Marvel: I Trade Devil Fruits for Power

Nick Fury received Black Widow's full report regarding everything that had happened at Stark Expo.

Two points were especially emphasized.

The first was Qin Xiao's mysterious method of making all the armored drones disappear instantly.

SHIELD needed authorization to collect and analyze every nearby surveillance recording as quickly as possible.

The sooner they understood the Devil Envoy's abilities, the better they could assess his threat level.

The second point was that Tony's assistant, Pepper Potts, had consumed a Flutter-Flutter Fruit.

This fruit allowed any hard material to become soft and flutter like cloth before reverting back to its original state.

Which meant SHIELD had now officially recorded several Fruit Ability Users.

"Open all files related to Fruit Ability Users."

Nick Fury spoke calmly inside his office.

"File Number FA (FruitAbility) 001"

Name: Frank

Codename: Swamp

Characteristics:

Can transform his body into swamp-like mud capable of devouring objects.

Normal physical attacks are ineffective.

Confirmed: Yes

Personality Traits: Hates evil, has killed countless criminals.

Danger Level: High Risk

Countermeasures:

Instant freezing explosives (unverified)

High-temperature explosives (unverified)

Containment in sealed containers (unverified)

…

"File Number FA (FruitAbility) 002"

Name: Tony Stark

Codename: Underworld

Characteristics:

Fruit ability allows resurrection after death.

Confirmed: Pending / Impossible to verify for now

Personality Traits: Casual, extremely arrogant, prideful.

Danger Level: Medium

Countermeasures:

Containment, potential Avengers candidate.

"File Number FA (FruitAbility) 003"

Name: Logan

Codename: Wolverine

Characteristics:

Mutant with powerful regeneration; age unknown.

Can transform entire body into indestructible metal.

Confirmed: Yes

Personality Traits: Keeps strangers away.

Danger Level: High

Countermeasures:

Capture before transformation

High-voltage attacks (unverified)

Heavy suppression (unverified)

…

"File Number FA (FruitAbility) 004"

Name: Thor

Codename: God of Thunder

Characteristics:

Alien / Asgardian deity

Controls powerful lightning

Confirmed: Yes

Personality Traits: Impulsive, violent, simple-minded.

Danger Level: Extremely Dangerous

Countermeasures:

Insulated containment (pending verification)

High-dose anesthetics (pending verification, effective when deprived of divine power)

…

Nick Fury stared at the files with his single eye full of severity.

"Create a new file."

"File Number FA (FruitAbility) 005"

Name: Pepper Potts

Codename: Flutter

Characteristics:

Can soften any hard object until it behaves like cloth.

Confirmed: Yes

Personality Traits: Smart and capable.

Danger Level: Low

Countermeasures:

Restraint using soft materials (pending verification)

Sedation (pending verification)

…

"That's all for now."

"New file successfully created."

The AI voice echoed through the office.

Every Fruit Ability User had their own independent file within SHIELD.

Each one was carefully evaluated.

This was SHIELD's strength.

And these records would continue to expand and improve over time.

"Open the Devil Envoy file."

"Please provide authorization."

"Nick Fury."

"Authorization confirmed. Opening file."

"File Number DH (DemonHerald)"

Name: Qin Xiao

Codename: Devil Envoy

Characteristics:

Asian male

Possesses abilities similar to returning Devil Fruits

Devil Fruits can transform humans into Fruit Ability Users, similar to mutants

Cunning and deceitful personality

Constantly spreading Devil Fruits, claiming to seek 'apostles' for demons

Possesses overwhelming abilities including metal transformation, swamp transformation, lightning powers, gigantification…

…

Confirmed: Yes

Personality Traits: Deceptive and cunning

Danger Level: Extremely Dangerous

Countermeasures:

High-dose anesthetics (invalidated)

High-voltage attacks (invalidated)

Container containment (invalidated)

…

Looking at Qin Xiao's file, Fury's expression darkened.

At present, there appeared to be no viable containment method for this man.

Every time Qin Xiao revealed a new ability, previous countermeasures became obsolete.

Did his powers even have a limit?

Every appearance brought another shock.

An enemy this mysterious and powerful was the most troublesome kind.

More importantly—

he kept spreading Fruit Ability Users, yet no one knew his true goal.

That was what disturbed Fury the most.

Although Qin Xiao openly called himself a Devil Envoy and distributed Devil Fruits—

even persuading Thor to consume the Rumble-Rumble Fruit—

claiming it was part of a war between demons and gods—

Fury still felt something was off.

The people chosen as Fruit Ability Users were too different from one another.

Frank—a retired soldier.

Tony—a billionaire weapons manufacturer.

Logan—a mutant.

Thor—a god.

And even himself and Natasha—representatives of SHIELD.

"If he truly intends to invade and seize Satan's territory, why choose these people?

And while fighting demons, he simultaneously provokes the gods.

He even dared to ascend to Asgard alongside the Sorcerer Supreme.

All of this suggests overwhelming confidence.

Yet SHIELD possesses very little information on the Sorcerer Supreme.

There are legends of mages across the world, but they remain hidden in mystery.

He claims they defend Earth from invasions by dark dimensions.

If that's true, then as a representative of demons, the Devil Envoy should be opposed by the Sorcerer Supreme.

Because demons clearly don't belong to Earth's dimension.

Unless…

the Devil Envoy and the Sorcerer Supreme are working together.

Maybe even the Asgardians are involved too.

Perhaps this is all an act.

And if that's true—

that's even more dangerous.

So many powerful beings hidden in the shadows, and SHIELD knows nothing about them.

What secrets lie behind such overwhelming power?

There are more and more Fruit Ability Users appearing.

No one knows what comes next.

With SHIELD's current strength, our greatest advantage remains numbers.

But some ability users clearly aren't afraid of numbers.

What we truly need… is stronger individual power.

If confrontation doesn't work…

then perhaps cooperation will.

Limited cooperation.

A dedicated department.

A department separated from SHIELD's critical intelligence operations.

A combat-focused unit supervised by higher authorities.

The only concern is whether becoming a Fruit Ability User affects loyalty or mental stability.

That's why such a department is necessary."

Nick Fury muttered to himself.

A plan was slowly forming in his mind.

Since Devil Fruits couldn't currently be opposed—

then before open hostility emerged, SHIELD should accept them instead.

And that required tighter oversight.

Though dangerous, it was also an opportunity to strengthen SHIELD.

Much like Operation Paperclip in the past, when they absorbed HYDRA scientists into SHIELD.

If former HYDRA members could be controlled—

then Fruit Ability Users should be controllable as well.

SHIELD had extensive experience in this area.

Nick Fury was confident.

Confident in SHIELD.

And confident because behind him stood Carol Danvers.

A true powerhouse.

What he didn't realize was that SHIELD had already become HYDRA from the inside out.

HYDRA had infiltrated every layer of SHIELD.

Even his superiors were HYDRA leaders.

Trying to manage Fruit Ability Users the same way they handled HYDRA might eventually lead to complete infiltration as well.

Fortunately, Qin Xiao currently had little interest in SHIELD itself.

After making his decision, Fury immediately began preparations.

"Call Agent Hill."

Moments later, a woman with an imposing presence entered Fury's office.

Deputy Director Maria Hill.

If Black Widow conquered men openly with beauty and espionage—

then Hill conquered them through professionalism and authority.

A completely different kind of charm.

The charm of a uniform.

The moment she entered, she noticed the projected files inside Fury's office.

"Director Fury, what's the situation?"

"The Devil Envoy returned from Asgard and participated in the Stark Expo incident.

At this stage, he appears focused on staying hidden while expanding his influence.

Since SHIELD also has people compatible with Devil Fruits, I've decided to establish a new department.

A department dedicated to recruiting Fruit Ability Users.

Only through direct contact can we properly study and analyze their powers and weaknesses.

Right now, our data lacks practical verification."

Fury briefly explained his idea.

Hill glanced across the files before pointing at one.

"Tony Stark is listed as a future Avengers candidate.

But he's also connected to the Devil Envoy.

Won't overlapping identities create complications?"

"That's why this department must remain completely independent from every other SHIELD division.

It will have access to less information than any other department.

No Level 7 clearance data is to be shared with them.

I want you to establish this department immediately.

After that, someone from SHIELD will personally test Devil Fruit abilities."

Hill's expression changed slightly.

It was clear Fury had fully committed to this decision.

"You're planning to make Natasha the first Fruit Ability User?"

She instantly understood Fury's intentions.

Natasha Romanoff.

Currently, SHIELD only knew of two compatible candidates—Fury himself and Natasha.

Fury would never risk himself personally.

Which left Natasha as the only choice.

"If Natasha's training still proves insufficient to handle a Devil Fruit…

then their threat level will need to be reevaluated."

"I understand."

Hill accepted the order.

Not long afterward, Natasha—still stationed at Tony's mansion—received the command.

Her brows furrowed slightly.

"As expected… it still came to this."