You're Strong, Sir, but My Style Is Above Yours!

Outside the window, Iori crouched on the edge of the roof. He was not depraved enough to peep, but his sharp ears could still hear the strange sounds coming from inside the room... Never before had he hated his excellent five senses as much as he did now.

At this moment, Iori, who had never touched tobacco in either of his lives, suddenly had the urge to light a cigarette and stare up at the sky...

If he showed himself now, it would definitely be awkward, wouldn't it?

Maybe he should leave first?

Just as Iori hesitated and made up his mind to leave this awkward place, his expression suddenly changed. He fell silent for a moment.

He glanced back at Akame, who had yet to notice anything, then turned and silently dropped down.

Soon afterward, fifty meters from the inn's entrance, a masked bounty hunter stood openly in the middle of the street, drawing the attention of passing pedestrians and making them give him a wide berth.

Before long, the pedestrians rapidly dwindled away. In the end, only a dozen Empire lackeys in plain clothes and a squad of armored soldiers remained, surrounding Iori.

"We were originally here to hunt down a traitor, but I never expected we would run into the famous 'Faceless One' first."

The leader had clearly never taken part in any previous pursuit of Iori. Seeing how many people they had, he was quite confident.

"You're worth far more than a mere assassin... What's this? I heard the Faceless One comes and goes without a trace and excels at hiding and sneaking around. Aren't you planning to run this time?"

"You're very lucky. This time, I have a necessary reason to face you head-on."

Iori showed no tension despite being surrounded. "Besides, I have never run away—that was merely a strategic retreat after victory.

"As a true gentleman, I have a duty to protect beautiful things."

"You're not running?"

The leader looked stunned. "A gentleman... What are you protecting?"

Iori drew his sword. A swift slash killed the assassin who had snuck behind him to launch a surprise attack. Splattered droplets of blood scattered through the wind, instantly adding a hint of gore to the air.

"A maiden's modesty!"

Which Maiden Does Not Dream of Love?

The fine steel sword split the cold wind. With a brief clang, it severed a spear and, in the same motion, sliced off its wielder's shoulder. Even hard bone could not stop what appeared to be an ordinary strike.

"Ah—"

Clang!

Swinging his sword again, Iori blocked the long blade attacking from the side. His feet shifted, and he vanished from where he stood. The man before him immediately lost his balance. Then a crossbow bolt flew over; unable to dodge in time, the swordsman was struck straight through the heart. His eyes widened, and he collapsed to the ground without moving again.

The crossbowman who had accidentally killed his comrade had no time for regret. Iori appeared two meters to his right, spun and accelerated, then sent him flying with a leaping kick!

"Don't panic! He can use Space Manipulation! Back to back!"

The leader was frantic. Less than ten seconds into the battle, he had already lost several men. Most had been defeated in just one or two exchanges. Their numerical advantage could not be brought into play at all; they were practically being led around by the nose by the Faceless One.

"Space Manipulation?" Iori shook his head. "Shunpo isn't something that grand. I'm merely a little faster than you."

Before his words had even faded, Iori appeared on a rooftop thirty meters away. An assassin hiding there had been holding a rifle, preparing to snipe him. Suddenly, his entire body tensed. He crawled sideways across the roof like a spider for three meters, narrowly avoiding Iori, who had appeared there.

But he did not get a second chance. Just as he drew a dagger to defend himself, Iori had already flashed past him. A cold gleam of steel suddenly flashed, and the gunman's head tilted to the side. He never breathed again.

"Hmm? This is an Imperial... Oh, a Ministerial Arms."

Iori, who had been about to leave, suddenly stopped. He picked up the strangely shaped silver-white sniper rifle and examined it, confirming his earlier guess.

The technological tree of the world of Akame ga Kill! was severely lopsided. Some people used firearms, cannons, lasers, and rays, while others wore armor and charged on horseback. Finding a rifle here was nothing strange. What was strange was the weapon's peculiar design. Its exact structure could not be discerned, as though it had been forged in one piece. Its long, slender barrel was entirely silver-white, marked with symbols resembling graduations.

From Iori's experience, special weapons like this were generally either Imperial Arms or Ministerial Arms.

Imperial Arms were forged a thousand years ago by the First Emperor, founder of the Empire. He gathered the strength of the entire realm and used the most precious metals and the most powerful Dangerous Species—magical beasts—as materials, forging them with unimaginable techniques.

There were only forty-eight in total. Each possessed unique and powerful abilities and could not be replicated. They were known as Imperial Arms.

Ministerial Arms, meanwhile, were the cheap, downgraded versions that later generations had barely managed to produce while trying and failing to imitate them. They were far less valuable, but still much better than ordinary weapons.

To Iori, Imperial Arms and Ministerial Arms were among the few items in this world that contained large quantities of spirit particles. If he had a chance to get his hands on one, he could not let it go.

Imperial Arms were scarce, and many were collected by the Empire and other major forces. After adventuring in this world for so long, Iori had only acquired one. Ministerial Arms, on the other hand, he had collected three of.

"With you, that makes four."

Beneath his mask, Iori smiled faintly, then looked toward the enemies gathered back-to-back in the street.

They had probably been frightened senseless by Iori's ghostly speed. No one dared flee alone, afraid of becoming his prey. They could only huddle together for safety and try to hold out until reinforcements arrived.

This judgment was undoubtedly correct. Even if they scattered, Iori could have eliminated most of them with his efficiency. Forming up to defend themselves would have allowed them to last longer—

If Iori had not happened to know Kido.

"O ruler..."

The people in the inn had long since fled in terror. When the black-haired, straight-haired girl emerged from the deathly silent inn, she found more than a dozen corpses strewn across the empty street. Aside from scattered bloodstains, the ground bore scorch marks from flames. It looked as though a rather brutal battle had taken place here.

Akame was not surprised. In truth, she had sensed the disturbance outside long ago. But because she was "not in good condition" and could not determine what was happening, she had observed from inside for a while. Only after confirming that the battle was over and that the victor was someone she knew did she emerge with relief.

"Yo, long time no see~"

Seeing Akame come out, Iori waved in greeting, then continued to bend down and loot the possessions of the Empire lackeys with practiced ease.

"Iori..."

Akame called his name with a complicated expression and meaningful tone, her gaze slightly evasive.

She might have been the only person who knew the Faceless One's real name. After their first clash, Iori had left it behind out of courtesy.

Akame had always found this bounty hunter strange. He had clearly been able to kill her, yet deliberately spared her. He was completely unlike the vicious criminal described in the Empire's wanted posters.

After meeting a few more times, they had somehow become something between acquaintances and troublesome friends. Akame had gradually realized that Iori was not a bounty hunter in the ordinary sense. What drove him was far more than money.

From Iori's actions, Akame could vaguely sense an unwavering "will."

Only now, after deciding to defect from the Empire and join the Revolutionary Army, did she gain the faintest understanding of Iori.

He, too, was changing this cruel world in his own way!

"Thank you... You've been protecting me during this time, haven't you?"

"No. Someone accidentally spotted my trail, so I merely happened to fight here."

"...Let's say that's what happened."

Thinking of what she had been doing in the room earlier, Akame more or less guessed why Iori refused to admit it—he was probably considering her dignity.

That made Akame's face heat up slightly. She felt a little embarrassed, but as a former assassin, she quickly calmed down. Then a trace of warmth flowed through her heart, and she sincerely thanked Iori. "Even so, thank you for your help."

"If you feel bad about it, treat me to a meal when you get the chance."

Iori stopped what he was doing, dusted off his clothes, and stood up. "I heard you changed jobs recently?"

"Changed jobs... That isn't entirely wrong."

Akame instinctively gripped the katana at her waist, her tone heavy. "I can no longer point my blade at innocent people... The Empire's darkness runs too deep. For every day it exists, the people suffer another day. I can no longer aid tyranny!"

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Iori applauded. "For an assassin who was brainwashed into being a tool to awaken an independent will on her own, that truly is remarkable... But have you decided where to go? Don't tell me it's the Revolutionary Army?"

"It is the Revolutionary Army. I think only they can overthrow the Empire... Do you have a different opinion?"

They had known each other for some time, so Akame naturally noticed the amused undertone in Iori's voice.

"Nothing. I just want to confirm something: do you simply want to overthrow the Empire, or do you want to save those pitiful people suffering under it?"

"Of course it's for the people!" Akame answered without hesitation.

"That's what I thought."

Iori nodded, then changed the subject. "But what if the Revolutionary Army becomes 'another Empire' in the future? What will you do then?"

"...Another... Empire?" Akame froze.

"Yes."

Iori spoke leisurely. "The First Emperor once brought peace and stability to a chaotic age, establishing the Thousand-Year Empire upon that foundation.

"I do not believe the Empire was corrupt and cruel from the start. It was once prosperous, harmonious, and peaceful. It was no different from the future the Revolutionary Army promises the people... Time merely caused everything to deteriorate.

"So, Akame—do you think the Revolutionary Army can resist the erosion of 'time'?"

"..."

Akame furrowed her brows, then soon relaxed them again.

"Perhaps it cannot. But if we do not overthrow the Empire, then nothing can even begin.

"Even if the Revolutionary Army deteriorates in the distant future, even if it can give the people only fifty or a hundred years of happiness, I am still willing to fight for it!"

"...A truly admirable resolve."

Iori looked rather approving. "The Revolutionary Army may deteriorate faster than you imagine... Of course, it may also correct itself and return to the right path. Who can say what the future holds?

"I merely want to remind you that the final outcome may not be what you truly desire. Perhaps one day, you will have no choice but to destroy with your own hands the very thing you have fought and strived for all this time.

"Akame, may your blade remain as sharp as ever, even when that day comes..."

"This... Iori, you..."

The black-haired, red-eyed assassin became uneasy. "Do you know something? Tell me, what exactly will the future—"

"I am no prophet. The future is not something anyone can predict."

Iori smiled freely and turned to leave.

But then he suddenly remembered something. He turned back curiously. "Your eyes were a little evasive when you looked at me earlier... Or rather, you seemed embarrassed. Why?"

"Urgh!"

"What, did you think of me while having a spring dream?"

Shing!

Demon Blade Murasame left its sheath. Akame focused her eyes, only to find that Iori had already vanished—just as he had at every previous meeting.

"That guy... Next time we meet, I'll definitely make him regret it!"

The girl rarely showed such a loss of composure, but when she thought of Iori's question and what had happened in the room earlier, an unnatural blush still flashed across her puffed-up cheeks...

I Love Watching Beautiful High School Girls Fight

Objectively speaking, Iori liked neither the Empire nor the Revolutionary Army.

Although the Revolutionary Army in the original story did indeed aim to overthrow the Empire's rule, it had also done things like using land to win over foreign tribes and borrowing soldiers from them.

Well, Iori, who had been Chinese in his previous life, could only say, I've seen this episode in the history books.

It was not that such methods could not be used. Throughout history, there had been countless examples of foreign tribes turning from guests into masters, but there had also been cases where they were successfully controlled. After all, verbal agreements meant nothing. As long as one's army was strong enough, one could simply go back on one's word. In the end, it depended on whose methods were superior.

But in Iori's eyes, the Revolutionary Army did not seem like a group with lofty ideals or ambitions. It had no clear governing philosophy, only the slogan of overthrowing the Empire. Even its slogan was less catchy than that of the Great Teacher of Virtue...

The reason it had flourished was essentially similar to the great uprising at the end of the Late Qin:

The people had suffered under the Empire for far too long!

As a rebel force, the Revolutionary Army's ability to govern had yet to be proven. But the people, oppressed by the Empire to the limit, could no longer wait. They might not even know much about the Revolutionary Army; they simply hated the Empire and thus chose to support this group.

Therefore, the Revolutionary Army's future fate—whether it would swiftly collapse or rise against the tide—was truly an unknown.

From Iori's personal perspective, he had never heard of any leader in the Revolutionary Army comparable to Liu Bang or Zhu Yuanzhang. He was not even sure whether it had anyone like Zhang Jiao or Li Zicheng, so overall, he was rather pessimistic...

But even so, whenever the two sides clashed, Iori would still stand with the Revolutionary Army—or, more precisely, against the Empire.

After all, just because Beiyang was no good did not mean the Qing Dynasty should not have been overthrown!

The Empire had ruled for a thousand years, surpassing any feudal dynasty. One could imagine how deeply rooted the people's awe of it must be. If it was not overthrown, nothing else could even be discussed!

Moreover, from the standpoint of his own interests, Iori also needed the Imperial Arms and other precious resources controlled by the Empire.

He would wait and see!

As a Bleach, Iori had a very long lifespan. He had plenty of time to observe the development of this world.

But in the end, he was neither a god nor a creator. He did not need to shoulder any extra responsibility. He only needed to follow his heart.

...After parting with Akame, Iori did not leave immediately. Instead, he continued watching her pursuit battle against the Empire's assassins. Thanks to the convenience of his spirit body, neither side noticed his presence. At times, he could even observe their expressions from close range.

The only problem was that his spiritual pressure was slowly being consumed. Though scientific assistance had slowed the loss considerably compared to before, it was still difficult to sustain over long periods.

If he wanted to return to the Soul Society to restore his spiritual pressure, the tedious process of adjusting the flow of time was secondary. The greater problem was that he needed at least a day to recover. Even at an equal time flow, by the time he returned to Akame ga Kill!, at least a day and a half would have passed.

After such a long interval, finding Akame and the others again would be troublesome. Judging from the current trend, the black-haired girl would probably be unable to hold on much longer, and the final outcome would play out within these next two days.