In the 1005th year of the Imperial Calendar, Linluo City was located in the southeastern part of the Empire. Although far from the Imperial Capital, it housed a nearby Imperial Navy garrison.
Serving as a supply station for the navy, it was every bit as prosperous as other first-tier towns. The shops in the city offered an endless variety of goods, and neat stone bricks paved the clean roads.
It was the height of summer, and the lush greenery planted throughout the city held up their great leafy umbrellas. Thus, even with the midday sun blazing high, the main streets remained remarkably cool.
At that moment, in a corner of the town, a black-haired boy wearing patched clothing was rummaging through a garbage can at the street corner.
The black-haired boy looked malnourished, not even as tall as the garbage can itself. Standing on his tiptoes, he pulled out anything edible, laid it aside, and then buried his head right back in to continue his search.
Suddenly, five figures slowly approached him. The black-haired boy instantly halted his movements, turned his head unhurriedly, and upon seeing who had come, could not help lowering his head to rub his temples, thinking with a helpless ache in his heart: "It's this bunch of brats again..."
Noticing that the black-haired youth had spotted them, five boys with flashy clothes, standing a head taller than him, quickened their pace to surround him.
One of the boys, fat enough to be twice the width of the black-haired youth, stepped forward and looked him over as if he had found a new toy.
This was not their first encounter. Several times before, when they had cornered this black-haired boy, he had managed to slip away; but this time, they had finally caught him.
Watching the chubby boy lost in his own thoughts, the black-haired boy paid them no mind. He picked up the food he had retrieved from the ground and casually walked right past the chubby boy, stepping out of their encirclement.
Seeing the black-haired boy ignore him, the chubby boy felt somewhat embarrassed and hastily reached out for the black-haired boy's hair, babbling, "Little punk, you stay right there!"
The black-haired boy tilted his head to dodge the chubby boy's hand. Realizing his move had been effortlessly avoided, the chubby boy grew even more furious and signaled to his surrounding accomplices with a glance.
Catching the chubby boy's signal, the others lunged forward together to grab the black-haired boy, dragging him toward the deeper recesses of a nearby alley. It looked as though this was far from the first time they had done such a thing.
The black-haired boy offered no resistance, letting them drag him in. As he passed the chubby boy, the black-haired boy looked at him with neither sorrow nor joy, as if he were looking at fish on a chopping board.
The chubby boy couldn't help shivering. Watching the black-haired boy being hauled deeper into the alley, he let out a sigh of relief in his heart, hurried to the mouth of the alley, and listened to the sounds of beating and kicking from within, secretly thrilled.
He would go in and kick him a couple of times once they were mostly done beating him. With this thought, he glanced around cautiously. Because the alley was right next to the Imperial Navy garrison, public order here was fairly strict; as the son of a wealthy merchant, it wouldn't be a big deal even if someone saw him—he would just have to pay a fine.
His father could pull some strings behind the scenes anyway, so he might not even have to pay that money at all.
As the sounds of screams grew more frequent, the chubby boy suddenly felt something was amiss. Before he could even lift a foot to run, a hand pressed down on his shoulder. The black-haired boy appeared behind him and whispered, "You have money on you, right?"
Listening to the emotionless voice of the black-haired boy and feeling the killing intent radiating from him, a warm stream flowed down the chubby boy's thigh and onto the ground.
"I have it, I have it! Please don't kill me!"
The black-haired boy frowned. This place was secluded and no one had come by yet, but that might change at any moment.
Seeing the chubby boy pull out the silver coins he was carrying, the black-haired boy took them all with an expression of disgust—they were stained with the little boy's snot.
Then he dashed straight into the alleyway and vanished into the shadows.
A moment later, two guards drawn by the crying arrived beside the chubby boy and began asking what had happened.
After hearing the chubby boy's account, they walked straight into the alleyway, discovered the four children beaten to a pulp, and escorted all the children back home.
Their parents were furious and joined forces to exert pressure upward, while the Linluo City police department promised to give them a satisfactory answer.
Before long, a wanted poster for the black-haired boy was plastered all over Linluo City. Wanted posters were only issued for crimes that caused a major social impact.
When everyone saw the youthful face on the wanted poster, they couldn't help but wonder if such a tiny wanted criminal could possibly exist.
Yet no one voiced their doubts.
The black-haired boy was completely unaware that he was now a wanted fugitive. Right now, he was sitting atop a mountain peak, where his gaze could reach the distant seaside port and the naval base.
Flipping through the newly looted silver coins, the young boy Ye Yu gradually drifted into his thoughts.
This was the fifth year since Ye Yu had come to this world. He never expected that transmigrations and rebirths would actually happen to him.
Watching the navy soldiers train, Ye Yu turned his head out of sheer boredom.
Ye Yu had been abandoned by his mother at birth; it seemed his biological mother was a prostitute, but fortunately, he had some luck.
An old woman had dug him out of a garbage pile, and by the time he had barely been raised to the point where he could move around on his own, the old woman lost her life after failing to dodge a rich man's carriage in time.
That night was Ye Yu's first time killing someone in this world.
Because his body was malnourished and he hadn't yet grown accustomed to a physique that changed every day, he had almost brought shame to his title as the world's number one assassin.
Luckily, his small body was agile and convenient, and he successfully completed that operation.
The next day, after burying the old woman, he became a stray child in Linluo City, relying on rummaging through garbage cans every day to fill his stomach, all while needing to conceal his identity.
Such a major murder case had occurred in Linluo City, yet the city guards and police organization failed to figure out who the culprit was. For reasons unknown, the matter was quietly suppressed and left unsettled.
Ever since returning to his old trade that day, Ye Yu realized just how weak his current body was. He had originally wanted to live an ordinary life and quit the assassination business, but it seemed he could simply never shake off his identity as an assassin. Thus, he began undergoing high-intensity training every day.
Through daily investigations and inquiries, Ye Yu finally realized what kind of world he had entered: Akame ga Kill!
He had watched this anime because of its professional assassin theme. Back then, watching the protagonists charge in head-on without looking like assassins at all, eventually getting almost their entire organization killed off...
He never imagined he would actually end up here. Fortunately, he had finished watching the anime, so he wasn't completely blind and clueless about everything.
"Teigu..." Ye Yu muttered as he held the gold coins in his hand. Items that defied common sense—would he ever have the chance to get his hands on one?
"What are you looking at?" A blue-haired child sidled up beside Ye Yu. Ye Yu tightly clenched the gold coins in his palm and looked at the child staring at him with curiosity. The boy seemed even younger than him, flashing a warm, sunny smile. "Nothin' much. What's your name, and what are you doing here?"
"Me? My name is Wave, and I'm going to join the Imperial Navy! I'm gonna be a future Fleet Admiral!" Hearing Ye Yu ask for his name, the blue-haired boy pointed a thumb at himself, telling Ye Yu proudly and excitedly.
"Wave?" Ye Yu softly repeated the name. He hadn't expected to run into one of the original characters of the story so soon. Watching him look so pleased with himself after declaring his name, Ye Yu fell into deep contemplation.
He was so young; it seemed the story of the anime was still a long way off. Was this giving him time to grow stronger?
"Hehe, were you scared by my name?" Wave quickly swiped his thumb across his nose, striking a pose he thought looked very cool.
"......"
Ye Yu stood up. Dealing with this kind of brat felt exhausting; he'd better run first. The boy might become very powerful in the future, but right now he looked like nothing more than a small fry.
"Wave, nice to meet you, but it's lunchtime now. I have to head home." Ye Yu waved his hand and started walking down the mountain.
At that moment, a middle-aged man wearing a navy uniform passed by Ye Yu. He glanced at Ye Yu and shouted to Wave: "Wave, stop running around! Now that we've finished touring the naval base, let's go check out Linluo City before I send you back to your village. I hope you work hard and serve the Empire in the future!"
"Yes, Master!"
The gentle breeze carried the happy reply of the brat named Wave. Ye Yu looked up at the sky; dark clouds were beginning to gather, and the previously bright weather was turning gloomy.
After spending some time, Ye Yu entered Linluo City and noticed quite a few gazes sizing him up. Following the direction of those glances, he instantly spotted the wanted poster pasted on the wall, as well as the guards trailing closely behind him.
Without hesitation, using a large tree to block their line of sight, Ye Yu vanished from the pursuers' field of vision.
"Was wiping out that entire estate last time a bit too over-the-top, or has my technique rusted?" Hiding in an alley next to the tree, Ye Yu watched the guards anxiously searching for his traces near the trunk.
Reviewing his last assassination plan, he still couldn't figure out where he had slipped up.
"There he is!" One of the guards spotted Ye Yu standing in the alley. Ye Yu flashed him a smile, waved, and retreated deeper into the alley. Hearing the shout, the other guards hurriedly rushed in after him.
Once all the guards had rushed past to the opposite street, Ye Yu emerged from the alley and stepped into a clothing store not far away.
When Ye Yu walked out of the clothing store, the clerk was smiling from ear to ear, escorting him to the doorway and respectfully watching him walk away.
Now, Ye Yu wore a white undershirt with a black hooded jacket over it, a pair of black trousers, and he had even replaced his worn-out shoes with a pair designed for easy movement.
"Good thing I went back to grab the money I pinched earlier, otherwise I would've taken a massive loss." Wearing his hood, Ye Yu walked down the street. During his act of revenge, he had pocketed plenty of valuables from that rich man's home, and had already converted all of them into gold coins.
Just to be safe, he only occasionally took out a small amount to use, having buried the rest on the mountain where he met Wave. Now that he finally needed to use it, he found himself wanted as a criminal. He had to admit his luck was a bit terrible.
After buying a piece of bread and some milk, Ye Yu hadn't even taken a few bites when a squad of guards spotted him again. This time, Ye Yu didn't run away. Instead, he simply ate as he waited for the squad to surround him.
The leader of the guard squad stepped forward and rudely barked at Ye Yu: "Kid, you're suspected of being the person on the wanted poster. Come with us and save yourself some physical pain."
Ye Yu just kept eating wholeheartedly. Even after the man finished speaking, he ignored him entirely. When he finally swallowed the last two sips of milk, the squad leader, who had long grown impatient, pointed frantically at Ye Yu and roared: "Take him down!!!"
At his command, Ye Yu's gaze grew fierce. Two guards reached out to grab him, but Ye Yu dropped his stance, jumped up, and kicked both guards right in the face. He landed gracefully on the ground and sprinted toward a gap in the encirclement.
Seeing that Ye Yu was about to escape, the squad leader instantly drew the saber at his waist and charged straight at him.
Ye Yu dodged a series of slashing blows, moving with effortless ease. Whenever guards ran ahead of him to cut him off, he easily evaded them as well. Meanwhile, the two guards he had kicked managed to get back on their feet and drew their sabers to chase after him.
When he reached the gates of Linluo City, a chubby little boy stood behind a lean man, while a squad of guards blocked the entrance and exit of the city.
A young woman tightly hugged a black-haired boy, while the lean man playfully cupped the young woman's chin and said to her: "Your child is a suspect on the wanted poster now. Come with me in a moment and we can have a nice little chat about how to clear your son's name."
The chubby boy spotted Ye Yu running closer and closer, tugged frantically at the lean man's clothes, and cried out excitedly: "Chief Kuro, that's him, that's him, he's coming!"
The lean man named Kuro cast a dissatisfied glance at the chubby boy. If it weren't for the bribes his father had been feeding him, he wouldn't have wanted to bother with this mess at all.
Jerking his head impatiently, he ordered the men behind him, "You two, take them to the police station! Everyone else, surround that brat!"
Ye Yu noticed the guards guarding the gate. He hadn't expected them to make such a huge fuss just to trap a kid like him. With a helpless sigh, he stopped in his tracks. He had originally planned to wait until he was a bit older before exploring other places, but it looked like he would have to advance his plans.
One guard watched Ye Yu stop, but didn't halt his own momentum. He marched straight ahead, winding up a punch aimed squarely at the back of Ye Yu's head, completely unconcerned about whether a child's body could withstand the full-strength blow of an adult.
The others coordinated to surround Ye Yu. Just as the fist was about to graze Ye Yu's head, Ye Yu tilted his head to dodge, spun around, and delivered a punch straight to the guard's temple, smoothly drawing the saber the guard had tucked into his waist.
Ye Yu's gaze was no longer that of an innocent, clueless child; it was the cold, ruthless stare of his past life as the world's number one assassin.
Watching the black-haired kid smoothly plunge the blade into the guard's body for a fatal blow without a single bit of hesitation, the surrounding guards quickly darted their eyes around.
The guards surrounding him all involuntarily swallowed hard. Clearly, the person they had trapped with so many men was just a kid; yet when they met his sweeping gaze, it felt not like looking at a child, but at a demon who had slaughtered countless souls.
"Ahhhhh!"
The previous guard leader shrieked as he charged at Ye Yu, as if trying to pump himself up with courage, desperately comforting himself inside:
He's just a kid, just a kid.
Ye Yu gripped the saber with both hands and let out a deep breath, waiting for the guard to approach. His current body wasn't suited for strenuous movement, so he had to stick to a passive defense for now.
Hearing the scream, the rest of the guards snapped back to their senses and charged at Ye Yu with their weapons drawn. Kuro's face lit up with joy—this kid's strength wasn't weak, which meant he was more than enough to cash in the bounty for the wanted poster. That way, he could score another pile of reward money and go have a good time at the brothels.
Ye Yu deftly parried the guards' blades with both hands, lashed out with an exceptionally swift kick to a guard's face, and quickly slashed his blade across another guard's neck.
Before Kuro could recover from his pleasant daydreams, Ye Yu was already walking toward him, covered in blood. Behind him, not a single guard remained standing.
The chubby boy was so terrified he was clutching tightly to the hem of Kuro's trousers. With a twitch of his brow, Kuro kicked the chubby boy away.
Drawing his own saber out of sheer rage and embarrassment, he yelled at Ye Yu: "Kid, surrender right now! I am the Chief of the Police Department. If you surrender honestly, I can spare you from physical torture!"
Ye Yu paused in confusion for a fraction of a second, then continued walking toward him.
Is this old geezer a complete idiot?
Shaking out his sore arms, Ye Yu dragged his saber as he charged toward Kuro. Seeing that Ye Yu completely ignored his words, Kuro hastily yelled again: "It was all that brat! His father was the one who paid us to come after you!"
The chubby boy looked at Kuro's words in horror. He hadn't expected this guy to sell him out even before the fight started, so he scrambled to his feet and ran away from them, screaming for his father.
Ye Yu paid no attention to the brat. Reaching Kuro, he brought his blade down in a single slash. Kuro hastily raised his sword to block, but barely managed to hold it off.
Ever since he became the Chief, he had long neglected his training, and his body had been hollowed out by wine and women long ago. Right now, he was even less capable than the guards who had fallen before him.
Ye Yu followed up with a kick to Kuro's chest, the impact forcing him down to his knees in agony. Ye Yu felt a wave of speechlessness wash over him—this guy was far too weak.
Without wasting any breath, Ye Yu swung his blade and lopped off Kuro's head. Then he dropped the weapon he was holding and bolted out of Linluo City without looking back.
A short while later, inside the Linluo City Lord's residence, the City Lord was conversing with Wave's master. Wave was looking around the massive room with glowing, fascinated eyes when a guard rushed frantically into the grand hall and spoke a few words to the City Lord.
The City Lord slammed his palm on the table and roared at the guard: "What? Kuro was killed by a kid, and the kid got away? What are you people good for? Mobilize everyone, dig three feet into the ground if you have to, and find that brat!"
Under his governance, Linluo City hadn't seen such brazen murders happen out in the open for ages. To have someone slaughter his subordinate so blatantly was undoubtedly a massive slap to the City Lord's face, not to mention that he had distinguished guests visiting today.
Wave looked over at the City Lord in bewilderment, then glanced at his master. Wave's master rubbed his chin, deep in thought, and muttered under his breath: "A kid?" Catching Wave's gaze, he involuntarily recalled the black-haired youth he had seen earlier.