"Trying to run?" Ryuuto's voice cut through the smoke like a blade. "Cute. You think you can escape me?"
His hands blurred into seals.
"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Bullet!"
A roaring inferno burst from his mouth, spiraling through the air like a living comet. The night lit up in orange and gold as the flames howled toward their prey.
Ghoul barely had time to blink before Ryuuto's eyes snapped open—three tomoe spinning into a vortex of power.
"Kamui."
Space rippled. The fire vanished… only to reappear right where Ghoul was teleporting to.
A second later—
BOOM.
The mutant hit the floor face-first, rolling like a broken puppet. His back was charred, flames licking at his coat. He groaned, clutching at the ground, twitching from pain.
Ryuuto landed beside him, calm as ever. "How's that teleport trick working out for you?"
"Y-You—" Ghoul's voice rasped, trembling between pain and rage. "We've never even met! Why—"
Ryuuto's boot came down on his face, grinding his cheek into the dirt.
"Don't need a grudge to beat your ass, genius. You annoyed me. That's enough."
He pressed harder until Ghoul's muffled scream choked into silence.
"Now listen up, you overgrown cockroach." Ryuuto crossed his arms, his voice low and cold. "You get three seconds to decide. Surrender—or get buried. Three."
"I—I surrender!" Ghoul flailed his hands, coughing sand. "I give up! I give up!"
Ryuuto's foot lifted. He smirked. "Smart move. Count yourself lucky."
He leaned closer, his tone sharpening. "But hear this. If I even hear you're back to your mutant-trafficking crap, the X-Men will erase you from this planet. Clear?"
"Crystal!" Ghoul wheezed, trembling like a kicked dog.
"Good." Ryuuto stepped back, letting the golden sand swirl around his ankles. "Try reforming. It's cheaper than dying."
And just like that, he vanished—his figure dissolving into grains of dust that scattered into the wind.
Ghoul stared after him, paralyzed. When the echo of Ryuuto's voice faded, he finally slumped against the floor, gasping like a man pulled out of hell.
[Ding! Mission Complete!]
[Reward: 1x Lucky Wheel Spin!]
"Wait, that's it? Just a spin? Where's my puzzle fragment, Shion?" Ryuuto groaned.
[Don't pout, Host. This time, I've got a good feeling. Maybe you'll finally pull something useful instead of another 'Fire-Resistance Towel.']
"...That's not reassuring."
Still, Ryuuto hit the button.
The wheel spun violently, glowing with system light. His pulse quickened.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! You've unlocked three additional missions. Completing all of them will yield the Uchiha Itachi Puzzle Piece!]
Ryuuto froze. "Three extra missions? You're kidding. Let me guess—they all sound impossible."
[Please. I'd never do that to you.]
A beat of silence.
[Mission One: Infiltrate the Mutant Brotherhood within three hours and remain undetected. Success will unlock Mission Two.]
Ryuuto sighed, rubbing his temple. "You really enjoy torturing me, huh?"
[I call it character building.]
"Yeah, sure. You call it that. I call it unpaid overtime."
Still muttering, Ryuuto grabbed his jacket and glanced at his reflection—eyes sharp, grin sharper. "Guess it's time to pay Magneto's fan club a little visit."
Across the city, inside a high-tech research lab, Jane Foster suddenly winced, clutching her stomach. A strange, radiant pulse shimmered beneath her skin.
"Jane?" Dr. Erik Selvig rushed to her side. "What's wrong?"
"I—I don't know," she gasped. "It's like something's… changing inside me."
Erik's expression hardened. "Sit down. Don't panic. I'll call S.H.I.E.L.D.—they'll know what to do."
Jane nodded weakly, though her eyes flickered with fear.
In the quiet hum of the lab, the Aether particles within her body pulsed again—absorbing, evolving, twisting her very core.
The storm was coming.
Meanwhile, Ryuuto streaked across the night sky—his sand propelling him faster than a jet. The cityscape blurred beneath him as he shot toward the outskirts where the Mutant Brotherhood's base lay hidden.
He landed silently atop a tall oak, blending into the shadows. From his perch, he eyed the compound below—metal walls, patrols of restless mutants, lights sweeping the forest line.
"Man," one guard complained, yawning. "I'm dead tired. We've been on alert ever since that 'Red Mirage' freak humiliated Magneto."
"Yeah," another muttered. "The boss says morale's shot. If he doesn't show soon, this brotherhood's finished."
Ryuuto smirked.
"Perfect timing."
The sand beneath his feet began to stir.
...
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