"I want first-hand access to the mutant experiment data."
Tony's visor flickered as his eyes narrowed. "What?"
Ryuuto smirked. "Don't play dumb. I know about your Manhattan lab—the one studying how to artificially upgrade mutant genes. In theory, you're trying to create new mutants, even control what powers they awaken."
Tony's jaw tightened. "Natasha Romanoff told you?"
"She let it slip over dinner last night," Ryuuto replied, deadpan.
"My god…" Tony exhaled, dragging a hand down his face. "A woman in love can't keep a secret to save her life."
Ryuuto shrugged. "If you beat me, I'll teach you how to draw chakra. If I win, you take me to Manhattan and show me the lab yourself."
Tony hesitated, then tried a poker face. "There's nothing special in that lab. We're just collecting data on mutants, no actual experiments."
"Really?"
"Alright, fine." Tony threw up his hands. "We're experimenting—on animals. Trying to stimulate the X-gene artificially. Dr. Reese runs it. He swears if we could get a live mutant blood sample, he might make a breakthrough."
"There are mutants everywhere. That shouldn't be hard," Ryuuto said.
Tony shook his head. "We can't even identify them properly. Testing is imperfect, and the government forbids direct screenings—worried mutants will see it as discrimination and start a war. If any country ends up with an organized mutant army, it's game over."
He gave a humorless laugh. "In the U.S. alone, mutants split three ways. Magneto's faction wants domination. Charles Xavier preaches coexistence. And the neutrals just want to live quietly. If Magneto catches wind of our lab experiments, it's a crisis. Even Charles would oppose it—he doesn't want mutants treated like lab rats. That could push the Brotherhood and the X-Men together. Neutral mutants too. You think the U.S. survives that? The world?"
Ryuuto tilted his head. "So one wrong move and the whole board flips."
"Exactly." Tony looked tired. "Mutants already get treated like monsters. If Magneto says Stark Industries is experimenting on them, it's a PR apocalypse."
Ryuuto's eyes sharpened. "I'm looking for a power variant."
Tony blinked. "Come again?"
"Flight," Ryuuto said simply. "I want to fly like Susan Storm or Ororo."
"She's not a mutant," Tony pointed out.
"I know. But there are powers similar to hers. I don't care how it works, only the result," Ryuuto said. "Susan manipulates force fields. Storm rides the wind. I want the sky."
Tony crossed his arms. "You're basically asking me to upgrade your X-gene."
"Right."
"That's impossible," Tony said. "Your gene's already enhanced. You can't upgrade it further."
"Who told you that?"
Tony hesitated. "I guessed."
"Then you could be wrong." Ryuuto's smile was all challenge. "If you had a mutant volunteer, could you do a manual upgrade?"
Tony stared. "You're not volunteering, are you?"
"I'm not into being a lab rat." Ryuuto chuckled. "But I'm from Axville Mutant School. Finding a willing volunteer? Not hard."
"I'm no geneticist," Tony warned. "Even Dr. Reese doesn't know. No one's ever tried this. We'd only know by actually doing it."
Ryuuto's eyes gleamed. "And what's your personal opinion?"
For once Tony looked serious, almost dangerous. "I'm a madman. Of course I want a mutant willing to cooperate."
Without another word, Ryuuto stepped closer. They clasped hands, gripping tight like sworn brothers.
"Deal?"
"Deal."
Ryuuto stepped back, eyes glittering. His plan was simple: if he couldn't get a Tsuchikage data pack, he'd just level up his own X-gene and become a true mutant. This world was crawling with monsters—on Earth and beyond. Hokage skills alone wouldn't cut it forever. He needed powers and weapons rooted in this universe too. Only then could he stand as king.
He cracked his knuckles. "Alright, Tony. Let's test something."
His hands blurred through seals.
"Ninjutsu — Expansion Jutsu!"
"Ninjutsu — Human Boulder!"
In a heartbeat, Ryuuto's body swelled like a living bomb, arms and legs retracting into a massive rolling sphere.
Tony's HUD went haywire. "What the hell?! He can retract his limbs?!"
Ryuuto began to spin, tearing up the ground like a tank gone feral.