Chapter 186: Causality, the Beginning of Ruin
Kaito Shirogane moved through the air with ease. Mastering [Moonwalk] was incredibly convenient for a martial artist of his caliber, one who had already achieved mastery in controlling his body, center of gravity, and the flow of his power.
He was already the type of fighter who could perfectly mitigate an opponent's attack on the ground and counter; now, with Moonwalk, he would never suffer the weakness of being a helpless target in mid-air.
Tap.
Kaito landed on the deck, the sound of his feet imperceptible. He looked at the group of men in black suits, all pointing their guns at him.
In the center of the deck stood a nervous-looking man, whose half-mask and guarded sword hilt allowed Kaito to recognize him.
"Hey, Dalmatian! Arrest this man! Didn't you see him slaughtering civilians?!"
Dalmatian's face was cold. He had clearly seen that the islanders were afflicted with some disease, their eyes red and rabid.
"Weren't you the one preparing to bombard these civilians? Why pretend you care about them now?"
Being talked back to by Dalmatian, Spandam only grew angrier.
Kaito, however, knew from this exchange that Dalmatian was likely being forced by the World Government to support this operation.
Aside from the warlords of the underworld, the ones most attracted to El Dorado were, naturally, the World Government and the Revolutionary Army.
The presence of the CP Agency wasn't surprising. Kaito scanned the Marines, his ears twitching. The black markings on his skin seemed to flow for a moment as a new sense activated.
He suddenly sensed several quiet, deep breaths inside the warship's cabin.
Spandam was in charge of CP9 at this time, but Rob Lucci's team was deep undercover in Water 7. That meant the people in the cabin were likely the other members.
"Vice Admiral, I see your hands are tied. In that case, I'll just take the little girl who waited two years for Marine support and leave."
"After all... the Vice Admiral here now isn't the reinforcement she was waiting for."
Kaito spoke these cutting words with a casual expression. Dalmatian wasn't as iron-fisted and brutal as Gion, but as a "hawk" general, he wasn't going to be overcome with guilt just because Kaito used a little girl as a prop.
He just said with a dark face, "As a Marine, I follow orders."
"You should also return to the G-51 Branch immediately. The mission on this island no longer concerns your branch."
Dalmatian wanted to make one last attempt to get this cruel, yet genius, Marine off the island before it truly became an inferno.
But someone else clearly didn't want Kaito to leave.
"My, my, Vice Admiral Dalmatian, Director Spandam. With this kind of combat power here, how can we not make good use of it?"
"The enemy on that island is far more dangerous than we imagined. My ability... probably can't hold that thing back for much longer."
A hoarse, magnetic voice spoke. From the cabin, a silver-haired woman in a black suit uniform walked out.
Her breathing was slow, but her muscles were perfectly toned. In Kaito's eyes, this physique also possessed considerable explosive power, balancing speed and strength.
"Isn't that right, Mercenary Tao?"
The silver-haired woman had a red, heart-shaped mark near the corner of her eye. She was holding a burning talisman.
Clearly, she was the one using some item to keep Enel off the island.
When Spandam saw this woman, his expression finally softened a bit. He grumbled, "If we need more Marines like him, we can just get them from the ships in the back. The other men's injuries don't look that serious."
The woman had clearly built up significant standing within the World Government. Behind her, Jabra, the wolf-man, and Blueno, with his bull-horn hairstyle, also walked out.
"No, no, Director Spandam. For some of the enemies on this island, there is no one more suitable for this extermination mission than myself and this Marine. As you know, people like us have many methods. Even a Vice Admiral might slip up if they aren't careful."
The woman directly alluded to her and Kaito's "special status." She walked right up to Kaito.
"Mercenary Tao, I imagine you also need a temporary ally, do you not?"
"Even a guy like you must be feeling the pressure of those negative points."
Kaito's gaze finally shifted away from Blueno. The [Door-Door Fruit] was extremely valuable. His greedy stare was undisguised, but Blueno was indifferent, clearly not taking Kaito or the others seriously.
[You have triggered the side-quest: World Government's Cleansing]
[Description: The rumors of El Dorado have attracted the greed of the World Government. They have decided to secretly seize its gold, but the safety and secrecy of El Dorado must be ensured before the transfer.]
[Objective: Exterminate all life on Skuld Island to prevent the intelligence from spreading.]
[Progress: 17%]
[Reward: Greatly increase World Government reputation, unlock exchange shop.]
Kaito glanced down at Cindy and Orkins, still helpless in the water below. Then he looked at his new "teammates," Blueno and Jabra. He nodded cheerfully.
"Vice Admiral Dalmatian is right. I'm a Marine, and I must obey orders."
He grinned and gave Spandam a salute.
"Marine Mercenary Tao, at your service."
But Spandam felt Kaito's eyes were practically glued to his sword, which made him uneasy.
Cindy was eventually pulled onto the ship. She looked at the large group of Marines, confused. No one asked her about the island's situation. No one cared about Commander Coby.
She glanced at Kaito. The red on his hands was so glaring that she didn't dare go near him, huddling next to Orkins.
Amidst the booming of the warship's cannons, Kaito returned to his small lifeboat. The female Reincarnator who called herself [Silverlight], along with the CP members and Dalmatian's Marines, also began to land.
"Flame Fiend seems to be injured. His location is unknown, but after his pirate ship was destroyed, his teammates should have all landed on this island."
"This is our best chance to farm points."
The woman seemed to have a good grasp of the intel. Kaito, seeing her still clutching the talisman, asked, "How much time do we have?"
Silverlight hadn't said if they were on the same team, and Kaito hadn't asked. Both had their own agendas, but both were undeniably interested in the other Reincarnators on the island.
The woman glanced at the burn rate of her talisman. "About thirty minutes."
BOOM!
The naval bombardment continued, turning the wrecked ships in the harbor into floating debris.
Dalmatian landed. He was a tall man, and his feet had transformed into his beast form. He disliked this mission and said coldly, "Tell me where the enemy is. I won't waste any time."
He clearly intended to quickly assassinate the island's strongest. Jabra swiped his leg, and a [Tempest Kick] instantly cut a group of red-eyed islanders on the beach in two.
Kaito's right foot twitched. He had seen clearly how the [Tempest Kick] was executed, but he knew there was more to the technique than just speed.
A light flashed in Silverlight's hand. A white piece of paper quickly began to move, folding itself into a bird.
Silverlight dipped the paper bird in the blood of a dead islander, then pinched a hand sign and threw it. The bird took flight on its own.
"Vice Admiral, this bird will lead you to the one who released the virus. I suspect... an invisible one is probably hiding nearby as well."
Dalmatian snorted, followed the bird's path, and quickly departed.
Jabra and Blueno, who didn't take orders from the woman, exchanged a look and headed straight for the shrine. Clearly, their mission was to find [El Dorado].
"Mercenary Tao, we have a very nice target right now. Interested?"
Kaito pretended not to feel the flow of [Cursed Energy] coming from her. Due to his special constitution, Kaito was extremely sensitive to spiritual arts, cursed techniques, and onmyodo.
He had even mastered Cursed Energy once before. The energy the woman was pouring into the ground was painfully obvious to him.
This island, thanks to the virus and Enel's brutal rule, was already overflowing with negative energy. She seemed to be trying to summon a powerful [Cursed Spirit].
But the more she plotted, the less Kaito cared.
"Oh? Who?"
"Moon Fiend!"
The woman watched Mercenary Tao, knowing he would never refuse.
Sure enough, she saw him narrow his eyes, and then smile.
"She was injured by Enel? Where?"
Silverlight pointed in a direction opposite to the shrine, toward the other side of the island.
"That way. About ten kilometers. I can feel it. She's not in good shape."
"Is... this kind of thing supposed to be in El Dorado...?"
[Black Death] stood outside the golden passage, asking uncertainly.
As one of the Nexus's most popular worlds, most of One Piece's storylines had been plundered by Reincarnators. El Dorado was no exception. There was even a rumor that a Reincarnator had once taken control of the entire city and brought it back to the Nexus.
But this...
In front of Black Death were countless, twisted monsters. They were standing in the golden passage—infected islanders who had flooded the shrine and ended up here.
These mutated monsters radiated a bizarre aura, and the "erosion" warning triggered again and again.
Finally, a voice echoed from the passage.
"Reincarnators..."
"As causality has ordained... at this very moment, in this very place..."
"I... will be free!"
Black Death watched in shock as his partner, [Lozang], who seemed to be in a trance, began walking toward the passage. He tried to stop him, but the horribly disfigured monsters were already reaching for him.
Shit, this is... a Causality Law?!
A look of terror appeared on Black Death's face.
How is this possible? How can a [Strong-tier] mission have a power like Causality...
(End of Chapter)
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