Chapter 813: Immortal Island Penglai, Secrets of the World
"Group One, depart!"
Following the order from the black-clad referee committee, a highly futuristic helicopter transported Yoko, Lady Crimson, and the other contestants towards their destination.
In this group, besides these two, there were only two divine Contractors from the Void Paradise who weren't plot characters. And among the plot characters, there were no experts on the level of the Four Heavenly Kings—mostly just "small fry" that Kaito Shirogane couldn't be bothered to cast a second glance at.
There wasn't a single contestant from the Machina Court. Anyone could sense the malice in this grouping.
A distinct smile appeared on Kaito Shirogane's lips. He gained a deeper understanding of the unique behavioral logic of the mechanical lifeforms in the Machina Court.
These mechanical entities clearly had no intention of pretending or being subtle. Once they gained an advantage capable of determining the plot's direction, they would directly begin eliminating dissidents, clearly securing an advantage for their side without any concern that IGO plot characters like Ichiryu might feel resentment.
Mortals and Sons of God with human minds would probably still harbor such considerations, but Ultron completely abandoned this meaningless psychology, opting for naked pursuit of interests.
Lady Crimson, one of the only two True Gods currently revealed from the Void Paradise, being arranged in the same group as Yoko highly likely harbored the intention of using Yoko's hands to eliminate her.
Lady Crimson looked indifferently at that "senior" True God, Ouranos.
"Is this the decision of the God of the Sky? Heh, truly worthy of being a 'lucky' True God who managed to survive that intense war."
"To what is Lady Crimson referring?" Ouranos maintained his composure. His azure-blue long hair danced in the wind, and the sky behind him seemed to become a shade bluer.
The chill in Lady Crimson's scarlet eyes was distinct, her divine might oscillating. She completely understood why almost no one in the Paradise worshipped the God of the Sky's lineage, and why other True Gods disliked this veteran deity.
All the rumors were true. This "lucky" True God who survived the previous Dimensional War indeed collaborated with foreign races to mutually hunt down each other's weaklings.
Lady Crimson had heard such rumors but wasn't very interested in their authenticity. In fact, most True Gods had done similar things to some extent, just not as extremely and obviously as Ouranos.
Moreover, for her—a majestic Fourth Sequence of the Outer God pantheon, a True God controlling the Power of True Crimson—to actually be deemed a disposable weakling...
This brought Lady Crimson even more humiliation and anger.
However, that humiliation and anger quickly dissipated upon seeing the cloak trimmed with white velvet.
That woman stood at the helicopter's entrance, looking back with a smile at her and the other two Sons of God.
The golden-red aura swept over them like a tidal wave.
"It's not too late to give up now."
The human woman's voice was like a sharp sword, piercing through Lady Crimson's divine might. The other two Sons of God clearly wavered, exchanging a glance before looking at Lady Crimson.
The three of them had either personally experienced or witnessed the previous battle. They were very clear that the human woman before them was highly likely the trump card of that weak Space, an over-spec combatant capable of being labeled a [Special Unit].
Lady Crimson scanned the scene: Ouranos's soft chuckle, the Nameless God of Martial Arts' disdain, and Ultron's indifference. Finally, she let out a cold snort and walked towards the helicopter.
Kaito Shirogane watched this scene thoughtfully. Naturally, he didn't believe a dignified True God would willingly march towards death over a minor dispute of pride.
The chaos and strife between the pantheons within the Void Paradise also gave him a bit more understanding of the power structure within that Paradise.
This powerful Paradise born from an Age of Gods world where deities could walk the earth was not without its flaws either.
Next, Group Two began boarding, then Group Three...
Luffy, Toriko, and the others were still chatting about those special gourmet foods—some giant dessert resembling a volcano, some massive snake the size of a mountain whose meat was incredibly delicious.
The creatures in this world were just that special and exaggerated, which was why Gourmet Energy was born.
Son Goku had completely lost the desire to ponder why this long-haired martial artist shared the same name as the world's number one assassin; he had little desire to investigate such things.
On the contrary, those gourmet foods were what could capture his interest.
Son Goku was a pure individual. He always maintained the ultimate martial arts philosophy of "eat well, train well, sleep well." The world he pursued was unusually simple.
He swallowed his saliva unconsciously. Luffy beside him already couldn't close his mouth, and even the Straw Hat crew's enthusiasm was completely mobilized.
"Group Five, depart!"
"Boys, set sail! Set sail!"
Following the referee's order, the Straw Hat crew cheered and dashed towards the helicopter. This group's carefreeness and optimism considerably eased the tense nerves of Fenrir and SNOW, who were luckily drawn into the same group.
Being with this group, at least it wouldn't be particularly dangerous.
There were quite a few contestants from the Machina Court in this group as well, including four or five Authority-level units. Moreover, because Machina Court members mostly possessed the authority to dispatch aerospace battleships, their actual unit count and destructive power were a mystery.
Fenrir was very certain that his group was probably the one Emperor Ultron wanted his members to participate in hunting.
Even Ultron himself might use the advantage of a mechanical lifeform to rapidly transfer himself to Group Five's battlefield.
Especially for a completely mechanized Monarch like Ultron, as long as he deployed corresponding mechanical bodies to multiple battlefields in advance, it was entirely feasible to rapidly switch battlefields and dominate multiple battles simultaneously.
This was also where the Machina Court's strength lay.
Fenrir and SNOW exchanged a glance. They were both Authority-level units; their deaths would result in a Faction Score deduction of 2. Therefore, Yoko had also considered this in advance, ordering the two to prioritize self-preservation above all else.
At the same time, if danger arose, they were to stick closely to the Straw Hat crew. Given the Straw Hat crew's personality, it was highly likely they wouldn't just stand by and watch them die. In this world, the Straw Hat crew was undoubtedly one of the sharpest tools for survival.
"Group Eight, prepare to depart!"
The referee's voice sounded again. Kaito Shirogane glanced at Kakarot, then walked towards the helicopter first.
Kakarot, only after being reminded by Toriko, remembered he was in Group Eight and walked towards the helicopter from behind.
Kaito Shirogane lowered his eyelids; everyone else around had vanished.
At this moment, he felt a massive, behemoth-like oppressive feeling.
Even though he hadn't activated his Saiyan transformation, even though the current Son Goku likely hadn't reached the ultimate martial arts realm of Ultra Instinct...
Yet, as the person behind him walked, that terrifying presence akin to a Star God behemoth was completely captured by his Limit-Break Spiral.
At the same time, almost all powerhouses in the venue were startled by a terrifyingly intense aura rising.
Ichiryu, drinking tea inside the International IGO building, and Midora, somewhere in the ocean, both looked simultaneously towards the venue of the World's Number One Gourmet Tournament.
There, an extraordinarily unbridled presence was emerging.
As if those monsters with extremely high Capture Levels were revealing their forms from the ocean.
Toriko, who had not yet departed, was momentarily stunned. His muscles then tensed and bulged, his hands subconsciously coming together as the Gourmet Cells within him were directly awakened.
He looked ahead at the white-haired martial artist. Behind him, like an azure dragon, countless nearly transparent waves of Ki rolled in the air, seemingly grasping at everything.
Yoko, sitting in a helicopter hundreds of nautical miles away, opened her eyes simultaneously. Lady Crimson's face was even more filled with horror.
This is...
She hadn't directly witnessed the battle between that God of Martial Arts and Thor earlier. Although she knew in her heart that someone who could slay two Fourth Sequence existences famous for their combat power in a two-on-one fight must be over-spec...
In her heart, she still leaned more towards [Heaven's Pilgrimage], whom she had felt head-on previously, having a stronger oppressive feeling.
But at this moment, that terrifying presence, akin to a world-ending azure dragon, still made her involuntarily feel dread.
That was absolutely not an aura a True God-level could possess.
Without relying on energy, divine power, or Authority—merely relying on so-called presence—to stir up such a commotion, making people directly experience that unbridled arrogance...
This guy... perhaps he truly has entered the [Third Sequence]?!
In this instant, the originally wavering thoughts in Lady Crimson's heart rapidly settled. She had made a decision. Merely waiting for the Paradise's Divine Descent Ritual was no longer enough to secure victory; she had to choose other methods, such as...
"Madam, I have a proposal."
Lady Crimson didn't speak, but her divine consciousness appeared directly in Yoko's mind. Yoko was completely unguarded. The corners of her mouth merely curled up, her emerald eyes revealing a smile of having everything in her grasp.
Crushing others with a majestic overarching trend, and then having the other party naturally submit—this had always been her style of doing things.
It was true for ordinary Reincarnators, top-tier Reincarnators, Sovereign Monarchs, and even for these True Gods.
On the island, Son Goku was walking when he suddenly felt a violent wind and waves rising from the ground. He curiously looked up, only to see that the surroundings had unknowingly been enveloped by an invisible ripple.
Everyone around was pale.
He surveyed his surroundings and finally noticed the weird man who had stopped ahead of him at some point.
The other party shared a name with that world's number one assassin, and his hair color could change. But he wasn't a Saiyan, and he exuded a scent that made him feel weird.
"What's wrong, Mr. Mercenary Tao?"
Son Goku maintained politeness towards most people, and this moment was no exception.
Kaito Shirogane raised his lowered eyelids. That majestic aura and presence vanished instantly.
He had only slightly probed, yet he felt his aura crashing against an immovable Mount Tai like clouds and mist, completely unable to shake it.
The true power of the two men had a dimensional gap, so much so that he couldn't even glimpse anything from the other party.
Energy—it was clearly Ki; this wasn't unusual, but the magnitude was too terrifying.
Authority—Son Goku highly likely didn't possess such a thing.
Physical constitution—without the amplification of Ki, it couldn't be considered terrifying, perhaps even inferior to his own current body.
Concepts—he was completely unable to perceive Son Goku's mastery in this area.
This was a guy who had completely achieved a qualitative change through extreme quantitative change. Using the Infinite Dimensional Space's stairway theory, it was likely that Son Goku used a rather ordinary stairway, but then elevated himself to an unreachable height with just a few steps.
Saiyans... the upper limit of this race wasn't actually as high as most people imagined. It was just that a few Saiyans completely raised the ceiling. Just like humans, an ordinary species, could also birth unimaginably terrifying powerhouses given absolute numbers.
What was strong wasn't the Saiyans, but Kakarot.
"Heh, nothing. I just felt... you're really strong, Son Goku."
A fake smile appeared on Kaito Shirogane's face. Without waiting for Son Goku to reply, he turned and crossed dozens of meters in a single step onto the aircraft.
Son Goku's eyes lit up. Although this martial artist's strength was average, he seemed to possess quite a few strange techniques.
[Your reputation with Special Plot Character: Son Goku has increased. Current: Friendly (86/100)]
Kaito Shirogane sat on the aircraft, observing his group. Aside from a few small-fry plot characters, sure enough, no Reincarnator, divine Contractor, or Machina Court member dared to join.
The aircraft quickly took off, its flight speed far exceeding an ordinary helicopter.
Piloted by a black-clad pilot, it flew towards the target sea area.
Kaito Shirogane was pondering the issue of Son Goku's realm, completely oblivious to the abnormally fluctuating space far away in the aircraft's path.
Only Son Goku quickly noticed. After the aircraft flew to a certain node, the surroundings seemed to twist for an instant, but returned to normal the next.
Deep in thought, Kaito Shirogane felt a momentary distortion in the magnetic field he constantly controlled, and he also immediately noticed that anomaly.
He raised his head, fully spreading out his Mantra Network. Looking through the window at the massive, cloud-shrouded island below, his eyes narrowed.
He calmly patted the helicopter pilot. A jolt of electricity pierced through his palm into the other party's brain in an instant. The electric current was very mild and wouldn't cause any injury or disability, and Son Goku didn't even realize an action of this degree was an attack.
Kaito Shirogane instantly read the pilot's thoughts, only to find that these people hadn't realized what happened at all; they were merely flying according to the coordinates provided by the International IGO.
Kaito Shirogane also saw that string of numbers. Although lacking relevant knowledge to understand the specific coordinates, his feeling wouldn't be wrong. The space before him... was a different dimension!
Or rather, an independent phase space.
This was no longer the world from before!
Son Goku looked through the window at the massive, cloud-shrouded island below.
"Wow, is that the destination? Looks like there'll be some good prey! What kind of gourmet food is it? I'm so excited!"
Son Goku was very open-minded about spatial transitions. In fact, he could still sense everyone's "Ki" right now, so he could use Instant Transmission to go back at any time.
He didn't think there was any problem with this.
But in Kaito Shirogane's eyes, the anomaly of this world was fully exposed.
It wasn't just a special world formed by connecting the three worlds of One Piece, Dragon Ball, and Toriko. Now, this world also possessed this hidden alternate dimension.
What secrets did this special world hold?!
That was probably the true reason why the Infinite Dimensional Space desperately deployed both him and Yoko simultaneously.
The aircraft landed hundreds of meters off the coast of the island. According to the operating manual, the pilot didn't dare to fly further inland.
"Everyone, we have confirmed our arrival at the destination: Immortal Island Penglai. Please begin your hunt!"
"Oh, right. Contestant Mercenary Tao, you must wait half an hour before entering."
Besides Son Goku, everyone else looked at the sea below in dismay. Someone questioned, "Are you telling us to jump straight into the sea and swim over?!"
"What exactly is on that island?!"
The pilot was also clueless, only able to repeat that these were the rules.
Kaito Shirogane ignored these small fries and looked at Son Goku. Sure enough, the next moment, Son Goku flew directly from the hatch towards the island.
As Son Goku entered, the clouds and mist on the island swirled rapidly, and an extremely special Ki rose from various parts of the island.
Kaito Shirogane's Mantra Network, originally blocked by the white mist, now also detected the things inside.
The Tensen from the Hell's Paradise world? Do those things possess this kind of strength...?
He couldn't think carefully. He immediately commanded Satoru Gojo in his mind to initiate action.
Son Goku, having just entered the massive island, felt various strange auras within it. There seemed to be strange "people" inhabiting this island.
A guy dressed as a Daoist had already appeared in Son Goku's field of vision. A thin layer of Ki emanated from the other party.
Son Goku raised his hand, just about to say something, but his mind suddenly sensed a massive number of exclamations and screams appearing somewhere in the world, as if a terrible disaster or monster had appeared.
"Sorry about that. I'll ask you about the gourmet food later, old sir."
Swoosh!
Son Goku vanished in an instant.
Kaito Shirogane mentally calculated the time. Satoru Gojo's exclamation had already transmitted into his mind.
"Oh my, what is this... monster..."
Kaito Shirogane had long told Satoru Gojo not to be overconfident and clash head-on with the target. Yet Satoru Gojo still hid in the shadows, wanting to observe the enemy's power.
He didn't expect that the instantly appearing Son Goku would actually save hundreds of people in an instant. The few Cursed Spirits he had created by twisting Cursed Energy were killed with a wave of a hand.
Meanwhile, on another massive island, Yoko was also looking at the giant ape standing tall between heaven and earth. For a moment, she couldn't tell if this was a Demon Ape from some Xianxia world or Kong from the MonsterVerse.
"I understand now. This world... hides a [Door] connecting to myriad worlds!"
Lady Crimson realized the truth. She didn't hide it, directly telling Yoko instead.
Because hiding this kind of news was useless. The three Spaces definitely wouldn't let this kind of resource go; more powerhouses would be deployed.
She couldn't determine the victory or defeat of this world at all. What she needed to do was cooperate with this human and survive...