Once the armored vehicle had disappeared into the distance, Shiranui Hayate re-entered the System Space. He tapped on the Task Assembly Hall and saw that the missions currently on the board were marked as completed. He immediately claimed the rewards.
- Ding! Mission completed. Reward: 500 Reputation, 50,000 Copper Coins, 1 Common Chest.
- Ding! Mission completed. Reward: 500 Reputation, 50,000 Copper Coins, 1 Common Chest.
- Ding! Mission completed. Reward: 500 Reputation, 50,000 Copper Coins, 1 Common Chest.
As the notifications cleared, Hayate wasted no time in submitting the mission scroll for "Rescuing Tony Stark."
The Task Assembly Hall began its evaluation process. A moment later, the result flashed on the screen: B-Rank. Hayate nodded, satisfied. It was a step above the usual C-Rank grind; a solid result that made the trip worthwhile.
However, seeing that a well-armed insurgent force was only rated as B-Rank confirmed his suspicions: without the involvement of supernatural or "super-powered" entities, mission ratings would likely never hit A or S-Rank.
He checked the active slots and noticed that instead of one pending mission, there were three. Sasuke and Rock Lee had already submitted their own tasks. Hayate realized if he had been a second slower, he wouldn't have been able to slot the Stark rescue, as the Hall only allowed three active missions at a time.
Exiting the system, Hayate scanned his surroundings. Ensuring there were no cameras along the highway and that the desert was truly desolate, he performed a series of hand seals.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
With a puff of white smoke, Pakkun appeared. The pug looked around the arid environment, confirmed there was no immediate combat, and looked up at Hayate.
"Lord Hayate, what are your orders?"
Hayate pulled the case Happy had delivered from his storage space and took out the watch. "Can you still pick up a scent from this?"
Pakkun trotted over and sniffed the watch intensely. "There are two scents here. The first is clear and fresh, but the second is incredibly faint. It's been months; the scent has almost entirely dissipated. Tracking this will be a headache."
Two months in the desert sun, coupled with Pepper Potts' own scent contaminating the object, made the task nearly impossible for any normal tracker.
Hayate pointed to the lock of hair in the case. "Try this one, Pakkun."
Pakkun sniffed the hair, then pressed his nose to the dry earth, circling the area. Finally, he looked toward the horizon.
"I've got him, Lord Hayate." Pakkun tilted his head. "You really have a thing for deserts, don't you? The target is out that way—even deeper into the waste than last time."
Hayate chuckled. "Let's move, Pakkun."
One man and one dog began their trek into the heart of the Afghan desert.
Meanwhile, inside the cave, Yinsen had just finished helping Tony Stark replace his Ark Reactor, finally freeing him from the burden of carrying a heavy car battery everywhere.
Tony sat up, looking down at the glowing ring in his chest. His hope for escape felt more tangible than ever. He shook Yinsen's hand firmly in gratitude.
The two sat down to play a game of backgammon, seeking a moment of normalcy amidst their captivity. After a few rounds, Tony asked, "You still haven't told me... where are you from?"
Yinsen shook the dice in his hand. "A small town called Gulmira. It's a beautiful place."
"Do you have family?" Tony asked while pouring some water.
Yinsen looked up, a wistful smile on his face. "Yes. I will see them when I leave here." He paused, then asked, "And you? Do you have family?"
Tony fell silent. His jaw tightened slightly before he answered, "No."
Yinsen repeated it softly. "No. You are a man who has everything, yet you have nothing." To Yinsen, family was the only foundation that mattered.
Tony offered a thin smile, set down the dice, and stood up. "Alright, buddy. Back to work."
He returned to the pile of scrap parts and resumed his welding. Outside the iron doors, a Ten Rings guard opened the small observation slit, checked that they were working, and moved on.
In the surveillance room, a member of the Ten Rings compared the live feed of Tony's work to a photo of the Jericho missile.
"It looks nothing like the picture," the man muttered.
"Maybe he's improving the design," another suggested.
The man with the photo frowned. "The tail is wrong. It's facing backward."
Outside the cave, several guards huddled around a fire for warmth. Raza, the leader of this particular Ten Rings cell, watched the monitors as Tony calibrated a mechanical leg piece. He touched a ring on his finger, lost in thought.
Moments later, Raza led a squad of armed men into the workshop. He walked in, glancing at Tony and Yinsen, who immediately put their hands behind their heads.
"Don't be nervous," Raza said slowly.
He walked up to Tony, pulling back the man's shirt to reveal the miniature Ark Reactor. "The bow and arrow were once the pinnacle of weapons technology," Raza remarked, seemingly unfazed by the glowing device.
He turned toward the scattered components. "Genghis Khan used them to sweep across Eurasia and dominate his era. His empire was five times the size of Alexander the Great's, and four times the size of Rome."
Raza reached the workbench and picked up Tony's blueprints. "But today, the one who rules the world is the one who possesses the most advanced weapons from Stark."