"All right, have them come in and search. The Assimilation Fruit should already have attached itself to one of these fruits."
Redfield spoke calmly.
"Wasn't there supposed to be a Sage of Six Paths showing up to handle Bullet's revival? Where is he?"
Marshal Raymond cared little about the Assimilation Fruit—he was far more concerned about the safety of his general.
"This—"
Redfield also found it strange. Saint Shepherd Ju Peter had told him so himself.
But now over half a minute had passed, and no one had appeared.
On the other side—
In the Starfish Underworld.
In front of the "Gate of the Underworld," where countless souls ceaselessly poured in, Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo looked at Douglas Bullet with a face full of speechlessness.
"You're saying you don't want to be revived right away?"
Originally, he should have told him to stay put, not to move, then gone to Impel Down to use the "sacred seal tag" and revive him instantly.
But who could have guessed this guy would actually stop him?
"That's right. I didn't expect the Underworld to be this lively. So go tell them to keep my body preserved, and revive me in twenty-four hours!"
Douglas Bullet spoke his decision while glancing all around.
At first it had just been a sudden whim, but now that he was here, his curiosity had been stirred.
Since the World Government said they could revive him, he trusted there would be no problem.
"Point me in the direction of the Court of Souls—I want to take a look!"
"By the way, are there any strong figures in this Underworld? I wonder if Roger is here."
Bullet rubbed his chin and muttered to himself, his mood somewhat exhilarated.
After all, how many people could get the chance to stroll around the Underworld while guaranteed revival?
"Roger is in my Pure Land," said Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo.
"Hah? Why?"
Bullet looked astonished. "Roger was a Starfish man—how did he end up with you?"
"He said he didn't want to serve the World Government."
"All right, wait here for a bit. I need to report your situation to Lord Imu."
Bullet was, after all, an Army General, so Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo felt his request needed to be taken seriously.
So he prepared to ask Imu's opinion first, then vanished without a trace.
"Heh~ since I'm already here, how could I just stand around like an idiot?"
Bullet's eyes gleamed, a grin spreading across his face.
He didn't follow the line of souls forward, but instead picked a random direction and dashed off.
In the blink of an eye—
Bullet's figure, along with his hearty laughter, vanished from the sight of countless souls and shinigami.
Moments later, Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo returned, looked at the empty spot, and shook his head helplessly.
"Truly troublesome…"
"But since Lord Imu has already agreed, then so be it."
The next instant—
Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo disappeared again.
He was heading toward the Court of Souls to inform Enma.
He had a feeling someone like Bullet was bound to stir up trouble.
...
A starless, pitch-dark sky; the open ground as black as ink.
Here and there stood a few leafless, dead trees.
This was the landscape Bullet had seen along the way.
To be honest, it was dull—utterly meaningless.
Crucially, after moving away from the "Gate of the Underworld," he hadn't even seen a single ghostly figure, let alone any fiends or monsters.
"Hey—finally encountered 'people' again~"
Bullet sensed four presences clustered together roughly ten kilometers away.
[Bang!]
He drove one foot into the ground and blasted a dozen meters of earth apart, launching his huge, building-sized body like a missile straight into the black clouds.
In an instant a sonic-boom cloud detonated explosively behind him.
Elsewhere.
Twelve men with large differences in age stood or squatted by a dead tree, letting the crows on their shoulders stare at their bedraggled forms.
They wore black long-sleeved coats and long trousers, paired with a white sash at the waist.
On their right arms they all had white armbands bearing the "five-circle cross" emblem.
"What do we do now?"
At his comrade's words, one Underworld Police officer forced a bitter smile. "What else—go back and report. Say we were driven out of there!"
"Return to the city with our tails between our legs? What a disgrace!" the other obviously complained, unwilling to accept it.
At that moment another Underworld Police officer spoke up to ask: "What else could we do? You saw how strong that Wraith Lord was. Even Captain wasn't a match. If it hadn't been for these clothes we're wearing, we'd probably have been eaten whole!"
The officer who had spoken first clenched the scabbard at his waist and ground his teeth as he cursed: "Those damned monsters—talking about being loyal to the World Government, but do they obey a single law?"
"I don't get it. Why not call in the Underworld Army to come and clear out those disgusting Wraith Lords?" another demanded.
Hearing that, another police officer heaved a long sigh.
"Eh, it isn't that simple."
"The Underworld Army's tied up with other matters in different worlds right now. And even if they came, what then?"
"I estimate that even if a major general from the Underworld Army showed up, they still might not be able to beat those three Wraith Lords inside the city."
"So, there's really no way?"
"That the Wraith Lords saying we should swap out for another batch of men—wasn't it just to make Underworld Police vanish from the mountain city for a while, while hoping to receive replacements willing to collude with them?"
The same officer who had been grumbling earlier once again voiced his complaint.
"Enough—what's the use of this pointless talk!"
"We've already been driven out. If we don't go back, are we supposed to just wait here?"
Second-Class Officer impatiently waved a hand.
"Don't forget, we may not be human, but we still need to eat regularly!"
Captain Sabito stood up and said: "That's right. Blame our lack of strength. As for everything else, let the higher-ups decide."
"I believe these Wraith Lords won't run rampant for long. Everyone here knows what the words 'World Government' truly represent."
But then, another officer curled his lips and muttered: "The World Government is indeed dominant in the living world, undefeated in war, but here in the Underworld they don't have much real power."
"Otherwise, would they allow these Wraith Lords to bow their heads in name only, while in reality ruling unchecked?"
The words fell, and everyone fell into silence. As harsh as they were, they were true.
"All right, time to move."
Sabito didn't bother to argue.
What he wanted now was to quickly strengthen himself, to gain the power to draw his blade before a Wraith Lord.
"Hm?!"
Just as the dejected Underworld Police were standing up from their crouches,
Everyone suddenly felt their hairs stand on end, a powerful dread rising sharply in their hearts.
Then came the sharp, rapid sound of something cleaving the air.
Before they could react—
A thunderous boom exploded nearby, instantly blasting a wave of black soil into the air.
In the blink of an eye, all twelve were hurled to the ground by the force of the impact.
"Kahahaha, turns out you're allies!"
"But your bodies are far too weak. Can't even withstand that little shock—better toughen up!"
Sabito was the first to rise, long blade drawn from his waist, when a brash laugh rang out from the dust cloud ahead.
But as the figure's heavy steps drew closer,
All the Underworld Police were struck by the sight of a body nearly as tall as a two-story building.
Then their eyes were drawn to the figure's waist-length golden hair and the black suit and long black coat draped over him.
"Who are you?"
One second-class Underworld Police officer asked instinctively, only to be smacked on the back by a comrade.
At once the other shouted in excitement: "Idiot, that's the General Ghost Shark!"
"Douglas Bullet, Army Headquarters general—though…"
As he spoke, his voice faltered, filled with uncertainty.
"Kahahaha, that's right—I'm dead, or let's just say I count as dead!"
Bullet laughed carelessly. "But don't ask how I died. Your rank isn't high enough."
"Now, introduce yourselves. And tell me if there's anyone strong in that city—I sensed a pretty decent presence in there!"
At last, he had found something interesting.
Captain Sabito sheathed his blade and spoke up in reply to Bullet's question.
"Greetings, General Ghost Shark. We are Underworld Police. I am Third-Class Police Captain Sabito, originally from the Demon Slayer World."
"We were originally stationed in that mountain city to maintain order, but when we demanded that the Wraith Lords comply with the law and provide each resident with a daily allotment of spiritual food, we were forcibly expelled from the city."
Bullet folded his arms across his chest, patiently listening to every word Sabito spoke.
"They're not afraid of the Underworld Army?"
Bullet was puzzled. Before his "death," he had reviewed some of Marshal Raymond's related files.
He knew that the former Holy Land Defense Army Marshal, Jyrex, now served as the Commander-in-Chief of the Underworld Headquarters, and that the former CIPHER POL-AIGIS 0 chief, Bowen Knochen, was serving as an Underworld General.
With the strength of those two, dealing with the Wraith Lords in that city shouldn't have been a problem.
After all, he didn't think that presence felt particularly strong.
Then he heard Sabito explain: in recent years the Underworld Army had been busy taking over the Kabane, Demon Slayer, Zero Magic, and Teigu Underworlds.
Just a few days ago, they had even launched a large-scale campaign into an Underworld called Falmart.
Meanwhile, the Starfish Underworld had been largely left alone—its Wraith Lords had acted relatively obedient, all declaring their willingness to submit to the World Government.
So the Court of Souls had not pressed them further.
Of course, it also had much to do with the severe shortage of manpower within the Underworld Army.
After hearing this, Bullet finally understood the situation of the World Government in the Underworld.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk—looks like this Underworld is lively enough."
Pausing, Bullet raised a hand to stroke his chin, baring a cold grin: "In that case, I, as an Army general, will clean up our Underworld backyard!"
"You're called Sabito, right? Do you dare take me to those damn Wraith Lords?"
Sabito immediately understood Bullet's meaning, but hesitated as he replied: "General Bullet, those Wraith Lords are openly the city lords loyal to the World Government. Killing them recklessly will bring consequences."
"Hahahaha, consequences? Once they're all dead, let them come find me!"
"And since when has the World Government been so weak it can't deal with a bunch of hypocritical trash?"
Douglas Bullet threw his head back in wild laughter, then glared down at him with bulging eyes.
"Just say it—dare or not?"
"Of course I dare! I wish I could kill every last one of those man-eating monsters right now!" Sabito replied through gritted teeth.
"Good!"
"Then we'll start with that mountain city. Come on!"
Grinning broadly, Bullet seized Sabito's "tiny" body and hoisted him onto his massive shoulder.
"Hold on tight, brat!"
[BOOM!!!]
The next moment, that gigantic body once again shattered the black earth beneath its feet.
Amid the stunned stares of the Underworld Police, he soared into the sky on a gale like a raging beast, hurtling straight toward the massive city pressed against the dark mountain.
---
I will post some extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. >> patreon.com/TitoVillar
---