"I never thought…the one who'd end up pulling me out would be you."
Dragged to his feet by Fury, General Ross shook his head. His mind cleared a little, though his body still screamed with pain. The adrenaline rush pumping through his veins gave him just enough strength to move.
Not all of it came from willpower or survival instinct. Before hauling him up, Nick Fury had jabbed him with a dose of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s special serum—just enough to keep the general on his feet without dragging Fury down with him.
And of course, Fury wasn't doing this out of pure kindness.
When Ross voiced his surprise, Fury's eyes flicked instinctively toward the sky. That glance gave him away.
Above, helicopters that had been circling the battlefield suddenly contorted, their frames tearing apart as they transformed into towering mechanical lifeforms. With deafening roars, they plunged from the sky to join the fight below.
There was no doubt about it.
They were fighting for Senju Haruto.
And just as certain—Fury had been forced to bail out.
The U.S. Army, already reeling, had just been dealt another crushing blow.
"Your only job now is to get out of here," Fury said without hesitation.
He had originally planned to approach Haruto, to convince him to join the Avengers Initiative. But now, looking at the scene before him, that ambition seemed almost laughable.
Ross's expression twisted with conflicting emotions. As the battlefield commander, tonight's disaster lay squarely on his shoulders. His miscalculation had cost them everything.
"This way," Fury barked. He waved over several soldiers and handed Ross into their care. Then he drew one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s prototype weapons from under his coat.
Convincing Haruto would have to wait. Charging in now would only end badly.
Which meant, of course, that every soldier Ross had brought here was doomed.
Though Fury carried the authority of S.H.I.E.L.D., he still felt a pang of sympathy. These men had come here not for themselves, but for their country—for humanity.
"Damn it…" Ross muttered suddenly, his body jerking as if struck by a realization.
"What now?" Fury shot him a sharp glance.
He assumed Ross was worried about an ambush. After all, Haruto could manipulate any machine—vehicles, weapons, even tech still in hiding. That was why Fury had chosen narrow backstreets for their retreat, where fewer machines could interfere.
But Ross wasn't thinking about an ambush. His expression told a different story.
The troops he'd led here were only one part of the larger deployment. His orders hadn't been to quell the disturbance. No—the true objective was to capture that truck and seize Haruto's technology.
For that reason, Ross's superiors had given him unrestricted clearance. High-grade weapons—ordnance that had no business being deployed in an American city—were already being funneled toward this district.
And that was the nightmare.
Because those cutting-edge weapons… would also fall under Haruto's control. They would transform into his soldiers of steel.
"We…we have to stop them," Ross gasped, halting mid-step. He needed a comm unit. He had to warn the other divisions—get them as far away from Haruto as possible. Until someone figured out how to counter him, distance was the only chance they had.
"The hell, Ross!" Fury swore under his breath. Important intel like this—and Ross chose now to spill it. But deep down, he knew he should have anticipated it. The shadowy figures backing Ross had always been willing to cross any line in their hunger for power.
Ross was already turning back, intent on re-entering the battlefield to reach a communicator, when—
Haruto's voice rolled across the district like thunder.
This time, he wasn't speaking to Ross. He wasn't even addressing Fury.
He was speaking to the entire world.
Haruto knew it well enough: with such a display, such terrifying force, every power that mattered was already watching. Somewhere out there, the U.N. Security Council was almost certainly monitoring him through their top-grade surveillance satellites. His words would not only reach their ears—but echo across the globe.
And in truth, it wasn't just the Security Council.
At this very moment, every government, every intelligence agency, every hidden faction on Earth had their eyes fixed here.
No one cared about Stark or Obadiah Stane anymore.
All attention had shifted to one man.
Senju Haruto.
"What the hell's he planning now?" Fury muttered, his throat dry. He could feel the arrogance, the raw defiance, bleeding from Haruto's voice.
"To those hiding in the shadows—you're desperate to uncover who I am, and what I can do, aren't you?"
"Fine. I'll tell you."
"My name is Haruto. Guardian of the Sanctum in New York."
"I know what you want. My power. My technology."
"But hear me well—"
"Some things are not for mortals to touch."
"Today's events are your lesson."
"Remember your place."
Haruto's declaration fell like a hammerblow, utterly unconcerned with the consequences his words would unleash. Then he unleashed the Seed of Fire's power to its fullest, spreading its influence farther and farther.
From one city block, to two, to three…
This time, Haruto's transformation wasn't limited to cars.
Vending machines. Smartphones. Household appliances. Anything touched by the Seed of Fire warped into mechanical life, each one bending to Haruto's will.
"Impossible…" Even Optimus Prime stood stunned. He had known Haruto as his creator. But he had never imagined his maker's power could reach such an overwhelming scale.
"Ross," Fury rasped, his throat tight, "you've pissed off the wrong damn man."
Even as he spoke, his own comm unit sputtered, slipped free, and clattered to the pavement—only to twist and reshape itself into a mechanical drone before his eyes.
Across the city, ordinary citizens were left in shock, their fear spilling into chaos.
"My car—it just turned into a robot!"
"My brand-new phone!"
"It's the end of the world! This must be God's punishment for our addiction to technology!"
From the first street where it began, the Seed of Fire's influence swept outward until half of New York was engulfed.
Haruto's army of steel swelled from tens of thousands…to hundreds of thousands…to millions.
Not just New York. Not just America.
The entire world reeled at the spectacle.
This was no longer within the bounds of reason, science, or physics. This was godlike power.
And in that moment, people everywhere understood why Senju Haruto had dared to defy them all.
Because he truly was strong enough to overturn the world alone.