When dealing with someone as powerful as Minato Namikaze, no matter how much S.H.I.E.L.D. trusted Natasha's abilities, it couldn't dare entrust everything to her alone.
Remote guidance was only natural, and Natasha understood and agreed to it.
So, after hearing Nick Fury's instructions, Natasha paused briefly before asking, "Mr. Namikaze, is it all right if I call you that?"
Wu Chen smiled warmly. "It doesn't matter what you call me."
"Good!" Natasha breathed a small sigh of relief. "Mr. Namikaze, if it's convenient, could you tell me whether your village's Second Hokage has recently created any other Ninjutsu? I'm a little curious..."
The question was somewhat contrived, and she was clearly asking for another reason.
Wu Chen immediately saw what she meant. By deliberately mentioning the "Second Hokage" and "recently," she wanted to know whether the Second Hokage was still alive, so she could gauge Konoha's strength.
A smile appeared on his lips. He shifted his gaze slightly toward the spot where the thugs he had just knocked down had been lying, only to find it empty. They had all escaped while he was seeing young Peter off.
Wu Chen wasn't worried.
He had left a Flying Thunder God Mark on Bald John. Wherever the man fled, Wu Chen could find him instantly whenever he wanted.
For now, he would let the man relax a little!
He would give him a surprise later.
Wu Chen looked back, his expression calm, as if he hadn't noticed Natasha's intentions. "Not recently. The Second Hokage has retired, and these days he only cultivates Chakra."
"I see..." Natasha nodded.
When S.H.I.E.L.D.'s think tank heard his answer, they immediately erupted into discussion again. "There's an eighty percent chance the Second Hokage is still alive. In that case, the Third Hokage is definitely alive too. We can't be sure about the First."
"That means Konohagakure has at least three more powerhouses like Minato Namikaze!"
"Is that all you're paying attention to? Doesn't anyone care about 'Chakra'?"
"Director Fury, please have Agent Romanoff ask what Chakra is!"
After the instruction was given, Natasha paused, but instead of following it, she introduced herself to Wu Chen with complete candor.
"Sorry! I forgot to introduce myself earlier. My name is Natasha Romanoff, and I'm a Level 7 Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (It's Level 7 in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Level 10 in the comics; this book is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.) I was ordered to make contact with you, Mr. Minato Namikaze!"
"Although you stopped Abomination and Hulk from running wild in the streets of New York, as this world's protector, S.H.I.E.L.D. still can't put its full trust in you. At the very least, we need to know your purpose."
"What exactly did your village, Konoha, send you, a Hokage and one of its greatest combat forces, to New York for?!"
S.H.I.E.L.D. was Earth's protector? That description was barely acceptable; after all, they had indeed contributed to peace on Earth.
And as one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s senior agents, Natasha had judgment of her own.
From their conversation up to this point, she understood clearly that to earn the respect of a powerhouse like Minato Namikaze, she had to show him the same respect, if not more.
The think tank's analysis wasn't wrong, but communication between equals depended on both sides having comparable strength and equal standing.
Clearly, judging by top-tier combat strength alone, S.H.I.E.L.D. was inferior to Konohagakure.
With such an imbalance in strength, to coexist peacefully and communicate as equals, they first had to establish where each side stood.
And where they stood meant their respective purposes.
Natasha had already explained why S.H.I.E.L.D. had sent her to make contact. Now it remained to be seen how Konoha's Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, would answer.
S.H.I.E.L.D. approached a powerful organization differently from a powerful individual acting alone.
If Minato Namikaze had been on his own, S.H.I.E.L.D. certainly wouldn't have treated the matter as seriously as it did now.
They would still have been just as polite, certainly, but they would never have had one person making contact in all candor while a large group guided her from behind the scenes.
Clearly, Konohagakure, which Wu Chen had mentioned while showing off at the start, had become one of his important sources of support.
Next, Wu Chen had to decide whether to expose the lie or flesh it out.
If it was only a lie, it could never remain hidden forever. The day would come when it was exposed.
So he had to make a decision.
After hearing those words, a thought suddenly struck Wu Chen. He lowered his head and silently weighed the gains and losses.
Soon, he reached a decision!
He would flesh out the lie and turn it into truth!
That meant cleaning up Hell's Kitchen would have to wait a little longer.
If he only wanted to fleece a rich target, he could indeed pull a fast one on S.H.I.E.L.D. here, and S.H.I.E.L.D. would most likely not refuse, in order to appease a powerhouse like Minato Namikaze.