Entering the Base

Transformation Technique!

After briefly clearing away the traces, Li Chuan formed hand seals with both hands. With a poof, he changed from the young driver back into the pot-bellied Hades.

"Sometimes, these supportive ninja techniques are even more useful than offensive ones."

Driving Hades's red sedan, he could not help but sigh inwardly.

Although the Transformation Technique was merely an E-rank ninja technique that every beginner knew, it was exceptionally useful in the Marvel World, where no one could detect Chakra.

Without the Transformation Technique, he could never have so easily tied Hades up and interrogated him in the outskirts without leaving any traces behind.

Whether he acted personally or sent his subordinates, there were cameras everywhere in the city. It was inevitable that they would leave behind traces.

Once everything was over, anyone who investigated carefully could very likely trace those clues back to his company and himself.

More importantly, even with Chakra enhancing him and having learned some offensive ninja techniques, it would still be basically impossible for him to storm the Hydra Base alone and rescue Dr. Smith.

Not to mention killing Baron Strucker and destroying the entire Hydra Base.

At this point, the Hydra Base had yet to obtain the Mind Stone Scepter, nor had it developed any high-tech energy defenses through research on the Mind Stone and the Chitauri spacecraft.

Yet even ordinary guns and cannons were considerably more powerful than D-rank ninja techniques like the fireballs he could release.

So a direct confrontation offered absolutely no chance. Only by infiltrating the base and taking advantage of his superior individual strength could he possibly complete all three missions and escape unscathed.

And without having learned the Transformation Technique, infiltrating the Hydra Base, which was protected from every angle by all kinds of surveillance equipment, would likewise be hellishly difficult.

For now, his Transformation Technique was not particularly well-practiced due to time constraints.

If mastered properly, it could not only change his appearance into that of another person, but also transform him into other living creatures or even inanimate objects—a large rock, a vase, a weapon, and so on.

Of course, that did not mean he could transform into absolutely anything. There were corresponding limitations and precautions.

First, no matter what he transformed into, if he could not conceal his Chakra well, other ninja could see through it at a glance, especially sensory-type ninja.

This was much less of a problem in Marvel, because there were no ninja here.

Second, transforming into something did not mean he truly became that thing. For example, if he transformed into an Explosive Tag, he could not actually explode. Only the appearance would be the same.

Third, once attacked, it would be difficult to maintain stable Chakra, and he could easily revert to his original form. So transforming into a sword did not mean he could truly be wielded against a real sword, nor did transforming into a shield mean he could really block bullets.

However, if the Transformation Technique was trained to its limit, many even more powerful ninja techniques could be developed on that foundation.

For example, Akatsuki's Konan had developed Dance of the Shikigami, which transformed her body into countless sheets of paper to evade physical attacks, while Jiraiya used Frog Transformation Jutsu to forcibly turn enemies into frogs during interrogations.

Many advanced ninja techniques were actually developed from low-level ninja techniques.

All this knowledge related to the Transformation Technique had been taught to him by Chiriku at the Fire Temple.

"Mr. Hades, why are you here? Didn't you just deliver supplies last week?"

At the first line of defense outside the base, a squad of soldiers stopped Li Chuan's car. Their Captain was clearly familiar with Hades's vehicle and stepped forward to knock on the window.

Li Chuan took a deep breath. He did not know this squad leader.

Although he had extracted plenty of information from Hades, Hades was an old Hydra member who knew most of the people in the base. It was impossible for Li Chuan to match every one of them to an appearance based solely on descriptions.

Therefore, too much conversation along the way would make it easy for him to expose a flaw before meeting Baron Strucker.

So he forcefully pushed open the car door, then threw himself to the ground and said to the squad leader with a face full of anxiety and terror:

"Quick... take me to see the Baron. The Baron is in danger. There are... traitors in the base. He is... he..."

Before he could finish, his eyes closed and he fainted. Using a martial artist's control over his body, he lowered his heartbeat and breathing as much as possible.

The squad leader was clearly frightened by Li Chuan's performance.

"Mr. Hades! Mr. Hades!"

He bent down to check Li Chuan's breathing, then listened to his heartbeat before hurriedly shouting an order to his men:

"Quick, take Mr. Hades back to the base for treatment!"

Hades had said only one sentence before fainting, but if the information revealed in that sentence was true, it was far too terrifying. How could he dare neglect it? He immediately reported what had happened to his superiors.

Feeling himself being transported toward the base, Li Chuan, still pretending to be unconscious, secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

According to the intelligence Hades had provided, there were six checkpoints outside the Hydra Base.

Even if he had transformed into Hades and wanted to see Baron Strucker, since he was not entering at the usual time, he would inevitably be questioned repeatedly along the way.

By doing this, he could reasonably avoid inspections at every checkpoint and see his target as quickly as possible.

Who would be wary of an old Hydra member carrying no weapons, barely alive, and bearing important intelligence?

The only issue was that his acting just now might have been a little exaggerated. After all, he was not a professional actor. Fortunately, his body had cooperated well enough that they had not noticed anything.

Racing all the way there in a patrol jeep, Li Chuan passed through five checkpoints in succession. They stopped directly at the base entrance, where several medical personnel in white carried him inside on a stretcher.

Inside the base's medical room, Li Chuan was placed on a hospital bed. The scientists who normally conducted Hydra's human experiments had now become temporary doctors and were giving him a preliminary examination.

"Dr. List, how is Hades?"

Not long afterward, Baron Strucker, dressed in leather and wearing a monocle, arrived at the medical room with two subordinates.

Dr. List, the overall person in charge of all the base's experimental projects and its second-in-command, shook his head.

"It's strange. His body does not appear to be injured, but his heartbeat and breathing are extremely weak. He may have been attacked by some kind of special weapon or ability.

Next, I'll try using a defibrillator and see whether it can help restore his heartbeat!"

"You must save him."

Baron Strucker gave the order with a grave expression.

Under normal circumstances, it would not matter if Hades died. He was not an important figure, and there were plenty of people who could replace him after his death.

But things were different now. Until they figured out what Hades had said before fainting, they absolutely could not let him die.

Who had attacked Hades? What was the danger Hades had mentioned? And what was this traitor in the base about?