In the cave, by the stream, Kai tore apart the metallic skin of the human-Metang, the six daggers running in and out.
On his right, in the distance, there were several such corpses.
Some looked like Centaurs fused with Onix, some were hideous combinations of Witches and Fairy-type Pokemon, and some were hard to distinguish from horrors to beauty.
Yet, there was one thing common among them.
All had their flesh, organs, skins, and skeletons removed, studied, and put back with a precision that no man could ever show.
Around 13 years had passed since Kai's arrival at Island X for the 3rd Stage with three years being outside the purview of his Life Halt Capsule's effects.
It was time to visit the Samurai's Hut.
Moreover, Kai had ample Points to not postpone it any longer.
"Hmm," Kai mused, looking at the fused organs. "They have made some progress. Haha!"
Some 8 years ago, Kai had gone through a substantial amount of shock upon doing an autopsy on the fused version of hulk-like Ser Gregor Clegane and Zapdos.
Shock, because he had found these powers incredibly similar to his own, but infinitely weaker.
First, instead of enhancing the strength of the resulting abomination, this forced fusion brought down the overall power.
After dozens of experiments, Kai had potent reasons to believe that this fusion decreased the overall power of two beings by 50%.
Second, though he had seen making them progress with time, it was also making the fused Being more irrational and less intelligent.
So, in a way, it was like gaining power at the cost of overall intelligence.
"These are only experiments," Kai looked at the corpses, his eyes narrowing. "Both for me and them.
"A time would come when they would perfect their creation.
"Haha! Bitch! I am not sitting here with my dick in my hands, either. Come!"
Kai didn't know if the Systems had triggered this progression or if such research on fusing man and creatures existed here forever.
What he did know, however, was that by the time they would perfect this fusion, he would have unlocked more of his Items.
Or better. He might have already passed the 3rd Stage.
"Smartwatch!" Kai called, licking his lips. "To the Samurai's Hut, then."
A Hundred Thousand Points instantly vanished and a blue-black vortex appeared in front of him.
Kai stepped in, leaving behind a cave full of darkness, despair, cold, and howling ghosts.
When Kai stepped out of the teleportation vortex, he found the Samurai standing in front of him.
Jack was still donning his usual attire; white karate uniform, white belt, and wooden sandals.
He had a long, black beard, his hair tied in a knot at the top of his head. His eyes were dark and cold as he observed Kai with apathy.
As he stood there, he was like a sharp sword, his willpower not less than that of Kai.
Samurai Jack was a man of honor, morals, and justice.
The complete opposite of one called Kai of House Stormborn.
"Thirteen years," Jack said, looking up and down at Kai. "Have you realized the truth of what I told you?"
"Haha!" he laughed outrageously, patting his stomach. "Your truth is in my stomach. I ate them all."
Samurai ignored Kai's mockery.
"Unlock anything you want and then meet me over there," he told Kai, pointing some two hundred meters away from the hut. "And be quick about it. You only have twenty-four hours, don't forget."
With that, the Samurai spun and marched off, his back tall, his steps unhurried.
Kai instantly frowned.
"What's he up to now?" he asked himself, not finding the reason behind the instructions. "Anyway, unlocking comes first..."
Kai licked his lips and walked toward the hut.
The hut was still the same, a tiny existence under the colossal tree.
In the sky, a blue-pinkish mist shimmered, enchanting the hearts and eyes alike.
A calm and composed ocean surrounded the island, devoid of waves, ripples, and life, perhaps.
Kai opened the door and entered the hall and sat down near the table, over which there was a Tablet.
The watch on his wrist shone and projected the data.
[Points Available: 4,500,000]
"Good." Kai nodded to himself.
After remaining holed up for three years in the cave in the past, Kai had roamed around the Island.
In the last thirteen years, he had let himself fall into hundreds of so-called traps, catching them all off-guard using Shadow Space.
Once he had even infiltrated an HQ using Shadow Link, assassinating around a dozen Captains.
The only issue was that despite the thousands of troopers falling under his hand, the majority had never left HQ. Otherwise, the number of Points wouldn't have totaled four and a half million only.
But since the mutated human-Pokemon Beings had appeared, Kai had been getting ample opportunities to kill to his heart's content.
Moreover, Kai had discovered then that, even though the Smartwatch hadn't recognized those abominations, he could gain Points after killing them.
Some gave him 1000 Points, some 1500, and some even 2500, making him guess they were failed fusions of two Captains or a Captain and a Commander.
No matter the case, Kai could expertly tell that these fused beings were still over 50% less strong than a true Captain.
Kai remembered the Megaton-human creature.
That thing was vastly more powerful than a Captain-level figure.
Perhaps a fusion between Captain and Commander soldiers, Kai reasoned.
Kai had only met one Commander in these 13 years — Commander Cedric Diggory.
Even with his enhanced Selfless Breathing and Telekinesis, he didn't believe that he could take on that thing.
It was easy to kill wizards, especially in a close fight.
The thing was the Death Eaters knew it, too.
And if Kai could agree with Samurai Jack on a point, then it was surely on the fact that Island was adapting to him.
And it reacted even faster!
Another important fact that Kai had discovered, which he hadn't found in Ryan's memories was that there was a ranking system within the Armies as well.
Once a Captain or Commander died, it wasn't like the numbers of these two Ranks of Soldiers had permanently dropped.
Captains got promoted to Commanders and Troopers got promoted to Captains, raising their strength accordingly.
And, with the sheer number of Troopers on Island X, Kai couldn't tell if their numbers were getting replenished or not.
Letting out a breath, Kai looked at the Points again.
Suddenly, his reptilian, hazel pupils were beaming with anticipation. "Unlock Selene."
Worth 2 million Points, Selene was one of the strongest Items in Kai's arsenal.
No matter how many swords he would obtain, she was and would remain his irreplaceable trump card.
Not only did the Ghost Basilisk truly understand him from in and out, making him bypass unnecessary details and commands, but she had Intangibility.
In his life, combining his previous world and after the resurrection, Kai had seen no power more absurd than it.
Even more hideous was Selene's ability to couple Intangibility with Soul Chill and her venom — Ghost Neurotoxin; a potent poison that inherently targeted souls.
Combined with the Petrification, there was no magical creature that could replace her in Kai's eyes.