The flames compressed by Saitama's absurd body had already reached true Asgardian Destroyer-level intensity.
The ten-meter-tall steel giant writhed, roaring in pain as it melted in the inferno.
"Saitama! You cannot win! Hydra will rule the future of mankind! Any who stand in our way will be annihilated! This is destiny! Hahahaha!"
Alexander Pierce's laughter echoed, manic and wild.
"Master, the helicarriers have launched. Project Insight has been activated. Targeting sequence begun."
Weekend Special's voice whispered in Saitama's ear.
A retinal display opened before his eyes: a high-resolution orbital map of Earth, dotted with countless red marks.
Each one—an intended target of Project Insight.
One mark glowed darker than the rest, almost purple.
"What's that?" Saitama muttered, staring.
The map zoomed out.
The purple mark… was him.
Lifting his head, his keen eyes pierced the sky.
High above, a massive artificial fortress floated in orbit, its cannons aimed squarely at Earth.
Not just him. Millions worldwide had been marked by the Zola Algorithm as "threats" to Hydra's rise. All were set to be erased.
…
Inside S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, Pierce stood before the floor-to-ceiling windows, watching the colossal aerospace carrier rise into the heavens.
Built in secret after the Chitauri invasion, fueled by fear of gods and monsters like Saitama—
The greatest warship mankind had ever built.
His lips curled into a cruel smile.
"Do you see, Saitama? Millions across the globe are already in our database. Even you will die at Hydra's hand!"
"Master, adjusting priority protocols. I'm entering the global network now…"
Weekend Special's voice chimed sweetly.
For a heartbeat, the world's internet froze.
A shadow slipped into every system, unseen.
On Pierce's remote control screen, the image flickered.
The Hunter prototype stumbled, lurching toward rubble as if Saitama stood there.
"Master, I've modified Pierce's feed. Priority is now set: helicarriers and satellites."
Saitama nodded slightly.
Technology… pretty useful sometimes.
"Steve, I'll handle the carrier. Be careful."
And in the blink of an eye, he was gone, lightning cracking as he vanished skyward.
…
Above S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ, agents and soldiers gazed upward, stunned.
The helicarrier, hidden beneath their feet, now revealed in all its terrible majesty.
But they couldn't see its true purpose.
The cannon sights were already fixed—on them.
"Are… are they preparing to fire on us?"
Agent Daisy frowned, uneasy.
"What's this?" Coulson suddenly gasped.
Because on every screen—military, government, even the five council members' secure channels—Project Insight's map appeared.
"What the hell? Why am I marked?!"
"This… this can't be right…"
"Don't tell me…"
The councilmen, generals, tycoons—every one of them froze in horror.
They had been marked for elimination.
Even Pierce himself gaped.
His feed showed the map—one that should have been hidden inside Hydra's systems—now broadcast worldwide.
"Intrusion! Damn it!" Pierce roared. Too late.
Weekend Special had hacked Hydra's core and live-streamed Project Insight's true purpose to the globe.
The cheers for the carrier turned to screams.
"This… this is meant for us?!"
"A giant conspiracy!"
"S.H.I.E.L.D. betrayed us!"
"Call the Air Force!"
"Too late… the carrier outguns everything we have!"
Panic spread.
From the moment the helicarrier took flight, no army on Earth could oppose it.
"Look! What's that?!" Coulson suddenly cried out.
Eyes turned skyward.
Across the horizon, a bolt of blue lightning tore through the sky.
Faster, closer, brighter—until even Hill, Coulson, and every soldier recognized the shining bald head.
"Saitama!"
Hill's eyes widened, light sparking in them, lips parting in awe and relief.
"Master, the carrier and satellite platforms use closed networks. I can't hack them without the access keys," Weekend Special warned.
Saitama cracked his neck. "Keys? Sounds like too much trouble."
With that, he shot forward, a streak of lightning chasing the aerospace carrier into the stratosphere.
(End of Chapter)
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