"Kid, you've got some nerve. Your real goal was to trade information for the blood of our Three Sacred Treasures families, wasn't it?" Goenitz stroked his beard.
Nathan Hawke said bluntly, "If you don't agree, I'll go find Kagura Chizuru. She'll agree. As for why I came to you first, I heard the Kusanagi clan is short on money right now, and I can get Kagura Chizuru here. Why refuse something that benefits all three parties?"
"Hmph. Kid, the Kusanagi clan may have declined, but our Kusanagi Style Ancient Martial Arts have not." Goenitz rose to his feet, a commanding, scorching aura slowly spreading from him.
"So, you agree?" Nathan Hawke nodded, then said based on what he knew from the original story, "The first piece of information is that the mysterious man who fought Kyo Kusanagi is Storm Giamat, one of the Hakkeshu with the Orochi bloodline."
"That name?" Goenitz frowned, as though he had heard it somewhere before.
"Rugal. Rugal was once defeated by Goenitz," Nathan Hawke replied.
Goenitz's eyes widened instantly. "So that's it. This was how the Orochi blood in Rugal's body got there when he went berserk."
Then Goenitz gave Nathan Hawke a long look. "I agree. But I don't know whether Kagura Chizuru can handle Iori Yagami's side. You should stay here for a few days first."
"No problem at all," Nathan Hawke answered cheerfully.
Hadn't the Nest Organization demonstrated the power of a cloned Kyo Kusanagi army after obtaining Kyo Kusanagi's blood?
For Umbrella Corporation, and for Wesker, who held Umbrella Corporation's knowledge, cloning technology had always been stored in his mind.
But you could know a person's face without knowing his heart. Wesker had yet to give a definite answer regarding the batch of researchers they had recruited and won over.
Compared to Biological Weapons, the taboo implications of clones were far more complex and shocking. That had kept Nathan Hawke from making up his mind.
If possible, Nathan Hawke wanted to obtain all of the Hakkeshu bloodlines, but that was far too difficult.
Several days passed in a row.
Shingo Yabuki walked into the training grounds of Kusanagi Castle and looked at the Electric Man. Then he said to Nathan Hawke, "Hello. Senior and Miss Kagura are in the conference room. They'd like Mr. Hawke to come over."
"Got it. Thanks for the trouble." Faced with Nathan Hawke's friendly greeting, Shingo Yabuki shyly scratched his head.
The conference room of Kusanagi Castle—or rather, a room.
"Are you Nathan Hawke?" Kagura Chizuru looked at Nathan Hawke and the Electric Man beside him.
"Yes." Nathan Hawke nodded.
"I heard about you from Master Zhen Yuanzhai, so I've decided to make this deal." Kagura Chizuru picked up a case from the side and opened it.
"Three tubes of blood, representing the bloodlines of the Three Sacred Treasures group," Kagura Chizuru said.
"May I know whose blood is in the three tubes?" Nathan Hawke asked.
"Mine, Senior Kusanagi's, and Iori Yagami's," Kagura Chizuru replied.
Goenitz immediately said, "Kid, my blood is much stronger than my boy's. Besides, he isn't here. Be satisfied."
"Fine." Even without Kyo Kusanagi's blood, Nathan Hawke felt this trip had been extremely worthwhile. He had intended to use cloning technology with the blood of the Three Sacred Treasures to create someone similar to K, but Goenitz's blood should work as well.
Rather than taking the case from the table, Nathan Hawke first revealed what he knew.
"Let me tell you about the Hakkeshu first."
Wind: the ability to control wind. (Goenitz)
Earth: the ability to command the earth. (Yashiro Nanakase)
Thunder: the ability to control lightning. (Shermie)
Flame: the ability to control azure flames. (Chris)
Fang: the ability to deliver a fatal blow to enemies. (Gaidel)
Darkness: bloodthirsty slaughter. (Yamazaki Ryuji)
Beast: agility beyond what ordinary people could imagine. (Mature)
Death: immense arm strength, a direct manifestation of Orochi's power. (Vice)
Kagura Chizuru could not help nodding after hearing this. "I know Yamazaki Ryuji. So the Hell Band members are also among the Hakkeshu?"
"It seems Miss Kagura knows of them. That's right, they are also Hakkeshu. Gaidel has already died, and his biological daughter Leona inherited his Orochi power."
"Leona! You mean Leona from the Ikari Team!" Kagura Chizuru cried out.
"That's right."
"So, what is their goal?" Goenitz asked, seeming to already have an answer in his heart.
"Storm Giamat will open the curtain. Miss Kagura, your sister was killed by Goenitz. You should know that already, right?" Nathan Hawke watched her reaction.
"Yes. This time, I'm holding the KOF Tournament precisely to lure him out," Kagura Chizuru admitted.
"At the final championship match, Goenitz intends to kill the descendants of your Three Sacred Treasures families in one stroke—Kyo Kusanagi, Iori Yagami, and you, Miss Kagura. At the same time, he will defeat or kill the other fighters present, generating negative emotions and further weakening Orochi's seal."
"His strength?" Kagura Chizuru murmured.
"Iori Yagami and Kyo Kusanagi should have fought him already. The result was that they were defeated. One-on-one, they are no match for Storm Giamat," Nathan Hawke said calmly.
"You know far too much. Who exactly are you?" Goenitz could not help asking.
Nathan Hawke smiled faintly. "Just someone passing through. Even if you don't believe me, you can believe Master Zhen Yuanzhai."
"Oh, right." Nathan Hawke stood and picked up the case.
"One more piece of information. Chris of the Hell Band is a backup vessel for Orochi's descent. He can wield part of Orochi's power after the descent. You'd better keep an eye on him. After awakening his Orochi bloodline, he controls the ability of 'Flame.' You could say he is a fated opponent of your Kusanagi clan."
Nathan Hawke left with the blood of the Three Sacred Treasures families.
"What he said?" Goenitz looked toward Kagura Chizuru beside him.
Kagura Chizuru nodded firmly. "It can be believed. Orochi's seal really did loosen after my sister died. If Chris of the Hell Band truly is a backup vessel for Orochi's descent, then Orochi's descent is highly possible. Though the power gap compared to the main body is enormous, his fate is set."
Kagura Chizuru said no more, while Goenitz wore a deeply worried expression.
The KOF Tournament's qualifiers and elimination rounds had ended. A total of nine teams had entered the main event.
They were: the Protagonist Team, Fatal Fury Team, Art of Fighting Team, New Ikari Team, Psycho Soldier Team, New Female Fighters Team, Kim Team, Yagami Team, and BOSS Team.
From the stands, Nathan Hawke looked at the characters on the big screen whom he had controlled while playing games in his previous life, his face full of nostalgia.
At the same time, Nathan Hawke was waiting for someone.
"Whew, I finally made it." Ryoma Sengoku sat down beside Nathan Hawke.
"How did it go?" Nathan Hawke asked.
"Just as you expected. After joining the Nest Organization and working my ass off for a month, I received an offer sent through someone by Igniz." Ryoma Sengoku looked smug.
"Is that so? Looks like his rebellious intentions were there from the start."
According to the original story, the Nest Organization had originally been named after Nests himself. He was a pacifist, and under his leadership, Nest had initially been a trade organization devoted to peaceful causes, possessing world-class science and technology. Later, he was murdered by his only son, Igniz, who called himself the Creator of Life. Igniz completely transformed Nest into a massive military organization with influence across the world, always ready to conquer it.
In secret, it was said that Igniz had noticed the KOS Tournament, the Hakkeshu, the Orochi bloodline, and "Orochi." He longed to become a divine "god" even more godlike than Orochi.
Thus, the "BrutalGodProject" was born.
Before that, many other plans had been prepared, such as the "KYO Replication Project & KYO Clone Project" and the "ANTI' Project"...
Igniz was secretly dividing and recruiting people, gradually transforming the trade organization into a military organization.
And now, Igniz had set his sights on Ryoma Sengoku, this researcher.
"What did they tell you?" Nathan Hawke asked.
"Go to Europe. After their people tested me and found I was someone worth recruiting, they prepared to take me to meet Igniz. At the same time, they promised to let me oversee a project, with generous pay and funding." After saying that, Ryoma Sengoku continued, "Of the three scientists you mentioned—Kalkov, Frey, and Dr. Keitz—I only met Dr. Keitz."
"Kalkov is the Nest Organization's chief scientist, responsible for developing new technology and weapons. He's a genius scientist dedicated to advancing the Nest Organization's scientific experiments and research. He is heavily guarded, and I don't even know where he is. I simply couldn't meet him."
"As for Frey, one of the Nest Organization's senior scientists, he is responsible for developing new technology and weapons and is one of the researchers who provides combat strength for the organization. He has already accepted Igniz's invitation and gone to Europe."
"Only Dr. Keitz is currently in Sakura Country because of a business trip."
"Are you confident you can get him to come with us?" Nathan Hawke asked.
"Yes. But have you really thought this through?" Ryoma Sengoku asked. Before leaving, he had seen Nathan Hawke's inner conflict.
And Nathan Hawke had indeed been deeply conflicted at the time.
Because the person he wanted to take away even more was Storm Giamat.
After all, Nathan Hawke knew how the story would unfold. Goenitz would crash the finals, utterly crush the fighters, battle the Three Sacred Treasures families, and finally commit suicide after his defeat.
At that time, perhaps he could persuade him through a war of words.
But after careful consideration, Nathan Hawke did not dare gamble.
After all, once the KOF Tournament ended, he would have little time left in the KOF world. If he failed and Goenitz died, finding another "useful person" to take back would be far too difficult.
Before you continue