*Chapter 37: The Final Summoning of the Shikigami*

As they approached the entrance of the sleeping quarters, the small group's advance began to slow down.

The enemy's firepower was simply too intense. The narrow hallway offered little cover, and anyone who tried to rush forward would be instantly riddled with bullets.

Taking a quick glance, Kiba grimly said, "It's a thirty-meter corridor. We need to figure out a way to get across."

Everyone looked at each other, but no one spoke up, not even Paul, who was usually obedient.

The barrage of gunfire was so dense that trying to charge through would cost at least two lives. Who among them was willing to sacrifice themselves for the others?

After a moment of silence, Kiba turned to another Reincarnator and asked, "I can withstand the cannon fire. Can you break their formation in a short time?"

 Ryuna understood what he meant. After a brief hesitation, he nodded heavily.

Things had progressed to this point, and there was no need to hold back. This side quest was clearly a high-level one, and the rewards for completing it would be extraordinary.

Even if it meant revealing her trump card, she had to take the risk.

"Alright, I'll go first." Kiba turned around and activated the special ability of his silver storyline equipment: Titan Summoning.

As golden lightning gathered, the three Titan Brothers appeared under the moonlight.

Under the hail of bullets, the fastest of the three, Little Lick, started a wild dash forward.

As an Abnormal Titan, it could crawl rapidly on all fours, even briefly clinging to walls with its jumping ability.

Because of this, the guards had to adjust their aim, unintentionally slowing down the frequency and density of their barrage.

But Little Lick's fragile body wouldn't last long, so Big Head quickly followed, looking fierce. Unfortunately, he was reduced to a bloody pulp by the rain of bullets in the blink of an eye.

At this point, they had made it halfway down the corridor. Seeing that Kiba could indeed withstand the concentrated fire, Ryuna gritted her teeth and followed quickly.

A second later, Paul also entered the corridor, betting his life on the outcome.

Inside the corridor, the most durable Titan, Tutu, started to push forward frantically. However, it was clear that even Tutu would struggle to make it to the end.

Seeing this, Kiba bit his lip, placed his hand on Tutu's body, and activated the healing spell, burning his own health to restore the Titan's vitality.

The moment the skill was activated, an indescribable pain engulfed him, as if a row of gunmen were constantly shooting him to pieces.

Every second was an agony of feeling his flesh being torn apart, and yet he couldn't escape it; he had to endure the pain inflicted on his summoned creature.

"Damn it, no wonder no one wants to learn this spell."

A B-rank skill that no one was interested in must have a significant drawback. Kiba suspected that someone had already learned this skill, and its downside had become widely known in the Reincarnation Space.

Once this mission was over, Kiba was determined to upgrade the healing spell's effects. Otherwise, the pain he was enduring today would be for nothing.

With the two health bars stacked together, they finally withstood the enemy's barrage. As Kiba pushed forward with his head down, he suddenly noticed that the enemy's firepower seemed to be weakening.

"Good opportunity."

 Ryuna wasn't a novice; she knew the importance of seizing the moment.

Seeing that her temporary teammate had opened up a path, she immediately threw the summoning circle she had just drawn.

Shikigami Summoning: Karasu Tengu!

It was a strange shikigami resembling a woman, dressed in a loose robe with a sharp bird's beak and wings.

But what was most striking wasn't its appearance—it was the umbrella sword in its hand.

Without a word, the shikigami understood the orders of its Onmyoji master. Upon appearing, it instantly transformed into a blur, lunging at the group of enemies.

The umbrella sword slashed fiercely, unleashing a barrage of sword energy that splattered blood from almost every musketeer guard.

Its speed was so fast that for a moment, it seemed to overlap with the image of a figure wielding cat-like bladed gloves.

The only difference was that the Karasu Tengu's attack power wasn't as lethal as Hundred-Kill Kuro. The guards hit by the strikes were injured but not killed.

"Paul!"

"Leave it to me."

Swordsman Paul leaped forward from the rear, beginning to reap souls with the power of his cursed sword. Each guard struck by his blade died in agony.

As the killing continued, Paul's movements grew faster—this was the special ability granted by the cursed sword.

"We finally made it through," a pirate sighed in relief, still shaken by the recent ordeal.

To him, dealing with the musketeer guards meant the castle was practically theirs. All they needed to do was capture the royal heir to end the war.

But his guard dropped too much, and he failed to notice the projectile flying toward him.

Boom!

A violent explosion erupted, and the elite gunman of the Alrita Pirate Crew was instantly charred black, dead beyond saving.

"Bastard!" Ryuna cursed, throwing a talisman to avenge her fallen friend.

She clearly saw the assailant pick his nose before flicking something—was that… a booger?!

The man looked like a rock musician, but his behavior was completely at odds with his appearance, especially the disgusting act of picking his nose.

Seeing her companion defeated in such a humiliating manner, Ryuna's face darkened as she summoned another shikigami: Red Tongue.

Kiba, who noticed this scene, gained a new understanding of Ryuna's relationship with the Alrita Pirate Crew.

When it came to dealing with story characters, not all Reincarnators were purely utilitarian. It was clear that this female Onmyoji had developed some sense of belonging with these people.

As for the man who had just appeared, Kiba recognized him as one of Baroque Works' senior agents, codename Mr. 5. He possessed the Bomb-Bomb Fruit ability and often used his explosive boogers to attack others.

His physical strength wasn't particularly impressive, but his fruit ability was especially troublesome. Any part of his body could explode, including the boogers he flicked out or the air he exhaled, which could also serve as bombs.

For close-combat attackers, fighting him was incredibly dangerous, akin to battling a walking arsenal of live bombs.

One slip-up, and you'd be blown to bits.

"Baroque Works… What are these guys doing here?" Kiba frowned. He vaguely remembered that these guys usually operated in pairs.

If his guess was right, there should be someone else inside the sleeping quarters.

The Karasu Tengu charged at the bomber. Its speed and agility made it an excellent choice for dealing with this foe.

Its lower attack power wasn't a concern. If it couldn't kill him in one strike, it would just stab him with the umbrella sword a few more times.

Boom, boom, boom!

With Ryuna and her other shikigami's coordination, Mr. 5 gradually found himself on the losing end, his body covered in wounds.

After all, Mr. 5 was just an ordinary officer, far less powerful than bosses like Captain Kuro, Admiral, or Arlong.

As a top-tier super rookie, Ryuna could easily handle him on her own.

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Shifting his gaze away from the two parties currently fighting, Kiba noticed a stunning beauty walking out from inside the main gate.

She was wearing a yellow dress with lemon slice patterns, holding a small parasol with yellow and blue stripes. Her short, light green hair and sweet, charming appearance were offset by a constant haughty look that seemed to look down on everyone.

"Yahaha, Mr. 5, why are you looking so pathetic?"

The speaker was named Mikita, code-named Miss Valentine, the chief commander of Baroque Works. Although she was a partner, her actual status might even surpass that of the bomb man.

She possessed the Paramecia-type Kilo Kilo Fruit, allowing her to freely switch her weight between 1 kilogram and 10,000 kilograms.

When light, she was like a feather, but once heavy, she could soar directly up to ten tons, making her destructiveness extremely terrifying.

"A troublesome character," Kiba muttered as he launched a data scan. As expected, all three of her attributes were in an unidentifiable state.

He couldn’t even discern her most prominent attribute.

Calling Tutu to his side, Kiba was eager to know why these two were here, but it was clearly not the best time to ask.

It wouldn’t be too late to question them slowly after dealing with her.

"A bounty of 7.5 million Berries, not even as high as Zangao's."

Using bounties to measure strength isn’t accurate, but Kiba knew the woman’s capabilities very well. She could be defeated by Vivi and Nami working together, proving she was just a weakling relying on her Devil Fruit powers.

Once the Kilo Kilo Fruit’s weight changes were figured out, it would be easy to find a way to counter her.

Stepping onto Tutu's shoulders, Kiba was thrown high into the air by the giant.

During this time, he repeatedly fired Black Star, but every bullet swiftly grazed past the woman.

"Yahaha, don’t waste your energy; how could bullets ever hit a feather?"

There was no need to dodge; as long as she lightened her body weight, the kinetic energy of the bullets would just deflect her away.

"A feather, huh?" Kiba brushed past her, appearing calm and unbothered by turning his back on the enemy.

Just as Miss Valentine hesitated about whether to attack, a strong gust blew her from the air down to the ground.

It was Kiba activating the gas jets, using his mobility gear as his secret weapon to win.

Caught off guard, Miss Valentine immediately fell from the air.

She, being feather-light, wouldn’t be hurt but would inevitably land in Tutu’s waiting hands.

If grabbing her wouldn’t work, maybe if she fell right into his arms, it would be fine?

As soon as the woman was caught, Giant No. 2 opened his mouth and bit down, landing squarely on Mikita’s chest.

Whether it was an accident or Kiba’s secret manipulation, Miss Valentine couldn’t bear the humiliation and instantly increased her weight to the maximum.

With a terrifying weight of ten tons, she immediately flattened Tutu into a pancake.

It's worth mentioning that even with her weight at ten tons, Mikita could still move as usual, as she didn’t feel the pressure of the weight herself.

However, this didn’t mean the floor beneath her could handle it.

Bang!

With a bullet hitting a crack in the ground, the palace entrance’s floor suddenly collapsed, and Mikita, like a solid lead ball, plummeted downward.

If she truly hit the ground, the ten-meter fall would be equivalent to dropping from a hundred meters up, forcing her to desperately lighten her weight.

In the brief gap between increasing and decreasing weight, Mikita was left almost defenseless.

And with his mobility gear activated, Kiba dove toward her like a hunting falcon.

(End of Chapter)

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