Chapter 818: The Shadow World
"Woohoo!"
Every time Straw Hat Luffy appeared, it was almost always accompanied by exaggerated hooting and hollering. This plot protagonist—fragile and weak in Kaito Shirogane's eyes right now—possessed a formidable trait: the innate ability to infect the emotions of everyone around him.
Even though Son Goku and Toriko possessed absolute strength far outstripping Luffy's current level, they were still swept up by his enthusiasm.
The three of them fervently debated the gourmet foods they had each acquired.
Meanwhile, Kaito Shirogane crushed two drop cards in his palm.
[You have opened Drop Card: Monstrous Being of the Tao · Yin]
[You have obtained Material: Heart of Yin]
[You have obtained Material: Fiendish Head of Yin]
[You have opened Drop Card: Monstrous Being of the Tao · Yang]
[You have obtained Material: Heart of Yang]
[You have obtained Material: Fiendish Head of Yang]
Even in death, the spoils from these twin Yin-Yang abominations were exact mirror images of one another.
Kaito Shirogane handed over both the Heart of Yin and the Heart of Yang to the organizing committee. These were presumably the so-called gourmet ingredients; in his eyes, they were nothing more than two hideous lumps of flesh.
His research into the culinary arts had always been superficial. Even after acquiring Gourmet Cells and the [Cook] skill—two elements that complemented each other flawlessly—he had never spared the time to properly cultivate them.
To him, Gourmet Cells were simply a convenient tool to boost base attributes, while the Cook skill was merely a mechanism to transmute matter into nutrients to level up those cells.
His core focus had always remained fixed purely upon strength itself. His obsession with food fell leagues short of the unadulterated passion shown by Luffy, Toriko, or Son Goku.
In fact, he was far less invested in it than his own subordinate, Artoria.
"Group Eight, the qualifying contestant is... Mercenary Tao!"
"And contestant Son Goku!"
Kaito Shirogane glanced toward Son Goku once more. Despite lacking any opportunity to hunt the abominations, Goku had still qualified. This was undoubtedly the inertia of destiny at work—the deliberate choice of the World's Will.
In the other brackets, Yoko had successfully returned with several Reincarnators and that red-haired True God from the Void Paradise. The other mysterious True God, however, was nowhere to be seen. Judging by the rapid fluctuations in the faction score earlier...
The Authority-tier units deployed by the Machina Court to hunt down the Reincarnators, along with that mysterious True God whom Kaito Shirogane hadn't even had the chance to size up, had likely been cleanly slain by Yoko's blade.
"Group One, qualifying contestant: Yoko Ekaterina!"
"Group Five, qualifying contestant: Monkey D. Luffy!"
The referees methodically inspected the items retrieved by each bracket. In truth, those who managed to return from the destination coordinates were practically limited to Reincarnators, divine Contractors from the Void Paradise, and a handful of central plot characters.
Yoko walked toward Kaito Shirogane as the surviving participants from each faction began congregating in loose clusters.
The Machina Court, in particular, was reduced to a pathetic remnant. Their Authority-tier units had been entirely wiped out by Heaven's Pilgrimage while attempting to cull the Reincarnators, while Emperor Ultron—a Monarch-tier unit—had bafflingly been tracked to his core frame and destroyed by Mercenary Tao, who possessed Third Sequence combat power.
Though the remaining Authority-tier interstellar lifeform of the Machina Court still held onto plot dominance—retaining the administrative right to participate alongside the International IGO and the Gourmet Corp...
In practice, they had lost the physical might required to secure an advantage in this world.
It was like a game of chess where, no matter how pristine the board appeared, they no longer possessed pieces to move. Before their superiors dispatched higher-sequence reinforcements, they had effectively been stripped of their qualifications to compete.
Anyone who dared step onto the field would face immediate extermination at the hands of either Heaven's Pilgrimage or Mercenary Tao.
Kaito Shirogane paid no heed to Yoko approaching him. Instead, seeing Son Goku, Luffy, and Toriko regrouping, he turned on his heel and strode directly toward them.
Yoko paused in her tracks, watching his retreating back. Without question, this was a flat rejection.
"What do we do, Empress? It seems Lord Mercenary Tao has no intention of cooperating with us. Our upcoming maneuvers..."
Fenrir noted this as well, his tone laced with urgency. In fact, after parting ways with Mercenary Tao, Ritsu had not returned to their side either; she had tackled the first stage entirely on her own.
Though she had survived, she appeared to have sustained heavy damage, pulling through solely by virtue of a Demi-Human's high-tier immortality.
Fenrir didn't know the exact details of Yoko's tactical blueprint, but he had observed her deployments. Every top-tier Reincarnator, including himself and Aka, had been ordered to withdraw from virtually all main plotlines in this world.
Yoko clearly harbored an intention to prematurely terminate this world's mission phases, thereby concluding the multi-dimensional clash among the three Spaces in one stroke.
Fenrir couldn't identify the exact mechanism she intended to use, but the sheer danger radiating from it was registered with terrifying clarity by his [Survival of the Fittest] talent.
If they didn't act, they would perish.
And without securing the cooperation of Lord Mercenary Tao, the vast majority of Reincarnators would die!
That was the root of his panic.
"It matters not. All things have their ordained trajectory."
Yoko swept her sleeve, turning to lead her contingent toward the other side—toward her younger sister.
Behind her, Fenrir, Aka, and Snow followed closely. Despite hailing from entirely different districts and assemblies, they had all completely acknowledged Yoko's strength and commanding presence after working alongside her for even this brief duration.
Ritsu twirled her Sea King Trident with an air of complete boredom, watching the exchange from the corner of her eye.
She curled her lip, growing increasingly indifferent to Yoko's calculated posturing.
Ignoring her sister, she shifted her gaze toward Mercenary Tao, who was walking directly toward the undisputed strongest entity in this world: Kakarot.
"What's wrong? The taste of rejection doesn't sit well, does it? But His Lordship is not the type of titan who would ever bow to some so-called 'flawless scheme,'" she sneered.
"You want to summon those entities to bring an end to all this—isn't that just because you're afraid?!"
"You might be terrified, but His Lordship isn't, and neither am I!"
The intelligence woven into Ritsu's taunt took Yoko slightly by surprise. She showed no anger, merely studying her younger sister. The girl was far more perceptive than she had credited her for.
Perhaps... she too should shoulder a portion of the burden?
Kaito Shirogane paid no mind to the drama unfolding behind him. Halting directly beside Son Goku, he spoke flatly: "Mr. Son Goku, it seems my clumsy subordinate caused you quite a bit of trouble."
As Kaito Shirogane stepped forward, the subtle displacement of air around his stride shattered the jovial atmosphere of the trio's culinary debate. The words leaving his mouth caused Son Goku's brow to knit together instantly.
Though Son Goku generally presented a naive, simple-minded exterior, his intellect was by no means impaired; it was simply that his overwhelming might meant he rarely had to bother using his brain.
"The turmoil in those cities... you caused it?"
"Indeed. Merely a minor trick to keep you occupied elsewhere, Mr. Son Goku. As you well know, without such measures, competing against you for victory in the first stage would have been quite difficult."
Kaito Shirogane's unhesitating confession caused Toriko to frown. Luffy looked on in utter bewilderment, glancing back and forth between Son Goku—with whom he had hit it off immediately—and the martial artist Mercenary Tao, who gave him that deeply bizarre sensation.
Within the Straw Hat Pirates, Nami and the others snapped to high alert. The formidable martial artist calling himself Mercenary Tao was now radiating unconcealed hostility.
An explosive outbreak of violence seemed ready to detonate at any second.
Sanji and Zoro, weighed down by that stifling pressure, instinctively dropped into combat stances.
[Stage 1 of the World's Number One Gourmet Tournament has concluded. You have passed Stage 1.]
[Stage 2 initiated. Following the conclusion of the banquet segment, proceed with the draw to generate the Stage 2 tournament bracket.]
[Mission Details: The 12 contestants who passed Stage 1 will face off in single-elimination 1v1 duels until four remain, advancing to Stage 3.]
[Mission Rewards: Gourmet Cells (quality determined by placement), Special Ability * 1 (tier ranging from B to S+)]
"Commencing Stage 2 lottery draw now!"
Just as Kaito Shirogane openly bared his desire for battle, the second stage of the mission launched in tandem. Simultaneously, the referee panel behind them initiated the bracket draw.
This round retained the electronic drawing system. Beneath the digital display stood the imposing Midora with his cascading dark purple hair, alongside Ichiryu, currently the apex of the gourmet realm in this world.
From the immediate transition to 1v1 duels and the drastically scaled-up rewards, Kaito Shirogane could tell this tournament offered extraordinary windfalls, yet its difficulty was manifestly unsuited for Reincarnators at their current phase.
Even if someone miraculously clawed their way through Stage 2, Stage 3 would pit them directly against monsters like Midora and Ichiryu.
This was likely one of the core reasons Yoko sought to usher in the [Black King] to prematurely conclude the world.
The overarching events in this world were rapidly spiraling beyond the influence of the Reincarnators.
It would merely devolve into a lucrative harvesting ground for the higher-tier forces dispatched by the other two Spaces entering later.
From Yoko's strategic viewpoint, finding an opening to end everything by dragging the [Black King] onto the board to scour the field offered a remarkably favorable conclusion for both humanity and the Space.
Son Goku's expression hardened into pure seriousness. Kaito Shirogane felt as though a Star God had abruptly materialized before him; that sheer presence exerted an immense gravitational weight upon the fabric of space, instantly crushing the soaring, lethal aura swelling around his own body into utter nonexistence.
Kaito Shirogane—already powerful enough to warp physical reality purely through the exertion of his presence—saw his presence entirely snuffed out the moment Son Goku took him seriously.
His gaze drifted upward involuntarily, perceiving Son Goku as impossibly towering.
Standing before an anomaly of this scale, there was genuinely no discernible difference between himself, the Luffy standing behind him, or even Nami and Usopp aboard Luffy's ship.
Consequently, he was rendered utterly incapable of projecting an anomalous presence.
Realizing this, Kaito Shirogane's blood surged with unprecedented euphoria.
His heart began thumping with a violent, long-forgotten rhythm. Sparks of electricity arced across the surface of his skin.
Ki began awakening from the deepest recesses of his dormant flesh. Prisms of golden light surfaced from every corner of his anatomy, coalescing into a roaring, mountainous deluge in the span of a single breath.
The Physique of the Primordial Man took its stance upon the earth as Third Star Particles proliferated and surged without limit.
Son Goku similarly detected that towering pillar of Ki. It had nothing to do with conventional concepts of strength or weakness; within that Ki lay an unyielding, unbreakable conviction driving it to tear through every limitation in existence.
"Mr. Mercenary Tao... doing something like that just for the sake of a tournament isn't something I can easily forgive."
Listening to Son Goku's words, Kaito Shirogane found the naive implication—that an apology right now might still earn forgiveness—almost laughably absurd.
He threw his head back, golden Ki violently tearing through the surface of his flesh.
This was the first time Kaito Shirogane had experienced such a savage, untamed torrent of Ki without deploying high-multiplier Kaio-Ken.
Pitted against a lethal combatant who defied all metrics, his Martial God's Ultimate Intent was passively driving his Ki to the absolute biological limit of this vessel.
He could practically hear the agonized shrieks of the Symbiote Dragon within his frame.
"The combatants for Match One of Stage Two are..."
"Contestant Son Goku VS Contestant Mercenary Tao!"
As if providing an official footnote to the standoff between Son Goku and Kaito Shirogane, the black-clad referee announced the first pairing over the broadcast.
Beneath the colossal monitor, both Midora and Ichiryu kept their eyes trained on the two facing off in the corner of the island.
The long-haired martial artist in the dark green trench coat seemed half-real and half-illusory, his aura completely integrated with heaven and earth. He was undeniably a terrifying monster whose martial arts had reached the absolute apex.
Even with Ichiryu's vast experience, he had never heard of a prodigy reaching such heights at that age.
Midora, meanwhile, had his eyes locked entirely onto the figure with medium-length black hair. When that man had materialized out of thin air behind him earlier, the Gourmet Cells within his body had experienced a momentary shudder.
In an unknown sector of the cosmos, the starry expanse stretched beneath one's feet, while the sun hung inverted within the mirrored surface of space.
Countless streaks of light shot continuously through the surroundings; some burned with blazing intensity, while others drifted as fine as stardust.
This was the interstice separating Spaces and planes—the shadow cast into the Sea of Chaos by both realities.
To some degree, this was the shadow of "Truth," an illusory realm that should never have existed.
"That [Privilege] has reacted."
Within this world of shadows, several silhouettes stood suspended above the starry sea, their forms elongated and warped to the point where their true appearances could not be discerned.
At the sound of that voice, the others finally pulled their gazes away from the endless streams of light.
"The one chosen by that man used the privilege this quickly? It seems Ryo made the wrong choice once again."
A voice sighed, laced with cold disappointment.
"Perhaps they simply wish to borrow our strength to conclude an exceptionally difficult world. After all, to creatures like Reincarnators, nothing is more precious than survival~"
Voices murmured in disjointed discussion. Yet in the starry expanse beneath their feet, that burning beacon of light grew increasingly pronounced.
As if scorching through the protective membrane of the Shadow World they inhabited, radiant beams bored inward.
In an instant, the distorted, monstrous silhouettes within the Shadow World snapped back into their true forms.
Ranked among them stood the [Black Kings].
A one-armed Luffy bearing deep scars across his chest; a cold, divine Rhongomyniad gripping a holy lance; a Clark with a silver-and-black 'S' crest gleaming across his chest...
"Allow me to go. I sense a familiar presence."
Another one-armed Black King spoke, his voice wooden and flat.
Yet the one-armed Luffy spoke up at the exact same moment:
"That world... and that arm... Let me go."
Beneath the feet of the Black Kings, the aperture burned open by the privilege expanded rapidly. The forms of the Black Kings grew increasingly concrete, solidifying into their true visages as the imprints of their diverse powers began awakening piece by piece.
Once they departed the Shadow World and fell under observation, their absolute power would return. Correspondingly, their agonizing histories would flood back into their bodies like an inescapable curse.
Amidst suppressed, agonizing groans, several figures plunged through the aperture simultaneously, streaking as beams of light straight into that world.
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