Staring at the talking pug, even the world-renowned Tony Stark was momentarily left slack-jawed. Beside him, Yinsen pointed a trembling finger at the dog, stammering, "The... the dog... it talked!"
The shock was clearly hitting Yinsen harder. Pakkun, however, remained unfazed by their reactions. He looked directly at Tony and said, "Sir, I was sent by Lord Hayate to protect you."
Tony stared back with utter disbelief. A talking pug? Even if it could talk, how much combat power could a small dog possibly have? Biting through an iron door was one thing, but there were hundreds of armed insurgents outside. A single burst of gunfire would surely be the end of it.
Just as Tony was about to voice his doubts, the sounds of heavy gunfire, explosions, and curdling screams echoed from the cave entrance. He realized then that a real rescue operation was indeed underway.
Tony glanced at his unfinished iron armor, feeling caught between a rock and a hard place. He didn't know whether to wait for rescue or try to rush the assembly, but it was clear there wasn't enough time for the latter. He hated the feeling of being out of control.
"Who is Hayate?" Tony asked. "Are you with the military? Did Colonel Rhodes send you?"
Tony assumed this talking dog was the product of some secret military experiment. Though he didn't personally participate in those types of "fringe" projects, he had heard whispers of them.
Pakkun looked up at him. "I don't know any Rhodes. I am Lord Hayate's contracted summon. We are not military."
The commotion both inside and outside the facility had finally drawn the attention of the internal guards. Three Ten Rings soldiers, rifles in hand, came sprinting toward the workshop.
Pakkun's ears twitched. "Find cover. Enemies are coming."
Tony and Yinsen exchanged a look and immediately scrambled behind whatever shielding they could find—mostly thick plates of scrap armor—to avoid stray bullets.
The three guards reached the iron door and saw the hole bitten through it. "Bastard!" one cursed in Hungarian. He opened the observation slit, but seeing no one, he shouted, "Yinsen! Stark! Answer me! What are you doing in there?"
Tony looked at Yinsen. "What's he saying?"
"Hungarian," Yinsen whispered back, helpless. "I don't speak it."
"Come out where I can see you!" the guard roared. "Or it'll be the worse for you!"
When no reply came, the guard fumbled with his keys, unlocked the door, and stormed in with his companions, guns leveled. The first thing they saw was a small pug standing in the middle of the room.
"Where did this mutt come from?" one sneered.
Pakkun didn't understand the words, but he knew the tone. He bared his teeth. He might be a Ninja Hound, but he had a registration number and a headband back in the Hidden Leaf Village. In a blur of motion, Pakkun lunged.
Thud!
The guard who had just spoken was sent flying as if hit by a speeding car, slamming into the stone wall with a sickening crunch. He didn't move again.
The other two guards only saw a flash of brown fur before their comrade was launched. Panic-stricken, they began spraying bullets wildly. But Pakkun's speed was legendary, and their marksmanship was essentially "professional body-outlining." Not a single bullet touched the dog; instead, Pakkun systematically swiped them both down, killing them on the spot.
A stray bullet whizzed past the armor plates, narrowly missing Yinsen's head. Tony Stark, watching the sheer martial prowess of the little dog, couldn't help but shout, "Pakkun, nice work!"
He was genuinely stunned. If he could have a guard dog like this back in Malibu...
"Pakkun!" Tony yelled over the noise. "I've decided! From now on, your meals are on me. Top-shelf, luxury dog food for life!"
Pakkun's eyes lit up. While food in this world didn't provide chakra, he'd heard it tasted excellent. "Sir, it's a deal!"
Outside the Cave
From the hilltop, Shiranui Hayate watched the Blue Snake's rampage with satisfaction.
The serpent exhaled a thick, emerald toxic mist, causing the Ten Rings fighters to collapse, clutching their throats in agony. Hayate blurred into a sprint, entering the battlefield. The Blue Snake's venom had no effect on him, allowing him to move freely through the haze.
He moved through the camp, methodically finishing off any survivors to ensure no one was left to fire a lucky shot. Because it was night and the mist was so dense, many insurgents died in their sleep, never even making it out of their tents.
Fortunately, the air was still; if a wind had blown the toxins into the cave, Hayate would be bringing back a billionaire's corpse instead of a living client. And the Marvel Universe would be far less interesting without its "Genius, Billionaire, Playboy, Philanthropist."
Despite the total annihilation of the rank-and-file, Hayate noticed one glaring absence: Raza, the leader.
Raza had seen the massive snake and the deadly mist the moment he stepped out of his tent and, without a second thought, turned and fled. He was a survivor; he knew when a situation was beyond his capabilities. He needed to find his true superior, Xu Wenwu. Raza touched the iron ring on his wrist—a pale imitation of the real things—and disappeared into a pre-planned escape tunnel.
Hayate realized the leader had slipped away but didn't bother chasing him. His mission was simple: bring Tony Stark back alive. Whatever trouble Raza might cause in the future wasn't his concern.