As the saying goes, no one knows a father better than his daughter—and if begging worked, Stephanie wouldn't have chosen such a drastic method.
Raymond had given her one month.
Within that month, she had to unite all the factions of Hydra and become its true leader.
If she failed, Raymond would pick someone else.
And when that happened, their fates—hers and her father's—would no longer be in her hands.
Stephanie would never let a stranger decide what happened to her and her father. Who knew what kind of person Raymond might choose next?
If it happened to be someone who didn't like them, their ending would be easy to imagine.
So even if it meant protecting Gideon, she couldn't allow herself to show mercy now.
"Let it go, Dad… You've reached retirement age. Is power really something you can't let go of?" Stephanie tried to persuade him again.
"Is power really worth using such shameful means to force your own father?" Gideon replied in a disappointed tone.
"Let's stop here, Dad. You and I both know this kind of talk won't change my mind," Stephanie said calmly. "I hope you'll step down on your own and save yourself some dignity—it doesn't have to end ugly."
"And if I refuse?" Gideon asked in a deep voice.
"Then I'll have no choice but to 'help' you step down with some drastic measures. But I really don't recommend you choose that path, because it'll get very ugly…"
"Drastic measures?" Gideon's eyes turned cold as he glanced at the strange pair behind his daughter. "Your confidence comes from these two clowns you picked up from who-knows-where?"
"Watch your mouth, old man," growled the sinister long-haired man standing to Stephanie's right. "If not for her, I wouldn't kill you—but I promise, I'd give you a memory you'd never forget…"
There was no need to guess—this long-haired man was the shadow clone led by Orochimaru's sub-personality. His companion was naturally the Itachi sub-personality.
Raymond had no intention of stepping in personally this time, so both Orochimaru and Itachi's sub-personalities used transformation techniques to appear in their original forms.
Itachi's appearance matched his familiar look as a member of the Akatsuki, and perhaps out of some twisted humor, Orochimaru—despite having long left the group—chose the same Akatsuki outfit.
Gideon's harsh words didn't bother the Itachi sub-personality. True to his quiet nature, he ignored it completely.
Raymond's order was to support Stephanie in taking control of Hydra and to assist with force if needed.
Everything else didn't matter. Even insults were nothing more than background noise to him.
But Orochimaru's sub-personality wasn't nearly as patient.
Whether during the "Three Legendary Ninja" days in Konoha or after betraying the village, he was never someone to be messed with.
Only someone like the Itachi sub-personality—who was clearly stronger than him—could make the Orochimaru sub-personality keep his temper in check.
In his eyes, the man was just an annoying bug he could crush with one hand. And yet this bug dared to shout at him? Totally clueless.
"Please forgive him, Mr. Snake. My father just has a bad temper. Don't take his words too seriously…" Before Gideon could say anything, Stephanie quickly apologized to the Orochimaru sub-personality.
She had no idea that "Mr. Snake" and "Mr. Weasel" were really just sub-personalities of Raymond. All she knew was that they were two powerful agents sent by her mysterious new boss to help her take control of Hydra.
In Raymond's own words—either of the two could instantly wipe out any superhuman she had ever seen.
If she still couldn't bring Hydra to heel with help , then she didn't deserve to work for Raymond.
Stephanie had no reason to doubt that claim. She knew her new boss was an extremely powerful superhuman—he wouldn't lie about something .
So even though she hadn't seen "Mr. Snake" and "Mr. Weasel" fight yet, she treated them with the utmost respect.
Now, seeing that "Mr. Snake" seemed annoyed by her father, she immediately stepped in to smooth things over.
After all, she was forcing Gideon to step down to save him, not to hurt him. She didn't want him getting into trouble just because he said something wrong to one of Raymond's trusted agents.
"Don't worry. 'He' promised you help, and we'll keep that promise. At most, he might just get a little lesson…" the Orochimaru sub-personality said with a soft laugh.
But that smile gave off such a creepy feeling that Stephanie couldn't relax at all.
At the same time, Gideon—an old political veteran—could sense something off in "Mr. Snake's" tone and wording. His voice became more disappointed.
"You actually joined forces with outsiders?"
"It's just a bit of cooperation," Stephanie replied, trying to keep her tone calm and steady.
Gideon growled, "I don't know who this so-called 'partner' of yours is, but do you really think that after you help him push me out, he's going to spare you?"
"That's my problem," Stephanie answered firmly.
Just then, the hot-tempered man who had first drawn his gun earlier finally lost it. Furious, he pointed his weapon at the three of them.
"You think you can come here and stir up trouble? Die!!"
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
After several gunshots, he grinned coldly, thinking he had just killed the two weird men standing behind Stephanie.
But then he noticed something was wrong.
All of his allies nearby had suddenly stepped away from him. Some even had their guns drawn, now pointing at him with shocked faces.
"What the hell are you doing? Are you all crazy?!" he shouted, startled by their reaction.
"I can't believe it… You really are the traitor!" one of the men who had argued with him before stared in disbelief.
"What are you talking about? What traitor? I just…"
He froze mid-sentence.
Because the scene in front of him had suddenly changed—
The two strange men he thought he had shot were still standing there, completely unharmed. The long-haired one even looked at him with a mocking smirk.
He had indeed killed two people with those bullets.
But they weren't the two strange newcomers.
They were actually two of his own comrades… sitting right across from him.