Although the casino hadn't actually been cheating, Kaguya—who had lost all her money—certainly didn't care about such technicalities.
After witnessing more than half the gamblers and staff collapse under Kaguya's crushing pressure, the octopus-headed casino manager's expression turned ugly. He wasn't entirely certain whether Richard had cheated during his winning streak; his accusation had simply been an attempt to avoid paying out over 100 million Kree credits.
Feeling the devastating force of Kaguya's technique, the manager quickly calculated his options and made the pragmatic choice. "I apologize—we made an error in judgment."
He immediately turned to the female dealer, whose wine-red skin contrasted with otherwise human features. "Return this lady's losses immediately and convert this gentleman's chips to Kree currency right now."
While backing down might seem cowardly, the manager recognized he had no alternative. He didn't know who Kaguya and Richard were, but he understood that refusing to comply would result in his casino being demolished within seconds. That would create far bigger problems than a large payout.
"Yes, manager," the dealer replied promptly.
Within minutes, Richard and Kaguya departed the casino with their respective winnings. Kaguya recovered her lost money, while Richard walked away with over 100 million Kree credits earned through "enhanced" gambling techniques.
Despite winning through supernatural cheating, Richard felt no guilt about his methods. In a lawless zone like Knowhere, only fools followed conventional rules. He was simply adapting to local customs.
After leaving the casino, they returned directly to their penthouse suite rather than exploring further.
"You didn't use illusions or ninjutsu," Kaguya observed once they were alone. "How did you manipulate the other players' card draws?"
Like Richard, she had used her Byakugan to observe every card in play. Despite this advantage, she couldn't achieve consistent victories because she couldn't control other gamblers' decisions.
"You've lived on Earth for over a month," Richard replied. "Haven't you heard them call me the Mutant God?"
"Of course I have!" Kaguya responded quickly. "But that's just a title. I'm also called the Rabbit Goddess!"
Richard sighed at her literal interpretation. "Since you've heard the title, you should know I possess many different superpowers. One of them is telepathy—the ability to invade minds and control thoughts. I happen to have that particular ability."
Kaguya's frown deepened. After a moment's consideration, she asked, "Can anyone be controlled through telepathy?"
"As long as their mental power is weaker than mine and they don't know how to defend against psychic intrusion, yes, I can control them."
"Then you could also control me with telepathy?" Kaguya's expression grew wary.
"Yes, I could indeed control you telepathically," Richard admitted. "But don't worry—I'm not a pervert who would use such abilities without reason. You can dismiss those concerns. I may be lustful, but I'm a man of principles."
Kaguya's face reddened slightly as she realized Richard had accurately guessed her thoughts about potential psychic manipulation during intimate moments.
"I'm warning you—don't casually invade my mind with telepathy, or don't blame me for my reaction!" she said sharply.
"Even if I did invade your mind, you wouldn't detect it," Richard replied matter-of-factly. "Besides, you weren't my equal in the Naruto world, and you're even less so here."
Rather than continue provoking Kaguya, Richard retreated to the master bedroom and settled onto the bed. While the casino would undoubtedly want revenge, he felt no concern about potential retaliation. If they were foolish enough to try, he would simply eliminate them.
Time passed swiftly, and before they realized it, Richard and Kaguya had spent five days in Knowhere.
Richard had expected the casino and hotel owners to seek revenge, but his assumptions proved incorrect. Not only did the establishment's backers avoid confrontation, they actually sent polite apologies along with 50 million Nova credits as compensation.
Richard accepted the gesture without ceremony.
After five days in Knowhere and spending over 10 million Kree credits, they finally decided to move on. While the station offered remarkable freedom—perhaps too much freedom—entertainment options remained limited, and the culinary offerings left much to be desired.
On the Fantasy's bridge, Richard settled into the captain's chair. "Set course for Xandar," he instructed Aerith.
"Certainly, sir," Aerith responded promptly, taking control of the vessel and departing Knowhere.
Compared to Knowhere, Xandar enjoyed considerably more galactic recognition. The planet served not only as Nova Corps headquarters but also boasted extremely advanced technology.
After leaving Knowhere, the Fantasy proceeded to the nearest jump point. Following eight hyperspace transitions, Xandar appeared before Richard and Kaguya.
Like Earth, Xandar was a blue world dominated by vast oceans and roughly similar in size to their home planet.
Upon reaching Xandar's orbital space, the Fantasy immediately received official communications. Unlike Knowhere's open-access policy, Xandar maintained strict entry protocols. Only vessels that passed Nova Corps inspection could dock at planetary spaceports—otherwise, they would be classified as hostile intruders.
Richard had no intention of allowing Nova Corps personnel aboard the Fantasy. "Reply that our vessel won't be entering port facilities," he told Aerith. "We'll remain in orbit temporarily for navigational corrections."
"Understood, sir." Aerith transmitted the response to Nova Corps traffic control.
"If we're not docking, are you planning to fly down manually?" Kaguya asked, breaking her recent silence.
"Flying down would be tediously slow. I have a better method." Richard retrieved the Cosmic Cube from his system space and opened a spatial portal directly to Xandar's surface. "Let's go."
Richard stepped through first, with Kaguya following after a brief examination of the dimensional gateway.
They emerged atop a skyscraper in the heart of Nova Prime, Xandar's largest city. After closing the portal, Richard embraced Kaguya's waist and activated his teleportation ability, instantly transporting them to a plaza near street level.
Despite materializing in a crowded public space, they attracted no attention—Richard had used telepathy to blur nearby civilians' perceptions before teleporting.
"Xandar differs significantly from Knowhere," Richard warned Kaguya once they were safely positioned. "This isn't a lawless zone. Try to avoid attacking civilians unnecessarily, or you'll draw Nova Corps attention."
"I'm not a violent maniac!" Kaguya replied with an eye roll. Though unfamiliar with Xandar and the Nova Corps specifically, she wasn't unreasonable. As long as others didn't provoke her, she had no intention of causing trouble.
Richard ignored her mild indignation. "Let's find accommodation first."
Using telepathy, he invaded the minds of over a dozen nearby pedestrians, searching their memories for suitable hotels. Within seconds, he had identified an excellent establishment through their experiences.
After extracting the information he needed, Richard released his psychic hold and led Kaguya toward the street beyond the plaza. Soon, a uniquely designed taxi arrived to transport them.
More than ten minutes later, they reached their destination hotel.
While neither possessed legal entry documentation or identification papers, this presented no obstacle for someone with Richard's abilities. Using telepathy on the front desk clerk, he arranged for her to register them using her own credentials while he covered all expenses.
As in Knowhere, Richard requested the hotel's finest suite.
The accommodations in Nova Prime clearly surpassed Knowhere's standards in both luxury and comfort.
Once settled in their new quarters, Richard withdrew several million Nova credits from his system space and handed them to Kaguya. "I need to handle some personal business. Feel free to explore the city if you want to shop."
"What kind of business?" Kaguya asked immediately.
"Nothing dramatic—I just want to visit Nova Corps headquarters."
"I'll come with you," Kaguya said without hesitation.
"No, this is something I need to do alone." Before she could protest further, Richard activated his teleportation and vanished from sight.
Kaguya's expression immediately soured, and she released an irritated snort at his abrupt departure.
Despite never visiting Nova Prime before, Richard easily located Nova Corps headquarters using information he'd gathered from pedestrians' memories during their arrival. While searching for hotel recommendations, he had also extracted data about the Corps' facilities, local entertainment venues, dining options, and other useful intelligence.
Rather than immediately entering the headquarters building, Richard studied the structure from outside while reviewing his knowledge of the Nova Corps.
The organization had evolved from Xandar's original space militia and exploration agency. Over time, the Corps' structure became increasingly sophisticated and its scope dramatically expanded.
Current Nova Corps personnel were divided into four ranks, from highest to lowest: Centurion, Corpsman, Nova, and Denarian. While Centurion represented the highest field rank, administrative efficiency required a Nova Prime position above them for overall coordination.
As the Corps expanded, its protective jurisdiction grew correspondingly. The entire Andromeda Galaxy now fell within Nova Corps authority.
However, the organization's ultimate leader wasn't the Nova Prime but Queen Adora herself.
Although Queen Adora held supreme command authority, she didn't directly control Nova Force—the Corps' fundamental power source. Nova Force was a nearly infinite energy field generated not through natural processes but by the supercomputer known as the Worldmind.
Nova Force allocation was strictly hierarchical—higher ranks received proportionally greater energy access.
The Worldmind served dual functions: generating Nova Force and preserving Xandar's complete historical and cultural records. If the supercomputer were destroyed, the Nova Corps would immediately lose their signature energy source.
Queen Adora's leadership position existed because the Worldmind had selected her. Without Nova Force capabilities herself, she never could have achieved supreme command through conventional means.
After reviewing the Corps' organizational structure, Richard immediately activated his telepathy. While he knew the Worldmind generated Nova Force, he didn't know the supercomputer's physical location.
Logic suggested the Worldmind would be housed within Nova Corps headquarters, but security considerations might dictate placing such a critical asset elsewhere.
Richard currently didn't know which specific Centurions served in the Corps, nor who might possess knowledge of the Worldmind's whereabouts. However, he didn't mind conducting a systematic search.
Soon, he identified several individuals with the strongest life signatures within the headquarters building. After locking onto these targets, he immediately invaded their minds, searching for relevant information.
Time passed as Richard thoroughly examined the Centurions' memories before ending his telepathic intrusion with a slight frown.
Not only had he failed to discover the Worldmind's location in their minds, but he'd found virtually no information about the supercomputer at all. These high-ranking officers knew scarcely more about the Worldmind than he did from general knowledge.
Something's wrong. This is very wrong.
Richard could understand the Nova Corps wanting to protect the Worldmind's security, but such extreme secrecy seemed unreasonable. Even maintaining classified information, senior Centurions should possess basic operational knowledge about their power source.
The fact that high-ranking Corps officers knew almost nothing about the Worldmind was deeply suspicious.