Dr. Banner had gradually come to accept the Hulk, and only then had he become one of the Avengers' major fighting forces.
During that process, he had transformed into the Hulk many times, and the Hulk had gone berserk on numerous occasions.
Especially at the beginning, when Dr. Banner transformed into the Hulk, he completely lost his mind and killed a considerable number of innocent people.
But did that stop him from becoming an Avenger?
Not at all.
Then there was Iron Man.
Shortly after Tony Stark made the Mark II, he learned that terrorists in the Middle East were using weapons he had designed and manufactured to harm civilians. He flew straight to the Middle East and wiped them all out.
But under the law, did Tony Stark have the right to kill them like that?
Even if the terrorists deserved to die, the law did not permit Tony Stark to take justice into his own hands and kill them.
But what happened to Tony Stark in the end?
He became Iron Man, admired by countless people, enjoying immense prestige and widespread fame.
So, in the eyes of the S.H.I.E.L.D. think tank, with such an unspoken privilege, Minato Namikaze had no need to lie at all.
In that case, what Minato Namikaze had said was naturally highly credible.
But "S.H.I.E.L.D.'s current situation doesn't seem very promising"?
What did that mean?
Nick Fury began to ponder.
S.H.I.E.L.D.'s operations were clearly flourishing, and superheroes were appearing on Earth one after another. It was just the time for S.H.I.E.L.D. to show what it could do.
Why had Konoha's intelligence network concluded that "S.H.I.E.L.D.'s situation is not promising"?
Nick Fury couldn't understand it, but his intuition told him it might be true, and that the situation was extremely important to both him and S.H.I.E.L.D.!
As the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., it was only natural that Nick Fury thought more about it than the others.
The others, however, didn't pay it nearly as much attention. They were all watching Wu Chen intently, eager to hear what he would say next.
After all, what such a powerful man had come to New York to do was what they truly needed to focus on!
Nick Fury set his thoughts aside and listened closely as well.
"How about this? Let me tell you a story."
"A long, long time ago, a God Tree that reached up to the heavens stood in the world. One day, the God Tree bore fruit, and the one who watched over it ate the fruit. She became the only deity, as well as the embodiment of the God Tree. She was the Rabbit Goddess!"
"Though the Rabbit Goddess had become a deity, she fell in love with a mortal and had two children with an emperor."
"But because she had become a deity, the Rabbit Goddess grew increasingly indifferent to human feelings, eventually becoming a cruel and evil god!"
"By then, the Rabbit Goddess's two children had also grown up and gained power no weaker than hers."
"To protect the people and the world, they fought a great battle with the Rabbit Goddess and ultimately sealed their own mother on the moon."
"For his outstanding achievements, the elder son was revered by later generations as the 'Sage of Six Paths'!"
"But the story didn't end there, because the God Tree went on a rampage."
"While the Rabbit Goddess was being sealed, the God Tree transformed into a terrifying beast with ten tails to protect and save her!"
"That beast was unimaginably powerful. Only the Sage of Six Paths could stop it!"
"To keep the powerful Ten-Tails from bringing disaster to the world, the Sage of Six Paths divided its power into nine parts, creating the Nine Tailed Beasts to weaken their power. He also raised the Nine Tailed Beasts to help humanity."
"However, things didn't go as he wished. Human desire is endless, and every Tailed Beast was harmed and betrayed more than once. Gradually, the Tailed Beasts began to see humans as enemies and grew fierce and brutal."
"Left with no choice, the Sage of Six Paths sealed the Nine Tailed Beasts in places across the world before he died, bringing peace to the world."
Having said so much in one breath, Wu Chen paused, giving Natasha and everyone at S.H.I.E.L.D. time to digest it.
With time short and the situation urgent, Wu Chen had no time to make up a new myth, so he had to adapt the history of the Hokage world he knew and feed it to the people of the Marvel Universe.
Naturally, he had revealed so much information to flesh out the worldview and make the people of S.H.I.E.L.D. believe what he was about to tell them.
Seeing that the shock on Natasha's face had faded a little, Wu Chen continued, "Originally, all nine seals were intact. But recently, the seal here in New York has loosened somewhat."
"The Sage of Six Paths was far more powerful than us mortals. Even after thousands or tens of thousands of years, his seal wouldn't loosen. So we suspect someone is secretly tampering with the seal, hoping to release the Tailed Beast into the world once more!"
"That is why the village sent me, the one most outstanding in taking action, to investigate."
"Now, you and S.H.I.E.L.D. behind you should understand why I came to New York!"
Wu Chen raised his eyes and fixed them on Natasha's. He seemed to be looking directly at her, yet also seemed to be looking through her at S.H.I.E.L.D.'s one-eyed, bald Nick Fury.
Nick Fury stared into Wu Chen's serious eyes, his expression growing grave as well.