With Iceman Bobby's help, the SHIELD recovery team finally succeeded in extracting Captain America from the Arctic ice cap. While awaiting the return transport plane, the legendary "old popsicle" was swiftly flown back to New York under high-security protocol.
The thawing process was delicate—personally overseen by SHIELD's top scientists. As the equipment began displaying rising vital signs, Nick Fury, Agent Coulson, and several medical staff watched with intense focus. On the hospital bed lay a man once thought lost to history.
"I still can't believe Captain America is really alive," Nick muttered, voicing what everyone else was thinking.
A hero from World War II, preserved in ice, now awakened in an era that barely resembled the world he knew.
"I just wonder if he can adjust to modern society," Coulson said quietly.
"Don't overthink it," Nick replied, giving him a firm pat on the shoulder. "We're all adapting every day. If Steve wakes up, he'll do the same."
Nick could tell Coulson was more anxious than a groom on his wedding day.
"Didn't you tell the Uchiha kids to head back?" Nick asked, glancing at the surveillance feed where three kids with distinctly colored hair—Sasuke, Naruto, and Karin—stood outside the room.
"I asked them to stay," Coulson admitted. "Figured we could build some rapport and maybe... learn a thing or two from them."
Nick shot him a look. "You sly fox. Trying to get intel out of children?"
"Director, I'm just following your example," Coulson said with a grin.
The two men exchanged knowing smiles. Just then, a nurse monitoring the vitals perked up. "Director, I think he just moved his fingers."
The monitor beeped steadily now—Captain America's heart rate returning to textbook-perfect levels.
Steve's eyes opened slowly. He was lying in a hospital bed. The fluorescent lights, the faint smell of disinfectant, the TV playing an old baseball game—it all felt... familiar. Too familiar.
"Captain, you're awake!" A nurse with curly blonde hair approached, attempting to help him sit up. Steve gently pushed her hand away.
"What year is it?" he asked, eyes fixed on the TV.
"It's 1945, sir. You crashed just a week ago. We've been treating you since—"
Steve's brow furrowed. "I've seen this game before. The smell of antiseptic is fresh, and your lipstick… that's a shade I've never seen in the forties."
He turned his piercing gaze toward her.
"Let me ask again—what year is it? Where am I?"
The nurse hesitated, then quickly pressed the emergency alarm.
Steve bolted for the door.
Standing outside were the three peculiar children. Hair like anime protagonists and chakra levels that radiated like furnace heat—especially the blond one.
"Get out of my way!" Steve growled, attempting a sideways dodge.
Naruto stepped forward. "Uncle, relax! It's okay!"
Uncle?
Steve didn't care. His instincts kicked in.
Hydra.
There was no other explanation in his mind. Only Hydra would recreate another super-soldier powerful enough to stop his full-strength punch—and Naruto caught it with one hand.
"Why are you attacking me?!" Naruto yelled in confusion.
Steve responded with a spinning kick—only to be flipped to the ground by the blond teen. As he struggled, a raven-haired boy (Sasuke) punched him in the gut, and a red-haired girl (Karin) immobilized him with glowing golden chains.
"Enough!" Karin snapped, the chains glinting like molten light. "Sit still, you old fossil."
By the time Nick and Coulson arrived, Steve had two black eyes, a swollen lip, and was locked to the floor like a rabid beast caught in a seal.
Coulson's heart sank. "Captain! We're SHIELD! Not Hydra!"
Steve spat blood and defiance. "Then why restrain me? I'll die before I surrender. Freedom is eternal!"
Nick crouched beside him, calm but firm. "Captain America. I'm Nick Fury, Director of SHIELD. The first director of this organization was your old pal—Howard Stark. Peggy Carter was one of our earliest agents."
Steve's struggling slowed.
"Now... please, tell me the year."
Nick gave Karin a nod, and she released the seal. The chains vanished.
"It's 2011," Nick said quietly. "You've been asleep for nearly 70 years. The world's changed, Cap."
Steve didn't respond. Instead, he dashed toward the window and leapt.
He landed in the middle of Times Square. Neon lights blazed. Cars honked. Giant screens displayed ads for things that didn't exist in his time. People walked by with earbuds and cellphones, barely giving him a glance.
He turned in slow motion, overwhelmed. It was real. Everything Nick said... was real.
Agents swarmed the square moments later, clearing the area as Nick approached.
"This is New York City," he said. "But it's not the city you remember. It's not your time anymore."
Steve looked down at his trembling hands. "I was supposed to have a dance."
His voice cracked, and the sadness in his eyes hit everyone—even the stone-hearted agents.
Though, they still had to stifle laughter. The bruises around his eyes—thanks to Sasuke—looked like perfect panda circles.
Later, in Brooklyn, Steve sat in a small apartment SHIELD had rented for him. It was modest, modern, and completely foreign.
He sat quietly as Coulson explained more of the world's changes.
"Carter's still alive," Coulson said gently. "She got married. Had children. Grandchildren. Her husband passed away a few years ago."
Steve sighed, conflicted relief washing over him. "At least she lived her life."
Then, his eyes narrowed. "Those three kids… that wasn't serum enhancement. I've never seen abilities like that. What are they?"
Nick exchanged glances with Coulson.
"No, it's not serum," Nick said. "Let's just say… you're still the best super soldier we've ever made. The original serum was lost a long time ago."
------------------------
"Actually, Captain, a lot has changed since you were frozen. How should I put this… the world today is nothing like it used to be. People with superpowers—actual superpowers—are now a reality."
Coulson glanced at Steve as he spoke, carefully choosing his words.
"For example, Dr. Bruce Banner—he's a biologist, brilliant in his field. But when he gets angry, he transforms into a green giant. We call him the Hulk."
Steve raised a skeptical brow. "A green giant?"
"Yeah. He goes from a regular guy about 1.8 meters tall to a two-meter-tall monster—invulnerable to bullets, blades, and pretty much everything."
"Invulnerable?" Steve echoed, clearly puzzled.
"Literally," Coulson said, forcing a wry smile. "Even missiles can't harm him. The military's tried—multiple times. All failures."
Steve furrowed his brow, clearly struggling to process that. "How is that even possible…?"
"I know it sounds unbelievable," Coulson admitted. "But it's all been verified. There's footage, data, eyewitnesses. The Hulk is real—and terrifying."
Steve glanced at the photo Coulson handed him. The image showed the Hulk mid-rampage, muscles bulging, eyes burning with primal rage.
"And it's not just the Hulk," Coulson added. "There's also a god. His name is Thor. He claims to be from a place called Asgard."
Steve scoffed slightly, shaking his head as he saw the next photo. "I've defeated the last guy who called himself a god—Red Skull. Arrogant lunatic."
"This one's different, sir," Coulson replied, more seriously. "Thor isn't just claiming it. He's the god of thunder from Norse mythology, and… well, he's real. In a way, you could call him an alien. Asgard is essentially another realm."
Steve blinked. "An alien god?"
"He's about 2,000 years old, and apparently can live up to 5,000. So in Asgardian terms, he's still young."
With every word Coulson said, Steve felt his worldview tilt a little more off-balance. First the Hulk. Now literal gods? Had he been asleep for just a few decades or a few centuries?
Super soldiers were already a rare anomaly in his time. Now there were gods, aliens, and monsters walking among humans?
Compared to that, even the concept of Iron Man—a man in a flying metal suit—sounded downright logical.
Still gripping the vibranium shield tightly in his hand, Steve let out a slow breath. That shield was one of the few things that hadn't changed. It gave him a sense of grounding in a world that felt increasingly surreal.
"…What about those three kids?" he asked suddenly, remembering something.
"Oh, them?" Coulson looked mildly surprised. "They're ninjas. Members of an ancient ninja clan. SHIELD has a cooperative relationship with them."
"Ninjas?" Steve rubbed his temples. "Let me guess. Superpowers too?"
"That's… complicated," Coulson said. "Their power comes from something called chakra. It's not like anything we've ever studied. Some of them can split mountains or call down lightning from the sky. The most powerful among them can even ignore national military threats."
"Wait, ignore America?" Steve repeated in disbelief.
Coulson didn't respond verbally this time. Instead, he pulled out a tablet and played a satellite video. It showed Su Xiuyu, cloaked in chakra, manipulating a meteorite from space and smashing it down to reclaim land from the sea.
Steve's jaw clenched.
"Are we… are we sure these people aren't a threat?"
"So far, they haven't done anything evil," Coulson answered. "Actually, we've worked with them multiple times. They say ninja clans earn their living by taking on missions. So far, they've respected local laws."
For days now, Steve had been flooded with impossible information. First shock, then confusion, now… numbness. Even for someone as mentally strong as Captain America, it was a lot to take in.
---
In the Ninja World…
News of the "new world" had spread quickly.
Both the Hidden Sand and Hidden Cloud villages confirmed the rumors through intelligence leaked by Iwagakure. More importantly, they confirmed one frightening truth—Su Xiuyu's strength was on par with the legendary Sage of Six Paths.
"Damn it… why isn't the Uchiha clan part of our Kumogakure?" Darui grumbled, lollipop in his mouth. "If they were, we wouldn't be in this mess."
Clang!
Samui, ever the no-nonsense secretary, landed a punch on his head. "Will you stop whining and act like a proper ninja for once? We've already lost too much ground. Didn't you see the supplies Rock Village brought back from that other world? All freebies!"
"What do you want me to do?" Darui groaned, rubbing his head. "We invaded Konoha and got crushed. We lost again at the Chuunin Alliance Conference. Of course Konoha hates our guts."
"We paid compensation! We even gave up land!" Samui snapped. "Meanwhile, Iwagakure and even Kirigakure are making deals and gaining strength. We can't afford to sit on our hands!"
Though Kumogakure's core strength was still intact, Samui could clearly see how far they were falling behind. The Uchiha-led Konoha had no intention of sharing power. Even without Uchiha Xiuyu himself, there were still several Mangekyō Sharingan users within the clan. And Mangekyō was the natural nemesis of their greatest weapons—the Tailed Beasts.
Their trump cards, Killer Bee and Yugito, no longer held the same deterrent value.
And Konoha? They'd grown so strong that they now allowed their own Nine-Tails Jinchūriki to travel to other worlds for "training."
That's the confidence of true power.
In contrast, Kumogakure had stumbled repeatedly with bad political decisions and short-sighted aggression. Now they lagged behind, only slightly stronger than Kirigakure. And even that gap was closing, with Kirigakure hugging Konoha's golden thigh like a favored younger sibling.
The Sand Village, meanwhile, was in even worse shape.
Its ranks were suffering from a severe talent shortage. The old Kazekage was dead, and no new leader had stepped up. In fact, there wasn't even a suitable candidate.
Not everyone could be like Hiruzen Sarutobi, the shameless Third Hokage of Konoha, who returned to office after the death of the Fourth.
Konoha had options—people like Kakashi.
The Sand didn't. Their one possible hope, Yekura, had been sent to Kirigakure years ago… and was now dead.
Sure, Gaara—the son of the Fourth Kazekage—showed promise, but he was far too young to lead.
For now, the Sand had no choice but to accept Konoha's sanctions and pay reparations. Thankfully, they weren't asked to cede any land.
Then again, Konoha probably didn't care for the desert wasteland that made up the Land of Wind.
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