"Of course, all of this hinges on one premise: I have a way to bring Uncle Yahiko back to life. It's up to you, Uncle Nagato, whether you believe me or not."
Strictly speaking, Nagato was not a great leader or decision-maker.
Among the three founders of Akatsuki, Nagato and Konan were great executors, but Yahiko was the charismatic figurehead and true leader.
Unfortunately, those with leadership charisma are often the prime targets.
Thus, as Akatsuki was just starting to grow, Yahiko was set up and died at Nagato's hands.
After that, no one kept Nagato and Konan, the remaining founders of Akatsuki, in check.
All the threats and concerns centered on Yahiko. Eliminating him was deemed sufficient.
Akatsuki's current state, along with Nagato's descent, was rooted in Yahiko's death.
Therefore, reviving Yahiko would resolve all their problems.
The issue was that Su Ye currently had no way to revive Yahiko. While Edo Tensei could work, Su Ye hadn't learned it, and even then, Edo Tensei didn't count as true resurrection.
To fully resurrect someone long dead, they would first need to be revived via Edo Tensei, followed by the "Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique," as was done for Uchiha Madara.
In practice, these steps didn't seem too difficult.
Su Ye could learn Edo Tensei since it was in the Scroll of Seals, which he possessed. He just needed his father to unlock the techniques.
The Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique could be cast using Nagato's Rinnegan.
As for the technique's fatal side effect, it could be mitigated through other means, such as the Yang power in Naruto's Six Paths Sage Mode.
Moreover, in the Marvel universe, the Infinity Stones could bring someone back to life in no time if all six were gathered.
Since none of these solutions were immediately feasible, Su Ye had to rely on his talk-no-jutsu to keep Nagato calm and prevent him from doing anything rash.
Thus, Su Ye aimed to reach two agreements with Nagato: one, to try to revive Yahiko, and two, to work together to change this flawed world rather than reject it entirely.
The moment Su Ye mentioned that he could find a way to revive Yahiko, Nagato was already swayed.
The son of the legendary Su, who single-handedly defeated the Six Paths of Pain—Nagato even suspected that Deva Path's escape had been orchestrated by Su Ye.
It seemed as if Su Ye had deliberately given him the chance to unleash "Shinra Tensei."
Seeing Konan's uncontrollable excitement at the prospect of Yahiko's resurrection, Nagato finally relented.
"Alright, you've convinced me."
Su Ye couldn't help but roll his eyes. What's with you middle-aged men? I've already said I don't sleep with men!
Regardless, Nagato was now settled, and Akatsuki's offensive was effectively resolved.
Now, it was just a matter of waiting to see what new tricks Madara and Uchiha Tobi would come up with after realizing their plans had been thwarted.
As part of their agreement, Su Ye returned the six bodies of the Six Paths of Pain to Nagato, who, in turn, sent Konan to Su Ye's side as a bridge for communication between the two factions.
"By the way," Su Ye suddenly asked Nagato before parting.
"Uncle Nagato, I'm curious—why are there seven people in the Six Paths of Pain?"
In addition to the Deva Path, Su Ye had captured six bodies representing five paths. The Animal Path included two bodies—one male and one female.
In the original story, the Animal Path also had two bodies, but the female one was created only after Jiraiya defeated and captured the male Animal Path.
But here, both Animal Paths existed simultaneously.
Could this be akin to the "Four Heavenly Kings having five members" trope, where the Six Paths must have seven people?
Nagato glanced at Su Ye and said quietly, "In my eyes, men and women in this world are no different from beasts…"
"Alright, got it," Su Ye nodded.
Heaven and Earth are indifferent, treating all things as straw dogs.
Nagato is indifferent, seeing men and women as mere beasts.
Truly heartless!
With their conversation concluded, Su Ye left with Konan, accompanied by Kisame Hoshigaki.
According to Kisame, his battle with that yellow-green monster was unfinished, and he needed to settle it, win or lose—even life or death.
Before being a loyal follower, Kisame was, first and foremost, a warrior.
Su Ye neither agreed nor disagreed.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Youchi chose to stay behind and showed no signs of camaraderie toward Su Ye throughout their interaction.
"I'll stay and keep an eye on these guys, maybe take on some work here and there. They're all troublemakers and will definitely bring some surprises to this country."
This was the response Su Ye received through telepathic contact with Youchi.
Hidan remained paired with Kakuzu, while Kisame's departure left Sasori without a partner, making Youchi his new teammate.
Su Ye readily agreed to this arrangement.
After integrating the Avengers, the Guardians had more than enough talent, and adding Youchi wouldn't make a decisive difference.
It was better to keep him as a hidden piece, letting him operate in the civilian world. As he said, he might just bring some "surprises" to the Americans.
Besides, Youchi had promised that he'd come whenever Su Ye needed him—that was sufficient.
After parting ways with Akatsuki, Su Ye headed back with Konan, now dressed in casual clothes, and Kisame.
Akatsuki would continue its special freelance operations across the U.S., and their black cloaks with red cloud patterns would leave a lasting, unfavorable impression on Americans for a long time.
Thus, it was better for Konan, who was trying to reform, and Kisame, whom Su Ye had forcibly recruited, to ditch their Akatsuki uniforms.
When Su Ye returned to Tony Stark's seaside villa with Konan and Kisame, it caused quite a stir among the superheroes.
First was Konan. Out of her cloak and in a casual blue slit dress, her mature figure was accentuated to perfection.
Combined with her cold and aloof beauty, she instantly attracted countless men eager to become Su Ye's "uncle-in-law."
Especially Max, who, despite his unattractive looks, believed he had irresistible charm. He thought every woman would be drawn to him and that even a fleeting glance was a sign of interest.
"Hey, Ye! Your aunt is from the Dragon Country, right? Can you teach me some common Chinese greetings?"
Su Ye thought for a moment and replied, "Niu Bi! Really awesome!"
Max walked away brimming with confidence, while Su Ye, unfazed, headed outside where a duel was about to begin.
The duel was between Kisame and Abomination, picking up where their previous battle had left off.
Their battleground was an open space near the villa, the future site of the Great Wall Guardians' base—conveniently in need of excavation.
Once their fight was over, the digging would be done for them.
Incidentally, the English name for the Great Wall Guardians had been decided.
"Guardians" and "Defenders" were considered, with the former implying protection and the latter support. Ultimately, "Guardians" was chosen.
The Great Wall Guardians' English name was "Guardia Wall."
Abbreviated as "GGW."
Or simply, "GG"...
From now on, anyone needing help from the Great Wall Guardians could simply type "GG" on the screen. What a sight that would be!
The battle between Abomination and Kisame could be described as a duel between two highly skilled brutes, akin to a showdown between technical boxers.
There were bone-crushing blows that got the blood pumping, and extreme dodges that made onlookers gasp, sending their adrenaline surging.
The Guardians quickly grabbed seats to watch the fight unfold, Thor included.
To clarify, Thor had also arrived in Los Angeles and, along with the Avengers, had joined the Guardians.
As for Loki, he was still confined within the Ancient One's Mirror Dimension.
The Ancient One's condition for releasing Loki was for Thor to work on Earth. Once Thor's performance met the mark, Loki would be freed and taken back to Asgard for further judgment under Asgardian law.
Thor was reluctant to agree but had no choice, as he couldn't defeat the Ancient One, and Loki had indeed caused significant havoc on Earth.
Thor's Asgardian superiority and belief that Earthlings were unfit to judge Loki held no sway with the Ancient One.
Regarding this matter, Su Ye found himself quite fond of the Ancient One.
No, no, no—Ancient One is old, flat, and unattractive. Not happening.
Thor, however, quickly grew fond of life on Earth. There were fights to be had, beer to drink, friends to make, and Jane Foster—everything he wanted in life.
If not for Loki needing to be escorted back for trial, Thor would've considered staying on Earth permanently, even becoming Jane's live-in husband.
This life was far better than ruling as King of Asgard.
Among the spectators, Thor's cheers were always the loudest.
He looked like he might drop his hammer and join the two muscle-bound fighters for a three-way brawl.
Meanwhile, as the Guardians enjoyed their lively spectacle, Nick Fury at S.H.I.E.L.D. was growing increasingly agitated.
The New York incident could be blamed on the military's ineffectiveness and the sudden nature of the alien invasion.
But now, just as S.H.I.E.L.D. was relocating west, a massive explosion rocked Los Angeles, and they couldn't distance themselves from it.
After all, they'd only been in Los Angeles for two days when the city was attacked.
While Nick Fury was painstakingly explaining to his superiors that S.H.I.E.L.D. had nothing to do with the attack and that the superheroes had done their best, another major incident occurred in Los Angeles.
The day after the Joker took the Extremis virus from Aldrich Killian, a police station in Los Angeles was bombed.
Surveillance footage quickly revealed the identity of the attacker.
The suspect was an elderly man, considered a law-abiding citizen with no bad habits—no guns, no drugs, no debts. He seemed to have no motive to attack a police station.
However, when the police investigated his family, they discovered that his brother had recently been unjustly killed during an arrest.
The incident had caused a public outcry at the time, but months later, there was still no satisfactory resolution.
Everyone knew that legal proceedings were slow in such cases.
Take Brother Qian, for example. He had been in custody for over a year, and they were still gathering evidence.
That's how the legal system worked—evidence needed to be collected, trials held. The Jiang Ge case took six years for a verdict, and the perpetrator, who even changed their name, showed no remorse and was preparing to appeal.
That's just how the law works—it relies on facts and evidence.
But the elderly attacker clearly couldn't wait that long. Under the Joker's instigation, he entered the police station with the Extremis virus—and detonated.
Reports stated that the explosion killed over a dozen officers and injured dozens more.
This incident immediately garnered the attention of society and government agencies. The CIA, FBI, and of course, S.H.I.E.L.D., all launched investigations.
The involvement of an unknown yet highly powerful explosive made it a matter of urgent investigation.
Authorities believed it might be related to the previous alien invasion or a supervillain.
Before S.H.I.E.L.D. agents could even reach the blast site, another explosion occurred at a factory.
The perpetrator this time was an ordinary worker, toiling daily for a meager salary. His child had recently fallen ill, and his boss threatened to fire him for taking leave.
When he confronted his boss, he was thrown out and beaten by security. Desperate, he chose to go down in flames, taking his workplace with him.
Investigations at both sites revealed identical explosive components.
"Director, this may be a series of premeditated bombing attacks. My analysis suggests these two incidents are just the beginning," Phil Coulson said grimly.
In the office, Phil Coulson analyzed with a serious expression.
Opposite him, Nick Fury kept a grim face. "Is there a way to find out the exact components of the explosives and investigate their source?"
"We're investigating!" Phil Coulson replied.
"Notify the Guardians; we might need their help," Nick Fury said, just as Phil Coulson's phone rang.
After answering, Phil Coulson said gravely, "The third one just happened!"
Nick Fury's face darkened further.
Soon, explosions spread throughout the city like mushrooms after the rain, one after another, lighting up various locations and making the city as lively as Christmas.
Moreover, the perpetrators of these explosions were mostly individuals or their relatives who had histories of persecution.
Either due to their skin color or because they were proletarians who toiled but lived in extreme hardship due to exploitation, and so on.
In short, some deeply rooted societal contradictions in America were laid bare by these continuous explosions, becoming issues no one could ignore.
On the Guardians' side, Tony Stark began using J.A.R.V.I.S. to help S.H.I.E.L.D. analyze and trace the origin of the explosives, while other heroes watched the conflict and stayed on standby, ready to act.
If these dangerous explosives weren't found, they posed a threat to everyone.
Fortunately, Xiao Nan hadn't done anything yet and was captured by Su Ye; otherwise, given her ability to summon countless explosive tags effortlessly, she might have been suspected or feared.
Meanwhile, Su Ye contacted the butler Alfred, planning to buy or build a castle near the Guardians' Great Wall headquarters as a future base.
That's right, this man wanted to settle down.