Tony and Qin Xiao's phone call rewinds slightly in ti.
At the Stark Expo grounds, Justin Hamr was practically overflowing with excitent.
Tony was digging his own grave.
He refused to share even the slightest bit of his armor technology, not even complying with official military requests.
At that previous evaluation hearing, he had embarrassed both the military and Hamr Industries alike.
He insisted on being the only Iron Man saving the world.
But!
None of that could stop Justin Hamr's good fortune.
He had discovered a genius capable of rivaling Tony.
A genius who could build an Arc Reactor.
And just like that, he'd obtained an opportunity from the military—An opportunity to surpass Stark Industries!
And today, at the Stark Expo, he would unveil his masterpiece.
Standing atop the presentation stage, Justin Hamr radiated confidence.
"For far too long, our nation has sent the sons and daughters of heroes into battle with nothing but flesh and blood.
Countless lives have been lost.
Countless families torn apart.
Then one day, Iron Man appeared.
His powerful steel armor granted incredible offense and defense.
It protected soldiers from harm.
We thought the days of needless sacrifice were finally over.
But!
Tony Stark declared that this technology was his personal secret.
Yes, you heard correctly.
A technology capable of saving countless lives... kept hidden for personal reasons.
I think that's unfair. Irrational.
Shouldn't human life matter more than technology?"
Hamr spoke eloquently on stage.
Below him, the crowd of spectators nodded repeatedly.
Badmouthing Tony Stark at Tony Stark's own expo was already explosive enough.
The reporters attending the event were losing their minds.
"Yes! Keep talking! Tomorrow's front-page headline is writing itself!"
That was their honest thought process.
As for whether such technology falling into the wrong hands could endanger the world?
They couldn't care less.
Justin Hamr's speech wasn't over yet.
"Although Tony Stark refuses to share his technology, there's no denying he started a technological revolution.
Countless people turned their attention toward Iron Man-style armored combat systems.
And today, I will show everyone the results born from that revolution!
Hamr Drones!"
Justin roared excitedly.
As his voice fell, triumphant music began blasting throughout the venue.
Specialized display platforms slowly rose upward.
Army Armor!
Navy Armor!
Air Force Armor!
Marine Armor!
Four platforms.
Four different armored units standing in perfect formation.
Each suit stood over two ters tall.
Their humanoid appearance bore more than a passing resemblance to Iron Man's armor.
Weapons and ammunition were mounted all across the exterior.
Since there was no pilot inside, far more space could be dedicated to firepower systems.
"Starting today, our soldiers will only need to sit safely behind a screen in a control room to eliminate their enemies remotely.
Casualties... will no longer exist in the military dictionary."
Hamr proudly declared.
The crowd erupted into celebration.
As though these machines had already passed the test of war.
Because of the mutant retaliation intel Rhodey previously obtained from Tony, the military had co under enormous pressure.
As a result, their earlier attempt to force Tony to surrender the Iron Man armor technology had failed.
Colonel Rhodes also had no justification to outright seize the suits.
Which ant War Machine's debut had been delayed.
So the military's current showcase consisted solely of unmanned combat drones.
No War Machine.
The happier Justin Hamr was now...
The more miserable he would beco later.
As the software architect behind the drones, Ivan had secretly embedded countless backdoors into the system.
And now—He began taking direct control of every armored unit.
At that mont, a blazing trail descended from the sky.
BOOM!
BOOM!
CLANG!
Iron Man!
"OHHHH—!"
"IRON MAN!"
"IT'S IRON MAN!!!"
Tony's arrival instantly ignited the entire venue.
At this point, it almost felt like the expo belonged to Iron Man rather than Hamr.
Justin Hamr's expression darkened imdiately.
"Tony, this is my presentation."
Iron Man waved enthusiastically at the crowd.
Then quietly asked:
"Where's Ivan?"
Hearing that na, Hamr's heart skipped a beat.
But he quickly regained composure.
"Who's Ivan?"
"Fine. You don't have to admit it. But he already called .
He said he plans to massacre everyone here.
So tell —are you prepared to take responsibility for that?"
Tony didn't back down in the slightest.
"What? Impossible! There's no way he could do sothing like that!"
As if the universe itself wanted to slap Hamr in the face—The drones behind him suddenly activated.
CLICK!
CLICK!
CLICK!
All four divisions powered on without receiving any commands.
Tony's face imdiately changed.
"Everyone, evacuate now! The drones are out of control!"
His armor amplified his voice throughout the entire venue.
The crowd froze for a mont.
Was this so kind of joke?
Unfortunately for them—It absolutely wasn't.
CLICK—One squad of drones instantly locked onto Iron Man.
anwhile, the other three groups rapidly repositioned themselves.
CLANG!
CLANG!
CLANG!
The deafening sound of heavy machinery echoed through the expo grounds as the drones completely sealed every exit.
"GET DOWN!"
"GET DOWN!"
"GET DOWN!"
chanical voices rang out from the armored suits.
Every attendee was forced to crouch on the ground.
Anyone who tried moving was imdiately greeted with a burst of gunfire.
The screams erupting from the crowd caused Hamr's face to turn deathly pale.
He knew.
He was finished.
Tony's expression was equally grim.
Ivan had completely lost his mind.
"Ivan! You coward hiding in the shadows!"
The mont Tony shouted that, he blasted into the sky.
He intended to draw Ivan's attention entirely onto himself.
CLANG!
CLANG!
RATATATATAT!
RATATATATAT!
RATATATATAT!
The drones on the ground opened fire wildly into the air.
The expo hall's ceiling was instantly shredded apart.
Glass rained down like a storm.
The civilians crouching below were showered with debris, many suffering light injuries.
At the sa ti, the airborne drone units ignited their thrusters.
WHOOSH!
WHOOSH!
WHOOSH!
The armored units shot upward directly toward Tony.
"Tony... is running away all you know how to do?"
A familiar voice echoed through Tony's comms from an unknown connection.
Ivan.
The utterly deranged Ivan.
"Ivan, now I understand why my father kicked your father out.
Anyone willing to threaten civilians like this can't possibly co from a decent family.
If you've got guts, fight yourself instead of hiding like a coward!"
Tony tried provoking him.
"Heh. You think I'd fall for that?
I'll let the aerial drones play with you for now.
Good chance to test their firepower.
But if you destroy all of them...
Then I'll deploy the ground units.
And every hostage here will die because of you.
So think carefully before deciding whether to fight back."
Ivan's voice sounded like the devil himself.
Fight back?
Fine.
Destroy the drones, and he starts slaughtering hostages.
Don't fight back?
Also fine.
Then how long could Tony's armor survive the bombardnt?
Ivan had handed Tony an impossible dilemma.
"Fuck!"
Tony cut the connection imdiately and contacted Nick Fury instead.
By now, SHIELD was fully aware of the situation.
After all, Black Widow was Tony's assigned liaison.
The mont she learned Ivan had contacted Tony, she alerted SHIELD.
But SHIELD was already too late.
By the ti they arrived, the situation had completely spiraled out of control.
The hostages were trapped under overwhelming firepower.
At this point, all SHIELD could do was prepare for the inevitable dia outrage afterward.
Left with no options, Tony suddenly thought of Qin Xiao.
If ordinary people couldn't solve this...
That didn't an Qin Xiao couldn't.
So while dodging the pursuing drones, Tony dialed Qin Xiao's number.
…
Back to the present.
BZZZT—A yellow portal opened inside the Stark Expo grounds.
The mont Qin Xiao and Logan stepped through, they imdiately sensed the intensity of the battle overhead.
Or more accurately—A one-sided chase.
People from nearby exhibition zones were being frantically evacuated.
Following the crowd flow, Qin Xiao quickly identified the source of the chaos.
Black Widow was there as well.
This ti, Natasha was Tony's liaison rather than Pepper's assistant, so she hadn't been trapped inside earlier.
That was both good news and bad news.
"What now? According to Tony, the hostages are being held together, and every drone has its weapons systems activated.
Any disturbance could trigger a massacre.
There's no way we can destroy every drone simultaneously.
Even if just one reacts slower than the others—Its weapons could still kill countless people.
This situation's hard to solve."
Logan had spent a lifeti fighting.
He imdiately grasped how troubleso the situation was.
Machines weren't like humans.
They had no obvious weak points.
If these were human enemies, they could simply deploy dozens of snipers.
Each sniper targets soone different.
One synchronized shot—Problem solved.
But these were machines.
Where exactly were they supposed to aim?
A pile of tal junk wouldn't go down unless you hit the right control systems.
Otherwise, all you'd do was trigger retaliation fire.
After hearing Logan's analysis, Natasha's expression turned grave.
"The only option is decapitation.
Find Ivan and capture him directly.
Only then might we shut down the drones."
But after saying that, she shook her head again.
"You're worried that if we corner him, he'll choose mutual destruction instead.
One man's life in exchange for countless innocents."
Qin Xiao imdiately understood why she hesitated.
"Exactly. If that happens, all those people die for nothing.
Among the Devil Fruits I can match with you... are there any capable of boosting my strength?
Especially sothing that could solve a situation like this?
If there is—Give one!"
Natasha had actually turned her attention toward Qin Xiao.
Devil Fruits!
What if one of them really could resolve the crisis?
Qin Xiao glanced at her.
"Compatible Devil Fruits:
Love-Love Fruit, Soul-Soul Fruit, Clone-Clone Fruit, Clear-Clear Fruit, Door-Door Fruit, Calm-Calm Fruit…"
Among those fruits—There actually were a few that might work.
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