Hearing Coulson's assessment, Nick Fury fell into deep thought. He ran through the list of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents suitable for such a delicate infiltration mission. Aside from Black Widow, the only other candidate was Mockingbird, Bobbi Morse.
However, Black Widow was currently on an overseas assignment and hadn't returned yet. That left Mockingbird as the only viable choice.
"Contact Bobbi Morse. I remember from the old files that there was an assassin associated with the Continental who bore a striking resemblance to her. This might be our breakthrough point."
Coulson immediately caught the connection, a faint smile touching his lips. "Director, I'll reach out to Bobbi right away."
"I believe the concept of 'resurrection' will pique Hayate Shiranui's curiosity enough to make him willing to engage with her."
As Coulson left the room, Nick Fury leaned back, his mind fixated on the unique symbols worn by Hayate's three subordinates. He decided to investigate that specific detail. An organization, no matter how secretive, cannot exist without leaving a footprint—unless it was founded yesterday. Somewhere, there were traces.
Air Force Base.
Tony Stark, now dressed in civilian clothes, visited the base to see his best friend, Colonel James Rhodes. After cracking a few jokes at Rhodey's expense in front of his subordinates, Rhodes dismissed the soldiers so they could speak privately.
Rhodes patted Tony on the shoulder, a genuine grin on his face. "I honestly didn't expect it."
Tony turned to face him. "What?"
"I swear, I didn't think you'd recover this fast," Rhodey laughed.
Tony's expression shifted, becoming uncharacteristically serious. "Rhodey, I'm working on something big. I came here because I want you to be a part of it."
Rhodes pursed his lips and glanced around the hangar. "Look, Tony, you gave everyone here a hell of a show at that press conference. That performance was... something else."
"This isn't about military contracts, Rhodey," Tony countered. "I'm not developing those anymore. This is different."
Rhodes frowned. "Are you... are you really becoming a humanitarian now?"
"Listen to me carefully—" Tony started.
"No," Rhodey interrupted. "What you need is to take some time and think things through clearly before you say anything else."
Seeing Tony start to chuckle, Rhodes turned stern. "I'm serious, Tony."
Tony's smile faded. "Alright."
"It's good to see you, Tony," Rhodes said, turning to walk away. He clearly had no idea exactly what kind of opportunity he had just walked away from.
Stark Labs.
After the rejection from Rhodey, Tony returned to his workshop. He woke up his AI and gave a command: "Jarvis, I want to start a new project file. Codename: Mark II."
"Shall I save this to the Stark Industries central database, sir?" Jarvis inquired.
Tony transferred the virtual model of the Mark I onto the holographic display. "I don't know who to trust right now. For the time being, we store everything on my private, local servers."
"Is this a top-secret initiative?"
Tony looked at the jagged, primitive frame of the Mark I. "I don't want this falling into the wrong hands."
For a moment, Hayate Shiranui's face flashed in his mind again—specifically that ninja dog, Pakkun. Should he build a mechanical dog? No, that was ridiculous. What would that even be? Uploading Jarvis into a plastic toy?
Did he need a toy dog? NO!
Tony Stark shook off the distracting thoughts and threw himself into the development of the Mark II.
Shiranui Agency.
Wilson Fisk had come for another visit. He greeted the owner with uncharacteristic warmth. "Hello, Hayate Shiranui."
Hayate shook Fisk's hand, a small smile on his face. "Fisk. I trust you're satisfied with the results of the commission?"
Fisk's eyes crinkled with genuine delight. "Satisfied? I'm ecstatic. You have no idea how surprised I was."
"Not only did your men take care of Madam Gao, but they also happened to eliminate that masked freak while they were at it."
Hayate's expression turned slightly odd. "The masked freak? You mean Daredevil?"
Fisk let out a booming laugh. "Exactly! That's the one."
After the brief handshake, Hayate gestured toward the lounge. "Come, let's sit and talk."
Fisk, followed by his bodyguard Bullseye, sat down on the plush sofa.
"What can I get you to drink?" Hayate asked.
"Whiskey," Fisk replied.
"The same for me," Bullseye added. "With ice."
Hayate turned toward the reception desk. "Iruka, bring a bottle of whiskey and an ice bucket over here."
Iruka immediately stood up. "Right away, Lord Hayate."
Fisk watched Iruka with surprise. "My friend, that man is your Adjudicator. He's incredibly powerful... yet you have him doing this? You should consider hiring some servers, like they have at the Continental, for your agency."
Hayate nodded thoughtfully. "I'll keep that in mind."
Iruka returned quickly with a tray, expertly pouring the drinks and placing them before the guests. As he prepared to head back, Hayate called out, "Iruka, was there a masked man blocking your way yesterday?"
Masked man? Iruka thought. There were plenty of masked men yesterday—all the Hand ninjas wore them. Then he remembered the outlier. "Ah, as we were leaving the building, there was indeed a masked man who tried to stop us. He wanted to take Madam Gao and told us to turn ourselves in at the police station."
"I don't know if that's who you mean, but his strength was unremarkable. Lee killed him with a few punches."
The room went quiet. Not just Hayate, but Fisk and Bullseye were momentarily stunned.
What was the logic there?
Hayate realized that with Daredevil's sensitive hearing, he probably overheard the struggle and misunderstood the situation, thinking Gao was an innocent victim being kidnapped.
Meanwhile, Fisk and Bullseye were shocked by a different detail: Daredevil—a man Bullseye had failed to kill on several occasions—had been beaten to death in seconds by a boy named Rock Lee.
It seemed the Shiranui Agency was truly a den of hidden dragons and crouching tigers.
"I see," Hayate said, dismissing his subordinate. "Go back to what you were doing."
Iruka bowed and returned to the service desk, opening his terminal to browse the latest bounties from the Continental.