Maria Hill was not Nick Fury's only choice. Phil Coulson was also an option.

Relatively speaking, Black Widow Natasha Romanoff was not among his choices.

This was because Maria Hill and Phil Coulson shared similar beliefs with him. They were both willing to sacrifice everything to protect this world. As for Natasha, he was not sure if the Black Widow would make that level of sacrifice at a crucial moment.

"So you want to send Maria Hill to me, have her follow me to various universes to gain experience and learn... Why don't you just say you want me to help you train an excellent Earth protector?"

That was quite the calculation. What benefit would he get from training Maria Hill? After all, once she learned what she needed, she would leave the team.

It was not that Ethan was unwilling to teach and train talent, nor did he mind people he had a good relationship with temporarily joining his team. But you could not possibly take all the benefits, could you? Even if we were not talking business and were talking friendship—sorry, there was not really any friendship to speak of between him and Nick Fury.

Even if Maria Hill had not found a suitable new job and came to Ethan herself, it would have been easier for Ethan to accept than Fury so clearly trying to take advantage and shove her over.

Of course, the other party coming to talk so openly was more reliable than secretly sending her over, taking advantage, and then just running off.

"Although S.H.I.E.L.D. has disbanded, it still left behind quite a bit..."

Nick Fury did not approach the discussion with Ethan with the mindset of taking advantage. The current situation was somewhat like sending someone to a special academy for advanced studies. Sending them in was fine, and the other party was willing to accept and teach, but the tuition fee could not be ignored.

The final agreement was not excessive. Nick Fury promised to provide Ethan with sufficient "support," offer necessary resources when needed, and use his connections to help Ethan resolve some minor issues.

It might seem like Ethan did not gain anything. But in reality, he gained a lot.

Nick Fury had been the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. for so many years, and the various connections and forces behind him were complex. Although these forces were useless in Ethan's eyes, living in this world and even wanting to acquire various resources inevitably required dealing with these people.

He could not possibly rely on force every time. Therefore, engaging in some appropriate "friendly exchanges" would actually save a lot of effort.

For example, regarding the Prinz Eugen issue this time, even though Tony resolved some of the military's objections, there were still many people watching the ship. Nick promised to ensure that similar troubles would not arise again.

Subsequently, when Ethan continued to build large things in this world, he would not have to worry about similar situations occurring. Only at this point did Ethan truly acquire a relatively stable logistical base.

Nick Fury, on the other hand, believed that proactively engaging in deeper cooperation with Ethan would yield more benefits, which was much more reliable than "capturing him for careful study and interrogating him for various knowledge."

Leaving aside the question of whether they could defeat him, even if they did and captured Ethan, would they get what they wanted? What if the other party got desperate and decided to go down fighting? Putting everything else aside, if he just left a coordinate and summoned that Burning Legion, what could Earth use to resist it in its current state?

Even if Asgard, who claimed to be Earth's protectors, intervened and defeated the invading enemies, would Earth be unharmed? And how much would be lost because of that battle?

No matter how you looked at it, cooperation was more reliable.

It was safe and had no side effects. Even if they gained less, they could at least use it with peace of mind. Things at the level of the Infinity Stones were best not thought about by Earth for now.

As an agent, you had to be arrogant when you should be and back down when you should. If you could not even protect yourself, what kind of agent were you? It was just that Comrade Nick Fury now had to protect the entire Earth. Not only did he have to back down himself, but he also had to suppress a bunch of idiots who wanted to jump into action.

From this perspective, he was not suited to follow Ethan to other worlds either. Who knew what changes would occur as soon as he left? He might finally "return after completing his studies" only to find Earth ruined by a small group of idiots. Then everything would be for naught. This was also a common ailment among agents; it was difficult to trust anyone other than themselves, and they could only feel at ease when everything was under control.

"Maria Hill will be needing your care next."

"I recall Hill received very systematic military and ship command training?"

"Yes." Nick Fury thought of the warship Ethan had commissioned. Ethan had said he lived in a world entirely covered in water, and he immediately understood that Ethan might want Hill to command his new ship. "Believe me, Hill won't disappoint you."

That was indeed the case. Ethan agreeing to let Hill join was not without reason.

He could already control sailing warships quite well, but operating a modern warship was completely different from a sailing warship. Even with a full set of AI systems installed on the Prinz Eugen for assistance, he would inevitably need some time to adapt.

Even just the huge change in tonnage was not something one could adapt to quickly when piloting. With Hill, it was different.

Maria Hill had experience commanding the Helicarrier in S.H.I.E.L.D., and she had rich experience in warship command and piloting. She could better help Ethan utilize the full capabilities of the Prinz Eugen as quickly as possible.

Furthermore, because Maria Hill had commanded a Helicarrier, this would also be helpful when he switched to a spaceship in the future. Surface vessels only needed to consider one plane. Even if they encountered enemies from the air or underwater, these were not major considerations while piloting.

But flying into the air or even going into outer space was another matter entirely. The directions and angles alone could drive someone encountering it for the first time mad. If there was no one to teach them, the degree of madness would increase by several levels.

If Rocket Raccoon were recruited onto the ship, there would naturally be no need to worry about this. But without Rocket, Maria Hill could be considered a relatively reliable choice.

The main business was concluded. They had even agreed that Maria Hill would report to Ethan's mansion in Los Angeles in a few days. Just as he was about to say goodbye, he suddenly heard that Ethan had actually come to invite Steve to Thor's coronation ceremony. The one-eyed man decisively swallowed his farewell words, poured himself another cup of coffee, and sat back down.

Steve and Ethan were both quite speechless at this guy's behavior, but it was not some secret matter, so if he wanted to listen, he could listen.

After hearing Thor's invitation, Steve only sighed, "This world feels increasingly strange to me."

A legendary god inviting him to attend the ceremony where he inherits the position of God-King? How did that sound like a fairy tale? Yet, this was something that was actually happening, and Steve did not even know what expression was appropriate.

"Actually, it's not much different from a presidential transition. It's just that Asgard's God-Kings serve for a longer time..."

Thor was already fifteen hundred years old, but this was just the beginning for the long-lived Asgardians. Furthermore, as his power grew stronger, Thor's lifespan would continue to extend, and ruling the Nine Realms for tens of thousands of years would not be surprising.

This news was good news for Nick Fury.

Compared to the unfamiliar Odin, it was undoubtedly much better for Thor, who had several good friends on Earth and even a girlfriend who was human, to rule Asgard. This meant that for the time being, there was no need to worry about Asgard harboring hostility towards Earth, or rather, worrying about Odin suddenly being dissatisfied with Earth's current state and wanting to tidy up his "backyard."

He believed that as long as they negotiated well with Thor, they could ensure Earth maintained its current situation without major fluctuations.

Silently, he kept all the various analyses in mind. These things would all need to be written into reports for certain people to see. After all, Nick Fury was a very conscientious advisor.

He had considered going himself to see the specific situation in Asgard, but realized it was not appropriate. They had not invited him, had they?

On the other hand, Hill, who was about to join Ethan's team, would have the chance to go and see. He considered urging Hill to report to Ethan immediately after returning, and finally strive for the opportunity to go to Asgard.

"Is it appropriate for me to go?"

Nick Fury knew himself well, and Steve also felt that his relationship with Thor did not seem to be that close. However, since the other party had clearly sent an invitation, it did not seem appropriate not to go, so he changed his question.

"Well... should I prepare a suit?"

"You don't need to worry about that. The clothing style in Asgard... You'd be better off wearing your usual casual clothes than an Earth suit."

"Okay, I'm not really used to those suits anyway."

What should Captain America wear? This was too easy to solve. Even if Thor had not prepared anything, Ethan could easily conjure a full set of armor for him, and even throw in a shield as a bonus.

He was very curious if adding some Holy Light to the armor would pique the interest of the noble Captain America, causing the Holy Light to actively break through spatial barriers and perform a Holy Light baptism or something similar. If this really happened, it would mean that after being enhanced by the Super Soldier Serum, Steve would be strengthened again by the Holy Light and gain the ability to use Holy Light energy. His strength would increase significantly, possibly even making him one of the strongest individuals on Earth.

After all, they had to face Thanos's threat, and training a few more powerhouses could also ensure their chances of winning.

However, experimenting on someone without asking first seemed a bit unethical, so Ethan decided to find an opportunity to ask Steve what he thought, whether he would be open to trying some new things. If he wasn't willing, then so be it.

While he was contemplating this, Steve suddenly asked Ethan for a favor.

"Tell me about it?"

"I have a friend who has been brainwashed and controlled by Hydra for years. I wonder if you can resolve this?"

(To be continued.)