"Height..."
Watching the two girls who had just endured painful modification, Lucian looked a little dissatisfied.
They were both too young. Making lolis subordinates felt like letting children play at war.
Sure, the Sternritter had plenty of lolis, even a few traps, but was that really a good idea?
When the two sides clash and the enemy are all burly men while Lucian's side is a field of lolis, where would the momentum be?
"Focus and receive my spiritual power."
Lucian pressed both hands to the girls' foreheads and bestowed their Schrift.
He gathered reishi for them to absorb, engraved the Schrift, and poured in spiritual power until their level rose to around elite jōnin, along with a powerful reiatsu.
This was to help them adapt to becoming stronger as fast as possible.
Cute means nothing next to sexy.
The two girls' bodies began to grow rapidly, black and red long hair streaming.
In the blink of an eye they were about one meter seventy, tall and striking, every inch the goddess.
Two beauties who looked eighteen appeared.
"Ahhh, my clothes!"
"…"
Mm. Not bad at all.
Three months later.
The shinobi world was in turmoil.
In just three months, a near–boiling-point Second War suddenly erupted.
Two months ago, Amegakure and Sunagakure fought.
Hanzō tried to use poison gas to sweep the battlefield, but all the poison released from the salamander was neutralized by Chiyo, who discovered the salamander's poison supply needed five minutes to replenish.
Head aching, Hanzō withdrew, and both sides pulled back.
A month ago,
Sunagakure started fighting Konoha again.
Chiyo led the Suna shinobi against Konoha's force led by Hatake Sakumo.
Konoha's White Fang slew Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law, the parents of Sasori, igniting Chiyo's hatred and frenzy.
The battle went straight into a white-hot phase.
Aside from Kirigakure staying quiet for now, Iwagakure and Kumogakure were both watching for chances to provoke Konoha.
For a time, Konoha was under tremendous pressure.
On top of that, Konoha was already fighting Amegakure. In the chaos across the shinobi world, the Land of Rain at the three-country border suffered the worst.
"Good intelligence work. Anything else?"
Inside the reishi space, Lucian sat calmly on the throne, looking at the two girls with approval.
Both wore white Quincy uniforms, white cloaks marked with pentagrams, military caps bearing the Wandenreich insignia, and high boots. Tall and commanding, they looked like female generals.
The Wandenreich hadn't been formed yet, but uniforms had to be unified.
Unified in form only.
Not everyone needed to wear the exact same cut.
Quincy attire could vary: short or long skirts, long coats, suits and the like, but the overall palette had to be pure white.
Uzumaki Kushina's red hair fluttered, lively eyes flashing with excitement, cheerful and fiery.
Uchiha Mikoto's black hair fell naturally, a gentle, water-soft femininity emanating from her bones.
Kushina shook her fists, thrilled. "Nothing else. Has the Empire's site been decided? Leave the next opponents to me. I'll guarantee the mission."
Lucian spoke softly. "Konoha."
"All right… eh?"
Kushina's eyes went wide, then, seeing Lucian's amused look, she puffed out her cheeks.
Her body had grown and developed perfectly, but a few childish habits lingered.
Mikoto's gaze stayed tender. "Lucian-sama would likely choose the Land of Rain."
"Mikoto's wisdom truly isn't something Kushina can match."
The girls pouted adorably at Lucian's words. He raised his hand, tore open the reishi space, and stepped onto the ground.
For three months, Lucian had been cultivating.
He had also trained the two girls within the reishi space, honing their abilities with initial results.
The Land of Rain, the most chaotic place, was Lucian's target.
There, on the border between the Land of Rain and the Land of Fire—
"Finally time to fight. I, Uzumaki Kushina, will make my name resound across the shinobi world!"
Hands on her hips, Kushina vibrated with excitement. Nothing she loved more than hitting people.
Beside her, Mikoto's eyes curved like crescent moons. "Don't get careless. The shinobi world has many strong ones."
"I'm not afraid. Even if I really die in battle, I'll be revived, won't I, my dear Lucian-sama?"
Kushina winked playfully at Lucian, face full of expectation.
Lucian's tone was utterly certain.
"Why waste spiritual power on resurrection? Wouldn't it be nicer to find another loli to raise?"
"… Ahhh, that's so heartless!"
Pouting loudly, Kushina lifted a finger, lively eyes turning serious.
"Small Heilig Pfeil."
A lightning-like ray flashed from her fingertip, slicing the air, skimming past Lucian and lancing into the rear.
Boom.
A massive boulder exploded in an instant.
With startled cries, three small figures were blasted clear.
"Cough, cough. Ninjas. Run…"
A young boy's urgent voice rang out. Kushina used Hirenkyaku to move.
"Spotted on the ground. Huh… well now, three little brats."
Lucian thought, not brats here. Mine are just well developed.
Uchiha Mikoto walked over, looked the three panicked children up and down, and spoke out of the blue.
"Shall we eat them?"
Whimpers. Man-eaters. Terrifying.
The three children trembled.
Lucian's eyelid twitched. So even gentle Mikoto was full of darkness inside.