The Ackermans' Past (Part One)

"Historia! I'm so glad you're alright!" Even though one of her arms was wrapped in bandages, Ymir rushed forward excitedly and hugged Historia had just emerged from the underground passage.

As Yago watched this scene unfold, before he could even process what he was seeing, another figure rushed into his arms.

Yago paused for a moment, but sensing the familiar presence, he smiled. "I'm fine, Annie."

Annie, her eyes slightly red, punched Yago in the chest and whispered, "You bastard Yago."

Yago hugged Annie in his arms.

Military Police and Garrison Soldiers escorted Claude was still screaming in agony, and his son, who was like a wild boar spirit.

Pursued by the Military Police and Garrison Soldiers, Claude and his men couldn't get their Young Master very far. Of course, the Young Master's movements were also a major problem, as evidenced by the reluctant expressions on the faces of the Military Police pushing oversized reclining chairs.

Of course, the five black-clad Ackerman were also escorted along with them.

President Zackly was receiving treatment from the military doctor; after all, he was the most seriously injured among the kidnapped men.

Mikasa looked hesitantly at the Ackerman being escorted; they were also Ackerman.

Yago patted Annie on the back and gently comforted her. Annie wasn't one to be sentimental; she simply said she wouldn't be separated from Yago by too much distance again before leaving Yago embrace.

Walking up to the Military Police escorting Ackermans men, Yago patted Military Police on the shoulder and pointed to A-Wu at the front, saying, "Can I talk to him?"

The Military Police looked on in astonishment. "Who are you? This is a dangerous individual who kidnapped the Queen and the military president! You actually want to talk to him? Who do you think you are?"

This ordinary Military Police didn't know Yago at all.

"Let them talk." Before the Military Police could reprimand them, a voice rang out beside him. The Military Police turned around, immediately stood at attention, and saluted. "Commander Nile!"

The Military Police Brigade Commander Nile, merely glanced at Yago but said nothing more.

The Military Police, having received orders, handed Yago the rope binding A-Wu's hands, while A-Wu also had heavy shackles on his hands and ankles.

"Give me the key too," Yago said to the Military Police with a smile.

The Military Police raised an eyebrow; were they getting too big for their britches?

"Give him the key," Nile said, and rode away on his horse.

The Military Police reluctantly handed the keys to Yago with a sour face.

Then, along with the other Military Police, they escorted the other three Ackerman away. As for A-Yi was knocked unconscious because Yago had used too much force.

A-Wu, who was brought to Yago's side, was very quiet, as were the other Ackerman. It wasn't until the three Ackerman were escorted into a specially made cage by the Military Police that Yago tugged on A-Wu's leash.

"Let's go, let's go talk."

Arriving at a small pavilion in the Claude Manor, Yago unlocked A-Wu -A-Wu's shackles and untied the ropes.

A-Wu flexed his wrist joints, his scarred face showing a slight confusion as he looked at Yago. Yago remained silent, and the two remained in a stalemate.

"Aren't you afraid I'll take action?" A-Wu finally spoke first.

Yago looked at him with amusement and said, "You think you can defeat the Titan?"

After a moment of silence, A-Wu said, "With the Survey Corps' Omni-Directional Mobility Gear and Dual Blades, it might not be a problem."

"Haha, too bad you didn't. Alright, tell me, why did you betray Claude? He seemed to have said that you were the ones he trained." Yago laughed and plopped down on a bench in the pavilion, asking.

A-Wu remained silent for a while, then sat down opposite Yago. As if he had thought of something, A-Wu suddenly smiled, the smile pulling at the scars on his face, making him look somewhat ferocious.

"What are you laughing at? Is it funny?" Yago asked, intrigued.

But A-Wu inexplicably said, "I'm the oldest."

Yago asked, "Age? What do you mean? You mean your, uh, names aren't arranged by age?"

Yago thought about it carefully. A-Yi, A-Two, A-Three, A-Four, A-Wu —these names seemed more like code names.

"From the beginning of my life, I lived in a cramped training room. The only food we had each day was a few slices of hard bread. Later, every now and then, new children would be sent in, one, two, until three."

"After the third child was brought in, a man claiming to be Instructors arrived."

Yago suddenly interrupted, "Train you?"

A-Wu glanced at Yago, "Never, he just tortured us. The scars on my face are from him."

A-Wu pointed to the two scars on his face, "Ackerman's awakening requires stimulation, and Claude's way of stimulating us is to torture us relentlessly."

"How did A-Two, A-Three, A-Four, and I awaken our powers? I have two scars on my face, A-Two can no longer speak, A-Three is missing an eye, and A-Four has lost four fingers."

Hearing this, Yago was slightly surprised, not expecting that these skilled Ackerman Warrior had this past.

"Under the madness of torture, we were almost numb. Claude trained us into the sharpest killing machines. He had been waiting for his chance. He never intended to submit to the former Royal Family Reiss. We had been waiting for his orders, until that day."

Just as Yago was engrossed in listening, a noise suddenly came from behind. Yago and A-Wu, who reacted quickly, turned around at the same time.

Historia stood somewhat awkwardly behind a rock, with Ymir beside her and Annie a little further away, arms crossed.

Seeing that she had been discovered by the two, Historia said somewhat embarrassedly, "Um, we, we didn't mean to eavesdrop."

Yago and A-Wu exchanged a glance simultaneously.