Looking at Coulson, Hayate laughed softly. "What is it you're so dying to know?"
Seeing a hint of cooperation, Coulson immediately produced a notebook and began to write. "Mr. Shiranui, please describe the armed force that held Tony Stark and the specific methods you used to rescue him."
Hayate watched him with an inward smirk. Is there really a need for pen and paper when you've had a hidden camera and recording device running since the moment you walked through my door?
"It was actually quite simple," Hayate began. "We located Stark and neutralized the militants holding him."
He then proceeded to weave a long, exaggerated tale about the immense difficulties of the rescue—how it drained the High Table's personnel and resources to such an extent that the agency barely made a profit on the contract.
Beside them, Coulson's eye twitched. Could you at least try to be convincing with your nonsense? From the time you left New York to the moment you brought Stark back, was it even three full days?
Concluding his performance, Hayate added, "Besides, even if I hadn't gone to save him, I believe Tony would have found a way out on his own."
Coulson ignored the previous fluff and zeroed in on the final sentence. "Mr. Shiranui, on what basis do you judge that Tony Stark could have escaped by himself?"
Hayate smiled broadly. "Apologies, but I have no comment on that. I cannot disclose details involving a client's proprietary information."
"However, feel free to ask Tony Stark yourself."
"I've said all I'm going to say. Iruka, show our guest out."
Coulson tucked his notebook away without pressing further. "Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Shiranui."
Though frustrated by the lack of hard data, Coulson had gleaned a few unexpected breadcrumbs. He rose, bid his farewells, and departed. Once he was gone, Hayate returned to his private quarters.
The Afghanistan Desert.
After his narrow escape, Zara had failed to convince Xu Wenwu—who was currently preoccupied with training his young son—to intervene. However, Zara had managed to rally a fresh squad of his own subordinates.
Returning to the site of the cave, Zara was surprised to find that the external surveillance equipment had not been destroyed. It was still recording.
While the stored weapons and ammunition had vanished, the hard drives remained.
Opening the footage, Zara saw Hayate Shiranui and that terrifying, hundred-meter-long blue serpent. But as the playback continued, Zara discovered something far more interesting than a giant snake or a Pekingese dog that could bite through steel.
He saw a suit of iron armor.
In the video, Tony Stark—clad in the Mark I—demonstrated his weapons: miniature missiles, flamethrowers, and finally, flight.
Zara fell into a deep silence as he watched the loop. This was clearly what Tony Stark had been secretly building in that cave. He ejected the tape showing the Mark I's performance and walked into the cavern.
Returning to the area where Tony had been imprisoned, Zara began a frantic search. Finally, he found the discarded blueprints he had originally deemed worthless.
One Week Later.
A week had passed since Phil Coulson's visit. During that time, Hotaru had utilized a New York City councilman backed by the High Table to act as a bridge. Within seven days, they successfully acquired the Rand Corporation's abandoned building in Hell's Kitchen.
Because the location was poor and the project had been stagnant for over a decade, Hotaru managed to secure the building and the land for a mere $80 million.
Hayate stood before the dilapidated structure. Beside him, Hotaru spoke. "Boss, the land is officially ours. What's the next step?"
Looking at the precarious, half-finished tower, Hayate worried that direct excavation might cause the upper structure to collapse.
"Blow the building," he commanded. "Once it's leveled, we start digging."
"Understood, Boss," Hotaru replied. "I'll contact a demolition company to handle the clearing."
Hayate waved a hand dismissively. "Don't bother with the red tape. I'll handle the demolition myself."
"Send a team of Adjudicators inside. Check if there are any squatters or homeless people. If there are, clear them out."
Hotaru didn't hesitate, immediately dispatching a squad to sweep the building. As Hayate expected, they soon flushed out a crowd of squatters—about thirty men. One of them began to shout profanities as he was shoved out, but the moment he saw the fully armed High Table tactical squad, his voice died in his throat, and he vanished into the alleyways.
An hour later, the squad leader returned. "The building has been cleared. No one remains inside."
Hayate nodded. In a sudden blur—swish—he disappeared from view. Less than a minute later, he reappeared in the same spot.
"Everyone, fall back one hundred meters. Maintain a perimeter and ensure no unauthorized personnel get close."
"Yes, Lord Hayate!" The forty armed men immediately dispersed, establishing a wide guard zone.
Hayate turned to Hotaru. "I'm going to show you something fun. Keep your eyes open, and don't be afraid."
Hotaru blinked her large, expressive eyes, wondering what "fun" looked like in this context.
Without waiting for a response, Hayate's hands blurred into a series of seals. He shouted: "Art is an explosion! Katsu!"
In the next second, the Explosive Tags Hayate had just plastered onto the building's structural supports ignited simultaneously.
BOOM!
The violent shockwave made Hotaru jump as the abandoned tower began to buckle and collapse in on itself, throwing up a massive curtain of dust. When the air finally cleared, the towering eyesore was gone, replaced by a field of smoldering rubble.
Hotaru looked at the destruction in awe. "Boss... was that an Explosive Tag?"
Hayate nodded. "What do you think? Effective, right?"
"Perfectly effective," Hotaru said seriously. "I'll arrange for a crew to clear the debris so we can begin excavation immediately."
"However," she added, "if the Dragon Bone is as deep as you say, it may take quite some time to reach it."
"If it takes too long, it means we don't have enough hands," Hayate replied. "Hire a civilian crew for the initial debris removal and shallow digging. For the deep-level excavation later, we will use our own people."
Hotaru looked at the sixty loyal High Table Adjudicators currently under her command and nodded. With them handling the sensitive stages of the dig, they would be able to maintain total secrecy.