Esdeath wasn't in the capital.
At this point, she'd just led her army north to crush some foreign tribes.
Uchiha Hikari was a bit disappointed when she heard the news. "What about Sheele, then?"
"Sheele, you mean Minister Honest's son?" Najenda asked, a hint of confusion in her voice as she wondered how Hikari knew that name. Still, she answered, "According to our intel, he's currently traveling around the empire's outskirts…"
"Can you track him down?" Hikari tilted her head, her Sharingan glinting with a calculating spark, like a ninja scoping out a target. "I recall there's a Teigu for divination, right?"
"…"
Najenda's expression shifted to one of wary suspicion.
For someone from another world, Hikari knew way too much about the empire. The fact that the divination Teigu was in the Revolutionary Army's hands was a closely guarded secret, known only to a handful of their top brass. There was no way Brand could've leaked it.
So… how did she know?
"No need to freak out," Hikari said with a slight smirk, her lips curling in a way that reminded one of Sasuke's confident grin. "My intel doesn't come from anyone in your world. It's from that magical thing called the chat group. As the 'group admin,' I've got a few perks…
Could you please track down Sheele's location and let me know? Also, get me a full map of the capital with the noble estates you want taken out marked, along with their main crimes. I'll handle the 'talks' with them."
Hikari's main goal for this trip was Teigu, and Sheele's "Shambhala" was at the top of her list.
It was the only one of the 48 Teigu tied to spatial teleportation, with a range potentially surpassing even the Flying Thunder God technique. It could even send you to places you'd never been—a must-have for travel or ninja missions.
At the same time, Hikari didn't mind making some pocket money on the side to cover her expenses.
And where to get it? From the richest folks, of course.
The Revolutionary Army didn't have much cash, and what they did have was tied up with their leaders. She'd already said she only wanted battle spoils, so backtracking on that would be bad form.
But the empire? That was a different story.
The capital's noble class, many descending from families a thousand years old, had amassed insane wealth over generations. Taking their money felt like poetic justice.
Najenda thought it over for a moment before nodding. "Alright, if you're set on this, Miss Hikari, I'll cooperate. But the divination Teigu isn't with me. I'll need to head back to headquarters to borrow it, which might take a few days."
"Fine by me," Hikari agreed. "In the meantime, I'll get along with your team."
After dinner that night, Najenda gave Akame a few instructions and left Night Raid's base.
It wasn't that she hadn't considered the possibility of Hikari being an imperial spy. But with strength rivaling Brand's "Haunted by Demons" mode, the ability to teleport straight to Night Raid's headquarters, and knowledge of the Revolutionary Army's top secrets, playing spy games seemed pointless.
Plus, even if Hikari was a spy, Najenda had faith in her team—especially their ace assassin.
Right now, Hikari was eyeing that assassin's blade.
"So… is Murasame's poison really that deadly? One scratch and you're done?" Hikari asked, her curiosity sharp like a kunai. "Go ahead, cut me."
"?"
Akame's face sprouted a giant question mark as Hikari casually extended her arm.
"You're… serious?" Akame asked, hesitating.
"Totally."
At Hikari's insistence, Akame reluctantly drew Murasame just a fraction. Hikari reached out, lightly brushing her finger against the blade. Instantly, a sharp numbness shot from her fingertip, spreading until her entire hand and wrist went limp.
But then, another force surged within her, countering the poison and stopping its spread up her arm.
"So, Murasame's 'curse poison' counts as an injury—something my regeneration can handle," Hikari mused, analyzing it like a ninja studying a new jutsu. "It's just slow to heal. The affected area stays out of commission for a bit, which isn't great in a fight. And if it hits a vital spot like the heart or brain, I'm not sure it could be fixed…"
Satisfied with her test, Hikari casually sliced off her own left hand with a single cut.
Akame: "??"
Then Hikari turned to Leone, who was staring wide-eyed at the bloody stump that was already healing at a visible rate, a new hand growing back.
"No way…" Leone stammered, her shock rivaling a shinobi seeing a forbidden technique. "Miss Hikari, do you have some kind of Teigu like Lionelle? You can regrow a whole hand??"
Leone's Lionelle Teigu could theoretically regenerate limbs, but only in a deeply beastified state, with the risk of never turning human again. Regrowing a limb as a human was beyond her comprehension.
"Miss Hikari, are you some kind of human-shaped super dangerous species?" Leone asked.
"Humanoid dangerous species? Sure, if you wanna think of it that way," Hikari replied with a shrug, her nonchalance reminiscent of Naruto dodging serious questions.
"Miss Leone, I've got a question for you. Do you know what kind of beast Lionelle was made from?"
"…No clue," Leone said, shaking her head. "I bought it on the black market. Felt good to use, so I kept it. Later found out it was a Teigu."
"Alright, what about you, Mr. Lubbock? Any idea where the beast that made Cross Tail lives?"
"Uh…" Lubbock, ever the flirt when faced with a pretty girl like Hikari, scratched his head and spilled the beans. "I read about it in a book once…"
Like Shambhala, Cross Tail was one of the Teigu Hikari had her eye on—not for the weapon itself, but for the beast that provided its materials: the East Sea Cloud Dragon.
The threads of Cross Tail were made from just a few hairs of that super dangerous species, a massive creature over a kilometer long, possibly stronger than Esdeath herself.
If Hikari could capture it as a mount or a summoning beast, that would make this trip worthwhile.
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