Marvel: Starting As Hokage

Contact with a powerful figure like Minato Namikaze made S.H.I.E.L.D. cautious. Even though S.H.I.E.L.D. trusted Natasha's abilities, they wouldn't place all their hopes on her alone.

Remote control was a matter of course, and Natasha understood and agreed to it.

So, after hearing the instructions from Nick Fury, Natasha paused for a while, then asked, "Mr. Minato, may I ask you something?"

Ethan smiled gently, "Of course, go ahead."

"That's good!" Natasha breathed a sigh of relief. "Mr. Minato, if it's convenient, can you tell me a little about the Second Hokage from your village? Have they created any new ninjutsu recently? I'm a bit curious..."

This question felt a little forced, and it was clearly insincere.

Ethan immediately understood her intentions. She wanted to ask whether the Second Hokage was still alive, in order to gauge the strength of Konoha Village.

He smiled faintly, his gaze drifting slightly to the place where the group of enemies he had defeated earlier had been. To his surprise, there was no one there. They had all fled while he had been sending Little Peter off. Ethan wasn't in a hurry.

He had left a Thunder God mark on Bald John's body. No matter where the guy ran, as long as Ethan was willing, he could find him immediately.

For now, he would let the guy relax a bit.

A surprise awaited him later.

Withdrawing his gaze, Ethan appeared calm, as though he hadn't noticed Natasha's true intentions, and replied, "Recently, no. The Second Hokage has retired and usually just practices Chakra."

"Is that so..." Natasha nodded.

S.H.I.E.L.D.'s think tank immediately exploded upon hearing this answer. "There's an 80% chance the Second Hokage is still alive. If that's the case, the Third Hokage must be alive too, though we can't be sure about the First Hokage."

"In other words, there are at least three powerful figures like Minato Namikaze in Konoha Village!"

"Is anyone concerned about 'Chakra'? Doesn't anyone care?"

"Director Fury, please have Agent Romanoff ask what Chakra is!"

After receiving the order, Natasha paused. Instead of directly following instructions, she candidly introduced herself to Ethan.

"Sorry, I just forgot to introduce myself. My name is Natasha Romanoff, and I am a level 7 agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it's level 7; in the comics, it's level 10. This book follows the Cinematic Universe.) I was ordered to contact you, Mr. Minato!"

"Although you prevented the Hulk and the Rampage from wreaking havoc on the streets of New York, as the protector of this world, S.H.I.E.L.D. can't completely rest easy with you. At least let us know your intentions."

"Why did the Konoha Village, the one you come from, send one of their most powerful fighters, the Hokage, to New York? What's your goal?"

S.H.I.E.L.D. as the protector of Earth? They barely qualify, but they do contribute to the peace of the world.

As a senior agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., Natasha had her own judgment.

From the conversation so far, she had clearly realized that to earn the respect of a powerful figure like Minato Namikaze, she needed to show the same or even deeper respect. The think tank's analysis wasn't wrong, but the two sides needed to communicate as equals, which meant equal strength and status.

Obviously, when considering high-level combat power, S.H.I.E.L.D. was not on the same level as Konoha Hidden Village.

In this situation, where the two sides had unequal combat power, in order to achieve peaceful coexistence and mutual respect, at the very least, they needed to define their positions.

The so-called positions referred to their respective goals.

Natasha had already made clear S.H.I.E.L.D.'s purpose for contacting Ethan. Now, it would depend on how the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, responded.

S.H.I.E.L.D.'s attitude toward a powerful organization and a lone powerful individual was very different.

If Minato Namikaze were alone, S.H.I.E.L.D. would not have acted with such solemnity.

They would still be polite, but there would be no situation where one person could speak freely with an entire team of agents at the rear.

Clearly, the Konoha Hidden Village that Ethan had talked about earlier had now become one of his most important sources of support. The next step was whether Ethan would choose to elaborate on the lie or to enrich it.

If it was just a lie, there was no way to hide it forever. Eventually, it would be exposed.

A decision had to be made.

But after hearing Natasha's words, Ethan's heart moved, and he lowered his head to think silently, considering the pros and cons.

Soon, he had made a decision.

That was to enrich the lie and make the lie true!

In this case, cleaning up Hell's Kitchen would have to be postponed.

If it were just to wipe out a major family, it would indeed be possible to include S.H.I.E.L.D. in the operation. Most likely, in an effort to appease Minato Namikaze's power, S.H.I.E.L.D. would not refuse.