"Interesting alchemy, it's quite similar to Devil Fruit abilities. Looks like I need to pay a visit to the West." The effect of Western alchemy's arcane arts was to transform parts of one's body into that of a Danger Beast, which closely resembled the Zoan-type Devil Fruits. This discovery immediately piqued Daniel Davis's interest in alchemy.
This arcane art was also the foundation for creating some Imperial Arms, such as Leone's "Lion King: Hundred-Beast King," which perfectly utilized this arcane technique.
"If that's the case, perhaps it could be used to further improve artificial Zoan-type Devil Fruits." Daniel instantly considered the potential of combining this alchemy with his efforts to create artificial Zoan-type Devil Fruits, which might lead to unexpected breakthroughs.
"The Empire's first emperor was certainly bold, but his vision was too narrow." While searching through the library, Daniel didn't find much on Western alchemy but instead stumbled upon a secret that made him sigh with frustration.
The reason no one after the first emperor had been able to create more Imperial Arms wasn't due to a lack of technological advancement. It was because the first emperor, after creating the forty-eight Imperial Arms, had destroyed all related knowledge and killed all the craftsmen and alchemists involved.
The first emperor did this to ensure the Empire's dominance, believing that by keeping the forty-eight Imperial Arms exclusive to the Empire, it would remain invincible for eternity.
Unfortunately, he didn't realize that the most formidable fortresses often fall from within.
"The Imperial Fist Temple, the Four Rakshasa Demons... The Empire still has a decent foundation. It's a shame that such a strong hand was played so poorly, leading to this mess. You can't help but admire some people's talent for self-destruction."
Despite the Empire's current corruption, it still had overwhelming power compared to the Revolutionary Army. Under normal circumstances, the Empire's position should have been unassailable, but due to Minister Honest's manipulations, even with all its strength, the Empire was on the verge of losing.
"I recall that the Four Rakshasa Demons can freely manipulate their bodies by drinking a soup made from a specific Danger Beast. This ability is quite similar to the 'Life Return' technique from the Six Powers."
In the Navy's Six Powers, "Life Return" was a crucial ability. Mastering it allowed one to fully integrate the Six Powers, rather than using each one individually.
Ordinary CP9 members couldn't use "Iron Body" while performing "Shave," but with "Life Return," which granted complete control over one's body, it was possible to combine the Six Powers, like using "Paper Art" while employing "Iron Body."
If the soup from the Imperial Fist Temple's Danger Beast were introduced to the world of *One Piece*, it would undoubtedly fetch a high price.
Danger Beasts couldn't compare to Sea Kings in raw power, but they had a distinct advantage: some possessed unique abilities, something Sea Kings didn't exhibit—at least, the ordinary ones. As for the Sea Kings in the deep sea, even Daniel wouldn't make assumptions, especially after the intelligent Sea Kings appeared during Luffy's fight on Fish-Man Island.
"Do you think you can assassinate me? Just you?" In Minister Honest's private garden, Chelsea, who had disguised herself as a maid using her Gaia Foundation Imperial Arm, was just about to use a poisoned needle to kill the minister when she was discovered. Honest caught the needle between his fingers.
Many were deceived by Honest's obese appearance, including Chelsea. However, for someone to reach his level, Honest was no ordinary person. He had a unique talent for scheming, and his personal strength was also formidable.
Few knew that Minister Honest was a disciple of the Imperial Fist Temple, with strength rivaling that of some Imperial Arm users. Had he continued his training instead of becoming an official, he might have been one of the Four Rakshasa Demons.
His bulk wasn't fat but muscle, and Honest had always been at the forefront of maintaining his physical condition, regularly consuming the meat of various Danger Beasts.
In this regard, Minister Honest was very similar to Marvel's Kingpin, both having deceptive appearances. Chelsea's disguise with the Gaia Foundation was nearly perfect, but her strength was too weak. After all, even Leone had failed to defeat Honest in a direct confrontation, only managing to kill him by unleashing the last of her Imperial Arm's power.
Swish.
Just as Honest grabbed Chelsea's arm with one hand and prepared to strike her with the other, a flash of cold light suddenly appeared. Honest immediately felt intense pain in his right hand and couldn't help but cry out.
"Let's go." The one who intervened was Daniel. After severing Honest's right hand, he grabbed Chelsea and then slashed off the minister's index finger, taking the ring from it.
"Guards! Guards! There's an assassin!" Honest screamed, clutching his severed right hand as he stumbled away.
"Why didn't you kill him?" Chelsea, being carried away by Daniel, shouted in frustration. Minister Honest was the most hated figure among the Revolutionary Army, far more than the young emperor himself.
"We'll discuss it later." Feeling the guards approaching from all directions, Daniel immediately changed course, taking Chelsea with him.
Minister Honest was a coward, so his residence was a dangerous place, filled with skilled guards, most of whom were experts from the Imperial Fist Temple. Under such circumstances, even Akame wouldn't be able to assassinate him alone.
For Daniel, killing Honest was easy. But with the future appearance of the Imperial Arm Shangri-La in mind, Daniel decided not to kill him yet.
However, Daniel still wanted to make Honest suffer, which is why he severed his right hand and took his Imperial Arm, Ileston.
Ileston was a ring-shaped Imperial Arm with no combat abilities, but it was feared by many Imperial Arm users because its power was to destroy other Imperial Arms within a certain range.
Leone had died at Honest's hands because Ileston destroyed her "Lion King: Hundred-Beast King." Otherwise, even if she couldn't defeat Honest, she could have outlasted him.
"An Imperial Arm that can destroy other Imperial Arms... I wonder if it can destroy Esdeath's or the Supreme Imperial Arms." Daniel was very curious about this Imperial Arm.
Esdeath's Imperial Arm, "Demon Extract," was entirely different from other Imperial Arms. While others were objects, Demon Extract was blood that had fused with Esdeath's own, making it difficult to classify as a typical Imperial Arm.
"Killing Honest now wouldn't be a good thing for the Revolutionary Army." Back at their safe house, Daniel explained to a confused Chelsea why he didn't kill the minister.
"The Empire currently has General Budo and Esdeath. Because of Honest, Esdeath and Budo are at odds. If Honest were to die now, their relationship might improve. If Esdeath led an attack on the Revolutionary Army, could they resist her?"
Faced with Daniel's question, Chelsea fell silent. If the Revolutionary Army could deal with Esdeath, they wouldn't have needed to ally with the Western tribes to lure her away.
Najenda had said that to kill Esdeath, they needed Akame's Imperial Arm "Murasame" as the main weapon, supported by several other Imperial Arm users and an army of hundreds of thousands. Only then would they have a chance of success.
And that was just against Esdeath alone. If her army were present, they wouldn't stand a chance, which was why they devised the plan to lure the tiger away from the mountain.
In Najenda's plan, the Western tribes were supposed to keep Esdeath occupied for a year. During that time, the Revolutionary Army would seize the capital, gather as many Imperial Arm users as possible, and then face Esdeath in a final battle. Of course, if by then Esdeath realized her side was losing and surrendered, that would be even better.
After hearing Daniel's explanation, Chelsea remained silent. As a top assassin and an Imperial Arm user, she was undoubtedly intelligent. She just hadn't considered this aspect before.
"Since the plan failed, I need to return and report." Not long after, Chelsea announced that she would temporarily leave the capital to report on the failed assassination and help accelerate the Revolutionary Army's offensive on the capital. As a key assassin, her assistance was crucial.
Like the Qin dynasty's Shadow Network organization, the Revolutionary Army's assassins might not influence a war on the battlefield, but their actions behind the scenes could significantly impact the outcome.
"The next time we meet, it'll be in the capital." Leaving those words behind, Chelsea departed.
"Yes, the next time we meet, it will be in the capital. But whose capital it will be remains to be seen." In a world with such abundant resources and with his strength to control it, Daniel had no intention of letting it slip away. After Chelsea left, Daniel began his next move.
"We meet again." Daniel's first target was once again Honest. When he reappeared before the minister, Honest's face was dark with despair. Even in a world as advanced as the one in *Akame ga Kill*, with its strange technological developments and powerful Imperial Arms, healing a severed limb was difficult unless one possessed an Imperial Arm like Leone's.
Of course, creating a mechanical arm was entirely possible.
"Assassin!" Seeing Daniel suddenly appear, Honest screamed and tried to flee, but he stopped when he saw all the guards lying on the ground.
"Room. Slaughterhouse." As Honest's eyes darted around, trying to think of a way out, Daniel activated his Op-Op Fruit powers, slicing Honest into pieces.
"This guy really has ambitions. It looks like he wanted to become emperor." Using a combination of physical and mental manipulation, Daniel quickly extracted Honest's plans.
As a former disciple of the Imperial Fist Temple, Minister Honest had strong willpower. However, years of enjoying luxuries and holding high office had dulled his resolve, making it easy for Daniel to hypnotize him.
"Encyclopedia of the World [Rongo-Rongo], who would have thought such a miraculous Imperial Arm existed?" From Honest's confession, Daniel learned about many Imperial Arms he hadn't known about before. The internal conflicts within the royal family had led to the loss of not just Imperial Arms but also records detailing them.
Even though Imperial Arms were already incredibly powerful, the Encyclopedia of the World [Rongo-Rongo] was a book-shaped Imperial Arm that made Daniel's eyes light up with interest. With this Imperial Arm, his efforts to gather resources across the Empire would become exceptionally smooth.
"Such a powerful Imperial Arm, yet it wasn't controlled by the royal family but instead by one of the minister's subordinates. It's no wonder the Empire is on the brink of collapse."
The Encyclopedia of the World [Rongo-Rongo] had the ability to record every detail of the Empire's resources and geography. With this book, there was no need to conduct extensive surveys to discover the Empire's resources. While it might not directly enhance combat abilities, it was invaluable for controlling the Empire.
Currently, this incredible Imperial Arm was in the hands of one of Honest's top subordinates, a man named Xigong, who had established the Empire's assassination units, including the infamous Akame and Kurome.
Using the Encyclopedia of the World [Rongo-Rongo], Xigong had selected several hidden valleys across the Empire, where he used drugs to train assassins.
The Encyclopedia of the World [Rongo-Rongo] not only recorded detailed information about the Empire but also had the ability to predict disasters. If any part of the Empire was about to face a major catastrophe, it would be foretold in the book.
With such an Imperial Arm, governing the country would be simple, yet despite this advantage, the Empire still managed to fall into chaos.
Honest's four top subordinates were all high-ranking officials and equally despicable individuals, each rotten to the core.
"They've already summoned Syura back? That saves me some trouble." After leaving Honest, Daniel went straight to Xigong, where he took the Encyclopedia of the World from him.
For most people, using an Imperial Arm required a compatible wavelength, but this seemed not to be an issue for Daniel. He could only attribute it to the high level of his soul.
"This really is a divine tool for ruling a country. I wonder which Super Danger Beast was used to create this Imperial Arm." Due to the first emperor's destruction of the records, only a few Imperial Arms' materials were known. Most of the details had been lost.
"General Budo... I'll leave him for Esdeath to deal with." Although Daniel hadn't yet subdued Esdeath, he was confident he could. His power far surpassed hers, and even if Esdeath used the hidden secrets of her Imperial Arm, it wouldn't matter to him. After all, Kamar-Taj's magic also had time-manipulating abilities, not to mention that he possessed the Time Stone.
Daniel's plan was to recruit Esdeath and then, when the Revolutionary Army besieged the capital, eliminate their leadership, effectively cutting off their power at the source.
Just like the corrupt leaders of the Empire, the Revolutionary Army's top brass were also far from virtuous.
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