Konoha's Mission Master

Yakumo waved his hand, conjuring a wooden cocoon that enveloped the two of them. He then took to the air and quickly caught up with Genos, who was flying.

After Yakumo caught up, Genos immediately sped up.

This is a test... of Yakumo's flight speed.

The two chased each other for a few minutes and then left the area of ​​Mount Jiyun, arriving at Genos's secret base, located on the outskirts of L City. The location of the base was basically similar to Yakumo's guess... it was underground.

With a thunderous roar, the mountain rocks split open, revealing a silver tunnel. The two flew directly into the tunnel; this stronghold was located... inside the mountain...

It was about 100 square meters in size, with only a metal platform. In the center were the parts for repairing Genos's body, several arms and legs, and even two brand new cores.

Genos relaxed after returning to base.

The blue flames returned to his body, and he strode towards... the fully mechanized maintenance platform, where white smoke rose and the metal floor slid open in two directions... a thick mechanical arm rose from the ground.

"I'll take care of some repairs first, please wait a moment."

After Genos finished speaking, he closed his eyes, and the four mechanical arms began to dismantle the remaining halves of the arms, and picked up the intact arms next to them and quickly reassembled them.

Before them lay a scene of remarkable scientific accuracy, leaving Masako Mori and Chiyuki Yuuki utterly astonished, as the sight was beyond their comprehension.

After waiting a few minutes, You Gu Qianxue ran to a corner and wielded her sword. This battle with the emerald green ancient tree had benefited her greatly, and she felt that she had taken a step closer to becoming a legendary master of swordsmanship.

"Let me help you to the side to rest for a while."

Yakumo pulled Mori Masako's arm and the two moved forward. It was clear that Mori Masako trusted Yakumo a lot, as she took a step without any hesitation.

After settling Masako in, Yakumo returned to the automated repair station to observe it. This level of mechanical creation did not exist in the original work; back then, Genos was injured and could only be repaired manually.

Before long, two mechanical arms regenerated from the ground and began repairing the damage to Genos's outer armor. The outer shell on his chest was directly removed, revealing the blue energy core.

At the same time, the robotic arm picked up the brand-new armor, pressed it onto Genos's chest, and performed extremely meticulous welding work in the gaps, with even the tiny screws being tightly installed.

Genos's arm was restored after being stimulated by countless electric sparks.

For the remaining gaps, some parts were directly replaced with brand new parts, while others were repaired by fixing the damaged areas.

Genos opened his eyes, looked at Yakumo, and slowly spoke.

"You seem to have a lot of questions."

Upon hearing this, Yakumo did not conceal his purpose but directly asked Genos for a question.

"I want to know what exactly happened fifteen years ago?"

Genos paused, a look of reminiscence crossing his face.

"Actually... I don't know either."

“Back then, a cosmic-level battle broke out. My master killed the cosmic wolf. Just as I was about to celebrate the victory, pure white light burst out, and we all lost consciousness.”

"After waking up again, my master was nowhere to be found."

"Soon afterward, many strange and monstrous people appeared all over the world. These strange people were already at the level of god-level monsters. In the end, many cities fell and became a paradise for monsters."

Furthermore... the proportion of ordinary people who became mutated became even higher. Later, human scientists discovered that mysterious cells that caused people to become freaks were mixed into the morning fog and rainwater in some cities.

Initially, the Hero Association tried its best to protect everyone, but when god-level monsters cooperated with each other, a great war broke out between them and the association.

In that battle…S-class heroes suffered heavy casualties, and A-class heroes were nearly wiped out. Left with no other option…the Hero Association negotiated with the leader of the god-level monster, ceding twelve cities.

"Wait a minute, if the monster has the ability to wipe out all the heroes, why would it choose to negotiate?" Yakumo discovered something he couldn't understand.

“The dominant force in the world right now is the monsters, but they seem to have some concerns. Apart from a few who have great hatred for humans, the other god-level monsters will not take the initiative to attack,” Genos replied.

This means that, due to some kind of limitation, the monsters cannot eliminate humanity, or even reduce the human population to a certain fixed number.

The monster needs humans to live...

Otherwise... something unknown will happen.

"Outside the area ruled by monsters, do humans live a very comfortable life?"

“That’s right. Even in the human area, there have been no humans who have been mutated into monsters for many years, as if mutation has been far away from humans.”

Yakumo's face showed a thoughtful expression. When humans are in a comfortable state, no longer attacked by monsters, and their living standards have greatly improved, will they still be vigilant in times of peace?

The truth I learned from Genos was far beyond my imagination.

"So what is the Hero Association's current view on monsters?"

"The Hero Association has now split into two parts, with some advocating for a friendly alliance with the monsters and ceasing to launch attacks."

"The other half thinks that the monsters should be eliminated."

Yakumo instantly understood that this was like the pro-war faction versus the peace faction, or the hawks versus the doves.

"No, no, no, the other half believes that humans should actively integrate into the ranks of monsters to gain a longer lifespan and... a stronger vitality."

"Have these people all lost their minds?" Yakumo asked, puzzled.

Most weirdos are mutated because of their twisted minds. These people have lost their humanity, become impulsive and violent, and crave killing.

In Yakumo's view... becoming a monster is like an incomplete evolution; it's astonishing that someone would abandon their identity as a human being for such an incomplete evolution.

"The allure of increased lifespan... is hard to resist."

"Of course, that's not all. The eccentric ruler of Y City is called Angel."

"It is inherently friendly to humans and has the ability to transform people into subordinates."

While transforming into a monster, one doesn't lose their humanity, and their appearance becomes even more handsome. Therefore, most of the humans who choose to join the monsters are those who have pledged allegiance to the Angel King.

"I see... So everyone will be transformed?"

"No, there are about three thousand spots each year."

Now Yakumo could understand those people's thoughts a little better.

If all it takes to lower one's head and forget hatred is to gain a long life and great power, how many people can maintain their true nature?

It seems that... there are roughly three types of weirdos.

Attacking humans, neutral, friendly to humans.

Based on this analysis, the Nature King hates humans, while the Bone King might be neutral, but his attitude towards humans... is simply to treat them as commodities.

So... was that angel king really acting out of kindness?

If monsterization is an incomplete form of evolution, then the Angel King must have given us a more complete evolutionary model.

However, this model must also have certain limitations.

"Would the Angel King be so kind?" Yakumo asked doubtfully.

"Of course not... Our analysis suggests that the Angel King needs people's faith, or rather... devouring faith can enhance her abilities."

Upon hearing this, Genos replied with a hint of helplessness.

Even though many humans know that the Angel King's motives are impure.

But what does mere faith matter when life spans hundreds of years? When the Angel King proclaimed that believe in me and you will have eternal life, some people in the human realm were already secretly practicing faith.

The closer one gets to death... the more afraid one becomes of death.

"So which category do you belong to?" Yakumo asked.

"I am a hero."

Genos answered, his expression turning serious.

"Have you been here for a long time?" Yakumo continued to ask.

“I haven’t returned to the Hero Association for five years.”

"Back then, I was responsible for guarding L City and protecting its safety, but I was lured away by the King of Nature."

"Overnight, L City was completely wiped out!!"

When Genos got to this point, the golden light inside his eyes became blinding, and Yakumo could clearly sense the anger in his heart and the surging hatred for the Nature King.

It was hatred that led to five years of uninterrupted fighting.

No wonder Genos had that expression when the Nature King died—a mixture of disbelief and relief.

Unfortunately... Yakumo only got some answers, but the biggest question deep in his heart remained unanswered.

That is... the whereabouts of Saitama, the world's strongest fighter.

If he hadn't disappeared, the world wouldn't be like this.

When his physical body descended into the world of One Piece, it proved that the so-called "duplicate world" is a real world.

So... what exactly happened in this world?

Of course, there is another problem.

That's why the monsters don't completely wipe out humanity, but instead deliberately maintain this special balance.

Since Genos is alive, then the heroes he knows might also be alive... The truth remains to be explored in the future.

…………

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Chapter 381 Deciding to Join Forces

The mechanical secret room, Genos's house.

After obtaining the information he wanted, Yakumo agreed to discuss the next plan with Genos the next day, and then built three small huts with blood-red vines at the edge of the metal platform.

Yukotsu Chiyuki was still engrossed in practicing her swordsmanship when Yakumo helped Mori Masako to the hut and spoke softly.

"Don't worry, your vision will be restored by 8 pm tomorrow. I'll take care of you during this time."

"With you by my side, I'm not afraid of anything."

Mori Masako held Yakumo's arm. Although she couldn't see Yakumo's face, the feeling of their hearts being connected was incredibly real.

After receiving that gift, she could clearly sense Yakumo's emotional changes, but she kept it as a little secret to herself.

Suddenly, Masako Mori leaned closer to Yakumo, and a fresh, delicate fragrance instantly filled her nostrils. She whispered something in Yakumo's ear.

"When that giant green tree died, its constitution continued to grow stronger."

This was a secret that couldn't be known by anyone, which is why Masako Mori whispered in Yakumo's ear, indicating that they could gain something after forming a team.