamar-Taj. Though it was just a security position, the pay was much higher than his previous job. He had also been facing unemployment before, so he was already quite satisfied.
As for Peter Parker, Kamar-Taj arranged for him to enter a high school as a senior. Although Peter had already completed senior year, in this world he had to repeat it for another year.
"Uncle, are we really going to live here? I had friends in my original world, classmates… Coming to a new environment is really hard to adapt to."
After saying this, Peter slumped onto the sofa. It was more comfortable than the one at his old home, so he lay straight down. The bedroom was also much bigger—he could even install a basketball hoop in his room now.
"There's no helping it, Peter," Ben Parker said as he looked over his job offer. "If I could, I'd rather go back and look for work there. But we have no options right now. Maybe you can try to accept it."
"Alright, I'll try…"
Peter replied weakly. He had been a bit lazy lately, but that was normal after arriving in a new environment. It had nothing to do with not seeing Mary Jane. Maybe he could try something else—like the idea he'd had a few days ago of becoming a city hero?
With that thought, Peter immediately got up and rushed to his room. The suit he'd designed for himself wasn't finished yet. Before school started, he should finish making it.
After arranging things for the people from other universes, the Ancient One used the Eye of Agamotto to trace the origin, wanting to know why these people had crossed universes.
But she failed. Even using the Eye of Agamotto to view the past and future, she discovered nothing. She suspected it wasn't an issue with this universe, but these people weren't even from the same universe. If it were problems with each of their respective universes, that would be too absurd.
The timeline showed no disorder. An extra Peter Parker didn't seem to have much impact either.
"This matter…"
The Ancient One was somewhat worried. She wanted to continue investigating, but didn't know where to start.
"I'll leave it to Strange."
As the greatest Sorcerer Supreme, Strange would likely have different insights. Besides, he would eventually cross paths with Peter Parker.
In the meantime, the Ancient One felt it was enough to guard her duty as the Sorcerer Supreme.
Time passed slowly. On Earth, the hottest topic was still Tony Stark. The Iron Man armor almost represented a new era in weapons and energy. Whether in America or abroad, many coveted that suit.
Hyuga Mirai didn't pay much attention to the stir caused by Tony Stark. He possessed plenty of epoch-making technologies himself—revealing them all would instantly turn Earth into the strongest civilization in the universe.
Moreover, after becoming Iron Man, Tony Stark truly was a troublemaker. Although many things weren't his intention, they did start because of him.
Still, with Hyuga Mirai around, at least the Ultron incident could be prevented.
Future Biopharmaceuticals was soon established. No. 18 remained Hyuga Mirai's most effortless manager. The office building and production facilities required no concern from him; she handled everything flawlessly.
Just half a year later, after the company structure was fully set up, Future Biopharmaceuticals held a press conference, announcing that it had developed special drugs capable of completely curing heart disease, diabetes, cerebral hemorrhage, and cancer. Preclinical trials were complete, and human trials were about to begin.
The impact of this news even surpassed the hype around the Iron Man armor. Developing four cures at once for diseases that currently had no effective treatment—the claim made Future Pharmaceuticals sound even bolder than Tony Stark declaring world peace through a private company.
Especially after investigations showed that Future Biopharmaceuticals was a newly established company. Though it appeared well-funded, breakthroughs in pharmaceutical technology couldn't possibly be achieved in just a few months. There had been no prior rumors, so most people were skeptical, some even claiming the company was a scam.
Nevertheless, Future Pharmaceuticals announced the start of human trials, recruiting four hundred patients and establishing a dedicated public channel where everyone could see daily changes in the patients' health data.
Normally, approval before human trials took a long time, but Hyuga Mirai found it troublesome and had No. 18 speed things up slightly by altering the memories of some American officials in charge, then proceeded to the next phase.
Many patients had clear medical records before the trials, and anyone could track their physical changes.
According to the company's claims, even the slowest of these four hardest-to-treat diseases would be cured within three months.
In response to such publicity, not only external media but even the company's own employees didn't quite believe it. Still, the pay was good, and until the company went under, they just needed to follow management's analysis.
Hyuga Mirai handed all company matters to No. 18. She had once managed over seventy percent of an entire federation's administration; running a single company was child's play.
As for Hyuga Mirai and the other two, they were currently in Las Vegas.
To experience new gambling styles sooner, Tsunade developed four special medicines in under two months and even secretly tested them on patients.
Although Tsunade's work efficiency was extremely high, Hyuga Mirai had wanted to persuade her to wait a bit longer. However, before he could say much, he was completely defeated by Tsunade.
It was the first time Hyuga Mirai had seen Tsunade wearing such a revealing nurse outfit. He didn't hold out for long before falling to Tsunade's clumsy seduction.
Though they had been together for quite some time, Tsunade always felt her age was an issue, making her somewhat reserved at such moments. Even though Hyuga Mirai told her her life had already changed and, by equivalent conversion, her age among humans was only that of a small child, she still found it hard to let go.
But after coming to a new world, Tsunade's mindset slowly changed. That night was her first attempt—but definitely not the last.
Kurenai's shyness, Kurenai's allure, Ayaka's cooperation, and Tsunade's generosity—thinking back to his early days at the Ninja Academy, Hyuga Mirai recalled how he had worked to grow stronger step by step, evolving his life to its current level. Perhaps these things had always been his driving force.
(End of Chapter)
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