In the dense forest.
Naruto was being besieged by a large number of strange-looking, obviously modified humans.
In the distance, several figures stood on a high hill, watching Naruto, who was being surrounded by the modified humans, with various expressions.
There were seven figures in total, but they were divided into two small groups, three on one side and four on the other.
"Why is there only one person?"
Among the group of three, a man with a large axe on his back said somewhat impatiently, "That guy Zanku didn't find the wrong person, did he? That shorty doesn't look like an Imperial Arms user."
"Take it easy, Daidara."
A white-haired man with a mustache, who looked very much like a gentleman, raised his hand and said, "Although Zanku's strength isn't much, his perception of criminals is sharper than ours. He wouldn't find the wrong person—look, here they come."
As he spoke, Leone and Lubbock, who had arrived, were already in their sight.
"That woman, it's definitely the one from the wanted poster!"
A young girl holding a flute immediately showed an interested expression when she saw Leone, then said in a coquettish tone to the people around her, "What a perfect body—she's mine, don't you dare fight me for her!"
"Nyau, don't talk to us in that tone, you bastard!" The man with the large axe on his back heard the 'girl's' coquettish words, immediately pulled away from him, and then said with great disdain, "I don't like men!"
That's right, this 'girl' who looked very cute was actually a cross-dresser.
"!"
At this moment, from the other group, a man in a white coat suddenly spoke, pointing at Naruto, who was being besieged by the modified humans, and said, "That person—is that the Emperor?"
"Hm?!"
As soon as he said this, everyone's eyes narrowed, and then they carefully looked at Naruto, and indeed found that he was the Emperor they were looking for!
Although they didn't know why the Emperor had become like this, and even possessed such combat power,
with careful observation, they could immediately tell that he was the Emperor of the Empire who had been abducted by the assassin group!
"Excellent!"
After confirming Naruto's identity, Daidara, the man with the large axe on his back, immediately laughed excitedly, then rushed directly toward that side, shouting loudly, "He's mine! If I bring his body back, Lady Esdeath will definitely praise me, haha!"
The other two in his group also immediately chased after him.
The three of them were Esdeath's direct subordinates, who had fought with Esdeath's army for many years and were important combat forces of Esdeath's army, known as the Three Beasts. The remaining four were newcomers who had only recently been recruited under Esdeath, so they were not yet on good terms.
Although the few people in the other group were also eager to try, they hadn't rushed up like the three of them. Instead, they asked the person who had just spoken, "Dr. Stylish, aren't we going over?"
"No hurry."
The man named Stylish raised his hand to smooth his hair, smiled, and said, "I've seen the intelligence on the assassin group called Night Raid. From the intelligence, they are not easy opponents to deal with. Let them test them out first. Besides, haven't we already made our move?"
He pointed at the modified humans who were fighting Naruto and the others, and said with a confident smile, "Don't underestimate my little darlings, they are my proud creations!"
The Imperial Arms this man controlled, named God's Hands: Perfector, could increase the precision of finger movements by hundreds of times,
making it convenient for creating various delicate weapons, but he used it for human modification. The modified humans who were besieging Naruto and the others
were his creations.
Bang!~
As soon as he finished speaking, a modified human who was punched and exploded by Leone suddenly burst into dazzling light, then a violent explosion occurred, sending Leone flying.
"Leone!"
Seeing this, Lubbock immediately came to the side of the blown-away Leone, set up a dense wire barrier around them with his Imperial Arms, and then nervously asked Leone, who was lying on the ground, "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine."
Leone's entire right palm was blown off, but she still showed a 'no big deal' smile to Lubbock and said,
"I am the immortal Beast King!"
As she spoke, a faint golden light suddenly emanated from her body, and then her wounds and the blown-off hand recovered at a visible speed.
This was the super recovery effect brought by the secret art of the Imperial Arms, Beast King Transformation: Lion King—Lion Never Dies.
Lubbock felt relieved when he saw this scene, then waved his hands, preparing to deal with the converging modified humans around them.
On the other side.
The man with the large axe descended excitedly from the sky, his large axe fiercely chopping down at Naruto, who was fighting the modified humans.
"Rasengan Fist!"
Naruto felt the sound of rushing air from above his head. He didn't dodge but directly clenched his fist and swung it upwards. When his fist collided with the large axe, a spiral force erupted, bouncing the large axe away, and then he leaped up and kicked the man away.
This move was developed by Naruto based on Rasengan, a Rasengan that didn't require Chakra.
At this moment, a melodious flute sound suddenly came. Naruto, hearing the flute sound, felt his body stiffen, as if he were restrained by some force.
This was the ability of Nyau's Imperial Arms among the Three Beasts, Flute Imperial Arms: Military Music Dream: Shriek, which could temporarily control the bodies of those who heard the flute sound by manipulating their emotions.
Immediately afterward, a stream of water, like a swimming snake, coiled up from under his feet, wrapping around his entire body.
This was the ability of the Imperial Arms controlled by Liver, the leader of the Three Beasts, Ring Imperial Arms: Water Dragon's Embrace: Black Marlin, which could freely manipulate water flow and liquids in objects it touched.
"Demon Armor - Operation Armor!"
At this moment, Brand's figure descended from the sky. After a loud shout, the blunt sword in his hand disintegrated, transforming into a cool set of armor that automatically donned his body. Then, the spear in his hand suddenly swung down at Naruto, accurately shattering the water flow that bound him.
"So cool!"
This was the first time Naruto had seen Brand use his Imperial Arms. Looking at the cool armor on his body, his eyes gleamed.
This Imperial Arms could transform into automatically donning armor—it was simply too cool!
"Your Majesty, are you alright?"
Brand stood in front of Naruto, vigilantly staring at the enemy ahead, and asked without turning his head, "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine."
Naruto shook his head, forced the light in his eyes to recede, and then reminded him, "Be careful of the flute sound, and those modified humans will self-destruct."
As for the enemy's abilities, there was no need to remind him; Brand had already seen them.
"Flute sound?"
Bulat tilted his head slightly, glanced at Nyau, who was about to play the flute not far away, and said with a smile, "Don't worry, you won't hear it anymore."
"Burial!~"
As soon as Bulat finished speaking, Akame's figure appeared silently behind Nyau, who was preparing to play the flute. She slit his throat with one strike, and dark curses rapidly spread from the wound.
"It's Murasame—Ah!~"
Nyau saw the rapidly spreading curses on his neck, immediately let out a terrified scream, and then fell directly to the ground, lifeless.
"One-Cut Killer: Murasame!"
Liver glanced at the fallen Nyau, his expression unchanged. He only looked at the long sword in Akame's hand with apprehension, and said in a condensed voice, "What a dangerous Imperial Arms. It seems I absolutely cannot let you get close; otherwise, even a mere skin cut will be a fatal wound!"
Saying that, he raised the hand wearing the Ring Imperial Arms, and massive streams of water immediately rose from his feet, surrounding his entire body like swimming snakes.
Bulat charged forward, his spear thrusting at Liver. At the same time, the faceplate on his helmet retracted, revealing his face, and he shouted loudly, "Your opponent is me!"
"Bulat?"
Liver was first stunned when he saw Bulat's appearance, then he controlled the surrounding water streams to meet the attack, shouting loudly, "So it's you. I didn't expect you to have fallen so far, Bulat!"
Liver was once a general of the Empire and also Bulat's direct superior. He was falsely accused and arrested for refusing to accept bribes but was later rescued by Esdeath. From then on, he pledged allegiance to her and became the leader of Esdeath's Three Beasts.
In his opinion, Bulat, who should have had a brilliant future, had become a notorious assassin, which was simply a degradation.
"Degradation?"
Bulat heard Liver's words but scoffed, saying, "You're the one who's degraded, General Liver!"
In Bulat's opinion, the once wise and brave Imperial General had now become Esdeath's lackey, which was the true degradation.
Their philosophies differed, and they stopped talking, preparing to speak with their strength.
On the other side.
The fully recovered Leone also found Daidaras, who wielded the Axe Imperial Arms, the Two Great Axes: Belvaac.
"Akame!"
Among the few people watching from a distance, a young girl in a school uniform, holding a long sword, showed an excited expression on her previously expressionless face when she saw Akame appear, then she charged out directly, rushing toward Akame.
"Wait, Kurome—"
A handsome young man reached out, wanting to stop Kurome and prevent her from acting impulsively, but he grabbed air. In his anxiety, he leaped up, his Imperial Arms activated, transforming into a pair of huge wings, and he rapidly chased after Kurome.
The handsome young man's name was Run. In the past, he had served as a teacher in a village in the central part of the Empire, deeply loved by his students, and was in love with the local female magistrate. His Imperial Arms was also a gift from his lover.
After returning from an outing, Run found that his students had been brutally massacred by evil villains, but the local authorities concealed the news to protect their reputation for public order, which caused Run's strong dissatisfaction. In order to change the Empire's current situation and avenge his students, he chose to accept the Minister's summons and became Esdeath's subordinate.
The Imperial Arms Run controlled was called Soaring Flight: Mastema. Its ability was to transform into wings, allowing the user to fly, and the feathers on the wings could also be shot out as weapons to kill enemies.
Swish!~
Suddenly, a mechanical arm connected by a chain in the sky rapidly attacked Run, who had just taken off. Before he could react, it quickly coiled around him, then grabbed the core of his Imperial Arms behind him, and suddenly pulled his body upwards.
Above, the giant Super Danger Beast: Almondo had already opened its ferocious mouth and swallowed the restrained Run in one bite.
"Run—is that the assassins' reinforcement?"
Dr. Stylish looked up at the Super Danger Beast that had swallowed his companion above his head and said with a solemn expression, "This is troublesome."
"Nice, one down!"
On Almondo's back, Najenda, who had returned from the Revolutionary Army headquarters, smiled and detached her mechanical right arm, then turned her head to the figure standing beside her and said, "Susanoo, it's your time to shine!"
"That guy should be the mastermind behind those modified humans. Can I leave him to you?" Najenda pointed at Dr. Stylish, one of the two remaining people on the hill below, and said with a smile.
"Please rest assured and leave it to me." The blue-haired man with horns on his head, named Susanoo, replied meticulously, then, without changing his expression, he came to the edge of Almondo's body and leaped down without hesitation toward the hill where Dr. Stylish was located.
"Kurome!"
On Akame's side, when she saw the young girl rushing toward her, her usually blank expression changed slightly, and her gaze became complicated.
Because the young girl named Kurome was her younger sister.
"Is it an acquaintance that's inconvenient to deal with?"
Naruto came to Akame's side, looked at her complicated expression, and said, "Then let me handle it."
After speaking, without waiting for Akame's response, his figure flashed out toward the rapidly approaching black-haired girl, instantly appearing in front of her.
"Get lost!"
The black-haired girl looked at Naruto, who had suddenly rushed over, her eyes instantly turning cold, and she was about to draw her sword to attack.
"Too slow!"
Naruto grabbed the black-haired girl's hand that was holding the sword, exerted slight force, twisted her wrist with a snap, breaking it. Then, he smoothly snatched the sword from her hand, instantly drew it, and swung it without hesitation toward her neck.
"Don't—"
Just as the sword in Naruto's hand was about to cut off the black-haired girl's head, he heard Akame's cry of alarm. Then, unable to stop the sword in time, he twisted the blade in his hand, striking the back of the black-haired girl's neck with the blunt side of the sword, directly knocking her unconscious.
"Sorry!"
Akame walked over, took the unconscious girl from Naruto's hand, apologized, and then said with a complicated expression, "Kurome is my younger sister. I betrayed her."
"No need to apologize."
Naruto shook his head, then raised the long sword in his hand and asked in confusion, "This sword—it seems a little different. Is it also an Imperial Arms?"
"Yes."
Akame nodded, then looked at the long sword in Naruto's hand and said, "March of the Dead: Yatsufusa. It can control the corpses of those killed by this sword through a curse. It's an ominous Imperial Arms."
"An ominous sword that controls corpses, March of the Dead?"
Naruto stared at the long sword in his hand for a while, then looked at the many modified humans around him, and whispered, "I wonder if using the ominous blade can liberate the souls of these modified people."
After speaking, he held the long sword, Yatsufusa, and began to harvest the fearless modified humans.
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