Nobita's Time Heist

"Heh... Hahahaha..."

Normally, Izumi is a very reserved person, always treating others with the gentleness of a spring breeze, making it difficult to discern his true emotions. It's also extremely rare to see him laugh so heartily like this, and it's a pity there were no acquaintances of his around, otherwise, seeing him like this would have been quite a surprise.

As if seeking revenge, he took a vicious gulp of his energy drink, rubbed his temples to force himself to clear his head, and sneered, "You underestimated him, didn't you?"

"You don't understand Nobi-kun, but that's not your fault. In fact, very few people really understand him. Doraemon may understand him, but he's not around right now... Shizuka, Suneo, Gian... They go on adventures with Nobi-kun from time to time and have a bond of friendship that goes through thick and thin together. But it's precisely because of this bond that their relationship is so close that they can only see Nobi-kun's shining strengths and his obvious weaknesses."

"Nobi-kun is a guy who goes crazy once he sets his mind on something. Let me give you a simple example..."

"He's the kind of person who would jump out of an airplane and embrace the sea of ​​clouds."

"Actually, you sensed it a long time ago... right? You realized you'd fallen for my trap, but at first you didn't take it seriously. However, after figuring it out, you became increasingly anxious. In the next few dozen moves, you made frequent mistakes. Although it was supposed to be to wear me down, you didn't organize a single decent attack. You could say you made a series of blunders. This shows that your mind wasn't really on the game at all."

"And now, judging from your expression, the team you sent out to intercept Nobita should have been completely wiped out, right? Judging from your confident demeanor just now, you must have dispatched some very capable subordinates. I estimate that, apart from Ootengu, there should be no one else. The fact that Ootengu is dead shows that Nobita's side still has the ability to resist."

"The deadline has long passed. Your prized spell has probably been cracked by someone else, hasn't it?"

……

"You're so clever it's almost annoying, Dekisugi Hideaki." Hyakume-o took the opportunity to glance at the Go board. The white stones were clustered together, tightly packed and not scattered. His black stones, though scattered in a few scattered spots, were always lacking that final push, failing to strike at the opponent's vitals. The outcome of this game was already clear in his mind.

There are forty minutes left until the agreed ten hours.

The hand holding the chess piece trembled slightly.

"Snapped!"

He slammed the chess piece onto the board with a loud crack, almost breaking it. This action also holds special significance in the game of Demon God Chess.

A hand emerged from the vase, bent a few times, and extended towards the Hundred-Eyed King, slightly opening its grip. The Hundred-Eyed King looked resentful, but could only reluctantly grasp it. Instantly, a cold voice entered his mind, asking, "Does the player wish to concede?"

"Yes!"

"According to the agreement, if one player resigns, the other player is automatically declared the winner. Congratulations to Earthling Dekisugi Hideaki! According to the rules, you have won this game. Ta-da!

A strange melody rang in Dekisugi's ears. He had struggled for over nine hours, his nose bleeding, before finally managing to hold on until victory. The breath he had been holding in finally dissipated, and his blood rushed back to his head. He felt a wave of darkness wash over him, and he nearly fainted. But he managed to regain his composure and grasped the large, bluish-purple hand that had emerged from the vase and was now outstretched towards him.

His palms were icy cold, as if they had been pricked and bled by the splinters in his skin again, but this time, Dekisugi felt incredibly excited—an experience he rarely had. Because almost nothing he did went against his wishes, he rarely felt this kind of exhaustion.

"According to the rules set before the start of this game of Demon God Chess, at this moment, the loser shall fulfill his promise to the winner."

The entire process was completely automated; with a simple handshake, there was absolutely no possibility of denial. Before long, a line of text was etched deeply into Dekisugi's mind, as if carved by an axe. This was the weakness that Hyakume-oh feared most, and now, it was presented to Dekisugi without reservation.

"I see, no wonder... Nobi-kun's sword strike didn't hurt you..."

"This round of Demon God Chess has ended." A voice, like an announcement, came from the vase. In a flash, countless hands emerged from the vase's mouth, each grasping a chess piece. Disorganized yet orderly, they collected the pieces back into the vase. In an instant, the numerous chessboards surrounding the two players folded and were reassembled, becoming part of the vase itself.

There was nothing left to separate Dekisugi and Hyakume-oh.

"Congratulations, Earthling Izumi Kizuki, for taking a precious victory from me. If all Earthlings possessed your intelligence, I would really need to seriously reconsider the Hyakki Yagyō (Night Parade of One Hundred Demons)." Hyakume-ō said with his usual disdainful tone, "Unfortunately... even among your own kind, you are already considered outstanding, aren't you?"

"What do you want to say?" Dekisugi asked coldly.

“The game is over, and I’ve lost; I won’t deny that. You do understand the rules very quickly, and you’re very quick-witted. Having someone like you around has always been an obstacle to my plans. Especially… now that you know my weakness, the threat is even greater.”

He slowly raised his palm, and in the palm without any lines, a dark torrent was slowly gathering.

"As I just said, the end of the game means the end of our agreement, and we've returned to being just 'enemies'. Originally... I was planning to extend an olive branch to you, but you're just too clever, so clever that even if you really surrendered, I wouldn't be too at ease."

"So, let's just accept our fate."

His right hand moved slightly upward and rested on Dekisugi's forehead.

"Don't worry, this time, I'll make sure you're dead."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Even if he couldn't defeat this young man on the chessboard, he could still use more realistic methods to erase him from the world. History is written by the victors, and everything the loser leaves behind is merely what the victors allow to be made public. Having spent many years navigating the cosmos and witnessed countless similar scenarios, he was well aware of this principle.

More importantly, Dekisugi has now made him feel somewhat wary. Letting such a clever person stand on the other side would only create more trouble for him.

……

"boom------!!!"

A cannon shot.

Before the Hundred-Eyed King could even look up, a steel bullet, as sharp as a meteor, struck him in the chest, sending him flying dozens of meters away with a deafening sonic boom.

The artillery fire, which had paused for a while, resumed. Looking up, the fortress atop the distant hill had somehow doubled in size, resembling a crouching steel behemoth. Its body was covered with a dense array of cannon barrels, like the barbs on the beast's back. Now, as if receiving a command, the long-silent fortress unleashed a barrage of fire, weaving a vast net that relentlessly rained down on the Hundred-Eyed King.

Though not fatal, he still had to raise his hand to block. Xiao Fu cleverly chose a kinetic weapon; even if it couldn't harm him, the kinetic energy was conserved and could still serve as a "repulsion" effect. Under the relentless pressure of the barrage, Hundred-Eyed King was forced to raise his hand to block, and was quickly forced to retreat.

"I said it all..."

The bullet passed right past Dekisugi without harming a hair on his head.

"You underestimate us!"

Chapter 312: The Value of a Military Minister

"That Suneo guy, he really knows how to cause trouble..." Fat Tiger swallowed hard, looked around, and rarely showed such a frightened expression.

After a short absence of just one night, or at most nine hours, this small fortress doubled in size, transforming into a true fortress.

The city's defenses, instilling a sense of security, were adorned with a complex network of guns and cannons, like the patterns on a circuit board, etched into the earth, surrounding them completely. Men, especially men his age, are at an age where blood boils and interest in weaponry is piqued. Xiao Fu, aspiring to be a fashion designer since childhood, naturally possessed a keen eye for aesthetics. He only devised design concepts; the actual execution was entirely entrusted to the [Invention Machine]. And these steel behemoths, created in accordance with its design philosophy, undoubtedly possessed a magnificent aesthetic. Not only the subatomic orbital bombardment standing motionless atop the city defenses; but also the falcon-shaped fighters poised for takeoff on the fortress's helipad; even the combat armor being meticulously maintained by several octopus-shaped robots—everything looked pleasing to the eye.

"..." Shuten-dōji's mouth opened slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but he couldn't find the right words. Although he had been repeatedly amazed by the technological achievements in Nobita's hands, this was the first time he had seen them presented in such a direct "force" way.

If you think about it carefully, with such military strength, this group of people could completely dominate the human world.

Thinking about it, she suddenly felt a chill down her spine.

"As expected of our Minister of Military Affairs, he has been a great help, just like before."

Only Nobita wasn't surprised by this scene; on the contrary, he was quite pleased and nodded. When he assigned this task to Suneo, he had anticipated this development. They had grown up together since childhood, and he knew Suneo's personality best. Asking him to confront the enemy head-on would only result in him verbally threatening to back down, but he had never truly given up. At most, he could come up with some unexpected and clever ideas, but it was difficult for him to fully realize his talents.

What truly allows him to shed his burdens and maximize his value is military logistics.

In the history of Japanese colonization 6 years ago, a small south-facing hillside was designated as a campsite. To transform the campsite into a habitable place, Doraemon assigned different tasks to everyone. Among them, Suneo was given the task of "Minister of Agriculture and Forestry," in charge of the group's food supply. He lived up to expectations, managing a large area of ​​farmland meticulously.

To him, this fortress, which was almost a miracle and had achieved complete self-sufficiency, was just a large piece of farmland.

Shuten-dōji finally felt more confident about the course of the war: no matter what, with such a fortress, the chances of successfully defeating Hyakume-ō were much greater. Even if things didn't go well, they could at least retreat to the fortress and hold off the army of the Hundred Demons. In just one night, the size of this place had doubled; if they could hold it for a few days, they'd surely overturn the demon army.

Hey everyone!

A moment later, Xiao Fu's smug voice came from the side. He was probably very satisfied with his work, and he even wore sunglasses as he swaggered out. As if he were performing some trendy dance, he twisted his neck and spread his arms as he walked towards the crowd.

Before he even reached him, Fat Tiger rushed up to him with delight and gave him a big bear hug.

"Ugh, Fat Tiger... It's too tight, too tight, I can't breathe..."

"You're really something, Suneo! Such a huge fortress, and all of these, and these, and these too!" Gian grabbed Suneo's shoulder and spun him around, then swept up all the unparalleled divine weapons near and far, exclaiming in amazement, "Did you build all of this by yourself?"

“That’s not quite accurate.” He slipped out of Fat Tiger’s arms like a water snake, smugly smoothing his three-pointed bangs, his voice rising higher than usual. “I’m just a designer, if you really put me in charge of this, how long would it take me to build such a big fortress?”

"Ta-da! This is my newly developed tool, the 3D self-detection construction robot!"

He waved his hand, and an adorable, clumsy octopus robot flew down from the sky, making a gurgling sound, and gently rubbed against Suneo's hand twice. Its electronic screen displayed a simple "smiley face" expression, seemingly very affectionate towards its creator.

"I made a request to the [Invention Machine], hoping to invent an automated robot that can read any blueprint and construct the required parts on its own. From a chip on a weapon to the 'flint' of an entire bombardment cannon, everything can be built by itself, and it can even replicate its companions without limit, saving me a lot of effort."

“oyagdwn——?”

Meijin looked at the self-built robot, curiosity welling up in his blue optical glasses. He tried to communicate with it using mechanical language. But the robot seemed to be afraid of him, nimbly circling in the air before rejoining a flock of flying birds to continue with other production tasks.

“It’s because the sources of their intelligence are different.” Asur seemed very interested in this detail. “These little robots can be said to be precisely mimicking functions similar to emotions, while the US dollar… has a ‘soul’ that is truly very close to that of humans. The former tries to scan the source of the logic that constitutes the latter, but cannot analyze its essence, and thus falls into confusion.”

"Speaking of which... I also prepared something nice for Meijin, come on!" Suneo waved his hand triumphantly, "Bring it up quickly!"

Several self-built robots, their tentacles pulling a large box of parts, landed on the ground with a resounding thud. Meijin went over to look and immediately exclaimed excitedly, like a little boy who had found his favorite toy. Countless pistols and cannons hung in the storage box, all designed to the proportions of Meijin's robot. He removed them, finding that each part was readily available and usable without any obstacles.

"The final battle is just around the corner, and I'm thinking it's time we upgraded our weapons." Suneo was incredibly proud, being able to do what he did best and also help Nobita. Actually, he'd always craved recognition, and now he was beaming with joy, practically jumping for joy. "I've already planned the tactics, just waiting for everyone to arrive so we can strike! This time, we're definitely going to send that guy back to his hometown!"

"Oh, right, Suneo."

The words "everyone is here" jolted Da Xiong from his smug satisfaction at the ample military supplies, and he hurriedly asked, "When I left, was Xiaoshan still..."

……

"Nobi-kun!"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

As soon as Xiaoshan was mentioned, his voice came from behind, which made Da Xiong breathe a sigh of relief.

But as he turned around, his heart, which had just calmed down, suddenly rose again.

"Xiaoshan?! Are you...are you alright? Are you hurt?"

"No, no, don't be so nervous." Dekisugi waved his hand, and without him making any move, the wheelchair that was sitting down seemed to sense his thoughts and moved forward. "It's just that my legs are a little weak. Honekawa-kun has been checked with the equipment, and there's nothing seriously wrong with his body. It's probably just a little aftereffect from overworking his brain."

“Xiaoshan…” Da Xiong squatted down and took his hand, not knowing what to say for a moment.

Faced with a dead end, the one who volunteered to stay behind and cover his retreat became his sworn brother from that moment on.

"Let's put that aside for now, Nobi-kun. I received some important news from Hundred-Eyes King!"

Chapter 313: Fox Fairy Divination

In the war room, a holographic projection displayed a huge, viscous, unidentified object. It looked like gelled petroleum jelly, except its surface was covered with countless eyes. Each eye was constantly moving, scrutinizing its surroundings. Just looking at this lump was disgusting enough, but the countless lifelike eyes on it made it doubly repulsive. Shizuka and Narniadis immediately looked uncomfortable, swallowing hard to barely suppress their revulsion.

"This is……"

"This is the true form of the Hundred-Eyed King. What we saw before was merely a disguise he created," Dekisugi explained. "I obtained this information through a game of Go."

He briefly explained the rules of the Demon God Chess game, immediately astonishing everyone once again. A game with such numerous and complex rules, yet this beginner had withstood the pressure of a veteran player for ten hours, ultimately managing to force him to resign. This small victory seemed to represent more than just Dekisugi's triumph; it was a resounding slap in the face from humanity to this arrogant alien race from beyond the heavens.

"It was just good luck. My goal was to hold out for ten hours, not to beat him in the first place. I made a few mistakes at the beginning and almost got wiped out in one fell swoop, but fortunately I managed to hold out in the end." Dekisugi waved his hand, glossing over the ten hours of sword fights and back-and-forth battles with one sentence, and then said, "The point is, what you saw was actually fake."

"Fake?" Fat Tiger frowned slightly. "He's not actually that big?"

"These eyes, along with the title 'Hundred Eyes,' are a disguise, a lie he fabricated to deceive his opponents. In reality, he doesn't have that many eyes. These conjured eyes are merely to complement the 'Killing with Eyes' spell, making all enemies mistakenly believe that his true power lies in his pupil technique."

"The best place to hide a leaf is in the woods."

"I understand..." Nobita was the first to react, "Out of so many eyes, only one is real!"

"The title 'Hundred Eyes' is mostly used for bluster. In fact, he is an alien race called the 'Sky Eye Clan,' who are born with only one eye. That eye is particularly magical; it can connect to the multiverse and continuously draw energy from it, which is then emitted as a weapon in the form of rays. It is considered their racial talent."

Dekisugi waved his hand lightly, removing the huge mass of black slime from the projection, and said, "The power of the ray is indestructible, with a very high energy level, capable of easily melting most substances we can understand. If he uses this move, we must not take it head-on."

"But, conversely, his fatal weakness also lies in this eye. As long as we find his third eye and destroy it, he will not survive."

"Conversely, if we don't attack this eye, then no matter how much firepower we use, it's useless..." Shuten-dōji suddenly realized, "No wonder."

"Not necessarily," Xiaofu added. "He has a physical form, which means kinetic weapons are effective against him. Even if a shell hits him, it can still knock him back with kinetic energy. If there are enough shells, wouldn't we be able to control him from start to finish?"

"The premise is that he's willing to maintain his human form to fight us." Dekisugi tapped the corner of the control panel in the war room and said softly, "If he reveals his true form, things will be different. His enormous size would render most attacks ineffective in front of him, and he could still use that deadly spell to bombard us. Once we alert him, this is almost inevitable."

"We've come this far largely thanks to that guy's arrogance and conceit."

……

It may sound harsh, but that's the reality of the situation.

Before the battle even began, this alien clearly expressed his disdain and contempt for Earth's creatures, giving Nobita's side some breathing room in some key decisions. But after all that, even if he's still arrogant, he should have realized the threat these humans posed and will undoubtedly be on high alert. It would be too hasty to place all hope on a carelessness in the enemy's character.

"Even though we know his weakness, we still can't seem to make any progress." Fat Tiger scratched his head, looking very troubled. "We can't win unless we blind him in one eye. But apart from that eye, we don't seem to have any other weaknesses... Sigh... It's rare that Kosugi got us this information..."

A casual remark, however, struck like lightning, instantly shattering Nobita's worries.

"Fat Tiger, you're a genius!" He grabbed Fat Tiger's wrist and shook it up and down, leaving the other looking completely bewildered. "Thanks to your reminder, I've got an idea!"

"If he has no weaknesses, can't we just create one for him?"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

In the deep, dark halls of the White Bone Palace, King Hundred Eyes sat alone on his throne, his expression shifting between light and shadow, far from the relaxed and carefree demeanor he had shown at the beginning.

After several rounds of combat, although he still didn't think he would lose the final battle, he felt inexplicably uneasy. How had that human, who should have been certain to die, survived? That alone was enough to make him feel something was amiss.

Before trouble strikes, there's often a premonition. There's always a sense that something is different from usual, but most people will forcefully suppress this fleeting feeling of unease because they might have to rush somewhere or do something. Humans are like this, so the intuition of the magical Tianmu Clan is even stronger. Before the battle even began, he already smelled the scent of defeat—although rationally, he couldn't fathom how, even knowing his weaknesses, a few weak humans could deliver a fatal blow to him.

"hiss……"

The sound of the wall melting.

A pure white fox, spotless and surrounded by wisps of pale ghostly fire, leaped lightly through the wall and entered. Despite being a beast, her face displayed a hint of human cunning. She narrowed her eyes slightly, jumped onto the table, and her three large tails swished behind her from time to time.

"Didn't you say you didn't need my help? I thought you could keep acting all high and mighty like that." The fox spirit yawned lazily and mocked, "A mere human won a game of chess against you without any sense, and you're already backing down?"

“Shut up…” King Hundred Eyes glared at him irritably. Although his eyes were sewn shut with gold thread and were half-open, his glare had no intimidating power. “I don’t have much time left. Let’s get started.”

“That won’t do.” The fox spirit shook her fluffy head, her pointed ears almost leaving afterimages, and then comfortably sprawled on the table, saying slowly, “I’ve never heard of a fox spirit being asked to work for free. Even when high school students holding a summer courage contest summon me, they’ll at least leave a token snack on the table. You specifically asked me to come here, surely not to answer those pointless questions like ‘who likes whom’ or ‘who has a crush on whom’?”

"Tsk..."