Your Excellency Is Strong, but My Art Style Is Above Yours!

However, he had blocked the burly man's double fists with just one hand. Even in a direct clash, he showed no sign of strain.

"Hmm? One hand!"

Iori's use of one hand against him seemed to have been taken as contempt. With his pride wounded, the enraged man drove every muscle in his body, his entire frame visibly swelling by a size as he erupted with brute force comparable to a Dangerous Species.

The burly man named Zhu Tian had veins bulging at his temples. "Are you looking down on me?!

Imperial Fist: Hundred Cracks..."

A fist the size of an ordinary person's had somehow already landed on Zhu Tian's left chest—

Hakuda: Ikkotsu

Buzzz!!!

Skin tough enough to withstand sword slashes, indestructible muscles as hard as granite, bones more reliable than refined steel... This body, tempered through countless trials and capable of defending against any attack, was now as fragile as tofu!

Invisible force stirred visible spiraling ripples across Zhu Tian's body. The twisting power of the punch ignored his surface defenses, warping and shredding every bit of tissue it touched!

In an instant, spiraling wrinkles covered more than half of the burly man's chest around the point of impact, and his eyes were instantly dyed red.

Bang!

Only now did the sound of the punch tearing through the air ring out. As if he had only just realized what happened, Zhu Tian was blasted away, smashing down a corner of the wall before falling silent.

The remaining two Ghosts had not even had time to join forces against him before their companion was taken down in a single exchange!

"Yeah, so what?"

Iori acted faster than he spoke. Only after punching Zhu Tian to death did he slowly say, "For me to think highly of you—are you worthy?"

"Monster!"

Without a second thought, the petite girl Ma Tou turned and fled!

Iori had moved faster than Reika and killed Zhu Tian with a single punch. Such terrifying speed and power were far beyond the Rakshasa Four Ghosts' imagination. Even though Thorn, the strongest among the Four Ghosts, had yet to act, Ma Tou did not think the outcome would be any different.

What kind of monster was this?! A humanoid Super Dangerous Species?

Naturally, she did not know that Iori had accumulated a vast amount of base attributes through CG, while daily training and combat constantly pushed him further. Combined with the talent of the Perfect Shinigami, his mastery of Hakuda—hand-to-hand combat—far surpassed that of an ordinary Vice-Captain.

...Though he still could not compare to old man Yamamoto, who could kill an Arrancar with one punch.

Ma Tou was the youngest and least experienced member of the Rakshasa Four Ghosts. She had always treated this purely as a job, including killing people on orders. She was not some kind of psychopath by nature.

So when she encountered an enemy utterly beyond the limits of her abilities and saw a stronger companion get instantly killed, running away was only natural.

A few hundred a month... no, the minister really did pay a lot, but she had to stay alive to spend it!

Yet Ma Tou did not get far. This time, the nimble girl who had always prided herself on her agility had run into someone completely unreasonable—

To Iori, who used Flash Step to appear ahead of her, Ma Tou looked as though she were charging straight into his embrace. With impeccable gentlemanly manners, Iori rewarded her with a spinning kick.

Bang!

Ma Tou went tumbling away like a bird with broken wings and crashed viciously into the ground. Before she could react, she coughed up a mouthful of blood.

I didn't see it at all! How was he so fast? Was this guy a ghost?

"Wait! I don't want to die yet!"

The girl struggled as she shouted, "I know many of the minister's secrets! You'll definitely be interested!"

"Hmm?"

Iori had not expected a professional assassin to surrender so easily, and he was slightly surprised.

He had failed to see things from her perspective. Ma Tou was indeed a professional assassin, with principles and pride. Against any other opponent, even if she lost, she would not have surrendered so readily. But Iori... had completely shattered her pride and restraint!

Just as evildoers bowed their heads in submission upon seeing Dio—humans would yield before things beyond their understanding.

Iori had no tender feelings toward the trembling Ma Tou. He casually fired a bolt of White Lightning, electrocuting her until she convulsed unconscious, then turned to look at Thorn, who had neither attacked nor fled.

"Why are you just standing there watching?"

"...Sorry. I got carried away watching."

The bare-chested man wore a Hong Kong comic style wicked grin. His eyes seemed ready to spit fire as he stared at Iori.

"Wonderful... ohh... wonderful!! What clean, powerful fist techniques, what beautiful kicking techniques, and that breathing which never became the slightest bit disordered... Ooh, perfect!

Such strange moves, such unimaginable footwork, such Monstrous Strength that does not match your appearance... How many wonderful things are hidden within you? You are practically a treasure trove. I'm so excited I can barely stand it!"

"...Huh?"

"I'm going to fall in love with you, honey!

Come on! Hit me! Attack me with your strongest move!"

The man laughed madly as he leaped forward and charged at Iori with incredible speed. "Make me fall completely in love with you!"

Iori: "??????"

Akame: Running Away Is Shameful but Useful!

Since arriving in Akame ga Kill!, this was the battle that had made Iori's skin crawl the most, but the outcome was still unsurprising.

Though Thorn was known as the strongest of the Rakshasa Four Ghosts, and through bodily modification and martial arts training had gained perfect control over every muscle and joint—even turning his body hair as hard as steel needles—he still lost to Iori without the slightest suspense.

The reason was simple:

A pure gap in strength.

The Rakshasa Four Ghosts consumed the flesh of Dangerous Species and tempered their bodies with secret methods, turning their flesh into weapons and developing all kinds of bizarre, vicious techniques.

When ordinary people fought them, the slightest carelessness could lead to defeat from their unimaginable movements and unexpected attack methods. After all, who would expect things like fingernails and body hair to become deadly weapons?

But Iori's hand-to-hand combat came from the Soul Reaper Academy. Tracing it back to its roots, it was old man Yamamoto's Origin Style. This school pursued "pure, simple, and unadorned strength," making it the complete opposite of the Rakshasa Four Ghosts.

Of course, this did not mean Origin Style was inherently superior. Rather, its firm and straightforward fighting style suited a Shinigami like Iori, who had high all-around base stats and virtually no weaknesses.

For him, there was no need to think about how to counter the Rakshasa Four Ghosts' techniques. He only needed to fully leverage his own advantages and crush them head-on!

It was also through defeating the Rakshasa Four Ghosts without taking any damage that Iori suddenly understood something:

In the original story, Aizen's Kyoka Suigetsu had always been considered an extremely overpowered ability. But judging from Aizen's various displays after fusing with the Hogyoku, perhaps what he truly wanted was "absolute strength," rather than the ability to toy with others.

Because this kind of flawless strength was truly addictive!

After the attack, as agreed, Iori handed Thorn and Zhu Tian's corpses over to Mr. Fashion. They were quite rare experimental materials for him and would likely keep him satisfied for a while.

Reika, whom Iori had knocked down first, had nearly had her chest pierced open by Iori's sword fingers, even suffering damage to her heart meridians. Yet remarkably, the woman had stubbornly survived, and for some reason wanted to stay by Iori's side.

Clutching her chest, she told Iori, "The shadow of death I felt in that moment was the greatest pleasure of my life," and hoped that Iori would not hold back in the future and would punish her more often.

"Being the general's dog would be my greatest honor!

But big sister Esdeath is wonderful too. How should I choose? I'm so torn~~~"

—Iori did not even know what to say.

He had known from the original story that she was an extreme masochist, but he had not expected it to be this severe... He could only marvel at the Empire's diversity of people.

It seemed that whenever a dynasty neared its end, things that shattered one's worldview would always emerge. Was this what they meant by monsters appearing when a nation was about to perish?

As for Ma Tou, the little girl had surrendered quickly and changed sides without any psychological burden. She also brought Iori a piece of information:

"Berik of the Anning Dao may appear to be the Leader of the Anning Dao's right-hand man, but he is actually a spy planted by the minister. He has been helping the minister keep track of the Anning Dao's movements, restraining its followers from contacting the Revolutionary Army. Sooner or later, he'll become a serious threat to you!"

"Us?" Iori asked in return. "Who do you mean? The Revolutionary Army?"

"Um... isn't my lord an undercover agent of the Revolutionary Army?" Ma Tou blinked and asked carefully.

"Who said I was with the Revolutionary Army?" Iori scoffed.

An undercover agent? Had anyone ever seen an undercover agent who aimed for the boss's position from the start?

"Then whose person are you?"

Ma Tou was confused. Based on all the information she had encountered, Iori clearly despised the Empire's nobles and powerful figures. Yet he was not with the Revolutionary Army, so what was he?

"In this chaotic era, the weak must rely on the strong to survive. But the strong need not care about anyone's opinion. They only need to clear away obstacles and keep moving forward."

Iori sat behind the desk, calmly leaning back in his chair as he glanced at her. "Which side do you think I belong to?"

"!"

Ma Tou knelt on one knee, staring fixedly at the patterns on the carpet as she said with utmost respect, "My lord is naturally one of the strong. Please allow me to follow you from this day onward, until this body perishes!"

"...Heh."

Iori had not truly meant to frighten her. Seeing how terrified she was, he could not help but laugh.

"Don't be so afraid. I'm not some moody homicidal maniac.

I consider myself a very tolerant superior. I never demand my subordinates' heartfelt devotion. On the contrary, I allow you to have your own thoughts, allow you to fight for your own interests, and I will reward you generously.

Using benefits and rules to restrain people is far more reliable than relying on sentiment and morality.

And I only require two things:

Ability and obedience!

I don't care whether your souls are loyal. As long as your bodies can be used by me, that is enough!"

"How has Kurome been recently? Is her body doing all right?"

"She's recovering very well. It's all thanks to the antidote you gave us. She just occasionally sees the phantoms of people she killed... Her mental state is a little fragile, but thank you regardless."

"Time will smooth over everything. With you always by her side, I believe Kurome will be able to adapt to the life of an ordinary person."

At the appointed time, Iori used Shangri-La to travel to a contact point near Night Raid's headquarters. After he and Akame exchanged intelligence, they naturally began chatting.

Different people required different attitudes. Iori combined kindness and intimidation when dealing with his subordinates, but toward a pure idealist like Akame—a warrior who truly dedicated herself to darkness for the sake of the masses—he was much gentler and friendlier.

He was no saint himself, but that did not prevent him from respecting such people. For instance, Gudako, who persisted in staying true to herself through countless loops; or Nadjeta and Akame, who would brave any danger for the people.

Cooperation was cooperation, exploitation was exploitation, and personal feelings were personal feelings.

...Eh, why were all the people he liked beautiful women... This had to be a coincidence!

"Come to think of it, we've been short-handed lately, and Kurome mentioned wanting to help me..."

"That won't do. It was hard enough for her to put down the blade. Once she picks it up again, it won't be so easy to stop."

Iori frowned slightly. "It's not as if you don't understand that. But you seem to be wavering. Why?"

"...The headquarters said that experts like Kurome are difficult to cultivate, and they are badly lacking combat power right now. Also, they wouldn't send her to the battlefield. She would only be responsible for protecting the army's high-ranking officers."

Akame hesitated rarely. "Kurome came from the Assassination Unit, so she is familiar with the Empire's methods. She is indeed well suited to being a bodyguard... And the Revolutionary Army does not have many high-ranking officers. If they are assassinated, it will undoubtedly make the future uprising more difficult."

"So you gave in?"

After listening, Iori found it amusing. "I thought you were struggling with something serious, but it was just this kind of rhetoric... Some people like to dump broad responsibilities onto individuals, as though the bigger picture will be ruined if that person does not make sacrifices.

But in truth, the world will keep turning without anyone. No one is indispensable.

Think about it the other way around: is your cause really so fragile that it will fail without a little girl sacrificing herself?"

"...You're right."

The confusion in Akame's eyes gradually faded, and she seemed to see the light. "You're right... Kurome's current condition is not suitable for combat. I'll refuse them."

"That's more like it!"

Iori nodded with a smile. "Kurome could also be called one of the tragedies created by the Empire's darkness. She is a victim as well, and you are the only person she has to rely on in this world.

If you ask her directly, she will probably agree to become a bodyguard at headquarters, because it would let her help her beloved older sister. But would that truly count as happiness for her?

Akame, you have a strong sense of justice and can sacrifice yourself for the greater good, but remember this: Kurome is also one of the many weak people who need your protection.

Upholding justice and protecting your family are not in conflict. It is only natural to favor them."

"I can't refute that... I feel like I used to care too much. I was always fixated on the past between Kurome and me, driven onward by guilt... But you're right. It isn't only the people who need protection. Protecting those within your reach is important too!"

Akame smiled in relief and turned to look at the bright moon and stars beyond the window. Her mind drifted as she suddenly said, "Come to think of it, ever since we first met, I don't even know how many times you've helped me.

You always brushed it off with jokes before, but even now, I still don't understand. Why do you treat me so well?"

I hadn't been joking before. It really was because I liked girls with long black hair—just kidding. At most, that was only half the reason.

Honestly, it was certainly influenced by the favorable impression the anime had left on him in his previous life. Then, after actually getting to know her, Iori had also come to appreciate her cold yet beautiful swordsmanship, her occasionally airheaded but earnest personality, and her seemingly cold heart that nonetheless valued bonds...