Chapter Sixteen: The Situation Grows Grave

Kane felt restless and uneasy. He couldn’t understand why Jack had chosen this path. Nothing about it seemed right. Such a violent rebellion—being the first to ignite a civil war within the Land of Light—would undoubtedly lead him to disgrace and ruin.

In truth, the Ultraking had already pointed him and the Blue Tribe in a clear direction.

Under such circumstances, there was no reason whatsoever for him to act this way.

“Captain Kane,” the White Tribe Ultraman, who served as his administrative aide, stepped once again into the office.

Seeing Kane pacing with a hint of urgency, the aide silently smiled to himself.

Apart from Zoffy, no Ultraman could possibly guess who the true culprit was. After all, from their perspective, the White Tribe—currently in a dominant position—had no motive to stage such a blatant act of rebellion.

And Zoffy was already under the control of the White Tribe warriors.

By this maneuver, they could pin all the blame on the Blue Tribe’s fragments, who had long harbored animosity with the mightiest Red Tribe. With just one excuse, the two sides could clash fiercely.

Now, their Red Tribe had provided exactly that reason.

The Sevn Tribe, the most elite force within the Red Tribe, had been completely annihilated.

The culprits were blamed on the Blue Tribe’s riffraff. With such provocation, the Red Tribe would undoubtedly fight the Blue Tribe to the bitter end.

A civil war within the Land of Light would affect all three great tribes.

The Blue Tribe would be branded as rebels and crushed with overwhelming force.

The Red Tribe’s strongest contingent had been wiped out by a surprise attack. When they, soaked in the blood of their own kind, took the lead in suppressing the rebellion, how could they ever be accepted by the ordinary Ultramen of the Land of Light?

As for the Silver Tribe, Kane himself was a Silver Tribe member. The Silver Tribe had long held the reins of leadership within the Land of Light.

In such a widespread rebellion, the Silver Tribe’s leadership would suffer a severe blow. If they pushed hard during the later stages of the war, it might even be possible to unseat Kane from his position as leader of the Land of Light.

At that moment, with the rebellious Blue Tribe disgraced; the feared Red Tribe, stained with the blood of their own kin; and the flawed leadership of the Silver Tribe discredited—the era of White Tribe dominance would dawn.

“Any new developments?” Kane looked up at the young Ultraman of the White Tribe standing before him—his most capable aide.

The aide shrugged slightly, his voice tinged with helplessness. “The situation seems to have worsened.”

Kane’s heart sank, and he bowed his head slightly, his voice hoarse. “What’s happening?”

“We’ve lost contact with Zoffy and the deployed Ultramen.”

“What?!” Kane sprang to his feet, incredulous. “What was the last update they sent?”

The young White Tribe Ultraman hesitated before replying, “We’ve located the Battle Star. We’re preparing to board it and negotiate with Jack Ultraman.”

He then replayed an image bearing Zoffy’s Ultraseal.

In truth, as Kane’s assistant, he was usually the one to collect and review these Ultraseals. Kane, as the Father of Ultramen, was endlessly busy; if he read each one individually, he’d never get anything else done.

The Land of Light still had countless residents, and every Ultraman used Ultraseals—it was the most basic skill, mandatory for all. Even if each sent only one, the volume of messages was staggering.

Among them, the Ultraseal from Zoffy, which mentioned encounters with Seven 21, Cupid Ultraman, and the New Universe Defense Squad, had been cleverly filtered out by the aide. Likewise, Zoffy’s own deductions about the matter were kept from Kane’s eyes.

“Jack, why must you force my hand?” Kane slammed his fist onto the desk in frustration.

Jack Ultraman was his elder brother and childhood companion. Their father had once defied all odds to adopt Jack, which deeply influenced Kane. He bore no prejudice against Blue Tribe Ultramen.

But the elders above them, using the Elder Council to pressure him, were the ones responsible for the ongoing conflict between the Blue and Red Tribes.

Through the construction of the Monster Graveyard, the forging and extension of the “Gate,” and the discovery of that strange planet Earth, Kane had gradually established himself as a leader in the hearts of the Land of Light’s warriors, steadily consolidating his power.

Yet, in the midst of all this, this incident occurred, forcing him into a difficult choice.

“Captain Kane,” the young White Tribe Ultraman stepped forward slightly, concern in his voice. “The Elder Council is already aware of this. They are clearly furious. Whatever decision you make, you will have to contain their outrage first.”

“A bunch of decrepit old fools,” Kane snarled, his anger flaring at the mere mention of the elders.

It was their pressure in the early days that had triggered the subsequent wave of Blue Tribe strikes and protests. Even then, Jack had nearly severed ties with Kane. Only the direct intervention of the Ultraking had quelled the unrest, but the initial conflict’s repercussions had lingered to this day.

The young White Tribe Ultraman said no more, stepping back and leaving the decision to Kane.

But such power was merely superficial; in reality, they controlled everything.

The White Tribe elders lurked in the shadows, having lived through eras before the Great Evolution. They understood life and death intimately. They cared not how many Ultramen perished in the war that would erupt—they only cared whether their goals were achieved.

No matter what Kane decided, they would ruthlessly push matters forward, manipulating everything like pawns on a chessboard to serve their own ends.

These old bastards were far colder and more ruthless than Kane, without an ounce of hesitation.

They had stepped out of the game itself, playing with the entire board.

(To be continued.)