My Life Across The Multiverse With Mangekyo Sharingan 7

"This is Kuro." She proudly introduced the strange white creature standing obediently beside her. "He's my partner."

The creature puffed out its chest as though it understood every word.

"...Woof."

"Hm."

I crouched until I was eye level with it.

"Wow. It's not everyday I see a dog standing on its hind legs."

"Well that's because Kuro isn't a dog. He's an imperial arm."

Seryu explained without me asking me to. And if that wasn't enough .... "The biological imperial arm. Hecantonheires. He's my partner in maintaining peace and protecting the innocent citizens of the Capital! As long as we're on the beat, evil won't stand a chance!"

She proceeded to add a whole lot of knowledge I wasn't sure civilians were supposed to hear.

As if backing up its owner, the little beast puffed out its chest, trying to look dignified while standing on its hind legs like an oversized, furry soldier.

"I see."

The Biological Teigu—Hecatoncheires.

One of the forty-eight Imperial Arms. Unlike ordinary Teigu that took the form of weapons or equipment, this one was alive. Loyal to Seryu to an almost disturbing degree, ridiculously durable, capable of regeneration, transformation...

...and eating people.

Cute.

Very cute.

"What a good boy."

I reached over and scratched underneath its chin.

Koro's ears perked up immediately. "Woof!" Its tail began wagging happily.

"..."

"..." Seryu beamed.

"He likes you!"

Meh, not really surprised there. Animals generally weren't very complicated. I continued scratching its chin while silently observing its body.

'Hmm...'

Organic construction. Artificial biological tissue. Self-regeneration. Adaptive transformation... The craftsmanship behind it really was fascinating.

My own Imperial Arm would also be organic.

'Should I... ..Strip this one down for practice first?'

I thought, as if casually deciding what to eat for lunch.

Koro suddenly froze. Its wagging tail stopped. The Biological Teigu slowly looked up at me.

Then...

A visible shiver ran through its entire body.

"...?"

It took one step backwards. Then another.

"Huh?"

Seryu blinked. "Koro?"

The oversized dog stared at me with what looked suspicion.

I blinked.

'...Did it just sense my killing intent?'

Well.

That wouldn't do. I wasn't actually planning on dismantling the poor thing.

Today.

'Relax.' I gave Koro one last pat on the head. 'You're only on the "maybe" list.'

Koro whimpered.

Actually... Maybe I should stop thinking things like that while touching living Teigu.

Seryu hurriedly crouched beside him. "Koro? Are you okay?"

"Wuff..."

"He usually isn't shy around people..."

"I guess I just have one of those faces."

"...Eh?"

"Um ... The trustworthy kind." I said with what looked to be an awkward smile. The girl smiled in response.

"No worries. I'm Officer Seryu Ubiquitous!" She saluted enthusiastically "Part of the Imperial Capital Police! I believe justice should protect honest citizens and punish evil wherever it appears!"

".."

I stared at her, my expression completely flat. If there was one person in this city whose first impression and actual personality couldn't have been further apart... It was her.

Looking at her expressions right now. Polite, overly earnest, and brimming with sunshine, it was almost impossible to reconcile her with the unhinged fanatic who would eventually turn her own body into a walking weapon's depot just to blow up anyone who disagreed with her definition of "justice." And also the one responsible for Sheele's death in Canon.

Honestly, I wasn't sure what to feel towards this character. "...Nice to meet you," I replied, not letting any of my inner thoughts make its way to my face.

"Sorry about the bump earlier."

"Likewise! And don't worry about it. It's my fault." she said without hesitation. "Are you visiting the Capital?"

"Huh? You could tell?"

"Of course. You give off the aura of a tourist. How do you find it?"

"Very busy I guess." I shrugged as I looked around.

That made her chuckle. "Anyway, since I bumped into you, I'm entitled to help you out. Is there anything you need help with?"

"Um ... No. Not really."

"I see. No problem then. Have a good day."

"Good day to you too Guard Officer," I said, offering her a lazy two-finger salute. "The city sure feels... safer with you on patrol."

"Thank you, sir! Absolute justice will always prevail!" Seryu saluted back with shining eyes.

".."

Before I could do anything else, I felt something tug at my very existence. 'Eh?' Nothing much. Just my chakra.

But that would mean ... 'Ah .. the fish have finally taken the bait.'

Realising this, I hurriedly handed out the chestnut bag.

"Hey, would you do me a favour and hold on to this?"

"Huh?" Seryu was stunned as she took the bag. "Ok. Why .."

POOF. I suddenly exploded into a cloud of white smoke that promptly drifted with the afternoon breeze. Where I had been standing a fraction of a second prior, there was now only empty air.

Seryu froze, her hand still extended with the bag in hand. Her jaw slowly dropped.

Kuro peeked out from behind her legs, letting out a confused, high-pitched "Yip?"

"E-Eeeeeh?!" Seryu was stunned, looking left and right frantically. "H-He vanished?!"

Kuro said nothing, looking back at her with its small beady eyes.

"Kuro, did we just talk to a phantom of the underworld?!"

Meanwhile, a gust of cold mountain air brushed across my face.

The smell of smoke, roasted chestnuts and city streets disappeared, replaced by damp earth, pine trees and the faint scent of blood. Several meters away, a massive dark beast resembling a giant lion the size of a small hill with several glowing spikes on its back shifted its wings before lowering its head in greeting.

"Hey Lash."  I rubbed the back of my head, letting out a quiet sigh. "Some timing."

My gaze dropped to the ground. The circular summoning seal spread across the stone floor was already fading. Black markings unraveled before disappearing one after another into the earth

The large creature tilted its head. "Grrr?"

"I wasn't talking to you buddy." 

I looked to the side.  "...You really couldn't have waited another thirty seconds?"

Several paces away, leaning against the trunk of a pine tree with his arms crossed, stood another me. The shadow clone was still dressed exactly as before. Hearing my words, he rolled his eyes in exasperation. "What do you think?"

I raised an eyebrow. "They're already here, aren't they?"

"Yep." Our heads turned in perfect sync toward the far edge of the forest.

Hidden amongst the dense vegetation, several figures dressed in dark clothing and military uniforms, watching the cave we stood in front of in complete silence.

From their vantage point high in the dense canopy, the elite members of the Empire’s Dark Squad had been crouched among the thick pine branches for the past five minutes, their breathing completely suppressed.

Yet, none of them had moved an inch.

"It seems there's an extra one." Someone uttered amongst their ranks.

"So he called for backup?"

"Not really. I don't see anyone else in the area." Another slowly lowered the spyglass from his eye.

"Did anyone see where he came from?"

"No."

The man in the lead, Kylie, frowned. Unlike the masked individual they had spent the better part of the morning pursuing, this new arrival looked ordinary. Young. Definitely in his early twenties and probably only a year or two older than him.

After all, despite the use of drugs aging him to his mid thirties, he was chronologically still a young man, just leaving his teenage years.

'No mask, nor is he making any attempt to conceal himself.'

"...Who is he?"

"No idea. We didn't find another set of tracks."

"So where did this one come from?"

"Does it matter anyway?" A female voice cut in.

"They've clearly spotted us and are still standing there. So they're either confident, or dumb."

"They did slaughter hundreds in the eastern district in a single night. No doubt they got something going for them."

"Forget him for a second," a new operative muttered, nodding toward the center of the clearing. "What about that thing?"

Their primary hesitation wasn't the rogue killer leaning against the tree, nor was it the new youth arrival. It was the massive creature resting beside them. "That one's a Special-Class, isn't it?"

"...Most likely." Kylie narrowed his eyes, studying the creature through the gaps in the trees.

The massive black-and-yellow creature remained where it was, its enormous body sprawled across the rocky clearing. Thick obsidian scales reflected the afternoon light while jagged yellow crystalline spikes running along its back pulsed with a faint inner glow.

"...Or a Super-Class,"

"Could be. Doesn't matter either way."  Kylie didn't take his eyes off it. "It hasn't moved since we got here."

"Is this gonna move along? What are you all worrying about?" a soft, airy voice drifted down from the thick canopy directly above them.

The operatives turned their heads in silent unison.

Kurome sat perched on a broad branch, her legs swinging over the forest floor. She popped a piece of plum candy into her mouth, chewing slowly before her gloved fingers rested gently on the guard of her sword.

"Leave the Danger Beast to me," Kurome said with a smile. Her dark eyes lighting up as she looked at the large creature in the distance. "A Special or Super-Class dragon-type will make a wonderful addition to my collection. Once I kill it, its puppet will belong to Yatsufusa anyway."

"As for the other two..."

She glanced toward the clearing. "They're yours."

The squad leader nodded. With Kurome as the only imperial arms using taking the giant beast off the board, everything else would work just fine.

"You heard her. Once the dragon is occupied, we surround the two suspects."

"No unnecessary casualties."

"Capture them if possible."

"Kill them if necess ..."

His words were halfway through when Lash on our end suddenly raised its head, Its golden eyes locked directly onto their positions in the forest.

The glowing spikes along its back blazed like molten gold. The next moment, it directly opened its maw wide.

BOOOOOOOOOOM!!

A colossal beam of incandescent yellow energy erupted from the Storm Monsuno's jaws.

"Look out!" ...

The blast struck the earth, causing a huge explosion. Lash didn't stop there, sweeping its head mid fire. Everything in its path ceased to exist beneath the overwhelming torrent of destructive force as it moved from left to right.

The blast continued for three more seconds before the destructive beam finally ceased to exist.

The forest went eerily silent right after.

Where the squad had been hiding was now little more than a devastated stretch of earth. Trees had been reduced to charred stumps, the undergrowth had been completely obliterated, and thick columns of smoke rose into the sky.

The air itself seemed to shimmer from the residual heat.

Lash slowly lowered its head. The glowing spikes along its back dimmed from molten gold to their usual yellow radiance.

There was a long moment of silence.

".."

Looking at the devastation, I fought the urge to smack my forehead in exasperation. No surprise, I lost.

"Buddy..." I stood there with my hand slapped over my forehead, staring at the smoking wasteland that used to be a dense woodland.

"I think you overdid it."

Lash—the Storm Monsuno—didn't even bother turning its massive head all the way around. It simply let out a growl that resonated directly inside my mind through our core bond.

‘Another group of weak pests. Very annoying’

"That's not the point," I sighed, gesturing toward the smoldering craters where Kurome's squad had been perched seconds ago. "I needed something one of those guys was holding. You might as well have incinerated it."

I was specifically talking about Yatsufusa. While I knew a Teigu forged from Orichalcum and high-grade Danger Beast materials wasn't going to be destroyed by a raw energy blast ... Or at least I hoped it wouldn't. Digging an Imperial Arm out of three feet of molten ash sounded like a tedious waste of my evening.

Lash snorted disdainfully, a puff of smoke venting from its nostrils. Another dismissive mental message echoed in my head, practically dripping with monster grade arrogance. ‘If it got destroyed by that, it was garbage. Not worth keeping.’

"..."

'So in your mind, you're doing me a favour aren't you?'

It didn't even bother responding. The Storm Monsuno turned away from the ruined battlefield, folded its wings, and lowered its massive head between its forelegs. Within seconds, it looked ready to go back to sleep.

A heavy grid of anime-style frustration lines practically manifested over my forehead. "You little..."