Stephanie had no idea that in the real world—right in front of her—another "Raymond" with blood-red eyes was standing upside down on the ceiling of the restaurant, silently watching her.
This was, of course, the shadow clone controlled by Itachi's sub-personality.
From beginning to end, everyone in the restaurant had been trapped inside Itachi's powerful illusion. For most people, the effect was simple: they couldn't perceive the presence of Itachi or Raymond at all.
But Stephanie—she was the real target.
For Itachi, manipulating someone like her with illusion was child's play.
Sure, she had professional training.
But compared to the brutal and merciless shinobi training from certain Hidden Villages in the Naruto world, even the lowest-ranked genin would've undergone far more intense and cruel conditioning than she had.
To Itachi's sub-personality, her resistance was meaningless.
In truth, Raymond had lied to her. Even now—after all that had happened—she was still under illusion.
Inside that illusory world, the other sub-personalities were casually scattered around the restaurant, silently observing the "negotiation" between Raymond and Stephanie from different angles.
Akainu's sub-personality, cloaked in his signature "Justice" coat and nearly two meters tall even while seated beside Raymond, had his arms crossed as he muttered with a thoughtful expression:
"Such terrifying genjutsu… Illusions that completely blur reality and fantasy—this is the true torture of the mind."
Orochimaru's sub-personality, slouched lazily in the seat beside Stephanie, hissed with a sinister grin:
"Heh… Even I would fall for Itachi's genjutsu... if I weren't careful. How could an ordinary woman hope to resist?"
Up above, the real Itachi sub-personality, still standing on the ceiling, replied coolly:
"Even if you are careful—would that really stop you from falling into it?"
Orochimaru's grin stiffened slightly. He licked his lips with his forked tongue, then muttered:
"Still as ruthless as ever… Itachi-kun."
Nearby, John Constantine's sub-personality—the calm and practical one—sat at another table, eating quietly. He didn't bother with the banter between the silver-ranked personalities. His attention was on Stephanie.
Watching her expression, John Constantine could tell—she was close to breaking.
She was going to give in.
But not everyone agreed with the drawn-out mental tactics.
Tao Pai Pai's sub-personality, seated beside John Constantine and leaning back with his hands behind his head, scoffed:
"I don't get why we're going through all this trouble. Why not just wipe out this whole 'Hydra' bunch and be done with it?"
John Constantine smiled faintly and replied:
"Violence isn't always the answer… unless you have absolute strength. And clearly—you don't."
Tao Pai Pai's eyes briefly flashed with killing intent—but he said nothing.
Back in his prime, anyone who dared talk to him like that would've been torn to pieces on the spot.
But now, even he had to admit that his strength wasn't enough to back up that kind of pride—especially not in front of someone like John Constantine, the enigmatic Bronze-rank sub-personality who rarely showed his full hand.
So, angry as he was, he kept quiet—for now.
But that didn't mean he didn't care—he just kept it in mind, waiting for a chance to get back at them later.
Just like he had already decided to teach Akainu's sub-personality a lesson one day.
Stephanie couldn't see any of this happening around her.
To her, everything still looked normal—the other guests were peacefully eating, and Raymond was still sitting across from her.
"Can I ask why you came to find me?" she asked, sounding tired.
"The A.I.M. Group." Raymond replied.
"You're working with Tony Stark?" Stephanie was surprised.
Hydra had investigated the incident with the A.I.M. Group thoroughly.
Even though the A.I.M. Group wasn't directly under Hydra, it was still one of their key partners.
When something went wrong and the top leadership was wiped out, Hydra had to investigate.
The final report concluded that Killian had provoked Tony Stark over a personal grudge and ended up getting killed. That's when others came in to split the spoils.
Once they confirmed that the incident wasn't aimed at Hydra, they didn't bother with the rest of the details.
After some internal discussions, the task of watching over the A.I.M. Group fell to Stephanie.
Gideon, as a current member of the World Security Council, couldn't be directly involved, so the job naturally landed on her.
Now that Raymond suddenly mentioned it, Stephanie instantly became alert.
Tony Stark was part of the Avengers, and the Avengers were allies with S.H.I.E.L.D.
If Raymond was working with Tony, did that mean S.H.I.E.L.D. had discovered Hydra?
"Does it really matter to you whether I'm working with him or not?" Raymond asked with a playful smile.
"Of course it—" she started to say, then paused.
Thinking about it carefully, maybe it really didn't matter.
Raymond wanted to use her as a way to get into Hydra and take over.
If he succeeded, Hydra would belong to him, and its fate would be in his hands. She wouldn't be in any position to worry about it.
Whether Raymond had good or bad intentions didn't matter to her.
"You really don't need to overthink it," Raymond said with a smile. "Yes, I have some personal reasons for wanting Hydra, but I'm not trying to destroy it—otherwise, I wouldn't go through all this trouble…"
"Besides, I know you're not happy with how Hydra is run. You don't agree with your father's ideas either, right?"
Stephanie kept a straight face, but inside—she felt a jolt.
Raymond was right again.
She really was disappointed in Hydra. And it wasn't just her father's ideals—she didn't agree with any of the current leaders.
Right now, Hydra was split into four factions: the Political Faction, the Science Faction, the S.H.I.E.L.D. Faction, and the Secret Faction.
The Political Faction, led by the Malick family, focused on infiltrating governments around the world.
The leader of this faction was her father, Gideon—one of Hydra's last remaining core leaders.