Yuki thought for a moment, then let it go. He couldn't be bothered to deal with all that, why not just be a hands-off boss?
"Ellen, Karen. You two handle this. I'm not getting involved," he said flatly, tossing the matter over to them.
"Yuki! You're playing the absentee boss again?!" Ellen looked exasperated.
Over the years, she had dealt with this kind of thing more than once. She had finally gotten him back, and now he was handing these issues off to her again. For someone like her, who preferred action over politics, dealing with this stuff was such a headache.
"So annoying... handling all this," she pouted, clearly unhappy with the arrangement.
Yuki smiled, gently set Miku aside, and pulled Ellen into his arms. "There, there. Just bear with it, my dear Ellen." He comforted her, and soon her complaints faded.
"This bunch of politicians... always pulling stunts like this. So irritating. This time, I'm not going easy on them." Ellen's expression softened as she started thinking about how to handle things.
"Ellen, you've got an idea? What are you planning to do?" Mio asked, noticing Ellen seemed to have something in mind.
"With this." Ellen nodded and pulled out the necklace with the Infinity Gems. She held up the Mind Stone between two fingers, clearly signaling her intention.
"Sis, you're going to use the Mind Stone to control the higher-ups directly?!" Karen quickly caught on.
"Exactly. But only after we've dealt with this matter," Ellen nodded, speaking thoughtfully. "After we sort out this situation, we secretly back new leadership, then use the Mind Stone to keep them in check. That way, this kind of thing never happens again."
Ellen laid out her plan for a permanent solution. She could have done this before, but back then, she was still too soft. She had hoped for mutual respect and peaceful coexistence. But now that they were making moves behind her back, her patience had run out.
"So we're putting puppets in power?! Listening to this, it kind of feels like we're the evil organization behind the world's shadows," Kotori couldn't help but quip.
Mizuho and the others smiled and nodded in agreement.
"Alright, enough about that. Let's eat." Yuki put an end to the topic. This was just a minor blip, nothing worth dwelling over.
The moment he spoke, the mood lightened, and everyone headed to the dining room for dinner.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the planet.
In the middle of a vast ocean stood a small island, surrounded by water on all sides. It wasn't very large only about 50,000 square kilometers. But despite its size, the island was rich in resources. Judging by the overgrown vegetation, this wasn't an uninhabited island.
In fact, it was a covert testing ground jointly operated by the United States and several allied nations for developing new weapons and equipment. Deep in the island's interior, hidden among the bushes, were countless motion-triggered alarm devices. Following those alarms for about a kilometer led to a base tucked deep within the wilderness. On the base's tarmac sat numerous aircraft products of cooperation with extraterrestrial forces.
At that moment, a military helicopter escorted by six fighter jets appeared and began descending toward the base. As it landed, a group of soldiers in sleek, advanced metal armor marched out in perfect formation to receive it. They looked like a formidable steel battalion.
Psssh—! With a hiss, the helicopter's landing gear touched down, and the cabin door slowly opened. Several middle-aged men stepped out, dressed in sharp suits, exuding an air of authority. Among them was an elderly man with short black and grey hair past his sixties.
That old man was the current leader of the United States named Dark Dodama. The others were leaders of allied nations. Their purpose here was to tour the base's latest research achievements, its newest military hardware.
"Oh! My God! Is that the new powered armor those soldiers are wearing?" The moment they laid eyes on the armored troops, the other leaders gasped in amazement.
"Yes, my friends!" The U.S. leader puffed out his chest with pride. "Infinity Corporation's CR-UNIT isn't bad, but it's too expensive to manufacture, and the compatibility requirements are strict. It's hard to distribute to every soldier. But this, the Patton Type-32 armor, developed in collaboration with our friends from Barton can be adapted to any soldier. It's far superior to Infinity's CR-UNIT, with its restrictive requirements."
The U.S. leader spoke with confidence, proudly promoting the new armor to the other heads of state.
"And there's one more thing, gentlemen, the Type-32 is dirt cheap to produce. One-third the cost of the CR-UNIT." The U.S. leader raised a single finger and wagged it at the other heads of state.
Hearing that, they were indeed impressed and more than a little tempted. Still, cheap was cheap, but it had to be effective.
"Mr. President, could we see these suits in action?"
"Yeah, cheap isn't enough, they need to pack some punch!"
Everyone wanted a live demonstration. The U.S. leader, having anticipated the request, quickly ordered the soldiers to begin.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, three gun barrels extended from the armor. A single volley of laser fire leveled a fifty-square-kilometer mountain, over fifteen hundred meters high, into nothing but rubble.
The leaders stood there, utterly stunned. Next came a demonstration of the armor's defensive capabilities. It withstood a tactical missile with a yield of 100 kilotons, completely unscathed. By then, the leaders were thoroughly sold.
Later, in an underground reception lounge, they were eager to discuss cooperation.
"Mr. President, your country was the first to make contact with the Bartonian aliens. Surely you know why they've come to Earth?" the British leader asked curiously. After all, the aliens had been handing over resources and technology—they had to want something in return.
At that question, the U.S. leader's lips curled into a strange smile. "We Bartonians," he said slowly, "want nothing less than this planet."
The other leaders froze. Then, before their eyes, the face of the U.S. leader shifted morphing into a red-skinned, sharp-eared alien with jagged, saw-like teeth.
"You... you're not the president?!"
"No, I am. We simply replaced him. And soon, you'll be replaced too. Just like him." The U.S. leader grinned. Then, one by one, the surrounding "staff" also revealed their true alien forms.
In that moment, the leaders realized, this had been the trap all along.