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There were other names too like Kakashi, Haku and other names that she had never heard of like Steve Rogers, Bruce Banner... Tsunade then proceeded to return back the file.

"So you want our help in catching this thief?" Tsunade asked.

"Yes. The help would be greatly appreciated." Maria said.

"That's rich coming from someone who had constantly spied on us." Tsuande replied.

"We only did so to assess if you are a danger to the public discourse, other than that SHIELD has always intended to ask for your help, same as Tony Stark and others. We keep our distance but you should understand that if you are anything like Rei, humans in general have the right to fear." Maria defended herself and the agenda that SHIELD carried. Tsunade nodded at that and slowly got up. Maria remained seated as Tsunade rose from the table, carefully tucking both hands into the pockets of her jacket.

The sounds of Manhattan continued uninterrupted around them, with blaring taxi horns, hurried conversations, and the distant rumble of trains beneath the streets. It was almost amusing how an ordinary morning carried on while discussions involving an artifact capable of reshaping the world had just taken place over breakfast.

"I understand your reasoning," Tsunade finally said.

"If people with abilities beyond ordinary humans suddenly appeared in my world, I'd probably have investigated them as well." Maria simply nodded.

"Then you also understand why we've kept our distance."

"I do." Tsunade looked briefly toward Shizune before returning her attention to the SHIELD officer.

"But I don't make decisions like these alone anymore, especially in a foreign place, so I will have to consult." Maria remained silent, allowing her to continue.

"If this Tesseract truly has the potential to threaten innocent people, then I'll discuss it with my companions first. If we decide to help..." A faint smile crossed Tsunade's face.

"... we'll do it our way." A small smile appeared on Maria's face.

"That's all I was hoping for." Without another word, Tsunade and Shizune turned and disappeared into the crowd, leaving the busy plaza behind. Maria watched them until they vanished among the endless stream of pedestrians before quietly retrieving the now-empty coffee cup from the table. Somewhere nearby, the surveillance team finally received the order to stand down.

Tsunade pushed open the door to her office inside Konoha's administrative building. Warm afternoon sunlight filtered through the windows, illuminating stacks of paperwork that had somehow multiplied despite her absence. Standing silently near the entrance, exactly where a Hokage Guard should be, was Rei. He gave a respectful nod.

"How was your morning walk?" Tsunade couldn't help but chuckle.

"Interesting." That single word immediately caught Rei's attention.

"Oh?" She walked toward her desk before dropping into her chair with a tired sigh.

"I was approached by SHIELD." Rei's expression remained unchanged, though his mind immediately became alert.

"Huh? Why?"

"They spoke of some thing called Tesseract, and they want our help." Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. So it had finally begun. If they were approaching Tsunade about the Tesseract... then according to the original timeline, it should be the New York War. Which meant the Avengers Initiative was about to move into its next phase. His thoughts slowed.... But something doesn't add up. Loki should still be imprisoned on Asgard after Thor.

Without Loki, the Battle of New York shouldn't even be possible. Had history already diverged... or was there something he didn't know? He kept every one of those thoughts to himself.

"They requested your assistance?" he asked instead. Tsunade nodded.

"Apparently it was stolen from one of their research facilities less than a week ago. According to them, whoever took it intends to turn it into a weapon." Rei folded his arms.

"And your answer?"

"I haven't given one." She leaned back comfortably in her chair.

"But I intend to." Rei looked toward her.

"The people of that world have treated us fairly for nearly a year. We have used their technology to make my our work faster, Konoha now has landline connection to every homes and soon we will introduce mobiles so that the residents of the village can connect without having to work hard. So I think it is also our duty to return. If someone truly intends to use that artifact against innocent people..." Her amber eyes hardened.

"... I'm not interested in standing by and watching."" You are just bored and want some action." Rei reiterated.

"Haah.. But the reports on Tesseract does pique my interest. A thing that can open portals. Isn't it something like your power." Tsunade asked.

"I don't know. I haven't seen it yet."

"Hmm. If we're getting involved with an unknown enemy and technology capable of this much destruction, we shouldn't do it with only the three of us."

"My thoughts exactly. Call them." Rei through his contract contacted all of them, or the ones who could fight with them. Team 7 and Jiraya. Jiraya had gone away about 8 months ago on a journey around with Naruto and Sasuke. They would return home once in a while in silence to have fun and then again go on with their training. Jiraya was teaching them whatever he had.

Nearly two hours later, the office that had remained quiet throughout the afternoon was suddenly filled with familiar faces. One after another, the members of their group arrived after receiving Rei's summons through the contract. Kakashi appeared first in a swirl of leaves, followed shortly by Sakura. The last to arrive were Jiraiya, Naruto and Sasuke, who had clearly traveled a considerable distance before making the final stretch back to Konoha.

The moment Naruto stepped through the doorway, his blue eyes lit up with excitement.

"We're finally back!" He stretched his arms over his head before grinning from ear to ear.

"And this time in the other world too? This is awesome! The last mission we had there was rescuing Tony, and now we've finally got another one!" Sasuke merely folded his arms beside him, though the faint spark in his eyes suggested he shared some of Naruto's anticipation. Even after nearly a year of traveling across the Nations under Jiraiya's guidance, the modern world beyond their own still fascinated him in ways he refused to openly admit. Jiraiya looked around the office before scratching the back of his head.

"I leave for less than a year and somehow the old hag manages to find another international crisis." He let out an exaggerated sigh before grinning.

"I suppose retirement really isn't in our future."

"You're assuming you were ever retired," Tsunade shot back, causing Sakura and Shizune to quietly laugh while Jiraiya dramatically clutched his chest as though mortally wounded by the remark. Once everyone had settled down, Tsunade's expression gradually became serious. The relaxed atmosphere inside the office disappeared almost immediately as she briefly explained everything Maria Hill had shown her that morning.

She spoke about SHIELD, the stolen artifact known as the Tesseract, and the organization's belief that whoever had stolen it intended to transform it into a weapon capable of threatening countless innocent lives.

"Our objective, at least for now," Tsunade concluded, "isn't defeating an enemy."

"It's locating the Tesseract before whoever possesses it accomplishes whatever they're planning." Silence settled across the room for several moments.

"So..." Naruto finally spoke.

"We're basically helping them find something before the bad guys can use it?"

"More or less," Rei answered.

"But don't underestimate the people involved. We don't know who stole it, but whoever has done so did it under the strictest security of that world so take this seriously." Sasuke slowly nodded.

"Which means we shouldn't assume this mission will remain a simple search."

"Exactly," Kakashi agreed calmly.

"If others more powerful and connected people gets to know that a weapon is on the loose, they will do anything to get it." Satisfied that everyone understood the situation, the group departed Konoha together before arriving back at the ranch. Karin and Jugo were already waiting outside near the front porch, having received word that everyone had been summoned back.

"Took you long enough," Karin complained before smiling despite herself.

"I was beginning to think we'd miss all the excitement." Jugo simply gave everyone a quiet nod in greeting, his calm demeanor unchanged as always. Rei looked toward the house where Laura was already waiting with a tablet in one hand.

"Laura." She immediately turned toward him.

"Yes."

"Contact Director Fury. And tell him... that we are ready to assist SHIELD." Soon she contacted and within an hour big escalades started rolling in, and what surprised Rei the most that the first person to step out of the vehicle was Fury himself. Rei had to comment on that.

"I didn't expect the Director himself to show up."

"When you bring enough company that has the potential to start your own invasion, I figure it's only polite to greet the whole group." Fury replied and soon he realized that the big breasted woman was the person in charge here. The same person who had been the most relaxed one according to reports.