Naruto World

It had been three days since he arrived in this world, and Meruem's body had recovered very quickly during that time. He could not be said to be fully healed, but moving around was no longer much of a problem.

Over those three days, Meruem learned about the world he was currently in from that little girl—the world of Naruto.

Perhaps because they were both two-dimensional worlds or something, the languages of the two worlds were astonishingly similar. Of course, with Chama involved, the world of "Saint" probably had to be included as well. In other words, all three worlds used exactly the same language. Only the language, though—their writing systems were completely different.

The writing of the Hunter World was like oracle bone script, full of inexplicable holes and circles, while the writing of the Naruto World leaned more toward Area 11 script. Naturally, none of this was a problem for Meruem, whose learning ability was MAX level. He had mastered it all in less than a day, leaving the little loli quite amazed.

Unfortunately, when Meruem transmigrated directly from Hunter, he had already overexerted himself and suffered serious injuries. Combined with his shrunken body, although he had recovered somewhat, his current strength was probably only around one-tenth of what it had been at his peak.

And that was not even the worst part.

What really gave Meruem a headache was that his loyal subordinates had all been sealed inside the system's passenger space. Granted, the Transmigration System could bring people along during transmigration, and there was no limit on the number.

But damn it, he actually needed to reach a certain level of strength before he could release them. The previous Meruem would naturally have had no problem with that, but the current Meruem...

According to the system's prompt, Meruem needed to recover thirty percent of his peak strength before he could open it.

Thirty percent my ass! If I recovered thirty percent of my strength, would I still need them to protect me? The reason he needed protection was because Meruem's strength had hit rock bottom. With only around one-tenth of his strength left, that was a massive pain no matter where he was. If the Royal Guards, Pouf and Youpi, were by his side, he would at least be relatively safe.

Thinking of the Royal Guards made him think of Neferpitou. Her egg was also in that space now.

One day, I will make you appear by my side again.

Although the Naruto World and Hunter World were two different worlds, their basic combat power ratings were fairly similar. People in the Hunter World were roughly equivalent to taijutsu ninja in the Naruto World with certain special abilities.

Since he had never compared them directly, Meruem could not properly assess the exact difference in combat power between the two sides.

Still, based on Meruem's personal impression from the manga in his previous life, Squad Captain-level Chimera Ants were basically on the same level as Jonin. From the manga, most Squad Captain-level Chimera Ants were already unafraid of modern artillery. What did that mean? You know Exploding Tags from the Naruto World, right? Their power was roughly comparable to rocket launchers. Jonin would be injured if caught in one, but Chimera Ants could take it. Of course, once all kinds of ninjutsu and genjutsu from the Naruto World were included, it could only be said that their combat power was similar. Squad Captains were more like taijutsu ninja who specialized in physical enhancement, naturally with special abilities.

As for ordinary ant soldiers, they were probably around Genin or Chunin level.

And, weakly speaking, Squad Captain-level Chimera Ants were not weak even in the Hunter World. They could be considered minor experts.

The only reason they seemed weak was because of who they fought. The Phantom Troupe, the Chairman, the Zoldyck Family. Of course they could not win. Let Jonin fight people on Madara or Hashirama's level and see whether they would not get instantly killed too.

To be fair, although the Phantom Troupe as a whole looked weaker than Akatsuki, they were not weak either. If the two sides fought, the outcome would be hard to call. Judging Squad Captains as roughly equivalent to Jonin was fair enough.

Squad Leaders, meanwhile, ranged from Elite Jonin to Kage level. The Squad Leaders Meruem had strengthened were definitely Kage level, while those he had not strengthened were merely around Elite Jonin level.

Of course, all of this was only Meruem's rough estimate. As for whether it was accurate, wait until Meruem recovered his strength first.

"Ah, Meru! You got up again! Didn't I tell you? You're still a patient and need rest!" The little loli, who had just returned from outside, started nagging the moment she saw Meruem. Then she took some bread, dried noodles, and milk from the basket at her side. This was the little loli's food for the entire week. Her parents were from a branch family of the Uchiha Clan, and both had died during missions. Although the Uchiha Clan's branch and Main Family were not as strictly divided as the Hyuga Clan's, they still treated clan members who had awakened their eyes very differently from those who had not. Unfortunately, the little loli's parents had both failed to awaken their eyes, and she had not awakened hers either. Thus, her treatment in the clan was only a tiny bit better than that of Konoha's war orphans.

"Got it, Saten-chan!"

"Don't call me Saten! I told you to call me Ruiko! Ruiko! Uchiha Ruiko! Uchiha Ruiko! Important things must be said twice! I'm not Saten Ruiko anymore!" The little loli planted her hands on her hips and declared imposingly.

"Okay, Saten-chan!"

Yes, you heard that right—Saten Ruiko. The little loli looked almost exactly like Saten Ruiko, the popular supporting character from A Certain Scientific Railgun that Meruem had seen in his previous life. Why almost? Naturally, because the little loli was only nine years old. She was practically a miniature Saten Ruiko. So, for certain personal reasons, Meruem called her Saten! Of course, Meruem still had a very favorable impression of this little benefactor who had brought him home.

Although the little loli had not said it, Meruem knew that bringing a stranger found by the roadside back into the clan was taboo in any village or clan. It could even be suspected of betraying the clan, especially when it was someone of unknown origin like Meruem. Yet Ruiko had not only brought Meruem home, but also hidden his existence from both the clan and the village. She had even shared her already meager food with him.

This was a huge debt of gratitude. How should he repay it? Meruem did not consider himself a good person, but he at least knew that a drop of kindness should be repaid with a spring of gratitude.

"Here, Meru. Eat." Little Ruiko handed Meruem a piece of bread and some milk. By now, Meruem could eat by himself. Ruiko had been feeding him before this.

Meruem had not really been injured aside from his body shrinking. He had merely exhausted a massive amount of energy and stamina, and by now he had recovered seven or eight tenths of it. It was only because his body had become smaller that he could use just one-tenth of his former strength.

Fortunately, because the laws of several worlds were different, and because Chama was not in this world, his time laws could not restrain Meruem. In a few years, Meruem would grow up. He had not experienced childhood in this life anyway, so he would treat it as an experience.

"You haven't eaten yet, have you? So you eat it." Meruem glanced at Ruiko but did not take the food in her hand. To be honest, Meruem did not want to eat what little food Ruiko had left. Even with only one-tenth of his strength remaining, finding food in the Uchiha Clan, where no one besides Itachi had Kage-level strength, was easy.

By the way, over the past few days, Meruem had roughly figured out which period of Naruto he had arrived in. Itachi existed, Sasuke had already been born and was eight or nine years old, and Uchiha Shisui had died. Meruem could basically confirm that the Uchiha Clan had reached the eve of its extermination. The massacre might happen in just a few days. Of course, the Uchiha Clan's survivors might no longer be two people, but three.

At the very least, Meruem would keep Ruiko alive. Do not think Meruem was easy to bully just because he only had one-tenth of his strength left. What he had lost was only Nen Quantity and power. His speed had not dropped by such an exaggerated ninety percent, and his body's defensive ability was not bad either. His experience, martial arts, terrifying talent, and Nen ability were still there. At the very least, not many people in Konoha could do anything to him now. Even with only one-tenth of his strength, he was still above a Squad Leader.

Knuckle had once said that Youpi's Nen Quantity was more than ten or even dozens of times Morel's, and Meruem had even more Nen than Youpi. So do not think Meruem was easy to bully! Even after losing ninety percent of his strength, he was not someone you mortals could humiliate! Whoever dares touch someone I intend to protect?

"I ate before I came. I'm not hungry." Ruiko shook her head and still insisted on giving the food in her hand to Meruem. Then a strange sound made Ruiko fall into embarrassment. That was right—her stomach had growled.

"Then let's eat together." Meruem sighed and helped Ruiko out. He knew that if he did not eat, Ruiko would not eat either. He would just owe her a little more. He already owed her so much anyway.

"Mm." Ruiko's voice was as soft as a mosquito's. She lowered her head, her cheeks flushed red.

Watching Ruiko slowly eat the bread as if it were a treasure, Meruem suddenly felt a sense of warmth. It had been a long time since someone had cared for him like this. Of course, many other Chimera Ants cared about Meruem too, such as the Royal Guards, but this feeling was different.

Meruem had contacted the system during the past few days, but they had only exchanged a few words before the system continued its so-called update work. Since Meruem's purpose in coming to this world had been to become stronger, the system told him that the thing in the Naruto World that could make him stronger was the Chakra Fruit of the God Tree. It was the thing Kaguya, the final boss of the Naruto World, had been after.

"Looks like I'll have to become humanity's enemy once again. But whether the humans of this world live or die has nothing to do with me. As long as the people I care about do not die, nothing else matters. I'll become a villainous boss again, but this time I'll hide in the deepest shadows and appear only at the end. I'll definitely give the world a surprise."

But to become the final boss, he had to start making arrangements now.

First, it would be such a pity for the Uchiha Clan, descendants of the Son of the Six Paths, to be wiped out just like that. There was room to work with here.

Please provide the text you would like me to translate or revise. I am ready to process it according to your instructions.

PS2: Apparently, due to the internet cleanup campaign, nothing below the neck can be described. One Lelouch novel was even taken down.