"Lord Elric!"
The call came just as Elric was ascending the stairs from the main conference hall, his mind still processing the tedious clan meeting he'd just endured. A young Uzumaki clansman intercepted him in the corridor, slightly out of breath from running.
"The Number Two Research Team reports they've succeeded in their project," the messenger said quickly, bowing respectfully.
Elric's eyes widened slightly—a rare display of genuine surprise. "Already?" He glanced back over his shoulder. "Tsunade, go back to your quarters. I'll talk to you later."
"Wait, you can't just—" Tsunade began to protest, her voice rising with indignation.
But before she could finish her sentence, Elric had already turned and left, following the messenger with considerably more energy than he'd shown during the entire boring meeting.
Tsunade stood in the hallway, arms crossed, glaring at his retreating back. "That bastard..."
They didn't know exactly how many versions of themselves existed across the multiverse, or in which specific worlds they might be living parallel lives. The White Space had revealed four so far, but there could be dozens more, hundreds even, scattered across infinite realities.
But among the four confirmed versions, three of them had already become essentially invincible in their respective worlds.
Overlord Elric was preparing for the Yggdrasil server shutdown, positioned to absorb powers that would make him a god-like entity in that reality.
And here in the Naruto world, Elric possessed Isshiki Ōtsutsuki's complete power and memories, making him effectively the strongest being on the planet—or at least he would be, once he bothered to actually train properly.
One Piece Elric has the same power in a wecker world.
Only Marvel Elric remained comparatively weak, still vulnerable in a universe filled with cosmic entities, reality-warping mutants, and beings that could sneeze galaxies out of existence.
Elric didn't know the full extent of Ōtsutsuki capabilities—Isshiki's memories were vast but incomplete, covering perhaps only a fraction of what the clan's strongest members could truly accomplish. But even with that incomplete knowledge, he was confident he wouldn't have any real problems after receiving the dimensional energy fruit he'd already consumed and the additional power boost he'd eventually get from the Overlord version.
And beyond that, Marvel Elric had plans to steal a Celestial's power directly. Ambitious, dangerous, but potentially transformative.
So Naruto Elric wasn't particularly worried about his own future strength progression. He'd plateau eventually, sure, but that plateau would be so far beyond anyone else in this world that it barely mattered.
No, the main priority now was helping Marvel Elric build a stable foundation of power in that universe. And for that goal, even the laziest version of themselves—One Piece Elric, whose favorite hobby was literally just lying on a beach doing absolutely nothing—had been motivated.
But here in the Naruto world, Elric faced a frustrating limitation: there really weren't many ways to increase his power level significantly beyond what he already possessed.
Maybe he could find a way to steal Kaguya's energy when she eventually revived, drain the Chakra Fruit's power directly from her body. But honestly, he didn't think it would improve him much after already consuming the dimensional energy fruit that Marvel Elric had created. The quality difference was just too vast.
However—and this was the important part—he currently had useful people under his command who could conduct research for him.
There were no outstanding genius talents like Orochimaru available in Uzushiogakure, unfortunately. The Snake Sannin's twisted brilliance was one of a kind. But the Uzumaki researchers were still competent, methodical, and skilled in their specialized fields.
They would serve well enough until the Nazarick resources became available. Once Elric successfully integrated with the Momoga and gained access to those research facilities, all the experimental work could be transferred to them.
When you spend years learning complicated techniques like fuinjutsu, Elric reflected as he walked, you naturally develop a keen analytical mind for research. The disciplines overlap more than people realize.
Lost in these thoughts, he barely noticed his surroundings until he found himself standing in front of the formal Uzumaki Research Center—a relatively new building constructed in the traditional style but with modern reinforcements and specialized sealing arrays protecting the interior.
Naturally, the Uzumaki Clan hadn't used to have a dedicated research facility. They'd always conducted their fuinjutsu studies individually or in small master-apprentice groups, keeping techniques within families.
But Elric had established this centralized center six months ago, pooling resources and creating a space where systematic experimentation could occur under proper supervision.
After entering through the sealed doors—which recognized his chakra signature and opened automatically—Elric saw that one of the lead researchers was already waiting for him in the entrance hall.
The man was middle-aged, with the characteristic red hair of their clan and the sharp, focused eyes of someone who spent more time with sealing formulas than with people. His hands were stained with ink, and his robes bore the subtle scorch marks that came from experiments that had gone slightly wrong but not catastrophically so.
"Lord Elric, we were just waiting for you," the researcher said, bowing deeply with obvious excitement barely contained beneath his professional demeanor.
"I came as soon as I heard," Elric replied. "The messenger said Project 01 has been successfully developed for normal use?"
"Yes, Lord Elric! After months of trial and error, we've finally achieved a stable, reproducible result!" The researcher's professional composure was cracking, enthusiasm bleeding through.
"Excellent." Elric paused, then added curiously.
The researcher hesitated, clearly having wondered about this question many times. "If I'm being honest, Lord Elric... I have no idea. The application seems so specific, so unusual. I can't think of any practical use for it."
Elric smiled slightly. "It's just for my personal use. You don't need to pay too much attention to the broader implications." Then, deliberately changing the subject before the researcher could press further, he asked, "That aside, what about the other projects? Any progress on the barrier enhancement research?"
The lead researcher's expression fell slightly, shoulders sagging with visible disappointment in himself. "I'm sorry, Lord Elric. Your subordinate is incompetent. The theoretical frameworks you provided are so far beyond our current understanding that we've barely scratched the surface."
He looked genuinely distressed, as if his failure was a personal betrayal.
"You really don't need to beat yourself up over it," Elric said gently, placing a reassuring hand on the man's shoulder. "It's completely natural that advanced concepts from other disciplines would be outside your current knowledge base. It will naturally take time to become familiar with entirely new paradigms. You're doing fine."
The researcher's expression brightened slightly at the encouragement.
"Just show me Project 01 for now," Elric continued. "We can discuss the other research directions afterward."
"Yes, yes! Of course! Please, follow me, Lord Elric."
The researcher's excitement returned immediately, and he practically bounced as he led Elric deeper into the facility.
They moved through corridors lined with sealed doors, each one protecting a different experimental chamber. The walls themselves were inscribed with protective arrays—fail-safes designed to contain any chakra explosions or seal malfunctions that might occur during testing.
Finally, they stopped in front of a reinforced door marked with the number "01" in bold characters.
The researcher performed a complex series of hand seals, then pressed his palm against the door. Chakra flowed through the security array, verifying his identity before the heavy door swung open with a pneumatic hiss.
Inside was a small, stark observation room. Through a thick glass window, Elric could see the actual testing chamber beyond.
A person was restrained inside, held firmly in place by chakra-suppressing chains attached to the walls. The prisoner was conscious but appeared resigned to his fate, his eyes dull and lifeless.
"This is one of the enemy ninja we captured from the earlier coalition attack," the lead researcher began, his tone shifting to a more clinical, professional explanation. "According to your specific instructions, the subject's chakra pathways had been completely destroyed—burned out through a particularly vicious fuinjutsu technique."
He gestured toward the prisoner. "Under normal circumstances, it would be absolutely impossible for this individual to use chakra ever again in his life. The damage to his chakra network was total and irreversible. He's functionally no different from a civilian now."
Elric nodded, his eyes fixed on the prisoner with intense focus. "And you were able to successfully apply the seal?"
"Yes!" The researcher's excitement returned. "After carefully inscribing Seal Array 01 onto his body—it took approximately six hours of continuous work, and the subject experienced significant pain during the process—we successfully created an artificial chakra pathway system."
He pulled out a scroll containing detailed diagrams and began pointing to specific seal components.
"The array creates a complete network of artificial chakra channels that can simulate a natural chakra pathway system. It's incredibly complex—over three thousand individual seal components working in perfect synchronization—but it functions! The subject can generate and manipulate chakra again!"
The researcher paused, then added with professional honesty, "However, because of how complicated the seal structure is and how it interfaces with the body's natural energy systems, it's only about seventy percent as effective as a natural chakra pathway network. The chakra generation rate is slower, and the control is less refined."
He hesitated, then continued, "And of course, it still depends entirely on the user's mental and physical energy to function. It doesn't create energy from nothing—it just provides the mechanism to convert that energy into chakra."
The researcher's expression shifted to something apologetic, almost embarrassed. "Which makes this seal completely useless for normal people who are already born with natural chakra pathways, which is literally everyone in this world. Why would anyone want an inferior artificial system when they already have a perfectly functional natural one?"
He didn't say the last part out loud, but his tone made it clear: I think we might have wasted six months developing something with no practical application.
Elric's face slowly transformed.
A smile crept across his features—not the small, polite smile of before, but a wide, genuinely excited grin that made him look years younger.
In this world it might be completely useless, Elric thought, his mind racing ahead through applications, but for the other three worlds where chakra doesn't naturally exist...
He could barely even begin to calculate how valuable this seal was.
This wasn't just a healing technique or a power boost. This was completely introducing an entirely new power system into worlds that had never known it. This was the ability to create chakra users from scratch—to take ordinary humans from the Marvel universe, or One Piece world, and give them access to chakra.
Creating super soldiers in batches. Entire armies of chakra-enhanced warriors.
In Marvel especially, where most enhanced individuals got their powers through random accidents, cosmic events, or incredibly rare mutations... being able to systematically create chakra users would be great.
"This is perfect," Elric said, and his voice carried genuine warmth and satisfaction. "This is exactly what I needed. Better than I'd hoped, actually."
The researcher blinked, completely confused by this reaction. "But... Lord Elric, I don't understand. How could something so limited possibly be useful?"
"Trust me," Elric replied, still smiling. "You've just created something more valuable than you can possibly imagine."
He turned to face the researcher fully, his expression becoming serious and businesslike.
"Okay. I need you to compile all the information—every detail, every variation you tested, every failure and success. Complete documentation on the seal array's structure, the inscription process, the calibration procedures, everything. Can you have that ready within three days?"
"Yes, Lord Elric! Absolutely! I'll have my entire team work on compiling the documentation immediately!"
"Good. And this stays classified at the highest level. No one outside this research team discusses this project with anyone. Understood?"
"Of course, Lord Elric. We understand the importance of discretion."
Elric nodded, his mind already moving ahead to the next steps.
He'd need to arrange a meeting in the White Space soon. Share this breakthrough with the other versions of himself.
"Is there anything else you need to show me?" Elric asked, forcing himself to focus on the present rather than getting lost in future planning.
"Well, we have some preliminary results on Project 03—the chakra storage seal you requested. It's nowhere near complete, but we've made some interesting discoveries about—"
"Show me everything," Elric interrupted, his earlier boredom and laziness completely gone, replaced by focused intensity. "I want to see all the current project results. Every single one."
The researcher's face lit up with joy. Having the clan heir personally interested in their work was the highest honor a researcher could receive.
"Yes, Lord Elric! Right this way!"
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