Knights of the Digital World

Parad resonated with Emu. Although Emu didn't encounter any danger, he could actively infuse his Digimon with his own. Therefore, in just one day, Parad evolved from Hehemon to Yayamon, and then from Yayamon to Impmon. Moreover, perhaps due to Emu's Digimon, Impmon was very powerful, capable of fighting weaker Champion-level Digimon.

Captain Satsuma was still busy with matters related to Kurata. Arresting Kurata wasn't something that could be done casually. He needed to first uncover Kurata's backers to prevent Kurata from getting wind of it and fleeing beforehand. This required a lot of planning and negotiations with higher-ups. After all, Kurata was a genius scientist, and capturing him wouldn't be easy.

However, Captain Satsuma still took the time to give some instructions. He assigned Yamato Yoshino to one group and Emu to another, each responsible for dealing with the problem of Digimon invading the human world.

Because of Emu, Dai joined the DATS directly, avoiding much turmoil. Due to his impulsive nature, Satsuma didn't dare let him operate alone. Who knew what this reckless man might do? Therefore, they paired Dai with the steady and calm Yoshino. This was partly due to Yoshino's abilities, and partly because Yoshino and Dai had a good relationship.

As for Emu, a fighter capable of easily defeating Ultimate-level Digimon on his own, Satsuma naturally wouldn't leave him unused and immediately dispatched him. Emu was quite indifferent; since Mizumon was also busy, he figured he might as well take his partner out for some fun.

“Speaking of which, Parad, your evolutionary chain includes a cockroach beast.” Emu suddenly chuckled with a wicked grin.

Parad is quite strong, and most of the Digimon they've encountered so far are in the Rookie stage, with only one or two Champion-level Digimon they occasionally run into being particularly powerful. Take the Cockroachmon they encountered this time, for example; its strength was only average, but it possessed extremely strong vitality, making it take Parad a long time to defeat it and send it back to its Digi-Egg.

Therefore, Pallad has not yet evolved to maturity.

"Emu, don't disgust me." Parad shuddered, his two pointed ears bobbing. "Let's go back quickly! Miki-nee said they'll be releasing new clothes today, I wonder if they'll be pretty~"

Parad didn't inherit her tribe's mischievous nature at all; instead, she got along extremely well with Miki and Megumi, and was very interested in all kinds of clothes, cosmetics, and bags. Heaven knows why she liked these things; aside from resting and patrolling with Emu, she spent all her time discussing cosmetics with Miki and Megumi.

Because Parad's schedule was so packed, Emu didn't have a chance to let Parad evolve to its mature stage.

Speaking of which, Emu has already realized that the claim from her previous life that Digimon have no gender is pure nonsense. Take Angewomon, for example—who would believe she's not female!

However, the evolutionary chain of Digimon is too complex and numerous, often resulting in gender changes. For example, Jeanne d'Arcmon has a female appearance, but her evolved form, Sagemon, has a standard male appearance and voice. These gender changes are very troublesome to trace, so the official announcement simply stated that Digimon are genderless.

In reality, the gender that a Digimon evolves into is closely related to the Digimon's own perception. For example, if a Digimon identifies as male, and there are humanoid Digimon with male characteristics in its evolutionary branch, it will be the first to evolve into that branch, provided certain conditions are met. The same applies to females.

If there is no particular gender bias, the probability of evolving into a beast-type Digimon is higher, or it is completely random, and you will evolve into whatever you want.

Because Digimon's perception changes as they grow, bizarre occurrences like males turning into females and females turning into males can happen. Of course, it's also entirely possible that humans have no concept of gender, resulting in a purely random outcome.

Judging from Parad's current preferences, her understanding is clearly more feminine. It's unclear what she'll evolve into in the future. Speaking of the Impmon lineage, the most memorable one is definitely Beelzemon. Riding a motorcycle, wielding dual pistols—how cool is that! I just wonder if Parad will evolve into Beelzemon.

There were no more Digimon reacting in the vicinity, so Emu and Parad returned directly to the DATS base.

Upon entering the base, Parad disappeared in a flash; Emu knew she had gone to find Miki. Ignoring her, Emu delivered the Digi-Egg to the storage room and then went to the base's main hall.

As soon as Emu entered the hall, he saw Parad lying on the back of Miki's chair, his head close to Miki's, looking at a tablet, his tail wagging back and forth. Megumi also came over, tapping on the tablet with her finger.

Black and White Digimon sat at their desks, operating computers and monitoring Digimon activity. Every now and then, they would glance at the three on the tablet; even through the mask, Emu could sense a resentful aura emanating from them.

"Hey, Emu! You were faster this time! I told Yoshino to just go straight for it! That guy is weak!" As soon as Emu entered the hall, the electronically controlled door behind him opened and closed again, and the door seemed to be greeting him.

"Idiot! How can you be so reckless! All you do is charge in! Humph!" Shuna scolded, clearly annoyed. Teaming up with Daimon was a real headache for her. Daimon was now a hot-blooded idiot; his first reaction to encountering a Digimon was to punch it. Although this was his way of activating his Digimon spirit, seeing Daimon roaring and charging at Digimon always tested Shuna's heart.

Shuno glanced around the hall and spotted the trio tapping away on their tablet. She gave a cold snort to Da Leng, then quickly walked over to them and joined their discussion. Meanwhile, Lalamon sighed dramatically, flew over to Blackmon and Whitemon's heads, and patted them.

"Agumon, what's wrong with Yoshino?" Daimon asked curiously.

"Who knows? Big brother, I'm hungry. I want to eat the fried eggs that Lily makes," Agumon said, rubbing his belly.

"You bastard! I told you to show some respect for other people's mothers!" Daimon angrily tugged at Agumon's mouth.

"What?! It was Sayuri who said I could call her Sayuri! Big brother, you're so stingy!" Agumon retorted, pulling back his big mouth.

Emu leaned against the counter, holding a cup of tea that Turtlemon had brought him. He took a sip and clicked his tongue, saying, "This is youth~"

Just as the DATs members were fooling around as usual, the hall door opened. A handsome boy with blond hair and gray eyes, wearing a blue DATs team uniform, walked in. Beside him was a dog-like Digimon standing upright. The Digimon's main color was also blue, with red fists on its hands and a red bandana tied around its head, making it very cool.

This is the second male lead of the fifth part, Thomas H. Norshtaim, and his partner, Gaomon.

Looking at the chaotic scene before him, Toma's usually calm face showed a hint of confusion, as if she had come to the wrong place. Then, in a rather dazed manner, she took a few steps back, walked out of the command center, glanced at the sign at the entrance, and almost made Yongmeng spit out her tea from laughing.

After confirming that he hadn't gone to the wrong place, Thomas calmed himself down, walked back to the hall, and shouted loudly, "Thoma H. ​​Norshta, reporting for duty!"

Chapter 8, Yamato Toma

"Oh? Are you a new team member? Hahaha, I'm Daimon Dai, your senior. I'll take care of you!" Daimon laughed heartily and went to greet him.

Unlike the original story, Yamato and Toma did not have any conflict over the matter of retrieving the little fire beast; they were complete strangers. Therefore, Yamato did not feel that Toma was someone who had suddenly appeared and stolen his prey, and instead treated Toma with the demeanor of a senior.

Thomas had never met Da before and was unaware of Da's reckless behavior, so he didn't have any preconceived bad impressions of Da. Da's friendly treatment, on the contrary, improved his impression of Da. Well-mannered, Thomas bowed slightly in response to Da's warm welcome and said, "Thank you for your kindness. I am Thomas H. Norshtaim; you can call me Thomas."

"Ahhhh! Young Master Thomas!"

At that moment, Miki and Megumi screamed. They shoved the tablet into Parad's hands, excitedly ran to Toma, jostled him, and started chattering away:

"Young Master Thomas, when did you go back to Japan?"

"Yes, they didn't even tell us beforehand. It was so sudden, it gave me quite a fright!"

"Oh, I'm so happy, so happy!"

Seeing Miki and Megumi swooning over there, Parad, holding a tablet and wagging his little tail, walked over to Emu and asked curiously, "Emu, who is this guy named Toma? I've never seen him in DATs before."

“You’re only a few days old. But I’m not entirely sure either. I didn’t see Toma when I came here.” Yongmeng shook his head. He knew of Toma, and remembered that in the anime, Toma was a genius. But he couldn’t possibly remember the specifics clearly, so he decided not to show off and risk making a mistake.

"Huh? Isn't this guy a newbie? Why does he seem so familiar with him?" Da scratched his head. Having not clashed with Thomas, he had no intention of putting on airs; he was simply curious about Thomas's situation.

"Hmph, he's not like you! Toma joined the Japanese branch of DATS six months ago, he's your senior! Toma contributed to the management and transmission system for Digimon. It was the European region that applied to transfer Toma there for a while." Yoshino walked up to Dai, hands on her hips, and said.

"Yes, that's right! Young Master Thomas is a child prodigy! He graduated from Stockholm State University at the age of 13, and he was ranked first in his class!"

"Furthermore, the Norshtein family is one of Austria's most prestigious noble families. Young Master Thomas could be considered a prince charming!"

"Hehehe~"

Miki and Megumi also revealed Thomas's secrets, holding hands and laughing softly.

"Wow, that sounds amazing!" he exclaimed.

"It's nothing really. By the way, where's Captain Samo?" Toma coughed, a little overwhelmed by the flattery, and quickly changed the subject. Besides, he needed to report his return to Captain Samo.

Unlike the original story, neither Yaiba nor Toma made a bad impression on each other at the beginning, nor did they have any intention of arguing. So when Yai heard about Toma's various deeds, he would only marvel and praise them, without feeling uncomfortable or as if he were being overshadowed.

Thomas won't deliberately maintain a cold and aloof attitude, nor will he suggest kicking Daed out of the DATs like in the original work.

"As for the captain, I don't know what he's been busy with lately, I hardly ever see him," Shuna replied.

At that moment, the hall door opened again, and Captain Samo walked in looking somewhat tired.

“Captain Satsuma! Toma H. ​​Norshtay, you will continue to serve in the Japan branch from today! Please take care of me!” Toma stepped forward and saluted Captain Satsuma.

"Toma...you're back. I've been so busy lately that I've been a bit overwhelmed, and I'm sorry to have kept you waiting here," Captain Samo said, rubbing his temples.

"It's nothing, Captain, I just arrived recently."

"That's good. Hmm, it seems you've gotten to know the new team members?"

Yes. He was very friendly.

"Big brother! Come here!"

Captain Samo called over Big, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "So, you already know about Toma's situation?"

"Yes, Thomas is truly an amazing person!" Da praised sincerely.

Captain Samo noticed that the two got along well, smiled, and said, "You might not know this, but Toma's partner, Gaomon, is one of the top Digimon in DAT. Toma himself is also a very good fighter; you can learn a lot from him!"

"Really?" The freshman's eyes lit up when he heard that Toma's fighting skills were quite good. He excitedly said to Toma, "Toma, let's have a match! I'm the number one fighting gang leader in Japan!"

Thomas thought for a moment, and since he had nothing else to do, he said, "Alright, let's have a spar."

He laughed heartily, patted Tomma on the back, then hooked his arm around Tomma's neck and headed towards the fighting arena. The sounds of them talking to each other could be heard throughout the arena.

"Sir, could you please stop hooking your arm around me like that? It makes me uncomfortable walking. Besides, it's not very polite."

"Hahaha, Thomas, this is a symbol of friendship! We're in private now, so let's not worry about formalities!"

"It's a matter of personal manners... Never mind. Do as you please."

"Hahaha, Thomas, you're a pretty nice guy! Come visit me sometime! My mom and sister would love to have you. You're so handsome. Hahahaha."

"If I have the chance, I will visit your home."

"Of course! Aren't we teammates from now on? Hahaha!"

……

Because their relationship has changed significantly from the original story, Gaomon no longer maintains its arrogant and taciturn image as in the original, ignoring Agumon. The two Digimon, following behind their partners, also started talking to each other:

"Hello, my name is Agumon."

"I am Gaomon."

"Your headscarf looks really cool. I'd love to have one too, but I don't think I'm very good at tying it."

"You flatter me."

"Hehe, come visit my older brother's house next time you have the chance. Little Lily's fried eggs are super delicious!"

"Thank you for the invitation. If I have the chance, I will go with Er."

……

Watching the two figures walk away peacefully, Emu quickly took a sip of tea to calm himself down: "This deviates so much from the original story... Although they'll still seem to fight, the starting point has completely changed..."

In the original work, the rivalry between Yamato and Toma is considered a minor main storyline in the early stages. The process of the two going from enemies to partners to confidants and finally to close friends takes up a significant portion of the TV series.

Now, the two have skipped the hostile phase and embarked on a path of becoming close friends, essentially pushing their mid-to-late game development into the early game. Aside from some shortcomings in raw strength, Thomas's strategic thinking and decisive actions have significantly boosted their combat power to a whole new level!

"The butterfly effect... isn't necessarily all bad," Emu muttered to himself.

"Emu, are you going to watch their sparring? It looks really interesting!" Parad tugged at Emu's sleeve, full of curiosity.

“Go if you want. I have something to discuss with Captain Satsuma,” Emu said, patting Parad’s head.

"Okay, I'm off then. You hold onto the tablet for me!" Palad handed the tablet to Yongmeng and skipped off to watch the show.

"Captain, how's it going? Are they about to make their move?" Emu casually put the tablet aside, approached Captain Satsuma, and asked in a low voice.

"It'll be soon. Kurata has several secret laboratories in Japan, and we're locating them one by one. Once we've confirmed them all, we'll take him down in one fell swoop! Also, the Mitsubomon has returned to the Digital World and spread the word about Kurata. We're making those Digimon more vigilant so they don't get hurt by Kurata before the capture operation begins. This will also help clear up some misunderstandings." Captain Satsuma sighed deeply.

"Kurata must have secretly entered the Digital World to hunt Digimon before. Many Digimon are prejudiced against humans. Hopefully, this incident will change their minds. At least let them know that there are good people among humans, and not to have too many negative views about the human group."

Emu then noticed that the kudumon that had been coiled around Satsuma's neck was gone. Kudumon was, after all, one of the Royal Knights, and his words carried considerable weight among the Digimon, especially in front of Yggdrasil, where the Royal Knights held significant influence. After all, this was a group of traitors who would cut down trees at the slightest provocation. If Kudumon could change Yggdrasil's mind, the crisis of the fifth season would be largely averted.

"Captain, don't worry. Digimon are all very simple-minded. Once the misunderstanding is cleared up, prejudices will naturally disappear," Emu comforted her.

"Yes. I'm sorry, Emu, you'll have to wait a little longer. Don't worry, I will definitely keep my promise. The same goes for the Foxmon." Captain Satsuma apologized.

Originally, they should have done their best to repay Emu for providing such important information and fulfill his wish. However, Kurata's case was too important, so they had to ask Emu to make an exception.

Emu shook his head, about to say something, when Captain Satsuma's phone rang: "Hello? Yes, this is Satsuma... Yes, that's right... Oh, okay! I'll be right there... Okay, okay, no problem."

"Emmu, I have something to attend to and have to go now. Feel free to ask if you have any other requests, don't be shy!" Satsuma patted Emmu's shoulder twice with his large hand, then turned and hurried away.

"They're really busy. I hope they catch Kurata soon. Ah, my Ultimate Gacha cartridge." Emu watched Captain Satsuma hurry away and sincerely prayed. As long as Kurata wasn't caught, his Gacha cartridge would remain unclaimed.