Only I Am Supreme

"Is there any way to save Pitou?" Meruem asked, his voice frantic and desperate as he watched the egg containing Pitou shrink smaller and smaller. Perhaps in a few more seconds, Pitou would vanish from his sight forever.

"There is, but this system does not advise the host to use it!" After a brief second of silence, the cold, electronic voice replied.

"Don't waste time! I order you to use it immediately! After that, take me and my subordinates away from this world! I don't care which world it is, as long as it's one where I can grow stronger! Hurry!" Hearing that there was a way, Meruem no longer cared about the consequences. The pressure Yoma exerted on him was too immense; staying even one more second could mean death.

"Life Binding! The host will share their own time!" Pitou's egg finally stopped shrinking, but in exchange, Meruem's body began to gradually wither and shrink. Very well. Using my time to trade for Pitou's survival—this is a bargain worth making!

Furthermore, Meruem's physical form began to fade away.

"Damn it, little brat, don't think you can escape!" Yoma's expression turned anxious. As a god of time who had been sealed, he had no way to counter such spatial manipulation. He had originally intended to slowly extract the method to use that treasure, but it seemed he would have to kill him first after all!

"Hey, Yoma! Take this from me too!" Meruem pointed his left hand toward the ground and his right toward the sky. As Pitou died for his sake, Meruem had thought of much and realized even more. This was a technique Meruem had comprehended in that fleeting, singular moment.

"Above the heavens and below the earth, only I am supreme! Across the eight wildernesses and six unions, only I am supreme!"

This was a martial path that belonged entirely to Meruem: Above the heavens and below the earth, only I am supreme! Across the eight wildernesses and six unions, only I am supreme! If Netero's martial core was benevolence, Jed's was hatred, and Beyond's was aggression, then this was the strongest technique born from integrating the essence of Netero's 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva Zero—Above the heavens and below the earth, only I am supreme! Across the eight wildernesses and six unions, only I am supreme!

Meruem's martial core was hegemony! The King's Way! When a commoner rages, blood spatters five paces. When an emperor rages, a million corpses fall! This was the path of Meruem: whoever touches my kin, I shall slaughter their entire clan! Indeed, Meruem had long since regarded Pitou as his kin, perhaps even his beloved.

He had simply refused to admit it until now. Is this love? No, it's not love, it's just the feeling of liking someone. That was the answer he had given himself whenever he asked in the past. Until just now, he finally understood.

This, this was love.

"How dare you touch what I love! I will kill, kill, kill, kill, kill you!" Behind Meruem, a massive manifestation appeared—himself! A blood-red hue stained half the sky, and the manifestation, identical to Meruem's true form, also pointed its left hand to the ground and its right to the sky.

"This technique! Damn it! Spatial Teleportation! Illusory Space!" At that moment, Yoma sensed danger. If Meruem's technique struck him, he would likely be severely wounded! Or even—killed. He no longer cared about the treasure; survival was paramount. He hurriedly unleashed his two strongest techniques, fleeing as far as he could to escape the catastrophe. Unfortunately, he was still grazed by Meruem's attack in the final moment before he vanished.

"Even if you run to the ends of the earth, I will drag you out. 'Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas'? Yoma, the next time we meet, I will ensure you have no place to be buried!" Meruem muttered as he looked toward the direction where Yoma had disappeared, his body now that of a seven or eight-year-old child. At the same time, all surviving Chimera Ants received the news that Meruem was about to lead them away from this world.

Without exception, every one of them chose to leave. The previous battle had left the Chimera Ants with countless casualties, and naturally, humanity had paid a heavy price as well; countless Nen masters were buried within the palace of the East Gorteau Republic.

Several days later, nations reported on the incident.

Subsequently, countries began a severe crackdown on the Divine Cult. Because the deity they worshipped had vanished and the cult's experts had mostly left the world, the Divine Cult suffered a devastating blow, eventually being forced completely underground.

Meanwhile, on a farm in a certain country, the former President of the East Gorteau Republic, Digo (the original), spent his thirtieth year living a life of farming and reading.

Where is this? The air smells so good, a completely different feeling from the Hunter World. The air is filled with some kind of energy. Did the teleportation succeed?

My body feels so heavy, I have no strength, and I can't even open my eyes. Is this a side effect of the teleportation? Probably not. It must be because I overextended myself using 'Only I Am Supreme'. After all, in my state at the time, using that technique was still too much.

Following that, the green-skinned young boy drifted back into unconsciousness.

Land of Fire, Konoha Village.

"Did you hear? The Uchiha Clan's greatest genius, Shisui the Teleporter, was assassinated in the village. They say even his eyeballs were gouged out."

"No way, right? I heard Shisui was the strongest genius of the Uchiha Clan, a master even Hokage-sama praised. How could he be assassinated? Was it a ninja from another country?"

"I'll tell you quietly, I heard it from my son's wife's uncle's cousin's sister. She's from the Uchiha Clan. They say Shisui's death has something to do with the clan leader's son, Uchiha Itachi."

"You mean that genius Itachi? Why would he do such a thing?"

"Who knows? Maybe it was jealousy."

Midnight, Konoha Village—the desolate mountains outside the Uchiha Clan compound.

"Brother Shisui... even Brother Shisui, who was so gentle to me..." A little loli with long, straight black hair, about eight or nine years old, walked forward while wiping away her tears. On the left side of her head, she wore a five-petaled white plum blossom ornament. From the fan pattern on the back of her clothes, it was clear she was a member of the Uchiha Clan.

"Now I don't have any family or friends left... am I really someone who brings misfortune? Even Brother Shisui, the only one in the clan who would talk to me... but I still haven't awakened my eyes. I really am a failure. Mom, Dad, what should I do?" The little loli closed her eyes tightly, clutching a red amulet against her chest with the character "Guard" stitched in gold thread. Tears streamed down her cheeks, hitting the ground drop by drop.

"Ah!" Because the little loli was walking with her eyes mostly closed, she didn't see the path ahead and tripped over something. At that moment, an owl on the desolate mountain hooted in perfect synchronization, making the silent hillside feel somewhat eerie. It had the atmosphere of a horror movie.

The little loli suddenly remembered the ghost stories the people in her clan used to tell to bully her, and she curled into a ball, shivering. If someone had come to comfort her now, they would surely have gained a massive amount of favor! At least a 30% increase. However, no one did.

"You have to be strong, be strong! Mom and Dad are watching me from heaven!" The little loli kept encouraging herself, finally gathering the courage to crawl up from the ground. Because she had been crying, her face was still streaked with tears, and having brushed against the ground, her face looked a bit dirty, but her bright eyes were incredibly captivating.

"Huh? Soft?" The little loli noticed that the thing she tripped over felt strange, so out of curiosity, she leaned her head over. Lying there was a little boy with delicate features, wearing clothes that were clearly too big for him and tattered.

"Who is he? Why is he here? Is he dead? Why is his skin a bit green?" The little loli was at a loss, a flood of questions bubbling up from her cute little head.

However, the rise and fall of the boy's chest told the little loli that he was alive.

"What should I do? Report it to the clan leader and the others? But if I do that, this child will definitely be executed by them for trespassing on clan territory." More questions followed.

"Ugh..." Just then, the little boy let out a painful moan, his brows furrowing, which caught the little loli's attention again.

"He feels... like me." Finally, the little loli made a decision that might lead to her being punished again, a decision she wasn't even sure was right. Save him. Bring him back to her home. The little loli didn't know why she made this somewhat crazy move that would surely lead to punishment if the clan found out. Her intuition told her she should do it.

"So heavy." The little loli gritted her teeth, draped one of the boy's arms over her shoulder, and leaned his head against her other shoulder. Supporting his entire body with her own, she struggled to lift him and began to walk slowly, step by step, toward her home.

As the boy leaned on the little loli's shoulder, his nose pressed tightly against her neck, and the faint scent from her body drifted into his nose.

This scent... it smells so good. A thought flickered in the mind of the unconscious boy.

This day was a peaceful one in Konoha Village, but this night was not a peaceful night. Perhaps the world changed because of this night.

"Shisui..." I don't know how much time had passed, but Meruem felt his strength and spirit had recovered significantly. He no longer felt like he did before, when he didn't even have the strength to open his eyes, though the burning sensation in his throat was still very uncomfortable. He called out subconsciously, though he didn't expect anyone to actually give him water.

However, something unexpected happened. Not long after, his lips felt moist, and water slowly trickled into his throat.

"Where is this?" Meruem opened his eyes instinctively, discovering that he wasn't lying on a desolate mountain, in a forest, or on the grass as he had expected, but in a room. And judging by the appearance and layout, it seemed to be a girl's room.

At that moment, Meruem also noticed the cup by his lips and the little girl holding it, feeding him water.

PS: The Hunter x Hunter arc is temporarily over.

PS2: The Ant King's strength is too high; if I don't find something to limit it, how can the story progress? Also, Togashi never really explained what the Dark Continent is like, right? The Dark Continent arc already leans toward Junji Ito's style, so it's fine if Chama crosses over, right? Meruem's physical strength is immense, but he's still helpless against time-based laws. But this is only temporary! I'll find Chama to settle the score later, don't be impatient.

PS3: Naruto has the highest popularity, so I'm starting the Naruto arc first. I hadn't originally planned to end the Hunter arc this way—I had intended to do the Nura Rihan arc—but since Naruto is more popular, here we are.

PS4: Daily request for votes! (づ￣3￣)づ Mwah!