At 10880 Malibu Point, in a seaside mansion perched on a cliff.
Tony Stark was nervously packing up his belongings.
On the large screen in the room, the news showed footage of the ground after Shinra Tensei's blast—buildings and roads completely obliterated.
The Guardians and Avengers sat silently in the hall, watching the television.
In the distance were several boxes engraved with bat symbols, containing the corpses of the Six Paths of Pain.
The other Akatsuki members had escaped during the explosion, and Uchiha Youchi was still pursuing them.
Konan, unharmed, was placed on the sofa in the middle of the hall, surrounded by the Guardians and Avengers.
Under Su Ye's mental control, Konan sat quietly, staring blankly at the television, like a breathing doll.
"This doesn't even need cleaning; it can be rebuilt right away."
After a long silence, someone finally spoke.
Honestly, after witnessing New York's destruction, the Guardians and Avengers found it easier to accept an explosion like this in Los Angeles. To them, it felt inevitable.
Didn't Tony Stark already start packing to move out?
To them, this explosion in Los Angeles was just the beginning. It wouldn't be long before the entire city, like New York, was reduced to rubble.
Everyone tacitly agreed on this and was confident in their assessment.
"Ye, who's this person?"
Gwen leaned close to Su Ye and whispered.
Gwen already thought it was bizarre when Su Ye brought back six corpses, worried he might have developed some strange hobby.
But now he had brought back a living person—a woman with stunning looks and a striking figure—which made it even more unbelievable.
What was he planning? Kidnap someone to be his bride?
"She's my dad's junior apprentice, my martial aunt—basically, my aunt."
Gwen's heart sank further upon hearing this. "Aunt" and such titles didn't matter as long as their ages weren't too far apart...
No, even large age gaps wouldn't matter here. As long as they were physically compatible and attracted to each other, it could happen.
Hollywood, which had just been wiped out, was notorious for its chaotic relationships and May-December romances. Gwen was quite familiar with that.
So Gwen quietly resolved to call Su Ye out later and drain him dry to prevent him from doing anything reckless.
Plus, she'd need to gather intel from Su Raven about this "aunt." Know your enemy and yourself, and you'll never lose.
"By the way, where's Raven?" Gwen glanced around, noticing her absence. "Did she run off to the bathroom again? Looks like we'll need to stock up on laxatives soon."
Su Ye didn't respond. This was just his clone; his real body was currently with Raven in the bathroom.
Seventeen-year-old Raven, either fearless or vengeful because Su Ye had found a girlfriend behind her back.
Lately, she'd been taking frequent bathroom breaks, keeping Su Ye by her side for at least half an hour each time.
During these sessions, she'd transform into various figures from Su Ye's childhood crushes—actresses from old posters and movies his dad had stashed away.
From '90s girl groups to '80s stars, and iconic scenes featuring '70s and '60s Hong Kong and Taiwanese actresses.
Drinking scenes from Brigitte Lin, Joey Wong's iconic outfits, Athena Chu's wink, Sharla Cheung's backward glance, Chingmy Yau's seductive playing card bite...
After indulging in Chinese classics, she'd move on to Korean, Japanese, European, and American stars.
Testing if girl group members' figures were real, exploring Victoria's "secrets," measuring how long supermodels' legs actually were...
In any case, it left Su Ye reluctant to leave.
This might be the dream life of every man—having Raven was like possessing the entire world.
Meanwhile, the Joker, en route to Los Angeles, heard about the explosion.
Upon hearing the news, the Joker felt both excited and frustrated.
He was excited because such a massive explosion would plunge Los Angeles into chaos, challenging authority and providing him the perfect stage to showcase his talents.
Once in Los Angeles, with just a few tricks, he could completely collapse its order, turning it into a city of chaos—a true city of freedom.
However, amidst the chaos, the Joker detected a familiar scent.
Could this explosion, like in New York, be just the beginning? Would even greater disasters follow, ultimately leveling all of Los Angeles?
If that were the case, what would be the point of going to Los Angeles?
What if he arrived, schemed endlessly, but ended up having to leave before accomplishing anything?
Logic dictated that the Joker should choose another city, a different place where he could fully unleash his talents.
But the problem was, the Joker had almost no rationality—his mind was consumed by madness.
After only a brief hesitation, the Joker made an easy decision: he would go to Los Angeles to fuel the chaos and accelerate its eruption to a more complete and destructive level.
The car soon entered Los Angeles, and the Joker found the person he was looking for: Aldrich Killian.
Before the explosion, as the leader of A.I.M. and the Extremis virus developer, Aldrich Killian had been pondering how to leverage his connection with Pepper Potts to exact revenge on Iron Man.
His plan also included using the Extremis virus to assassinate the president, elevate the vice president, and ultimately control the nation from behind the scenes.
The idea of killing the president coincided perfectly with the Joker's goals.
However, while Killian sought to rule the country, the Joker simply wanted chaos.
Their differing goals meant conflict was inevitable, but before that happened, they could still cooperate.
"For example, why not let the Extremis virus spread widely throughout Los Angeles?"
The Joker grinned as he spoke.
"Don't limit it to injured soldiers. This city must have plenty of people who've been treated unfairly, harboring resentment toward society and life itself."
"Give them the Extremis virus. You can even tell them about its flaws. After that, it's up to them to decide."
"Trust me, it'll be a lot of fun!"
The Joker's words were laced with madness, as if he could snap at any moment, yet his charisma was undeniable.
At the very least, Aldrich Killian was somewhat swayed, though he didn't hold the Joker in high regard.
What kind of nonsense is this? Some lunatic shows up, and I'm supposed to work with him?
Just then, from the floor below, there was the sound of clashing metal and someone shouting, "Ora ora ora ora ora!"
The two of them leaned over the railing and saw a short-haired man glowing red like molten iron being slammed against a wall.
Across from him, a shirtless man with spiky hair, Higashi Jō, shook his head disdainfully.
"Extremis virus? Is that all you've got?"
"Anyone else who can fight?"
Higashi Jō cracked his neck as he looked around. "I'm just getting warmed up."
Nearby, other Extremis-enhanced fighters, already beaten, had their eyes glowing red, as if ready to self-destruct at the slightest provocation.
Killian glanced at Higashi, then back at the Joker. "One of yours?"
The Joker shrugged. "I suppose you could call him a companion... kind of... more or less."
"Fine, I agree to your proposal. Looking forward to working together." With that, Aldrich Killian extended his hand.
Opposite him, the Joker gave him a crooked look. "You won't be disappointed."
Soon, the Joker left Killian's residence with Higashi Jō, taking a portion of the Extremis virus—naturally, the unfinished, defective versions.
Thus began their collaboration.
One continued plotting against Iron Man and the President, while the other began spreading the Extremis virus among the populace, sowing chaos.
An hour later, one of the Extremis virus samples ended up in Su Ye's hands.
At Tony Stark's villa, his belongings were mostly packed and loaded into a modified truck trailer, ready to take off at any moment.
Meanwhile, Su Ye, Gwen, and Dr. Connors, who had come from New York, set up a new lab in the villa's basement.
Watching Su Ye take over his space, Tony Stark suddenly felt that perhaps he had overreacted earlier.
However, since he'd already packed, putting everything back would be too embarrassing for Tony, and he couldn't bring himself to do it.
So, Tony decided to call in a construction team to build a bigger villa next to his current one.
To save face, he added, "I just thought the original villa was a bit too small."
Su Ye nodded. "It is a bit small. But even if you build another, it's just another villa. Why not build a proper base here? It could serve as our Guardians' headquarters."
"Guardians? Why not Avengers?" Tony Stark asked, frowning.
Su Ye shrugged. "That depends—do you want to protect Earth directly, or wait until it's destroyed and then avenge it?"
He gestured toward Los Angeles in the distance. "Like over there—you wouldn't want the whole U.S. to end up like that, right?"
Tony thought about it and reluctantly nodded. "You've convinced me."
They were more than 30 kilometers from the former Hollywood Walk of Fame and even farther from downtown Los Angeles. In theory, even if L.A. were completely destroyed like New York, it wouldn't affect this area.
And as Su Ye said, protecting Earth was indeed more worthwhile than avenging it.
"Don't say it like that," Su Ye shook his head. "I don't sleep with men."
"..."
With the decision made, Tony Stark quickly began purchasing land and contacting construction companies, while Su Ye returned to Dr. Connors' lab with Tony's suggestions for improving the Extremis virus.
In the lab, Dr. Connors sighed.
"This Extremis virus has a striking similarity to my cross-species genetics project. Why didn't I think of drawing inspiration from plants before?"
"After all, compared to animals, plants have far superior regenerative abilities."
Su Ye spread his hands. "Maybe it's because plants don't have feet or brains?"
Turning into a lizard was fine—it allowed for movement and independent thought. But if you turned into a tree, what good would regenerating limbs be?
After all, not every tree is Groot.
"Maybe," Dr. Connors didn't dwell on the topic and got straight to researching and refining the Extremis virus.
Animals and plants had many differences, so Dr. Connors had a lot of work ahead of him.
Gwen joined Dr. Connors once more, diving into the hectic lab work, even forgetting to keep an eye on Konan.
After leaving the lab, Su Ye went straight to Konan.
"Aunt, let's go out for a bit. How about we have a chat with Uncle Nagato?"
Konan was surprised by Su Ye's words. "Aren't you afraid of walking into the lion's den? Nagato isn't as simple as you think."
Su Ye shook his head. "It doesn't matter anymore. I just want to bring this matter to an end."
The iconic "How many floors must a sack of rice be carried up" scene had already played out. Nagato sacrificing himself to cast "Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique" to revive the dead wasn't necessary.
Thus, it was time for the Akatsuki to exit the stage, at least temporarily.
"What do you plan to do with Nagato?" Konan asked again.
Su Ye thought for a moment before shaking his head. "I'll talk to him first. If he won't listen, the best outcome is sending him to the Dragon Country. The worst…"
There was no outcome worse than death.
Konan was silent for a moment before finally nodding.
Shortly after, the two arrived at a hilltop on the outskirts of Los Angeles. At the summit stood a massive tree, requiring several people to encircle it—a tree that served as Nagato's hiding place.
"Uncle Nagato, I only have one question for you."
Upon meeting Nagato, Su Ye got straight to the point without any preamble.
"Is the current Akatsuki still the same as it was under Uncle Yahiko?"
Nagato was silent for a moment before replying in a deep voice, "No, but Yahiko is dead."
Su Ye nodded. "It's enough that you admit it. Let me ask you this: if it were possible, would you want Akatsuki to return to what it was—an organization that serves as a bridge of communication between people, a beacon of hope for world peace?"
This time, Nagato was silent for even longer. Finally, he said in a low voice, "Hope... but Yahiko is already dead."
Su Ye nodded again. "If you still hold that belief, Uncle Nagato, would you fight for Akatsuki's original goal if given the chance?"
This time, Nagato didn't answer. Instead, he countered, "What exactly are you trying to say? I've already told you—Yahiko is dead. This world is flawed and needs correction!"
"Alright," Su Ye spread his hands. "If you're saying that this country beneath us is flawed and needs correction, I agree."
"If you're saying the world's current values are flawed and need correction, I support that too. But the world itself isn't entirely wrong."
"There was a woman named Jeane Dixon. She predicted many major events, including Roosevelt's lifespan, Churchill's temporary downfall, Kennedy's assassination, and the partition of India and Pakistan, among others."
"Because of these predictions, she was regarded as a prophet in the West and even considered by some to be a greater astrologer than Yuan Tiangang."
Nagato frowned. "What are you getting at?"
"Do you know what this prophet's final prediction was before her death?"
Su Ye chuckled softly and continued, "She said that America would decline and that humanity's hope lies in the East. The Dragon will replace America as the leader of the world!"
"So, Uncle, the world itself isn't entirely wrong. We already have a better answer; it's just that the world hasn't fully recognized it yet."