Coulson's Visit

"The shop is not open for business at the moment, and I can't confirm the specifics yet, but according to the registration and filing information, it's something like Puppet doll."

"Once the shop opens, we'll buy some, take them apart, and study them. Since it's an outpost of a supernatural force, the things they provide will definitely not be the same as ordinary Puppet toys."

"Just like Charlotte's Agency, some of their services involve the extraordinary."

Upon hearing Nick Fury's order, Coulson nodded and said, "Yes, sir."

"Keep a close eye on them, and report any developments immediately."

"Yes!"

Watching Coulson leave the office, Nick Fury stroked his chin, thinking to himself: The ninjas, this extraordinary force, are even more mysterious than I thought.

Through their communication with the Skrulls, they learned what Asgard was, and what All-Father Odin and Thor were, but they knew nothing about the ninjas behind Charlotte.

Neither the Senju nor the Uchiha Clan had ever been heard of, but the fact that the other party had such a clear understanding of Asgard clearly indicated that they were no ordinary person.

As for the ninjas and the location of Hidden Leaf Village, Nick Fury still had no clue whatsoever; their appearance was so sudden and without any trace.

This led Nick Fury to wonder if ninjas, like the Norse gods, weren't on Earth but on another planet, arriving through Bifrost Sphere- like technology or superpowers.

However, judging from the other party's appearance and the information they possessed, they didn't seem to be aliens, but rather a local force. Moreover, he gradually discovered that humans on Earth were not so simple after all.

The presence of Mage also led them to Liu Haoran, an Asian man who had awakened the ability to control fire, making them realize that humanity itself is not simple.

Looking at the globe on the table in front of him, Nick Fury turned it once, then muttered, "Where are you hiding?"

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Three more days passed in the blink of an eye.

The Sunagakure Puppet Shop, located near the Brooklyn Bridge, officially Gate of Opening business. There were no celebrations, no invitations, and not even Charlotte made a special trip.

The opening of this shop seemed unusually quiet; apart from the other merchants on the same street learning that they had a new competitor selling Puppet toys, they didn't learn much else about it.

Temari was sitting at the front desk, but her eyes were fixed on the computer screen. She was surfing the internet, looking at the latest trending news.

<Iron Man Tony Stark suddenly appears at the scene of a bank robbery, successfully killing three armed robbers and protecting the property of the general public.>

<The Agency of Charlotte Doyle, the God of Ninjas, was restored to its original state overnight after being bombed. Was it the magic of the ninjas or a deception of the eyes?>

What is the government hiding? Is Charlotte Doyle a product of an experiment, or...?

Looking at these three posts, Temari refreshed the page, and the content of the last two posts that were clicked on instantly showed a 404 error, while the original hot topic position was replaced by other news.

Just as Temari was wondering if she could still find the content in the post, the shop door was pushed open, triggering the wind chimes on the door, indicating that a customer had arrived.

Upon seeing that guests had arrived, Temari looked up from her computer and towards the entrance.

Coulson pushed open the door and walked in, glancing thoughtfully at the various Puppet and dolls displayed in the room. On the surface, this really was a Puppet Shop.

Approaching the front desk, Coulson looked at Temari sitting inside and flashed his signature smile, saying, "It's been a long time, Ms. Temari."

Temari looked at the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in front of her and said, "Agent, is there anything I can help you with?"

Coulson glanced around before saying, "Congratulations on opening your shop. I brought two flower baskets, which I've placed at the entrance."

Temari said calmly, "Thank you!"

After looking around, Coulson didn't see Kankuro or Gaara, who were mentioned in the intelligence report, so he said, "Would it be convenient for us to talk?"

"I have many things I'd like to consult with you about."

Seeing that it was exactly as Lord Charlotte had predicted, Temari smiled and said:

"We don't offer mission commissions here; it's just a Puppet shop."

Temari took a Puppet doll that was only 10 centimeters in size from the counter behind her, placed it on the front desk, and then said:

"A Puppet doll costs 50 Energy Block, but I can chat with you for a minute."

Looking at the Puppet doll in front of him, Coulson picked it up and indeed found that the small doll had quite a few mechanisms, making it look very high-end and exquisite.

However, what Coulson cared about more was that he could talk to the other person for a minute and who knew how much information he could get out of that minute.

After a moment's hesitation, Coulson said, "Let's talk for a minute then, but this spot isn't really suitable for conversation."

Temari led Coulson to a Sofa Area and sat him down. She then took out a timer and said, "I'm going to start the timer now. I wonder what Agent Coulson wants to talk about."

Looking at the timer Temari had placed on the table, Coulson thought for a moment and then said, "I'm very interested in the history of ninjas. Could you explain it to me, Ms. Temari?"

However, Coulson knew that the best way to understand a power, especially a supernatural one, was to learn about its history, which would provide a comprehensive understanding and allow him to grasp more information.

Upon hearing Coulson's question, Temari curled up slightly. Understanding ninja history would take days and nights to explain; she wondered how many minutes he would ultimately want to hear.

"In the past, ninjas were passed down through families, and conflicts between them also took place within the family structure."

"In the struggle for resources, family-based battles for land began."

"Many young children, as young as four or five, would go to the battlefield, sometimes even fighting against adult ninjas. It is said that it was a very cruel era."

"Many ninja clans either rose to prominence or perished during that era."

Temari by recounting the history of the Sunagakure before its founding, giving Coulson a brief account of the history before the establishment of the One Minute Ninja Village.

In other words, Temari is the daughter of the Kazekage, and only by reading a lot of historical materials can one explain this very clearly. If Naruto were to ask Coulson, he would probably only get nowhere.

However, a minute is a very short time. Temari maintained a steady pace of speech, neither too fast nor too slow, and stopped after only a few sentences.

Seeing that Temari had stopped, Coulson also realized that time was up. In that minute, Coulson learned that before the Hidden Village, ninjas did not mainly develop in the form of clans, but rather in the form of hidden villages.

However, not much of the key information was obtained.

Coulson said, "Get me a Puppet."

Temari and said, "Sir, you haven't paid the bill for your first Puppet yet."

"We'll settle the bill together later. I've worked with Mr. Charlotte many times before, trust me, he won't renege on the payment."

Temari and said, "It's alright, I believe in you."

"At worst, we can just come and collect the debt later."

Upon hearing Temari mention coming to collect the debt, Coulson gave an awkward laugh. If the Sunagakure ninjas really came to collect the debt, who knew what kind of commotion it would cause? He feared that the Energy Block wouldn't be able to handle it.

Fortunately, Coulson didn't intend to renege on his debt.

"Shall we listen to the history of the ninjas again?"

Coulson thought for a moment, then asked, "Why did ninjas transition from the era of clans to the era of hidden villages?"

Hearing that the other party did not let her continue, Temari did not mind, and instead said, "During the clan era, the most powerful clans were the Uchiha Clan and Senju Clan."

"But for some unknown reason, the current heads of the Senju Clan and Uchiha Clan, who had been constantly at war with each other, suddenly shook hands and made peace, and established Konohagakure."

"With the joint establishment of Konoha by the two major clans, their affiliated clans also joined in, creating a powerful Hidden Leaf Village."

"Seeing the power of establishing a ninja village, ninja clans from other regions also united and formed other ninja villages."

"As everyone followed suit, the era of clan-based organizations came to an end, and ninjas entered the era of ninja villages."

However, before Temari could say more about the differences between the ninja village era and the clan era, another minute had passed.

Listening to Temari's explanation, Coulson keenly grasped two key points. The first was that among ninjas, the Senju and Uchiha were the two most powerful clans.

This matches the information Charlotte provided about the founding clan of Hidden Leaf Village, except that they are not only the founding clan of Konoha, but also two of the most powerful clans among ninjas.

Thinking of the boy named Sasuke Uchiha appeared next to Charlotte, and Tsunade Senju, who had terrifying strength and drove Tsunade Hulk, these two were from these two clans.

The second key point is that the ninja community was not limited to just the two hidden villages of Hidden Leaf Village and Sunagakure; there were probably multiple hidden villages.

Coulson didn't know exactly how many ninjas there were, but it seemed to be much more than he had imagined. After all, to establish so many hidden villages, a small number of people couldn't possibly do it.

Seeing that Temari had stopped explaining, Coulson asked for a Puppet.

However, this time the topic wasn't about history, but rather about population.

"How many ninjas are there in all the ninja villages combined?"

Upon hearing Coulson's question, Temari stared at him for a moment, then shook her head and said, "I don't know?"

When Temari said she didn't know, Coulson frowned slightly.

At this point, Temari retorted, "Do you know how many secret agents there are in the world?"

Temari's question startled Coulson: "How many secret agents are there in the world?"

Let alone the global S.H.I.E.L.D., Coulson didn't even know how many agents S. H. I. E. L. D. had; he didn't have the authority to know that clearly.

Realizing he'd asked a really stupid question, Coulson immediately followed up, "You must know how many ninja villages there are, right?"

"You might not know the answer to this question if you ask others. After all, quite a few ninja villages have been established. Some of them are small villages with few people and weak strength, while others have more ninja clans and are stronger."

"All things considered, there are approximately 26 ninja villages in total."

Upon hearing the number, Coulson visibly paused, muttering, "26."

He never imagined there would be so many ninja villages. He had previously thought there might only be a few, but there were actually so many.

Since it's called a ninja village rather than a ninja country, the population must not be too large. Even if each village has tens of thousands of people, twenty-six villages together would have hundreds of thousands or even millions of ninjas.

If a village has a population of several hundred thousand, like a small town, then the total population would be even more staggering.

Whether it's a million or tens of millions of people, the population may not seem like much, and it's even less significant compared to the global population of billions. However, these millions or tens of millions of people are not ordinary people on Earth, but powerful Superhuman whose minimum standard is Genin.

Given this level of quality, the sheer size of the population becomes terrifying.

Yes, 26.

"Based on the information I have, there are this many, but we can't rule out the possibility of some ninja villages that weren't recorded."

However, Temari knew that Lord Charlotte could summon ninjas from the Ninja World through the River of Time, and that ninjas from villages that had been established and then destroyed might appear here.

The number you state will only be less, not more.

Coulson's mind was racing. After learning about so many ninja villages, Coulson hesitated for a moment before asking, "What level of ninja villages are the Sand Ninja Village and the Konoha Village?"

"The Five Great Shinobi Villages villages are Konoha and Sunagakure."

Upon hearing Temari's answer, Coulson pondered, "The Five Great Shinobi Villages? What's the difference between them and the Five Great Nations or the P5 on Earth?"

"Could it be a product of a system?" Coulson was surprised by his own thought.

Just as Coulson was still pondering, Temari up. "Time's up."

Seeing Temari about to get up, Coulson remembered the main purpose of his visit and said, "Another Puppet toy, please."

Temari sat down and smiled, "No problem, guest."

Coulson organized his thoughts, then said seriously, "Could S.H.I.E.L.D.. reach a cooperation agreement with the Sunagakure?"

"You can make any requests from the Sunagakure, and we will try our best to grant them."

"If I can't make the decision, we can go back and negotiate."

"Since you have come into existence, you must have your own needs, and S.H.I.E.L.D..'s requirements are not high; cooperating with you is sufficient."

Upon hearing Coulson's request, Temari considered it for a moment before replying, "You can't afford this price."

"There aren't many things that interest us. The matrix for creating Energy Block is what we need, or if you can find something similar, that's worth discussing."

Hearing that Sand Ninja was also interested in the Tesseract, Coulson was somewhat helpless. As for items similar to the Tesseract, Coulson shook his head helplessly.

Although S.H.I.E.L.D.. Warehouse many strange items, some bases even launch highly dangerous items Rocket into space, towards the sun, for destruction.

However, S.H.I.E.L.D.. would be even less willing to part with a mysterious item on par with the Tesseract in exchange for cooperation.

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