Chapter 342: Garp and Whitebeard's Competition Match
Garp was inwardly stunned.
Admirals like Akainu, Kizaru, and Aokiji from Navy Headquarters—along with himself—as well as pirates like Whitebeard and adventurers like Shanks,
had all surpassed their former selves by several magnitudes.
And yet, within the rules of the Reincarnation Game, they were still as powerless as rookie pirates in the face of its constraints.
[Arad] was no stranger to terrifying monsters.
Even the strongest Tier Two player, Orochimaru, had been obliterated during a livestream when he tried to storm the [Lord's Palace], unable to defend himself against Lord Segheart's laser cannon.
Yet players didn't fear these monsters—
because they could at least understand their limits.
But the game merchants?
No one had any concept of their ceiling. Even the slightest display of their power evoked a primal fear—
fear of the unknown.
The gap was too immense.
Even the most manipulative, self-serving, flip-flopping schemers dared not even think of resisting the game merchants.
"Garp, you look pretty pissed off. How about we settle it with a little wager?"
Whitebeard stood atop the family's defensive wall,
gazing out at the looming mists of Death Valley, where the screeches of bio-ghosts echoed eerily through the air.
Garp frowned. "A wager?"
He was suspicious of foul play.
Whitebeard might look bold and honest, with thick brows and hearty laughs,
but who knew if his Crimson Troll bloodline had corrupted him. Ever since he became a player, he'd done plenty of things that tarnished the name of a Pirate Emperor.
Just like those scheming ninja next door.
Only Garp had held true to his principles.
Whitebeard, gripping his massive Cong Yunqie blade, smirked at Garp's guarded expression. "Relax. Just a simple point contest. Once the defense battle is over, whoever slays the most corrupted monsters wins. The loser hands over all their loot. How's that sound?"
Just as Garp suspected—
Whitebeard's crew had recently suffered a massive loss after being ambushed by Imu and the Celestial Dragons' forces.
Hundreds of enhanced Pacifistas had decimated their base. They'd even used their only revive token to bring Marco back from the dead.
With no defensive walls, their outer territory was obliterated.
Their hard-earned magical seeds—used to produce [Low-Grade Witch Elixirs] for restoring energy—were all burned. Not a single one survived.
"This blood debt must be repaid," Whitebeard thought.
Imu might be powerful, but could she really stand guard over the Celestial Dragon territories all the time?
If the chance came, the Whitebeard Pirates would launch a full-on assault.
That was the Pirate's code.
But right now,
they needed to recover.
Their reward points were drained—he had to earn them back.
And who better to exploit than an honest fool like Garp?
This chance was too rare to pass up.
"Vice Admiral Garp, don't agree to this!"
A Navy captain standing behind Garp frantically waved his hands.
As much as they hated to admit it,
that damned pirate Whitebeard was stronger. If Garp lost, the Navy would walk away from this whole operation empty-handed.
And Garp was their trump card.
If he lost to Whitebeard, they were screwed.
"Well, I figured you'd chicken out…"
Whitebeard shook his head dramatically and turned away.
But Garp, who had almost heeded the advice, was immediately provoked.
"Fine! I accept! The Navy, the embodiment of justice, will never lose to a pirate!"
Just as expected.
Whitebeard turned back with a grin, laughing inwardly.
Then he gripped Cong Yunqie, leapt from the wall like a cannonball, and charged toward Death Valley.
"Vice Admiral Garp…"
The Navy captain could only sigh helplessly.
"Don't worry. The tea trees back at Marineford are blooming nicely. Once I beat Whitebeard, I'll use my double rewards to treat Sengoku!"
Garp burst into laughter and also launched himself from the wall like a falling meteor.
From Death Valley,
waves of bio-ghosts surged forth, shrieking madly like a crimson tide.
"Dance of the Dragonfly – Hexagonal Compound Eye!"
A sharp voice echoed from the eastern edge of Death Valley,
inside an abandoned research facility.
It was Shinobu Kocho, the Insect Hashira, one of the Demon Slayer Corps members brought into the family.
Her fighting style was elegant and deadly—
each move like the fluttering of a graceful butterfly,
but laced with lethal poison.
Plunk.
Two mutated creatures, their flesh warped by technology,
collapsed with skewered skulls, heads tilting grotesquely against their backs.
Their skin was decayed and peeling, exposing crimson muscles.
Two black tubes pierced through their collarbones, feeding viral fluids through their bodies.
In their chests, faintly glowing energy cores pulsed with bluish light.
Before Shinobu could relax,
two Red Ghosts rose again—their heads already regenerating.
[Red Ghost Lv.9]: 320/600 HP
"Decapitation is only a critical hit… not a fatal one?"
Without hesitation, Shinobu launched into another series of butterfly-like strikes,
injecting a more potent poison directly into their corrupted bodies.
Only when their HP hit zero did the energy cores in their chests flicker out like burnt-out bulbs.
[You killed a Red Ghost. EXP +3. Reward Points +3.]
Shinobu stood still,
gazing in surprise at the black text in front of her.
So far,
only the Master, the Stone Hashira, and Tanjiro had been chosen as players in the Reincarnation Game.
It was as if divine grace had touched them.
There was no way to force entry—
even if you longed for it, you could only wait quietly for fate to shine upon you.
Even for Hashira-level swordsmen, killing an Upper Moon was an impossible feat.
Let alone Muzan Kibutsuji.
To end the centuries-old feud between the Demon Slayer Corps and the demons, becoming a player was essential.
But no matter how hard she tried, Shinobu had never received an invitation like Gyomei had.
Until the family was established—
she had only just begun to sense the power of the game. She still couldn't access the main interface,
but she now saw a path to becoming stronger.
Family members—
though not full players—could still grow through the family system.
They were auxiliary players,
unable to enter the game world, but able to activate a game panel.
Any reward points and experience earned from hunts would accumulate.
A Level 1 family produced one invitation per month,
and it could be used to elevate a family member into a true player.
Shinobu took a deep breath.
She activated her breathing technique to its utmost, her lungs expanding as her form flashed between the ruins of Death Valley.
With every move, more Red Ghosts fell before her blade.
Suddenly—
a weight fell on her shoulder. She looked up.
A ghostly nurse, with an eerie, twisted charm, had appeared behind her.
Her long, razor-sharp fingernails had already pierced into Shinobu's collarbone.
Mad Baby!
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