Starting with Naruto, I'll become stronger through my own efforts.

Chapter 172 Stark's Family Disputes (Updated 1/3)

Seeing this amazing scene, Xia Zuo excitedly slapped his thigh and shouted, "Wow, whose subordinate is this—oops—whose cameraman is this? Facing stray bullets without flinching at all! The TV station boss should give him a raise!"

"Oh my, these reporters are truly the bravest people in the country, completely disregarding their own safety when it comes to the news."

"Huh? Tony Stark is already failing?"

"No way, is he really finished?"

Upon hearing Xia Zuo's words and seeing the golden-red mech leaping and scrambling on the screen, beating the black mech until it was covered in bruises, Skye naturally sensed something was wrong.

She voiced her doubts: "Boss, I think the gold and red team will win. Look how agile they are! They can hit their target whenever they want and dodge whenever they want. Isn't that a sign of having the upper hand?"

Xia Zuo chuckled and said, "Young lady, you know nothing about power."

"Don't be fooled by the fighting scenes. Although Tony has the initiative in the battle, his attacks can't break through Obadiah's defenses. What's the point of having such an initiative?"

"And look at Obadiah, he really has the self-awareness of a villainous boss. He only pursues victory from beginning to end, completely disregarding the cars on the road, and even actively using the people in the cars as bargaining chips to force Tony to get beaten up."

"Skye, take a close look at Tony Stark's armor. There are already some dents and deformations, which means that his defenses are not strong enough to withstand Obadiah's attack."

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"This form-fitting mech, which resembles clothing, could definitely be called a combat suit. How much transformation can it withstand?"

"Even if Obadiah's big guy got a dent the size of a human head, it wouldn't be a problem, but..."

"Unless another force intervenes, or the Iron Monger has some major flaw, Tony Stark would be dead today."

Suddenly, he received a special text message on the cell phone that Steven Rockefeller III had given him.

After reading the text message, Xia Zuo replied with an "OK".

Then he stood up with his phone, chatted with Skye, and went to the dressing room to change into some light sportswear.

Skye quickly noticed Shazo's actions, and her attention immediately shifted as she asked, "Boss, are you going to rescue Tony Stark?"

Xia Zuo was slightly taken aback, and asked in confusion, "Huh? How did you know?"

The girl said, both smug and worried, "It's a woman's intuition, but isn't this too dangerous?"

Xia Zuo comforted him, "It's just a mecha, it's no problem for me at all."

Skye tilted her head to one side, then turned back and said, "Boss, the Captain America you asked me to monitor has left. He got into a black minivan."

Xia Zuo asked curiously, "Whose car is it?"

Skye tapped a few keys on the keyboard, then frowned and said, "The license plate is FBI, but this car should have been on the West Coast. It's a cloned car."

Xia Zuo thought for a moment, then smiled and said to Skye, "I know who it is. Tony Stark truly lives up to his reputation as a protagonist of his time. It seems I'm not the only one going to rescue Tony tonight."

Skye: "Wait, boss, you mean Captain America will go to rescue people too?"

Xia Zuo went to the basement, opened the steel armory door, and began to select suitable weapons.

He replied matter-of-factly, "That car Steve Rogers was in was most likely from S.H.I.E.L.D.; they love impersonating the FBI."

"Whether it's Captain America or Nick Fury, the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., they are both Tony Stark's uncles and comrades-in-arms with Howard Stark."

"Therefore, Captain America will definitely go to save them."

"And I actually need an opportunity like tonight to give everyone a truly shocking proof."

Skye asked in surprise, "Boss, did you change people?"

"The bosses I know are always moderately high-profile; they would never suddenly become so unrestrained. What are you worried about, boss?"

Xia Zuo selected a grenade launcher, then an anti-tank missile, and finally a heavy machine gun that could be laid flat, finally feeling that his firepower was sufficient.

He replied, "Of course I'm worried that the braised egg will investigate you thoroughly, and then it won't be able to keep this information, making you a target of the underworld."

Skye chuckled, "Boss, you're worrying unnecessarily. I'm Skye, Skye with the Vibration Superpower, the hacker god Skye formed by teaming up with you!"

"No matter how strong Lu Dan is, he can still find out about me, so what?"

"Boss, believe it or not, that braised egg guy just found out about me, and I can clean him up completely, leaving him with absolutely nothing!"

The girl's proud words reached Xia Zuo's ears through the radio waves, easing his unease.

So he said casually, "I understand, but a show of force is also necessary."

Just as the two were talking, the battle suddenly turned one-sided.

Tony Stark was attacked by Iron Monger while trying to save a car that had been thrown off an overpass.

The golden-red mech that had fallen to the ground was being rubbed hard, sparks flying and lightning flashing, and a deep trench was dug into the ground.

Seeing that the ground wasn't hard enough to cause further harm to his nephew, Obadiah pulled Tony off the ground, then took off flying back onto the overpass.

While flying in mid-air, Obadiah also used a missile to accelerate Tony's descent.

After suffering a series of blows and managing to protect dozens of cars, Tony Stark's Arc Reactor suffered a severe power shortage and was rendered unable to fight back.

Even the life support system malfunctioned. Jarvis, hidden in the suit's computer, made a judgment and urgently opened the suit's visor to prevent Stark from suffocating.

In everyone's eyes, the battle was over. Only Shazor, who was on the scene, knew that Tony Stark still had a fighting chance and had even come up with a plan to freeze the ice in the sky.

But just then his special cell phone rang; it was Rockefeller calling.

Rockefeller said, "That's enough of a lesson for Tony Stark, Shazo, my friend. Please save him."

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Shazo laughed and said, "No problem, Stark actually still has the ability to resist. But since you've asked, Steven, I'll solve the problem for him."

"By the way, do you also want an Iron Man suit?"

Rockefeller readily replied, "Yes, I am very interested."

Xia Zuo said, "Ah, I think you might be disappointed. Tony will never sell the Iron Man suit; it's an obsession he struggled to overcome after being on the verge of death."

Rockefeller's voice remained calm: "Oh, really? That's a shame."

"It's alright. A hen that lays so many golden eggs won't just cling to them all. Or will it stop laying golden eggs altogether?"

"As long as he's still inventing, there will always be things I want, and things he's willing to sell."

Xia Zuo exclaimed, "Steven, your magnanimity surprises me. I like you as a friend."

Rockefeller chuckled softly: "My friend, I am honored to have your approval."

Finally, Xia Zuo asked, "By the way, does Obadiah want him alive or dead?"

Rockefeller joked, "Tony Stark is a golden rooster, but Obadiah is just a chicken feeder. What reason does he have to live?"

Xia Zuo was amused: "Hahaha, I like this adjective, 'Chicken-raising Obama,' hahaha."

Obadiah also believed he had won, and he completely relaxed, starting his villainous incessant chatter.

"Tony, I'm furious. I've worked my whole life for Stark Industries."

"Stark Industries is like my child. I've poured countless efforts into it to grow the company to what it is today."

"But what did you do?"

"You shut down the weapons department, ruining my life's work!"

"You wouldn't even discuss it with me!!"

Obadiah Stane, overcome with emotion, roared through tears, "Do you know how many businesses your recklessness has ruined?"

"I humbly invited this scientist, and you left him hanging at the door while you were fooling around with a cover girl!"

"I already agreed on a price with the Ministry of National Defense, but you carelessly halved it, turning the company from profitable to losing money, and even preventing the Deputy Minister from making any profit!"

"Do you know how much I had to pay to settle things with that deputy minister?"

Obadiah angrily raised two fingers: "Two hundred million! Two hundred million dollars! All from my own pocket!!"

Tony Stark felt increasingly ashamed as he listened.

Finally, the proud little mustache lowered his head and apologized softly, "I'm sorry, it was my fault. My stubbornness made things difficult for you."

"But selling weapons is unacceptable; I cannot accept using the weapons I manufacture to kill civilians."

Obama laughed angrily: "Hahaha, Tony, we've been arms dealers since your father's time, arms dealers!"

"You're so old now, you've invented so many weapons, and suddenly you want to clean up your act and quit being an arms dealer!"

"What do you want me, an old man who's sold arms my whole life, to do? Die?"

Enraged, Obadiah kicked Tony Stark away with the Iron Monger, followed by a barrage of artillery fire and missile bombardment that nearly turned the gold and red Mark I into a black steel egg.

After his frenzied attack, Obadiah's anger subsided considerably. He let out a breath and said, "Okay, now I think I have to forgive you."

"Tony, you are a true weapon design genius. You swore you would never make weapons again, yet you invented the best and the strongest weapon."

He tapped his chest with his steel arm, producing a deep, metallic clang, demonstrating just how incredibly thick it was.

Tony Stark struggled to his feet, and said with a mixture of apology and determination, "I originally invented the Iron Man suit to protect my own life, but now it's to stop wars."

"To stop the war?"

Obadiah was momentarily speechless. After a long pause, he said, half-laughing and half-crying, "Inventing even more powerful weapons to stop wars? Are you kidding me?"

Xia Zuo suddenly interjected, "Hehe, I also think he's having a fit of hysteria, just like how Dr. Maxim invented the Maxim machine gun to reduce casualties in war."

"Perhaps all geniuses are, to some extent, brain-dead."

Obadiah felt that Xia Zuo's words resonated with him deeply.

He laughed excitedly: "That's absolutely right. The Iron Man suit is definitely the most powerful weapon invention of this century. It's like the Maxim machine gun of the 20th century, leading to a new mode of warfare."

"The birth of the steel armor signifies the arrival of a new arms race and the beginning of a new golden age for the military industry!"

"Huh? Wait, who are you?"

Faced with Obadiah's gaze, Xia Zuo chuckled: "In a way, I really want to be a bystander and watch the show."

"It's a pity. Someone entrusted me to save the life of this playboy in front of me, so I can only do my best."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xia Zuo disappeared from sight, escaping being trampled by the Iron Monarch's giant foot.

Obadiah was stunned for several seconds before looking up in surprise and seeing Shazo jumping onto his shoulder.

Xia Zuo muttered, "Using such a big foot to step on me, is this the first shot fired at me?"

He calmly took out a shaped charge armor-piercing grenade, placed it under the Iron King's iron head, and then pulled the detonator.

Shazo smiled and greeted the dumbfounded Obadiah, then jumped off the Iron Monger.

boom-

The powerful explosion of the shaped charge melted the funnel-shaped copper shell, forming a sharp jet that blasted into the gap between the Tyrant's head and body.

Surprisingly, this jet of energy, powerful enough to pierce Merkava's main armor, was blocked by the Iron Monger's neck lining composite armor.

I don't know if Merkava was exaggerating or if Iron Monger used solid materials.

In short, Obadiah wasn't killed in the explosion; instead, he was enraged: "You bastard, you're asking for it!"

The backplate opened, revealing the miniature ammunition chambers underneath. The shoulder armor opened, and a three-barreled rotary machine gun popped out, ready to unleash its full firepower at Xia Zuo, who was not far away.

But before Obadiah could lock on, he was horrified to discover that Shazor had already picked up the anti-tank missile launcher, which had no aiming system, and launched it.

That makes sense. Why would you need an aiming system when shooting at a distance of less than 30 meters?

Anti-tank missiles are also armor-piercing projectiles with shaped charge, but their explosive charge is much larger than that of anti-tank grenades.

The Iron Monger can withstand hand grenades, but it's unlikely to withstand Javelin missiles.

Faced with the incoming javelin missiles, Obadiah didn't care about attacking anymore and slammed his palm on the emergency dodge button.

The massive Iron Monger mech suddenly shrank into a ball, then rolled on the spot, narrowly avoiding the missile's direct impact.

Xia Zuo dropped the missile launcher, picked up a large-caliber grenade launcher, and fired a series of grenades at the Iron Monger's external sensors and cameras.

In just a few seconds, the Iron Monger was hit by 36 grenades, and the continuous explosions wiped out its external sighting system.