Tony Stark's nerves were on edge as Raza picked up the blueprints. Beside him, Yinsen made sharp gestures, signaling Tony to keep his cool.
Raza scanned the drawings but couldn't make head or tail of the complex designs. He set them back down and turned to face them. "That person... will be me."
He stepped toward Tony, his voice laced with menace. "Why are you failing me?"
Yinsen quickly interjected, trying to shield Tony. "We are working. Very hard."
Raza spun around, his eyes narrowing. "I gave you your life. Is this how you repay me?"
Yinsen raised his hands, pleading. "It's complicated. He is doing his best."
Raza didn't want to hear it. He barked an order to his men: "Make him kneel."
Two insurgents lunged forward, forcing Yinsen to his knees before Raza. Tony clenched his fists, the feeling of powerlessness gnawing at him as he glanced at the scrap parts on the table.
Raza turned to a nearby brazier, using a pair of tongs to lift a glowing coal. "Do you think I'm a fool? I will figure this out."
Yinsen's breath hitched. "We are all working diligently for you!"
Raza held the searing red coal inches from Yinsen's face. "Open your mouth."
"What are they doing?" Tony shouted, but the guards ignored him.
Raza pressed a hand against Yinsen's head, his voice chillingly calm. "You think I'm an idiot? Tell me. What is he doing? What is really going on? Speak the truth."
He moved the burning coal closer to Yinsen's eyes.
"He's building the Jericho missile for you!" Yinsen cried out.
Raza's gaze turned murderous. "The truth!"
"He is building the Jericho!" Yinsen repeated.
Raza thrust the coal even closer, the heat radiating against Yinsen's skin. "The truth!"
"He is building your Jericho!" Yinsen screamed for the third time.
Tony couldn't take it anymore. He stepped forward. "I can give you a delivery date! I can—"
The guards instantly raised their rifles, leveling them at Tony's chest. One sub-leader held out a hand, shouting, "No!"
Tony froze, his hands raised to show he wasn't a threat. He met Raza's cold stare. "I need him. He's useful."
Raza stared at him for a long beat before dropping the coal. "By tomorrow. Assemble the missile." He threw the tongs to the ground and turned to his men. "Watch them."
As the group filed out of the cave, Tony began the most iconic part of his journey: the forging!
Thick clouds blotted out the moon as snow began to drift over the Afghan desert.
At the edge of a mountain ridge, Pakkun came to a halt. He turned his head toward Shiranui Hayate. "Lord Hayate, the scent ends just ahead. But there are a lot of people in that cave system."
Hayate crept to the top of the ridge and looked down. Below sat a cave entrance guarded by armed men. He saw campfires, crude defensive trenches, and a stockpile of heavy weaponry.
"Good work, Pakkun," Hayate said. "For the next phase, I need you to slip into that cave. Protect the target you were tracking."
Hayate knew Tony hadn't finished the Mark I armor yet, but it was close. He didn't want to wait for Tony to fight his way out. In the business of rescue, showing up before the client solves the problem adds significant value. If he brought Tony back safe, Tony would owe him more than just the fee Pepper had paid.
"Understood, Lord Hayate," Pakkun replied. "I'll keep him safe."
With Pakkun's skills, Hayate felt confident. It was an insurance policy to make sure the terrorists didn't execute Tony the moment the attack began.
Hayate activated his Sharingan, watching Pakkun vanish into the cave undetected. Then, he performed a series of hand seals.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
The massive form of the Blue Snake materialized beneath Hayate's feet. A deep, rasping voice vibrated through the air. "Lord Hayate... you finally summoned me. What are your orders? I will not fail you."
The arrival of a hundred-meter-long serpent was not a quiet event. The sheer scale of the summoning and the sound of its voice immediately alerted the camp below.
"Someone's talking! Enemies! Sound the alarm!"
Sirens wailed. Raza, who had just fallen asleep in his tent, bolted upright and grabbed his rifle.
Hayate didn't waste time on pleasantries. "Blue Snake, except for the man Pakkun is protecting, kill everyone outside the cave."
The Blue Snake's massive golden eyes locked onto the camp. With a sudden, violent motion, its body dived into the earth, only to erupt seconds later in the middle of the insurgent's defensive line.
Massive coils and a powerful tail swept through the camp, launching Ten Rings members into the air like ragdolls. At the same time, the snake began exhaling clouds of toxic mist.
The insurgents panicked, opening fire with everything they had. Bullets sparked against the Blue Snake's thick scales like metal hitting metal.
Seeing the chaos, Hayate didn't linger. He leaped from the ridge, sprinting directly toward the cave entrance.
Inside the cave, Tony was hammering away at a piece of metal when he heard a noise at the door. To his utter shock, a small pug bit a hole through the iron door and squeezed inside.
"Is that dog... mutated?" Tony blurted out. "Look at those teeth!"
Pakkun blurred across the room, stopping right in front of Tony. He took a quick sniff, confirming his target.
"You're the one who's mutated," Pakkun retorted. "I'm a Ninja Hound. My name is Pakkun."