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

Chapter 254 Nick Fury's Foolishness

Shazo sat in a chair, at the same height as Nick Fury.

But he had this condescending air about him, looking down on the black braised egg, which made Nick Fury feel like he was being pricked by needles all over his body.

Xia Zuo's eyes were unfriendly, and his words were even more so: "Nick Fury, you've been to the battlefield, so you must know that only iron discipline can produce iron fighting power."

"An organization without discipline is just a pile of loose sand. Forget about protecting the earth or retaliating against enemies; it would be quite an achievement if it could just avoid killing each other."

Nick Fury's face was dark, but no one could tell.

He certainly knew the importance of discipline, and even more so the importance of command, but he had already chosen Captain America to lead the Avengers, his plan being to lure people in first and then slowly brainwash them.

Nick Fury had great confidence in Steve Rogers' personal charisma.

Honestly, when he was fooling Tony Stark before, that kid didn't even notice this problem. Why is this guy Shazo so sensitive to this issue?

This is the benefit of being well-versed in Chinese history. The saying "Only names and tools cannot be borrowed from others" is deeply engraved in the minds of every Chinese person.

But Shaza's questioning didn't end there. Without waiting for Nick Fury's answer, he continued, "Since the Avengers are an organization, and one that protects the safety of the Earth, then they must operate globally."

"Such a high-level operation is definitely not something to be taken lightly. The Avengers require strong logistical support, from equipment and training to transportation and medical care. Who will pay for such a huge amount of funding?"

"If the enemies defeated by the Avengers take civilians hostage, or even kill them outright, and then spread rumors online, slandering and spreading false information that the Avengers' actions disregard civilian safety, who will be responsible for crisis management?"

"Furthermore, once the Avengers have successfully resolved several major crises and demonstrated their power, will the Security Council be able to feel at ease with a disorganized Avengers team?"

"If the Security Council is not at ease with the Avengers, how can this loosely organized group with no affiliation alleviate those concerns?"

After asking all his questions, Xia Zuo felt his throat was a little dry, so he asked the butler to bring him a cup of tea.

The butler asked, "Sir, do you have any specific requests?"

Xia Zuo said, "Give me a cup of green tea, not too hot, without sugar or milk, and no need to prepare any snacks."

, 7

"By the way, there's no need to prepare anything for that bastard over there. The guy who tried to trick me doesn't deserve to drink my tea."

After Shazo finished speaking, he closed his eyes. He didn't wait for Nick Fury's reply at all, because both Shazo and Fury knew the answer.

All the questions he asked actually pointed to one core issue: who will lead the Avengers?

Leadership was not something Nick Fury decided to hand over to Rogers; rather, it was about taking control and dominating the Avengers as a whole.

To put it bluntly, whoever controls the leadership can decide who the Avengers fight and how long the fight will last.

Those in command can only decide how to fight.

In fact, Nick Fury had already thought this through. From the very beginning, he placed the Avengers under S.H.I.E.L.D., so the leadership naturally belonged to him.

Although he won't be seen roaming around in front of the Avengers, as the convener of the Avengers, he has absolute confidence in taking control of their leadership.

Things did not go as he wished, because the Hydra uprising caused S.H.I.E.L.D. itself, which was originally intended to support the Avengers, to collapse.

Nick Fury himself was reduced to hiding, S.H.I.E.L.D. shrank to a mere plane, and Coulson struggled to hold on to the last vestiges of the situation, barely managing to maintain the S.H.I.E.L.D. brand.

Thus, he naturally lost his leadership of the Avengers.

The power center designed by Nick Fury has become vacant, leaving Iron Man Stark and Captain America Rogers without a mediator, and their conflicts continue to escalate.

In the Superhero Registration Act incident, the two finally became irreconcilable enemies, triggering a civil war among the Avengers and completely tearing the Avengers apart.

While not the primary reason, the Avengers' split led them to fight individually, rendering them powerless to resist Thanos's invasion plan, ultimately resulting in the complete failure of the defense of Wakanda.

Thanos thus collected all six Infinity Stones and snapped his fingers to destroy the world.

The disorganized and undisciplined Avengers disappeared, and the divided Avengers reunited.

They formed a looser but more influential Avengers team, along with a highly disciplined and efficient elite squad, to exact revenge on Thanos.

Nick Fury remained silent for a long time before finally speaking, "If I solve these problems you've raised, can I join the Avengers?"

Xia Zuo refused without hesitation: "No."

Veins bulged on Lu Dan's head as Director Fury, suppressing his anger, asked, "Why?"

Shazo felt no pressure and said, "Because of you, Nick Fury."

"Let me tell you plainly, because you are stubborn, suspicious, insatiable, and stupid as a pig, I will absolutely not join any Avengers that you can influence."

Shazor had such a strong opinion about Nick Fury that he considered him a scumbag and wouldn't accept any rebuttal.

If Nick Fury were cautious and meticulous, rather than just being self-reliant, how could he have served as the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. for so many years without any agents discovering and reporting that he was being sidelined?

If Nick Fury were truly trusting instead of suspicious and distrustful, how could he possibly have trusted no more than a handful of agents?

If Nick Fury had acted with restraint instead of being insatiable, he would have endlessly expanded his power and even attempted to monitor the entire world.

If Nick Fury were wise and shrewd, instead of being as stupid as a pig, why would he spend such a huge amount of money to build an aircraft carrier that flies with four large fans?

What an ingenious idea!

Originally, these were national strategic assets that could withstand dozens of missiles or torpedoes before being sunk, but after being upgraded to aircraft carriers, they became useless junk that could be dealt with by at most two missiles.

Originally, military bases at sea, which could hide themselves by taking advantage of the Earth's curvature and were difficult for enemies to locate once in operation, have been upgraded into massive targets weighing tens of thousands of tons flying in the sky.

Thinking of this, Xia Zuo couldn't help but say to Nick Fury, who was standing up in anger, "Don't think I'm being too harsh; you've really made a mess of things."

"No rational and common-sense person would design and start construction on such an anti-intellectual toy as a flying aircraft carrier."

Nick Fury suddenly stopped in his tracks, his eyes wide open, and his heart seemed to stop beating.

With his head buzzing, he heard Xia Zuo's distorted voice say, "—And they even dared to start construction on four ships at the same time without any verification—"

Xia Zuo's words were like a thunderclap, exploding in Nick Fury's head and threatening to blow his brains out.

He turned his body slowly, looking at Xia Zuo, struggling to control himself, and asked, "How did you know?"

As part of "Project Insight" and a key strike force, the SkyCarrier is the most secretive of all S.H.I.E.L.D.

Nick Fury never expected that Shazo would say it so casually.

Xia Zuo looked at the black braised egg with a nonchalant expression: "I must say, you've done a perfect job of keeping it a secret."

"I simply cannot imagine how you managed to start such a massive project without affecting the employment rate of the industrial population. It's nothing short of a miracle in terms of secrecy."

Xia Zuo sneered, "But I don't know why, you actually overlooked the consumption and transportation of steel."

"The construction of an aircraft carrier with a displacement of 100,000 tons requires more than just 100,000 tons of steel. The dry dock and enclosed factory buildings also need to be built and maintained, and the materials required are even more than those for the aircraft carrier itself."

"In addition, the transportation of materials and the consumption of electricity are at the national level, so the resulting traffic jams and power outages are equally glaring."

"You seem to have completely overlooked how glaringly large this level of industrial resource mobilization is in today's era of deindustrialization, where even the smallest grains of rice are being de-industrialized?"

"Moreover, the large parts required during the construction of warships are even more exaggerated. There was a sudden increase in orders for four sets of giant ship generator sets that had not been ordered for two years, but there was no information about the orderers."

"Although various intelligence agencies and economic investigation departments worked together to cover it up, so much so that even my friend Rockefeller was unaware of it."

"But you can't hide the traces of large-scale resource mobilization."

Looking at Nick Fury, who was both terrified and relieved, Xia Zuo sneered, "Don't worry, I won't report you."

"Haha, don't look at me like that, I'm telling the truth."

"Sigh, Director Fury, don't you have any political acumen at all?"

"Reporting you is equivalent to reporting a whole string of people. The consequences are too serious. Although I am not afraid of the so-called shadow government, I don't need to create such a big problem for myself."

"Besides, even if I successfully report it, the tycoons, Congress, and the president who benefit will not thank me."

"They might hate me even more than the bureaucrats I reported, and I'm not going to do something that pleases neither side."

Nick Fury's furrowed brow relaxed, and he asked, "Why?"

Xia Zuo replied, "Of course, it's because crows that foretell disaster are more hateful than rats that bring disaster."

"I really doubt how someone with your level of expertise managed to become the director of S.H.I.E.L.D."

"In short, I might temporarily cooperate with you to fight the enemy if I have no other choice, but I will never work with you."

"That's so unreliable."

Nick Fury: "————"

He felt deeply insulted, but he couldn't utter a single word in rebuttal. He could only try his best to control his anger and breathing, and frantically chant in his mind.

I can't beat him!

He defeated the Hulk!

He defeated hatred!

I really can't beat him!

[I'll die!]

Blackie couldn't stay any longer. He got back into his car, started the engine, and drove away from Xia Zuo's villa.

Soon, all the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents surrounding the Shazo villa also withdrew.

After hearing the report from the mentally challenged system, Xia Zuo took out his phone and dialed Skye.

The moment the call connected, he heard a hateful voice that seemed to be in the distance.

He was anxiously calling out, "Come back quickly and heal me! I can't hold on for another 40 seconds!"

Skye didn't respond to Abomination, but instead asked with a grin, "Hehe, boss, did you handle Blackie?"

Xia Zuo replied with a smile, "Yeah, I just gave him a piece of my mind and made him leave in anger."

Skye exclaimed in surprise, "No way, he really came to ask you for Hatred?"

The girl's voice was loud. She hated that hearing her own name meant that this matter involved her fate, and she immediately became anxious.

He even forgot about his beloved game, abandoned the huge controller, and came over to listen quietly to the conversation between the boss and his wife.

Shaza laughed and said, "Skye, you underestimate Nick Fury's greed. He wants Abomination to join the Avengers he's forming, and he also wants to invite me to join."

Skye and Abomination were both stunned. Skye blurted out, "That black bastard has a huge face!"

Xia Zuo said, "His face is indeed quite large."

Skye asked, "Boss, as the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury shouldn't be an idiot. Why would he so brazenly make such an unreasonable request?"

Shaza replied, "Because Nick Fury has the backing. As far as I know, he has already contacted Tony Stark and may have successfully invited him."

"With Tony Stark joining, the Avengers have a major financial backer, and Nick Fury no longer needs to consider the Security Council's opinions."

Skye thought for a moment and said, "I think I know what's going on."

"Nick Fury isn't stupid; he's just blinded by his past successes."

Xia Zuo agreed, "That's true."

"When a person achieves great success and no one can question him anymore, he will instinctively lose his original sharpness and vigilance due to the lack of a sense of crisis."

"So Skye, you need to keep an eye on me and remind me constantly, lest I make the same mistake."

Skye said happily, "Leave it to me, boss!"

Encouraged, Hatred interjected, "Boss, what should we do next?"

Xia Zuo laughed and scolded, "What do you mean, 'what to do'? It's your turn to worry about this!"

"Disgusting! I just heard you playing games. Have you finished your training for today?"

The abhorrent creature shrank back, but dared not lie to Xia Zuo, and stammered as he admitted his mistake: "Yes, I'm sorry, boss, I, I haven't completed my training mission yet."

Xia Zuo commanded, "Then go and complete the mission immediately!"

"If you haven't finished your training when I get back, your training load will be doubled today!"

"Yes, boss! I'll go right away!"

Hearing about the doubled training, Hatred panicked and rushed off to train.