Chapter 129: Into the Nasuverse
Dealing with a world whose power system ran this deep meant that any incursion would probably require sitting down for negotiations — with Alaya, or possibly Gaia. And what was their bargaining chip?
The Chat Group had no shortage of heavy hitters. Sitting across from Alaya at a negotiating table? Doable.
Alaya existed to protect humanity. If the Group's members went in without restraint, who could say how many people in the Type-Moon world might end up as collateral? That threat was their leverage.
But it wasn't quite enough leverage yet. They could force a negotiation, barely. The power dynamic still wasn't quite level — and when the other side held the higher ground, talks had a way of collapsing. Unless they moved before Alaya could react and took out the old worm first.
"Take out the old worm before Alaya notices..."
Ryū turned it over. Actually, that seemed workable.
Alaya probably wouldn't go out of its way to shield Zōken anyway.
And if worst came to worst — kill the target and bolt. Simple enough.
There was one other unknown: he had no idea whether Sakura's Type-Moon world was the canonical version or a fan-fiction variant. That uncertainty changed a lot of variables.
But Sakura herself was non-negotiable. She was a Group member. That alone settled it.
Not to mention she was the Group's only — ahem — young member. Protecting a child was the bare minimum.
And Zōken genuinely had it coming. His track record spoke for itself; there wasn't a soul who'd mourn him, let alone call his death unjust.
Ryū shoved the clutter out of his head and told himself to stop overthinking it.
They had the Dimensional Chat Group behind them. Why worry about a planetary consciousness? Why worry about the collective will of a planet's human population? If it actually came to blows, he'd bring Wandering Little Planet along and let them figure out who was in charge.
RawrSoFierce: Two entities worth flagging in Sakura's world: Alaya, the Counter Force of Humanity; and Gaia, the Counter Force of the Star.
RawrSoFierce: We're not scared of them, but being noticed is still a headache. So if we're going to kill the old worm: fast, clean, no loose ends.
Eternally Seventeen: Alaya... Gaia? Sakura's world actually has things like that?
Eternally Seventeen: Reminds me of the Dragon God on my side.
Kaguya-sama: Tagging @WanderingLittlePlanet here.
Kaguya-sama: If the Little Planet showed up over there, even Gaia and Alaya would probably need a moment.
Crazy Diamond: Gaia and Alaya: ARE YOU A DEMON?? screaming
RawrSoFierce: Pfft — bringing the Little Planet in to intimidate them is a last resort. That's the nuclear option, for after we've been flagged, warned, or things have already gone sideways. Picking a fight with Gaia and Alaya for no reason means we'd basically have to pull Sakura out entirely.
Wandering Little Planet: Did someone mention me? whimper~
Ryū's mouth twitched as he mentally sketched out the image: himself, the Wandering Earth in tow, parking it in orbit above that world, watching Alaya and Gaia's reaction from a front-row seat.
Why did he find that funny. This was a terrible instinct.
One small miscalculation, one slightly off trajectory — or arriving from a crossover just a bit too close to the other Earth — and the two planets would start tearing each other apart. Mutual destruction. Not ideal.
So that particular card stayed in the back pocket for now. The two most realistic options were:
One: cross over and eliminate Zōken Matou — and that Shinji Matou character — as fast as humanly possible.
Two: extract Sakura entirely. Bring her to Gensōkyō, or to the One Piece world, or to Kaguya's household. Anywhere that wasn't the Matou family.
Given that Sakura herself had reservations about leaving — understandably — option two came with real costs. Which made option one the only plan worth seriously pursuing.
RawrSoFierce: Decision made. We move fast — cross over and eliminate the Matou household on arrival.
RawrSoFierce: Anyone who wants in, put your name down. You cover your own travel costs. And we can't linger in that world. Oh — Sakura, find somewhere open and out of the way to mark as the arrival point.
RawrSoFierce: If it's crowded or enclosed, materializing there is going to cause problems.
Sakura of the Tohsaka: Oh... okay.
Kaguya-sama: Admin — what's Zōken Matou's actual combat strength?
RawrSoFierce: ...He might actually lose to Josuke. But he's annoyingly hard to kill — he can survive by transferring his consciousness into something called a "brain worm." Meaning you have to destroy the brain worm to actually finish him off.
RawrSoFierce: Destroy his body without getting the worm, and he just keeps going.
Eternally Seventeen: Hmm... sounds like something out of curse-craft or thaumaturgy. We have plenty of parallels in Gensōkyō, actually.
Eternally Seventeen: Going to cause trouble in someone else's world? I'm first on the list. And tracking down some brain parasite? Easy work for me~
RawrSoFierce: ...Fair point. Your magical repertoire is basically uncountable.
Kaguya-sama: Then put me down too!
Crazy Diamond: Me, sitting here with only 861 Points, quietly trembling.
Admiral Kizaru: New member reporting in with 260 Points. Also trembling.
Edward Newgate: Gurararara — count this old man in!
Terrible Tornado: ...Adding my name.
"..."
When the dust settled, Ryū had four confirmed participants: Yukari Yakumo, Kaguya Shinomiya, Whitebeard, and Tatsumaki.
He checked his own Points balance. The 500 he'd held back from the Quest reward, plus the 100 he'd already had going in, plus a few days of decent Sign-In luck.
Grand total: exactly 1,031 Points.
More than enough to make the crossing.
No Quest had triggered for this one. No Group Event either. Just a straight expenditure — 1,000 Points, to help Sakura.
Was it worth it? He couldn't speak for anyone else. For him, it was. The members who'd signed up clearly felt the same way.
Zōken was a nightmare to kill, yes. But with Yukari Yakumo on site — with her command across essentially every school of power imaginable — locating a brain worm and ending Zōken for good went from difficult to trivial.
...
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