My Life Across The Multiverse With Mangekyo Sharingan 5

Miles away from the inn—

The dense forest outside the Capital echoed with the sound of boots leaping across branches beneath the moonlight.

Night Raid had retreated two hours ago. Bulat carried Tatsumi across his back with ease while Mine, Leone, Sheele, Lubbock and Akame kept pace through the trees.

"...So let me get this straight," Leone uttered.

"You ran into some masked guy..." Akame gave a small nod.

"He arrived shortly after Tatsumi engaged Zanku."

"And then ... He killed Zanku."

Akame nodded.

"...Just like that?" Mine asked skeptically.

"Indeed. From my deduction, he appeared to be aware of Zanku's imperial arm, and had the capacity to counter it." Akame's expression remained thoughtful. She had been there long enough to hear Zanku get outraged while looking at the opponent.

Whether that was intentional or not, she chose to take it as an intentional way to weaponize Zanku's own emotions against him to get him to attack first, then strike with a level of speed the opponent wasn't expecting to achieve a simple clean kill.

It was too bad that the fight hadn't gone on long enough to actually gather more data but it couldn't be helped.

"He was fast. Faster than anyone I have encountered in the Capital's guard. And his eyes... they were a deep crimson with rotating dots. Something I have never seen before"

"So? That doesn't exactly narrow it down." Mine replied.

"Does the ability to make things appear and disappear count?" Tatsumi said from Bulat's back.

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"I'm saying, he also had another strange ability. At the end, he made Zanku's corpse disappear. He pulled out this scroll thing... touched it... then poof. Gone. He could also summon weapons from seemingly nowhere."

Everyone looked toward him.

"Summoning weapons from thin air?" Lubbock rubbed the back of his neck, his wires humming faintly as he swung to the next branch. "Sounds like a space-time type Imperial Arm. But I've never heard of one that looks like a couple of glowing red eyes."

"Neither have I," Akame admitted. "The scroll itself resembled an ordinary object."

"What do you think guys?"

"I don't really have much to say." Bulat uttered. "For all we know, he could just be a bounty hunter. As for whether he has an imperial arm or not besides what he took this evening, that's also something we have to figure out aside whether this new addition is friend or foe to Night raid."

He turned his gaze to Leone and Sheele. "Judging by the fact that he mentioned you by name, .. is there any chance you know him?"

Every pair of eyes landed on the two women.

Leone frowned.

"...I don't know anyone like that."

Sheele tilted her head. "I don't either."

"I see. There's nothing more we can do then. We can only tell the boss and see if she can think of something."

Several minutes later, the familiar outline of the high ridge over the valley of their hidden base emerged between the trees. Going in, they arrived not long after.

Waiting outside stood Najenda. The moment she saw them, relief flashed across her face.

"Good. You're back."

Leone raised an eyebrow. "That's a surprisingly warm welcome."

"What happened?"

Najenda's expression grew serious.

"I've just received reports from our contacts inside the Capital. The entire city is on lockdown."

Everyone immediately became alert. "What?"

"Our spies say a massacre took place tonight." She looked over each member of Night Raid before speaking again. "Now the Capital is in complete chaos."

Three minutes later, Najenda closed the door behind them.

The meeting room fell silent, save for the sounds of the crackling fireplace and Tatsumi's occasional wince as he adjusted the bandages wrapped around his torso.

"Let's start from the beginning." Her gaze settled on Akame. "I've already received a brief report regarding Zanku. I want the complete version."

Akame nodded.

Without embellishment, she began recounting everything. From Tatsumi's pursuit to Zanku cornering him, and the arrival of the masked stranger. She described the battle exactly as she'd witnessed it.

Najenda, who had been sitting in her chair, let out a plume of smoke from her pipe as she tapped her mechanical arm.

"A rogue element capable of instantly neutralizing an Imperial arms user is a massive variable. Did he give you a name?"

"No," Akame replied flatly. "His personality was rather ... Eccentric unlike any other I have come across." She paused, a flicker of confusion crossing her face. "... In our encounter, he noted that I was shorter than he expected and spent a significant amount of time measuring my height with his palm and complaining that I looked too healthy for an assassin."

The entire room went dead silent. Mine nearly missed her footing while standing still. "He... what?"

"Pfft—hahaha!" Leone burst out laughing, nearly choking on her own saliva as she slapped her knee. "Oh, that's priceless! A mysterious, deadly swordsman takes down Zanku the Beheader, and his first instinct is to roast Akame's height? I like this guy already!"

"I'm serious," Akame replied, completely expressionless.

"...I know. That's what makes it funny." Leone continued laughing for several more seconds before finally calming down enough to wipe a tear from the corner of her eye.

Mine pinched the bridge of her nose.

"That's not the point!" She turned toward Akame. "And you just... let him?"

"He was already speaking." Akame answered as though that explained everything. "...Besides. I didn't think my height was relevant to the situation at the time."

"It clearly was to him," Lubbock muttered.

"Perhaps this was just a way to get into your head Akame. You know, just like Zanku got into mine."

"Perhaps, but I don't think that was the case," Akame said. "He didn't seem to be trying to employ a diversion or any other tactic. If anything he sounded remarkably casual in his choice of words, kinda like he was just blurting out the first thing that came to mind when he saw me."

Sheele tilted her head.

"So..."

"He wasn't trying to provoke you into fighting?"

Akame shook her head. "...No. He seemed genuinely invested in what he was talking about, despite how weird it was in the scenario."

"Besides that, the only other thing he showed interest in was my sword, as well as mentioning Leone and Sheele."

"I see." Najenda fell into deep thought. The mentioning of Leone and Sheele was the most troubling part here. After all, the former wasn't even publicly recognised as a member of Night raid by the empire. And yet he specifically mentioned her by name before he left.

"On this part, we can't say for sure whether he is an acquaintance, belongs to the empire, or perhaps part of a faction of the revolutionary army." Her single eye narrowed. "Regardless, we have no idea how he knows this or how much he knows. Until we are aware of how he obtained that information, we should assume our operational security has been compromised."

"That aside ... Tatsumi, how are you holding up?"

"I'm alright, Boss," Tatsumi managed. "It's just some cuts. I'll be alright."

"Good. The fact that this newcomer took Zanku's corpse could be for any reason. Most likely to turn it in and cash in the bounty."

Everyone nodded. "If that's the case and someone like that turns up, we will be informed. A rogue warrior with that level of power entering the Capital’s administrative sphere will draw the Prime Minister's attention immediately. After all, Zanku was an imperial arms user, meaning that that imperial arm is now in his possession."

She paused. "Though with what happened in the capital, I doubt he would show up quickly anytime soon."

"Huh?" Tatsumi was surprised. "Why do you say so?"

"Because the capital was just attacked."

The room instantly grew serious. "Our informants sent word less than an hour ago."

She reached into her coat and placed several folded reports onto the table. "They're still trying to determine the exact number of casualties, but one thing is certain."

"Multiple underground organizations ceased to exist tonight."

Mine frowned. "What kind of organizations?"

"Human trafficking."

"Narcotics."

"Illegal gambling."

"Slave auctions."

"Brothels."

"The reports also mention several estates belonging to nobles suspected of financing those operations."

A heavy silence settled over the room.

"...How many?"

"No definitive count. But the estimates are already well into the hundreds with a lot of beheadings."

Nobody spoke.

Leone's eyes widened with interest. "... Wow. One group did all that?"

"We don't know. It could have been several. It could have been one as well. It's said that a single individual fought through dozens of imperial guards before ultimately escaping over the walls of the city."

Everyone was stunned. "A single person? Hold on Akame? Is that your mystery person?"

Akame silently recalled the encounter. She didn't say anything. There wasn't enough evidence to reach that conclusion.

Najenda continued.

"Regardless of who was responsible, the Empire won't care."

"Most likely, they'll have the papers ready to have this branded as terrorism by morning."

"Meaning they'll tighten security, increase patrols and start looking for someone to make an example of."

Lubbock folded his arms. "So business as usual."

"In part."

Najenda's mechanical fingers tapped against the tabletop. "The larger concern is who they'll rely on to restore order."

That instantly brought one name to.mjnx.

"...Esdeath."

Najenda nodded. "From what we know, the Northern Campaign is still underway. Ordinarily, she wouldn't be recalled until the tribes were completely crushed."

She paused. "But the Prime Minister values stability within the Capital above everything else."

"If word continues spreading that hundreds were slaughtered in a single night. Or worse, something like this happens again ..."

"...he'll want his strongest weapon back."

Mine clicked her tongue. "Tch. To think the northern tribes get lucky because the nobles are scared."

"In simple terms, yes." Bulat leaned forward. "However, we will have problems of our own. If General Esdeath returns early, our operational freedom disappears."

"Precisely. So, effective immediately, Night Raid is reducing all unnecessary activity."

"Huh?" Everyone looks at Najenda in shock.

"Hey Boss. You serious?"

"I am." Najenda nodded. "The capital is currently in chaos due to this mass killing. The majority of crime we usually get commissioned to cull have taken a massive hit. Plus, before Esdeath returns, the Empire is going to tackle this scenario with full force. In the days to come, it's highly likely that security will be at an all time high. Anyone remotely suspicious will be hauled off for questioning or even outright killed just for the sake of it. Such is something we must avoid so we don't get involved in unnecessary trouble."

The room fell silent. That did make a lot of sense.

"So no independent operations or personal investigations. We've already struck the Empire hard enough recently. We gain nothing by becoming impatient."

She looked toward Tatsumi.

"You especially."

Tatsumi nodded. "Right. I understand."

Najenda swept her gaze across everyone else.

"Our priority is information. I want to know who carried out tonight's massacre and whether they're still inside the Capital. And I want confirmation on Esdeath's movements the moment orders are issued."

Leone crossed her arms.

"Well, so I guess we're waiting. Who's hungry?"

"I could go for something."

"Me too."

Najenda stood, signaling the meeting was coming to an end.

"Very well then. That's all for today. Dismissed."