"Is this the butterfly effect?" The fact that Tatsumi, who originally wasn't captured, ended up being caught made Daniel Davis think of the butterfly effect. Even though he hadn't met Tatsumi before, he had inevitably influenced some things.
"Who are you? Who let you in here? Do you even know where you are?" Just as Daniel was about to rescue Tatsumi and the others, a blonde girl nearby shouted, whipping her whip at him.
Bang.
With a cold expression, Daniel easily dodged the whip and appeared in front of the blonde girl in an instant. He then kicked her in the face, causing her to scream in agony as she spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with several broken teeth, tumbling into a large pit nearby.
Daniel then swung his right hand and rescued Tatsumi and the other two who were hanging above the pit.
In truth, Daniel hadn't deliberately come to save Tatsumi. Although he was aware of Tatsumi's misfortunes upon arriving in the Imperial Capital, he had no idea when exactly Tatsumi would arrive, which gate he would enter through, or who the family persecuting them was. Finding Tatsumi in the Imperial Capital under such circumstances was like searching for a needle in a haystack.
So, the fact that he found Tatsumi in time was due to Tatsumi's luck. Daniel had just been routinely scanning the area with his Observation Haki and the abilities of the Op-Op Fruit, something he did frequently.
The nobles, merchants, and other upper-class figures in this world were often involved in dark practices, including refining the Philosopher's Stone, and Daniel had no qualms about dealing with them. He scouted the area to identify such people.
In fact, what happened to Tatsumi and his companions was not uncommon in the capital. Many who entered the capital, a place full of monsters and demons, met tragic fates. Tatsumi was fortunate to have encountered Night Raid; otherwise, he would have ended up like his two companions.
The capital was not only a place where outsiders were destroyed, but also where many people were lured from rural areas with promises of wealth, only to be deceived. The women in the nightclubs Daniel had recently cleared out were mostly tricked into coming to the capital with such promises. Their fates were usually tragic, with few surviving more than two months.
Tatsumi was indeed lucky. Despite being captured with his companions, he was unexpectedly discovered by Daniel.
"Help me! Mom! Dad!" As Daniel checked the bodies of Tatsumi and his companions, the blonde girl who had fallen into the pit cried out in terror.
"A virus, huh? These people truly deserve to die." After examining Tatsumi and the others, Daniel's gaze turned cold. From the wounds on their bodies, the needle marks, and the information he already knew, he quickly guessed what was going on.
"Miss, what's wrong?" Hearing the cries of the blonde girl from the pit, the guards responsible for the estate's security quickly realized something was amiss. A group of them, armed, rushed toward Daniel.
"Aria." Alongside the guards was a middle-aged man in a well-tailored suit, with a kind-looking face. He was Aria's father, an aristocrat and a famous wealthy man in the capital.
The saying "like father, like daughter" was deeply true for this family. If you judged them by appearance alone, you would never guess that this family was filled with such twisted individuals.
"Who are you? What have you done to my Aria?" The middle-aged man's face changed when he saw a stranger in their secret warehouse.
"Capture him!" Perhaps out of concern for his daughter's safety, he didn't order the guards to kill Daniel but instead wanted him captured alive.
Bang, bang.
The two guards who stepped forward to capture Daniel were quickly sent flying, their limbs twisted, screaming in pain as they soared into the air.
The sudden turn of events left the middle-aged man and the guards momentarily stunned, but they were quickly brought back to their senses by the screams surrounding them.
"Kill him!" Realizing the gravity of the situation, the middle-aged man immediately ordered his guards to attack, but it was already too late.
Just as he spoke, all the guards around him collapsed to the ground, writhing in pain.
"Stop! Don't come any closer! Do you know who I am?" Seeing all the guards fall and Daniel steadily approaching, the middle-aged man was filled with fear, his legs trembling as he backed away.
"Is that all you can say?" Daniel said, waving his right hand. A split bamboo cane struck the man across the face.
"Ah!" A scream that echoed throughout the entire estate erupted from the middle-aged man as he clutched his left cheek, where the bamboo had gouged out one of his eyes.
"Ghost Bamboo Vergo... This bamboo is quite effective." Daniel thought to himself as he lightly shook the bamboo cane in his hand.
"Arising from the ground, with the fragrance of orchids." This was the origin of the bamboo in Daniel's hand. To inflict sufficient pain, Daniel had experimented with fists, knives, swords, and finally settled on using bamboo.
"Bring them all to me." Daniel then used the power of the Echo Form, creating a dozen tangible shadow clones to handle the task.
"Feels good, doesn't it? But don't worry, there's more to come," Daniel said as he swung the bamboo cane, aiming for the middle-aged man's limbs.
"Cough, cough. Is this karma?" One of the guards, his limbs twisted, had an expression not of pain or hatred, but of relief.
"You're right, this is indeed karma, but it's just the beginning." Daniel said as he struck the middle-aged man with the bamboo cane, sending him tumbling into the large pit. The instruments they had used to torture others were now for their own enjoyment.
Soon, the clones brought the rest of the family and their wealth. The owner of the estate, the middle-aged man's wife, sister, and others, all had twisted limbs and terror-filled eyes.
"A nice record." Daniel commented coldly as he took a notebook from one of the clones, examining its contents before pulling out a young woman.
"Such excellent research results. How about enjoying them yourself?" Daniel said as he took a syringe from the medical box handed to him by a clone and injected its contents into the woman.
Using abducted people for medical experiments to torture them was this woman's hobby. The viruses in Tatsumi and his companions were her doing.
"Enjoy it together." Daniel then injected the virus into everyone present and threw them into the pit.
"As the Dao that can be told is not the eternal Dao, the name that can be named is not the eternal name." As the people screamed in pain, Daniel silently recited the Dao De Jing, reflecting on his recent actions.
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth—Daniel had once harbored such thoughts, but due to his circumstances, could only think about them occasionally. But now it was different; he had the power to act on them.
"I've been letting my anger get out of control lately." After reflecting on his actions, Daniel pulled everyone out of the pit and threw them into the array for refining the Philosopher's Stone.
"Taking from the people, using for the people." Holding the Philosopher's Stones made from the family, Daniel approached Tatsumi and the other two, activating the stones.
Daniel could have cured the virus in their bodies without too much difficulty, but it would have taken time. To relieve them of their suffering and restore them quickly, Daniel decided to use the family's Philosopher's Stones.
"Sayu!" The first to wake up after being treated with the Philosopher's Stone was not Tatsumi or the girl but the boy who had been calling out for Tatsumi and Sayu even in his unconscious state.
From his reaction, it was clear that Tatsumi was only second in his heart, with Sayu, the black-haired girl, being the first.
Soon after, Tatsumi and Sayu also woke up.
"Why did they do this?" Tatsumi, upon waking up, seemed unable to accept what had happened. Meanwhile, Ieyasu simply looked at Sayu with concern, and the girl, Sayu, appeared surprisingly calm.
"Why? The reason is simple: the Empire is rotten." In response to Tatsumi's question, Daniel spoke directly.
Tatsumi had originally come to the capital to enlist in the military and make a name for himself. Due to his background, he knew nothing about the Empire's corruption or the Revolutionary Army.
Luckily, the soldiers responsible for recruitment had rejected Tatsumi. Otherwise, he would have likely been killed later by Night Raid.
"There are many people like this in the capital. You're not suited to live here. Here's some money; take it and go back to your village." Seeing the confusion on Tatsumi and Ieyasu's faces, Daniel didn't explain further. It wasn't something that could be explained quickly anyway.
To prevent them from facing further danger, Daniel gave them a significant portion of the wealth he had taken from Aria's family. Even if they had a whole village to support, this wealth would last them many years.
"This money comes from the family that destroyed yours. Consider it compensation. Didn't you say that your village is waiting for you to bring back wealth? Take it back as soon as possible so the villagers can start living better lives."
After some persuasion, Ieyasu and Sayu agreed to take the money and return to their village. Tatsumi wanted to stay in the capital, but in the end, Ieyasu and Sayu convinced him to go back with them.
"The protagonist hasn't even made an entrance and is already exiting the stage. Speaking of which, Night Raid has been very low-key lately." Daniel muttered to himself as he watched the estate burn and saw the city guards rushing over in the distance before he left the scene.
Gathering intelligence about Night Raid in the capital was relatively easy. Usually, you could identify their work by hearing about a noble being assassinated, almost certainly by Night Raid. To spread fear in the capital, Night Raid's actions were usually frequent. When Daniel first arrived in the capital, he would often hear about them. However, it had been several days since he last heard any news of their activities. For example, the demise of Aria's family was originally Night Raid's doing.
In reality, Daniel had no idea that Night Raid's recent inactivity was directly related to his own actions in the capital.
As an assassin organization, Night Raid carefully planned each of their operations, conducting thorough investigations before making a move. In contrast, Daniel acted with brute force, relying on his overwhelming strength to get things done.
Daniel's reckless behavior had put Night Raid on alert, making them sense something was off in the capital. Their leader, Najenda, decided to temporarily halt their operations to investigate the situation thoroughly.
Daniel could afford to act recklessly; Night Raid could not.
"Your Majesty, these traitorous scum deserve to be eradicated!" Due to Daniel's recent actions, Minister Honest was tearfully complaining to the young emperor, who sat on the throne in the Imperial Palace.
"General Budo, what is happening with the capital's security? How could someone kill the minister's nephew?" The young emperor, holding a scepter, turned his gaze toward General Budo.
"Forgive me, Your Majesty." General Budo apologized, glaring at the minister when the emperor wasn't looking. The minister responded with a sneer, knowing the emperor hadn't noticed.
For the young emperor, Minister Honest and General Budo were like his left and right hands—one in charge of civil matters and the other of military affairs. Unfortunately, he was unaware that the two were now at each other's throats.
"It's no wonder ancient eunuchs were able to gain so much power. For an emperor, the eunuchs who grew up playing with them are the ones they trust the most."
"This poor palace doesn't even have any Imperial Arms, let alone Sub-Arms." Daniel muttered as he avoided the patrolling guards and entered the empire's treasury. After searching for a while and failing to find what he wanted, he was left disappointed.
After the first emperor forged the forty-eight Imperial Arms, subsequent emperors tried to surpass him by creating more powerful weapons. Unfortunately, none of the weapons crafted by the gathered artisans reached the desired level.
These failed attempts became known as Sub-Arms.
Sub-Arms possessed unique abilities, but they were inferior to Imperial Arms for two main reasons: they consumed more energy, and they had significant side effects.
Although Imperial Arms also had side effects, they were not as severe as those of Sub-Arms.
"Alchemy... this might be worth looking into." Not finding any Imperial Arms or Sub-Arms, Daniel left the treasury and entered the royal library.
Even in an era of information explosion, some things couldn't be found online, let alone in a world where education wasn't widespread.
Daniel had come here to see if there were any records about Imperial Arms. While he didn't find any, he did come across some notes on alchemy that surprised him.
Alchemy in this world was different from that in the world of *Fullmetal Alchemist*. There was no Philosopher's Stone, but even so, the alchemy in the world of *Akame ga Kill* intrigued Daniel.
Through these records, Daniel speculated that Imperial Arms were created using alchemy from the western nations.
Western alchemy had a very unique ability known as arcane arts.
___________________
Read Ahead
P@treon.com/Mutter