Time keeps moving forward.
Uehara Naraku held Tony Stark and Colonel James Rhodes within S.H.I.E.L.D. and deliberately created an entanglement between Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers, immediately starting his chain plan.
The entire United States swiftly sprang into action.
With the White House issuing a comprehensive wanted order, news of the FBI and CIA jointly pursuing former Director of S.H.I.E.L.D, Nick Fury, finally spread among the high-ups.
The entire U.S. senior management knows about this shocking espionage cover-up case.
S.H.I.E.L.D.'s two ace agents, Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton, only learned of this news through these channels, and both of them were a little confused.
What exactly is going on?
Whether it's Alexander Pierce or Nick Fury, why is it that anyone who has served as the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. turns out to be a member of Hydra?
In fact, both Natasha and Barton were aware of Nick Fury faking his death, and Fury even received intelligence from S.H.I.E.L.D. through them, and they both knew about Fury's covert investigation into Hydra spies within S.H.I.E.L.D. using his fake death...
So...
How did Nick Fury become part of Hydra?
Did Fury accidentally dig too deep and uncover his true identity, or was he framed by Hydra into being a part of them?
No matter the case, Natasha's first thought after receiving the news was to quietly call Nick Fury to see what was really going on with her former superior...
However...
Someone contacted Natasha first.
"Romanoff, it's me, Uehara Naraku."
The man's voice was somewhat dull over the phone, as if he wasn't in a good mood: "Director Fury is still alive... Special Agent Romanoff, who are you currently loyal to, S.H.I.E.L.D. or our Director Fury?"
"..."
Natasha felt this was a tough question to answer.
Both answers seemed wrong; without truly grasping Uehara Naraku's intentions, Natasha felt either answer might be a trap.
"Well... and what about our new Director?"
A captivating smile flashed at the corner of Natasha's lips, and with an alluring tone crushing her throat, she spoke into the phone: "Are you loyal to S.H.I.E.L.D…. or our former Director?"
"Me?"
Uehara Naraku hesitated for a moment before giving Natasha an answer: "I'm not sure who I'm loyal to... Right now, I can only choose to be loyal to justice."
"Same here."
Natasha quickly followed with the same answer and swiftly changed the subject, starting to ask about serious matters: "So, what does the Director want me to do now? Find our former Director? Since you took over, Clint and I haven't had any assignments..."
"That's my fault."
Uehara Naraku sighed over the phone, apologizing: "Sorry, since I took over, I've been busy eradicating Hydra bases to avenge Director Fury..."
"It turns out..."
Natasha couldn't help but sigh.
Ever since Uehara Naraku took office as Director, he knew nothing but to desperately strike Hydra to avenge Director Nick Fury, only to later realize that Fury faked his death and was even suspected of being a senior Hydra spy...
The world is changing too fast...
Uehara Naraku was probably confused when he received the news too, right?
"Let's not talk about this..."
Uehara Naraku's voice grew more sullen, and with a sigh, he continued: "Anyway, things on Director Fury's end are quite troublesome, not something we can easily meddle with... Currently, there is a more pressing issue on my end that requires you and Clint to handle."
"What's the issue?"
Natasha couldn't help but chuckle lightly, a bit helplessly: "Is there anything worse than our old supervisor being part of Hydra?"
Indeed...
For S.H.I.E.L.D., what could be worse than both Alexander Pierce and Nick Fury as directors being Hydra spies?
"Yes."
Uehara Naraku calmly brushed over the topic and brought up another matter: "Natasha, records show you've previously encountered Bucky Barnes?"
There is indeed such a work file within S.H.I.E.L.D.
Natasha Romanoff and Bucky Barnes had once crossed paths; the encounter left Natasha with a long scar on her waist inflicted by Bucky, making this enchantingly stunning woman unable to wear a bikini since.
Upon hearing news about Bucky Barnes, Natasha's demeanor turned heavy: "That guy… has there been new activity on his part?"
"The situation is somewhat dire..."
Uehara Naraku hesitated a bit on the other end of the line, then sent an email to Natasha's inbox before continuing: "Bucky Barnes was turned by Hydra long ago; he is now confirmed to be a Hydra member..."
"That's right."
This was something Natasha personally confirmed.
During that encounter, Bucky Barnes acted utterly ruthless, like a soulless killing machine, showing no mercy whether his opponent was male, female, old, or young.
"But…"
Uehara Naraku paused midway again, then slowly spoke: "Never mind, I don't know how to put it... the information has already been sent to your inbox.
This intelligence was the last message sent by our agents monitoring Captain Steve Rogers nearby; that agent was killed by Bucky Barnes."