"Meru! Was I cool just now? Didn't I have great presence? Hehe!" Reiko turned to Meruem with a face that said, I'm amazing, hurry up and praise me.
Meruem patted Reiko's head, stepped forward, and scooped the injured Yura into his arms.
"Ouch. Why would onmyoji from the Uchiha clan show up here? This is our Keikain clan's affair." Ryuuji Keikain dusted himself off and stood up. At Level 2, Updraft rose a whole tier in speed and force, but against onmyoji whose bodies far exceed ordinary humans, it was still useless.
"Ryuuji, should we attack them?" Mami-ryu, talisman in hand, stared at Meruem's group and, for once, asked Ryuuji for a call.
"Not yet. The Uchiha clan only appeared in the onmyoji world recently as a newly risen family. No one knows which onmyoji line they split from—they're very mysterious. Few in number, but every one of them is extremely strong, adept at various Release arts with solid power. However, we've hardly ever seen them use shikigami, so the preliminary judgment is that they're not good with shikigami techniques. Their most famous trait is their eyes. Though they rarely use them, someone once saw an Uchiha onmyoji's eyes turn red while repelling demons. Most importantly, they've resolved several major yokai on Kyushu that were extremely troublesome even for us Keikain. It's said their current clan head's output surpasses even our current Shugen. I don't quite believe that—but today's a good chance to see the Uchiha onmyoji's strength." Ryuuji pressed down the ever-ready Mami-ryu and laid out information on the Uchiha.
Ryuuji fully took on the role of exposition.
Yes, having the Uchiha pose as onmyoji was Meruem's idea. In this world there are ninja, but no Five Nature Releases—let alone Sharingan. Manipulation of the five elements belongs to onmyoji. So having the Uchiha pose as onmyoji in the Nura world was perfectly viable.
And because the Uchiha were few, Meruem also dispatched the long-silent Shadow Clan to assist from the wings. The Shadow Clan of today aren't weaklings of whom only the top few can use grudge power.
While not every Shadow clansman can use Nen and stand as an elite, compared with average onmyoji in the Nura world, they're still very strong. In a world not especially dangerous like this one, the Shadow Clan plus the Uchiha make for a respectable faction.
Because the Chimera Ant army is simply too large, Meruem had no intention of unleashing them all. This world isn't like the Naruto world; it has nukes, satellites, and so on. A few thousand or even tens of thousands—maybe. But we're talking over a million.
So Meruem only released a small number of Chimera Ant elites. For example, the Dark Division's Twelve Stars, the clownish leopard Gido, and other high-tier Chimera Ants at or above squadron-leader level.
And of course the Chimera Ant biological research unit. While the yokai of this world aren't strong, their lifespans run to centuries. That's a fine research subject for the Chimera Ants. No Chimera Ant has yet died of old age—of lifespan ending. But as time passes, they will certainly age—just more slowly than humans—and there's still a limit.
If they can crack the secret of yokai longevity, it would be a remarkable breakthrough for the Chimera Ants.
There's also the fact that, to Chimera Ants, the meat of these yokai tastes pretty good.
That didn't come from Meruem—it came from the Dark Division's Twelve Stars after they wiped out the Shuten Corps. Meruem has forbidden them from eating humans, but not from eating yokai.
Besides, most yokai were animals that gained form. Eating them isn't a big deal. It's one thing to forbid eating humans; to forbid eating other races too would be too much. The Chimera Ants are an inherently aggressive, predatory species that grows stronger by devouring other races. No need to erase that nature.
As for Reiko and Pitou, Meruem had no intention of letting Pouf and Youpi out. Those two would break the balance with their power.
In the Nura world, only a handful could even fight them.
"Rikuo. How long are you going to skulk on the sidelines? These guys came to pick a fight on your Nura Clan's turf. Even if the Keikain and your Nura Clan are on friendly terms." Gently holding Yura, Meruem looked in clear displeasure toward Night Rikuo, who was observing the situation from the shadows.
At some point the sun had set and night had fallen.
"So you're the one who saved Hihi." I come on the wind and go with the wind—fitting for Nurarihyon's capricious nature.
Night Rikuo appeared before Meruem as if he were smoke.
"But… what do you mean the Nura Clan and the Keikain are on friendly terms?"
"Hmph, Uchiha onmyoji—you seem to know a lot. Hey, yokai over there—are you with the Nura Clan? What's Nurarihyon to you?" Before Meruem could explain, Ryuuji's voice cut in.
"He's my grandfather. I'm the new head of Kanto's great chivalrous yokai family, the Nura Clan—Nurarihyon's grandson, Rikuo Nura." At some point, countless yokai had gathered at Rikuo's side.
Kubinashi, Gyuuki, Gozumaru, Aotabō, Kurotabō, and more.
"Mm…" The just-awakened Yura blinked groggily.
"Ah—Meru—Meruem! Why are you here? Where's big brother Ryuuji?" Realizing she was in Meruem's arms, Yura hastily wriggled free, flustered and tongue-tied.
"How did I end up with such a foolish little sister…" Ryuuji muttered.
"Wait—you haven't answered my question yet." The arrival of his allies boosted Night Rikuo's confidence.
"I know the answer—let me tell you. About four hundred years ago, the Keikain clan's Shugen of that time—if I remember right, the Thirteenth Shugen—worked together with the Nura Clan's leader, Nurarihyon, to seal Kyoto's strongest yokai of that era: Hagoromo Gitsune. The Thirteenth Shugen had no prejudice against yokai and was, how to put it… an interesting person. From then on, the Keikain clan and the Nura Clan became on friendly terms. Given one side's onmyoji and the other's yokai, they didn't keep close contact—but that guy Nurarihyon went to the Keikain house to freeload plenty of meals." Meruem dropped a bombshell for both yokai and humans.
"Hmph. Who are you really? You sure know a lot." Ryuuji's hands quietly cinched tight on his Water of Lingering Words.
"Me? I'm merely the King of the Chimera Ants. Don't be rash, now—impulsiveness is the devil." Meruem vanished from everyone's sight. When he reappeared, his hand was already on Ryuuji's shoulder.
In a single exchange, Ryuuji Keikain was restrained.
"Ryuuji!" Mami-ryu, quickest to react, surged toward Meruem wreathed in crackling current.
"Take a little nap first." In an instant, Meruem appeared above Mami-ryu and pressed lightly at his neck.
Mami-ryu's eyes rolled white and he collapsed unconscious.
Having done that, Meruem reappeared before Ryuuji.
"I can't see his movements at all!" Not just the small fry—even the battle-hardened Aotabō, Kurotabō, and Gyuuki couldn't make out Meruem's motion. They only felt their vision blur—then the two cocky onmyoji were down: one on the ground, one pinned.
"Mami-ryu!" Yura rushed to the fallen Mami-ryu.
"Relax. I only helped him cool off. Keikain onmyoji—you didn't come here just to brawl with the Nura Clan's young head, did you? Out with it. And don't bother with cheap tricks. Your water-type shikigami scattered around won't touch me. I can snap your neck faster than they can reach me."
"Hmph." Under eaves, one must bow. Knowing this well, Ryuuji could only state his purpose.
"Yura, I came to deliver bad news. Shugen and Hito are dead. Hagoromo Gitsune has revived. Two of the twenty-eight barriers we set in Kyoto have already been broken. Shugen asked me to come tell you—come back to Kyoto. It's worse than we thought."
"And… Grandpa Shugen says if you run into Nurarihyon, tell him this: he's not allowed to come, and even if he does, he won't be getting a free meal." Ryuuji threw the last line at Night Rikuo. Having learned Rikuo was Nurarihyon's grandson, his attitude had clearly softened.
The Nura Clan's name carried real weight in the Keikain clan. Even Ryuuji, who rejected yokai on principle, had to admit the Nura Clan was one of the rare decent existences among yokai.
(End of Chapter)
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