"Cousin, where is this guy Simon now?" Shuri asked.
Her relationship with Erik had always been good, and Erik was quite fond of this younger cousin as well.
"I don't know the exact location," Erik replied. "But I'm certain it's not far from Wakanda."
"If you're smuggling vibranium, operating too far away would be risky."
"My guess? They're most likely at sea."
Unlike the way he deliberately irritated T'Challa, Erik answered Shuri's question without hesitation.
"At sea?" Karl and T'Challa asked almost simultaneously.
Erik nodded.
"Exactly."
"The ocean is safer than land."
"Wakanda's navy is powerful, but since we hide our true capabilities, most of our fleet stays concealed inside coastal caves."
"That creates the illusion that Wakanda has no advanced naval power."
"So the sea becomes their best defensive barrier."
He continued analyzing the situation.
"Remember, Ulysses Klaue's base used to be on a cruise ship at sea."
"So the probability that Simon is operating offshore is extremely high."
Erik crossed his arms.
"They're probably close to Wakanda, but not inside our territorial waters."
His reasoning was sharp—befitting someone once nicknamed the Grim Reaper of Special Forces.
---
Meanwhile, Shuri had already begun scanning ships near Wakanda's coastline.
Since Wakanda possessed a long coastal border, nearly a third of the nation touched the sea.
"Right now there are three ships within roughly fifteen nautical miles of our coast," Shuri said.
"All of them are large cruise vessels."
"But I can't tell which one is the real base."
A holographic projection appeared in the air, displaying the three ships.
Each one matched Erik's description perfectly.
---
"Hmm… the probability is pretty high that the smugglers are on one of these ships," Erik said while studying the projection.
"They're close to Wakanda but technically outside our jurisdiction."
International maritime law defined territorial waters as twelve nautical miles from the coastline.
Beyond that distance lay international waters.
Fifteen nautical miles was ideal.
Close enough to transport vibranium easily, yet technically outside Wakandan authority.
---
"Karl," Shuri said, "these are the only three vessels nearby."
Karl immediately contacted Tony.
"Tony, we've found something."
"About fifteen nautical miles from Wakanda's coast there are three suspicious ships."
"We're not sure which one is the target."
Since Tony and the others would need over two hours to fly from New York to Wakanda, Karl decided to investigate first with Wanda and the others.
---
"I'm coming with you," T'Challa said as he stood up and took the Black Panther necklace from Shuri.
Erik rolled his eyes.
"Sit down. What are you going for?"
"You're the king now. Don't you have a country to run?"
T'Challa glanced at Erik.
"And you're still not allowed to leave Wakanda."
Erik stood anyway.
T'Challa actually felt a bit pleased—Erik's willingness to help meant he was finally starting to accept Wakanda as his home.
"Cut the nonsense," Erik said lazily.
"If I really wanted to leave Wakanda, who here could stop me?"
Despite still sounding hostile, Erik's resentment toward Wakanda had largely faded after living among its people.
---
Shuri grinned and handed him the Golden Jaguar necklace.
"Be careful, cousin," she said cheerfully.
"I'll prepare the aircraft now."
She tapped a command on the bead bracelet around her wrist.
"Okoye, prepare a ship. Cousin Erik is heading out on a mission!"
Okoye appeared via holographic projection.
She first looked toward T'Challa.
After he nodded, she allowed herself a brief smile—though it vanished almost immediately as she returned to her usual stern expression.
"Understood."
---
Erik fastened the Golden Jaguar necklace.
Thanks to Shuri's upgrades, the Golden Jaguar suit now rivaled the Black Panther suit in performance.
The difference lay in their design focus:
Black Panther Suit → agility, endurance, adaptability
Golden Jaguar Suit → strength and explosive power
The Golden Jaguar armor had a special burst mode, dramatically increasing speed and strength for about five minutes.
After that, the suit entered an energy recharge phase, absorbing energy based on how much damage it received.
The Black Panther suit worked differently.
It gradually enhanced strength and agility over time without requiring explosive bursts.
Neither suit was objectively stronger.
T'Challa and Erik often sparred in their suits.
The results were usually either a draw or mutual exhaustion.
During burst mode, the Golden Jaguar completely overwhelmed the Black Panther.
But once the burst ended, the Black Panther's gradual advantages took over.
Shuri had designed both suits specifically to match their personalities.
T'Challa was calm and analytical, studying opponents and striking decisively at weaknesses.
Erik was the opposite—aggressive and explosive, attacking relentlessly from the start.
Just like their animal symbols:
The Black Panther—patient, stealthy, calculating.
The Jaguar—fast, direct, overwhelming.
---
Meanwhile, back at Avengers Tower.
After receiving Karl's message, Tony immediately gathered everyone.
The original Avengers team assembled once again.
"Karl has identified a possible location," Tony said.
"There are three ships."
"He's going to scout them first."
"We need to move as soon as possible."
Tony looked toward Steve.
Steve was still the team's field leader.
Steve glanced around at the team and nodded.
"Let's move."
---
Everyone prepared quickly.
Clint and Natasha checked their equipment carefully.
As ordinary humans, they relied heavily on gear:
Widow's Bite gauntlets
pistols and ammunition
Clint's bow and specialized arrows
The others were much simpler.
Tony already wore his armor.
Steve needed only his shield.
Bruce… just packed extra clothes.
Ten minutes later, the Quinjet launched from the Avengers Tower rooftop.
Its folding wings expanded as it shot into the sky, leaving two white trails behind.
---
Before leaving, Tony inserted the USB drive containing JARVIS's core data into a computer.
After he departed, the computer began running automatically.
A faint golden hologram slowly flickered into existence—
almost transparent.
---
Meanwhile in Wakanda, Karl and the others boarded a Wakandan aircraft.
Its size was similar to a Quinjet, but technologically it was far more advanced.
The craft could not only fly—
it could also operate underwater, functioning like a small submarine.
And beyond these small craft, Wakanda also possessed much larger vessels capable of both aerial and underwater combat.
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