Chapter 442: Gaobei County

"Don't look at me with those eyes; it's disgusting."

Akainu's expression was icy, making no effort to hide the disgust in his eyes; he looked at Orochimaru as if he were looking at a bowl of snake meat stew.

If it weren't for the Navy Alliance's deep foundations and their stockpile of Resurrection Coins.

He would have truly been killed by the 【Death Duel Badge】 that Orochimaru pulled out; such a blood feud could certainly not be simply forgotten.

"I'm just surprised that the self-proclaimed righteous Navy Alliance would actually come looking for me."

Orochimaru revealed a smile, his purple tear troughs slightly expanding, and he scrutinized the proactively approaching Akainu with a very puzzled gaze.

A sturdy frame; the physique should exceed 【200】 points.

A 【Hell Lava Master】 capable of fusing with a Hell Flame Demon for melee combat—if he could kill Akainu, the Undead Legion could possess a Golden-level leader.

Thinking of this, Orochimaru couldn't help but stick out his tongue and lick his chin.

Swish! A Sharp lava spike grazed Orochimaru's cheek, shot out of the range of the Samsara Niche, and illuminated the black mist behind him.

The clawing and gnashing dark monsters were poised and ready, like Hunters crouching outside a glass tank, waiting for a player to poke their head out.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle.

The Hell Lava spike was instantly enveloped by the black mist and extinguished, shooting out less than five meters.

If this were in the Pirate World, this single spike condensed from Hell Lava could at least destroy a small island.

Akainu frowned and said, "I said, don't look at me with those disgusting eyes. If you don't have the sincerity to cooperate, I don't mind looking for other forces in the ninja world."

"I understand."

Orochimaru retracted his tongue and asked with great interest, "So, Admiral Akainu, you... no, how does the Navy Alliance want to cooperate?"

Akainu, who hated him to the bone, certainly wouldn't have come to him on his own initiative; it must have been the intention of the Navy Alliance behind him.

Sakazuki said coldly, "The strength of the dark monsters exceeds the Navy Alliance's imagination; I'm afraid even you are at your wit's end, right?"

Coming to find Orochimaru was indeed not his own idea.

It was the result of a vote by Fleet Admiral Sengoku of the Navy Alliance, Chief of Staff Tsuru, and the majority of the commanders of the Si Hai.

"The one having the hardest time should be the Navy Alliance, right?"

Although Orochimaru was not interested in managing forces, he happened to possess keen insight and ability in this regard.

The Sound Ninja Village back then and the currently thriving Fire Empire were examples.

"In the past, the key to the Navy Alliance being able to continuously hunt bosses was the hundreds or even thousands of Elite players."

"Let me think, Warden Magellan, the scorching swordsman Higaruyama, the eight-legged Onigumo..."

He wore a smile as he spoke of the Navy Alliance's troubles.

It was precisely because they possessed a massive number of Elite players that the Navy Alliance could occupy the throne of the strongest force.

These players, although not possessing the strength of 【Golden】 level top-tier players, did not have a very large gap in comparison.

Gathered together, with top-tier players like Akainu and Smoker providing cover, even Orochimaru couldn't hold them off.

"However, the Heishenhua Ditu has broken the Navy Alliance's monopolistic strength."

"Players whose combat power does not meet the standard are not qualified to climb to the second floor of the Death Tower, and even if they barely scrape together enough combat power, players without Golden-level strength are no match for the dark creatures at all."

This is the reason why the Navy Alliance is currently the most passive.

The appearance of black mist that blocks sensory abilities means players cannot gather in large numbers; otherwise, they would be counter-surrounded by countless dark creatures due to a lack of sensory detection capabilities.

Fighting alone is not the Navy Alliance's advantage.

Akainu, Kizaru, Smoker, Tiequan Kapu...

The Navy Alliance's brand and facade, looking at the entire Samsara Game, can only be ranked at the mid-tier level of top players. It is not that the Navy Alliance lacks foundation.

It is that the commanders of the Si Hai do not want to see very strong Navy players break the balance.

"Correct."

Akainu had no intention of hiding it and agreed with Orochimaru's statement.

This was indeed the Navy Alliance's current predicament; it was useless even if he didn't admit it, and besides, he really didn't want to cooperate with Orochimaru.

"The Navy Alliance should want to team up with me to hunt the monsters in the black mist together?"

Although Orochimaru's tone was questioning, his eyes were very certain.

Top-tier players in every force are very rare; like the Navy Alliance, being able to pull out four at once is already considered elite, and they are still at the mid-tier level of top players.

Like Konoha, only Tsunade, Uzumaki Naruto, and Sasuke Uchiha can be counted as top-tier players.

But as it happens, the dark monsters within the black mist are ridiculously strong, so even top-tier players shouldn't think about fighting alone.

Teaming up with each other.

Like pirate crews and ninja squads, these small but super-strong "dagger teams" are the way to quickly break through the dark monsters.

The Navy Alliance could think of it, and Orochimaru could naturally figure it out too.

Perhaps,

This is also the intention of Mr. Fang Yi, wanting to reduce the hatred among players and make hunting dark monsters the highest priority goal.

"To be honest..."

Akainu's gaze fell on Orochimaru, filled with killing intent, and he said in a low voice, "Cooperating with an evil guy like you is absolutely a stain on the Navy's honor. Now it seems you have no intention to cooperate either, so I can go back and report to Sengoku."

Orochimaru's strength is beyond doubt, so he was also regarded by the Navy Alliance as the primary target for cooperation.

As long as Orochimaru refuses, there are other potential partners to contact and communicate with later.

The teammates Akainu wants to cooperate with first exclude pirates; whether it's Shanks, Whitebeard, or guys like Xialuote Lingling, he is afraid he won't be able to help but throw a punch and kill them.

"I agree."

Even though he saw through the fact that the Navy Alliance could gain greater benefits after the two sides cooperated, Orochimaru still agreed.

After all, given his usual style, apart from major forces like the Navy Alliance that check and balance each other and would discard the rhetoric of evil and justice, it is difficult for other forces to be willing to cooperate with him.

"Hmph..."

After reaching the cooperation, Akainu was not as happy as expected.

Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Staff Officer Tsuru were very excited, laughing: "A lone wolf like Orochimaru, who seems evil, is actually the most stable teammate."

The Fire Empire of the Ninja World was isolated by all factions.

No matter how strong Orochimaru was, he could not find a partner; the Navy Alliance was willing to take the initiative to extend an olive branch, and before the other party could find a better partner, this kind of teammate relationship was the most solid, and the risk of being stabbed in the back could be minimized.

Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Staff Officer Tsuru were no fools; being able to become the brains of the Navy Alliance, they had definitely conducted thorough investigations and knew Orochimaru's current situation before daring to cooperate with him.

"So, the sincerity I can offer is myself; what about the Navy Alliance?"

Orochimaru's aura erupted, and a terrifying pressure of a Tier 2 Golden level enveloped Sakazuki.

His own sincerity was the strength of the strongest player in the Samsara Game.

If the Navy Alliance wanted to cooperate with him, they would likely have to bring corresponding sincerity—was it to give up some game items dropped by bosses, or perhaps... information? Akainu said in a calm tone: "Scout players from the Information Department have discovered a dark monster boss hundreds of meters away from the now-ruined Game Town, Guobei County, to the west of the Samsara Niche."

The scouts of the Navy Intelligence Department were all Elite players with Agility attributes exceeding 150, spending high retention fees every day just to investigate clues about bosses in the map filled with black fog.

"Guobei County?"

(End of this chapter)