After hearing this, Black Widow said wearily, "Alright, this channel will remain open. So if anything goes wrong, or if someone starts causing trouble again, remember to contact me."
Everyone nodded. After they all left, only War Machine Rhodes' projection remained.
Black Widow sat down. Noticing that War Machine Rhodes hadn't left, she asked in surprise, "Where are you?"
"Mexico. The police found a house full of bodies. It looks like a gang, and they didn't even have time to fight back," War Machine replied.
"Maybe it was just a gang war," Black Widow Natasha said, resting her feet on the table, her voice heavy with exhaustion.
"Definitely not. This was absolutely Barton's doing," War Machine stated without hesitation. "Given what he's done here, his actions over the past few years, and the impact he's caused... I actually really don't want to find him!"
Hearing this, everyone understood why Lin Feng had previously said that Hawkeye had become a ronin.
On screen, Black Widow looked as if she were on the verge of tears. Forcing them back, she asked, "Can you track his next destination?"
"Natasha?" War Machine Rhodes asked with concern.
Hearing his voice, Black Widow Natasha could only say, her eyes brimming with tears, "Please."
Only then did War Machine Rhodes nod and turn to leave.
A moment later, Black Widow Natasha finally broke down in tears.
Watching this on the screen, Hawkeye Barton couldn't help but say to the Black Widow Natasha beside him, "I'm sorry, Nat. In a situation like that, I should have been by your side, but instead, I was far away from you."
Hawkeye Barton probably understood now. His future self must have committed numerous crimes, yet his companions were unwilling to arrest him according to the warrant. This made him what Lin Feng had described as a Ronin.
During this period, although the others couldn't personally feel the pressure Black Widow Natasha endured, they could still understand it, especially after comparing it to the previous video footage.
Even when her past scars were reopened, she hadn't shown any emotional reaction. But now, in front of her friends, she could barely keep herself from bursting into tears.
The world after the Blip, many years later, was a wound that would never heal for anyone. It was absolutely not as simple as just losing half the population, as they had previously thought.
For those who vanished, the Blip might have felt like a mere instant before they reappeared.
But for those who remained, the agony of losing their loved ones was a wound that might never heal in this lifetime.
"It's okay, I understand," Black Widow Natasha said after a brief pause. "Clint, you don't need to blame yourself so much. After all, we all know what you lost during the Blip. You lost your entire family."
Natasha knew her old partner all too well. He was a steadfast agent, and if he hadn't suffered a truly devastating loss, he never would have become this way.
The impact of the Blip on everyone was only just beginning to reveal its first glimpse. It had made the once-indomitable Black Widow fragile, and it had turned the once-strong Hawkeye Barton into a murderous Ronin.
Though he was only killing gangsters, his spree of slaughter was proof enough of the torment raging within Hawkeye's heart.
Tokyo, Japan.
Black Widow flew directly to Tokyo in a Quinjet to find Hawkeye, who had become Ronin.
At that moment, a brutal massacre was unfolding on a street in Japan.
Hawkeye, clad in tactical gear, was fighting a group of Japanese gangsters. With his skill, he easily tore through their hideout, relentlessly taking them down.
Finally, only the gang boss remained. With nowhere left to flee, he turned to face his enemy, glaring at Hawkeye Barton through the pouring rain. "Why are you doing this?" he snarled. "We have no quarrel with you!"
Barton replied in broken Japanese, "You survived, while half the planet died. They met Thanos; you met me. You will never kill another innocent person again."
With that, the two clashed. But how could a gang boss possibly stand against Silver Crown Barton, a former top-tier agent? Barton toyed with him in the rain before delivering the killing blow. No matter how the boss begged for mercy, Barton refused to grant it. He sought something the gangster could never give: the return of his family—an impossible wish.
The audience watching the scene knew for certain: Hawkeye Barton had completely lost himself to madness after the sudden death of his family. They had seen him in battle before, but never this unhinged—not even using his bow and arrows, but wielding a blade instead.
He had switched from a marksman to an assassin!
Behind him, Black Widow Natasha watched, holding an umbrella.
Hawkeye Barton didn't turn around, but he already knew his old comrade had come to find him. He spoke: "You shouldn't be here."
"You shouldn't be here either," Natasha replied calmly.
Hearing this, Hawkeye turned, pulled off his hood, looked at Black Widow, and said, "I have a mission."
"Is this your mission? Killing more people won't bring your family back," Natasha said sternly.
"We found a way. Maybe there's still hope!" Natasha said, gradually walking closer to Hawkeye.
"Don't..." Hawkeye pleaded.
"Don't what?" Natasha asked.
"Don't give me hope," Hawkeye said in agony.
Seeing this, Natasha said softly, "I'm sorry I didn't give you hope sooner!"
As she spoke, she stepped forward and took Hawkeye's hand.
The sheer weight of this exchange caused everyone watching the screen to widen their eyes in shock.
Hope—it was hope!
The hope that would reverse the Blip!
At this moment, everyone's spirits lifted. They had already learned about the Blip.
It was hailed as the greatest catastrophe in history, with half of all life in the universe vanishing.
But the fact that Little Spider had reappeared later meant that someone must have reversed the final outcome of the Blip.
The question was: how did they do it?
As far as they knew, Thanos was dead, and he had even destroyed the Infinity Stones. What other way could there be to completely reverse this situation?
They racked their brains but found no solution. Yet, at that moment, a light suddenly pierced the darkness, telling them what to do.
How could they not be thrilled?
Especially Hawkeye Barton. In the Blip, he had lost his entire family. Now, he desperately wanted to know how to save them. Even if this world might not experience the Blip, it was still better to be safe than sorry.
The video shifted again. Black Widow Natasha and Hawkeye Barton were now on a futuristic-looking ship, arriving at the edge of a massive planet.
"That ship..." Tony Stark immediately recognized the vessel in the footage. Wasn't that the same ship he had used to return from Titan?
So, this was the ship after it had been repaired!
Immediately after, the two of them appeared in a vast desert.
"Wow, if we weren't on such a tight schedule, this place would actually be worth exploring!" Hawkeye Barton remarked, breaking the heavy silence.
The scenery was breathtakingly grand. Ahead of them rose a towering mountain, which they began to climb.
"Rocket and the others definitely wouldn't have to climb a mountain!" Black Widow Natasha couldn't help but complain.
"Technically, he's not a raccoon!" Hawkeye retorted.
Black Widow Natasha shrugged, her tone indifferent. "Whatever. He eats trash anyway!"
"Welcome!"
At the sound of the voice, both of them instantly went on high alert. Black Widow drew her gun, and Hawkeye Barton unsheathed his long sword. Their gazes sharpened, fixed on the source of the voice, not daring to relax for a single moment.
Their movements were perfectly synchronized.
A cloaked figure appeared, its entire silhouette radiating an eerie aura.
"Natasha, Daughter of Ivan!"
"Clint, Son of Edith!"
As they warily approached, they demanded, "Who are you?"
"I am the guide who leads all to the Soul Stone!" the figure declared mysteriously.
"Perfect. Just tell us the location, and we'll go there ourselves," Natasha threatened.
"If only it were that simple!"
As the figure drew closer, he revealed a red, skull-like face.
"Red Skull!"
Off-screen, Captain America—Steve Rogers—gasped in shock. He recognized the man as his arch-nemesis, the former leader of Hydra, Red Skull.
He was completely stunned. *How could it be Red Skull?* he thought. *I remember him dying.*
And even if he had survived, he should have been hiding on Earth, waiting for the right moment to strike. But here he was, on an alien planet. How was this possible?
"Red Skull? *That* Red Skull?" Nick Fury frowned. He recalled seeing photos of Red Skull while investigating Hydra intelligence, but this wasn't right. The man in the photos had a normal human shape, at least. This creature didn't even have a proper human form anymore.
After all, "Red Skull" was just a codename—he wasn't actually a living skull.
Still, you couldn't talk about Hydra without mentioning him. Though he hadn't founded the organization, he was the leader who first brought Hydra into the public eye. He had aided the Führer and the Nazis, and even after the Führer's defeat, he had tried to resist and establish his own independent nation.
A supervillain of the highest order.
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(End of Chapter)