"What?"
Tony Stark had a question mark on his face. He looked at Uehara Naraku, whose face was burning with anger, and blinked: "Don't be too angry... I also think his false death plan is unreliable..."
"Then why did you help him!"
Uehara Naraku suddenly clenched his jaw, as if he was no longer in control of his own anger, and forcibly swung a punch at Tony Stark!
The attack came too suddenly!
Tony Stark initially tried to instinctively resist, but he was still directly sent flying by Uehara Naraku's punch, crashing into a lab table!
Luckily, he was wearing the Iron Man suit...
"Are you crazy?"
Tony Stark closed his mask with lingering fear.
Had he not temporarily donned the Iron Man suit, he would've been severely injured by Uehara Naraku's punch—has this guy lost his mind?
Uehara Naraku's figure charged at Tony Stark once more, his palm grabbing Tony's arm with force and throwing him over the shoulder to the ground!
At that moment...
He seemed blinded by anger!
"Do you even know what you've done!"
Uehara Naraku pinned Tony Stark to the ground, grabbing his Iron Mask and wrenching it off, continuing furiously, "Director Fury... No... Nick Fury, he's a Hydra operative!"
"..."
Tony Stark was stupefied.
Watching Tony Stark's astonished face, Uehara Naraku continued in a deep voice, "Fury... Nick Fury's false death plan wasn't to lure out Hydra, it was to leave S.H.I.E.L.D. cleanly, because soon someone would find out about him..."
"Impossible... right?"
Tony Stark found it hard to believe.
If Nick Fury is truly with Hydra, what has he been doing all this while? What has he actually done?
"The evidence is conclusive."
Uehara Naraku looked at the still astonished Tony Stark, his emotions gradually calming down: "Now the White House has issued a wanted order through the FBI and CIA... everything is beyond salvation, the former President's assassination might be orchestrated by him!"
"How is that possible..."
Tony Stark's eyes gradually became lost.
It took Tony Stark less than two seconds of disorientation before he swiftly contemplated the implications if Nick Fury with Hydra turned out to be true: "If Nick Fury is indeed a Hydra operative..."
"Do you need me to help you sort your thoughts?"
Uehara Naraku helped Iron Man stand up, speaking softly: "Nick Fury truly being a Hydra operative... doesn't quite trouble you as much, does it?"
"I wouldn't know..."
Tony Stark shook his head instinctively and said, "Isn't this a failure on the part of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the government? I don't want to get involved, you guys are taking taxpayers' money..."
"Don't dodge the issue."
Uehara Naraku interrupted his words, a single sentence causing Tony Stark to feel like he'd plunged into an ice cave: "Tony, did you forget that Christmas night?"
"..."
Tony Stark's face instantly turned grim.
There was no need for Uehara Naraku to remind him further; he had already figured out these troubles, because a President had died that Christmas night!
Moreover...
The one who killed the President was someone from Hydra!
Uehara Naraku looked at Tony Stark and continued calmly: "The man who killed the President and nearly killed you was a Hydra operative, Death.
This affair cannot be hidden; now the White House has identified one thing: the former President's bizarre death was a terrorist attack orchestrated by Hydra.
And you just happened to survive that night.
Even though I happened to save a few of you that night, it doesn't avoid the set fact... The former President is dead, and you survived, which is really too coincidental..."
As Uehara Naraku spoke up to this point, looking at Tony Stark's increasingly grim face, he continued: "What's even more coincidental is... before that, you assisted the former S.H.I.E.L.D. director, Nick Fury, one of Hydra's operatives, in escaping the government's supervision."
"..."
Tony Stark's face finally turned completely dark.
If we follow Uehara Naraku's logic, this Iron Man is also one of the accomplices involved in the assassination of the President, since he has indeed been entangled with Hydra!
"Looks like you understand."
Uehara Naraku observed Tony Stark and continued calmly: "When the new President summoned me at the White House the day before yesterday, I told him that no matter who might be a Hydra spy, you couldn't possibly be a member of Hydra.
Because when I was taking the director's role, I saw that your father, Howard Stark, was one of the founders of S.H.I.E.L.D., and I also went through some documents.
After all, your parents, the Howard Starks, were assassinated by Hydra. It's just that the White House considers you still have suspicions of being involved in the former President's murder. The President and the World Security Council have ordered me to control you and Colonel Rhodes..."
"Thank you... Wait a moment?"
Tony Stark's attention was instantly caught by something different, his eyes widened suddenly, and he forcefully grabbed Uehara Naraku's shoulder: "What did you just say?"
Uehara Naraku frowned and repeated to himself: "The President and the World Security Council ordered me to control you and Colonel James Rhodes, and dispatch officers to oversee..."
"My mother..."
Tony Stark clutched Uehara Naraku's shoulder tightly, with a shadow suddenly appearing on his face: "Assassinated by Hydra... Quickly, tell me what happened!"
This was just human nature.
Even if Tony Stark knew that both Howard Stark and his wife were killed together, he would instinctively resent the one who killed his mother.
"Didn't you know about this?"
Uehara Naraku seemed oblivious, as if he did not realize he had disclosed something so important, with only a hint of surprise on his face, furrowing his brows: "I recall there being an extraction record in the S.H.I.E.L.D. internal warehouse regarding Howard Stark's relics that had long been given to you..."
Uehara Naraku's brows furrowed more tightly, and he continued to ask: "The S.H.I.E.L.D. files had already been retrieved—didn't anyone give you that tape?
Recently, we recovered a tape while clearing out a Hydra base, considering that it had information on Howard Stark, one of the founders of S.H.I.E.L.D..."
"What tape!"
Tony Stark's eyes instantaneously turned red!
At that moment, it was as though he grasped onto something, gripping tightly onto Uehara Naraku's shoulders and not letting go, with his hands growing more forceful!
"Please... tell me, Uehara!"
"The tape before Howard Stark's couple's murder..."
Uehara Naraku paused for a moment before continuing: "Sorry, Tony, I didn't know whether I should tell you this..."
There was hesitation on Uehara Naraku's face, but he spoke fluently: "The internal information from S.H.I.E.L.D. was taken beforehand. I only found out about this sealed file from one of Hydra's bases while eliminating them.
Your father, Mr. Howard Stark, your mother, Mrs. Maria Collins Howard, were forced into a car accident by Hydra back then. Although there was initially a chance to save them, they were assassinated by a nearby Hydra hitman, Bucky Barnes...
Apologies, I assumed you were already aware of this."
"Bucky Barnes?"
Tony Stark's hand slowly relaxed and he suddenly said: "I didn't know... Jarvis! Get me Bucky Barnes' profile..."
"Tony!"
Uehara Naraku pressed a hand firmly on Tony Stark's shoulder and said deeply: "Promise me not to investigate now... Right now, you need to come back to S.H.I.E.L.D. with me!"
"Don't stop me!"
Tony Stark pushed Uehara Naraku away with a backhand motion, his eyes red and seeming about to tear up, filled with pleading: "Uehara, if you still consider us friends, don't stop me..."
"Tony! I won't stop you."
Uehara Naraku shook his head and continued gently: "But you won't find anything, Bucky Barnes has long been an entrenched spy, and S.H.I.E.L.D. holds all his records and life history.
You must come back to S.H.I.E.L.D. with me now; you can slowly review them there. I must ensure you're under S.H.I.E.L.D.'s control to assure you're not a pawn of Hydra, sorry, but only this can guarantee your safety.
This is my commitment to the President and the World Security Council."