Hikari Uchiha spent some time grilling the Night Raid members one by one.
Lubbock and Hill spilled some useful intel, but Akame, Mine, and Leone didn't dive into the origins of their Teigu. They treated them like tools—nothing more. Or maybe they'd looked into it but weren't comfy sharing with someone they barely knew, like a cautious ninja guarding clan secrets.
After the round of questions, Hikari rubbed her chin and turned to Lubbock. "I'm kinda curious… Hill's 'Ecstasy' is supposed to cut through anything in the world, right? And your 'Cross Tail' is said to be so tough even space can't break it. So… what happens if you try cutting 'Cross Tail' with 'Ecstasy'?"
Lubbock and Hill: "?"
No way were they going to risk breaking their Teigu just to satisfy Hikari's curiosity, like Naruto being asked to test a Rasengan on a kunai.
Hikari switched gears, testing her +3 Dragon Bone Blade against both "Cross Tail" and "Ecstasy."
The result? Both could slice through her blade. But thanks to the Dragon Bone Blade's self-repairing ability, she didn't have to worry about it breaking, like a chakra-infused weapon that regenerates.
"According to Hill, 'Ecstasy' is made from a rare metal called Orichalcum, which was also used for Murasame and Pumpkin," Hikari noted. "But the forging process for Orichalcum was lost centuries ago… I wonder if the Empire's nobles have any stashed away."
In theory, Teigu were one-of-a-kind. Beyond rare materials like super-dangerous beast parts and exotic metals, they involved lost crafting techniques. Over the past millennium, an emperor tried to recreate Teigu but only managed inferior knockoffs, mockingly called "Shingu."
But what was impossible in the Akame ga Kill! world might not be in others. Maybe Totosai, Bulma, the Sage of the Three Holy Lands, or Norton, the Fire Dragon King from the Dragon world with his alchemical expertise, could crack it.
Over the next few days, Hikari stayed at Night Raid's base, sparring with Brand and Akame a few more times.
Honestly, their swordsmanship was impressive. Akame's assassination techniques were sharp and tricky, like a hidden spark from a Chidori. At first, Hikari had to stay on high alert to avoid getting tagged. But once her Sharingan copied Akame's moves, she handled her with ease, like Kakashi reading an opponent's playbook.
As a thank-you for "studying" her swordplay, Hikari taught Akame the Breathing Techniques from Demon Slayer. To her surprise, Akame picked up Flame Breathing in just a few days and wielded it like a pro. Brand took to Rock Breathing, though he was slower to learn.
The Breathing Techniques from Demon Slayer were surprisingly versatile, usable in the Naruto, Dragon Ball, or Akame ga Kill! worlds. Since Brand and Akame had physiques far stronger than Tanjiro's, the same boost gave them even more dramatic results, like a genin suddenly pulling off jounin-level feats.
Brand and Akame thanked Hikari profusely.
"No big deal, just helping out," Hikari said, then glanced at Brand. "By the way, your 'Haunted by Demons' has the lingering soul of the super-dangerous beast Tyrant. Be careful with it. You might want to ask Kikyo in the group chat if she can help deal with it."
"…I'll keep that in mind," Brand nodded.
Removing Tyrant's soul wasn't the hard part—even Hikari could probably do it, like sealing a tailed beast. The issue was that the Teigu's special abilities, like invisibility and environmental adaptability, likely depended on that soul. Keeping those powers while eliminating the risk of "turning dragon" would be tricky.
During her stay, Hikari also challenged the other Night Raid members.
Lubbock's taijutsu was decent, and his mastery of "Cross Tail" made him roughly the third-strongest in the group. But under the Sharingan's gaze, "Cross Tail" was about as useful as a paper shuriken.
Leone, on the other hand, was a brawler with no real technique, like Naruto in his early days throwing wild punches. She just soaked up hits like a tank.
Fun fact: Hikari wasn't most curious about "Cross Tail." Her real interest was Mine's "Pumpkin."
That Teigu turned mental energy into shockwaves. In the manga, Mine, in a desperate moment, overclocked her mental energy and destroyed her Teigu to one-shot the formidable General Budo. Hikari figured her own mental strength wasn't half-bad. If she fired a shot with Pumpkin, could she take down the Empire's "Supreme Teigu"?
As the week wrapped up, Najenda returned with supplies and the maps Hikari had requested.
She brought two.
"This is a map of the capital," Najenda said, "with the noble estates you asked for marked. These are scumbags—murderers, corrupt officials, traitors, and worse. The people want them gone, but they're cautious, and their mansions are heavily guarded. Night Raid hasn't found an opening."
"The other map is of the Empire. Based on our divinations, Sheila and his crew are in this area." She circled a spot. "But it's over a thousand kilometers away. It'd take days to get there, and by then, Sheila might be gone."
Under normal circumstances, sure.
"Thanks for the intel, but I'll handle the rest," Hikari said.
After studying the maps, she picked Sheila as her first target.
Without another word, she used Sky Dance Technique to lift off, soaring toward the marked location as Najenda and the others gaped, like villagers watching Naruto ride off on a summoned toad.
In the valley, Leone's jaw dropped. "Told you—she's a human-shaped super-dangerous beast…"
(End of Chapter)