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*****
This matter concerned the most important resource for his future dimensional expansion, so investing in Tony was essentially a guaranteed win.
After chatting with Pepper for a few more minutes, Fini found Tony in his workshop, currently upgrading his armor.
Without the threat of the shrapnel in his chest, Tony clearly had much more room to play with when it came to his Iron Man armor. However, current nanotechnology was still far from mature. If he wanted to be able to equip his suit just by tapping his chest like in the original timeline, it would clearly take some time.
"Are you here to help them persuade me?"
Before Fini could even open his mouth upon entering, Tony's very first words caught him somewhat off guard.
"Persuade you about what?"
Seeing the confused and dazed look in Fini's eyes, Tony froze for a moment, then shook his head and shifted the topic. "Nothing. Why did you come looking for me anyway?"
"First, tell me who you thought I was helping, and what you thought they were trying to persuade you to do."
Fini didn't ask about S.H.I.E.L.D. right away. He was quite curious as to why Tony had said that just now.
Tony remained silent for a while before sitting down on a chair. With a complex expression in his eyes, he said, "I saw him."
"Who?"
Fini didn't immediately register who this 'him' was in Tony's mouth.
"Bucky Barnes."
Hearing that name, everything instantly clicked for Fini. With Sitwell around, it was perfectly normal for Bucky to be rescued. He was just a little curious about what had happened after they met.
So, Fini sat down as well, looked at Tony, and probed further, "And then?"
"I wanted to kill him to avenge my parents."
The moment he heard this, Fini knew it hadn't succeeded. He could also deduce as much from Tony's initial comment, so he kept quiet and just watched Tony, waiting for him to continue.
"But that guy stopped me."
At this point, Fini finally spoke up. "Captain America?"
Seeing Tony nod, Fini looked into his eyes and asked, "If you really wanted to kill him, Captain America shouldn't have been able to stop you, right?"
Tony's Iron Man armor was packed with high-tech weaponry. If he had truly gone all out, Captain America might have struggled just to protect himself given his level of strength, let alone protect someone else.
Looking at the silent Tony, Fini didn't force an answer. He continued, "So you just left them behind and walked away on your own? And then you assumed I came here to persuade you to go back and help?"
Although Tony didn't answer, Fini figured that was exactly what had happened. He couldn't help but shrug and explain, "I've been busy with something lately and only found out today that they are wanted fugitives. I just came over to get a handle on the situation from you."
"What have you been busy with?"
Whether he wanted to deflect the topic or was genuinely curious about Fini's busywork, Tony spoke up to ask.
"Nothing much. Just working with my teacher to reinforce Earth's dimensional security."
Fini gave a casual answer before steering the conversation right back. "So, what do you plan to do now? Keep looking for an opportunity for revenge? Or never see each other again for the rest of your lives?"
Tony merely sighed, frowning without giving an answer, because he didn't know what to do either.
When he had first learned the news, he couldn't wait to find Bucky and kill him on the spot. But as time passed, his hatred had mellowed out a bit.
Then there was everything that happened with Wanda and Pietro, which made his feelings about revenge even more complicated.
To the point where, when he encountered the brainwashed Bucky a few days ago, he actually felt a wave of sympathy in his heart. Just as Fini said, if he had truly wanted to kill Bucky at that moment, Captain America couldn't have stopped him at all.
Leaving S.H.I.E.L.D. behind was merely a form of escape, because he didn't know how to face the situation.
Looking at the gloomy and silent Tony, Fini also let out a sigh. This was a choice Tony had to make for himself; he had no right to interfere.
Thus, he didn't dwell on the topic any further and instead brought up the purpose of his visit. "Tell me about the recent situation with S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra."
Hearing Fini's words, Tony stopped dwelling on his personal dilemma and began to recount what he knew.
After listening, Fini understood that Hydra's defeat was practically inevitable now. S.H.I.E.L.D. was currently just taking precautions to prevent them from launching a desperate, suicidal final strike, choosing instead to slowly chip away at them.
Fini wasn't surprised by this outcome.
After all, in the original timeline, Hydra had failed to successfully step into the light despite holding such a massive advantage, let alone now when he had given S.H.I.E.L.D. so much assistance.
With the intelligence gathered, Fini prepared to leave. The update to the Sanctum arrays wasn't fully completed yet, so he would have to keep Ancient One company to continue studying dimensions for the upcoming period.
Furthermore, the Convergence of the Realms was drawing closer and closer. He needed to think carefully about how to deal with Asgard and the Dark Elves once he obtained the Reality Stone.
Upon returning to Kamar-Taj, Fini resumed his previous lifestyle.
Every day, aside from doing research with Ancient One, he practiced his skills in the Himalayas. Occasionally, he would accompany Mordo to guide other sorcerers in their training.
Of course, he could only offer guidance regarding portals. This was because barely anyone in all of Kamar-Taj could utilize the Mirror Dimension, and as for other spells, he was lucky if the other sorcerers didn't end up guiding him instead.
Time slipped away imperceptibly like this, and in the blink of an eye, a month passed.
This past month had been incredibly turbulent for the entire world. Although the clash between S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra unsurprisingly ended in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s victory, the matter didn't end there.
Driven by Hydra's desperate cornered actions and the meddling of various rival factions, the existence of these organizations was ultimately exposed to ordinary people.
It was only then that the public realized so much truth had been concealed by these two organizations--or rather, this single organization--beneath the peaceful surface of society.
Consequently, everyone began clamoring for S.H.I.E.L.D. to go public with the truths they had hidden. However, S.H.I.E.L.D. at this point was different from the original timeline, where it had been forced to disband out of sheer necessity.
While the war with Hydra had still severely drained its vitality, the situation was far better than in the original plot. Meanwhile, Captain America was in no mood to bother with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s affairs due to Bucky's situation.
As a result, Nick Fury was 'forced' to reveal the 'truth' to appease the public's fury.
Yet, when Fini saw that so-called truth, he merely curled his lips in disdain. Nick Fury had merely tossed out the complete details of the previous Battle of New York and a few insignificant operative missions.
Compared to what S.H.I.E.L.D. was truly hiding, this was a mere drop in the bucket.
But while Fini knew this, the general public did not. They just wanted an outcome, and seeing S.H.I.E.L.D. compromise was enough to satisfy them.
Moreover, the true details of the Battle of New York were indeed something many people were incredibly curious about.
At the same time, the Avengers also began to be known to the world. So long after the grand battle had ended, this team had somehow made its debut in such a bizarre fashion.
What made Fini a bit ticked off, though, was that when Nick Fury released the information, the guy didn't even get his consent before forcefully lumping him into the Avengers as well.