Shinji Ikari, the pilot of Unit-01 during the Spirit Awakening Era

"You humans... actually came to participate in the Dark Martial Arts Tournament! Don't you understand..." The demon, who was very wary but still had a fierce look on his face, was kicked away and crashed into a big tree on the side. A crisp cracking sound came from the demon's spine.

"..." Shinji Ikari glanced at the monsters present. "To be honest, I'm starting to understand why we originally intended to throw them away as trouble, but they've come full circle and come back." Shinji Ikari shook his head. To be honest, at first, he had no intention of getting involved in this, but then he quickly found himself with no other choice.

Shinji Ikari received a joint mission from the three factions. Seeing the golden gleam in Mei Isayama's eyes ($^$), Shinji immediately understood that he had no choice. Mei Isayama, as their teammate, was undoubtedly swayed by the joint offer. They had no choice but to go. Moreover, Izumo no Okuni soon called, giving Shinji a vicious scolding. This was practically spitting trouble on her! If Shinji didn't go, she would cause trouble in front of Ryoko the next day!

Thinking of this, Shinji Ikari's mood suddenly worsened. "While the Dark Martial Arts Tournament has mostly been a self-entertaining spectacle for you ghosts and monsters in the past, it's important to make you understand occasionally that our indifference towards you and your ability to make decisions are two different things." Shinji Ikari's eyes swept over the group present, a smile playing on his lips. His spiritual energy began to circulate, and a ball of purple flame, seemingly burning, condensed in his hand. "Cracking Purple Flame Bullet!"

"what……"

"what!"

"Run!"

Sensing the spiritual power rising from Shinji Ikari, the group of demons instantly realized just how powerful he was. They quickly turned and fled, but clearly, Shinji's attack left them no room to escape. The Purple Flame Bullets were originally designed to deal with such a group fight, and the flying purple fireballs left them with nowhere to run.

Amidst their wailing cries, countless demons were engulfed by the purple flames, burned to ashes, leaving only a thin layer of ash on the pitted ground. The remaining demons, stunned, immediately turned and fled. Was this a level they could possibly face? Don't be ridiculous! A single strike from the enemy was enough to incinerate hundreds of people of their level!

"Watch closely, little girl! This is how you summon lightning." His demonic power began to emanate, and he burst into wild laughter, making a simple gesture. "Summoning ten thousand bolts of lightning is less effective than concentrating your power to summon a single bolt! Summon it!"

A massive bolt of lightning descended from the sky, striking the nearby area directly. The wildly swirling lightning instantly formed a chain of lightning, and many demons didn't even have a chance to scream before the terrifying lightning simply turned them into charred corpses. A wisp of smoke rose from the ground, and a faint smell of burning wafted over with the scorching air.

"Isn't this going a bit too far?" Shinji Ikari looked at Mei Isayama, who was waving his hand over there, and a helpless smile appeared on his face. According to his memory, Hiei, who possessed the complete Evil King Flame Killing Fist, was only considered an A-rank demon. However, Hiei in the Dark Tournament was at most at the peak of B-rank. When Shinji Ikari and his group entered that area, they were just killing indiscriminately.

"You care about their deaths and injuries?" Mei Isayama put his hands on his hips and glared at Shinji Ikari.

"No!" Shinji Ikari turned his head slightly to look at the distance.

"That's settled then. Hey little dwarf over there, are you the captain? Get over here!" Mei Isayama shouted.

"You...you called me?"

"lead the way."

"Okay, okay! This way, please!"

Chapter 244 Disagreement

"Countermeasures Bureau, successfully advanced to the finals, OVER!" Izayama Yomi glanced at the corpses scattered around him, watched as his companions ripped off the bandages from their faces, nodded, and sent the message.

"Oh my god! We've made it to the finals! There shouldn't be any more problems." Gojo Satoru glanced at the slightly trembling captain and smiled happily. "I think we'll be setting sail soon."

"The Yin-Yang Bureau's ship has already set sail! It's just that the captain seems to be feeling a bit unwell! He's breathing in some fresh air at the bow." Izumo no Okuni looked at the captain hanging at the bow with a ferocious expression. This captain had just been taunting them, saying that if they didn't know what was good for them, the ship might end up somewhere else.

Izumo no Okuni chuckled. Having spent a lot of time traveling with Shinji Ikari, Izumo no Okuni was prepared for this kind of trouble. The moment he boarded the ship, he immediately started making arrangements. Two priestesses took over the control panel, one priestess monitored the engine room to prevent anyone from causing trouble, and Izumo no Okuni had to do the hard work of attaching the captain to the bow. There were quite a few sharks swimming around below, so it seemed that the captain was quite attractive.

"Are you all this slow? I've already finished my meal." Shinji Ikari leaned against the ship's railing, watching Mimori Himuro, bound by a barrier rope and dangling from the mast, swaying in the wind, and Kirie Himuro below, masked and concealing her presence. He was timing the little girl's drying time. That brat actually dared to jump into the sea just now, so as her older sister, he had no choice but to reluctantly help her find a way to dry herself as quickly as possible.

"Checking my watch, I should arrive around 1:15 AM tonight. Over." Isayama Yomi said quickly, her face completely calm.

"25 minutes later than the Yellow Springs." Izumo no Okuni said simply, and then lowered the metal wire binding the captain a little further, so that the captain was almost touching the sea surface and could clearly see the cute sharks circling around the ship.

"We're arriving roughly behind you, looks safe!" Gojo Satoru said with a smile. After all, he was only there to make sure his lovely students weren't affected. This was a precious extracurricular lesson, and these students really couldn't wander off.

"Looks like I'll have to pave the way for you all. We should arrive around 7 o'clock. We'll talk about the hotel and the competition venue later." Shinji Ikari put away his communicator. He looked at the captain, whose face was bruised and swollen. This guy was definitely not going to behave himself now. After all, Himuro Kirie didn't really respect disabled people. If this guy wanted to die, then Himuro Kirie guaranteed that death was just the beginning of his suffering.

"Captain, I think normally the Dark Tournament wouldn't have so many matches for such a large-scale competition, right?" Shinji Ikari leaned against the ship's deck, seemingly speaking casually, but the captain in front of him visibly trembled.

"Hey...it's nothing. Anyway, for a strong person like you, these pointless actions are completely meaningless." The captain said with a smile.

"So only one team can reach the island, right? It's really a realistic and ridiculously simple choice." Shinji Ikari shook his head. "I trust you won't make the wrong choice, right?"

"My orders were indeed to send the last team of victors to the island, so you don't need to worry." The captain gave a wry smile. What could he do? Honestly, he hadn't even considered that. This was a damned presumption of guilt!

"I hope so." Shinji Ikari stretched on the deck. "By the way, what will happen once we get to the island?"

"Actually, you players don't need to worry at all..." The captain sighed deeply.

"Shinji Ikari of Team NERV, please follow me." A beautiful female demon bowed respectfully to Shinji Ikari and the others who had just stepped off the gangway. The 90-degree bow showed that she was truly respectful, since going up another level would only result in a fierce tiger descending the mountain.

"Lead the way." Shinji Ikari nodded, not surprised by the reaction before him. Generally speaking, whether between people, countries, or races, the one with the bigger fist is more likely to win respect and fear, and the one with the bigger fist often enjoys this fearful gaze.

And Shinji Ikari and his group do indeed possess such combat power. After all, a large group of unlucky demons just proved with their lives that the humans who held the invitations were not only powerful, but also ruthless!

"A very standard suite." This female demon was quite dedicated. The island wasn't very large, so their hotel was not far from the pier. After leading Shinji Ikari into the hotel suite, the guide left after saying that he could ask for anything he needed, and then quickly ran away. After all, she was just an ordinary demon, and the unfriendly eyes of several powerful figures behind her were sweeping over her neck, making it very difficult for her to even walk steadily.

"Do we need to check?" Mei Isayama asked Shinji Ikari.

"No need, sister. You and Miyuki can stay in the bedroom, Mei and Megumi can sleep on the sofa, and I'll sleep on the floor. Is that alright?" Shinji Ikari glanced at the room's furnishings. They weren't complicated, and he had simply divided the space. No one had any objections. The large L-shaped sofa was big enough for two people to sleep on.

For Mei Isayama and Emi Yusa, they were both very familiar with sleeping outdoors, so having a sofa to sleep on was already quite good. It was perfectly reasonable for Himuro to sleep in the only bedroom, since you can't expect a fierce god to sleep on the sofa, so none of them had any objections.

"Rest!" Himuro Kirie nodded, walked over, grabbed Shinji Ikari's ear, and pulled him into the inner room. She pointed to the chairs placed by the window, indicating where Shinji should sleep.

"Silly brother! Hehehe!" Because of the cake, Himuro Mimori, who had a big grudge against Shinji Ikari, lay on the bed and made faces at Shinji, making Shinji roll his eyes. This little girl, she really hasn't been beaten enough!

"Why would you support Shinji Ikari's nonsense?" Gendo Ikari sat at the table, looking at Kozo Fuyutsuki in front of him. "It's a completely unnecessary complication."

Although Gendo Ikari's tone remained calm, there was no doubt that he was extremely angry about what was happening. A sense of rage, that the actual situation of NERV was spiraling out of his control, was brewing in his chest! The Human Instrumentality Project was his bottom line, and it absolutely could not be changed!

However, there is no doubt that Shinji Ikari's decision to go to the Dark Tournament made Gendo Ikari realize a huge crisis, and for the first time he discovered that he had almost no way to directly stop it.

"While there have indeed been some changes, this matter is of great benefit to our plans. Putting aside everything else, Shinji Ikari becoming stronger is something we can look forward to," said Kozo Fuyutsuki, looking out the window with a somewhat dismissive expression.

“It is the flaws that need to be remedied. If this continues, our control over him will become weaker and weaker.” Gendo Ikari tightened his grip slightly, raised his eyes, and stared at Kozo Fuyutsuki beside him, waiting for him to give him a reason that he could believe.

“Yes, our control over him is getting weaker and weaker…” Kozo Fuyutsuki sighed. Yes, everyone knew about this situation. “But stopping him will only make him more wary of NERV. It’s better to let him participate in the competition directly. That way, at least we will be on his side, which will be of great benefit to what we need to do in the future.”

“The facts cannot be changed through sophistry, Fuyutsuki-sensei, we all understand that.” Gendo Ikari stood up. “We don’t have much time left.”

"That's why we need to race against time to carry out our mission." Gendo Ikari's words made Kozo Fuyutsuki frown slightly. He had indeed somewhat overstepped his authority in approving this matter and mobilizing some NERV resources to support Shinji, which was a very good thing for Shinji. "Shinji is of paramount importance..."

“I understand. Let Shinji attend the tournament for now, but this will not happen again.” Gendo Ikari picked up a briefcase and stood up. “We all have our own principles, but please don’t forget our goal. Before this goal, everything else is just a bargaining chip, placed on the scales of justice.”

"Understood, this won't happen again." Fuyutsuki Kozo nodded, his hands clenching tightly behind his back. He turned his head slightly, watching Gendo Ikari leave the room. These two old partners, usually so seamless, suddenly noticed a rift in their thinking. "The key to Nebuchadnezzar, Gendo Ikari, you're not just forcing Shinji, you're forcing yourself too. Good luck." Fuyutsuki Kozo sighed. While Gendo Ikari wasn't exactly a saint, he certainly didn't have such a considerate plan on the battlefield.

"Your son has grown up so much, but it seems he's about to fight Gendo. Are you happy about that?" Fuyutsuki Kōzō looked into the distance and muttered to himself, "I almost forgot. Look at my memory. Katsuragi Misato wanted Unit-01 to be ready for battle. Why not just mount it on the plane?"

"A life of constant toil..."

Chapter 245 Opening Battle

"Welcome everyone to the strongest, most evil, and bloodiest underground dark fighting extravaganza, the world's number one dark martial arts tournament!" The host, nicknamed Little Rabbit, shouted loudly on the stage, and then crisply announced, "The first match is between Team NERV and Team Ura Otogi."

"Pfft, who drew the lots? That's really great! The first match, a perfect draw." Izumo no Okuni laughed so hard he was shaking. Undoubtedly, all the human teams had been matched with strong opponents, but for some reason, Shinji Ikari and his team were the first to be chosen to enter the arena and fight.

"..." Shinji Ikari shook his head. The method of drawing lots was very simple, even a bit primitive. It was just a box with a bunch of numbered papers inside, and then you reached in and drew one. Originally, the group was deciding who would take the blame.

Shinji Ikari looked at others and realized that his own luck was generally not very good.

Mei Isayama said that he has never had good luck since he was a child.

Yusa Emi felt lucky that she wouldn't be working as a telephone operator in this place.

Himuro Kirie, look at them. You actually expect a fierce god to have good luck?

The last three women all focused their attention on Shinji Ikari. Shinji sighed and went to draw lots as the scapegoat.

Then, turning around, they heard the little rabbit organizing the draw raising his hand and shouting loudly, "NERV Team Number 1!" Standing next to the host was a piece of white paper with the number 1 written on it. The four of them took a deep breath in unison, then sighed heavily. That brat...

"The opponents seem quite powerful, completely unregistered demons, and they seem to have some connection to fairy tales?" Looking at their attire, Izayama Yomi tilted her head, glanced at the demons, and shook her head. Generally, only those troublesome, particularly difficult-to-kill demons, or those who have committed numerous offenses yet remain at large, are recorded. Since there's no record…

That means these creatures in front of us are not only incredibly powerful, but they've also been hiding their identities all along, and haven't been discovered by humans at all. Such powerful and cunning demons deserve a heavy blow! "You guys aren't going to suddenly become useless, are you? But it doesn't matter, we're next. They can't escape."

"Ha!" Izayama Mei laughed loudly, rolled her eyes, and then turned and jumped onto the platform. She had no interest in replying to Izayama Yomi's obvious provocation; in short, she thought, "You didn't deserve a beating!"

"So you're the only man in your team, how lucky you are!" A dark-skinned, muscular guy dressed in a baby-like loincloth, named Mokintaro, pointed at Shinji Ikari with a wide smile and laughed loudly. "Hey! You gigolo, why don't you go back to your mother's arms and suckle? Don't worry! These ladies have great figures, I'll take good care of them!"

"Hahaha...a gigolo!"

"Humans are useless, all they know is to hide behind women."

"Ah! I really want to eat them! I really want to eat these women! Kill them, then leave me just one bite! I want the tallest one (referring to Himuro Kirie)."

The demons on the scene immediately erupted in commotion. To them, the fact that humans were participating in this large-scale martial arts tournament belonging to their dark world was extremely displeasing. They wanted to see the recently arrogant humans get slaughtered by all sorts of demons! Since when did humans completely disregard their original, damned unspoken rules and start massacring these demons and monsters? So what they wanted to see now was humans being slaughtered by their own kind.

"This guy is the weakest, so should I fight him?" Himuro Mimori pointed at the arrogant Mokintaro in front of her, and looked innocently at Himuro Kirie beside her.

"..." Himuro Kirie didn't say anything, but patted Himuro Mimori's head, her doting attitude was obvious, and she also showed support for her sister's words.

"This..." After hearing what Himuro Mimori said, a group of demons immediately started roaring wildly, booing incessantly, making the narrator on the stage, Usagi, feel embarrassed.

“If you don’t care, we’ll roll the dice to decide…” said Shishiwakamaru of the Ura-Otogi team, a smile on his face.

“I don’t mind.” Shinji Ikari’s face showed a cold smile. “We’re all seasoned foxes, so let’s not pretend to be big shots. If we want to, we can throw out whichever side we want, however we want.” Shinji Ikari shook his head disdainfully. “It’s already the Dark Tournament, so it’s naturally a deathmatch mode. One falls, the next one takes their place. The side that falls all loses.”

"..." Shinji Ikari's ruthless attitude made Shishiwakamaru's face turn pale, but he also knew that Shinji Ikari had already held back in his words. This was one of their plans, and it was absolutely correct! He did intend to use this method to manipulate the match, to arrange their players to fight in a targeted manner, and then use a series of attacks to wear down the relatively stronger players among Shinji Ikari's team.

"Oh! That's great! I'm the first one!" Mimori shouted happily. "I'll beat you all to a pulp!" Mimori Himuro shouted proudly, waving her delicate pink fists. What kind of life did she live in the Himuro mansion! Her body was a puppet made by the Yin-Yang Bureau using all its secret techniques, and her soul was a spirit that had survived a heavenly tribulation. Tired? Humans don't have that kind of setting.

Her mentor is a heartless and ruthless monster, and she has a gloating and accomplice-to-hero brother. She trains for far more time than the average person every day, did you know that?

"Hahahaha... Little girl! I'm going to skin you alive! I'll crush every single bone in you!" After glancing at Shishiwakamaru and getting confirmation, Mokintaro roared fiercely.

"Hehehe..." Himuro Mimori made a face at the other person without taking them seriously at all.

"Team Ura-Gyotogi vs. Team NERV, first round, Mokintaro vs. Mimori!" Usagi announced loudly, and then the non-participants from both teams left the arena.

"You brat! I can take you down in one strike!" Mojintaro charged forward, unleashing the "Demon Hunting Fist!" One of his arms transformed into a battle axe, which he then swung fiercely, determined to cut the brat who dared to look down on him in two.

"Eh... Is she really that stupid?" As someone who usually faces her head-on, Shinji Ikari is usually dodging at high speed, and would never be so foolish as to run straight towards her. A series of runes slid out from his sleeve, and the runes, which were infused with spiritual energy, had begun to burn slightly.

"Boom!" A ball of fire exploded directly on the ground. Mojintaro finally managed to dodge, falling to the side. But the next instant, his face was covered in cold sweat, his entire body torn and bleeding, a testament to the power of the talisman. Then, he suddenly felt a burning sensation on his back. Turning around, he was instantly dumbfounded, his tongue lolling out in horror. "Ah!"

In the direction where he fell, there was a talisman burning fiercely...

"Boom!" A similar explosion erupted.

"Pfft...you brat...ah!" With his body almost completely charred, Mokintaro struggled to his feet, trying to have a good match with Himuro Mimori. A light talisman slowly fell from the ground and stuck directly to Mokintaro's face.

"Thump!" Blood splattered, the entire head exploded into pieces, and the foul-smelling blood formed a large puddle on the ground.

"Ah... cha..." The commentator, Little Rabbit, looked shocked. The seemingly tall, strong, and powerful Mokintaro was taken down by the opponent in just one charge.

"Uh..." Just as shocked as her was Himuro Mimori, who had just taken down her opponent. Although planting the bomb in the opponent's sprinting path was a combat technique that Himuro Mimori learned in her games with Shinji Ikari, until now, it was always Shinji Ikari who planted the bomb and she was responsible for taking the hit. So today was really the first time in her history that she had successfully planted the bomb and ambushed someone... This really surprised Himuro Mimori.

"Yay!" But Himuro Mimori quickly realized what had happened; she had won! She had planted the bomb and ambushed someone. Now she finally understood why Shinji Ikari always stood by the pit, laughing uncontrollably as she was blown to bits! This feeling was amazing!

"We won! We won!" Himuro Mimori jumped around on the field, clearly overjoyed. Then, the entire arena erupted in curses and boos. This team, Ura Otogi, was a renowned team before the match, even a favorite in betting odds! How could they be so easily defeated by such a casual little girl?! What kind of strong team is this?! Was it all just hype?

"That good-for-nothing was so careless, what was he thinking..." Shishiwakamaru spat fiercely, then looked at Spade Taro beside him, "Don't make the same stupid mistake."

"Of course!" Spade Taro leaped onto the arena. "Hey! Little girl, this time I'm going to send you packing...! Eh! You've changed your fighters?"

"Are you blind? She's busy begging for cake from her sister... so let's just say she forfeited her second match." Isayama Mei walked onto the field. "So I'm here to give you a one-tenth chance. Hey, host, you can announce the start!"

"Eh...Eh! The next round! Spade Taro vs. Isayama Mei! Begin!"

Chapter 246 I'll Be There for You

"Thump!" With another clash of fists and feet, Spade Taro barely managed to maintain his balance. His claws scraped ten teeth marks on the stone slabs of the arena floor, and several of his toenails even broke off, leaving his feet covered in blood.

"Tch... What a tough thing!" Mei Isayama looked at the ordinary alloy naginata that had snapped in her hand. Her previous one was still under repair and hadn't been returned. The one she had now was forged for her by NERV's engineering department using high-strength steel plates from who-knows-where, and the weight had been adjusted according to Mei Isayama's requirements. When Mei Isayama swung it, she still found it quite easy to handle, and she was satisfied with its sharpness and toughness, which was enough to split an armored vehicle.

But to her utter surprise, it broke in the very first battle, which was beyond her expectations. "Next time, I'll make sure they make it much sturdier!" With a pout, Izayama Mei spun the handle, and without a doubt, she was now using it as a stick.

"Hehe! You crazy woman! I already told you, your knife is no longer useful to me!" Spade Taro said with a sinister grin after taking two deep breaths.

"What's with this masochistic attitude? You think you're invincible just because I can't cut you down?" Isayama Mei said speechlessly, but his mind was racing, "But a masochist like you and a masochistic constitution are a match made in heaven!"

Mei Isayama, holding a stick in one hand, beckoned to Taro Spade in front of her. "Come here, let your older sister give you some more loving encouragement and see just how much of a boost your masochistic nature can provide!"

"Damn it!" Spade Taro was clearly hit hard by the attack and charged forward. The first form of the Beast Armor, the ape form, gave him great power, but the speed enhancement was relatively limited. When he charged forward, he was easily caught by Isayama Mei in front of him.

Countless shadows of sticks swept over, and although she did not transform into a beast, Isayama Mei's power was still much stronger than before due to the enhancement of her bloodline. As a result, the more than 200-pound body of Spade Taro, who was being beaten, was directly sent flying!

"Damn it..." Spade Taro crashed heavily to the ground and, after getting up, couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of blood. Under such circumstances, his body had suffered such a terrible blow. If he didn't want to lose, then he had to do something!

"Eat a peach!" Izayama Mei said, tilting her head as she struck the stick. "Eat it, I'll give you time. This sandbag is so good, I really don't want to break it so easily!" Izayama Mei said words that sent chills down the spines of all the demons and monsters who came to watch the ceremony. "Eat it, the stronger you become, the more fun I can have hitting you! So eat it! Don't be shy, eat it quickly!"

"You..." Spade Taro glared menacingly at Isayama Mei, who was frantically urging him to eat the peach. "Woman! You'll regret this! You'll regret this!" He pulled a spade-shaped chimei dumpling from his waist. His anger and reason urged him to use the chimei dumpling in his hand. He crushed the chimei dumpling in his hand, his eyes turning ferocious, and he inhaled the mist emanating from it.

"So, meaningless things are still...meaningless." Seeing the other party grow wings from its arms and scales from its body, Isayama Mei went up and swung a stick at it.

"Hehehe! Woman! I told you! You'll pay for your stupidity!" The laughing Spade Taro roared loudly. Yes, his body had adapted to the woman's attacks, and the unbearable pain from before was gone! It was time for her to pay the price.

"Oh! Spade Taro has unleashed terrifying speed! We lost track of him in an instant!" the little rabbit beside her screamed. "After absorbing the second Chimei Dumpling, Spade Taro's speed seems to have skyrocketed!"

"Die, woman! Regret your own stupidity!" Spade Taro swung his claw at Isayama Mei, "Take your stupidity and die!"

"Is that so?" The next instant, a gun barrel pierced his body, through his heart, and the scales on Isayama Mei's arm flashed by. "That's it? That's too boring."

"What...!" Perhaps the most shocked were not Spade Taro, who had already been exposed, but his teammates on the sidelines. They simply could not believe that their teammate had been toyed with like a cat playing with a mouse by the opponent, and that the opponent had such an attitude of killing him at will.

"Don't worry, you won't be alone. Your teammates, these demons watching this monkey show, and even those damned rich people in the distance, they'll all die." Isayama Mei leaned close to the man who wasn't quite dead yet and whispered, "Be thankful, at least you died on the stage."

"Ha..." Spade Taro turned his head slightly, but before Isayama Mei could say anything, lightning flowed down the gun barrel and directly into Spade Taro's body, instantly turning his body into a lump of charcoal that emitted a burnt smell.