Chapter 20: Disguise - Visage of an Elder God
While many people called Kaito a "madman," he was, in reality, an exceptionally calm person. It was this very calmness that often led others to see him as an anomaly.
For example, upon entering a new environment like the Infinite Space, his default assumption was that every other Reincarnator he saw was a potential threat. The reasoning was simple: if he were in their shoes, in a place filled with such incredible resources, he would certainly harbor ill intentions toward any newcomer. After all, from what he had gathered so far, this space was undoubtedly the kind of place that could turn ordinary people into superhumans. The value of such a place was far beyond the imagination of any normal person.
Take the [Killing Intent Sense] ability from the robe he was wearing. In the real world, how many tycoons and politicians would stop at nothing to possess such a thing?
Therefore, the clown Evans's approach, which he thought was so well-disguised, was riddled with flaws in Kaito's eyes. But Kaito wasn't in a hurry to expose him, choosing instead to wait for Evans to reveal more information.
This was how Kaito's mind had always worked.
It was the same with his plan to kill Mercenary Tao. From the very beginning, after witnessing Tao's capricious brutality, he had subconsciously started thinking of ways to eliminate him. When he asked Boro about the Omni-Capsules in the taxi, he was already considering using their ability to shrink and restore large objects, like a car, as a murder weapon.
As a child, when other kids watched the Dragon Ball anime, they would marvel at the magic of the Omni-Capsules and wish they had them. But Kaito's first thought had been: If you could get someone to swallow one of these, it would be the perfect assassination tool! That childhood idea was the seed from which his entire plan had grown.
In truth, his plan to kill Mercenary Tao had three layers of preparation.
The first layer was the most obvious: the poison plot. He had Toguro Hachidan poison all the food, tea, and utensils, including Hachidan himself in the scope of the poisoning. He then gave Hachidan the so-called "antidote." This was the only way to ensure the greedy man would have the courage to see the plan through.
The second layer was the core of his strategy, the true plan to kill Tao. He had crushed all of Green Snake's antidotes, re-rolled them into a new pill, and hidden the Omni-Capsule inside it. He then deliberately timed the start of the poison plot with the arrival of the enemy Reincarnator squad. He predicted that Hachidan, overcome with the effects of the poison and his own fear, would be unable to hide his panic and would eventually be discovered by Tao. He also knew Hachidan wasn't strong enough to withstand the pressure and would confess the entire first layer of the plan, thus delivering the "antidote" into Tao's hands. If the Reincarnators were indeed powerful enough to pose a real threat, Tao wouldn't risk fighting them while suffering the negative effects of Green Snake's poison. He would choose to take the antidote, and in doing so, be killed by Kaito.
The third layer was a failsafe in case Tao didn't take the antidote. Before leaving the mountain inn, he had taken the two briefcases of money he'd given to Tao and had Boro use them to contact multiple factions, including the Red Ribbon Army. If the battle between Tao and the Reincarnators had dragged on any longer and forced Moon Fiend to join the fray, the local powers like the Red Ribbon Army would have eventually intervened, creating the chaos Kaito needed to escape with an injured Mercenary Tao.
Kaito wasn't mad at all. He was terrifyingly rational.
"Sir, have you made your selection?"
An old, wizened voice broke Kaito from his thoughts. He was now inside the [Alchemy Workshop]. A white-bearded old man in a purple wizard's robe and a pointed hat was smiling at him. Since he now knew these facilities existed, it was only natural to come and get a proper "disguise."
"I'm done. This should be fine, right?"
The appearance customization was essentially a character creation system. The old man had given him a crystal ball, and by focusing his thoughts on it, he could modify his appearance at will. Once finished, the old man would then solidify that image into a "disguise."
"Of course, sir! No matter how exquisite the appearance, my alchemy can certainly… uh…"
The old man took the crystal ball from Kaito and froze on the spot.
"Sir… are you sure you didn't make a mistake?"
The face in the crystal ball had a massively bulging forehead, a deeply sunken chin, and a nose so long it would make Usopp jealous. Its two eyes were abnormally small slits, and most importantly, its skin was a vibrant, garish red.
The appearance had gone far beyond the concept of "ugly." In fact, the alchemist felt like his mind had just taken damage from looking at it.
Kaito shook his head, also appearing dissatisfied with the creation. "Master, this crystal ball of yours might not be perfect. It wasn't able to fully capture the perfect image I had in my mind."
The old man gently tapped his own forehead, trying to purge the mental pollution. He muttered under his breath, "What in the world are you trying to create, an Elder God?!"
[Alchemist Yupi has quoted you a price of 1000 Dimensional Points. Accept?]
Fighting back his nausea, the old man completed the alchemical process. He had tacked on a bit more than the usual 800-point fee.
Kaito gladly accepted the price.
[You have obtained the item: Disguise Mask.]
[Disguise Mask]
[Quality: Blue (Rare)]
[Description: A special mask created by an alchemist based on your design. The master refused to sign his name to the work due to its twisted nature.]
[Durability: 30/30]
[Effect 1: When worn, your appearance will be modified to a specific form.]
[Effect 2: This alchemical disguise cannot be seen through by any eye techniques or detection abilities.]
Master Yupi felt a little better after the Dimensional Points were transferred. Honestly, most clients who came to him either wanted their masks to be inhumanly handsome or beautiful, or completely plain and forgettable. This was the first time a client's request had inflicted psychic damage on him.
"Sir," the master said, "for a special Reincarnator such as yourself, you probably need to conceal more than just your appearance. Your ID number, for instance."
The master pushed another item forward.
[Item: The Reincarnator's Right Hand]
It looked like a hollowed-out hand, with a special black runic pattern on its back.
"This one costs 1 E-rank Singularity, plus 800 Dimensional Points."
Kaito knew that Master Yupi was a Nexus NPC, so he wasn't surprised that he could sense the Singularities he possessed.
"I don't have any E-rank Singularities, Master."
Yupi pointed a finger at Kaito from across the counter, and a new notification appeared before him.
[Singularities can be freely broken down and combined. A higher-tier Singularity can be broken down into 3 lower-tier Singularities.]
[Do you wish to break down your C-rank Singularity into 3 D-rank Singularities?]