The journey was entirely reliant upon Zero, who carried Taichi, Hikari, and Gatomon on his back in his MetalGreymon form. After all, two elementary schoolers and a tiny cat posed no real burden for him.
Etemon had deployed underground cables throughout his territory, creating a vast surveillance network. In theory, Zero's movements should already have been monitored closely.
Even destroying those cables wouldn't help much—just by marking where each was damaged, Etemon could easily trace Zero's route.
Thus, from the start, Zero never intended to hide from Etemon. He openly marched toward Etemon's base, clearly indicating his intention to pick a fight.
But Etemon himself belonged to the classic "Gian-type" villain category—relying purely on brute strength to bully others, coercing the Nobitas and Suneos of the Digital World into doing his bidding and threatening them against tattling to any authority figures. Still, this hardly proved that such a villain possessed any cleverness or schemes.
Etemon simply did as he pleased. Trying to play mind games against such an opponent was meaningless; it was better just to show up openly at his doorstep.
Besides, Etemon would neither hide nor run. And even if he did flee, it wouldn't matter much—Zero's real goal wasn't Etemon's life anyway. That was just incidental. His true objective had always been the DigiChrome stored in the warehouse.
Zero mused quietly, and soon, a strange structure slowly rose over the distant horizon, gradually revealing itself in his vision…
…It was a pyramid.
A polyhedron shaped precisely like the pyramids Zero remembered—except for one small detail…
…This particular pyramid stood inverted, its pointed tip facing downwards, the exact opposite of traditional pyramids.
Such a bizarrely majestic and gravity-defying structure stood boldly in the middle of a vast plain and around this inverted pyramid sprawled clusters of buildings, where hundreds of Drimogemon and other labor-type Digimon hurried about.
At the four cardinal corners surrounding the pyramid, huge signal towers stood proudly, each crowned with LCD screens displaying—from various angles—a figure that Zero found absolutely ridiculous.
That noisy, obnoxious voice echoed endlessly across the plain from the four signal towers and giant screens.
Zero quietly sighed to himself—indeed worthy of a "Gian-type" villain. Even the absurdly tone-deaf singing habit matched up perfectly.
Moreover, Etemon clearly didn't realize his singing was horribly off-key. Instead, he acted smugly as if he were a huge star, forcing his underlings to shower him with praise.
Tell me it's beautiful! All of you better praise me now!
Anyone daring to criticize would be dragged out and executed on the spot. If you can't even appreciate my wonderful singing, what's the point of letting you live?!
Though this seemed comedic to Zero, for the enslaved Digimon trapped there, it was pure hell.
Forced labor was already exhausting them day and night—on top of which they had to endure constant auditory assaults from this sonic weapon. It was truly unbearable.
But still, those rebellious few had probably long since fertilized the earth. The remaining survivors were numb, beaten down, and obedient, just quietly enduring exploitation in exchange for their lives and food.
Zero had no intention of becoming some savior figure, but offering these miserable Digimon a helping hand was still something he was more than happy to do.
"Alright, let's stick to the plan."
Zero gently placed Taichi, Hikari, and Gatomon on the ground, giving them a final reminder.
"Zero, be careful!"
Taichi immediately stepped forward, concern evident. Zero laughed lightly in response, "Mm, same to you. Taichi, protect Hikari well. Gatomon… I'll leave them in your care…"
With an elegant twirl, Gatomon gracefully bowed, "Of course. Leave it all to me."
At this point, Gatomon genuinely had no intention of harming Taichi or Hikari—after all, given how utterly defenseless they had been toward her during their journey, she could have easily struck earlier if she truly wanted.
Yet she understood very clearly: if Taichi or Hikari came to harm, both she and Myotismon would face an utterly terrifying enemy who'd lost all sense of reason.
Gatomon shuddered at the thought of Zero driven by uncontrollable fury. Her undercover mission was to eliminate Taichi and Hikari, yes—but also to win Zero's trust…
…So that she could betray and sabotage him during his decisive battle with Myotismon.
Therefore, letting Zero handle Etemon while she protected Taichi and Hikari would simultaneously gain their trust and eliminate Etemon—a perfect plan.
Yet despite this clever calculation, Gatomon herself didn't realize it was merely a subconscious excuse to avoid harming Hikari.
And when she realized she didn't need to harm Hikari immediately, she inexplicably felt relieved and happy.
This subtle transformation happened so gradually she herself was unaware.
Of course, outsiders saw it clearly—both Zero and Wizardmon, watching the entire drama unfold, noticed these changes immediately. But what could they say…
…Both clearly welcomed these developments. If it weren't for their delicate positions, Zero almost wanted to call out Wizardmon openly so the two could share drinks while watching this amusing show.
After all, Zero had long since noticed Wizardmon's secret presence. He simply chose not to expose him for various reasons.
With arrangements completed, Zero felt reassured entrusting Taichi and Hikari to Gatomon's care. Without hesitation, he spread his wings, stirring up powerful gusts of wind as he soared directly toward the bizarre pyramid.
"First, let's start with a greeting. Something exciting!"
As Zero spoke, flames concentrated fiercely in his mouth before blasting outward, striking one of the outer signal towers head-on.
The fireball instantly pierced the tower's screen, flames exploding outward and inward, scattering glittering shards everywhere…
In a single strike, the tower went completely dark…
This dramatic entrance and powerful show of force immediately threw the Digimon near the pyramid into chaos.
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!!!"
Several patrol teams of Gazimon immediately screamed at the top of their lungs, desperately rolling, scrambling, and clawing their way toward the pyramid.
"Etemon-sama, Etemon-sa—"
Their cries were abruptly silenced midway as a figure rocketed out of the pyramid, sending several screaming Gazimon flying with a swift kick.
"This king's alive and well—what're you screaming about like it's my funeral?! Bad luck!"
Swearing fiercely, Etemon adjusted his sunglasses, glaring upward at Zero circling above.
"Hehe, you actually dared to charge right into this king's stronghold, huh? You sure got guts!"
Zero laughed heartily in response, "Well, I was worried you'd turn coward after losing last time. If I didn't come knock on your door, who knows when you'd dare to come seek death yourself~"
Sure enough, Etemon instantly exploded in anger.
"Who says I lost to you last time?! If not for that meddling bastard Myotismon—forget it! No need for that! It's good you came; otherwise, this king was preparing to hunt you down myself!"
As he spoke, Etemon stomped hard into the ground, launched himself upward with rocket-like force, and unleashed a flying kick…
The fierce kick generated razor-sharp winds slicing toward Zero. Zero instantly performed an aerial maneuver, easily dodging, and swung his shining silver trident arm down forcefully.
Unable to dodge, Etemon took a direct hit and instantly plummeted downward, crashing heavily into the ground.
Without mercy, Zero immediately opened the missile compartments on his chest, firing two shark-shaped organic missiles streaking forward with a deafening roar.
However, at that exact moment, panels on the pyramid's surface peeled away, revealing rows of dark cannon barrels.
With a dazzling burst of light, the pyramid itself transformed into a massive fortress, unleashing a barrage of energy blasts that collided head-on with Zero's Giga Blasters…
…The missiles detonated mid-air, erupting into twin fireballs.
Yet even this interception sent nearby Digimon tumbling and staggering, unable to remain upright amid the explosive shockwaves. After all, this was a battlefield between titans—ordinary Digimon simply had no place here.
Zero wasn't surprised by this development. It was Etemon's stronghold, after all—having a few hidden tricks was only natural.
But if this fortress-pyramid was Etemon's strongest trump card, then there was really nothing to fear.
"In that case, I'll deal with you like this…"
METALGREYMON—SLIDE DIGIVOLUTION!!!
As Zero and Etemon clashed head-on, Etemon was outmatched by Zero in raw power. Yet, supported by the pyramid fortress, Etemon could still manage a decent two-on-one fight.
Clearly, Etemon had invested considerable effort into this pyramid fortress—understandable, since it was his lair. No wonder he spared no expense.
...
Meanwhile, Taichi, Hikari, and Gatomon circled around toward the outer perimeter.
"Gatomon, this is…"
Taichi and Hikari remembered clearly that Zero's plan had been for them to sneak inside amid the chaos. Yet Gatomon was taking them farther away.
"Don't worry. Just follow me~"
As Gatomon spoke, a certain calm male voice transmitted encrypted directions to her ear.
Following the instructions, Gatomon led Taichi and Hikari to a secluded spot seemingly distant from the base. Raising her paw, she swiftly uncovered a hidden patch of earth, revealing a sturdy metal trapdoor…
And beneath that hidden door stretched a secret passageway leading deep underground…
---
T/N: yeah no excuse this time :sob: WAIT NO I WAS STARTING NEW TLS SO HA! yeah sorrrey heres the 4 chapters!
bonus chaps
100 stones -> 1 chapter
200 stones -> 2 chapters
300 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
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