In the endless darkness of the universe, the so-called Chakra Ancestor had been fleeing at a desperate pace. Dimensional passages tore open around him one after another as he tried to put infinite distance between himself and the monster pursuing him. Yet, no matter how far he ran, the golden light of pursuit flickered at his back, closing the distance with ease.
The Ancenstor turned once, attempting to react, but his body was far too sluggish compared to Shin's nearly incomprehensible speed. A faint shimmer of dark energy wrapped around him, and in the next moment, his existence was swallowed, vanishing into the abyss of the dark dimension.
"At last, you are imprisoned where you truly belong." Shin's calm voice echoed as he looked around the vast space. His expression carried a faint smile. "With this, every last Ōtsutsuki on their homeworld has been captured. The work here is finished, and it's time to return."
His gaze sharpened. "Once I've extracted more memories from these captives, I can track the ones scattered across the stars, planting sacred trees. Then I'll collect every last one of them."
When Shin returned to the shinobi world, he cast the defeated Ōtsutsukis down before the Chakra Research Institute. The sudden sight of so many members of the clan caused a frenzy among the researchers. They scrambled like excited scholars who had just been handed living specimens of myth, eager to dissect their mysteries and unravel the source of their abilities.
But not all captives were shared. The Ancestor, the most powerful among them, was not delivered to the Institute. Shin had already extracted his soul, leaving behind only the sacred tree body. That tree, vast and majestic, merged into the one rooted at the center of the Virtual World. Though half of its energy had been drained during the battle, within a day, the rest was consumed.
From the highest branch of the sacred tree bloomed a single chakra fruit, radiant with cosmic energy and terrifying potential.
Shin plucked the fruit without hesitation and absorbed it in its entirety. The process was grueling. For two weeks, he sat in focused meditation, transmuting his chakra into something purer and more profound, a higher-grade form of cosmic chakra.
Though his body had long since reached superhuman strength, his chakra had lagged behind compared to his Kryptonian-like powers. He understood clearly: while superhuman gifts could be formidable, they carried weaknesses. Kryptonite might not exist in every world, but red giant stars certainly did. In such conditions, even with armament Haki shielding him from stellar radiation, his Kryptonian abilities would inevitably weaken. Chakra, however, had no such limitation. In those moments, it would become his greatest shield and weapon.
Armed with intelligence torn from the Ancenstor's memories, Shin reached out across the cosmos. He summoned those who had been dispatched to plant trees across distant worlds. One by one, he captured them. Within days, the once-feared clan was nothing more than a fading legacy.
The first group of captives was delivered to the Chakra Research Institute for study. The rest were dealt with more ruthlessly. On the moon, Shin destroyed their brains and replaced them with biochips, handing their empty shells over to Red Queen's control.
These reprogrammed Ōtsutsuki were more than husks. Many had command over space and gravity, and nearly all carried the innate ability of the Infinite Tsukoyomi. In Red Queen's hands, they became a perfect army of clones. More importantly, they carried the potential to project the Virtual World far beyond a single world, laying the groundwork for future interstellar colonization.
Shin, however, paid little further attention to them. His mind was already turning toward the next step. He traveled back into the DC movie universe, carrying with him hundreds of sacred trees harvested from the Ōtsutsuki. He planted them across Apokolips' conquered worlds, rooting them in soil soaked with years of war.
The result was staggering. Sacred trees bloomed across a thousand battlefields. Within a week, Shin harvested over a thousand chakra fruits, each brimming with unimaginable energy.
On some planets, he encountered creatures transformed into White Zetsu-like beings. Though their physical structures had shifted and they no longer bore the famed exoskeletal armor, they possessed chakra energy that made them formidable soldiers. To Shin, however, they were unnecessary. He left them behind to inhabit those planets. Perhaps, he mused, they would evolve into a strange civilization of spores, like the infamous Greenskins of Warhammer.
Shin smirked at the thought. "As long as they don't spread like spores, I'll be fine. And if something does go wrong... this isn't my home world. The Justice League can handle it."
Meanwhile, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver had traveled at Shin's side for nearly a year. Their curiosity had carried them through countless adventures, but now nostalgia began to weigh on them. They longed for the familiarity of their own world.
The Ancient One, however, showed no such inclination. He had immersed himself in studying divine power, fascinated by the notion of wielding it directly. There were whispers that he sought to claim the mantle of Shazam himself.
Shin only chuckled when he heard this. To him, a sorcerer was no different from a scientist, both driven by restless imagination. And given enough inspiration, he suspected the Ancient One might one day craft a spell capable of traversing the entire comic multiverse without restraint.
This time, however, Shin did not linger. He took Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver with him and returned to the Marvel universe.
Back in his familiar world, Shin reclined lazily on a sofa. Scarlet Witch sat close beside him, her eyes gentle. Though she had explored the vastness of the DC universe, she felt an undeniable sense of comfort being home once more. Quicksilver, as restless as ever, had already vanished to chase some unknown pursuit.
"So S.H.I.E.L.D. survived after all?" Shin asked casually, tilting his head toward Jessica, who sat across from him with a grin that hinted at mischief.
"Not really," Jessica replied, her tone dripping with amusement. "They survived, sure, but not in good shape. The whole organization's been reorganized from the ground up. Even Nick Fury's no longer Director."
Shin raised an eyebrow. "Reorganized, huh? Changing the name too?"
Jessica smirked. "That's what the rumors say."
Shin let out a short laugh. Fury's removal wasn't surprising. Hydra's infiltration had left S.H.I.E.L.D. in ruins long before, but the mess had ultimately landed on Fury's shoulders. The UN Security Council wasn't about to consider history or nuance. In their eyes, Fury was to blame, and so he bore the price.
"So," Shin leaned forward, curiosity flashing in his gaze, "who's holding the reins of S.H.I.E.L.D. now?"
His mind drifted to memories of the comics, where S.H.I.E.L.D. had been reshaped into H.A.M.M.E.R. with Norman Osborn at its helm. Osborn had gone so far as to create the Dark Avengers, a team composed of anti-heroes and outright villains masquerading as saviors. It had been a bold, chaotic move, the kind only American writers could dream into existence.
But this world was different. Osborn remained in prison, stripped of his influence. Wanda, ironically, had become the largest shareholder of his company, all through sheer luck and circumstance. By merely being who she was, she now held power Osborn could never reclaim.
"Even if he gets out of prison," Shin mused silently, "he won't have the strength to step into Fury's shoes."
Which left only the unanswered question burning in his mind.
"So then... who will take the title of Director this time?"
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