Though the four commanders of the Dark Army bore the title of the Dark Masters, internally they were far from united.
Given the Dark Army's very nature, the only reason they hadn't devolved into internal strife was the restraining presence of Piedmon and Machinedramon at the top.
But for now, the Dark Masters and the Dark Army were still enjoying a "career upswing"—their mutual goals and shared enemies kept internal conflicts subdued, making cooperation relatively smooth.
Whether they'd end up fighting among themselves once they'd conquered both worlds and completed their grand ambitions—that was another question entirely.
In any case, whether or not they'd clash later, now was definitely not the time for internal conflict. Their grand plan was on the verge of completion, and troublesome opponents had just appeared. At a critical moment like this, infighting would be foolish.
Precisely understanding this, Piedmon showed up right on cue as Puppetmon and MetalSeadramon's confrontation reached its peak.
"Hmph..."
Seeing Piedmon appear, Puppetmon snorted in annoyance but dropped his aggressive stance. He understood clearly that since Piedmon was here, there would likely be no fight.
"So, how was the enemy this time…?"
Piedmon ignored Puppetmon's blatant irritation, instead speaking gently to MetalSeadramon.
Though he'd actually observed everything, he understood clearly that only those who personally faced such opponents could fully gauge their strength.
"The others were manageable—not particularly troublesome. But that Greymon from File Island... that guy called 'Zero' was a far bigger nuisance than expected."
"He's already reached Mega-level, of course he'd be troublesome. But it's rather unusual that he managed to overpower even your Ocean Domain."
MetalSeadramon said nothing, clearly finding the topic too humiliating. Yet his silence itself acknowledged Zero's extraordinary strength.
"So, this is the hero chosen by the lofty 'God,' hmm? Hehe, no wonder fate favors him. To grow so strong in such a short time really is impressive."
At this point, the Chosen Children had already demonstrated their full potential as saviors, and their Digimon partners had also shown astounding growth.
Of course, if it had only been Gatomon, Wizardmon, and Hajime, things might have been manageable…
…But Zero's growth was alarmingly fast. When he left File Island, he'd barely touched the edge of Ultimate-level. How long had it been? And he'd already broken through the Mega barrier twice.
Whether it was his ability to repeatedly surpass the Mega barrier or freely jump between different evolutionary lines, he was undeniably problematic.
It could even be said with certainty that Zero would be the most troublesome enemy the Dark Masters faced from now on.
"Haha, what's the big deal? Leave a guy like that to me—I don't even need you guys' help."
Puppetmon chimed in casually, clearly eager to prove he was far stronger than MetalSeadramon and confidently declaring he'd handle this opponent alone.
Naturally, Piedmon flatly rejected this suggestion.
"We'll certainly rely on everyone's strength in battle, but don't forget our ultimate goal. Reckless solo actions that disrupt our plans won't be tolerated."
"Tch, fine… So, you got any good ideas? I've been facing nothing but worthless opponents lately. I'm so bored I'm about to rust."
Never mind how a wooden puppet could "rust" instead of getting moldy—but Piedmon, naturally, wasn't about to comment on such details.
"Bored, are you? Hehe, forget the battle situation for now. After dealing with the Four Holy Beasts, we likely won't face anyone particularly troublesome in the short term. However, I've found something rather interesting—something that'll definitely keep you from boredom."
"Oh?"
Puppetmon's interest was piqued instantly. His voice rose eagerly. "Interesting, you say? What is it?"
"Since those humans can use our Spiral Mountain's counter-program to set up their Firewall, naturally, we can also take advantage of the power prepared for those humans."
"?"
Puppetmon clearly didn't grasp his meaning, but Piedmon didn't elaborate. Instead, he quickly shifted attention back to MetalSeadramon.
"This failure means nothing. The path to victory will always have obstacles—it's not necessarily a bad thing. With this experience, once we overcome this hurdle, we'll become stronger than ever!"
MetalSeadramon seemed to grasp Piedmon's implication. "Could it be… that 'his' research has made a breakthrough?"
Piedmon's grin stretched disturbingly from ear to ear, pulling his face into a grotesque expression.
"Exactly. It took longer than expected, but a breakthrough has indeed been made. Coupled with your experience this time, it seems you'll be the first among us to achieve rebirth. I look forward very much… to seeing your form after you're reborn anew…"
...
Though the Dark Masters had suffered a crushing defeat this time, they didn't seem disheartened, instead already preparing some new plan.
Meanwhile, Zero's side was throwing a celebration for successfully erecting the Firewall. With it in place, the Real World was at least temporarily secure.
Now free from immediate worries, they were naturally preparing to return to the Digital World and clean things up over there.
In other words, their all-out war against the Dark Masters was about to truly begin.
"Still, considering our numbers are a fraction of the Dark Army's, calling it an all-out war feels misleading. Honestly, based on headcount alone, we've already lost."
After all, the Dark Army was a genuine military force, organized into proper combat units. Though they weren't perfectly unified, their combat strength was undeniably solid.
Each unit was strategically formed according to their abilities and compatibilities, greatly amplifying their effectiveness on the battlefield.
In contrast, Zero's Resistance was practically just a ragtag group thrown together from across the Digital World, barely surpassing third-rate standards in combat ability and scale.
Compared to the Dark Army's professional soldiers, the Resistance looked more like an armed militia…
Their equipment was a messy international jumble, their ranks were chaotic, and their members—Rookies, Champions, and a handful of Ultimates—had been randomly tossed together without any coherent structure.
If such a force clashed head-on with the Dark Masters' army, they'd lose outright based on appearance alone.
Yet Zero was rather optimistic…
"…Hey, if we don't have enough forces, we'll just recruit more. The Digimon oppressed in the Dark Masters' territories number in the thousands; all they lack is the courage to fight back. Once we ignite their bravery and rage, they'll become our comrades."
Mobilizing Digimon to form a Resistance Front was something Zero had done before on File Island. This time it was just on a larger scale, involving greater numbers, but the approach remained fundamentally the same.
To break through their fear, he'd need to build their confidence through an exhilarating victory. The best way was obviously to kill one of the Dark Masters as a demonstration.
Machinedramon and Piedmon were clearly too difficult, leaving MetalSeadramon and Puppetmon as the prime candidates. And since he'd already fought MetalSeadramon once and had some sense of his capabilities…
Based on that, Zero immediately settled on his strategy.
They'd start with MetalSeadramon—coincidentally matching the original story's sequence.
"Then, it's decided!"
Now that Zero had finalized the operation plan, there was still one last issue to deal with before moving out.
That was LadyDevimon, who had infiltrated the Real World earlier, gotten beaten badly by Wizardmon, and was seriously wounded but still alive.
They couldn't leave her in the Real World—this loose end had to be tied up before returning.
...
However, what Zero hadn't realized was that BlackGatomon herself was already preparing to leave the Real World.
Just before that, she had successfully located the target she'd been sent to find, following Piedmon's instructions.
Naturally, she had no idea why Piedmon had asked her to seek out this particular human… a mere elementary-schooler, even younger than the Yagami siblings.
With just a brief investigation, BlackGatomon had already grasped the boy's background.
The boy was from an ordinary working-class family, a household of four, including his parents and an older brother.
The unusual point was his brother—a talented genius, a textbook example of "someone else's child."
Outstanding academically, athletically gifted, gentle, obedient, mature… he was a child any parent would proudly boast about.
Compared to such an older brother, the younger sibling appeared extremely ordinary.
It wasn't that he was a bad or disobedient child—in fact, he was quite well-behaved—but being too ordinary inevitably made him appear inferior in comparison.
Despite their parents' attempts to treat both sons equally, the older brother naturally drew more attention and affection.
This was unavoidable—perhaps even their parents themselves didn't consciously realize their favoritism, instinctively showering more love on their remarkable eldest son.
This subconsciously left a subtle knot in the younger boy's heart, and while he rarely showed it, it significantly impacted his personality.
Yet all of this had changed drastically one year ago.
Everything started with a car accident… when the brilliant, exceptional older son used his own body to shield his brother, pushing him out of danger at the cost of his own life beneath the wheels.
From that point onward, the originally happy family was shattered overnight.
And the young boy who lost his loved one—he was BlackGatomon's target.
His name was "Ken"…
The younger son of the Ichijouji family—Ken Ichijouji!
---
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