Marvel With Zanpakutou

The news that former S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury had committed high treason, under the deliberate instigation of certain interested parties, quickly spread through the upper echelons of the United States.

For a time, the atmosphere was tense, full of rumors and suspicion.

Everyone close to Nick Fury came under varying degrees of investigation and surveillance. The most severely targeted was none other than the Avengers, a team proposed and personally assembled by Fury himself.

And what was the Avengers?

It could be said that, aside from nuclear weapons, they were the greatest deterrent force in the world today.

In multiple battles, the team’s overwhelming combat strength, coupled with their refusal to follow orders and their complete independence from any government, had left the American leadership ill at ease.

A group of uncontrollable superheroes, even if their original intent was to save the Earth, in the eyes of these seat-warming politicians, was nothing more than a sword hanging over their heads.

Having finally caught an opportunity, they would naturally try every possible means to bring this power under their control.

If they couldn’t control it...

Then the "best" solution would be to send these heroes to where they "belonged", such as Arlington National Cemetery.

Even before Alexander Pierce made a move, those greedy, foolish politicians were already like sharks that had smelled blood, impatient to begin their savage feast.

General Ross was the first who couldn’t hold back and made a move against the Avengers, with his target, unsurprisingly, being the Hulk.

Dr. Banner returned to a life on the run, chased across India in utter misery. He sent out several distress calls in a row, but unfortunately, no one responded.

It wasn’t that they didn’t want to help, they simply had no time for him.

All the Avengers were under varying degrees of surveillance.

Even the big capitalist Tony couldn’t escape, he was forced to attend several major hearings and ordered to hand over his Iron Man suits along with the miniature arc reactor technology.

Those acting against him weren’t just political forces, other capitalists joined in too. With pressure from multiple fronts, even with Tony Stark’s vast influence, he couldn’t free himself in the short term.

As for Hawkeye, he was even worse off.

Because of his prior betrayal, S.H.I.E.L.D. had forcibly detained him, depriving him of his freedom of movement for the time being. If he didn’t comply, he would face treason charges. For the safety of his family, he could only swallow his pride and endure for now.

Frank, being a true Shinigami, was not on the investigation list. The problem was, he’d been run ragged lately, Europe was full of wandering souls left over from the war, and Hollows were appearing every few days. He had no time at all to deal with America’s mess.

Spider-Man continued attending school. The only downside was that he could no longer engage in superhero activities and was occasionally summoned for questioning.

"A bunch of idiots."

Fury looked over the intelligence he’d gathered, so furious his wounds nearly split open, and cursed aloud, "I knew these idiots wouldn’t be able to sit still, but I didn’t think they’d be so stupid that they wouldn’t even bother to hide it?!"

Just as Fury had predicted.

In only a few days after his disappearance, that faction hidden within S.H.I.E.L.D. couldn’t resist making their move, starting to eliminate his remaining forces and targeting the Avengers.

The reach of that faction was even more terrifying than he’d imagined, not only S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, but perhaps even the upper levels had been infiltrated.

Now, the enemy was in the shadows, while he was in the open.

Almost all of his contingency plans had been wiped out. He was truly left with no way out.

"Looks like... I can only go to him."

Fury rubbed his furrowed brow, sighing helplessly, "I just hope that guy still remembers our old ties. Otherwise, I’m out of options."

Sitting around waiting to die was never his style.

He had to find a way to go on the offensive. Though the choice was extremely risky, it was the only solution he could think of to break the current deadlock.

Time was running out...

He could no longer afford to hesitate. Those people seemed to be aiming for the Insight Project, and once it was launched early under their control, the consequences would be unimaginable.

And most, most, most importantly...

Fury was worried about the Spirit Particle Project leaking.

Although he trusted Natasha’s loyalty, you could never be too careful, there was always that one-in-ten-thousand chance.

The Spirit Particle Project was extremely dangerous.

Its level of danger was more than a hundred times that of the Insight Project. If it were to fall into the hands of someone with ill intent, the entire Earth would face catastrophe.

Back during the alien invasion war, the "Typhon Project" he had kept as his final trump card was, in fact, a failed product developed based on the results of the Spirit Particle Project.

That alone spoke volumes about how terrifying this project was.

Fury had made up his mind to take the risk, but he still left himself a way out.

When Ikaris returned from running errands to the underground sewer, he found Fury already gone.

On the table lay a note, weighed down by an S.H.I.E.L.D. badge.

Ikaris picked up the note and saw an address written on it, it was a martial arts dojo somewhere in New York. His brows furrowed slightly.

"So... it’s that place?"

...

...

...

Fury had returned to his old trade.

As the king of spies, even without high-tech support, he still possessed exceptional skills.

After changing his appearance and disguising himself, he easily avoided detection and boarded a train to New York City.

The person he wanted to find was there, in New York.

After a bumpy journey, Fury stepped off the train wearing the face of a white man, a worn-out leather coat on his back, and looking weather-beaten.

At this moment, he looked nothing like the king of spies.

Instead, he seemed like a down-and-out pauper from a remote small town, here in New York to find work.

In fact, such people were not uncommon.

As an international metropolis, New York drew many like this every year, people carrying dreams, hoping to find opportunities in this big city and soar to success.

Unfortunately, each year also saw the dark streets gain many more homeless wanderers.

Fury raised his hand to hail a cab.

Once inside, he told the driver, "Hell’s Kitchen, please."

The driver glanced at the disheveled man in the rearview mirror and mocked,

"Sir, Hell’s Kitchen isn’t the kind of place for people like you. I’d suggest you think twice."

Fury tugged his coat tighter and said gruffly,

"Mind your own business. Just take me to Hell’s Kitchen."

"Heh, another one with a death wish."

The driver sneered, pressing the accelerator.

"Hell’s Kitchen isn’t for cowards. If you insist on going, I suggest you buy some insurance, and make sure your family is listed as the beneficiary."

He had met many such down-and-out types over the years.

One look and he knew this man was likely heading there to try his luck joining a gang.

Smuggling just a few hundred grams of DP could earn a hefty payoff.

The risk was huge, but there was never a shortage of people willing to gamble their lives, after all, the reward was far richer than washing dishes for months at a restaurant.

Before long, Fury reached his destination, New York’s paradise for criminals, Hell’s Kitchen.

"Good luck, sir."

The driver rolled down the window and jeered,

"If you’re still alive to see the sun tomorrow, come find me for a drink."

Fury shook his head, too lazy to reply.

Pulling his worn coat tighter, he strode straight into Hell’s Kitchen.

He didn’t go directly to his destination.

Instead, he wandered around Hell’s Kitchen first.

After confirming no one was following him, Fury finally walked up to the entrance of a martial arts dojo.

"At last..."

Fury let out a long breath, gazing at the dojo’s signboard, and said bitterly,

"Let’s hope this time... he doesn’t kick me out again."