Since ancient times, humans have feared yokai. At the head of the yokai, commanding the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, stands a man the people call the "Supreme Commander of Yokai." He has another title as well, the Lord of all specters and fiends—Nurarihyon.
The man said to rule the hundred demons.
"Yokai. Awe. And modern cities. I've finally come to a world closer to the one I first existed in. Though the stench in the air here makes me sick." In a desolate stretch of countryside somewhere in Japan, a man in black appeared.
The Chimera Ant King, Meruem. This time was different from when he crossed from Hunter x Hunter's world to the Naruto world. Back then, the situation was dire and Meruem was badly wounded, so he slipped across in a daze. Now, he arrived in the world of Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan fully conscious.
What a strange sensation. Meruem also possessed spatial ability, and while this "crossing" fell under the umbrella of space, its essence was different.
If I could master this, my understanding of space would reach a new level, Meruem thought.
For the moment, Meruem stood alone here. His million-strong Chimera Ant army still slept in the System's space. He truly had no idea what the System was or how vast—it had so casually housed a million troops. No wonder even the younger brother of the ancient god of time had coveted it.
"It may be the countryside, but the smell of industrial pollution is still obvious. Good thing I didn't appear in the capital or Shanghai. I wonder if I'd see smog. In that environment long-term, even Chimera Ants, whose bodies surpass humans', would be overwhelmed."
"In Hunter x Hunter's world, there were modern machines, but the core industrial pollution wasn't so exaggerated. That human continent was only a small part of the planet. As for the Naruto world, never mind—there were radios and televisions, but in essence it was still in a Warring States era. Pollution? You need heavy modern industry for that. Tsk, tsk… I never thought overly keen senses could be a bad thing. I never used to notice so many strange odors in the air—this familiar yet nauseating 'modern' smell." Meruem spoke as he felt the earth and the natural energy around him. Since absorbing Kaguya, Meruem could, to an extent, sense the free-floating energy in the earth, sea, and sky.
As for using Amenominaka to freely control those six spaces—Meruem still could not do so at will. And this world differed from Naruto's; mastering laws in another plane was no easy matter. For now, he was still a little short.
"But I'm only here for one thing. I don't plan to stay. No need to get hung up on it. Still, since I'm here, isn't it boring not to do anything?"
"First I need to pin down the timeline in Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan. Judging by these sickening smells in the air, it definitely isn't the era before Nurarihyon and Rihan Nura died. One lived four hundred years ago, the other in wartime. In other words, this is at least when Rikuo Nura has been born and Rihan is nearing death—or later."
"Hopefully the later the better. I'm not that interested in this world. Ideally it'd be the final battle… That said, aside from the air being a bit worse, the rest is nice—at least it gives me a touch of nostalgia." By nostalgia, Meruem meant the thriving metropolis and the internet.
After all, he had lived many years in that past world, and many years in the Naruto world as well. Hence the hint of longing.
"Big bro, look—there's a lone human over there." A barely audible voice reached Meruem's ears.
The speaker was at least several hundred meters away, but if Meruem cared to listen, no sound could escape his senses.
And this scent, unlike a human's—yokai? Tsk, tsk, hardly impressive.
Following the sound with his keen sight, Meruem saw the two creatures clearly. One was an oddly shaped serpent; the other looked stranger still—naked, with black wings, sharp talons, and a tail of uncertain species.
They didn't look like powerful yokai.
"Snake-Belt, I haven't tasted fresh flesh in a long time," said the odder yokai.
As for the one he called Snake-Belt, it's a fairly well-known yokai in Japanese lore—a type of snake yokai, sometimes a belt become sentient… But this one didn't seem strong. Legend says great yokai used such a thing as a belt around their waist.
"Tenjō-shita, things haven't been calm here lately. They say the biggest outfit in Kanto, the Nura Clan, has a new Third Heir who forbids us yokai from preying on humans. If we're caught, the punishment is severe. It's got yokai here scared out of their wits. For yokai like us, fairly famous in Japan, to be reduced to this—having to think twice about eating a single human—maybe we should pledge ourselves to a leader elsewhere. I hear there's a remarkable young lord in Shikoku." Tenjō-shita—a small yokai that hides in dark places, just a cut above Snake-Belt.
Compared to humans, though, the two were terrifying.
"No kidding. Is this damned Nura Clan helping us yokai—or humans?"
"I heard their new Third Heir is three-quarters human."
"Why don't we just eat that human first—top off with a little flesh? We're out in the boonies—who'd know? Then we'll head to Shikoku and pledge to that young lord you mentioned."
"That's why you're the boss—decisive!"
Sounded like key intel. He'd just been fretting over the timeline, and someone had walked it right up to him.
A new Third Heir of the Nura Clan, three-quarters human—eighty percent chance that meant the protagonist, Rikuo Nura… As for Shikoku?! Must be the Eighty-Eight Demons.
Seems the plot where the little tanuki leads his Seven to assault the Nura Clan was about to kick off.
The one unscientific bit was how, in the original, that band of trash somehow killed Hihi, one of the Nura Clan's top fighters.
Utterly unscientific… Fine—maybe he was just old.
After all, over four hundred years Karasu Tengu had gone from a stalwart, imposing yokai to a mascot-sized runt.
"But since I'm new here, there's plenty I need to learn. And right on cue, someone's volunteered." Meruem smiled at the two little yokai creeping toward him through the dark.
"Come out, my loyal subordinates. Dark Division: Twelve Stars!"
"I see. The power balance is much like in the original." Meruem easily extracted the Nura world's information from the two small fry.
The Nura Clan was the largest organization in eastern Japan—currently the greatest yokai power in Japan. Next came the faction in Kyoto under Hagoromo Gitsune and Ashiya Dōman's circle. In truth, judged by raw strength, Kyoto's yokai coalition was Japan's number one, but its two leaders, Abe no Seimei and Hagoromo Gitsune, were both absent.
No one inside submitted to anyone else. Unless they united against an outside enemy, they were a scattered mob. Hence the "top" title fell to the Nura Clan.
Aside from those two giants, there were many weaker factions—the Shikoku Eighty-Eight Demons under the little tanuki; in the northeast, the Wilds; the Shuten Corps; the Tokaido Fifty-Three Night Parade; and more.
Beyond the major yokai powers, there were the human factions. Compared to yokai, humans were no weaker—if anything, stronger.
Among ordinary people, the best known was the Keikain lineage handed down from Ashiya Dōman. There were also medium and small onmyoji families like the Asakura clan.
But in terms of sheer strength and top tier, the apex was the Gokadoin House descended from Abe no Seimei.
Because of the Gokadoin, the human onmyoji side crushed the yokai with overwhelming advantage.
The Gokadoin had few onmyoji, especially compared to large-population houses like the Keikain. Their numbers were pitiful—fewer even than a small onmyoji family.
But nearly every Gokadoin onmyoji was an elite among elites. The weakest matched a boss-class yokai. Especially the line of clan heads—each a master on the level of top-tier yokai. One on one, no faction could match the Gokadoin.
That was the past. With Meruem bringing his Chimera Ant army into this world, that might no longer hold.
Even so, Meruem remained curious about these yokai and this world's power. Compared to the Naruto world, what did a jōnin-level fighter amount to here? He didn't know—he'd have to find an opponent to test it.
"Heh-heh. The Shuten Corps—one of the top-ranked factions in the Nura setting. They only appeared in the final battle in the original. You're it."
(End of Chapter)
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