Chapter 59 Black Widow

Feeling utterly helpless, Natasha heard movement coming from the bathroom and hurriedly stuffed a few wads of tissue paper into a sealed vacuum bag.

She then restored the surface of the trash can to its original condition, taking care to prevent anyone observant from noticing anything amiss.

By the time Natasha had successfully hidden the small bottle and the vacuum bag, Borsalino had already changed into a fresh yukata and stepped out of the bathroom.

"Mr. Borsalino, I just remembered I have some urgent business to attend to..."

Natasha said with a smile, preparing to slip away. She was not in a hurry to get everything done at once; at the very least, she needed to figure out whether this man was a cyborg or an alien first.

"Oh? What urgent business could possibly require only you?"

Borsalino raised an eyebrow slightly, taking a step forward to block the path between Natasha and the door.

He didn't care what scheme the woman was plotting, but coming and going as she pleased showed a certain lack of respect for him.

"...Mr. Borsalino, I am Ms. Pepper's personal assistant!"

Natasha reminded him, as if emphasizing the fact. No matter how good Borsalino's relationship with Tony Stark was, he couldn't completely disregard Pepper Potts's face.

"Oh? And then?"

Borsalino chuckled softly, backing Natasha into a corner and playfully lifting her chin, forcing her to look up.

Her face, while not drop-dead gorgeous, possessed a unique and captivating charm.

"And then... Ugh!"

Pinned against the wall by Borsalino, Natasha managed a sweet smile before suddenly grabbing his yukata.

Using the leverage, she delivered a fierce knee strike straight to Borsalino's groin. With Natasha Romanoff's combat skills, this knee strike was powerful enough to leave any man with a lifelong psychological shadow.

What Natasha hadn't expected, however, was that a move which had never failed her before had this time run into an absolute iron wall.

Accompanied by a dull sound of pain, Natasha clutched her knee and doubled over, in too much agony to speak.

Considering that the other party might not be a normal human being, Natasha had put at least sixty percent of her strength into that knee strike!

If any other man had taken a hit like that, he would practically need to book a surgery package in Thailand.

It was precisely because she was certain Borsalino was not ordinary that Natasha hadn't held back.

"Are you alright?"

Borsalino asked, 'kindly' offering to steady her. He hadn't originally intended to hurt Natasha, but his instinctive reflexes had automatically coated his crotch in Armament Haki.

Luckily, when Natasha felt the unusual texture, she had instinctively pulled back a fraction of her strength; otherwise, her kneecap probably would have suffered a comminuted fracture.

"Thank you... Ah!"

Enduring the excruciating pain, Natasha managed to raise her head and force out a professional smile.

Just as Borsalino was smilingly telling her there was no need to thank him, Natasha suddenly launched another attack, delivering a violent elbow strike straight to Borsalino's lower abdomen.

"Sigh, why must you put yourself through this..."

Looking at Natasha, who had once again collided with an 'iron wall' and could only squat on the floor in pain, Borsalino was somewhat speechless.

Heaven and earth as his witness, this time he hadn't even used Armament Haki, relying purely on the technique of the Navy Six Styles: Iron Body.

If Natasha hadn't gone all out, she wouldn't have hurt herself quite this badly.

"My hand... feels like it's broken..."

Squatting on the ground, Natasha bit her lip and looked up, wearing an utterly pitiful and aggrieved expression.

Borsalino's mouth twitched. This was the first time he had ever encountered such a persistent young lady. Fortunately, it wasn't a major issue—he specialized in curing stubbornness.

"Let me help you take a look."

With that, Borsalino squatted down and made a show of examining Natasha's arm.

With Borsalino's discerning eye, he could tell at a glance that Natasha's elbow was fine.

No matter what, she was a top-tier agent who had undergone rigorous professional training. Even if her physical attributes were still within the limits of a normal human, Natasha Romanoff could not be compared to an ordinary person.

"...Hah!"

Seeing Borsalino examining her arm, Natasha gritted her teeth and lunged forward, slamming her forehead fiercely against Borsalino's head.

Dignity of the Black Widow on the line, she refused to believe this guy's head was as hard as his crotch and stomach!

*Bang!*

With dark lines crisscrossing his forehead, Borsalino watched as Natasha rolled her eyes and passed out. Although he knew he couldn't blame Natasha for having an iron skull, such a comical Black Widow still left him slightly bewildered.

"How troublesome. I'm not the kind of guy to take advantage of someone when they're down, but the interest still needs to be collected..."

Borsalino tossed the unconscious Natasha onto the large bed in the bedroom, pulled out the permanent marker he had used earlier for scoring, and drew a turtle on Natasha's face.

Standing at the bedside to admire his artistic skills, Borsalino finally changed back into his original clothes and returned to the Pirate World.

In the Pirate World, Major General Lorin, the commanding officer of the Sabaody Archipelago Marine Branch, was enjoying his breakfast in his office when he suddenly looked up to find Admiral Kizaru, who had previously left, standing right before him.

"Ad... Admiral Kizaru!"

Major General Lorin hastily stood up and saluted Borsalino with a heart full of anxiety.

Why had Admiral Kizaru returned so soon, and how had he appeared silently right inside his office?!

Could it be that his embezzlement of pirate bounties had been exposed, or had his secondary arms-dealing business been discovered by Marine Headquarters?

"Say, where is Nami?"

Borsalino immediately sensed that the branch commander's emotions were a bit off, but expecting everyone within the Marines to be paragons of justice was hoping for way too much.

"Commander Nami returned to Headquarters three days ago. Before leaving, she left a message asking you to return to Headquarters as soon as you finish dealing with the matters of the Science Unit..."

Major General Lorin hurriedly replied.

It seemed Admiral Kizaru wasn't here for him, which was a tremendous relief.

Although he did have powerful backing behind him, if Admiral Kizaru wanted to take him down, unless Fleet Admiral Sengoku intervened personally, even his backers wouldn't be able to protect him.

"Oh, the Science Unit's business... I understand." Borsalino nodded, preparing to leave.

The Marine Science Unit was a special organization independent of Headquarters, and it had been established originally for the sake of Dr. Vegapunk.

Even Fleet Admiral Sengoku, out of a need to avoid any appearance of impropriety, rarely actively inquired about the Science Unit's affairs. It was completely normal for Nami to use the Science Unit as an excuse for Borsalino.

"By the way, how long did Nami stay at the branch?"

Borsalino suddenly thought of something else and asked Major General Lorin.

If all went well, he might end up visiting Tony's world again in the future. Since it was rare to find someone with shared interests, he needed to understand the difference in the flow of time between the two worlds.

"Commander Nami? She only stayed for half a day before receiving a Den Den Mushi call from Headquarters, and then she—"

Major General Lorin answered very honestly, now only wishing to send this big shot away as quickly as possible.