Chapter 397: World-Class Mission

"For the time being, Aokiji has not yet committed any act of betrayal against the Navy; do not issue a bounty for him yet."

Sengoku extended a finger and adjusted the black round-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose.

Visible to the naked eye,

his thick, seaweed-like black hair began to show signs of discoloration, with strands of white hair sprouting one by one.

The group looked at each other, all tacitly remaining silent.

"The Navy Alliance will compensate for the commander's losses."

Sengoku's voice was hoarse, his eyes flashing with intense light as he stared at the commanders on both sides of the conference table and said, "However, your identity is that of the Navy; you are absolutely forbidden from getting involved in the dirty dealings of those Noble groups!"

"If it is discovered that anyone has voluntarily participated in the human experiments of the Noble groups, I will execute you with my own hands!"

Having been reprimanded in public by Aokiji, Sengoku felt a complex mix of emotions.

He had long known that these commanders were able to have a constant stream of resources because they surely had spider-web-like connections with the Noble groups.

But the Navy Alliance was able to maintain its position with countless Elite players and gather such a massive force; if he were to completely wipe out the commanders, it would collapse in an instant.

As long as the bottom line was maintained and the Navy commanders were strictly ordered not to participate, with his own supervision, they shouldn't go too far, right?

It had always been like this: the prosperous Royal Street of the Goa Kingdom and the filthy Trash Mountain,

raising taxes to drive the poor to the lawless Sorbet Kingdom,

and the Dressrosa royal family, whose country was occupied by the former Celestial Dragon Doflamingo after they mysteriously disappeared.

The Pirate World was just like this.

"Aokiji, it has always been like this..."

His heart told Sengoku that these Noble groups should be torn to pieces,

but his reason quickly restrained his thoughts.

The World Government, which had ruled the world for eight hundred years, was the same across its hundreds of member nations, with Noble groups enslaving the commoners.

The Navy's justice was to protect commoners from the harassment of Pirates.

Everything else was the internal business of the kingdoms...

The Navy had no authority to intervene.

Sengoku sighed deeply and thought to himself, "Aokiji, the justice you hold in your heart has already exceeded the boundaries of the Navy Alliance."

Casting aside the matters concerning Aokiji and the human experiments, the most critical issue now was the newly appeared Dark Gold boss in the Zombie World.

Although Golden zombies were rare, they could still occasionally pop up, but a Dark Gold Ghost General was truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Marshal Sengoku said sternly, "Commanders of the Si Hai, each of you shall dispatch another two hundred Elite players to reinforce Jiang Family Town!"

"Two hundred people?"

The commanders' expressions changed slightly, and they all wanted to refuse.

The Elite Navy forces had already requisitioned five hundred Elite players from each commander, and now they were being asked to send even more reinforcements.

Cultivating Elite players was not easy, and the loss of every Elite player made the commanders ache with pain.

But seeing Sengoku's gloomy expression, no one wanted to be the first to speak out, so they had to grit their teeth and agree.

Qingguo Guishi world.

The Elite Navy forces joined hands with the four Admirals,

and those small Pirate crews looking to pick up scraps, the ninja from weak nations and wandering samurai of the ninja world, as well as the ordinary players from the Demon King and Claymore World, were all driven away by the large-scale magma and poisonous mist.

The remaining players were all forces backed by 【Elite players】.

The Straw Hat Pirates, the Desert Circus where the former Buggy Pirates Captain Buggy and the former Seven Warlords of the Sea Sand Crocodile were located, and the Charlotte Family who had escaped from the Navy prison, led by the current Clan Head 【Katakul】, a Mochi-Mochi Fruit user who now possessed 【2800 Combat Power】 thanks to the Totto Land inheritance and his own talent.

In the distance,

there were also the four-nation ninja and Dawn players who kept arriving from other places after hearing the news.

"Whoosh..."

The howling gale, carrying scarlet raindrops, smashed onto the ground.

Containing extremely strong Yin energy, it easily extinguished the scorching magma and dissolved the poisonous mist released by Smoker.

Inside the cave of the Ghost General Tomb, it was as if a bag had been torn open, continuously spewing out Yin winds that blotted out the sky and sun.

"So comfortable. That useless doctor delayed my metamorphosis into a perfect lifeform, but unexpectedly, this is a blessing in disguise..."

In a dark corner, Muzan Kibutsuji narrowed his eyes, spread his arms, and wore an expression of enjoyment.

The blood rain and Yin wind fell upon his body, nourishing him like sweet dew.

【Poison Zombie Controller Lv. 29】, 1200 Combat Power.

Muzan Kibutsuji's expression was excited; he felt his flesh and blood being filled with Yin energy and his whole body trembled.

Back then, being used by Orochimaru as a Tank that could grow crazily to resist the Holy Flame of Naruto, he had almost been forced to swallow his hatred in humiliation as a generation of Demon King.

Fortunately, his survival ability was strong enough.

"This Ghost General is truly powerful. If I can obtain the 【Ghost General's Heart】, my incomplete Mutant Yin Body will be able to metamorphose into a 【Yin Corpse】!"

"When that time comes, I must kill Naruto!"

Muzan Kibutsuji did not dare to provoke the strongest player, Orochimaru.

The psychological shadow left on him by Orochimaru was even greater than that of Tsugikuni Yoriichi. Therefore, this hatred for almost being killed could only be transferred to Naruto, who looked slightly weaker.

"Muzan Kibutsuji!"

A roar of fury,

what came into view were the swaying Sun Blade Earring; Muzan Kibutsuji's heart trembled slightly, and he subconsciously covered his head and crouched down.

The blade grazed his scalp, and blood stained his handsome face, causing it to become ferocious.

Muzan Kibutsuji steadied his mind, looked up, and after seeing clearly, he immediately sneered: "Your name is Tanjiro, right?"

Not Tsugikuni Yoriichi.

It was just an ordinary person who had contact with the ancestors and Tsugikuni Yoriichi; it really gave me a start.

However, even if Tsugikuni Yoriichi were to be resurrected now, he would only be torn to shreds by me.

Tanjiro widened his eyes, gritted his teeth, and said, "Kibutsuji Muzan, I've finally caught you! I am going to cut off your head!"

"Just by relying on you, brat?"

Kibutsuji Muzan looked disdainful, his entire body surging with yin energy, and a layer of purple-black 【Corpse Skin】 covered his body.

His canine teeth protruded, and his fingernails were long and narrow.

He looked exactly like a corpse.

Swish...

Kibutsuji Muzan swung his arms, his fingernails slicing through the air, and four poison claws condensed from corpse energy flew out.

【Poison Zombie Controller】 is a very rare game ability.

After all, the probability of a living person being able to fuse with 【Corpse Poison】 is not high.

Kibutsuji Muzan relied on the advantage of his 【Ghost Body】 to successively fuse with Zombie Poison and Shengmingbingdu, finally resulting in this bizarre game ability.

In essence,

Kibutsuji Muzan has already transformed into a zombie, capable of freely manipulating corpse energy.

"..."

Sensing the familiar corpse energy, Tanjiro's expression turned strange.

He dodged the poison claws sideways and raised his long sword, which had been forged from refined steel, placed on a Taoist altar for five years of worship, and enchanted with ghost-repelling power.

He approached rapidly and swung!

The blade fell as smoothly as a hot knife through butter, and even Kibutsuji Muzan's confident expression froze.

He retreated again and again, his face changing in shock as he said, "You are a Taoist exorcist?"

"That's right."

Tanjiro, who had been taken into the Taoist sect by Jiu Shu, possessed game abilities that were precisely for dealing with zombies.

He hadn't expected that Kibutsuji Muzan would actually be a zombie.

If you had said earlier that you were a Taoist exorcist, I would have dodged early; who would stand still and let you hack at them? Kibutsuji Muzan's expression was uncertain; 【Corpse Skin Lv. 25】 could greatly increase defensive capabilities, and even if he stood there and let someone hack at him, ordinary weapons would be unable to break his defense.

He hadn't expected his self-confidence to be shattered directly.

"Goodbye, Tanjiro!"

Kibutsuji Muzan's face was cold, and killing intent surged, but in the end, he still chose to retreat.

The Demon Slayer Corps always acted in groups; if he delayed any longer, he would be entangled by the Demon Slayer Corps arriving on the scene.

What he wanted was the Heart Material of the Ghost General,

and he did not want to trigger a meaningless conflict.

"Don't think about running, Kibutsuji Muzan!"

Between breaths, Tanjiro exhaled a scorching red mist; this was the result of Sun Breathing being reinforced, possessing extremely strong destructive power and the ability to restrain evil spirits.

Kibutsuji Muzan retreated rapidly,

and from the ground where he had originally stood, corpse after corpse crawled out, blocking Tanjiro like a Shield.

Roar...

A deafening roar sounded, as if a prehistoric savage beast had awakened.

As if sensing its master's scent, the gloomy wind and bloody rain were dragged by an invisible force, crazily surging toward the tomb.

The Ghost General, who had broken out of the tomb cave,

wore the official robes of Qing Guo with scarlet battle armor underneath; he did not have a burly physique, but the aura he exuded was enough to shock even Shanks.

【World-class main quest triggered: Corpse Dragon Raises Its Head (1)】

Quest description: The Qing Country Dragon Vein has been polluted and is the source of the zombie plague throughout the world; inside the Imperial Palace Underground Palace is a corpse flood dragon about to transform into a dragon. Once it appears, the entire world will be destroyed.

Quest requirements: Defeat the Ghost Generals (5) under the command of the corpse flood dragon and obtain the entrance ticket to the Imperial Palace Underground Palace.

Quest rewards: 2 million Reward Points, 【Game Village Exchange Voucher】.

Hint: This quest is a chain quest; the final stage is 【Hunting the Corpse Dragon】, from which you can obtain the special item 【Nation Building Order】.

(End of chapter)