Chapter 653: Discussions within the Mind Network!
Even if Ryuunosuke had no personal feelings for the original owner's parents, this body was still brought into this world by someone.
If you inherit a body, you inherit its responsibilities.
What Lilith did was unforgivable.
Of course, it could have been a test. It could have been a threat.
A message carved into the dirt for Ryuunosuke to read.
No matter how strong you are, you cannot protect everyone you should protect. The Guardians can reach anywhere, and they can crush the things you value whenever they feel like it.
That crossed Ryuunosuke's line.
"Captain, the Eternal Ship will reach our location in two days," Gaino said, appearing on Ryuunosuke's shoulder. "I've already transferred all the data into the Eternal Ark."
He paused, then asked the question he had been holding back.
"So are we targeting Lilith directly from now on?"
They were not currently on the Ark of Eternity. They were on Jay's ship.
Gaino still did not know what the next step was supposed to be.
This kind of direct, violent shift in direction did fit Ryuunosuke's style.
But it happened too suddenly, and under too special a situation.
Ryuunosuke had not issued any clear orders.
That silence felt wrong.
"I was too flustered earlier," Ryuunosuke said calmly. "I didn't think things through."
"That's why I'm sitting here."
"You didn't think it through?" Gaino's eyes narrowed slightly. "So the captain has a new idea now?"
"Then why not discuss it directly with the squad leaders? They're all trustworthy."
Do not be fooled by how unreliable the squad members looked.
The squad leaders were Najenda, Chrollo, Yahiko, Meliodas, and Kobayashi.
Every one of them was solid.
Based on how Ryuunosuke usually operated, the moment he decided anything, those five would be the first to know.
He would take their opinions, weigh them, and adjust the mission accordingly.
So why was he alone this time?
Ryuunosuke blinked.
"Sorry. I forgot for a moment."
Then he lifted a hand.
"Mind Network: Ultimate Realm!"
A faint fluctuation spread from him.
In the next instant, Gaino felt his world tilt, and he found himself standing in a strange place.
"Here it is…" he muttered.
Then his eyes widened. "Geno's here too?"
"Captain, you said you were going out for a bit," Meliodas asked immediately. "So you were going to Laguerreno?"
Hearing that, Gaino understood at once.
It was not that Ryuunosuke had ignored the squad leaders.
He had pulled them together through this ability.
The discussion had already started.
"Gaino, take a look," Najenda said, walking over with her small notebook. "This is what the captain just laid out. We're analyzing and discussing the situation."
"We're trying to pin down our direction and attitude before dinner tonight."
Gaino accepted the notebook and scanned it quickly.
At the same time, he realized something else.
Earlier, it looked like everyone had scattered, each going back to their own business.
But that was only the squad members.
Train if you need to train. Rest if you need to rest.
The five squad leaders had all laid down to rest immediately.
Then their spirit bodies arrived in this world Ryuunosuke had constructed.
Only Ryuunosuke could do something like this.
"Captain, I organized the information quickly," Gaino said as he read. He pointed at the notes.
"Element one. Defense. Mr. Jay will handle defense against enemies."
"Element two. A sure kill strike against the Guardians and Lilith's team."
"Element three. Adam and Eve attacking the Evictors and Adam."
"Element four. Vegapunk's conspiracy."
He looked up sharply.
"Were these four elements discussed and agreed on in a bit over ten minutes?"
"No," Najenda said. "We haven't even had time to think yet."
"What you just read was all proposed by the captain alone."
Najenda's eyes were full of genuine admiration.
"I thought the captain would ignore everything and wipe out Lilith's team first."
"And push everything else aside."
"But our captain really is our captain."
The anger Ryuunosuke showed when he watched that video was real.
That aura that made you want to kill someone on the spot could not be faked.
Yet in a short time, Ryuunosuke still forced himself to think through the problem.
And he proposed solutions for every part of it.
That kind of thing belonged to him alone.
"Alright," Ryuunosuke said, cutting them off. "Now isn't the time to praise me."
"Gaino's here too."
He looked around at the five leaders.
"Tell me your thoughts."
"We don't have much time."
It seemed like they had two days before the Eternal Ark arrived.
But this was not a matter you solved just by choosing a conclusion.
More intelligence would keep coming, and every new piece could force them to change their decisions.
Chrollo spoke first.
"Actually, the captain already considered most of this."
"We still don't trust this so called First Generation."
"Most importantly, his sudden appearance fits our needs too perfectly."
"The same thing happened on the Island of Gods."
Everyone understood what he meant.
That island had to contain some kind of treasure.
But Jay's appearance disrupted their original plan and prevented Chrollo from finding it.
More importantly, it felt like part of a larger scheme aimed at the Dragon Hunter Pirates.
Najenda nodded.
"That feeling of something not lining up… it's uncomfortable."
She met Ryuunosuke's gaze.
"Captain, do you know anything about this First Generation?"
Compared to every other decision, this was what everyone cared about most.
Jay was too strange.
Strange even by Ryuunosuke's standards.
A being that could reach the same level of abnormal as Ryuunosuke could not be underestimated.
Ryuunosuke did not pretend certainty.
"There's no confirmed information yet."
Then he continued, voice steady.
"But his goal is very likely the same as ours."
"Reclaiming his body… or more likely, what comes after the Seed of God."
He had seen it before.
Even when Roger said something like wanting to exist in the same era as Joy Boy, Jay had shown a strange emotion.
Ryuunosuke had been watching.
Jay definitely carried a secret no less heavy than his own.
.....
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