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Chapter 355: Kankuro's Visit
🕑 Added 2024-01-31 20:27:59 +0000 UTCAs Coulson saw that there was no inclination for cooperation from the Hidden Sand Village, and the demands were as high as Charles, he immediately changed the topic.
"I want to visit the Hidden Sand Village. What qualifications do I need for that?"
Seeing that a deeper cooperation was unlikely, Coulson shifted his focus to the Hidden Sand Village, hoping to gain information about their location by obtaining the privilege to visit in person.
Hearing Coulson's question, Temari narrowed her eyes and smiled, "Visiting the Hidden Sand Village is possible, as long as you're willing to give me the Tesseract. I can try to persuade my father to accept your visit."
Coulson, surprised by the mention of a father, inquired, "Your father?"
However, Temari didn't answer Coulson's question. Instead, she pointed to the stopwatch on the table, saying, "Time's up."
Coulson looked to where Temari was pointing and realized that another minute had passed.
"Bring another puppet doll."
In just four minutes, Coulson had spent 200 energy blocks. Still, to confirm this information, the expense was worthwhile.
Temari effortlessly used a chakra thread to pull another puppet doll from the counter to the table.
Although Temari was more proficient in Wind Release, handling a chakra thread to bring the puppet doll posed no problem.
Seeing Temari's skill, Coulson discreetly stored this observation in his mind for future analysis.
After placing the puppet doll on the table, Temari spoke, "My father is the Fourth Kazekage of the Hidden Sand Village - Rasa."
"Kazekage?"
"Yes, the leader of the Hidden Sand Village is called the Kazekage."
"Then is the leader of the Hidden Leaf Village called the Mokage?"
At first, Coulson thought the leader would be called the Village Chief, but it turned out to be Kazekage.
Upon hearing Coulson's words, Temari burst into laughter.
"Haha!"
Hearing her laughter, Coulson was somewhat puzzled. Nevertheless, he asked, "Did I say something wrong?"
"The leader of the Hidden Leaf Village is not called the Mokage, but is known as the Hokage."
Coulson, wanting to delve into the topic further, asked, "Does every village leader have the title 'Kage'?"
"Not every village leader can be called 'Kage,' even if their strength is at the Kage level or even surpasses the average Kage. Only the leaders of the Five Great Hidden Villages can bear the title 'Kage.'"
"What are the Five Great Hidden Villages?"
"The Hidden Sand Village, the Hidden Leaf Village, the Hidden Mist Village, the Hidden Stone Village, and the Hidden Cloud Village."
A minute passed quickly. With just a few questions, Coulson had used up all the energy blocks he brought today.
However, for Coulson, he didn't feel at a loss. In four minutes, he managed to obtain many information compared to the number of energy blocks he brought.
If it were at Charles agency, he might have had to expend much more to acquire these details.
He even suspected that for each ninja village's name he mentioned, Charles would charge him 50 energy blocks.
"Thank you very much, Miss Temari, for the explanation. I can only buy four puppet dolls with the energy blocks I brought today. I hope to buy more next time."
After that, Coulson tapped his Bluetooth earpiece. In a few minutes, two SHIELD agents entered, placing four boxes on the floor. Coulson instructed them to put away the four puppet dolls.
Once the table was cleared, Coulson placed the suitcases on the table and opened them one by one, revealing the energy blocks inside.
"200 energy blocks, all here. Take a look."
Temari glanced at the energy blocks and confirmed that the quantity was correct. She nodded.
"No issues with the quantity."
"Then I'll take my leave."
Coulson left the puppet shop with the two SHIELD agents. As he walked out, he glanced at the shop's sign, realizing he forgot to ask about the true use of the puppets.
He believed that the puppet shop run by the daughter of the Kazekage should have a deeper significance. He hoped to gather more information from the four puppets or inquire during the next visit.
"Get in the car!"
Coulson commanded, and with the two SHIELD agents, he boarded the Chevrolet SUV parked at the entrance, heading towards the Triskelion.
Inside the puppet shop, Temari looked at the energy blocks. After closing the suitcase, she used her summoning beast to transport them to the summoning world. They would be delivered to Charles later.
As for notifying Charles through phone or internet, Temari refrained from doing so due to concerns about SHIELD's phone surveillance. Revealing the transfer of energy blocks to Charles might raise suspicions about their identities and the authenticity of the ninja history.
These precautions were part of Charles's instructions before leaving the base.
…
On the other side-
Gaara wandered aimlessly through the streets of Brooklyn, attracting attention with his peculiar attire. Despite the strange looks, he found it refreshing that people's gazes held curiosity rather than fear.
In the Sand Village, every villager would cast fearful looks at him.
However, in this new world, whether it was the ninjas from Charles's side or the people of this world, their gazes towards him contained neither hatred nor fear. Gaara cherished this new experience.
At this moment, a street performer dressed as a clown approached Gaara. Holding a cute nitrogen balloon in hand, the clown presented a Mickey Mouse-shaped balloon to Gaara.
Looking at the man in peculiar attire in front of him, Gaara was momentarily puzzled, then asked slowly, "Is this for me?"
The clown-dressed man didn't speak but revealed a smile on his face, nodding happily.
Observing the man's behavior, Gaara understood and extended his palm to receive the white rope handed to him, glancing at the Mickey Mouse balloon floating in the air.
"Thank you!"
The clown slightly bowed in response and then happily hopped away, presenting nitrogen balloons as gifts to children he encountered along the way.
Gaara turned to glance at the departing clown, revealing a faint smile on his face.
Just as he was about to turn away, several thugs dressed in black rushed out from a nearby alley, swiftly dragging the clown into the alley and pushing him to the ground.
In the moment the clown fell, the balloons in his hands slipped away, soaring into the sky.
The three thugs, upon seeing the clown tumble, burst into laughter.
"Ha ha ha ha!"
As the clown struggled to get up, one of the relatively slender thugs picked up a wooden-framed signboard from a nearby trash bin and smashed it onto the clown's head.
Upon impact, the cardboard in the middle of the frame shattered, and the frame ended up around the clown's neck.
The three thugs became even more brazen and cruel, laughing mockingly at the fallen clown.
Witnessing this, Gaara stopped in his tracks. The smile on his face vanished, and a wave of killing intent slowly emanated from him.
Startled by the sudden change, even the peaceful pigeons in the square, which were being fed, took flight, fleeing the area.
The onlookers in the square were bewildered as they saw all the pigeons suddenly take off.
Gaara turned completely and walked towards the alley where the clown had been pushed. He soon arrived at the entrance.
Upon seeing Gaara's appearance and attire, the three thugs thought he was another street performer. The burliest among them, Mo, crossed his arms, moving his fingers and making a creaking sound.
"Kid, come over here, let us entertain you."
The clown quickly shouted, "This has nothing to do with him; I don't know him. He's just a child!"
Then he yelled at Gaara, "Run!"
Seeing the man daring to resist and potentially spoil their fun, the three thugs revealed malicious grins.
Gaara looked at the anxious clown and the three menacing thugs. Indifferently, he said, "Scum."
With a wave of his hand, countless grains of sand shot out.
"Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!"
The sand grains pierced through the bodies of the three thugs, carrying enough kinetic energy to send them flying. The clown, surrounded by the thugs, didn't suffer any harm.
"Bang, bang, bang!"
After being flung into the air and tumbling upon landing, the three thugs crashed into the wall and fell silent without any signs of life.
At this moment, the clown-dressed man, looked at Gaara in disbelief and opened his mouth wide as he eventually fixed his gaze on the forehead protector around Gaara's waist.
It seemed somewhat familiar, resembling the one worn by the Ninja Immortal, Charles, though there were some differences.
"Thank you, thank you! Are you a ninja, sir?" Gaara walked up to the clown and returned the Mickey Mouse balloon to him, then spoke, "Hurry and leave; this place is not safe."
Taking the balloon from Gaara, the clown removed the wooden frame from his neck and expressed gratitude, "Thank you for your help, Mr. Ninja."
"Can you tell me your name?"
In the clown's eyes filled with gratitude, there was a slight tremor in his voice, but no fear.
"I am Gaara of the Sunagakure!"
After saying these words, Gaara didn't linger and walked away.
Gaara glanced at the sky. This world was not as beautiful as he had imagined; there were still scum around here as well.
…
On the other side-
Kankuro, with his puppets, arrived at Tony Stark's beachfront villa in a taxi. Before the visit, Kankuro had obtained Tony's phone number from Charles and had coordinated the visit time with him.
After getting off the taxi, Kankuro arrived at Tony's villa door and rang the doorbell.
At this moment, Tony, currently tuning his new armor in the underground villa, realized the arrival of Kankuro.
"Mr. Kankuro is here for a visit, already at the door," Jarvis informed.
The video from the outside surveillance was projected in front of Tony. After a glance at Kankuro on the monitor, Tony instructed Jarvis, "Open the gate and let our ninja friend wait in the living room."
Looking at Parker lying on the ground, Tony asked, "Parker, why does Kankuro's ninja forehead protector differ from yours?"
"It's because he is a ninja from the Hidden Sand Village, while I am from the Hidden Leaf Village. Each ninja village has different forehead protectors," Parker explained as he stood up, stretched lazily, and shook off some hair.
"Ninjas are also affiliated with different organizations?"
"Ninjas belong to different ninja villages, and each ninja village has its own forehead protector design. You'll see more of them from different villages in the future."
Tony put down the equipment in his hand and said, "Let's go, Parker. Let's meet our ninja friend together."
Following behind Tony, Parker ascended from the underground lab, and together, they entered the living room to meet Kankuro.
Observing Kankuro's attire and the paint on his face, Tony curiously asked, "What's the significance of these markings on your face?"
Pointing to the oil-based paint patterns on his face, Kankuro explained, "In our tradition, these oil-based patterns represent a crow."
"One of my puppets is named Crow."
As Kankuro spoke, he patted the puppet tied with bandages behind him, indicating that the Crow was this guy.
After listening to Kankuro's explanation, Tony understood that this was the other party's custom, so he didn't say anything more on this issue.
Seated on the sofa, Tony crossed his legs and looked at Kankuro, then spoke, "Charles mentioned that your puppet techniques are impressive, with many unique features."
