The sound of bullets leaving their barrels rang out. Just as Nick Fury prepared to close his eyes and accept his fate, he realized that—after the gunfire ceased—he remained completely unharmed.
Focusing his gaze, he discovered that Goku had somehow appeared right in front of him.
In his hands, Goku had already caught every single bullet fired from those specialized submachine guns—weapons possessing firepower comparable to sniper rifles.
"You bad guys! Stone Fist!"
Releasing the handful of bullets, and paying no mind to the look of utter horror on his opponents' faces, Goku's figure vanished from before Nick Fury.
He moved like a gliding dragon, weaving past every single member of the Rapid Response Special Forces unit.
When he reappeared before Nick Fury, every member of the Rapid Response Special Forces—including Rumlow—was sent flying simultaneously.
They slammed violently into the laboratory walls, coughing up blood. With an unknown number of broken ribs, their bodies went rigid as they slumped to the floor.
"Thank you for helping me collect the Dragon Balls. This is a potion that can help the Professor heal his legs; please pass it on to him."
Having taught Rumlow and his men a lesson, Goku retrieved a vial of the potion from a box, then vanished from the spot in a flash of apparition.
He left Nick Fury standing there, clutching the potion, taking quite some time to fully process what had just happened.
He could no longer spare a thought for matters concerning Goku and the Dragon Balls; instead, he immediately pulled out his communicator and issued a command:
"Hill, get over here—now!"
After all these years, S.H.I.E.L.D. had somehow remained completely oblivious to the existence of Hydra. The mere thought of it was terrifying.
Closing his eyes to think deeply, he immediately began to notice numerous anomalies—things he had previously failed to detect.
He realized, with chilling certainty, that the S.H.I.E.L.D. of today had likely already been infiltrated by Hydra until it was riddled with holes like a sieve.
Aside from the covert assets he had secretly cultivated and a handful of his most trusted agents, he dared not place his trust in anyone else within S.H.I.E.L.D.
However, this was not the moment to blow the situation wide open or force a complete confrontation.
To do so—even if it resulted in the elimination of Hydra—would mean the utter destruction of S.H.I.E.L.D. itself. Fortunately, Rumlow and his cohorts had already been dealt with by Goku, and the situation was now under control.
If handled correctly, Hydra would remain unaware that he had uncovered their secrets, allowing him to proceed with a cautious, covert operation to identify and purge their infiltrators.
"It seems the time has come to cure Professor X!"
Clutching the potion Goku had given him, Nick Fury reached a firm decision.
Ever since meeting Captain Marvel in 1995, he had gained a certain understanding of the wider universe.
Furthermore, through his collaboration with the Skrulls, he had acquired access to a wealth of technological capabilities far beyond anything found on Earth.
He was the sole custodian of this power; neither S.H.I.E.L.D. nor the Security Council had any knowledge of its existence.
Consequently, it was completely impervious to infiltration by Hydra.
After obtaining some of Dr. Thaddeus Ross's research data, he had already identified a method that could fully restore Professor X's abilities.
However, he had hesitated to proceed because a fully empowered Professor X would be an incredibly formidable force—one that would undoubtedly be far more difficult to control than he was in his current state.
Thus, he had remained conflicted over whether or not to help Professor X regain his powers.
Previously, he had leaned toward the negative.
In the current arrangement, S.H.I.E.L.D. maintained complete control over the potential risks posed by mutants.
By allowing Professor X and the mutant children to live on a secluded island, S.H.I.E.L.D. could—whenever necessary—negotiate terms to enlist their aid in resolving specific issues.
Much like how Wolverine had recently come to assist in examining Professor Banner.
If things continued to develop favorably, they might even be able to recruit the mutant children as S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, binding them to the service of the organization.
Conversely, were Professor X to regain his powers, Fury would no longer be able to exert any control over him or the mutant children.
Indeed, Professor X would likely refuse to keep the children confined to the island any longer; he would almost certainly return to New York to re-establish the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters.
Crucially, Fury would be virtually powerless to stop him.
Yet, given the current circumstances—if he wished to purge the Hydra agents lurking within S.H.I.E.L.D. without alerting the Security Council or eroding the trust that nations placed in the organization—
He would have no choice but to enlist the aid of Professor X—specifically, by leveraging his formidable psionic abilities. So, he has now decided to cure Professor X immediately,
and to find a way to recruit both Professor X and Wolverine into the
Avengers Initiative.
The one saving grace is that he can be certain
Professor X has always stood on the side of humanity.
While Nick Fury was busily and intensively formulating his plan to purge Hydra, Goku had already arrived outside the tower; mounting his Flying Nimbus, he resumed his journey to collect the Dragon Balls.
The distance to the next destination was quite significant this time.
Goku headed due west; even with the Flying Nimbus traveling at full speed, he flew for over two hours without yet reaching the location of the next Dragon Ball.
By now, it was already noon, and his stomach was beginning to rumble with hunger.
"There's a town down there—I'll go buy something to eat."
Glancing down, he spotted a town situated right in the middle of the desolate wilderness below; with a leap, he jumped down from the Flying Nimbus.
He carried emergency rations in his box—supplies that had been fully replenished shortly after his last battle against the Black Dragon.
But what, exactly, constitutes "emergency rations"?
Naturally, they are food supplies to be touched only when no other food source can be found.
Otherwise, if he were to consume his emergency rations without having the chance to restock them, and then found himself in another battle like the one against the Black Dragon, he would be left to go hungry.
Thus, upon spotting the town below, he chose not to dip into the emergency rations stored in his box; instead, he descended with the intention of spending some money to purchase a meal.
Just as he was about to land, a complex magic circle materialized directly above his head, instantly bringing his body to a halt in mid-air.
That intricate magic circle was the very Gravity Magic he had learned from Zeref.
Refined and perfected by Zeref, this Gravity Magic served a purpose beyond merely increasing one's physical load to aid in training.
It could also be applied in reverse, enabling the user to achieve flight.
However, given his current level of proficiency, his flight speed using Gravity Magic was nowhere near as fast as that of the Flying Nimbus.
Consequently, for his day-to-day travels, he still preferred to ride the Flying Nimbus to get from place to place. In truth, were it not for the need to gather the Dragon Balls as quickly as possible—thereby helping Grandpa Dumbledore fulfill his cherished wish—he would have much preferred to train and advance step-by-step, enduring the constant suppression of gravity magic.
This approach would have allowed him to both cultivate his powers and seek out skilled experts along the way for friendly sparring and exchange—killing two birds with one stone.
Landing atop the tallest building in the small town, Goku swept his gaze across the area and quickly locked onto a restaurant.
With a mere flicker of his figure, he instantly Apparated to the restaurant's entrance.
Pushing the door open and stepping inside, Goku caught the enticing aroma of various fried foods wafting through the air; he couldn't help but wipe away a trickle of drool.
"Little one, what would you like to eat?"
Spotting Goku enter the establishment, a plump waitress approached him with a smile and asked.
Goku glanced around the room and noticed—right at the table next to him—a burly man with long golden hair, who was currently devouring the fragrant array of dishes laid out before him with unceasing gusto.
"I'll have exactly what he's having."
"Alright then—one 'Colossal Family Combo,' coming right up."
The waitress jotted down the order in her notebook, then kindly offered a reminder:
"If you can't finish it all, you're welcome to take the leftovers to go; the takeout boxes are on the house."
The Colossal Family Combo typically contained enough food to feed three or four adults; the little boy standing before her clearly wouldn't be able to finish it all by himself.
After all, not everyone possessed the same insatiable appetite as that handsome, golden-haired man sitting at the neighboring table.
"Sounds good. I'm actually feeling a bit peckish, so let's start with fifty orders."
Goku nodded and took a seat right next to the golden-haired man.
As he did so, he happened to catch the conversation currently taking place at that table.
There were four people seated at the golden-haired man's table: aside from the man himself—who was ceaselessly eating and drinking—there was an elderly gentleman and two exceptionally beautiful women. One of the women asked the blond man curiously:
"Could you tell me why you fell down from the clouds?"
"Also, how is it possible for you to eat so much and still be this hungry?"
"As I just explained, I am Thor, the God of Thunder, hailing from Asgard; I was transported to Midgard via the Bifrost."
"As for why I am so hungry—it is because my body has currently taken on the form of a mortal body, and I haven't had a single bite to eat since last night."
"Furthermore, the food here in Midgard is truly excellent; I enjoy it immensely."
The blond man downed the drink in his cup in a single gulp, then—*smash!*—let the cup slip from his hand and shatter on the floor.
"Another round!"
This sudden scene startled the two women and the elderly man sitting at his table, and indeed, it startled everyone else in the restaurant as well.