Dr. Bruce Banner is an honest man.
Everyone present might suspect Thanos, might suspect Loki, might suspect Nick Fury, or even Captain America Steve Rogers, but they would never suspect Dr. Bruce Banner.
Because all these years, Dr. Bruce Banner has always been the quintessential nice guy; even Thanos has a very good impression of Dr. Bruce Banner.
Unfortunately.
Today is destined to be a day that overturns everything they thought they knew.
Just as everyone handed the Stones over to Dr. Bruce Banner and let him embed them all into the Infinity Gauntlet, a flash of pain and struggle crossed this nice guy's face; his gaze fixed on the Infinity Gauntlet was filled with complexity!
This was not pain brought on by the power of the Infinity Stones.
Because the Infinity Gauntlet could restrain the Stones' power, Dr. Bruce Banner could adapt to its strength; he was only thinking about what he should do next.
Should he…
Choose Uehara Naraku?
Or…
Choose these companions who had lived and fought side by side with him?
For someone with a kind heart, he didn't need much time to think; Bruce Banner's fingers clenched tight in an instant—he could not let everyone's effort go to waste!
Within just a single second!
Bruce Banner's resolve was set!
At this point, not even Uehara Naraku could possibly change the outcome anymore, right!
All this time, Bruce Banner had been following Uehara Naraku's orders for the sake of this very moment!
This nice guy knew exactly what would happen after he snapped his fingers; at the very least, he would lose all of his power, maybe even his life!
Even with the Hulk's undying constitution, he would, without a doubt, be viciously backlashed and gravely wounded by the power of the Infinity Stones—those Stones were the strongest gamma radiation in this world!
But…
He was willing to pay that price!
"Dr. Bruce Banner."
A familiar, flippant voice rang out in the room.
Along with that voice, a familiar figure strolled out slowly from a Black Hole Gate, the corners of his mouth curled in a smile of absolute confidence: "I think maybe you should see someone first, then reconsider your decision?"
Uehara Naraku.
The moment everyone present saw this scene, every hair on their bodies practically stood on end; what it meant for this guy to show up here couldn't be more obvious!
This guy wanted to stop Dr. Bruce Banner from snapping his fingers!
Uehara Naraku's lips were curved in a faint smile, as if he didn't care at all about that lethal, ready-to-snap hand of Bruce Banner's; he chuckled softly and went on, "I'm not just saying this to you. I'm saying it to everyone here as well…"
As he spoke, a slender figure slowly drifted out of the Black Hole Gate behind Uehara Naraku—it was the Black Widow, Natasha Romanoff, who had sacrificed herself when they time-traveled to collect the Stones.
Uehara Naraku suddenly stretched out his left hand and clamped it around Natasha's neck; his eyes fixed on Dr. Bruce Banner as he smiled and said, "Dr. Banner, Natasha Romanoff is the most important person to you, isn't she? I went through a lot of trouble to bring her back to life…"
Uehara Naraku's left hand gripped Natasha's neck; his right hand slowly opened as he said softly, "As long as you're still willing to obey my orders and hand over the Infinity Gauntlet in your hand to me, I'll give her back to you. This is a reward for someone who has been loyal…"
For those subordinates who were loyal.
Uehara Naraku had never been stingy with his rewards.
"..."
Everyone present fell into silence.
Bruce Banner stared at the resurrected Natasha in disbelief; his fingers were already tightly pressed together—he only needed an instant to unleash that snap that could wipe everything out!
"How are you here!"
Tony Stark was the first to regain his composure and question Uehara Naraku coldly; his gaze slowly swept over everyone present, then he continued in a deep voice, "Uehara Naraku, you have people here? Everything we've done all this time… was controlled by you again?"
"Mm, more than one."
Uehara Naraku nodded carelessly, his gaze landing on Loki, then returning to Bruce Banner: "But I am very worried that someone might betray me… so I came to see if I can trade Special Agent Romanoff for his loyalty."
"..."
Everyone's eyes once again converged on Bruce Banner.
Bruce Banner slowly lowered his head.
This action was almost self-explanatory; this nice guy of The Avengers, Dr. Banner, whom every faction respected, was Uehara Naraku's subordinate…
And now…
Bruce Banner, Uehara Naraku's underling, had taken from their hands the Infinity Stones they had painstakingly collected from across different timelines!
A wave of despair inexplicably shrouded everyone's hearts.
Just how many more spies did this guy have hidden among The Avengers?
While everyone present was still immersed in shock, Thanos suddenly lunged at Bruce Banner, trying to snatch the Infinity Gauntlet back from his hands!
Uehara Naraku's right hand suddenly shot out; a surge of gravitational force yanked Thanos's body and slammed him hard against the wall, making the entire room shake violently a few times!
"From this point on, none of this has anything to do with you."
Uehara Naraku looked over everyone present and spoke lazily: "You have never escaped my control. Right now, all you need to do is sit quietly as an audience and wait to see what choice our nice guy Dr. Banner will make…"
"..."
"Banner!"
A strangled cry forced its way out of Natasha's throat; both her hands clutched tightly at Uehara Naraku's wrist, hoping to gain even a sliver of breath so she could say a few more words.
Unfortunately, the difference in strength was far too great.
Uehara Naraku felt Natasha's struggle; his left hand slightly relaxed as he watched her every movement with a faint smile, not caring in the least about what consequences she might bring.
"..."
Seeing the look in Uehara Naraku's eyes, Natasha's heart suddenly clenched; a sense of absurdity and terror washed over her. Was what she was about to do also within Uehara Naraku's expectations?
This bastard Uehara Naraku… could it be that he wasn't afraid of the power of the Infinity Stones at all? Or did he have some other trump card?
But…
There was no time to think anymore!
Natasha struggled to lift her head toward Bruce Banner, using every last bit of strength to shout, "Banner… don't waste my soul!"
The moment her voice fell.
Natasha closed her eyes with a smile.
In her mind, this was her best performance ever; only by leaving this world with a smile would she spare her lover from heartbreak.
"Aaaaaaaahhhhhh…"
Bruce Banner's fingers snapped up sharply!
Crack!
Just as everyone was watching in dread, waiting for Bruce Banner to snap that fatal finger, a jet-black hand suddenly pierced straight through Bruce Banner's heart!
This jet-black hand appeared so abruptly!
Even with his heart ruptured, Hulk's physique meant Dr. Bruce Banner would not die, but the tearing, soul-rending pain almost shut his brain down!
The next second.
A mass of inky-black liquid quietly enveloped Bruce Banner's body, and the Hulk holding the Infinity Gauntlet could no longer move!
As expected!
That bastard Uehara Naraku still had another trump card!
"Banner!"
"Bruce!"
"Dr. Banner!"
Everyone stared at this scene in disbelief!
The jet-black liquid seemed alive as it covered Bruce Banner's towering body, slowly clinging to his face as well, making him look disturbingly grotesque!
"Honestly…"
Uehara Naraku let out a helpless sigh and casually dropped Natasha to the ground. "Why is it that everyone always ends up thinking about betraying me?"
"You…"
Bruce Banner struggled, trying to raise his fingers again!
However, that mass of black liquid completely transformed into a living thing, seizing control of his body and slowly corroding his will!
"Is the price of loyalty still not enough?"
Uehara Naraku slowly walked toward Bruce Banner, and with each step he took forward, the pressure in the room suddenly multiplied several times over!
By the time Uehara Naraku stood before Bruce Banner, everyone present was crushed motionless by the aura radiating from him!
In this moment…
They once again tasted the fear of being suppressed by Uehara Naraku!
"Have I not given you enough?"
Uehara Naraku gazed at Bruce Banner, now fully possessed by Black Zetsu, and calmly continued, "I let you live like a normal person, made it so you weren't a monster anymore, so that you could freely love someone—why did you still have to betray me…"
"…Because…"
Dr. Bruce Banner clenched his teeth and forced the words out, "I want… to follow… my own heart! Even if it's only once… from the very start… my entire life… has been controlled by you… it can't go on like this!"
"Tsk…"
Uehara Naraku clicked his tongue and sighed, slowly extending his palm. "Fortunately, when I took you in ten years ago, I had already prepared a contingency for your betrayal…"
"..."
Everyone present wore numb expressions.
They were completely desensitized to Uehara Naraku's bottom line as a human being.
Just how dark had this man's mind become, to the point that he even suspected a good guy like Bruce Banner, and even prepped for his underling's betrayal when recruiting him…
This guy…
Just being alive must be exhausting!
"Hehehehe…"
Black Zetsu let out a few sinister chuckles, manipulating Bruce Banner's hand to remove the Infinity Gauntlet and hand it over to Uehara Naraku. "Every world always has a few idiots who think they can change it…"
"So troublesome."
Uehara Naraku shook his head with a sigh. After taking the Infinity Gauntlet from Black Zetsu, he curled his fingers and suddenly snapped!
This snap was unnervingly crisp!
Hearing the sound of that snap, everyone involuntarily widened their eyes, staring at Uehara Naraku's movement!
"Relax, I just wanted to see if I could erase the versions of me from other eras."
Uehara Naraku smiled as he glanced at his rapidly regenerating arm and chuckled softly. "Only the Infinity Stones can counter the Infinity Stones. Sure enough, they can't wipe out my existence… As expected, past, present, or future—there's only ever one me."
"Maniac!"
Tony Stark was a bit dumbfounded.
Did this mean that Uehara Naraku just now…
That snap was actually him trying to erase himself?
"All right, go send them back to their own timelines."
Uehara Naraku took off the nearly ruined Infinity Gauntlet and tossed it over his shoulder to a hooded bald woman behind him. "Better hurry back. I'm about to change the ownership of the entire universe; can't have them stirring up more trouble for me…"
"Understood."
The figure beneath the hood responded softly.
It was none other than the former Supreme Mage, the Ancient One.
Once the Master Ancient One left, everyone tensed up again, gripping their weapons tightly, all worried that Uehara Naraku would settle accounts after the fact.
"So timid…"
Uehara Naraku shook his head, then turned and stepped into the Black Hole Gate.
Just as everyone was finally starting to relax, Uehara Naraku suddenly turned his head back, beaming as he said, "Snuffing out a person's life is honestly such a low-level move… What I'm best at is being the mastermind behind the scenes!"