A Heartwarming Little Gift

The moment Peter made that final request, the atmosphere in the office became unbearably tense.

Natasha felt an inexplicable pressure descend upon her, along with a bone-chilling cold.

In that instant, Natasha understood just how important the two guardians Peter called "Ben and May" were to him.

They could be called the young man's "reverse scales"—the kind that meant death to anyone who touched them.

This discovery left Natasha feeling both relieved and worried.

Relieved because a young man who respected and cared for his guardians so deeply could not possibly be some villain who committed every evil imaginable.

At the very least, if a truly powerful enemy arrived, this young man would surely stand and fight alongside them.

One more ally was always more reassuring than one more enemy.

What worried her was that their director, Nick Fury, possessed such monstrously strong control issues and would stop at nothing to achieve his goals.

If Black Braised Egg insisted on using Peter's guardians to threaten him... she did not even dare imagine what would happen next.

It would likely turn into a disaster that even all of S.H.I.E.L.D. could not bear.

After a brief lapse in thought, Natasha came back to herself and looked at Peter, her voice carrying a trace of barely noticeable complexity.

"I understand. I'll truthfully relay your requests to my superiors."

"Good."

Seeing the famed "Black Widow" from the original story act so obediently and cooperatively, Peter could not help but feel delighted.

"I like people who are obedient and sensible. Since you've been so cooperative, I can give you a small gift."

As he spoke, Peter slowly extended his hand and gently placed it on Natasha's shoulder.

With that movement, the Horse Talisman activated instantly.

A warm, gentle white light enveloped Natasha.

The light was not dazzling. It carried an indescribable sense of comfort, seeping into every one of her cells as though it were performing a deep cleansing and reconstruction.

Then, she felt an unprecedented warmth rise from her lower abdomen and knees. It seemed as if certain voids deep within her body were being filled once more.

"Mmm... what did you do to me?"

Natasha's eyes were full of vigilance, but her voice trembled slightly because of that strange sensation, even unconsciously carrying an embarrassingly soft nasal sound.

Peter merely withdrew his hand, his tone relaxed yet faintly teasing.

"I just helped you heal some old injuries, and while I was at it... restored some things you had lost."

There were still some secrets Peter did not state outright.

Under the Horse Talisman's effects, even the tiny chip implanted inside Natasha's body had already been rendered useless.

However, even Natasha herself did not know about that. If Peter said it outright, it would be far too shocking.

Even so, Peter's casual words struck Natasha's ears like a bolt from the blue.

Her body began to tremble involuntarily, and her hands moved uncontrollably toward her lower abdomen. It seemed she had already vaguely sensed the "things she had lost" that Peter mentioned.

This was her most deeply hidden scar, as well as the pain in her heart that could never heal.

As a top agent who had come from the Red Room, Natasha and her companions had been forcibly stripped of their uteruses and ovaries while becoming Black Widows.

All her life, she had sought a sense of belonging and longed for a real home.

Yet, tragically and ironically, because of her physical loss, she was destined never to have a true family in this life.

She had once thought that, for the rest of her life, she could at most seek a little familial warmth from pets.

But now, Peter had given her a brand-new hope.

The moment she realized that, even this battle-hardened agent with a heart of iron felt countless emotions well up within her.

An incomparably complicated feeling surged into her heart, instantly moistening her eyes and giving her the urge to burst into tears.

She bit her lower lip tightly, forcibly holding back the sob in her throat, unwilling to show her vulnerability before Peter.

Peter looked at her with a teasing expression and suddenly said,

"If you want to cry, I can lend you a shoulder... and if you want a warm hug, that's not impossible either."

"In your dreams!"

Natasha shot him a huge Byakugan, then turned around with the motion.

Yet inwardly, she found herself growing even fonder of Peter.

She was not some sheltered little girl like Gwen Stacy. Naturally, she understood that Peter had merely seen through her desire not to let anyone witness her weakness and had conveniently given her an out.

She tried hard to calm the complicated emotions in her heart.

When she turned back around, she had already returned to her usual sexy, languid demeanor.

She took an encrypted phone from her bag, thought for a moment, then entered a number into it.

"Regarding the conditions you proposed, whether our director agrees or not, we'll contact you through this phone... If there's anything you need us to help resolve in the future, you can contact us with this phone as well."

After handing the phone to Peter, Natasha picked up her bag and turned to leave.

"I'm going back to report this. We may have you come to S.H.I.E.L.D. tonight, so remember to explain things clearly to your family. Don't make them worry."

Only after watching Natasha's curvaceous back completely disappear from view did Peter withdraw his gaze, a faint smile of confidence curling at the corner of his lips.

With today's little gift, he could probably win over this key future Avengers glue without any effort.

About an hour later, Natasha appeared at S.H.I.E.L.D.'s secret branch in New York.

She took the elevator straight down to the seventeenth underground floor. In the large office there, "Black Braised Egg" Nick Fury was anxiously waiting for Natasha's good news.

But when he saw Natasha push open the door and enter, he could not help but pause in surprise.

"Agent Natasha, why are you back so quickly? Have you already met that person calling himself the 'Arbiter'?"

Natasha nodded lightly.

"I met him. The 'Arbiter' is Peter Parker. To my shame, he discovered my true identity and took the initiative to tell me what he wanted..."

As she spoke, Natasha explained everything that had happened earlier in one breath, though she deliberately omitted the part about Peter giving her a "little gift."

Just as expected, Black Braised Egg, who had been enjoying smooth sailing with the Skrulls' secret assistance, flew into a rage the moment he heard Peter's conditions.

He did not even take a billionaire like Tony Stark seriously, constantly thinking of ways to scheme against and control him.

With Captain Marvel's nearly Celestials-level combat power backing him up, he naturally did not take a high school student like Peter seriously. He slammed his hand on the table and blurted out his classic catchphrase.

"Motherfucker! Who does he think he is? The President of Berryland?!"