Investigation

Early in the next morning, Mariko came to accompany her for breakfast. After breakfast, she took her on a tour of the famous Senso-ji Temple. In the afternoon, they visited Shinjuku and took a quick look around. By dinnertime, they returned to the Yashida family estate, where Shingen wanted to have a deep conversation with her.

"Miss Johnson, you are valued by Director Fury. I wonder what your thoughts are on the current situation of the Yashida Corporation?" To appear serious, Shingen directly asked in English.

Me, valued by that jerk? I didn't even know! But I can't just belittle myself as a nobody. Let's put on an air of mystery. "There are significant issues within the Yashida Corporation."

"Oh? Where do you think the issues lie?" Shingen continued his inquiries.

I gave him a careful look. Does he think I'm his puppet? After pondering a bit, I replied, "Both internal and external problems are at play."

Shingen sighed, "Is it so evident now? Even outsiders can see our vulnerability!"

I was slightly surprised. This conclusion was drawn from a combination of my memories and various sources of information. I couldn't be sure if these clues from the outside world would truly lead to this conclusion.

Shingen knew his family's affairs. In his view, the old man hid it well, and it shouldn't have been easily seen through. But now, with my confident tone, it indicated that I was Nick Fury's confidante, with access to exceptional information. Perhaps S.H.I.E.L.D had agents hiding within the upper echelons of the Yashida family.

"I hope S.H.I.E.L.D can help me through this difficult time," he earnestly spoke, his determination evident.

I wanted to say, "You've got it all wrong," but I suspected he wouldn't believe me. I hesitated for a moment, considering how to extricate myself from this situation without losing face.

"Forgive me for being presumptuous, but it seems that the family head may not be able to decide the direction of Yashida Corporation's development at present," I hinted, implying that he lacked the qualifications to negotiate terms with S.H.I.E.L.D.

"That's why I need S.H.I.E.L.D's assistance to take control, provide security, secure loans, and offer guarantees until the Yashida Corporation returns to normal."

"Haha," I chuckled, finding his audacity amusing. A touch of mockery crept into my tone. "The price you're asking for is quite high. How much leverage does the family head have left?"

"Yashida can transfer a portion of the shares to S.H.I.E.L.D," Shingen proposed another condition.

I was even more dismissive now. "The alloy is still in your father's hands, isn't it? You're just trying to use us to gain power."

Neither of these bargaining chips moved me. Shingen wasn't discouraged; he thought for a moment. "S.H.I.E.L.D and I have a common enemy."

"S.H.I.E.L.D doesn't have enemies," I replied, even though I doubted my own words.

"You have some, and they're right here in Japan."

Seemingly aiming to strengthen his persuasion, he continued, "Someone has been consistently embezzling funds from the Yashida Corporation. I've investigated several times but found nothing. I suspect that old man to be behind it, he's reluctant to part way from his wealth, not even a penny for me!"

Shingen's face was filled with bitterness, revealing that he harboured a deep hatred for his own father.

Daisy guessed that the old Yashida might have diverted funds to support Hydra. In this globalised world with skyrocketing prices and ongoing trade wars between major countries, even a substantial organisation like Hydra could be facing difficulties. Their Nazi gold and Southeast Asian gold might have long been depleted. Without seeking external funding, they would truly be in dire straits.

The ongoing subprime crisis had exacerbated inflation. Real estate developers and major banks had joined forces to resist Hydra...

The conflict between father and son laid in the fact that the old man was using his own money to subsidise the organisation, but his son didn't know about it. She imagined a scenario where the old man preferred throwing money into the sea rather than leaving anything for his son.

Their father-son relationship was like that of enemies now. Well, let the misunderstanding be, Daisy didn't think she had much to do with it. She frowned slightly and continued to listen to Shingen's speculation.

"The old man has been consistently withdrawing funds from the company and then pinning all the mess on me! Once exposed, I become the scapegoat..."

Daisy patiently listened to his complaints, enduring for five minutes before he finally brought up the topic that interested her.

"They've been purchasing a large amount of living essentials, machinery, energy, and chemicals from the market. Lots of things!" Shingen waved his hands, indicating that all these things were bought with his money! It really hurt him!

Daisy probed, "Where did these supplies go? And how much is there?"

Shingen took out a USB drive and a laptop, motioning for her to take a look herself.

Daisy quickly opened the files, and while reading, she had a sinking feeling. The supplies were indeed substantial, enough to sustain a city. Every essential item could be seen, and it dated as far back as thirty years ago.

In the short term, this evidence didn't directly implicate Hydra. Even Nick Fury likely thought that Hydra had perished after World War II. It would be hard to link a significant movement of supplies to an organisation like Hydra that had already entered the archives.

Moreover, Shingen's data showed that the supplies didn't go where she had speculated – some secret base in Japan. Instead, they headed south and vanished into the vast ocean.

It wasn't located in the Kyoto-based "Crown" base, nor the underwater city of "Elixir."

How many Hydra bases were there in the southern hemisphere? Daisy only remembered the "Purgatory" base in New Zealand, the "Wolf Spider" arms center in Australia, and the "Hive" on an unnamed island in the Indian Ocean.

Which specific base it was, she didn't know. She even had doubts about whether it was indeed intended for Hydra.

Daisy couldn't guarantee that things would unfold as she anticipated.

Seeing her hesitation, Shingen lowered his voice, "You can take the USB drive to report this. I have all the original documents. You can also come with me to take a look."

Daisy thought over the situation from beginning to end. This wasn't something she could report casually. If Shingen led her astray, it would be a big joke. "I won't take your word for it. I need to conduct further investigation."

"That's a reasonable request. Miss Johnson, you can verify it on your own." Shingen fully agreed. It was only their second meeting, and if she believed everything he said, that would be strange.

Daisy put away the information and declined his offer of assistance. She left the Yashida estate on her own.