Nobita's Time Heist

Musashi was standing atop one of the "hills," waving his hands and calling out loudly in his direction.

In an instant, all the clues that seemed off earlier connected.

"The Vicious Mountains aren't real mountains at all; they've been sleeping in the form of rocky outcrops for so long that layers of rock and trees have accumulated on them. Over the years, they've become like eight mountain peaks. No wonder the path we traversed using the travel ring was so winding... Turns out, we were walking inside them!"

"The 'great senior' that Musashi mentioned is none other than Yamata no Orochi, the leader of the three great demon kings in the Heian period legends!"

The drones in the air suddenly came to a halt, and the previously near-perfect fire coverage seemed to have been paused. After a moment, the drones that had been chasing the jeep turned around and flew away in unison, like worker bees guarding a hive. The fortress suddenly became deserted. If it weren't for the craters and burn marks all over the place, everyone would probably have thought that the thrilling chase had just taken place in a dream.

"So... the one fighting the Hundred-Eyed King... is Yamata no Orochi?" Suneo couldn't help but shudder. "No wonder there are exactly eight peaks on Mount Evil. To be honest, I felt something was off when we left; my back was always cold. Turns out, it was inside his body!"

"The drones have all flown out to join the battle, completely abandoning us. It seems that even by the standards of the Hundred-Eyed King, the Yamata no Orochi is still difficult to deal with, and he needs to mobilize the things we've built. This is an excellent opportunity for us!" Da Xiong seized this fleeting moment of opportunity and asked in a deep voice, "Suneo, you designed the fortress, is there any way to stop all the weapon systems from operating?"

"We'd rather destroy them all than let them become part of the enemy's fighting force!"

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.

"We've finally met. I've always been curious: you have eight heads but only one torso. Don't the different heads fight each other?" The wheel embedded beside the Hundred-Eyed King spun rapidly, much like a celestial body in constant motion. Accompanied by his cold laughter, black torrents floated and shifted on his body, threatening to swell into a colossal wave. "What if one head wants to eat, but another wants to sleep? Does it fight itself?"

The red earth plains were ground into dust by the hard, swirling scales, rising high into the air. Within this repulsive dust cloud, the snake-like eyes, like red lanterns, flashed a somewhat ferocious laugh. His voice was incongruous with his tall, fierce appearance.

"I'm curious too... You have so many eyes, but only one head. What if one eye wants to see the clouds in the sky, and another eye wants to see the ants on the ground? Will your eyeballs get tangled up like knots?"

……

A faint, eerie wind blew by, and the thick clouds on the horizon collided, forming a vortex-like cloud formation. Two great demons faced each other from afar, their intense demonic auras clashing together, almost unleashing tangible lightning. In an instant, the vast red earth continent, where everything with legs had fled, became completely empty.

"boom-----!!!"

The cannons simultaneously shifted their positions and opened fire on the Yamata no Orochi not far away. This fortress, built specifically for war, operated at full power, countless shells tracing straight, dazzling trajectories through the air, accompanied by piercing shrieks, tearing through the sky and weaving an incomparably magnificent net. Its sheer force caused the heavens and earth to tremble. The Yamata no Orochi's size meant it couldn't evade most of the firepower; in just the first second of firing, 99% of the attacks landed directly on its eight massive heads.

"……roar----!!"

It hurt more than I expected.

Having slumbered for centuries, the Yamata no Orochi's understanding of human weaponry was still limited to swords, spears, and firearms. They assumed that this fortress, which they had managed to construct, was at best comparable to a Heian period lord's castle and didn't take it seriously. Who could have imagined that times would change, that muskets would be replaced by cannons, and that weapons would undergo a complete upgrade?

In pain, his roar carried a hint of anger, like a raging dragon in the sea, stirring up dust and surging towards the fortress at a speed disproportionate to his massive body!

Chapter 320: In Full Swing

"Boom--!"

Despite the lasers and artillery fire, one of the Yamata no Orochi's heads burst through the air, opened its massive maw, and slammed it hard into the suspended body of the Hundred-Eyed King.

Its head features somewhat resemble those of the Mangshan spearhead viper, incredibly hard, and impact is an innate tactic for it. It whips its long body like a whip, tracing an arc, its head even faintly emitting a sonic boom. This impact forcefully knocks the Hundred-Eyed King down from its levitating state, creating an opportunity for further attacks.

"Roar----!!!"

Opening its gaping maw, the serpent unleashed a low growl completely incongruous with its serpentous nature. It opened its jaws, revealing two rows of massive, rock-like teeth, and after circling several times, it lunged at the Hundred-Eyed King's body! A sharp crack was heard, and a jet of oil-like black liquid spurted out. At the point of entry, the serpent's head twisted rapidly, tearing a chunk of the black, sticky substance away.

His movements are very similar to those of a python. He first wraps his body around his opponent, gradually applying the clamping force—most opponents die at this stage, crushed into pieces by the python's gradually shrinking body, and then become their meal.

But the Hundred-Eyed King was no ordinary creature. Its dark body, which resembled a fleshy Ganoderma lucidum, began to change, and its originally soft surface sprouted sharp spikes like a sea urchin.

From an ordinary person's perspective, these black spikes were the same size as the forest itself, each one piercing through the scales of the Yamata no Orochi, penetrating its body and continuously injecting black venom. The Yamata no Orochi seemed to sense something; its vertical pupils slightly dilated, and its massive body paused for a moment. In those few short seconds, all the subatomic orbital bombardments in the fortress adjusted their angles, aiming at the snake's head that was clamped onto its flesh.

……

There was no earth-shattering sound of gunfire, just a flash of light, and the light and heat engulfed everything. The snake head that had bitten the Hundred-Eyed King was simply "evaporated," as if it had been gently wiped away with an eraser, leaving a smooth wound without a trace.

"These weapons were originally meant to be used against me, but unfortunately they're useless against me. However, they have given me a hint." A mocking voice came from inside the giant fleshy Ganoderma lucidum, as countless eyes narrowed simultaneously. "If we can use them properly, they could be quite a sharp sword. They would be more than enough to deal with someone like you who hasn't yet transcended the mortal body."

"Give up, old man. You were never my match to begin with. Now that I have these cannons, you're even less of a match for me."

Black tentacles sprouted from its flesh, growing out like vines, twisting and turning, and gradually binding the snake's body.

"The best solution is to submit to me now, so we can work together and accomplish great things. Don't let your hundreds of years of cultivation be wasted on me because of a moment of impulsiveness."

……

“Heh… ‘burial’…” The other heads shook. The snake’s face was hard, but the Hundred-Eyed King could still read a sneer in his expression. “At this point, you’re still thinking of me. I’m truly humbled.”

"But, a monster as ugly as me shouldn't go around scaring people. I should stay right here on this land where I was born..."

In the blink of an eye, the bleeding at the cut stopped instantly, and the surging flesh broke free of the membrane. Another brand-new head emerged, its tongue lolling out. Seeing this, the two surrounding heads lowered themselves, biting the membrane with their teeth and gently pulling to help it emerge. The new head was identical to the previous one, without even a trace of injury. Such powerful regenerative ability surprised even the Hundred-Eyed King.

"Let them continue to linger on in their wretched state!"

Before he finished speaking, he moved again, his abdomen rumbling and shaking as his eight heads simultaneously launched a surprise attack from the sides. Their massive maws opened, each biting into a piece, tearing open a wound in the seemingly flawless mass of fleshy Ganoderma with a teeth-grinding tearing sound. His attack was so swift; one second he was speaking, the next his teeth were already biting down, catching Hundred-Eyed King completely off guard.

He tried to mobilize the artillery beneath him, but found that the fortress beneath him was as if it were dead, and no matter how he tried to mobilize it, it did not respond to his calls.

"Varied……"

All eyes opened at the same time, and in an instant, he realized that he had made a huge mistake.

"Damn it, was it you guys again? Nobita Nobi—?!

……

"drink!"

The light of the knife flashed.

Musashi leaped from the head of the Yamata no Orochi, wielding his twin swords in mid-air, and delivered a vertical cross-shaped slash to the surface of the Hundred-Eyed King.

Like a bold and unrestrained poet of the ink-splashing school, he freely wielded his brush, writing a large "ten". However, to make this ultimate creature bleed with just two swords was still far too much to ask, even though Musashi's swordsmanship had reached its pinnacle. The biological difference between them easily negated this. His task was simply to find the enemy's biggest "weak point" based on the experience accumulated from countless battles.

And on this flaw, he left his unique mark.

"Huh?" For a moment, King Hyakume hesitated slightly, still unable to believe it. "I was actually... killed?"

Eight enormous mouths opened simultaneously, and something seemed to be repeatedly swallowing, spitting out, and compressing in the bottomless throat.

"Kong————"

Poisonous fog.

The compressed gas continuously spewed out from eight outlets, spraying onto the cross-shaped cut Musashi had made. Hyakume-oh had prepared for the impact, instinctively gathering his mass, but the anticipated explosion and intense heat did not materialize. The eight heads seemed to be merely spraying this pure black mist like fire extinguishers; so far, it didn't appear to be very destructive to the body.

Of course, this is only how it appears "at present".

The change in events began with a tiny spark.

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.

"Um?!"

The Hundred-Eyed King sensed something was wrong and was about to use his eye-killing technique when the Yamata no Orochi used its teeth as flints to ignite the vapor in a very scientific way.

"boom----"

In an instant, the highly concentrated mist ignited, transforming into a raging crimson fire that instantly engulfed the Hundred-Eyed King's body. Wherever the flames touched, every eye snapped shut in agony, for in that brief moment, the Hundred-Eyed King's prized spell was rendered useless.

The giant serpent was not satisfied with such a victory. It opened its eight huge mouths to their widest extent, and the mist it spewed out gradually narrowed and thinned. The flames coming out of its mouths were also compressed and gathered, gradually converging into a highly penetrating crimson-purple beam of flame. The eight serpent heads precisely controlled the position, so that all the beams fell on the same spot, accurately converging and quickly burning a large hole in its flesh.

"Hiss..."

The fire raged on, and the earth began to melt, losing its sharp edges.

"So that's how it is... Heh... An annihilating poisonous fire, huh? Not bad." Having been simultaneously blasted by eight heads, the Hundred-Eyed King's outer rings were already completely destroyed, but its body still waved its tentacles, showing a willingness to fight again. "Unfortunately, it's only an attack from a ground creature; it still lacks a bit of penetrating power. It's too early for it to hurt me..."

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.

"Zheng—!!"

The gigantic silver sword emerged from the fortress below, piercing his body from bottom to top in a single strike.

Time and space seemed to freeze at this moment.

Chapter 321: Bone and Flesh

All his eyes opened wide in an instant, his pupils trembling slightly. The rare pain left him momentarily at a loss for how to react.

The Yamata no Orochi seized the opportunity, breathing even more intensely, its venomous fire merging with the enlarged silver sword to tear the monstrous body in two! Instantly, oil-like black blood gushed out like a fountain, mingling with the black chunks of flesh in a torrential downpour. Even so, the silver sword's blade remained clear and bright, untouched by any filth.

"To think... I've ended up in such a sorry state..."

"ah----!!!"

With a roar, the Hundred-Eyed King's body collapsed once more, and the black sun hanging above the fortress transformed back into a chaotic vortex. Like an ant ball rolling into fire, it had to sacrifice some of its mass to allow more to survive. It created a strange gust of wind in the air, carrying the vortex towards the Bone Palace. After several rounds of attack and defense, Nobita and his friends finally managed to truly "injure" their opponent, and he saw a glimmer of victory—the enemy had actually been driven back!

His retreat implies that he is wary; this guy is definitely not without weaknesses.

"Master!"

Musashi leaped back onto one of the Yamata no Orochi's heads. His eyesight, already sharp as an eagle's, immediately spotted Daiki, standing in the crowd, holding a silver sword, and excitedly waved his hands. The Orochi also noticed the young man who had just fought alongside it. Its gaze lowered, sweeping over him briefly, then, as if realizing something, its eight pairs of crimson eyes slightly widened. The head carrying Musashi slowly lowered like a brachiosaurus, forming a staircase tens of meters long, all the way to the ground. Its head was also enormous, at least several meters high, but for Musashi, this height was just a matter of a leap. The master and disciple, separated by hundreds of years, were reunited. Musashi excitedly grasped Daiki's hand, but his swordsman's instinct kept drawing his gaze to Daiki's sword.

"As expected, I knew it. Master must have even better weapons... Besides the katana, there's such a sharp sword. That multi-eyed monster couldn't withstand it at all; it was cleaved in two. It doesn't even look like ordinary iron. Master, how did you acquire this divine weapon?"

“Yeah, Nobita, I’ve never heard you mention this before.” Shizuka couldn’t help but ask curiously, “This sword doesn’t look like one of Doraemon’s gadgets.”

At this moment, almost ten years have passed since the dream of the Three Musketeers. Even with Shizuka's excellent memory, she couldn't possibly remember everything that happened ten years ago, let alone that it was a dream. Dreams fade gradually after waking up; except for a few cases, most dreams disappear without a trace. No matter how vivid the impression at the time, after three to five days, most of the details are lost. As for Suneo and Gian, they were kicked out halfway through playing online, so their impression of the "Silver Swordsmen" is even weaker.

They've all seen too many of Doraemon's gadgets, so they naturally have their own understanding. This gleaming silver sword, capable of killing anyone it slashes and cutting through iron like mud, doesn't seem like something a childcare robot could pull out of its pocket. It just doesn't quite fit the technologically advanced 22nd century that Doraemon is associated with.

Da Xiong didn't explain much about the origin of the silver sword, just smiled, and no one pressed him for details. After all, the battle was only halfway through, and they had only just inflicted some blood on the enemy; it was far from time to sit down and chat. Only Asur stared meaningfully at the silver sword in his hand, her eyes showing astonishment. She seemed to understand something, but remained silent, deeply burying what she knew inside.

"Well, senior, I told you so," Musashi said with a proud tone. "Master will definitely have no problem with it."

"...Still a long way off." The giant snake made a very human-like "sigh" gesture, its several-meter-long tongue flicking out, which startled Suneo so much that he shrank to the side. As usual, he couldn't help but analyze the situation at times like this, but seeing this unique and heavyweight IP from Japanese legend up close made his legs tremble and his lips shake, leaving him speechless.

It has nothing to do with courage.

In ancient times, humans were merely in the middle of the food chain, and the wild was teeming with large, predatory beasts. Driven by the need for self-preservation, a fundamental rule was etched into human genes: beware of anything three times your size.

When you encounter an animal three times your size, your brain immediately sends out a fear signal, making you run for your life. The size of the Yamata no Orochi... its head alone is three times the size of an average person; when it opens its mouth, it could swallow a subway car whole. Add to that its less-than-appealing appearance—eyes like crimson lamps, teeth like mountains—and it looks like a ferocious beast to be trifled with.

However, at this moment, this ferocious beast is their only ally.

"We have one crucial piece of intelligence that could turn the tide!"

Having fought to this point, both sides held nothing back, and Da Xiong revealed the Hundred-Eyed King's race and characteristics in detail. The Yamata no Orochi's comprehension was far superior to expectations; despite being a centuries-old relic, it quickly accepted the premise of an extraterrestrial visitor. All eight heads crowded around, and after listening, it pondered deeply for a moment before speaking, "Kid, according to you, to kill him, we must first break his illusion? Force out his real eye?"

"We should be able to do this." Despite the fact that the first battle did not go as smoothly as expected, Da Xiong was still full of confidence. "He just took advantage of an opening and we weren't on guard."

"According to what you've said, if that so-called 'Heavenly Eye' can directly connect to another universe, it probably isn't just a pretty face."

"Even so, we must attack that eye at all costs!" As the project reached a crucial stage, Da Xiong began to demonstrate the decisiveness expected of a competent leader, saying in a deep voice, "He is an absolute schemer, and it's impossible to expect him to change. We are all just pawns for his return to the stage. Only by completely eliminating this problem here... can peace be restored to the human and demon realms."

……

"Hiss..."

In the blink of an eye, the black vortex swirling in the air finally drifted and arrived above the Palace of Bones. Without the slightest hesitation, it plunged down instantly, easily enveloping the enormous palace with its flowing, all-encompassing power. The black water swirled and covered the massive skeleton layer by layer, almost giving it a patina. Gradually, some parts began to plump up, revealing the outline of muscles.

This skeleton, standing for countless years on the Red Earth Continent at the northernmost tip of the Demon Realm, having successfully withstood the test of time, now welcomes an uninvited guest. The Hundred-Eyed King has no fixed physical body; his true form is a fluid that can flexibly transform between solid and liquid states, thus possessing formidable shaping capabilities. At this moment, he uses the entire White Bone Palace as his "skeleton," step by step constructing a body whose size rivals, and perhaps even surpasses, that of the Eight-Headed Serpent!

Black flesh and blood formed as they adhered together. For the first time, the previously dark eye sockets became full.

"Boom!"

Eyes open.

Tens of thousands of eyes on his body opened simultaneously. Flesh and bone merged into one, and the Hundred-Eyed King finally entered the final stage. He stepped forward with his right foot, replacing the skeleton that had been bound for thousands of years, and let out a deafening roar.

Chapter 322: Killing someone and then... destroying their spirit?

"boom----!"

Having acquired a new physical body, the Hundred-Eyed King seemed to have been fully resurrected. A black tide surged up instantly, and this giant, over a hundred meters tall, began to move. Black fluid condensed in his right hand, forming a pure black greatsword, which he thrust into the ground. It was over forty meters long, and dust billowed, the earth trembled, and an extremely deep rift immediately split open.

"Heh, see that? The formation is all set, just waiting for us." Yamata no Orochi chuckled, its other heads slowly rising, assuming an aggressive ambush posture like real snakes. It said coldly, "Boy, you're right about one thing: neither our demon realm nor your human realm can withstand this guy's continued antics. The demon realm, like the human realm, has its own laws and trends of development. After the mythological era, we will never meet again. Let the demons remain in the memories and stories of the elders; that's the best outcome for both of us."

"The Night Parade of One Hundred Demons is unacceptable. He wants to turn the human world into a chaotic pasture, and we must not let him have his way!"

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.

The final battle began more quietly than expected. Perhaps they had exhausted their strength in the previous rounds, for the two monsters, each nearly a hundred meters tall, collided with a thunderous crash that instantly created a shockwave that shattered objects more than two meters tall on the ground.

Using one of the snake heads as a foothold, Da Xiong and his friends suddenly found themselves dozens of meters higher. Fortunately, they were used to using bamboo copters and were already accustomed to this sudden increase in field of vision. However, looking at the Hundred-Eyed King, who had also transformed into a giant, it all seemed surreal, like playing a first-person perspective game.

The eight-headed serpent began to probe back and forth, resorting to its old tricks, trying to distract its opponent with ranged attacks like poison and fire. But the Hundred-Eyed King was unwilling to give him that chance. He brandished his black sword, strode forward, and engaged the serpent in fierce combat.

The giant and the giant serpent fought and clashed, their roars shaking the heavens. Their combined power was enough to split mountains and shatter rocks. When they clashed, tens of thousands of eyes on the Hundred-Eyed King opened simultaneously, and countless jets of black torrents burst forth from them, converging into one place. The massive torrents collided with clusters of poisonous fire.

"boom------!"

The two great demons' most powerful forces, darkness and crimson, clashed and pressed against each other in the air. According to convention, the left side would usually win in a clash of energies. However, neither side in the clash was simple; one side had eight heads, and the other had tens of thousands of eyes. Therefore, the clash of energies occurred in far more than one place.

In this contest of endurance, Orochi was undoubtedly at a disadvantage because his fire-breathing method was surprisingly scientific... He first spewed out poisonous mist, then used his specially structured teeth as flint to ignite it, creating a powerful flame breath.

This means that his breath attack is finite, requiring a limited supply of poisonous mist as fuel. Once exhausted, it takes time to regenerate. The Hundred-Eyed King's ability to kill with his eyes, however, is a spell he developed through numerous battles, requiring only magic power. Due to his racial characteristics, his magic reserves are not on par with Earth's creatures, making it more than sufficient to handle such a protracted battle.

Both were old foxes, and in just a few seconds, the Hundred-Eyed King realized the other's weakness. He narrowed his tens of thousands of eyes and sneered, "I gave you a chance to share the world with me, but you didn't seize it... so it's not my fault."

With a deafening roar, the Yamata no Orochi once again unleashed its self-sacrificing technique, using its body as a rope to coil around him from both sides, baring its massive fangs, one lunging at his neck and the other at his heart. But the Hundred-Eyed King swung his black sword, intercepting them one by one.