Secured SHIELD Site – Rocky Plateau, 35 km North of Flagstaff, Arizona
🗓️ Date: May 24th — 06:03 AM
---
The sky was gray, heavy with storm clouds. The air buzzed with static electricity.
Atop the arid plateau, an unmarked black helicopter had landed. Six armored vehicles circled a secured perimeter. The SHIELD agents weren't armed with standard rifles — they carried neural inhibitors, spectrum disruptors, and non-lethal paralytics. The elite.
At the center of the circle: Naruto, Natasha, and Tony. Standing still. Silent. As if awaiting judgment.
Across from them stood Maria Hill — rigid, clad in a tactical uniform, helmet under her arm. No smile. No emotion. She was the embodiment of cold war.
"Naruto Uzumaki," she said, stepping forward. "By order of the United Nations Security Council, you are officially placed under enhanced surveillance for energetic deviation and geopolitical interference."
Naruto remained calm.
"You could've sent a message," he replied. "We would've made tea."
Hill ignored the remark.
"Natasha Romanoff. Anthony Stark. Your presence here constitutes obstruction. Any assistance rendered will be noted… and judged accordingly."
Tony, arms crossed, smirked without warmth.
"You want to play the 'who has the better lawyer' game, Maria?"
Hill tilted her head slightly.
"You think you're being clever. That the chaos you've triggered is a game. It's not. This is about global security."
"No," Natasha said, voice low. "It's about control. And you're losing yours."
---
Naruto stepped forward. All agents raised their weapons.
He slowly lifted his hand — palm empty.
"I haven't harmed anyone. I haven't stolen data. I haven't interfered with any institution… until you started treating me like a virus."
Hill stared him down.
"Because that's what you are. An anomaly. You're unregistered. You're not human."
A soft murmur spread through the agents. Even they seemed caught off guard.
"I'm more human than you," Naruto said quietly. "Because I don't hunt others out of fear."
Hill shrugged.
"Intent doesn't negate threat. The world doesn't need a new god."
"It needs the truth."
"You don't get to define it."
She pulled out a small metallic device. A trigger.
"I've observed you. Studied you. I learned that to stop you, I have to strike your mind, not your body."
Tony grimaced.
"Oh, shit."
Hill pressed the button.
---
Neural Disruption — Activated
A silent scream tore through the air. Invisible — but real.
A field of sensory destabilization enveloped Naruto. His knees buckled. An immense pressure, like a mountain, crushed his mind.
Natasha shouted:
"Stop!"
But Hill remained impassive.
"We need to see what he really is."
Naruto fought back. The world vibrated. He barely stood. Memories surged. Voices. Faces. Kushina. Minato. Laughter… then screaming.
Kurama roared in his mind:
> "Don't give in. Fight. You're not alone, Naruto!"
Natasha caught him, held him. She was trembling too. The Seishin no Musubi link flickered, unstable.
Hill stepped back.
"I'm recording everything. His power. His response. His deterioration. Then… containment."
Tony stepped forward.
"You're playing with a fire you don't understand, Maria. If you do this, there's no turning back."
Hill looked him straight in the eye.
"I never intended to."
---
That's when the wind changed.
A gust through the sky. A fast shadow.
Suddenly, a second helicopter appeared. Older. Less stealthy. It landed hard, kicking up dust and tension.
Agents stiffened. Hill spun around, startled.
Nick Fury stepped out.
Black coat. Tired eyes. Scar glinting. And fury in every step.
"Enough."
His voice cracked like a whip.
Hill, surprised, stepped back.
"Director Fury, this operation is—"
"Terminated. Immediately."
He marched between her and Naruto.
"You want to know why you didn't have clearance to trigger that protocol, Hill?"
She blinked.
"I acted in the interest—"
"You were deceived. And you broke a pact older than your entire career."
He turned to Naruto, then to Tony.
"Because he's not here by accident. And because the father of this man — Howard Stark — entrusted me with something. Something you don't deserve to know."
Hill stepped back, shaken.
"Howard Stark…?"
Fury's face darkened.
"That man built an alliance, in the shadows, to protect this world from a threat you just provoked. And Naruto… was part of that alliance. Long before you were even born."
Dead silence.
Tony froze. Natasha covered her mouth in shock.
Naruto, still on one knee, slowly looked up at Fury.
"You knew."
Fury nodded.
"Since the beginning. And that's why… I'm here to stop you, Maria."