As the battle concluded, Iruka, who had been aiding civilians, finished his rescue work. He returned to Charles's agency and brought the personnel from the basement back to their positions.
…
On the other side-
With Ross and his men retreating, Nick Fury approached Charles along with Hill. He took out a business card and said, "I'm Nick Fury, the director of S.H.I.E.L.D."
Charles accepted Nick Fury's business card, comparing it to the one Coulson had given him earlier. Aside from the information, the material was no different.
"Hello, is there something you need?" Charles asked.
Nick Fury glanced around the environment and said, "This isn't the best place to talk. Let's go to your agency."
Charles nodded and didn't refuse. He led Nick Fury, along with Tsunade and others, back to the agency.
Charles and Tsunade controlled the area during their battle. So, the agency building was undamaged, otherwise the previous reconstruction effort that had just been completed would have gone to waste.
Entering Charles's agency, all the staff, including the gatekeeper, receptionist, security, and service personnel, were back at their posts.
Nick Fury observed everything with curiosity. Despite the commotion outside, the people inside didn't flee or panic, showcasing Charles's effective leadership.
Returning to the agency, Tsunade, not interested in dealing with people like Nick Fury, greeted Charles and went straight back to her room. Charles, on the other hand, brought Nick Fury to the meeting room.
In the meeting room-
Charles sat on the sofa with Nick Fury and Hill.
In the meeting room, there was no tea or drinks brought by Iruka, whether intentionally by Charles or due to neglect.
Sitting on the sofa in the meeting room, Charles looked at the two individuals in front of him and spoke slowly, "I wonder, Agent Fury, what brings you here this time? And why isn't Agent Coulson with you?"
Upon hearing Charles's words, Nick Fury, who had seen Charles Doyle countless times in the files, but was meeting him in person for the first time, maintained his expression. "Agent Coulson has other tasks. That's why he couldn't come."
Hearing that it was for another task, Charles quickly recalled various events in the Marvel Universe.
Thor had not yet descended, so it wasn't to check on the hammer. Then he thought of the randomly appearing Temari in his hand, suspecting if S.H.I.E.L.D. had discovered her and went to make contact.
This possibility cannot be ruled out, and the likelihood was quite high.
Nick Fury, seeing that Charles remained silent, continued, "For today's events, I want to express my gratitude to Mr. Charles and Ms. Tsunade for taking control of this disaster. Without your help, who knows what kind of trouble Ross and others would have caused."
Listening to Nick Fury's words of gratitude, Charles smiled and then spoke, "If you really want to express gratitude, how about something practical? For example, send me eighteen hundred energy cubes..."
Upon hearing Charles directly mention energy cubes, specifying a quantity of eighteen hundred, Nick Fury's mouth twitched involuntarily.
This was quite a hefty request.
While S.H.I.E.L.D. possessed the Tesseract, and its energy was practically limitless, the process of extracting this energy from the Tesseract and forging it into energy cubes was not a simple task.
It was both challenging and resource-intensive.
"I'll convey your message to General Ross. If they have the budget for it, I believe he won't be stingy," Nick Fury replied, attempting to shift the conversation away. He had no intention of spending money, especially after helping Ross clean up the mess.
However, Charles, noticing the attempt to avoid the request, tapped his fingers on the table in a rhythmic pattern – a steady beat that echoed in the hearts of Nick Fury and Hill.
After ten seconds of this steady tapping, Charles stopped and straightforwardly said, "What exactly brings you here? If it's to avoid conflicts between me and the military, you've temporarily succeeded. If there's nothing else, please leave."
Facing Charles's dismissal, Nick Fury spoke, "Mr. Charles, I'm planning to create an alliance dedicated to handling unforeseen events and safeguarding Earth's peace."
"I would like to invite you to join. Furthermore, among the proposed members is Tony Stark, Iron Man."
Hill, who had remained silent until now, looked surprised at her director. Nick Fury specifically mentioned Tony Stark, intending to leverage this point.
Even if Charles didn't agree immediately but showed interest, Nick Fury would then approach Tony, saying that Charles was willing to join the team, thus coaxing him into the fold.
However, what Nick Fury didn't know was that Charles was already well aware of his Avengers initiative.
"I'm not interested in playing house with you. I have no intention of joining your team," Charles declared, refusing Nick Fury's offer and demeaning it as a mere game.
Seeing Charles's direct refusal and his demeaning attitude, Nick Fury was visibly displeased as in his mind, the first member of this team is Captain Marvel, who played a role in maintaining peace throughout the universe.
As for trying to recruit Charles, it was merely an attempt, and if he showed interest, it would be an opportunity to explore the hidden village of Konoha behind him.
"Mr. Charles, safeguarding world peace is not child's play," Nick Fury asserted. "And you should know that there are individuals with extraordinary powers beyond your group. Even the Hulk, whom you defeated, is just a product of the military."
Nick Fury didn't hesitate to downplay the Hulk, implying that Banner's transformation was nothing more than a result of military experiments.
Simultaneously, he subtly warned Charles that their extraordinary abilities weren't unique, and even someone he defeated, like Banner, wasn't a significant threat in SHIELD's eyes.
Upon hearing Nick Fury's remarks, Charles couldn't help but burst into laughter. Quickly realizing his lapse in decorum, he apologized, saying, "I'm sorry; I just remembered an amusing joke. Usually, I don't laugh out loud due to my profession."
Hearing Charles's explanation, both Nick Fury and Hill had faces showing extreme displeasure.