Marvel With Zanpakutou

A redwood plaque hung above the martial arts school’s entrance, with four large gold-lacquered characters, "The Best Under Heaven!"

The calligraphy came from an Eastern nation, and, worried that foreigners might not understand it, they had helpfully written a line in English beneath it, "The best in all the land." The best martial arts school in the world.

This martial arts school wasn’t just arrogant in its plaque, its owner was even more arrogant.

In Hell’s Kitchen, the crime-ridden paradise, there was almost no one who didn’t know of him. Among the gangs within a radius of more than a dozen streets, nearly all had suffered heavy losses at this school owner’s hands.

The worst incident was what happened to the unlucky Penguin Gang.

One of their senior members came in broad daylight to provoke the owner, threatening that if he didn’t pay protection money, they would slaughter the residents of the area. That very night, the gang itself was slaughtered, hundreds of them wiped out without even a scream, silently dying at their base.

It’s said that when the police arrived, even they were horrified by the scene.

Over a hundred bodies lay sprawled in every direction, not a single patch of intact flesh on them. It was as if a herd of elephants had trampled them, their bones completely crushed.

To provoke the martial arts school in the daytime and be wiped out at night, there was no doubt about the suspect, the school’s owner.

Unfortunately for the police, they couldn’t find a shred of evidence. There were no traces at the scene, and the owner had a perfect alibi. And since those gang members were scum anyway, after holding him for a few days, the police eventually announced his release without charge.

After that incident, all the surrounding gangs behaved themselves.

Even without proof, everyone knew in their hearts, the one who massacred that gang was none other than this school’s owner.

It was because of this event that S.H.I.E.L.D. noticed the oddity of the martial arts owner and sent people to make initial contact. Of course, the outcome was far from friendly, over a dozen fully armed agents were beaten out the door.

As for their leader, Natasha, every joint in her body had been dislocated. She spent a full month recovering. Miserable, to say the least.

The brief recollection ended.

Fury, having steeled himself, took a deep breath and forcefully pushed open the martial arts school’s doors.

The place wasn’t large, just over a hundred square meters. The old yellowed wooden boards creaked underfoot. A few faded wooden dummies and weapons racks were casually placed in the main hall.

Several people in martial arts uniforms were diligently practicing horse stance.

Unexpectedly, they weren’t Asians, there were both Black and White practitioners. Their stances were impressively correct, and judging from their sweaty brows, labored breathing, and large sweat stains across their chests, they had clearly been training for quite a while.

"Sir, who are you looking for?"

A two-meter-tall Black man, like a towering wall, blocked Fury’s way and rumbled, "This is a martial arts school. We do not accept unrelated visitors. If you want to learn martial arts, please prepay twenty thousand U.S. dollars. No checks. Thank you."

Twenty thousand dollars?!

Hearing the price, Fury’s eyelid twitched violently.

At that value, you could buy a car, or dine at a high-end restaurant a dozen times.

Sizing up the Black man and comparing their physiques, Fury didn’t think he could beat someone two meters tall and weighing 200 pounds. But unable to reveal his identity, he could only ask, "Twenty thousand? Are you sure you didn’t make a mistake?"

"Of course not. Twenty thousand, guaranteed to teach you until you’ve mastered it."

The man grinned, showing perfect white teeth, and added, "If you pay fifty thousand at once, you might even get the master’s personal guidance and be taught the ultimate skill, the ’Lightning Five-Whip Combo.’ Guaranteed to make you unbeatable among gangsters and quickly climb to a high rank."

"..."

Fury’s mouth twitched slightly. He didn’t even know how to respond.

That so-called "Lightning Five-Whip Combo", he would swear on Tony’s dignity it was pure nonsense. And that last line made it obvious that the students here were anything but law-abiding citizens.

"Ahem... Actually, I’d like to meet your master." Fury gave a dry cough and forced a smile. "I’ve always admired him, so I came here specially. Could you let me meet him?"

"Of course, my friend."

The towering man draped an arm over Fury’s shoulder and said warmly, "If you want to meet the master in person, that’ll be one hundred dollars."

"..."

Fury was speechless. You had to pay just to see him? Was this a martial arts school or the tax office?

"If, on top of that, you add fifty more dollars, you can get a signed martial arts uniform." The man, now looking like a salesman, continued enthusiastically, "And if you’re willing to pay another hundred, you can have a glass of the school’s special medicinal wine, good for health, and with a special effect that I guarantee you’ll love!"

After speaking, the Black man even winked at Fury, hinting at the effects of his medicinal wine.

"No, no, no, no need!"

Fury’s scalp tingled, he had no interest in listening to this guy’s sales pitch anymore. "One hundred dollars, I want to see Master Chen Lin."

" Tsk... fine."

A flash of disappointment flickered in the eyes of the Black man built like a tower, his tone suddenly turning cold. "One hundred dollars, I’ll take you to see the master."

The speed of his mood change left Fury dumbfounded, making him seriously suspect that this guy had undergone special training.

However, since his purpose in coming here was Chen Lin, he couldn’t be bothered to argue, he’d have plenty of chances to deal with this guy later.

Fury instinctively reached into his jacket pocket, only for his face to instantly turn green.

Right now, he was a fugitive accused of treason. Even his cab fare had been "borrowed" from someone else’s wallet, and his last bit of cash had been spent on the taxi. How could he possibly have any money left?

"Mister... don’t tell me you don’t have any money?" The Black man’s voice sank, his gaze suddenly turning fierce. The loose black martial arts robe he wore tightened, unable to hide his knotted muscles.

"Uh..."

It was rare for Fury to feel this awkward, but the so-called King of Spies had skin as thick as a city wall. He said directly, "Actually, on my way here, I accidentally lost my wallet. How about you let me see Master Chen Lin first, and then I’ll pay you afterward?"

"Last time, someone said the same thing."

The towering man’s face darkened. He flexed his callused knuckles, producing a series of sharp cracks, and said coldly, "In the end, I threw him out, broke eight of his ribs, and he lay in the hospital for three months. You want to give it a try?"

"Then... how about I don’t meet him for now, is that okay?" Cold sweat broke out on Fury’s forehead. He didn’t think he could beat this hulk and was planning to go out and "borrow" a few more wallets first.

"Sure. Five hundred dollars."

The muscular man grinned savagely. "You think this dojo is a place you can just come and go as you please?"

"Five hundred dollars?!" Fury’s face twitched. "I’ve only been in here for a few minutes! What the hell did I even do to owe five hundred dollars?"

"Master Chen ordered me." The Black man cracked his knuckles again, grinning as he loomed over the trembling Fury. "Even the air in the dojo costs money. For scum like you from the gangs, don’t think you can leave alive without me peeling a layer off first!"

"But I’m not in a gang!"

Fury shouted desperately, like grabbing onto a lifeline. "I’m just an ordinary person, you can’t touch me!"

"Ordinary? Hmph. You think you can fool me?"

The Black man’s grin grew even more ferocious. "Your stride is short, ready to retreat at any moment. Your eyes dart around, and the first thing you did after coming in was check the escape routes of the dojo. Even your skin, height, and bone structure are fake, it’s obvious you have bad intentions!"

Fury "???"

What kind of monsters does this dojo train?!

Just one look, and the guy could tell his height and bone structure were disguised. This was even more impressive than the national surveillance system.

The King of Spies’ disguise had fooled S.H.I.E.L.D., fooled the police, fooled the surveillance system, yet here he was, exposed in this dojo. Fury truly hadn’t expected this.

"Talk. Who exactly are you?"

The towering Black man grabbed Fury by the throat with one hand and lifted him into the air, his eyes fierce. "Why are you looking for Master Chen Lin? I can hear your heartbeat and pulse, if you dare to lie, I’ll crush your skull!"

My... my life is over?

Fury panicked, his mind racing to think of an escape plan.

Just then, the towering man’s expression froze for a moment. Then his eyes lit up with fervor, and he spoke in a low voice, "Master, you’re back?"

"Put him down, Wu Da."

A calm voice suddenly came from behind the door. "I know him, he’s not one of those people."