Tony looked at Charles Doyle and continued:
"You may not know, but there have been ten explosion incidents, including yesterday's, and no bomb casings were found at the scenes."
"Either there's some new technology I'm unaware of, or the other party might have the support of ninjas."
"Considering what I know, the only ones who can cause explosions without leaving any trace are ninjas or Chen Haoran, but obviously, he wouldn't do such a thing."
Hearing Tony's words, Charles nodded, then thought for a moment before speaking:
"What you've summarized comes down to two issues: the Ten Rings and ninjas."
"Let's start with the first issue, the Ten Rings and the Mandarin."
"Tony, do you really have no memory of them?"
Tony was surprised by Charles's question: "Why?"
"Are you saying I've had contact with them before?"
Seeing Tony's confusion, Charles said, "2008, in the caves of Afghanistan."
Tony's thoughts immediately flashed back to the time when he was betrayed by Obadiah, attacked, and captured by terrorists in a cave, which led to the creation of his first Iron Man suit.
"You mean the Middle Eastern terrorists who kidnapped me back then were the Ten Rings?"
"No, I destroyed them at that time."
"Could they have returned?"
Charles explained, "The Ten Rings is an organization that has existed for a long time, dating back a thousand years."
"Since its inception, this organization has constantly pursued conquest, sweeping through various corners of the world over centuries."
"They operate in the shadows, undermining regimes and rewriting history."
"The group you destroyed was merely the Middle Eastern branch of the Ten Rings, just one of its many branches, and not a particularly significant one."
Tony, stunned by Charles's words, muttered, "So, it's an ancient terrorist organization?"
Then shaking his head, Tony said, "No matter how long they've existed, if they've angered me, their days are numbered."
"I'll settle old and new scores together and uproot them completely."
As he spoke, Tony clenched his fist, showing his determination.
Charles didn't tell Tony that the true leader of the Ten Rings had been the same person for centuries, as the current Ten Rings he was dealing with was just an imposter.
After all, a thousand-year-old organization and a thousand-year-old enemy are two different things, and Tony had asked about the Ten Rings, not whether the one on TV was genuine or fake.
Seeing Tony's determined stance, Charles nodded and said, "It's good that you have that resolve. I'm just letting you know that this organization is not simple, so be cautious."
"As for whether the Ten Rings have ninjas backing them, I honestly don't know."
"The absence of bomb casings is easy for ninjas to achieve; it's not a sophisticated technique. Any explosive tag can leave no trace after detonation. Increasing the explosion's scale only requires more tags."
"Additionally, some powerful ninjutsu can achieve the same result, not to mention the Explosion Release ninjas from Iwagakure."
"But I can confirm that my ninjas aren't involved."
"As for other village ninjas or rogue ninjas, I can't say for sure."
"Hiring ninjas isn't easy, and the other party might not have what it takes to entice them."
Tony, rubbing his chin, thought for a moment and said, "Could they have bought explosive tags from other ninjas to carry out terrorist attacks?"
Charles shook his head, "Ordinary people without chakra can't detonate explosive tags."
"These things only work in the hands of ninjas."
Tony thought for a while and said, "If that's the case, it's unlikely they have ninjas involved. It seems the other party has developed some new technology."
At this moment, Tsunade came out of the sterile room and said, "Happy has been treated. Apart from his fractures needing some time to heal, all other injuries are recovered."
"But he's sleeping now. He should wake up in a few hours."
"As for the fractures, you can take him to the Continental Hotel for a wax bath, and he'll recover overnight."
Hearing that Happy had been treated and even given a way to heal his fractures, Tony gratefully said, "Thank you!"
Tsunade waved her hand, not concerned about Tony's thanks.
Tony looked at Charles and said, "Since Happy is out of danger, I'm relieved."
"I'll arrange to send him to the Continental Hotel for his fractures once he wakes up."
"But I don't have any of your issued coins. Can I pay with new elements?"
Charles nodded, "That's fine."
Charles then took out ten Continental Hotel coins from his storage space and handed them to Tony.
"Have someone hand these to the hotel front desk and ask for the wax bath treatment."
Tony took the coins and nodded, "Got it."
"Now that Happy's issue is resolved, the next step is to eliminate the Ten Rings."
Charles asked Tony, "Need any help?"
"No, buddy. This is my personal vendetta."
Charles nodded, "Good luck."
Charles didn't stay at the hospital any longer and left with Tsunade.
Tony also drove home. He had already responded to the Mandarin of the Ten Rings, and he believed it wouldn't be long before the other party took action against him. He needed to prepare.
On the way back to the base, Tsunade asked in the car, "You mentioned that the Ten Rings have something you need?"
Charles nodded and said, "Yes, they possess the 'Ten Rings', which are useful to me."
Tsunade thought for a moment and said, "Since they are in the hands of an evil organization, we should take them back."
Charles smiled and said, "I'm waiting for the right moment."
"I have a story about the Ten Rings that you might find interesting."
…
Elsewhere-
After returning home, Tony tasked his assistant with looking after Happy at the hospital. He handed the ten Continental Hotel coins to her, instructing her to take Happy to the Continental Hotel once he woke up and explaining how to use the coins.
After handling this, Tony went to his basement to investigate about the Mandarin and the Ten Rings.
Jarvis: "I've compiled a database on the Mandarin for you, sir."
"It consists of intercepted data from S.H.I.E.L.D., the FBI, and the CIA."
"Initializing virtual crime scene reconstruction."
As the virtual crime scene reconstruction began, Tony walked in and observed the data, saying, "Alright, what do we know?"
"The name Mandarin refers to an ancient Chinese term for a counselor of war, meaning 'advisor to the king.'"
Tony analyzed, "Based on the video footage from the recent hijacked broadcasts, he employs South American insurgency tactics and speaks like a preacher."
"The incident occurred during a celebration, with many theaters..."
Looking at the information Jarvis gathered, Tony said, "Shut it down."
With Tony's command, Jarvis shut down the gathered intel and continued, "The explosions generated heat exceeding 3000 degrees Celsius."
"Anything within 12.5 yards was instantly vaporized."
Watching the virtual reconstruction, Tony said, "No bomb fragments were found within three miles of the Chinese Theater."
"None, sir."
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