"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
Carl swiftly formed the hand seals—Serpent, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse, Tiger—then inhaled deeply and exhaled a massive fireball from his mouth, launching it at the hill of weapons piled at the mouth of the cave.
A deafening explosion followed as the flames ignited the stacked explosives, setting off a chain reaction. Fire surged skyward, lighting up the desert, and within moments, the entire valley collapsed under the force of the blast.
His purpose wasn't just to alert nearby military search-and-rescue teams to Tony's location—it was also to eliminate any trace of his involvement in the area.
> "Mission: Eliminate Raza and destroy his base—complete. Rewards have been issued to your mission space."
As the flames began to die down, Carl heard the familiar chime of a system notification ringing in his head.
Beside him, Tony and Dr. David stood frozen, mouths agape and eyes wide.
"I haven't been outside for too long and the sunlight is playing with my vision … I think I just saw him spit a giant fireball."
"No, no, you're not hallucinating. I saw it too!"
Both of them stared at Carl, their expressions stuck somewhere between awe and disbelief.
Up until now, Carl's feats had seemed just barely within the bounds of logic—his incredible combat skills, even his transformation technique—Tony could rationalize it as cutting-edge hologram tech or some form of personal cloaking field.
But this?
This fireball?
That was impossible.
What tech could explain a man spitting out a fireball larger than himself? Tony briefly considered the absurd notion that maybe Carl was a robot with a built-in flamethrower, igniting gasoline in his stomach for fuel.
No, not even that made sense.
It was something else. Something beyond science.
Carl turned toward them, a slightly exasperated look on his face.
"Search and rescue will probably be here soon. Just… do me a favor—keep this a secret, yeah? I really don't want S.H.I.E.L.D. or Hydra sniffing around. They're a pain in the ass to deal with."
Tony blinked. "Yeah, of course, we won't say a word. But… hold up—Hydra? I know about them. But what the hell is S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
The name rang no bells for him.
Hydra, on the other hand, was practically common knowledge—every American kid grew up hearing stories about the rogue Nazi science division taken down by Captain America. Even Tony's own father, Howard Stark, used to tell him stories about their battles during WWII.
Official history said Hydra was wiped out along with the death of Captain America.
But S.H.I.E.L.D.? That was new.
Unknown.
"You don't know about S.H.I.E.L.D., but that organization was founded by your father?"
Carl deliberately showed a look of surprise.
Tony was even more stunned:
"My father?"
"Alright, let me give you a brief overview," Carl said calmly. "The full name of S.H.I.E.L.D. is the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division. It was co-founded by your father, Peggy Carter, and Chester Phillips."
"Right now, it's grown into a global organization. Its mission is to maintain Earth's safety—mainly by dealing with terrorist groups, individuals with superpowers or special abilities, and potential alien threats."
He glanced at Tony and David. "People like me—if we're discovered—they'll try to arrest us, lock us up, and even if we've never committed a crime, we'll be monitored for the rest of our lives."
Tony frowned deeply.
"That's a little too authoritarian. If someone hasn't broken the law, no one has the right to take away their freedom."
Having just escaped a month-long abduction, Tony had developed a strong aversion to being imprisoned or controlled.
Carl nodded slightly, but his tone turned more serious.
"It'd be fine if that was the only issue. But as far as I know, S.H.I.E.L.D. has already been infiltrated. Hydra agents are embedded deep within. At least a few senior operatives I've tracked are secretly part of Hydra."
He gave a half-smile. "The funniest part? Their director—Nick Fury—has no clue."
Tony's face darkened.
"You're saying if they discover you, it won't be S.H.I.E.L.D. that comes after you, but Hydra?"
"Exactly," Carl confirmed. "And once that happens, there's a real chance I'll get abducted and turned into a science experiment. Hydra doesn't let potential weapons go to waste."
Tony looked over at Ethan and said firmly:
"Don't worry, Carl. Ethan and I won't breathe a word of this to anyone."
Carl waved them off with a smirk.
"You don't need to get all solemn. I'm just saying—if they do come after me, they'll find out I'm not an easy target."
His voice held a trace of chill, and Tony and Ethan both nodded instinctively.
Carl had his reasons for saying all this.
Not long ago, he had clashed with some Hydra agents under John Garrett. Carl could've wiped them out—but it would've exposed him far too early. Besides, a direct confrontation with Hydra would stir up unwanted chaos.
Originally, Carl considered approaching Nick Fury directly to expose Hydra's infiltration. But realistically—why would Fury believe a total stranger over his own long-time subordinates?
And even if he could make Fury suspicious, it would only put Carl on every radar in the intelligence community. Way too risky.
His next idea was to deliver the information anonymously—sneak into S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ using Transformation Jutsu, maybe leave a note or message. But again, Hydra might intercept the message before Fury even sees it.
Worse still, if Hydra learned that someone knew their secret, they'd probably go after the few genuine agents left in S.H.I.E.L.D.—killing the organization before it could defend itself.
From Carl's point of view, there wasn't much difference between S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra anyway. Watching them destroy each other from the shadows? Now that was an ideal outcome.
So instead, he planted the seeds with Tony—someone who would naturally clash with S.H.I.E.L.D. anyway. In the original timeline, Tony never truly trusted them and hated how they operated.
By telling Tony, Carl could eventually get the truth to Fury through someone he might actually listen to—without exposing himself. And in the process, he'd likely gain Tony's friendship and neutrality, if not support.
"The pickup team's almost here. I'm out."
Carl looked up. In the distance, a group of black specks had begun to appear in the sky—helicopters from the search-and-rescue team, drawn in by the earlier explosion.
He gave Tony and David a quick nod and vanished into the desert dust.