"Hydra?"
Natasha didn't quite grasp Kurohane's meaning at the moment, tilting her head and beginning to sort through the information she knew. "The Nazi organization from World War II? Wasn't that organization eradicated by Captain America and his team? Why are you suddenly bringing up an evil organization that vanished into history?"
"If you knew, I wouldn't make it so complicated, I could save my breath." Kurohane took a deep swig of his beer. "You need to listen carefully to what I'm about to say next, and don't get emotional!"
Kurohane pulled out a document from under the coffee table, and handed it to Natasha. This information had been obtained by him and Tony after combing through S.H.I.E.L.D. files. Recorded within was the 'Operation Paperclip' conducted by the United States after their victory. Its purpose was to recruit high-level scientists from Nazi Germany, including Dr. Arnim Zola!
"This Dr. Zola was the chief scientist of the Hydra organization during World War II," Kurohane explained, "It can be said that besides the Red Skull who led at the time, Zola was the second person in charge of Hydra. But such a person was chosen to be absorbed by S.H.I.E.L.D.'s predecessor, the Strategic Scientific Reserve (SSR). This led to Dr. Zola becoming a malignant tumor growing inside S.H.I.E.L.D."
Natasha flipped through the documents in her hand, this information was something she couldn't have accepted before. Now it seemed S.H.I.E.L.D. was no different from the KGB she used to be with. Still, they were just villains doing dirty work for the government, even the KGB knew not to let enemies enter their upper echelons, right?
"Then what? The information indicates that this tumor has long since died, no?" Natasha put down the documents in her hand, besides Dr. Zola, there were many other scientists listed, but Kurohane hadn't mentioned them, so the focus must still be on this Dr. Zola!
"Hydra's motto is, 'Cut off one head, two more shall take its place!'" Kurohane pointed at Dr. Zola's photo in the file and said in a helpless tone, "After all these years in S.H.I.E.L.D., he has already infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. like a sieve. Among so many people inside and outside S.H.I.E.L.D., besides a few capable individuals under Nick Fury, and top agents like you and Hawkeye, most of them have already become Hydra members, including our Alexander Pierce is also a member of Hydra."
Natasha was shocked. "No, is this something I'm supposed to hear? For something this important, shouldn't you report directly to the Director?"
"But why do you know about this so clearly?" Natasha's crossed legs had already been lowered, and she sat upright, staring at Kurohane. In her eyes, Kurohane's figure became even more mysterious, moreover, she faintly felt a hint of danger!
"Because I am Hydra's spy in S.H.I.E.L.D." Kurohane spoke with a jolt, staring at the stunned Natasha with a calm expression, even if Natasha pulled out a pistol from under her skirt and aimed it at him, it would be the same.
Natasha held her dark muzzle pointed at Kurohane and instinctively swallowed. No wonder she felt a hint of danger earlier, this was so wrong!
"You can aim the pistol at me, but I hope you decide whether to shoot or not after you hear what I have to say." Kurohane took a deep breath, then continued in a calm tone, "It would be better if the current S.H.I.E.L.D. were simply called 'Snake S.H.I.E.L.D.', because even as a Hydra member myself, I don't know exactly how many Hydra members there are in S.H.I.E.L.D., because that's the nature of the organization, beside every Hydra member is another Hydra member, even for core members. Even if I tell the truth about S.H.I.E.L.D. to Nick Fury now, do you think he'll believe my words? Even if he believes me, when things start to go downhill in S.H.I.E.L.D., can he safely walk out of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s front door?"
Kurohane then recounted to Natasha how he was selected by S.H.I.E.L.D. and went undercover to become a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, and then because of his inner standard of justice, he genuinely couldn't accept Hydra's methods, so now he was preparing to turn over a new leaf and make a big move for both the Hydra organization and S.H.I.E.L.D.!
"So you mean you need help? But why did you choose me as your assistance?" Natasha's weapon was still not lowered, still aimed at Kurohane's head, but the safety on her gun was off, she already knew Kurohane's plan. Even if she was previously a Hydra spy, she must now decide to draw a clear line with this organization, she was even preparing to destroy this organization, perhaps he planned to destroy S.H.I.E.L.D. with him. However, Kurohane was indeed right, 'Snake S.H.I.E.L.D.' also had a big problem now. Perhaps absorbing Nazi scientists for historical reasons, but allowing these scientists to suck S.H.I.E.L.D.'s blood, and allowing the Nazi organization to rise again in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s body, such a rotten S.H.I.E.L.D. should not exist!
Kurohane chose Natasha as his first ally, of course, with his own considerations. He was quite familiar with Tony, but Tony... The mind of a playboy and capitalist held no sense of justice, everything he did was basically just for show. Otherwise, he wouldn't have confessed at a press conference that he was Iron Man! Anyone who wrote novels on Tomato knew that you absolutely cannot reveal your identity. Yet Tony not only revealed his identity but also directly became the most popular capitalist in the world. In an era where traffic is king, getting drunk from traffic caused Stark Industries' stock price to soar. So every move he made was watched, it was too difficult for him to hide his identity and do some dirty work!
But Natasha was different. Her character stood at the highest level—surpassing even Captain America's bravery and toughness. Having a figure as strong and noble as hers as a teammate, who wouldn't feel proud?
"Because you're 'unclean' enough, like a defecting foreign spy," Kurohane smiled, then raised the beer bottle in his hand towards Natasha, signaling her to clink bottles with him immediately, indicating their cooperation had begun. "Nick must have gone to great lengths to investigate you, and your name isn't in any of the Hydra information I have. Therefore, I think you'll be an excellent teammate!"
"That reason isn't enough. Give me one more reason, and I'll trust you!" Natasha had already lowered her pistol, but her beer bottle wasn't yet raised. She looked at Kurohane with a hint of playful seduction in her eyes, as if saying something through her gaze.
"You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. If I were deceived by you, I'd still be happy. How about that reason?"
"Cheers!"