He's in Marvel, working behind the scenes.

"Test his strength and decide how to handle the situation based on his abilities! But remember, under no circumstances should you reveal your identity!"

"learn."

After hanging up the phone, Barton looked outside and saw the silver-haired youth standing downstairs, smiling at him.

"..."

Patton remained silent, then suddenly drew his sniper rifle and fired.

……

boom!

A deafening gunshot suddenly rang out, and a blood-red disc appeared beneath Gokudera Hayato's feet. He glided like a surfer, instantly leaving his original spot.

The next second, the spot where he had been standing was torn open by a bullet, leaving a hole the size of an egg.

"Anti-materiel sniper rifle!"

Hayato Gokudera instantly identified the enemy's weapon from the bullet holes, stepped onto the disc, and rushed into the building like a surfboard, then quickly ran upstairs.

While running, he calculated the enemy's position by observing the gunshots and the bullet's flight time.

"On the 26th floor!"

In about ten seconds, Gokudera Hayato calculated the result, and then within a minute, he rushed up to the 26th floor and arrived at the room where the enemy was sniping.

However, apart from an anti-materiel sniper rifle casually discarded on the windowsill, no sniper was seen.

"Did they escape?"

Hayato muttered to himself as he walked towards the window, wanting to see if the enemy had left any clues.

But as he walked to the middle of the room, his keen hearing detected a faint "beeping" sound.

not good!

Hayato Gokudera sensed something was wrong and tried to leave the room.

But it's too late.

The moment the deep red disc beneath their feet appeared, the time bomb hidden inside the house exploded with a deafening roar.

Instantly, flames swept through, the impact raging and filling the entire house.

Patton emerged from the opposite house, bow and arrow in hand, his expression wary as he stared inside.

"call out!"

A red beam of light pierced through the thick smoke.

Patton rolled away to dodge the beam, then quickly got up and fired an arrow in the direction from which it had come.

"when!"

The sound of metal clashing could be heard through the thick fog.

Immediately afterwards, the roar of machine guns rang out, followed by a dense barrage of bullets, each carrying a red glow.

Patton strode down the corridor, dodging bullets while mentally assessing the enemy's capabilities.

The man planted a bomb in his room that was powerful enough to kill an elephant, but he was unharmed.

Furthermore, he arrived empty-handed, carrying nothing. Yet, his arrow was blocked by something, and then, in a bizarre turn of events, he unleashed a machine gun barrage.

Could it be a materialized object?

Patton recalled the crimson disc that suddenly appeared beneath Hayato's feet when he dodged a sniper's shot, and then, thinking of the bullet enveloped in crimson light, he couldn't help but consider this possibility.

"Roar!"

The roar of the cheetah echoed through the corridor, even the whistling of bullets seemed to stop in fright.

Patton stopped and looked back, witnessing a scene he would never forget.

Chapter Thirty-Six Conversation

In the room still filled with the smoke and fog of gunpowder, a young man with wildly dancing silver hair stood tall. Around him floated six objects made of black bones, each about half a meter to a meter in diameter, resembling a scope.

Beside him crouched a beautiful yellow spotted leopard with a graceful body, metal shoulder pads, and an explosive, powerful aesthetic.

Handsome men, wild beasts, and avant-garde weapons with a skull theme... When these three elements are combined and appear in the thick smoke and fog after an explosion, the visual impact is extremely striking.

Even Patton, a veteran of many years as a secret agent, was mesmerized by the sight.

"melon!"

Hayato Gokudera shouted, and the cheetah roared to the sky. The roar dispersed the remaining smoke and fog, and its muscular limbs bent and pushed off the ground, launching it forward like an arrow.

Fast, very fast.

Even with superhuman visual nerves and thought speed, Patton could only see a fleeting afterimage.

But his physical instincts, honed through years of martial arts training and his career as a secret agent, saved him, allowing him to act before his brain could process it.

Draw the bow and nock the arrow.

Three arrows equipped with explosive warheads were fired in anticipation.

The corridor space was very narrow, with almost no room to hide, but the cheetah was not only fast but also very agile.

Facing the incoming arrows, it did not slow down at all. Just as the arrows were about to hit it, it jumped to the left wall, ran a few steps as if walking on flat ground, and then jumped to the right wall. Finally, it repeated the previous action and jumped to the ceiling. In the time it took to breathe, it dodged the arrows and came to Barton's front, raising its right paw high to strike.

but……

"BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!"

Three loud noises rang out in succession, which the leopard dodged. The arrows that had been shot into the ceiling, floor, and walls exploded with a bang, and the shockwaves carrying flames swept to both sides of the corridor.

The leopard's attention was focused on Barton. By the time it reacted, the blast wave had already hit, blowing its entire body away, and then it was engulfed by the heat wave in mid-air.

Patton, on the other hand, lunged toward the house on the right the moment he fired the arrow.

Although the leopard was right in front of him before he could pounce due to the speed difference, he managed to get inside before the heat wave hit.

Barton ducked inside, quickly got up, leaned against the wall by the door, and gasped for breath.

Although the amount of exercise was not much, it was all done with all my might. In addition, the dodging was extremely difficult and required a high level of concentration, which resulted in a huge energy expenditure.

As he recovered his strength, he listened to the sounds outside, remaining vigilant for any further attacks from the silver-haired youth.

"Da da da……"

The crisp sound of footsteps echoed in the corridor, growing louder as they approached.

Patton held his breath, preparing to wait for the owner of the footsteps to get a little closer before stepping out to shoot... The shot was blocked by the other party using an unknown object or means, indicating that a direct shot would not be effective.

Only close-range shooting or surprise attacks can catch the opponent off guard and prevent them from reacting or defending.

His bow is made of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s high-tech synthetic materials, and its power is stronger than that of an anti-materiel sniper rifle, capable of easily penetrating the armor of a tank.

At close range, even superhumans would have difficulty reacting.

However, just as the enemy was about to enter the ideal firing range, the footsteps disappeared.

The silver-haired youth stopped moving forward.

what happened?

Why did we stop moving forward?

Did they sense a threat, or did they see through my intentions?

An unexpected turn of events at this crucial moment, when the outcome was about to be decided, made Barton nervous.

"You're really amazing!"

The voice of a silver-haired youth came from the corridor.

"You don't possess the flames of death, yet you have nerve reactions and thought speed that surpass human limits. Your sniping skills and strategic tactics are also top-notch, and your physical abilities have been trained to the extreme. As an ordinary person, you are truly amazing!"

Barton did not respond, but silently memorized the term "Flame of Death."

"To show my respect, let me first state my name!"

"I am Hayato Gokudera, the right-hand man of the 10th Vongola Family Boss, and also the 10th Storm Guardian of the family!"

Hayato Gokudera, Jaden, the Storm Guardians...

Barton silently noted down the keywords, hesitated for a moment, and then asked loudly, "Sorry, I can understand the Tenth Generation, but I've never heard of the Guardian of the Storm."

This is an extremely risky move.

Because the other party may have deliberately made a sound to lure him into revealing his location.

However, in order to gather intelligence on the Vongola family, Barton, knowing it might be a trap, still gave up the opportunity to launch a sneak attack, thus exposing his position.

But he wasn't a complete novice with no solutions.

The moment he finished speaking, he rushed out of the room, preparing to run to the house across the street.

But as soon as he rushed out of the room and into the corridor, he caught a glimpse of the silver-haired youth standing at the other end of the corridor. He was just standing there quietly, without any intention of attacking.

Barton couldn't help but stop and meet his gaze in the corridor.

A relieved smile appeared on Gokudera Hayato's face, and he said, "I know you were deliberately trying to probe me, and I understand what your backers are anxious about, but..."

Hayato Gokudera's expression suddenly turned displeased, and his tone became harsher, "If you want to know, just ask! What kind of behavior is it to sneak around in the shadows and monitor our every move?"

“If only it were as easy as you make it out to be!” Barton stared at Hayato and said, “You suddenly appeared in Harlem, then clashed with the local gangs in the street and took control of them. Your background, your power, your actions are all causing unease. Who would dare to approach you without knowing anything about you?”

"That's true!"

Like a Sichuan opera face-changing act, Gokudera Hayato instantly went from being angry to scratching his head and grinning foolishly.

Is this guy an idiot?

Patton was speechless for a moment.

“But in your case, it’s just a case of making trouble for yourself!” Gokudera Hayato said casually, ignoring Barton’s expression.

Then, his expression changed again, becoming extremely serious.

Patton thought something unexpected had happened, and his vigilance, which had just relaxed slightly, tightened again.