Within the Chamber of Authority in Pangaea Castle, Mary Geoise.
Shepherd Ju Peter Saint, who oversees Cipher Pol, activated the Den Den Mushi beside him and switched it to slideshow mode.
"Take a look. This is the map Crocodile brought back. It's said to be not a world map, but a map of the country where the Star Gate Base is located."
"Initially, we sent him to the New World just to recruit him. I didn't expect him to bring back so many valuable things along the way. I'm starting to appreciate him a bit."
Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro, the supreme leader of the three armed forces, held the First Generation Kitetsu with a satisfied smile on his face.
"Once the mission in the New World is over, recall him as soon as possible for training. His physical skills and Haki must be improved quickly, or he'll be wasted in a few more years."
"Agreed," Shepherd Ju Peter Saint nodded.
As they spoke, Topman Warcury Saint and the other two were examining the large map projected on the screen, along with the various place names marked on it.
Since everything was written in Japanese, there was no difficulty in understanding.
"This is actually an island in the sea, but there's no scale marked, so we don't know its exact size," Marcus Mars Saint, who is responsible for science, history, and propaganda, said softly while stroking his long, straight beard.
"And look at the top left corner. There's clearly a protruding area that looks like a peninsula, which suggests there might be other islands, or even continents, overseas."
Shepherd Ju Peter Saint nodded and said, "Through interrogating the Yatsushiro Station Chief brought by Crocodile, we've learned that this country is called the Land of the Rising Sun. Overseas, there are the so-called Europa Continent and Asia Continent. Those Kabane originated from the Europa Continent."
"If that's the case, it means these continents have also been ravaged by the Kabane. We can ignore them for now and focus on taking control of the Land of the Rising Sun before us," Topman Warcury Saint said seriously.
"Indeed," Shepherd Ju Peter Saint agreed.
As he spoke, he controlled the Den Den Mushi to blink and switch to the next map, which was a detailed, zoomed-in map of the area around the Star Gate Base.
"From this map, we can see that our Star Gate Base is located in a place called the Oshika Peninsula. Nearby are three cities they call Stations: Sendai Station, Kurokawa Station, and Hayatani Station, which was previously discovered by CP9 and confirmed to have fallen. Right now, Bullet is leading the Army to clear out the Kabane inside."
"These so-called Stations are built with high walls to enclose themselves because the wilderness is overrun by Kabane, and the people of this country lack the ability to effectively resist them."
"They transport supplies and manpower through armored trains they call Station Towns. This is why we didn't encounter any living people or towns at first—they're all concentrated in distant, walled cities."
"These Station cities and Station Town trains are all governed by a government organization called the Shogunate, with the General as its highest leader."
At this point, Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro raised a question.
"Didn't CP9 previously discover an armed force that was clearing and capturing Kabane in the wild? How can you say there's no ability to resist them?"
Shepherd Ju Peter Saint continued to explain what he had learned.
"According to the information revealed by that chief manager, that group is the only force within the Land of the Rising Sun that dares to engage Kabane in close-quarters combat in the wild. They are called the Hunter Group, also known as the Liberators."
"Their leader is Amatori Biba, the son of the Shogun Amatori Kokyo, and he is twenty-two years old this year."
"It is said that ten years ago, when he was just twelve, he was able to command an army of four hundred thousand, conducting large-scale purges of Kabane on the southernmost island of Kyushu in the Land of the Rising Sun."
"Initially, their operations were extremely successful, reclaiming vast amounts of land, but later they were betrayed by his father, who cut off their logistical supplies, leading to the complete annihilation of the army."
"Subsequently, Amatori Biba severed his father-son relationship with him, which also caused the entire Land of the Rising Sun to shift its policy toward Kabane to a more conservative approach."
Upon hearing this, everyone present understood.
It was yet another dirty play between the radicals and the conservatives.
It's just that this Amatori Kokyo was ruthless enough to sacrifice his own son.
However, his only mistake was not finishing off Amatori Biba completely.
Now, he has grown into a force to be reckoned with, with his own following.
"This kid seems to be a talent in command, leading an army of four hundred thousand at the age of twelve!"
"Even with the backing of being the Shogun's son, this is almost an impossible feat. He's both brave and resourceful."
"It's just that he trusted his father too much, but that's normal."
Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro was somewhat impressed by this Amatori Biba, whom he had yet to meet.
He always had a liking for talents in the field of war.
"In summary, they do have the ability to eliminate Kabane, although that weapon called the Steam Rifle needs to hit multiple times to penetrate the latter's heart."
"But according to what I've learned, as long as the distance between the two sides is close enough, two shots are actually enough, and the impact of the bullets can effectively repel Kabane. Unfortunately," Shepherd Ju Peter Saint lamented.
"Most people don't have the courage to engage Kabane in close-quarters combat?" Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro said.
"Exactly!"
Shepherd Ju Peter Saint said, "Also, Laskey and Marta have already boarded the Hunter Group's Station Town train. Judging from the direction, they should be heading to Shitori Station, but there has been no news since then."
"There's no rush. A fallen Hayatani Station and an intact Yatsushiro Station are enough for us to digest for a few days. Let them handle it themselves; no need to rush them," Topman Warcury Saint said in a deep voice.
After he finished speaking.
The Five Elders fell into a brief silence.
After thinking it through, Marcus Mars Saint spoke up, "Their steam devices seem quite interesting. It's just a pity we haven't gotten our hands on a finished product yet. Also, extracting the Kabane Heart Membrane requires a lot of manpower."
"Although we haven't yet figured out how to utilize them, we should store them for now. Dr. Fritz and his team have already conducted experiments, and the extracted Heart Membranes haven't shown signs of deterioration in the short term. However, we still don't know how long they can last, so further observation is needed."
"Manpower?"
Topman Warcury Saint furrowed his brow and suggested, "Could the Academy of Science design a set of mechanical equipment to automatically extract the Kabane Heart Membranes? It could be made into a structure that can be freely assembled and disassembled. From the information we have so far, the number of Kabane in this world is particularly staggering. I feel that relying solely on human labor would make it difficult to efficiently 'collect materials.'"
As the boss of the Government Affairs Office, he was well aware of how challenging it would be to send so many people through the Stargate. It would be too much effort! "That's a good idea. I'll have someone inform Dr. Vegapunk. Now he'll have another research project on his hands," Marcus Mars Saint remarked with a sigh.
"Hmph, the Academy of Science isn't just him alone. Can't others develop a 'processing device'? If they can't even handle something like this, what's the point of keeping them around?" Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro said sternly.