Leaning back in his chair, Nick Fury contemplated how to allocate the five physical enhancement serums.
Based on previous data from injections, the enhancement serums from the Charles Agency were about ten percent more potent than those from the Sunagakure Puppet Shop, resulting in significantly stronger agents.
Out of the five enhancement serums, two were designated for laboratory research, leaving three for direct use. Considering the candidates, Nick Fury thought of Phil Coulson, who was still recovering on Tahiti Island.
Fury had high regard for Coulson, who had contributed significantly to S.H.I.E.L.D. over the years. As a field agent, Coulson could benefit from a strength boost.
Recalling Coulson's efforts during the Battle of New York, Fury decided to include him in the list of enhancement recipients, provided Coulson woke up from his treatment.
If not, Fury would have to abandon this plan.
With the first name confirmed, Fury turned his attention to the second potential recipient. He considered himself but quickly dismissed the idea.
Despite the enhancement serums having no side effects, as S.H.I.E.L.D. Director, he rarely participated in field operations, and his use of an enhancement serum wouldn't significantly boost S.H.I.E.L.D.'s overall strength.
At that moment, the office door was knocked. Fury pressed a button on his desk, and the door opened automatically. Hill entered, carrying a file, and approached Fury.
"We've gathered the information you requested on the target," Hill said, handing the file to Fury.
Fury opened the file and saw two photographs: one of Venom in his transformed state and the other of Eddie Brock.
Hill began her briefing: "The target is Eddie Brock, also known as Venom in his transformed state. Eddie is a well-known journalist, formerly with the Daily Planet. He lost his job and was blacklisted after interviewing the head of the Life Foundation in San Francisco."
"However, leveraging his connection with Charles Doyle, Eddie secured a job at one of Charles's media companies."
"Soon after Eddie joined, the Life Foundation was targeted by Ginny and her team of stock manipulators."
"Coincidentally, the Foundation's rocket launch failed, resulting in an explosion at the launch site. The company was then exposed for numerous unethical practices, including experimenting on homeless people."
"The stock price collapsed, and the Foundation was disbanded, with its assets sold off and restructured."
Fury chuckled, "Charles Doyle seems to have a knack for picking a good secretary. Another significant acquisition for him."
"Has the target joined the Charles Agency? Does Charles Doyle know about his abilities?"
Hill responded, "We aren't sure if Eddie has joined the Charles Agency, nor do we know if Charles is aware of his abilities."
"However, our analysts estimate a 63% probability that Charles is unaware of Eddie's powers. If he knew, he likely would have recruited Eddie into the organization instead of letting him remain a journalist."
"As for his personality, Eddie has a strong sense of justice but doesn't strictly follow the law. At night, he transforms into a superhero to fight crime, although he sometimes eats his opponents' brains."
"Eat brains?" Fury asked, surprised. "How does he do that?"
"He can consume an enemy's head in one bite when transformed," Hill explained.
Fury frowned. "Is this some sort of peculiar habit, or is he not human? Has he undergone some mutation?"
"Has he attacked civilians?" Fury inquired.
"No, his targets are always criminals. Even some of Charles Doyle's underground gang members have fallen to him."
"Two Continental Hotel assassins were also killed by him. This is why we believe there's a 63% chance he's not under Charles Doyle's control."
Fury nodded. "Taking down criminals, I see. His sense of justice explains it, though killing enemies like that is still excessive."
After a moment's thought, Fury continued, "Send Barton to contact him and see if we can recruit him into S.H.I.E.L.D. If he is part of the Charles Agency, we'll drop it."
Kabuto's actions made Fury cautious about bringing any more of Charles's people into S.H.I.E.L.D. If Kabuto had known the location of the 084 storage, Fury feared he might have led an attack with other ninjas.
Hill nodded, "Understood, Director."
As Hill turned to leave, Fury asked, "Hill, what's your take on becoming a superhuman?"
Hill considered this before replying, "I'll follow the organization's directives."
Fury nodded. "Got it. You may go. Inform Barton to come over."
"Yes, sir!"
With Hill gone, Fury added Maria Hill's name to the list for the enhancement serum injection. For the final candidate, Fury decided to keep the spot open as a reward to motivate S.H.I.E.L.D. agents until the substance of the serum was fully decrypted.
Satisfied with this plan, Fury soon heard another knock on the door. Barton entered the office.
"Director, you needed me?"
Handing Barton the file, Fury instructed, "This is your target's intel. Make contact and see if we can recruit him into S.H.I.E.L.D. Confirm whether he's with the Charles Agency. If he's not, bring him in. Otherwise, drop it."
After quickly reviewing the intel, Barton replied, "Understood, Director!"
…
On the Other Side-
In his room, Charles was once again setting up his prayer ritual items. It had been a month since he last successfully received a blessing.
He hoped this time wouldn't be disappointing. If the blessings were too far apart, he would forgo waiting and instead rely on direct spending for recruitments.
After finishing his prayer, Charles waited for that familiar feeling of divine favor to wash over him. When he felt the blessing settle upon him, he sighed in relief. It seemed that blessings could indeed be obtained on a monthly basis.
Without wasting any time, Charles immediately entered the system space. Once inside, he navigated to the recruitment interface and initiated the ninja recruitment process.
"Ninja Recruitment, ten consecutive draws, start!"
An emblem of the Land of Whirlpools appeared, glowing with a unique light. After a flash of light, the recruitment results appeared before Charles Doyle.
The first ten draws under the blessing buff yielded:
- 5 guaranteed fragments of S-rank ninja Orochimaru
- 4 fragments of A-rank ninja Konan
- 6 B-rank ninja fragments
- 4 C-rank ninja fragments
The second ten draws under the blessing buff yielded:
- 5 guaranteed fragments of S-rank ninja Orochimaru
- 4 fragments of A-rank ninja Zetsu
- 6 B-rank ninja fragments
- 4 C-rank ninja fragments
The third ten draws under the blessing buff yielded:
- 4 guaranteed fragments of S-rank ninja Orochimaru
- 4 fragments of A-rank ninja Zetsu
- 4 B-rank ninja fragments
- 5 C-rank ninja fragments
The fourth ten draws under the blessing buff yielded:
- 5 guaranteed fragments of S-rank ninja Orochimaru
- 4 fragments of A-rank ninja Konan
- 4 B-rank ninja fragments
- 5 C-rank ninja fragments
The fifth ten draws under the blessing buff yielded:
- 6 guaranteed fragments of S-rank ninja Orochimaru
- 6 B-rank ninja fragments
- 5 C-rank ninja fragments
With the blessing now expired, Charles knew there was no rush. He decided to take his time and review the results of the fifty consecutive draws under the blessing to see if he had enough fragments for new B-rank and C-rank ninjas.
As for S-rank and A-rank ninjas, he didn't hold much hope for now.
Charles began tallying the results of the five ten-draw recruitments under the blessing, counting the fragments of each ninja obtained:
- S-rank: Orochimaru recruited 9 times, yielding a total of 25 fragments.
- A-rank: Konan recruited 2 times, yielding a total of 8 fragments; Zetsu recruited 2 times, yielding a total of 8 fragments.
- B-rank: Shippuden Naruto Uzumaki 3 times, yielding a total of 6 fragments; Shippuden Sakura Haruno 1 time, yielding a total of 2 fragments; Shippuden Sasuke Uchiha 3 times, yielding a total of 6 fragments; Shippuden Hinata Hyuga 2 times, yielding a total of 4 fragments; Shippuden Neji Hyuga 3 times, yielding a total of 6 fragments; Guren 4 times, yielding a total of 8 fragments.
- C-rank: Hanabi Hyuga 1 time, yielding a total of 1 fragment; Young Killer Bee 4 times, yielding a total of 4 fragments; Ino Yamanaka 1 time, yielding a total of 1 fragment; Ninja Academy Naruto Uzumaki 1 time, yielding a total of 1 fragment; Karui 1 time, yielding a total of 1 fragment; Hayate Gekko 3 times, yielding a total of 3 fragments; Shino Aburame 1 time, yielding a total of 1 fragment; Kotetsu Hagane 2 times, yielding a total of 2 fragments; Naruto Uzumaki 3 times, yielding a total of 3 fragments; Sakura Haruno 1 time, yielding a total of 1 fragment; Iruka Umino 1 time, yielding a total of 1 fragment; Shizune 2 times, yielding a total of 2 fragments; Sasuke Uchiha 1 time, yielding a total of 1 fragment; Tenten 1 time, yielding a total of 1 fragment.
After reviewing all the information, Charles felt somewhat disappointed with the results.
Although the blessing was effective, it wasn't as fruitful as the last time, with a noticeable decline in overall quality.
He wondered if this was due to the timing of the prayer or because the rewards were higher when the recruitment pool was first updated.
Currently, Orochimaru's fragments were just over half complete, while Konan and Zetsu still required 12 fragments each for recruitment.
However, Shizune had reached the star upgrade threshold, and he had enough fragments to recruit the Cloud Ninja Karui, which was some consolation.
With the blessing over, Charles decided to hold off on further recruitment until the next month's blessing. He then opened the ninja panel to check on the two new avatars: Shizune and Karui.
Opening Karui's avatar, her details came into view.
C-rank Ninja: Karui
Fragments: 10/10
Recruit?
Recruit!
Ding! Congratulations to Charles Doyle for successfully recruiting one-star C-rank ninja Karui.
The next moment, a scene appeared before Charles, showing Karui wearing her Cloud Village headband and holding a ninja sword in an attack stance.
Opening the ninja details, Charles first confirmed her skills.
Karui: C-rank Ninja
Star Level: One Star
- Basic Attack: Uses a ninja sword to slash at enemies!
- Substitution Jutsu: Wood Substitute!
- Skills: Lightning Release: Thunder Slash, Shadow Lightning Thrust, Cloud Flow Swift Slash.
Lightning Release: Thunder Slash: Releases an electrical current forward, then instantly appears beside the enemy for a powerful strike. (Note: Can create lightning traps to attack enemies.)
Shadow Lightning Thrust: Uses lightning power to dash forward quickly, then delivers two slashes to the enemy.
Cloud Flow Swift Slash: Summons lightning power to attack surrounding enemies, followed by three powerful consecutive slashes.
Satisfied with Karui's three skills—lightning-style ninjutsu combined with swordsmanship—Charles nodded approvingly.
Charles was quite pleased with Karui as a C-rank ninja. A Chunin from the Cloud Village and one of Killer Bee's disciples, a C-rank ninja with Chunin-level strength was quite good.
With another Cloud ninja added to his roster, Charles could look forward to the emergence of the Cloud Village once he recruited young Killer Bee.
Claiming the ninja, Charles's chakra reserves increased by 1 card, reaching a total of 356 cards. Karui's knowledge of ninjutsu was also transmitted to him.
###
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