"Can I really only stay for an hour?"
Seeing Hawking disappear without a trace, Sakura couldn't help but exclaim:
"Hawking... he seems like a very gentle and kind person."
Although she had only interacted with Hawking for an hour, she had a very good impression of him.
It wasn't just because of his generosity and comfortable way of speaking, though that certainly played a part.
The main reason was the feeling he gave off, a feeling different from their World.
In the entire Ninja World, Konoha was already considered the most peaceful and prosperous place, but there was still a lot of hidden darkness within it.
Not to mention her experiences over the years, even the Chunin Exams back then gave her a deep understanding.
From the moment you become a Ninja, more or less, you will experience these things.
Except for someone as oblivious as Naruto, it's difficult for anyone to maintain their innocence, and most Ninja have some mental issues, even she herself does.
But Hawking gave her a very special feeling; it wasn't that he was completely untainted, it was just a feeling she couldn't quite describe.
If Hawking knew Sakura's inner thoughts at this moment, he would understand what she was trying to express.
Was Hawking a good person? Not exactly, but he was a normal person who grew up in a truly peaceful era.
Perhaps his upbringing wasn't perfect, lacking familial affection, but he still grew up very healthily.
He didn't, like Sakura and the other Ninja, start taking on missions, engaging in various killings, getting his hands covered in blood, and watching friends, comrades, and even family die when he was only eleven or twelve years old.
Sometimes, for the sake of the Village's interests, he even had to do things against his conscience.
When he was eleven or twelve, he hadn't even finished elementary school.
Later, even after coming to the Marvel Universe, his hands also started to get stained with blood, but by then his mind was already mature, and his worldview had already solidified.
Moreover, even in the Marvel Universe, he always acted according to his heart, doing what he believed was right, with a warm family and people he wanted to protect.
So, the impression he gave people might be cunning, difficult to deal with, deep-scheming, and calculating, but never psychologically twisted, perverted, or dark.
This was some of the fundamental differences brought about by different Worlds and different environments.
Actually, Sakura's situation was already quite good; look at Naruto, who was ostracized by the entire Ninja Village since childhood, and Sasuke, whose clan was annihilated by his beloved brother, bearing a deep blood feud.
"Yes, that's why I feel so relaxed when I'm with him, and he's really powerful!"
Naruto murmured, looking at the spot where Hawking disappeared:
"If I could be as powerful as Hawking, maybe I could have brought Sasuke back last time."
"He's that powerful? More powerful than Sasuke?"
Sakura's eyes widened immediately; Hawking didn't seem that powerful to her.
Naruto nodded:
"His taijutsu is extremely strong. I feel like he might... be more powerful than Sasuke!"
Sasuke was strong; he had personally experienced it last time at Orochimaru's Base, but strong as he was, there wasn't an unbridgeable gap.
But Hawking was different. During this time at Mount Myōboku, while learning Afterimage Fist with Hawking, he had sparred with Hawking quite a bit.
Although Hawking had never truly gone all out, he found that even if he used all his strength and all his methods, he couldn't inflict even a tiny bit of damage on Hawking, or even touch Hawking's clothes.
That feeling was like the first time he saw Orochimaru during the Chunin Exams, that kind of insurmountable gap.
So he felt that Hawking's taijutsu must be extremely strong, and if he were to fight, even Sasuke might not be his opponent.
Especially since he had seen Hawking sparring with Gamahiro.
Gamahiro, whose size was slightly inferior to Toad Boss, wielded two great swords over twenty meters long, yet when sparring with Hawking, he didn't even have the upper hand in terms of strength.
On the other side, Sai thoughtfully took out his notebook and began writing furiously.
He wasn't recording information about Hawking conveyed in Naruto and Sakura's conversation, but rather, he was very seriously writing:
"Methods to strengthen friendships: give more gifts, treat them to meals, and show strength greater than your friends'."
After last time, when he read in a book that giving friends nicknames could strengthen their bond, and then got beaten half to death by Sakura, he started to learn from things around him.
Just like today, he learned valuable experience from Hawking and planned to experiment with it next time.
However, what kind of gifts should he give?
December 25th, 2003, Christmas.
Everyone woke up early today, turned on the heating, switched on the TV, sat on the living room carpet, and took out the large stockings specifically used for gifts from under the Christmas tree, beginning the happiest part of Christmas: unwrapping presents.
Oleg and his wife not only prepared gifts for Wanda and Pietro but also for Hawking.
Because in their eyes, Hawking was still an underage child.
Those gifts held no value for the current Hawking and he wouldn't use them, but he still happily and carefully put them away.
After unwrapping the gifts, the family happily sat in the living room watching Christmas specials.
In the afternoon, Hawking and Elena started preparing the Christmas dinner. Hawking was responsible for the Chinese dishes, while Elena made the Sokovia dishes.
Today, Hawking didn't cultivate, didn't go to the company, and didn't go to Konoha; he just wanted to spend a peaceful and ordinary Christmas at home with his family.
However, the tree desired calm, but the wind would not cease.
Just as Hawking was rapidly pounding his minced meat into a basin repeatedly, preparing to stew some Lion's Head meatballs, the urgent doorbell suddenly rang.
"Who is it?"
Pietro used his ability to quickly run to the door and opened it, then exclaimed in surprise:
"Professor Ororo, why are you here?"
"Is Hawking home? I have something urgent to discuss with him!"
Storm asked, her face full of anxiety.
"What's wrong, Professor Ororo?"
Hawking, who heard the voice from the kitchen, flashed and appeared behind Pietro.
Seeing Ororo's expression, he had an ominous premonition.
"Something happened at the school! Magneto suddenly appeared with a group of people and forcibly took Professor X!"
Ororo quickly said.
Hawking immediately frowned:
"Professor X was taken? Let's go back to the school first, we can talk in detail on the way!"
With the strength of Magneto's Brotherhood of Mutants, it would be almost impossible to forcibly take Professor X.
Aside from Magneto having helmet protection, other Mutants of the Brotherhood would be frozen and controlled by Professor X the moment they encountered him.
How could Magneto alone take Professor X under the protection of so many X-Men?
So there must be other factors involved.
"Pietro, I'm going back to school. If I can't make it back tonight, you all eat first, no need to wait for me."
After instructing Pietro, Hawking untied his apron and immediately flew towards the school with Storm.
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