Chapter 565: The Aragami Reappears!
The moment Ryuunosuke saw the new mission, he immediately opened the requirements.
[Eternal Ark Activation Quest: Collect Divine Essence and inject it for activation.]
There was only one line.
But it raised two problems at once.
What exactly counted as Divine Essence?
And what did "God" even mean in this context?
Ryuunosuke himself carried a god title.
Did that mean the Ark needed his own origin essence?
"System," Ryuunosuke asked directly, "how do I determine the origin of a god?"
"The Origin of God," the system replied, "refers to the origin of beings who possess the name of God, or the origin of the descendants of God."
Hearing that, Ryuunosuke finally understood the outline.
First category, those who possess the name of God.
In other words, people like Joy Boy.
As far as Ryuunosuke knew, that included himself, Roy, and the First Generation.
Second category, descendants of God.
The Celestial Dragons had always claimed they were descendants of gods, but that was obviously a lie.
So this so called descendant of God most likely referred to Lilith and Adam.
And of course, that also included the Guardian team and the Evictors.
Looks like I'll have to go and cause them some trouble.
Belubelu.
The Den Den Mushi on his side suddenly rang.
Ryuunosuke picked it up.
"You brat, get over here to Marine Headquarters right now!" Garp's voice came through, sharp and urgent. "Those monsters showed up here. We've already got a lot of Marine casualties!"
"I understand," Ryuunosuke answered without asking anything else.
He ended the call and immediately gave an order.
"Gaino, full speed to Marine Headquarters."
…
Three hours earlier.
Marine Headquarters.
The Marines had already settled back into something that looked like normal.
Under Sakazuki's newest deployment, their main task was clear.
Crush the truly vicious pirates.
As for certain pirate crews, the kind made up entirely of adventurers, the kind that operated on the sea in a more standardized and regulated way, there were now arrangements made with them.
Under those circumstances, Marine power could be used to its fullest.
They no longer wasted effective combat strength the way they used to.
A lot of Marines were satisfied with this approach.
After all, the Marines were human too. They had their own sense of right and wrong.
Some pirates were not really pirates at all. Some of them even helped ordinary civilians.
So that old one size fits all method no longer fit the sea as it was now.
"Ha!"
At that moment, the sounds of recruits training rang out from the Marine recruit camp.
Zephyr watched the young faces in front of him, and a rare smile appeared.
"Staying here really is better for me," he said. "I can't get used to life outside."
Then he glanced toward the sea beyond the walls.
"And the sea's been much calmer than before."
A calmer sea was perfect for training recruits.
For preparing the next generation for whatever battles might come.
"You didn't even tell us when you left," Garp said, laughing loudly.
"That Sengoku guy can't help much because of his position, but I can."
"Do you think I still care about the opinions of those trash people?"
"If this happens again, I'll still show up."
He spoke shamelessly, lifting himself up while casually stepping on Sengoku's head in the same breath.
Zephyr's mouth twitched.
"You shameless old bastard. You're only leaning on your connection to that kid Ryuunosuke."
Then he frowned.
"But Garp, what exactly are you tied up in with them?"
"Are they all monsters?"
Sengoku stood to the side, wanting to argue, but finding nothing clean to swing back with.
Because what Garp said was true.
So Sengoku did what he always did when he needed to escape a bad angle.
He grabbed a more attention grabbing topic to drag everyone's focus somewhere else.
"Haha, well… this…"
Before Garp could finish, a Marine officer rushed in.
He stopped in front of them and saluted hard, his expression tight.
"Advisor Sengoku, Advisor Garp, Advisor Tsuru, and Teacher Zephyr!"
"A large number of Aragami have appeared near Marine Headquarters!"
"Fleet Admiral Sakazuki has already led people to engage them!"
"I came to report immediately!"
The officer's voice was not especially loud, but the urgency and gravity on his face made everything clear.
"Aragami?" Garp's eyes sharpened. "How did those things end up here?"
"Move."
That was all he said before he set off.
They had already seen the power of those Aragami out on the high seas.
Garp did not even consider the possibility that ordinary forces could withstand them.
Of course, Marine Headquarters was unlikely to face a massive swarm.
If it was only a few, they should still be able to handle it.
Soon, the group reached the coast.
At that moment, the Aragami were already surrounded by Sakazuki and the main forces.
There were only six left.
In size, they were medium to large.
And they were being completely overwhelmed under the combined pressure of Kuzan, Kizaru, and Sakazuki.
Under those circumstances, Garp quickly moved to Gion's side.
"Girl," he asked, "how's it looking over here?"
He needed answers.
How did these Aragami appear?
What did Sakazuki and the others do when they arrived?
Gion reported immediately.
"Three have already been killed. That makes nine total."
"They all appeared suddenly. No warning at all."
"After the watchtower lookout spotted them, we launched a cleanup operation right away."
"If nothing unexpected happens, we should be able to clear all of them."
Tsuru's gaze narrowed.
She caught the hole in that report instantly.
Even if Sakazuki's side had the advantage and would likely finish the remaining Aragami soon, the real problem was untouched.
Where did these Aragami come from?
Was the passage they used being guarded?
Those were the questions that mattered.
But right now, everyone's attention was locked on the monsters in front of them.
Almost no one was thinking about the source.
"I have no idea," Gion admitted, startled by Tsuru's focus. "The Fleet Admiral only ordered us to defend and keep reconnaissance on the perimeter."
"If any more Aragami appear, we must report immediately."
Tsuru did not hesitate.
"Onigumo, Gion, Momonga, the three of you head east and check."
"The rest of you continue following the Fleet Admiral's orders."
Then she looked at Garp.
"Garp, leave the rest to us."
With that, Tsuru chose a direction and moved out to investigate.
"I've got work to do," Garp muttered, shaking his head.
He climbed into his dog headed boat and set off as well.
Two hours later, the surrounding area had been searched.
Nothing unusual was found.
And the battle itself was nearing its end.
"Advisor Garp!"
Kuzan arrived at Garp's side.
As always, Kuzan treated Garp like an idol.
Only the last Aragami remained now, and Sakazuki was personally leading that final push, so Kuzan had a moment to breathe.
"How's it going?" Garp asked with a grin. "Fighting these things, is it rough?"
With the crisis temporarily pushed back, everyone's shoulders were lighter.
"Not bad," Kuzan replied. "Compared to the Aragami we ran into last time…"
"Whether it's quantity or quality, these are far behind."
He continued, already thinking ahead.
"And we're preparing to transport the bodies to our Marine research institute for study."
The battle was almost over, and Kuzan's tone sounded relaxed.
But the sea had already made its move.
And Marine Headquarters had felt it.
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