Naruto: I Reign Supreme with Templates Across the Multiverse.

"The reason your body is being poisoned by palladium is because you embedded the Arc Reactor in your chest," Zenkichi said coolly.

"As long as you remove the Arc Reactor containing palladium from your body, the poisoning will stop."

"If you want to power your armor, place the Arc Reactor somewhere safe. It only needs to serve as an energy source."

"As long as the palladium doesn't come into direct contact with your body, your condition will stabilize."

Tony Stark looked up at him, a bitter smile forming on his face.

"But I need the Arc Reactor to survive," he said. "There's shrapnel lodged in my chest, threatening my heart. Without the Arc Reactor's magnetic field, those fragments will pierce my heart and kill me."

After surviving a terrorist attack, Tony had been left with dozens of sharp metal fragments lodged dangerously close to his heart. The Arc Reactor powered the electromagnet embedded in his chest to keep the shrapnel from moving inward.

"This might be a difficult procedure for regular doctors," Zenkichi said, stepping forward casually, his tone relaxed. "But it's not a challenge for me."

With his powerful dōjutsu, Zenkichi peered straight through Tony's body, mapping the precise location of each shard with ease.

He spoke calmly, "Are you ready? I'm going to remove the shrapnel."

Tony's eyes widened. "Wait, here?! There's no medical equipment here!"

Zenkichi's voice was steady. "You don't seriously think I need medical tools for this, do you?"

Without hesitation, Zenkichi extended his fingers. With refined control and strength, he broke through Tony's chest, exposing the embedded shrapnel.

Blood poured out, but Zenkichi moved swiftly and efficiently, extracting the fragments one by one in a manner that looked both brutal and precise.

Tony groaned in pain, his face pale. He stared at Zenkichi with a mixture of horror and disbelief. "Are you sure you're removing the shrapnel… and not trying to kill me?"

Zenkichi sighed. "Relax, you won't die."

Placing one hand on Tony's chest, Zenkichi released an immense stream of life force into him. Chakra infused with life energy surged through Stark's body.

Having once possessed the power of the Ten Tails, the lifeforce flowing within Zenkichi was immense—enough to restore someone from the brink of death.

"Even if you died, I could still bring you back."

As the injuries on Tony's body closed and color returned to his face, he couldn't help but marvel at what had just happened.

"With a healing ability like yours, why not open a hospital?" Tony joked. "You'd make a fortune. There are plenty of rich people who'd pay anything to avoid dying."

Zenkichi glanced at him, clearly unimpressed. "Save it. I'm not interested. Go cool off somewhere."

Tony laughed, undeterred. "Just saying. Stark isn't short on cash."

Zenkichi looked at him seriously. "I possess abilities that let me perceive things most can't. Palladium may be powerful, but it's not clean energy."

"Used in the Arc Reactor, it has severe limitations. If you intend to keep upgrading your armor, you'll need to upgrade the Reactor first."

Tony scratched the back of his head. "That's easier said than done. I spent months analyzing energy sources before settling on palladium."

"I could dig through the periodic table again, maybe find an alternative."

Zenkichi said plainly, "I've glimpsed fragments of the future. In that future, no matter how hard you try, you won't find a replacement on your own."

Tony frowned. "That's nonsense. I'm Tony Stark. Scientific breakthroughs are my thing."

Zenkichi chuckled. "Is that so? Then go ahead and try. But if you fail, check the model sandbox your father left you."

Tony blinked. "Sandbox?"

Zenkichi's eyes narrowed. "In the future I saw, your father left the key to a new element in that sandbox. It's clean, efficient, and far better than palladium."

Tony crossed his arms, huffing. "I'll keep that in mind. But just so you know, I've already surpassed the old man. If he could come up with something like that, then so can I."

Zenkichi shrugged. He had passed along the information. What Tony chose to do with it was his own business.

Suddenly, Zenkichi shifted the conversation.

"By the way, I heard you shut down the Stark Group's weapons division."

"I also heard your shareholders are up in arms and the company's stock is tanking."

Tony's face turned serious.

"Yeah. After what happened, I realized I've been blind."

"I used to think we were creating weapons to preserve peace. Turns out, those same weapons ended up in the hands of terrorists."

"The ones who kidnapped me had Stark Industries weapons. Without them, I wouldn't have been captured so easily."

"There's no reason for the weapons division to exist anymore. It's spiraled out of control."

Zenkichi said nothing more. He merely nodded in acknowledgment, understanding the weight behind Tony's words.

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