A second of silence.
Natasha turned to look at Peter, something flickering in her eyes.
"...A long time ago?"
"Back when we first met, at Midtown High School."
Hearing this, Natasha couldn't help but fall silent for a few seconds, her eyes growing slightly misty.
It turned out that this guy had solved a huge problem for her without her knowledge so long ago.
Tony, listening from the side, couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement.
He thought to himself, no wonder this kid Peter could have a girl on each arm; his long-term planning was truly impressive!
On the other side, Dreykov's face had turned an indescribable shade of ashen defeat.
He had originally planned to use Yelena and Antonia to buy time to activate the device.
Then, he would exploit the feelings between Natasha, Peter, and Tony to turn the tables and control them all.
That way, he would emerge as the ultimate winner.
Not only could he control everyone, but he could even go a step further and use the power of Peter and the others to gradually rule the United States and even the entire World.
But now, it was clear that all of this had become a fleeting dream!
Unwilling to give up, he gnashed his teeth and quickly changed his plan:
"Yelena! Antonia! Cover my retreat!"
The moment Dreykov gave the order, the two who had stopped moving because they were restrained sprang into action again.
Ignoring the immense strength from Natasha's arms, the two began to struggle frantically.
They acted as if they wouldn't care even if their own heads were torn off.
Natasha already felt she owed these two, so she naturally couldn't let anything happen to them while in her hands.
Therefore, even though she could have easily snapped their necks, she chose to let go.
The moment she released them, Yelena and Antonia immediately moved.
The two coordinated perfectly, launching a barrage of swift attacks at Natasha like a violent storm.
Among ordinary people, both of them were top-tier experts.
But for Natasha, who had consumed the Okuchi no Makami fruit and was protected by the symbiote suit, their attacks were mere child's play.
If they didn't have those two faces, Natasha could have crushed their heads in a matter of minutes.
But now, she appeared incredibly passive.
She was even being pinned down by the two of them, completely at a disadvantage.
"Peter, something doesn't seem right," Tony couldn't help but nudge Peter's elbow.
"Natasha can't handle those two girls at all."
In fact, Peter had already seen this without Tony having to say a word.
He had only wanted to see if Natasha could actually harden her heart.
But it seemed Natasha was far more fragile than he had imagined.
It could be said that as cold and ruthless as she was toward outsiders, she was just as cautious and protective toward her own people.
To Peter, however, this was actually a virtue.
He wouldn't dare keep someone by his side who could ruthlessly strike down their own people without hesitation.
Peter finally stopped watching and took a step forward, instantly flashing to Natasha's side.
"Leave these two to me. You just take care of Dreykov."
Natasha didn't refuse; she knew she couldn't bring herself to deal with them, so she decisively tagged out to Peter.
Compared to Natasha's painful hesitation, Peter's handling was much more straightforward.
He instantly flashed in front of Antonia.
A massive amount of muscle analysis data immediately flooded Antonia's vision.
This was why she was known as "Taskmaster."
Dreykov had subjected her to perverse technological modifications, implanting a complete motion capture analysis system in her brain.
This allowed her to analyze an opponent's next move within milliseconds and instantly make a choice based on the analyzed electrical signals.
The speed was so great that it could completely bypass the time required for the brain to process and analyze information.
It was purely muscle replacing thought.
But... in the face of Peter, all of this became a joke.
The moment she saw Peter raise his hand, Antonia instinctively performed a grappling move, intending to dislocate Peter's arm.
She clung to him, but no matter how much force she applied, Peter's body remained motionless.
It felt as if she were clinging not to flesh, but to a bundle of steel coils!
At the very moment Antonia latched onto Peter's arm, a faint glimmer emerged from Peter's palm and quickly covered Antonia's entire body.
Under the influence of this white light, she fell into a state of complete paralysis, as if her power had been instantly cut.
Then, a massive amount of electrode pads and tiny chips were purged from her body, and the horrific burns on her skin were covered by new, smooth skin at a visible rate.
In just three to five seconds, all the "tech and enhancements" on Antonia's body vanished.
The terrifying and hideous burn scars on her body also disappeared.
On Antonia's smooth, renewed face, a human expression finally appeared—not anger, but bewilderment, a sense of confusion after long-term suppression, not knowing where to go.
"One down."
After dealing with Antonia, Peter turned his gaze toward Yelena, who was "clanging like iron."
While Peter was healing Antonia, Yelena hadn't been idle at all, launching a frenzy of punches and kicks at him.
Anyone else would have been beaten to death countless times by now.
But who was Peter? He would dare to take a head-on punch from the King of the Frost Giants, let alone from a young brat like Yelena, who was about his age.
He didn't even need to activate Iron Body or Armament Haki; her strikes landing on him were no different from a tickle.
"Next, it's your turn!"
As he spoke, Peter casually poked Yelena's forehead with a finger.
Yelena was much easier to deal with than Antonia.
Taskmaster was full of tech and enhancements, while Yelena was just flesh and blood.
She couldn't even react to Peter's movement before being restrained by him.
The horse talisman went to work once again.
Before long, a small chip was purged from Yelena's nose, and her previously hollow eyes immediately became lively.
Although the pheromone chip controlled her body, it didn't erase her memories, so Yelena clearly remembered the tender affection on her "sister's" face when she looked at Peter earlier.
Thus, after regaining control, she couldn't help but look Peter up and down, and after a moment, she blurted out:
"So, should I call you brother-in-law?"
Hearing those words, Natasha, who was pinning the despondent Dreykov to the ground in the distance, felt her body tremble as if struck by an electric current.
As for Peter, he instinctively looked into Yelena's eyes.
From those amber eyes, Peter could read plenty of cunning and... possessiveness.
Clearly, this younger sister, who had been deeply hurt by her older sister once before, was currently devising some sort of revenge plan centered around him.