Mastering chakra and returning

"Learning to use chakra feels great."

After returning to the Marvel Universe, Karn kept trying out ninjutsu. As an ordinary person who had just gained access to supernatural power, he could hardly avoid getting excited for a while.

Kakuzu's chakra reserves were indeed far beyond Xia Chuan's. While receiving Kakuzu's chakra, Karn felt as though he were drifting through an ocean of it. He could clearly sense chakra filling every pathway in his body, and for a moment, he felt as though he had become Superman.

Kakuzu also sustained the transfer for a long time. It took nearly an hour of his uninterrupted chakra supply before Karn successfully extracted chakra of his own.

Karn was originally from another world. Those in the Shinobi World who could extract chakra had been taught to use it by the Sage of Six Paths a thousand years ago. That energy had since become hereditary, which was why almost everyone in the Shinobi World could now extract chakra.

Karn, however, lacked that ability. Compared with the natives of the Shinobi World, he was like someone receiving chakra for the very first time, and his physical speed was no match for theirs either. After Karn extracted his chakra, Kakuzu narrowed his small green eyes and said that Karn's physique was too poor. Even with good talent, he could only become a Chunin.

Karn did not mind, though. Who would train step by step when they could travel between worlds?

After extracting his chakra, Karn asked Kakuzu to teach him ninjutsu for another two weeks and paid him five million ryo. Naturally, Kakuzu agreed, pleased with the offer. Making money here was much more satisfying than at the Underground Bounty Station.

After staying for a little over a month, Karn finally learned the Three Basic Techniques and the Shadow Clone Technique. He was not very proficient yet, but continued practice would fix that.

His chakra was still weak, however. He could only create one shadow clone, and it lasted half an hour at most. Although he was already an adult, his chakra reserves were only comparable to those of a ten-year-old Ninja Academy student-and an average one at that.

For Karn, that amount of chakra was more than enough in the Marvel Universe. As long as he did not have ten guns pointed at him or get involved with supernatural forces, no one would be able to track him down.

The Transformation Technique was Karn's best trump card for concealing his identity.

"The funds here will do for now, so there's no need to sell this batch of jewelry and gold yet. I'll keep the gold in storage and sell the jewelry once I find a new identity."

Karn's pharmaceutical wholesale trading company was gradually getting on track, while his biopharmaceutical company was still only an empty shell. He still had tens of millions of dollars on hand, along with some investments managed by Carl and shares in a private hospital.

After returning, Karn checked his email. Six or seven work reports had arrived while he was away. Everything else was routine, and he could deal with those matters once he went to the office. One email, however, caught his attention: the headhunting firm said they had contacted Professor Maya.

Upon learning this, Karn immediately sent an email to the address they had provided, inviting her to collaborate. His tone was sincere. Maya and Killian were worth that effort.

After sending the email, he drove to his pharmaceutical wholesale trading company.

By his calculations, Karn had been away from the Marvel Universe for less than two weeks, but the company had made good progress in developing overseas markets. Mexico had a huge demand for pharmaceuticals, and the United States currently had no ban on such sales. Their contacts were not public hospitals, but private groups.

Over those two weeks, the volume of pharmaceutical trade had tripled. According to the marketing department's research, however, those quantities fell far short of meeting demand in Mexico. Over the coming year, demand for pharmaceuticals there would continue to grow, and Karn's pharmaceutical wholesale trading company would capture the market.

What the pharmaceutical wholesale company needed now, however, was expansion. If Mexico offered such a large market, other regions would have purchasing power no weaker than Mexico's.

Asia, Australia, South America, and other regions all beckoned. The overseas sales team needed to expand rapidly. It currently had only seven people, and the company could afford to increase that number tenfold. If even a third of those seventy people successfully opened up a market, it would bring enormous profits to the pharmaceutical wholesale company.

After arriving at the office, Karn held separate meetings with staff from several departments. They agreed on their next plans and targets, and then he sent them off to work.

At the pharmaceutical wholesale company's current size, one assistant was enough for the time being. After another two rounds of expansion, however, Karn would have to hire another.

After dealing with the pharmaceutical company's affairs, Karn received Maya's reply. She said she was also in New York at the moment and suggested meeting at a coffee shop in Queens. The email included a detailed address, and the meeting was set for that afternoon.

After reading the email, Karn glanced at the clock on the wall. He still had plenty of time, but he had finished his work at the office, and all that remained was reviewing documents and the like. After a moment's thought, he picked up his jacket and headed to the underground garage. He then drove to the coffee shop, arriving before the agreed time.

Not long after Karn sat down, two people approached his table.

"Kane Penter?"

"Miss Maya, Mr. Killian, please have a seat."

Upon hearing his name, Karn guessed who the two were. Killian's clothes were still somewhat shabby, and his expression was rather gloomy. Karn was not sure whether he had begun working with Maya, but he suspected that even if they were collaborating, their finances were not in good shape.

"Mr. Karn, I hear you've been looking for us for quite some time?"

Killian did not seem particularly good with words, so Maya asked the question as soon as they sat down.

"Yes. I'm planning to open a biological research center to study the mysteries of the human body, with the aim of developing targeted preventive treatments or drugs capable of curing terminal illnesses. Although the research center hasn't been established yet, all the preliminary preparations are complete."

As he spoke, Karn handed Maya and Killian a set of documents each. They contained information on the biological research center under construction, its future plans, his pharmaceutical wholesale trading company, and more-enough to demonstrate his sincerity.

Although Killian had his own organization, it was desperately short of money. He had originally tried to secure sponsorship from Tony Stark, only to be played for a fool.

As for Maya, she could complete the early stages of her research, but once she reached the later clinical trials, she would need enormous funding to continue. Tony Stark did not seem particularly interested in the Extremis Virus, either. Otherwise, he would not have walked away the morning after their physical encounter.

"I asked around among quite a few people in the industry, but I believe Miss Maya and Mr. Killian are the best fit. That's why I asked someone to track you down."

After carefully reading through the documents in her hands, Maya looked up and said, "Mr. Karn, I have a project currently underway. If you're interested, the project I'm working on with A.I.M. would be willing to accept your investment."