Five years flew by in a flash.
During these years, more and more news was sent back to Earth, most of which involved Naraku leading the Akatsuki in the wild plundering of planets.
To address a potential universe-devastating crisis, under the facilitation of Nick Fury, Thanos, Loki, and others, The Avengers, who had been divided for years, finally began to re-establish communication.
Whether in terms of knowledge or power, Thanos undoubtedly became the leader of their counterattack plans since he had come the closest to defeating Naraku…
Even though he was actually beaten quite miserably by Naraku too…
"Carol Danvers has been relaying Akatsuki's intelligence…"
Thanos stood in front of a virtual screen and spoke softly: "The last information we received stated that Naraku devoured another massive galaxy, so…"
"Wait, let me interrupt for a moment."
Nick Fury made a pause gesture and continued: "According to Earth's observation, there are at least hundreds of billions of galaxies in the universe. Even if Naraku devours one galaxy each day…"
"Not every day."
Thanos's voice gradually grew heavier, and he snapped his giant fingers: "It took just one second for him to devour a galaxy, as easy as a snap of the fingers, and he can appear anywhere in the universe at any time…"
"Okay, let me ask another question."
Nick Fury also snapped his fingers, shouting: "Who can help me calculate, if Naraku devours one galaxy per second, even with galaxies that contain trillions of stars counting as one second… how long would it take for him to devour the entire universe?"
"Sir, 3960 years."
Jarvis's mechanical voice echoed in the room.
The entire room fell silent.
Steve Rogers and the others exchanged a look, and upon hearing this number, instinctively let out a sigh of relief as they considered it a very long time.
"Looks like we have plenty of time to perfect the plan…"
Steve Rogers's eyes noticeably relaxed.
"You all really…"
Thanos, Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, and Shuri, the group of scientists, helplessly covered their foreheads, as if they couldn't bear to watch.
For the first time, they felt the importance of knowledge.
"Phew…"
Tony Stark took a deep breath, suppressing his anger, and tried to smile in a humorous tone: "Do I need to introduce you to Einstein now? When one's speed surpasses light, time is no longer…"
"Stark."
Thanos interrupted Tony Stark, turning his head to glance at Steve Rogers and the others, and spoke softly: "That explanation is too complicated, let me handle it…"
Thanos placed his hand on the table and began his science lesson: "The universe is vast, and the flow of time in each galaxy or even on each planet is different.
This also means that in one second here for us, Naraku might have acted for a hundred years or even ten thousand years in another corner of the universe…"
"Wait…"
Spider-Man Peter Parker raised his hand, cautiously asking: "I just want to ask, do humans live that long?"
"It's not about lifespan…"
Thanos's face remained indifferent, showing no anger at Peter Parker's question: "It's about time itself; a hundred years, ten thousand years, for Naraku, are all just one second…"
"But…"
Peter Parker hadn't quite grasped the theory.
Tony Stark looked even more helpless, rubbing his brow as he spoke: "Jarvis, Friday, whoever, just help me shut Parker's mouth…"
"Wait, Mr. Stark… mmm mmm mmm mmm!"
Peter Parker tried to say more, but his Spider Nanosuit suddenly activated, sealing his mouth directly!
"I'll find some time for Jarvis to tutor him."
Tony Stark looked at Thanos with some apology in his eyes as he fiddled with his hands distractedly: "We've watched Parker grow up. You know, he hasn't been out of college for long, and I donated a building to get MIT to accept him as a graduate student…"
"I'm well aware."
Thanos's face remained calm as ever.
This was absurd.
Because since high school, Spider-Man had always followed these neutral Avengers, and Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, and Thanos happen to be the most knowledgeable members of The Avengers, even the usually low-profile Doctor Strange is an actual doctor…
Yet…
Peter Parker, the young Spider, hadn't learned much knowledge from them, only how to more quickly and secretly deal with terrorists.
This was quite awkward.
Clearly.
These high-knowledge, highly educated guys weren't very adept at raising kids; perhaps they were better at pampering them, deviation introducing Peter Parker.
"I think you should speak more plainly…"
Doctor Strange spoke up softly to argue, explaining: "Just say it directly, human bodies and souls are limited energy…"
"No, no, no, I think that's even harder to understand!"
Tony Stark quickly interrupted Doctor Strange, loudly objecting: "We're discussing science, not your wizard theology. Don't lead our innocent little guy astray…"
"Stark, Peter Parker has grown up!"
Doctor Strange once again employed his timeless educational approach: "You can't always treat him as a child…"
"Mmm mmm mmm!"
Peter Parker nodded his head quickly.
"Alright, he's grown up."
Tony Stark reluctantly nodded then shifted his tone to continue: "But what I want to say is, he's still a student. In a few days, he'll register at MIT, and he needs scientific knowledge, not your stuff…"
"Stop!"
Finally, someone couldn't stand it anymore.
Natasha Romanoff loudly called a halt to this argument, helplessly stating: "What we should be discussing now is Naraku, right? Not how you're raising a little baby, OK? Can we get to the point?"
"..."
Everyone present was silenced by Natasha.
Tony Stark choked for a moment, glanced at Doctor Strange, and reluctantly closed his mouth.
"You only need to know one thing…"
Doctor Strange stood up, speaking in a deep voice: "Even without discussing his power, just having the Time Gem means he has an immortal and long life…"
After finishing, Doctor Strange, fearing Tony Stark would argue, added another sentence: "Also, this means time has no meaning for him; he can manipulate it wantonly, and one day he will control time to devour the entire universe in a second…"
"..."
The room fell silent again.
Compared to Thanos and Tony Stark's theories, Doctor Strange's explanation was evidently clearer, at least making them aware of the grave situation they faced.
Amidst this heavy atmosphere, Loki smiled and spoke: "If we speak like this… perhaps to save the universe, which could be devoured at any moment, we need to immediately come up with a solution…"
"Correct."
Thanos rarely agreed with Loki, speaking in a deep voice: "To defeat Naraku, we must gather all the Infinity Stones to have hope.
However, Naraku from the start used schemes to seize all the Infinity Stones. These gems are in Naraku's hands, and no one in the universe can defeat him."
"But, that doesn't mean there's no way…"
Bruce Banner picked up the conversation, speaking softly: "We've already obtained data from the Pym Particles and Quantum Space theories, and the first time-travel experiment has succeeded. It's time for us to start preparing for action…"