"An ancient Fire Dragon… why would it appear here? And the timing is wrong—has it awakened fifty years too early?"
Rory Mercury was just as astonished, though her expression held more doubt than shock.
"…Still, this is the perfect chance to withdraw!"
Rory Mercury's eyes lit up. Taking advantage of the moment as the Fire Dragon spewed its dragon breath downward, forcing Gekko and the others to retreat, she darted quickly toward the direction of the Koan Forest.
The four shinobi could do nothing to stop her.
Perhaps because of their numbers, the Fire Dragon's attention stayed fixed squarely on them.
The searing torrents of flame swept across their position, and the ground beneath turned visibly into flowing magma.
"Captain, do we kill it?!" Uchiha Natsuo shouted as he dodged.
"If we can't control it, then kill it. We can't waste all our time on this thing!"
Captain Gekko's eyes flashed with cold determination.
They were supposed to be tracking Louise's group—yet again and again, obstacles blocked their way. Even that gothic girl had just slipped away.
"I can try! This dragon doesn't seem to have mana covering its body!"
Uchiha Natsuo called back, glaring at the raging Fire Dragon as it attacked them relentlessly.
At once, chakra surged beneath his feet, his speed pushed to the extreme.
In a flash he became a lightning-fast blur, darting across the smooth crimson scales, racing up along the dragon's massive outstretched arm.
In the blink of an eye, he was on its shoulder.
This only enraged it further.
The dragon bellowed, its fury blazing.
At once, it swung its other claw in a savage swipe.
"Roooar!!!"
The strike landed, smashing apart the target—
—but it was only a wooden log.
Uchiha Natsuo's true form was already leaping high into the air, his gaze locked on the beast's wild amber-yellow slit pupils.
The scarlet Sharingan in his eyes spun, three tomoe whirling rapidly.
"Genjutsu: Sharingan!!"
...
December 10, Year 1503 of the Sea Circle Calendar.
On the side of the Zero-Magic World, it was still around 15:00 in the afternoon.
Now—
The iron gates of the "World Gate Valley Base" were thrown wide open, with every obstruction along the roads cleared away.
One formation after another of soldiers, mixed with strange and grotesque danger beasts, made up this vanguard force whose style looked rather chaotic.
And behind them, beyond the gate itself, stretched an endless line of black military trucks.
Looking further up into the sky—
One could see aerospace carriers and flying battleships floating high above, along with massive black eagles and flying dragons soaring through the air.
"At last it begins! I've waited far too long for this day—Shihahaha!"
Standing before the floor-to-ceiling windows of the flagship's office, Shiki looked down at the vast army of hundreds of thousands beneath him, a thrill of excitement and exhilaration surging in his chest, hard to restrain.
Even at its peak, the Flying Pirates could not compare to such a force in scale.
Not to mention—the target of this invasion was an entire new world.
The true New World!
At the same time, Imu was in the 'Mirror Dimension', watching the entire deployment.
With two Giant God Warriors standing behind him, Imu flipped his palm, releasing a faint blue glow.
In an instant, the light engulfed the entire "World Gate Base."
Of course, Shiki, Budo, and the others outside could not see any of this.
What they saw instead was only the familiar white light blooming in the air, swiftly forming into a "Gate" that connected to the Nuclear Weapons World.
Many present had already witnessed such a scene countless times, yet this time the "Gate" seemed far larger than before.
They knew that when Louise had first opened a "Gate," it had been only about 20 meters tall and 10 meters wide.
But this "Gate" before them now reached nearly 100 meters high and about 40 meters wide.
Not quite at the level of a "medium dimensional gate," but far beyond a "small dimensional gate."
"Road clear!"
"Move out!"
The nearest thousand soldiers to the "Gate" heard the order of their battalion commander crackle through their headsets.
Immediately, in squads of four, they strode quickly and in steady flow into the other side of the "Gate."
...
Nuclear Weapons World.
At the Yokosuka Port U.S. Base in Japan—
It was late into the night, the moon faint, the stars sparse.
"Heinz, do you think over in that 'Special Zone' there are cat-eared girls? That's a world with dragons, so there's gotta be some, right? I even dreamed about one last night."
Jamal, clutching his M16A4 automatic rifle, rambled on to his new partner walking in front.
The two of them, as always, patrolled along the fixed route.
"Mm… I like elves."
Just when Jamal thought the other wouldn't answer, he suddenly heard Heinz' hesitant reply.
This surprised Jamal, and his face split into a wide grin.
"Oh? Elves, huh? Pointy ears, blonde hair—that type, right?"
"…Yeah."
Heinz gave a small nod as he walked on, a bit embarrassed.
Truthfully, he hadn't wanted to respond at all, but the topic had hit too close to home.
"But aside from the ears, elves aren't all that different from normal people, are they? Blonde hair—hell, you could pay a bit more and order that any time."
Jamal shared his opinion enthusiastically.
"But in fantasy manga, elves live for centuries. That way, you could have a wife who always stays young. Isn't that awesome?!"
Heinz immediately turned his head back to argue—
But before the words left his lips, he froze in place.
"A wife who stays young forever… sounds good. Hey, what's wrong with you?"
Jamal looked at him in puzzlement. At the same time, a memory from a few months ago surfaced in his mind—his old partner, Granger, had acted the exact same way.
Instinctively, he turned his own head toward the night sky behind him.
And sure enough—there it was again. A white light!
This time it was brighter, and the vague outline of its edges could even be seen.
"What the hell is that?!"
"Come on, let's check it out!"
Heinz and Jamal rushed toward it—
But just then, a sharp whistling sound tore through the air.
It was immediately followed by Heinz' agonized scream, forcing Jamal to a sudden halt.
Turning back, he saw Heinz collapsed on the ground, writhing in pain.
"This is…"
By the light of a nearby streetlamp, Jamal narrowed his eyes and looked closely, only to see a pitch-black dagger buried in Heinz' neck.
[Ratatatatata—]
Suddenly, a burst of concentrated gunfire rang out from another direction.
He could even faintly hear shrill, agonized screams carried on the wind.
Jamal instantly sensed something was wrong. He raised his rifle and swept his gaze around the area.
In that moment, his peripheral vision caught a black shadow darting toward him at terrifying speed.
There was no time to think—Jamal pulled the trigger purely on combat instinct.
But the figure merely swung an arm, and sparks flared in the air with the sound of metal snapping.
"What the f—"
Jamal's eyes went wide. The bullets had been cut?
At this range? From an assault rifle?
The next second, the figure streaked past him. First he felt a chill at his throat—then a searing, unimaginable pain.
His strength drained rapidly, his body collapsing to the ground.
The nameless Uchiha shinobi strode slowly toward the still-breathing Heinz.
Under the despairing, terrified gaze of his victim, his back outlined against the glow of the streetlamp—
He ruthlessly wrenched the kunai from Heinz' neck, letting the warm blood spurt freely.
Then, without pause, he drove it into Heinz' right eye socket before pulling it out again, flicking the stains of blood away.
Finally, he wiped the blade clean against the man's uniform.
[Ratatatata!]
[Ratatatata!]
The entire Yokosuka Port base was now in utter chaos.
Gunfire, shouting, the screams and wails of the wounded filled the air everywhere.
Squads of auxiliary soldiers were rushing out from the massive Gate of Light.
All across the base, sentries were being struck down one after another by the shinobi.
Only the groups of guards stationed near where the "World Gate" appeared had the chance to witness the deployment and exchange fire with the auxiliary soldiers.
"Enemy forces hold the advantage!"
"Keep formation! Fall back—move! Cover each other!"
Their reaction was swift—they immediately regrouped into a wedge formation, using the terrain and buildings for cover.
Falling back step by step, they unleashed the rapid fire of their M16A4 rifles to strike at the completely unknown enemy.
But their numbers were still far too few.
When a grenade, trailing a fiery tail, burst through the smoke, there was only enough time to shout "RPG!" before the explosion flung them to the ground.
Moments later, they were cut down by the auxiliary soldiers closing in, their submachine guns spitting fire.
But this was only the beginning.
In that instant, the explosive tags the shinobi had planted long before in the corners of the dormitories ignited violently.
[BOOM—BOOM—BOOM—BOOM—]
A chain of deafening blasts ripped through the night. Buildings collapsed in waves of flame and rubble.
In just a few short minutes, more than half of the already limited base garrison had been slaughtered.
Meanwhile, the alarm room, the armory, the ammo depot, the airfield, the port, the fuel depot, the Marine Corps compound, and even the communications unit all came under the shinobi's ruthless slaughter.
Of course, the three most important command centers had to be top priority.
The Seventh Fleet Naval Command of the U.S. stationed in Japan, the Yokosuka Port Base Command, and the Seventh Submarine Group Command were all designated as priority targets for destruction.
But tonight, only the Yokosuka Port Base Commander was present on-site.
The commanders of the Seventh Fleet and the Seventh Submarine Group had already gone to sea, on guard against fleets from neighboring nations approaching Japan.
And this lone commander was not in his office at such an hour.
He lived on base with his wife and children. The shinobi went straight to his home.
"Who are you people!"
Lieutenant General held an M15 general officer's pistol, specially issued for senior officers, standing protectively in front of his frightened wife and daughter.
Facing him were two shinobi clad in black vests, strange forehead protectors gleaming as they burst through the door.
But his eyes, too, were filled with shock and tension.
"Hōzuki Senjin, jōnin of Umigakure, under the World Government."
One of them answered expressionlessly.
"You are the commander here. By the rules, you have the right to be taken prisoner. So—will you choose to die here with your family, or put down your weapon?"
Hōzuki Senjin grinned, revealing rows of sharp, pointed teeth.
"…"
Lieutenant General understood perfectly.
His face wavered with hesitation.
But when he turned and saw the eyes of his wife and daughter, at last he let the pistol fall to the floor.
"I surrender. But I want to know—just who are you people, really? This is a US military base!"
Hōzuki Senjin sneered. "You'll find out soon enough. No matter how mighty the nation you believe in, no matter how vast this entire world may seem—in front of this emblem, it is nothing but weak and powerless."
As he spoke, he raised his hand and tapped the forehead protector.
The Five-Ringed Cross gleamed coldly.
Outside, the sounds of battle roared louder still.
It was the thunder of heavy machine guns, the roar of armed helicopters skimming the skies, and the booming fire of tank cannons.
The entire Yokosuka Base had become a battlefield shrouded in smoke and flames!
---
I will post some extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. >> patreon.com/TitoVillar
---