Chapter 252: South Asian Superhero's (1)

"You noticed it too. Have Ophelia look into these two. The fact that India has people like them and our intelligence system knows nothing about them is not a good sign."

Leaning back on the sofa, Josh took a sip of ice-cold Coke as he spoke.

The Coke was from his system's storage.

Although the Indian government had arranged for them to stay in New Delhi's finest hotel—one that claimed even its bathwater came from deep underground—Josh had no interest in testing that claim. Even though his body could resist most contaminants, the thought still made him uncomfortable.

So, he had already made up his mind; when it came to food and drinks, he would rely on his system's supplies and only pretend to eat and drink outside.

The two men he and Vito were discussing were part of the team assigned to guide and protect them in India—two seemingly unremarkable middle-aged Indian men.

But with their instincts, Josh and Vito could easily tell there was something special about them.

In fact, Josh had a strong feeling that these two were far stronger than the average super soldier.

That strange gut feeling surprised him, but at the same time, it made perfect sense.

If Europe and America could have so many superheroes and ancient legacies, why couldn't India?

Even though modern India had little to do with its ancient civilization, it was still the same land. It made sense that some traces of those ancient traditions remained.

As long as it wasn't as outrageous as another certain ancient civilization, Josh could accept it.

But this realization also served as a wake-up call for him—his intelligence network had been too focused on the Western world, neglecting other regions. The fact that India had people of this level and he had no clue about them meant his intelligence system needed improvement.

It seemed that once this mission was over, he would have to expand the scope of the CIA.

The fact that Nehru had sent such individuals to monitor him was also telling.

Clearly, Nehru saw Josh as a serious threat.

And he wasn't wrong. After all, someone capable of pulling off the "One Island, One Nation" stunt was far from harmless.

Nehru was genuinely worried that Josh would stir up trouble during the investigation, sabotaging India's relationships with Britain, the US, and the Soviet Union.

Although India had gained independence, it was still unstable internally.

When India joined the United Nations in 1945, it did so as a member of the British Commonwealth—not as a fully independent nation.

It officially gained independence in 1947.

But at that time, it wasn't yet the Republic of India—it was the Dominion of India.

Why? Because there were still numerous princely states within its borders.

According to the Mountbatten Plan, these princely states had the freedom to join India or Pakistan—or even remain independent.

But for a leader like Nehru, a fragmented India was unacceptable.

So, between 1947 and 1950, he used assassinations, bribes, and military force to eliminate all princely states—except for Kashmir.

Finally, in 1950, he proudly declared the establishment of the Republic of India, officially sweeping the feudal princely states into the dustbin of history.

Right now, India's problems aren't just about Kashmir—there are still many princely states left.

If Josh found a loophole in this case and shifted the blame onto Nehru, leading Britain, the U.S., and the Soviet Union to interfere, India might end up in a "one princely state, one nation" situation. Nehru would have nowhere to cry.

Of course, this was unlikely, but Nehru couldn't take any chances.

Unfortunately for him, Josh had no interest in those princely states. They were nothing but a bunch of useless weaklings.

On the other hand, the Bengali independence movement was much stronger than these scattered princely states.

What Nehru couldn't have predicted was that Josh and John Stern's U.S. investigation team was nothing but a cover. The real CIA operatives had already infiltrated India before the attack even happened, "investigating" (A/N: or rather, framing) the case.

Yes, that's right. The CIA started investigating before the incident even took place—because, in a way, the CIA had orchestrated it.

In fact, the CIA and Hydra—the ones behind the attack—were the same people.

That's the benefit of having multiple identities.

When they were doing the dirty work, they were Hydra. But with a quick outfit change, they became the CIA.

Playing both the competitor and the referee—who wouldn't be scared?

"Boss, do you want me to test them out?" Vito asked.

"No need. We don't have to do anything. We'll just wait for Ophelia's report. Let them keep watching if they want to," Josh waved him off.

"All right then," Vito shrugged.

Sigh. As the boss's influence kept growing, there were fewer things for him to do. That wasn't a good sign.

While Nehru was growing increasingly anxious, the British and Soviet investigation teams arrived in India and actively participated in the case.

Meanwhile, the U.S. team, led by Josh, barely made any moves. After checking into the hotel, Josh kept a low profile and rarely showed up, leaving John Stern to follow the British and Soviet investigators.

Of course, during that time, John had a few romantic encounters with some Indian beauties—but that wasn't worth mentioning.

During this time, Ophelia worked efficiently and soon dug up information on the two men following Josh, along with some details about Pakistan.

And sure enough, those two men could actually be considered "superheroes" of India.

They weren't new figures, either—they had been around for more than twenty years.

One was Alluri Sitarama Raju.

The other was Komaram Bheem.

(A/N: Yes, these are the heroes of the Indian blockbuster RRR, which reportedly broke box office records).

Over twenty years ago, these two emerged as leading figures in India's anti-British resistance. According to rumors, their greatest feat was taking down an entire armed British regiment—just the two of them.

It was absolutely absurd.

But what was even more ridiculous was Pakistan's own "superhero."

That's right—India wasn't the only one with super-powered individuals. Pakistan had one too.

And she was a woman.

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