In just one day, the Gotsumon had built several stone houses.
The stone castle wasn't finished yet, so Aomori's group found a random spot where Akihiko Kayaba used his programming to create a soundproof, enclosed space to exchange information.
Akihiko Kayaba spoke first about the attack on Ore Town: "Not long after you left, Digimon launched an attack. Based on their composition, they seemed to be a force belonging to Iron City. We spotted them early and followed the plan to hide in the caves. There were no casualties on our side."
"After a wave of bombardment, four other Dark-attribute Digimon appeared. The two sides fought and both took losses. Once they were nearly exhausted, I detonated the explosives, and they were almost completely wiped out. Later, Ditto and I finished the job, hunting them down one by one. In this battle, we had zero casualties, and the enemy was completely annihilated."
Aomori nodded repeatedly. "You did well."
Next, he briefly described the battle on Myotismon's end: "It was basically King against King, General against General. Once I defeated Myotismon, the rest was settled."
"Besides that, there are spoils of war." Aomori pulled the glowing Digivice from his clothes.
"Master, Master, what is this? It feels so familiar," Salamon said, a strange feeling rising in her heart as she looked at the Digivice.
Darkrai, disliking the piercing light, hid back in Aomori's shadow.
BlackAgumon squinted as well, but being competitive, it said nothing and endured the brightness alone.
Akihiko Kayaba rubbed his chin, seemingly interested in the object, while the others just watched curiously.
"This is an important item you lost." Aomori held the Digivice in his palm and slowly offered it to Salamon.
The closer the Digivice got to her, the brighter the light it emitted became.
"It was originally mine?" Salamon curiously poked the Digivice with her paw, and it immediately stopped glowing.
"Eh? Master, Master, did I break it?" Salamon pulled her paw back, looking afraid of being scolded.
"No, it doesn't break that easily." Aomori took the Digivice back and said, "Salamon, I'm going to run a little experiment. Don't panic, no matter what happens."
"Okay!" Salamon nodded obediently.
In the original story, Digivices were custom-made for the DigiDestined based on the precious qualities they possessed: Courage, Friendship, Love, Sincerity, Reliability, Knowledge, Hope, and Light.
And Salamon represented Light.
Aomori also represented Light; it felt almost like destiny.
"So, let's see if we can make Salamon Digivolve."
He activated his Light Breathing and slowly channeled the power of Holy Light into the Digivice in his hand. The device glowed once more.
Simultaneously, the Holy Ring around Salamon's neck emitted a dazzling light. Under the mutual radiance, the others couldn't help but close their eyes.
Salamon blinked; she didn't find the light piercing. On the contrary, it felt warm and comfortable.
This scene lasted for a long while. Seeing no sign of Salamon Digivolving, Aomori stopped the Holy Light. The Digivice and the Holy Ring immediately returned to normal.
"It didn't work?" Aomori fell into thought.
Initially, the partner Digimon of the DigiDestined only Digivolved because the children were in danger. Did he need to be in danger himself?
No, Aomori immediately rejected that idea. He needed to find the root cause.
Digivolution was easier in dangerous situations because emotions were more likely to fluctuate. Therefore, the fundamental reason for Digivolution was their emotional resonance, the connection of their hearts; in other words, their bond.
"Bonds, huh."
This was a term that appeared with incredible frequency in anime, and Aomori was more than familiar with it.
Did a bond exist between him and Salamon? Of course it did!
With a smile, Aomori held up the Digivice. He extended his mental power into it, but this time, he injected the precious feelings he had shared with Salamon since they met.
Ping, ping-ping-ping!
Accompanying the pleasant sound effect, small squares appeared on the tiny screen of the Digivice, extending continuously like a conveyor belt.
At that moment, Salamon's body lit up, and her form began to change.
When the light faded, Salamon had become a Digimon standing on two legs.
"Wh-What happened to me?" Looking at her gloved hands, "Salamon" spoke in confusion, her originally high-pitched puppy voice now sounding more mature.
"You Digivolved. You've gone from Rookie to Champion level. You are now called Gatomon." Pleased that the experiment was a success, Aomori answered.
"Oh, right!" A slightly calmed Gatomon found the relevant information in her memories and intuitively mastered several special moves.
After evolving from a dog into a cat, even her personality seemed to change. Gatomon bared her small teeth and gave BlackAgumon a sly smile. In a few quick movements, she darted to its side, easily lifted it up, and tossed it into the air.
"You're always being mean to me! Let's see how you like a little lesson!"
BlackAgumon wasn't the type to take a hit without fighting back. It adjusted its position in mid-air and opened its mouth to blast a fireball at Gatomon.
"Can't hit me! Can't hit me! Nye nye nenye nye!" Gatomon nimbly dodged the small fireball and jumped in front of BlackAgumon to make a face.
BlackAgumon's face grew even darker.
Aomori watched the scene with amusement and didn't step in to stop them. He also wanted to see how long Gatomon could maintain her first Digivolution.
Perhaps getting bored of playing with BlackAgumon, Gatomon soon turned her attention to Pidgeot, wanting to hop onto its back.
Pidgeot glanced at her, gave its massive wings a flap, and a sudden gust of wind sent Gatomon tumbling back the way she came, landing on the ground.
Suddenly, a shadow fell over her. Gatomon saw a "kind" smile filling her entire field of vision. Startled, her fur stood on end, and she performed two quick backflips to get away.
Feeling she had embarrassed herself, Gatomon stopped and huffed twice. "Ditto, I'm not afraid of you anymore! Take my Lightning Paw!"
She lunged forward, jumping in front of Yujiro-Ditto-Hanma and throwing a punch.
But Yujiro-Ditto-Hanma didn't back down. Muscles surged as its massive fist collided with Gatomon's tiny one. An incredible force traveled back from the small cat paw, and it was she who was pushed back half a step.
"Yay! I won!" Gatomon cheered, but before she could celebrate for long, a wave of weakness washed over her. She watched in surprise as her body reverted to Salamon.
"Only enough for one skill use?" Aomori stepped forward and picked up the exhausted Salamon.
"Master, Master... hungry," Salamon whined weakly.
"Digivolving consumes your stamina. Once your stamina is depleted, you revert to your Salamon form. So if you want to stay in that form longer, you'll have to train more," Aomori said, stroking her head.
"Mm!" Salamon nodded earnestly. That feeling just now had been amazing; she had a new source of motivation.
"Kayaba, I'll give the Digivice to you for research. See if you can replicate it." Aomori smiled at BlackAgumon. "We should get one for BlackAgumon too."
BlackAgumon scoffed. "I don't want a thing like that."
But its little tail behind it was wagging non-stop.
"Alright." Akihiko Kayaba nodded. As a key research member, he was carrying quite a few tasks.
"It's time to recruit more help."