The workshop was located deep beneath the house—hidden, isolated, and feeling entirely like Tony Stark's private world.
The lighting in the room was dim.
But not dark.
The blue glow from interactive holographic screens replaced conventional lighting, creating a cold, futuristic atmosphere.
Transparent projections floated in the air—layered upon each other, stacked in complex formations.
They displayed armor suit schematics in intricate detail: frame structure, energy distribution, and simulations of resistance across various environments.
Numbers and graphs continuously updated in real time.
Around the room, workbenches were filled with components—pieces of alloy metal not yet assembled.
Mechanical arms occasionally moved on their own, making small adjustments with soft mechanical sounds.
In the center of it all, Tony Stark stood with his back to the door.
One of his arms was still partially fitted with armor plating, open in several sections, revealing internal mechanisms filled with cables and circuitry.
Blue holograms surrounded him, reacting to every movement of his hand.
"…No, no, no—if the output increases like this, then the heat sink has to—"
"Yo! Mr. Billionaire, busy? Wanna grab some pizza?"
Silence.
All holograms… froze.
The numbers stopped moving.
Simulations halted mid-action.
Tony stood still.
Slowly—his head tilted slightly.
"…JARVIS."
No response.
"…Why is there a stranger in my house—my private workshop?"
He paused.
Then slowly… turned around.
His gaze immediately locked onto Kuro Tokito, standing at the doorway with a pizza box in one hand, and a bag containing several cans of alcohol in the other.
"…Oh."
A pause.
Tony's expression shifted.
Not just surprise—more like a system trying to process something that didn't fit logic.
"You."
He stepped forward slowly, narrowing his eyes, trying to confirm whether what he was seeing was real.
"The mysterious desert wizard."
His tone was flat… but clearly evaluative.
He stopped a few steps away from Kuro.
"…And you show up again…" he continued, "…just to invite me for pizza?"
Kuro placed the pizza box and the bag of drinks onto the nearest workbench, then gave a light shrug.
"You hate it?" he asked casually. "I went through the trouble of bringing food and drinks, you know."
Tony exhaled.
Then—his signature crooked smile appeared.
"…No. I like it."
He tapped the armor on his arm. With a soft mechanical sound, the component detached and was placed on a nearby table.
"Pepper let you in, didn't she?"
Without waiting for an answer, he continued—
"Yeah, definitely. She's got a special radar for 'people who saved my life therefore they can come in'."
Kuro only gave a faint smile. He opened the pizza box, revealing the rising warmth of steam, with a very noticeable pineapple topping on top.
"She's a good woman," Kuro said lightly. "You're lucky, Tony-san."
A brief silence followed.
Tony didn't answer immediately.
His gaze dropped briefly—not to the pizza, but somewhere distant—then rose again, that crooked smile still in place.
"I know that," he replied casually.
He walked past Kuro, grabbed one of the drinks from the bag, then stopped beside the table.
"…Ten days."
His tone stayed light, but there was clear memory behind it.
"Ten days since we last saw each other…" he continued, "…and your comeback line is just 'want pizza?'"
He glanced sideways, a faint smile forming.
"…You're lucky I'm hungry."
He snapped his fingers.
"JARVIS, suspend all priorities."
A brief pause.
"And find the best pizza within a radius of… no, the entire state."
"Yes, Sir."
A clean synthetic voice echoed softly through the room.
Tony then looked back at Kuro.
"…You haven't changed."
A short pause.
His tone dropped slightly—more calm, more serious.
"…I still don't know who you are."
Not suspicious.
More like an acknowledgment.
"…but strangely, I don't really care."
Then, like a switch flipping back, his expression returned to casual.
"Now, important question—"
Tony crossed his arms, staring at the pizza as if it were the most critical issue in the world.
"Pineapple on pizza…"
He raised an eyebrow.
"…Are you a sane person, or do we need to settle this first before continuing?"
Kuro let out a quiet laugh.
"It tastes good, you know?"
He picked up a slice and took a bite without hesitation.
"Savory… salty from the cheese, tomato sauce, and meat…"
A second bite.
"Plus the sweetness of pineapple."
He gave a light shrug.
"A chaotic innovation."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"But I like it."
Silence.
Tony stared at the pizza slice… then at Kuro.
His expression was flat.
Very flat.
"I just witnessed a culinary crime happen right in front of my eyes."
He pointed at the pizza like it was evidence.
"Sweet and salty can coexist, but pineapple on pizza? That's not innovation—that's a bad decision with excellent marketing."
Kuro only glanced at him briefly, still relaxed.
"Food is not a sin," he replied lightly. "Try a slice. It's good."
He slid the pizza box slightly toward Tony.
"Though… yes," he added while chewing slowly, "I still prefer Savory and Spicy Crackers Soup Dish… and Malatang over pineapple pizza."
Tony narrowed his eyes.
"…You just insulted pizza while defending it."
He looked at the box again.
Then at Kuro.
Then back to the pizza.
A pause.
"…This is a trap, isn't it?"
His hand slowly reached out.
Taking a slice.
He lifted it, staring at the pineapple on top as if reconsidering his entire life.
"…If this actually tastes good," he muttered, "…I'm going to lose faith in myself."
A bite.
Silence.
Tony paused.
Chewing.
Once.
Twice.
His expression… didn't change.
Not at all.
He swallowed.
Then slowly turned toward Kuro.
"…I hate this."
A pause.
"…And I hate the fact that it's… not as bad as it has any right to be."
He let out a sigh.
Then took another bite.
"…This is a problem."
Meanwhile, Kuro's attention shifted to the interactive holograms still floating in the air. Though they had frozen earlier, the systems were now gradually resuming their movement.
Layered armor schematics were displayed clearly, complete with mobility simulations and energy distribution analysis.
"…The armor design from the desert?" Kuro said casually. "This one looks lighter… and more adaptable than the previous version."
Tony didn't answer right away.
He was still holding the slice of pizza in his hand—which, for some reason, he still hadn't finished.
His gaze shifted toward the holograms.
Then back to Kuro.
"…You've got a good eye," he said at last.
He stepped closer to the projection, one hand moving quickly—sliding, enlarging, and rotating specific sections of the armor.
"The desert version—Mark I—was built for survival. Heavy, crude, but functional," he continued. "This one… I'm not just trying to survive anymore."
He pointed at the internal frame.
"I want control. Faster response time. Terrain adaptability. And… yeah—lighter without sacrificing durability."
He glanced briefly at Kuro.
"…In short, evolution."
A brief silence followed.
Behind him, Kuro finished the last bite of pizza, then took a bottle of alcohol from the bag. He opened the cap effortlessly and took a small drink.
His eyes narrowed slightly, as if considering something.
"Tony-san," he finally said, his tone still casual, "…I have a few ideas."
He lowered the bottle a little.
"Want to hear them?"
Tony stopped.
The hand that had been moving through the air… came to a halt as well.
Slowly, he turned.
Looking directly at Kuro.
A few seconds passed.
Silent.
Then—that smile appeared again.
Not just casual.
But clearly… interested.
"…You know," he said quietly, "I don't usually take advice from people who suddenly show up carrying weird pizza and alcohol."
He stepped a little closer.
His gaze was sharper now.
More focused.
"…But then again, you're not exactly 'usual.'"
A brief pause.
He crossed his arms.
"So yeah," he continued lightly, "I'm about to do something I rarely ever do."
He leaned forward slightly.
"…I'm going to shut up and listen."
A faint smile.
"But if your ideas are terrible…"
He raised an eyebrow.
"…I'm blaming the pineapple."
Kuro let out a light laugh.
"Hey… Mr. Billionaire," he said casually. "Don't blame the innocent pineapple pizza."
Almost at the same time, he set the bottle of alcohol on the table, then pulled out a golden cube from the Gate of Babylon—its surface covered in red lines resembling magical circuits, pulsing faintly.
The Mystic Code was one of the treasures from the Age of Gods that Kuro had obtained through the Check-in system.
He placed the cube on the workbench.
Kuro turned toward Tony Stark.
In an instant—his eyes changed.
The Sharingan activated.
"Resurrection."
The magical circuits lit up.
"Analyze Structure…"
The world seemed to stop for a moment.
For Kuro, this was no longer a process of analysis.
It was instant reading.
Tony's biological structure, heartbeat rhythm, body heat distribution, even the subtle interaction between the Arc Reactor and his nervous system—all of it was laid bare in a single glance.
Combined with the still-active Histeria Mode, his mind moved far beyond ordinary limits.
Calculations.
Simulations.
Corrections.
Everything flowed in a nearly seamless stream.
A blueprint formed.
Perfect.
Without hesitation, Kuro raised his right hand above the golden cube.
"Transfer."
A fraction of a second pause.
"…Activate the Mystic Code."
____
Author's note:
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Sorry, I entered the wrong chapter earlier 😅