Chương 17: Blue
He examined the chrome remains, the sparking technology far too complex and foreign for his mind to understand. His jaw clenching as his hands gently poked and prodded at the body.
He couldn't find any clues at all, the energy that mimicked chakra was fading, dying with this avatar.
How a metal body could hold chakra was beyond him, Chakra was life energy not…not some implanted organ…it reminded him of stories from Suna. Mad puppeteers gone mad and creating puppets made from flesh.
Faint roaring filled his ears, he tilted his head, his hand clutching tightly around a kunai. With a thud a heavy object had clearly landed just outside of the factory.
Minato's eyes narrowed, ready to fight one more, chakra building at his fingertips. The door already wide open revealed another robot coming around the corner.
The robot was a striking red and gold that he recognised from the news.
Iron Man
His eyes glowing a soft blue, a large circular glowing blue light in the centre of his chest. An energy source most likely, probably the best place to strike incase this came down to a fight.
The man stopped abruptly, his eyes focused on the crouching Minato.
"I've heard of you, never thought we'd meet in the flesh" Iron man said, his voice mechanic and oozing confidence.
Minato nodded shallowly, "You've heard of me?" He questioned, his grip around the kunai still tight and untrusting.
"Yeah, you and The Brotherhood almost collapsed what, four skyscrapers in central New York" he said carelessly as he took another step into the lab. "Who do you think fixed that?" He said casually, his suit shrugging as he eyed the blonde man.
Minato slowly stood not wanting to alert the man, his mind racing as the suit hummed and clicked, a sharp contrast to the silent bot he had fought not less than a minute ago.
"Why are you here?" Minato asked, completely moving past Iron Man's question. The Brotherhood did that damage, they ambushed him, it was their mess not his.
"Oh, I'm just sightseeing" the man said as he took more steps into the lab, his hud lighting up and scanning Minato's form.
His eyes suddenly snapped to the robot, its chest ripped open and skull crushed. "Didn't expect to walk in on you playing mechanic" he joked, his hud showing up with the results of his scan.
Unrecognised energy, similar to the energy output he had used to find this lab, his eyes narrowed.
Had he interrupted a fight, or something more.
"Hope you're not planning the same treatment for me though" he said as he eyed the robot, the technology looked like a beast had ripped it apart.
"No, but you've got more expertise in this field than me" Minato said, his grip loosening around his kunai, curiosity running through him. "Care to take a look" he said as he stepped back and placed the kunai pack in its pouch.
"Of course I don't" the man snorted as he gently tapped the side of his helmet. The man stepped closer as a mechanical whirring sounded from the man's helmet.
Minato noticed the way the man kept him in the corner of his vision, the man was just as suspicious as him. Which to Minato was a good sign, most likely meant this man wasn't part of this.
"Looks like you went a little overboard on the guy" Sparks of electricity reflected in the Iron Man mask as he ran dozens of different scans on the tech. "Seriously, what did you use? A lightsaber?"
"Lightsaber?" Minato asked, half curious, half wanting to change the subject. Something Iron Man had picked up on, a momentary pause filling the space.
"You haven't watched Star Wars?" He asked, almost shocked. "You gotta watch it" he said as he shook his head gently.
A few silent seconds passed, and Minato felt urged to say something. "I haven't got the time I'm afraid" not that he wanted to watch whatever this Star Wars was, he had to deal with this.
"Oh, that day job of yours right" Iron Man said, at Minato's sudden narrowing eyes he spoke up once more. "You took down Magneto, you thought I wouldn't look into you?" He asked, almost incredulous.
Minato tilted his head, that was a fair point. His eyes overlooked the red and gold suit. He wondered how fast it could move? Was it stronger than the chrome one was?
"Not very talkative huh?" Iron Man said, his eyes now looking over the wires and insides of the bot. "Why were you here? Coincidence?" He questioned, ignoring Minato's silence.
"No, I tracked an energy signature" Minato said, his eyes focused on Iron Man, he had lifted a panel from the bots arm, revealing wires coiled like muscle fibre.
"You did?" The metal man asked, his voice incredulous, "I've got the best scanners in the world and I didn't find this until, what 20 minutes ago?"
Minato shrugged, he thought now would be the time to potentially extend an olive branch. "I sensed it with my abilities, the energy source is quite similar to my own but corrupted, chaotic."
Iron Man nodded "Ah, that's why they look so similar when I scan them" he muttered casually, he looked back down at the bot. "Not much else I can do here, I'm gonna bring it back to the lab" he said.
Minato leaned forward slightly, "What did you find out?" He asked, his curiosity thrumming through him.
"Just the basics, nothing about the energy source or the creator, once it's in the lab and I have time to go through it" he tilted his head "Then I'll have more information"
Minato couldn't hide his disappointment, something Tony noticed. "How much time?" Minato asked, though he knew something like this would have no simple answer.
Tony shrugged, his suit lightly clicking at the action "Anytime, most likely a week, maybe two?" He estimated. "Why are you so invested?" He asked.
"It's been my only lead" Minato said, his frustration brewing.
"Lead on what?" Iron Man asked, his voice more serious.
Minato eyed the man for a moment and then spoke "A man approached me recently, wearing a crimson cloak saying he had been watching me"
"So what? A creepy stalker" Tony said, his mind thinking through anyone who could fit the description.
"Worse, he could evade my senses," Minato said, his mind replaying the memory of the crimson man.
"So?" Tony asked, he understood trusting sensors but stiff sometimes just got through, it's just how this world worked, constantly evolving.
"I can sense life energy, everyone, everything has it, rivers, trees, animals, humans, everything alive has chakra" he said, trying to stress his point.
"This man that approached me, he didn't have any…and for all I know, he's watching me now" Minato said, a claw of unease resting against his throat.
A few seconds of silence passed, Tony absorbing all this new information, his scanners automatically noting down the information and labelling Minato's energy signature with "Chakra".
He couldn't think of any potential undead that wore red cloaks, his mind racing and then his eyes shot down to the boy beneath him.
"Have you considered he might have been a robot?" Tony asked, it was a common thing nowadays, too many people in the industry.
Minato blinked, how could he have missed something so obvious. His mind wasn't yet adjusted to this world, he still thought of robots as small science projects made by bored civilians and not the looming threat they were in this world.
His eyes wandered to the chrome bot, its movements silent and precise, not nearly as tall as the crimson man.
"No, no I didn't" his eyes meeting the glowing blue of iron man's mask.
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