Mutant Duel

"It seems someone is impersonating members of the Jashin Cult?"

Murderous intent surged in Sakamoto's eyes as he barked, "Lock him in the cell and find out his identity."

"Yes."

His subordinates quickly retreated.

Sakamoto turned to look at Simu and asked, "I wonder if Mr. God Child would be interested in joining me to see this fellow who dared to disguise himself as a member of the Jashin Cult?"

Simu nodded expressionlessly, "Of course. I won't let anyone tarnish the reputation of the Jashin Cult."

"Please."

Led by Sakamoto, Simu soon arrived at a damp, gloomy cell.

It had to be said that this cruise ship belonging to the Sakamoto Trading Company was truly well-equipped; even the prison cells were quite professional.

As soon as they stepped into the cell block, a smell of rot and dampness rushed toward them, and the air was thick with the scent of blood.

Simu looked at the various torture instruments hanging on the walls, stained with blood; it seemed the jailers here didn't hold back when interrogating prisoners.

"Chairman, God Child, that brat is just ahead."

A subordinate led Sakamoto and Simu to the corresponding cell.

Shiraishi Mori, with his thin frame and dark skin, was curled up in the corner.

"God Child, this was found on him."

Sakamoto's subordinate respectfully handed something to Simu.

It was the necklace representing the identity of the Jashin Cult that he had intentionally left behind.

Simu smiled faintly, "This is indeed my necklace. I didn't expect him to have picked it up."

Seeing the arrival of Sakamoto and Simu, Shiraishi Mori, curled up in the corner, slightly raised his head, his eyes flashing with a fierce light as he looked at Sakamoto.

It was him—the one who had taken his parents!

Seeing the hatred in Shiraishi Mori's eyes, Sakamoto turned to look at a subordinate beside him.

"Who is this brat?"

The subordinate lowered his head and said respectfully, "Chairman, do you remember that guy who brought the fishermen here to cause trouble half a month ago?"

Sakamoto rolled his eyes, his brows slightly furrowed, "That rioter? I remember his name is..."

"My father is not a rioter!"

Shiraishi Mori suddenly raised his head, crouching on the ground like a wild beast, letting out a low growl.

Sakamoto snorted coldly, and the subordinate beside him immediately flew into action, kicking Shiraishi Mori heavily to the ground.

The subordinate retracted his leg, glanced sideways at Shiraishi Mori, and continued, "This brat is that rioter's son."

Sakamoto's eyebrows shot up, and he became interested.

"So he's that guy's kid. Just as stupid as your mongrel father, daring to break into the Sakamoto Trading Company all by yourself."

Sakamoto's voice grew increasingly sinister, and suddenly, his eyes lit up.

"I think I've come up with a good idea!"

He slapped his palm hard, "I remember there was a woman who came with that rioter, right?"

Sakamoto's playful gaze crossed the bars and landed on Shiraishi Mori.

"If I'm not mistaken, that woman must be your mother?"

"What are you going to do?"

Shiraishi Mori clutched his abdomen tightly, climbing up from the ground with a ferocious expression.

Sakamoto gave a mocking laugh, "As it happens, the Kagune needs some test subjects. Why not start by experimenting on his parents?"

"No! Stop it!"

Shiraishi Mori lunged forward once more.

Although he didn't know what a Kagune was, the word "test subject" alone was enough to make him feel uneasy.

But his efforts only caused the cell bars to shake slightly; his slender arms reaching through the gaps couldn't even touch the hem of Sakamoto's clothes.

Watching Shiraishi Mori struggle, Sakamoto let out a hearty laugh, which then suddenly ceased.

"Take his parents away."

"Yes."

The subordinates moved quickly.

Two minutes later, a man and a woman, covered in wounds and nearly unconscious, were dragged out from the depths of the prison.

"Dad!"

"Mom!"

Shiraishi Mori slammed his hands against the railing with all his might, the violent clanging and his familiar voice finally rousing the two of them from their stupor.

Through their blurred vision, they finally saw the child they had been longing for, but before they could even speak, Sakamoto's subordinates covered their mouths and dragged them away.

Only Shiraishi Mori was left behind, roaring in agony.

After taking away Shiraishi Mori's parents, Sakamoto, who had been impatient for a long time, finally began his experiments on the Kagune.

Due to the unique nature of the Kagune, Sakamoto certainly couldn't rely on just two test subjects.

He selected another eighteen slaves from the prison, bringing the total to twenty people, and launched the experiment on all of them at once.

As the Kagune were implanted into their bodies, cries of agonizing pain instantly echoed throughout the cruise ship.

"Ah!!!!"

A terrifying aura surged out from the laboratory.

The test subjects thrashed about with their Kagune, unleashing their newfound abilities.

However, Sakamoto had long been prepared for this; the pre-set mechanisms, combined with the ninjutsu of his subordinates, quickly subdued the rampaging ghouls.

About an hour later, Sakamoto's most capable subordinate, Abu, stepped out to report: "Chairman, out of the twenty test subjects, eleven went berserk and have all been killed; their Kagune have been preserved intact."

"As for the remaining nine, six have fallen into a coma, and three are still able to maintain their sanity."

"Twenty people, and only three were able to maintain their sanity?"

Sakamoto rubbed his thumb ring, seemingly dissatisfied with this result.

Seeing this, Abu had to whisper a reminder: "The Kagune of the failures can be recycled and reused."

Reminded by his subordinate, Sakamoto finally realized: "You mean to say that as long as there are enough test subjects, we can create as many ghouls as there are Kagune?"

Abu nodded: "Theoretically, that is correct."

Upon hearing this, Sakamoto finally revealed a wild, arrogant smile.

"Heh, this Jashin Cult really does have quite a few good things."

His small eyes, buried within the folds of his fat, darted around as he pondered something.

After a while, he turned his head and asked: "Who are the three who remained conscious?"

"They are the Shiraishi couple, Shiraishi Ao and Yanagishima Keiko, and a middle-aged man named Shimizu Ken."

Sakamoto narrowed his eyes, revealing an inexplicable smile.

"The Shiraishi couple didn't go berserk?"

"In that case, I have a good idea."

That evening, Sakamoto personally announced something over the ship's broadcast system:

"In one hour, a beast-fighting performance will be held in the Octagon Cage arena."

"[Duel of the Mutants]!"

Hearing this news, the nobles from all over the Land of Rivers on the ship immediately began to discuss it in hushed tones.

"What is a mutant?"

"Could it be some kind of deformed human?"

"That must be it. I've seen the little people from the circus before; those people were only the size of a jar, they looked hilarious."

"But what's so interesting about a duel between deformed people?"

"Don't worry about it. You know Chairman Sakamoto's methods, don't you? If it weren't spectacular, he would never personally invite us to watch."

"That's true."

Under Sakamoto's summons, the arena known as the Octagon Cage was packed to capacity in just half an hour!