Main quest item?

To Yu Ming, the seating arrangement around the round table was quite interesting.

First, there was Sergeant Machine, Soichiro Ota, sitting with Nightmare Penguin, Deepsea Warrior, The Judgement, and Jinzo.

Next, Nine-Tailed Fox and Red Oni were seated close together, and behind the small, slender demon stood a loyal guard.

There were also zombies, skeletons, Taoists, and ninjas.

Looking around, while the seating initially seemed chaotic, a closer look revealed distinct factions.

"Yokai, demons, zombies…"

These non-human entities clearly formed their own factions, but humans—or rather, the 'people' Yu Ming knew—were not entirely united either.

The widely known Big Five formed their own clique, while Keith and the wild, unnamed fisherman sat somewhat close, but clearly leaned towards independence.

And finally, there was Noah Kaiba…

"What's wrong? Just find any seat."

Though he said this, when Yu Ming looked at him, he found Noah sitting perfectly centered among those 'factions.'

So this is what you mean by 'any seat,' huh?

Rolling his eyes, Yu Ming followed suit and found a relatively independent spot.

Noah then looked away and operated something on his wrist device.

Before Yu Ming could further observe his surroundings, a device rose from the center of the table, and then…

Buzz!

A projection unfolded, and a green map, completely unfamiliar to Yu Ming, appeared in the center.

He recognized nothing around it, but New Domino City was clearly marked on it.

"I believe you're all aware of the situation. Not only has our frontline defense been breached, but our city has also been attacked simultaneously. I'm sure you've all had varying degrees of contact with the invaders." Noah began.

"While New Domino City isn't quite starting from scratch, there are many issues that need addressing, so I hope everyone will speak freely."

When Yu Ming came back to himself, he felt as if he had seamlessly entered a certain circle.

So, was my self-introduction skipped?

Although Yu Ming wanted to complain, he actually quite liked it this way.

No nonsense, no small talk. While it wasn't packed with dry facts, at least there was none of that irritating, messy infighting.

"Yu Ming, what are your thoughts on this situation?"

"?"

So you're starting with me, huh?

When Yu Ming looked at Noah, he saw only that unchanging, almost formulaic gentle expression.

"You've been fighting alongside me this whole time. I'd like to hear your perspective."

However, in stark contrast to Noah's gentle demeanor, were the gazes of everyone else around them.

Including the non-human yokai and demons, their probing, scrutinizing looks put him completely on the spot.

"I just got here, okay? I don't know anything about the situation here."

He hadn't even had a good look at this so-called 'New Domino City,' let alone understood the situation.

But…

"But if I had to say, there is one thing I'm particularly curious about."

"What is it?"

"Timing."

Yu Ming said. "If I remember correctly, you took a call then."

"Yes, that was Ota's report to me."

Looking at Sergeant Machine, who was present, he nodded.

"At that time, demons suddenly attacked from a certain passage, invading the city."

"And after that, we were attacked."

"What?"

A clear note of astonishment emerged in the muffled, amplified voice.

Soichiro Ota couldn't help but look at Noah, seeing the boy slowly nod.

"Indeed, but we've already dealt with it."

Though Noah spoke lightly, an invisible, heavy pressure stemming from the truth enveloped the entire conference room.

Immediately, the conference room, which had seemed to have some scattered noises, suddenly fell silent.

In the silence, only Yu Ming's voice, stating facts and thoughts, echoed:

"I don't know about anything else, but this particular thing strikes me as a bit odd."

Yu Ming shrugged, glancing at the increasingly grim expressions on the faces of the humans and non-human species around him.

"How to put it… it's as if they know this city like the back of their hand, as if they knew Noah's location from the very beginning. Coupled with the news that our frontline defenses have been breached, this whole situation becomes… quite interesting."

And if one were to follow this line of thought, a conclusion could easily be drawn:

"There's a mole."

Keith sneered.

"And one who knows the city and defense perimeter's secrets."

The bomb from old America exploded, adding a suffocating sting to the already heavy air.

No one wanted to speak at a time like this; almost everyone was exchanging uneasy glances.

Humans, yokai, demons, zombies.

At this moment, what permeated the conference room was not unity or shared indignation, but a subtle, underlying antagonism.

"Damn it, who is it?"

"Is it you, you Eastern yokai?"

"Or is it you, you disgusting creature?"

"Speaking of which, weren't you necromancers originally defectors from the Necromancer King?"

Suspicion and vigilance lingered, and the vast resistance organization was now riddled with cracks.

And in such a situation, there was only one thing to do to quickly resolve it:

"Enough."

Noah's voice broke the seemingly endless argument.

"There's no point in all this shouting."

"But Lord Noah, if we don't deal with this soon, there might be big trouble later."

The penguin spoke up.

Of course, he wasn't, theoretically speaking, an actual penguin.

Yu Ming remembered his identity—Shuzo Otaki, former Head of Human Resources at Kaiba Corporation, and one of the Big Five.

"If there's a mole in the corporation, it means all our plans and secrets have been exposed to the enemy!"

The penguin jumped up, screeching loudly.

"Forget that we're in a life-or-death situation now; even in commercial competition, this is unacceptable!"

"Then, Mr. Otaki, tell me—what kind of outcome can this argument possibly achieve?"

"This…"

Faced with Noah's calm questioning, the penguin's initial agitation abruptly ceased.

Whether from shame or humiliation, a bead of cold sweat involuntarily trickled down his head.

"I apologize, Lord Noah, I was just a bit anxious."

"There's no need to be anxious, Mr. Otaki. Catching a mole is actually quite simple, but for now, I want to discuss something else."

Noah said with a smile, appeasing his subordinate.

Then, he operated his wrist-mounted device, and the projected map changed accordingly.

"According to the message O'Brien sent an hour ago, the Necromancer King's army has completely breached our mech defense perimeter, and our joint defensive line has been torn apart."

As he spoke, a murky blackness appeared on the map, slowly spreading and flowing like ink dropped onto white paper, extending towards the city below at a visible speed.

The target was clear and distinct.

"So, they intend to launch a full-scale attack on this city?"

Yu Ming asked.

"Yes."

"Then what we've experienced so far was just an appetizer."

"Yes, their main forces won't arrive for another two hours."

As his thoughts cleared, that simple plan gradually surfaced.

"I see. First, they tried to deal with us through assassination, and now a thousand-mile lightning strike by their main forces…"

Yu Ming also gradually understood everything.

But precisely because of this, he was at a loss for what to say for a moment.

How to put it?

"What an elaborate mobilization. The Necromancer King certainly takes you seriously."

Noah could only offer a helpless smile in response to Yu Ming's clearly teasing attitude.

"You know what it relies on to stir up such a commotion, don't you?"

"Red-Eyes, obviously."

After all, this particular script was titled Legend of Red-Eyes Undead. It was clearly a crucial main storyline item and clue, and everything naturally revolved around it.

"Ten years ago, he used the Red-Eyes he acquired to sweep through the Underworld, becoming the Necromancer King he is today. Precisely because of this, knowing the power of the dragon's eye, he would never allow another eye to fall into the hands of his enemies."

At this, Noah suddenly chuckled.

"Speaking of which, you've always had this question, haven't you?"

"Huh?"

"The demons are all fierce and terrifying, each possessing the power to fly and burrow, yet we've been able to fight against them until now, even building such a massive city."

"By playing cards?"

"..."

Yu Ming's brief, unhesitating reply made Noah's smile freeze.

"That... is indeed one reason."

The boy clearly wanted to say something else, but ultimately sighed.

However, at this point, what he wanted to convey was quite clear.

"I possess the other Red-Eyes."

"Oh, impressive."

"..."