The Northern Frontier.
Snow swirled through the air.
Clad in military attire, a tall, blue-haired warrior princess sat before a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. In front of her knelt a Northern Tribe prince, leashed like a dog and groveling on the ground.
"Hmph, is this all the so-called 'Hero of the North' amounts to?"
"Pathetic."
Bang—!
Seemingly bored, the warrior princess ended the prince's life with a casual kick, then propped her chin on her hand and glanced at the messenger brought before her by the Three Beasts.
"What's this? Another errand from that Ornest guy?"
A few days ago, a messenger sent by Ornest had arrived in the North, ordering her to halt her campaign and return to the capital immediately with her army. But at the time, she was in the thick of battle with the Northern prince, so she ignored the command.
After all, wiping out the Northern Tribes was a matter of days.
A few days earlier or later wouldn't make much difference, in her view.
But now…
"…Oh? So something like that happened in the capital? Not only the Minister but even that stubborn old General Budou was killed?"
"Well, that's just how it goes. They were too weak. In this world, the weak don't get to choose whether they live or die…"
As she spoke, Esdeath rose from her seat, her piercing blue eyes gazing toward the distant capital. "But as a strong one, I'm very much looking forward to fighting you… that black-haired, red-eyed girl."
With her final words, the blizzard intensified, swirling around the blue-haired warrior princess in a misty white vortex. The temperature within a kilometer dropped several degrees in an instant, making even the Three Beasts and her generals shiver, their faces stinging as if cut by knives.
The pool of blood on the ground froze solid, blooming like a rose in the snow.
"Pass my orders: rest here for three days, then march back to the capital!"
…
The capital and the Northern Frontier were thousands of kilometers apart.
Without "Shangri-La" or "Mastema," even Esdeath's elite Imperial troops could only travel slightly faster than the average strongman.
Meanwhile, the Revolutionary Army, having quietly built up strength in the South for over a decade, managed to muster over a hundred thousand troops despite the sudden change in plans. They charged toward the capital with unstoppable momentum, clashing fiercely with the Imperial Guard stationed nearby.
How to describe it…
It was quite a spectacle.
Outside the Akame ga Kill! world or the ancient times of Dragon Raja, it was rare to see hundreds of thousands of soldiers battling on a single field.
Uchiha Hikari, perched on her Flying Nimbus, watched the scene all day, even starting a group livestream to give Bulma and the others a glimpse.
[Bulma: Wow, is this the Revolutionary Army with Mr. Brand fighting that corrupt Empire? It's so epic… even movies can't compare.]
[Bulma @Nameless: Oh, by the way, Hikari, Kikyo and I have met up with Inuyasha and the others. We've almost collected all the Shikon Jewel shards, except for the one with Naraku. But Inuyasha's Black Pearl in his eye doesn't work anymore, so we can't get to the underworld… Any ideas?]
[Nameless: …No clue. You might need to ask Sesshomaru.]
[Bulma: Got it… Can Kikyo and I swing by your place to check things out?]
[Eri: Eri wants to come too!]
[Nameless: You'd have to ask Mr. Brand.]
[Brand: Uh, my world's in the middle of a war right now. I can't even guarantee my own survival… If things settle down, I'll invite you all over as guests.]
[Bulma: Oh, okay…]
In midair, Hikari suddenly grew curious about something—
If she was in a group member's world and that member died, what would happen to her? Would she be forced back to her own world? Or could she stay normally but be unable to return if she left?
The answer to that question was important.
But…
There was no way to test it.
In fact, Hikari needed to ensure the group members' survival to keep visiting their worlds. If a particularly vile group member she disliked joined later, maybe she could explore the question then…
On a related note, she checked in on Tanjiro in the group chat.
[Iron Head: …Thank you so much, Miss Hikari, for getting Master Korin to teach me! Master Korin is amazing! I can already feel the "ki" he talked about. It's a bit like the Breathing Techniques Master Urokodaki taught me, but purer and more refined.]
[Nameless: Hmm… Did Korin mention anything about the downsides of Breathing Techniques?]
[Iron Head: I think so…]
The biggest drawback of Breathing Techniques was the "Demon Slayer Mark." While it greatly boosted strength, it burned through life force, shortening the user's lifespan—much like how overusing a Teigu could exhaust the body.
Hikari hadn't faced this issue herself, but if Tanjiro kept practicing Breathing Techniques, he'd inevitably encounter the Mark problem.
She wondered if Korin had a way to eliminate that side effect…
…
Though General Budou's fall left the Imperial Guard leaderless, the capital's robust defenses and the advantage of being the defenders allowed them to repel the Revolutionary Army's initial assaults, leading to a temporary stalemate.
During this time, Hikari slipped into the palace again and met with the young Emperor.
Armed with a secret decree signed by the Emperor himself, she tracked down Dr. Stylish at a hidden base in the northern suburbs of the capital.
Speaking of which…
This guy was kind of like Orochimaru's Akame ga Kill! counterpart.
Both were genius weirdos in biological sciences with questionable morals—and both were total creeps.
But compared to Orochimaru, who worked alone, Dr. Stylish had a much larger research team. Even during the previous Emperor's reign, he'd gained fame, earning a special commission from the crown to develop new weapons, Danger Beasts, and a "Super Soldier Enhancement" program.
For example, in the original story, Seryu had him perform mechanical enhancements on her, granting her the weapon system "Judgment of the Ten Kings," which gave Mine's "Pumpkin" a run for its money.
There were plenty of such soldiers in the Imperial ranks.
At first, Dr. Stylish dismissed Hikari, finding her "not stylish enough."
But…
After she gave him a little taste of her Mangekyo Sharingan's power and stamped his mind with "Yasakani no Magatama," making him see her as the Emperor, his attitude flipped 180 degrees. He became all bows and flattery, eagerly guiding her through the base.
"…So these are the materials for your body modification experiments?"
Deep in the base, Hikari frowned at rows of tanks filled with green nutrient fluid, holding various human and Danger Beast organs.
"Yes," Dr. Stylish nodded, a touch of pride in his voice. "The Empire regularly sends me criminals for experiments. These are harvested from them… My dream is to create equipment as powerful as Teigu and perfectly integrate it with the human body, but I haven't succeeded yet."
"…"
Got it.
So Dr. Stylish was aiming to create something like "Dragonized Tatsumi."
Hikari wasn't too fussed about his "dream."
In the Akame ga Kill! Empire, there were plenty of rotten people. Tossing every noble into a lab might harm some innocents, but picking one out of every two would still leave some scum untouched. As long as Dr. Stylish vetted his test subjects and didn't snatch random civilians for experiments, it wasn't a huge issue.
After all…
The creep next door was always eyeing her body, while Dr. Stylish, at least, wasn't that extreme…
"For now, stay put and don't wander," Hikari told him. "Pack up anything important. The Empire's rule is about to end, and the capital will soon have new masters… When that happens, just pledge loyalty to me, find a new place, and keep researching."
"Yasakani no Magatama" could make Dr. Stylish obey her, but it couldn't change his personality.
In the original timeline, he could've survived until the end as a valuable asset recruited by the Revolutionary Army. But his greed led him to try taking down all of "Night Raid" with his enhanced army, only to get himself killed. If he pulled something like that again, even Hikari might not be able to save him.
"…Yes, Lady Hikari."
For now, she left Doteya and Cosmia with Dr. Stylish.
Doteya was also an expert in body modification, so she could exchange ideas with him. Hikari wasn't worried about the two causing trouble together—her mental stamp ensured she could read their memories or drain their power in seconds if needed.
After giving a few instructions, Hikari left the base, using her Flight Technique to soar into the sky and survey the battle outside the city.
Just then…
A cold wind blew from the side, making her shiver instinctively. She squinted, looking north.
In her line of sight were blurred mountains and endless plains.
"Is a storm coming?"
…
"Grenda, Lady Najenda, we've got trouble!"
In the Revolutionary Army's camp, Grenda, a revolutionary leader, and Najenda, along with other senior officers, received a scout's report.
"…This morning, we spotted a large cavalry force on the plains hundreds of miles north of the capital—at least ten thousand strong, moving at a rapid pace toward the city. They'll likely reach the capital by tonight! If we don't prepare defenses, our siege forces could take a heavy hit."
"North…"
"Could it be that woman is back?"
Though no name was mentioned, the officers clearly knew who "that woman" was, their expressions shifting.
"No way. Our intel said Esdeath was sent to subdue the Northern Tribes. They had a formidable leader—normally, it'd take at least a year to wrap up that campaign. How could she be back so soon…?"
"It's Esdeath," Najenda sighed. "For her, 'normal' rules are meant to be broken."
"…If it's really her, we're in trouble."
Grenda looked at the white-haired woman beside him. "Najenda, can you ask Miss Uchiha Hikari to meet with us? I'd like to speak with her personally…"
Najenda hesitated. "I'll try."
…
Evening.
On a plain a hundred miles from the capital, the cavalry returning from the North clashed with several of the Revolutionary Army's flanking units.
Cavalry held a crushing advantage over infantry. In the first charge alone, the revolutionary lines were torn open, suffering heavy losses.
Worse still…
Among the cavalry were not only standard heavy riders but also a peculiar type of ice knight. These knights had incredible stamina and were impervious to blades and spears. Even if an arm was severed, they could quickly regenerate and charge back into battle, shocking the revolutionary forces.
"…It's her!"
"That ice-manipulating power… It's Esdeath!"
Amid fearful gazes, the warrior princess, dressed in her military uniform, rode forward on a towering steed through a path cleared by her cavalry. With a casual wave of her hand, countless ice blades formed in the air, ruthlessly sweeping through the revolutionary lines, causing massive casualties in an instant.
Blood sprayed everywhere.
But Esdeath seemed utterly uninterested.
"I'm not here for you lot… Call out that black-haired, red-eyed girl!"
"…Who?"
The revolutionary general leading this unit was baffled. At his rank, he wasn't privy to information about Uchiha Hikari.
Unaware that her target wasn't a revolutionary officer, Esdeath was about to resort to harsher interrogation methods when she suddenly sensed something. She snapped her head up, looking to the sky.
There, a black-haired girl descended slowly from the heavens, landing before the two armies. She raised her head, revealing a pair of radiant, fiery eyes.
"Are you looking for me?"
(Chapter End)