The next day, at the training grounds.
Gore had brought six guards and was waiting for Uesugi Ryu's arrival.
Looking at the men before him, he nodded in satisfaction.
Three of them had been his classmates or juniors back at Koshin Temple.
After graduating from Koshin Temple, most chose to serve the Empire.
Those unwilling to do so typically became bodyguards, assassins, mercenaries, and the like.
"Listen up. Lord Uesugi probably wants to inspect my training results."
"All of you, stay sharp. Don't embarrass me."
The men immediately stood at attention and shouted in unison.
"Yes, sir!"
Uesugi Ryu stretched lazily.
Dressed in a white shirt, he slowly walked into the training grounds.
Seeing him arrive, Gore and the others immediately bowed respectfully.
"Lord Uesugi!"
Uesugi Ryu waved a hand.
He licked his lips, still savoring last night's meal.
Then he beckoned to Gore.
"Come on. Gore, you first. Let me see the strength of a Ninth Dan of Koshin Temple."
Gore froze for a moment.
He had not expected that.
As far as he knew, Uesugi Ryu had never undergone martial arts training.
He hesitated.
"Lord Uesugi, this..."
Uesugi Ryu applied a bit of force with his foot.
Spiderweb-like cracks instantly spread across the stone tiles beneath him.
He raised his head and glanced at Gore, signaling him not to worry.
Those brilliant golden eyes reflected in Gore's vision.
His Adam's apple bobbed three times before he managed to force out words.
"Your eyes..."
The death throes of countless Danger Beasts he had torn apart with his bare hands flashed through his mind.
Vertical pupils, compound eyes, crystalline lenses.
None of them compared to the terror now reflected on his retinas.
The molten gold swirling deep within Uesugi Ryu's irises seemed to burn visible ripples into the air itself.
Gore fared relatively well.
After all, he was a martial artist with a firm will.
The six guards behind him were less composed.
They instinctively staggered back two steps under that pressure.
Gore snapped back to himself in an instant.
"Forgive my insolence!"
His entire body crackled like frying beans as the opening stance of Koshin Temple's secret art, Seven Forms of the Demon Skull, activated automatically.
Then Gore stomped forward.
His sandbag-sized right fist tore through the air with a tiger's roar, smashing toward Uesugi Ryu's seemingly slender frame.
Uesugi Ryu lightly tapped the ground.
He dodged by a hair's breadth.
Gore's iron fist slammed into the ground.
With a thunderous boom, the brick flooring of the training grounds shattered instantly.
Countless stone fragments shot outward.
Gore attacked with his full strength, launching another relentless assault.
A storm of blows rained down.
Yet not a single strike even brushed Uesugi Ryu.
Each time, it missed by only the slightest margin.
Fear gradually welled up in Gore's heart.
He could clearly tell that Uesugi Ryu was deliberately toying with him.
Even the legendary Four Rakshasa Demons probably could not achieve such terrifying skill.
Uesugi Ryu's white shirt remained spotless.
Watching Gore's performance, a hint of surprise appeared in his eyes.
Even a minor character who had never appeared in the original story possessed this level of strength.
The power scaling of Akame ga Kill! was indeed on an entirely different level from Tokyo Ghoul.
Though, that was only because Uesugi Ryu's standards had risen.
In reality, a Ninth Dan of Koshin Temple was no weakling.
Gore was not some half-trained dropout.
He was a genuine graduate of Koshin Temple Professional Technical Academy.
Gore's attacks grew increasingly ferocious.
Another punch missed, his fist embedding deeply into the ground.
Uesugi Ryu's leather boot pressed onto Gore's shoulder.
A horrifying force surged down through the sole.
Gore's body was forced lower and lower.
Bulging veins spread from his neck to his temples.
Yet his mountain-like frame could not move even an inch.
"Not bad."
The low evaluation brushed past Gore's ears with the cold wind.
His pupils contracted.
He heard the strained groan of his own joints.
He also heard the guards behind him sucking in sharp breaths.
"But your speed is lacking."
The pressure suddenly vanished.
Gore stumbled and dropped to one knee.
He turned and grinned, his dust-covered face filled with admiration.
"Your might is unmatched, my lord!"
The nearby guards were completely dumbfounded.
They immediately dropped to one knee and began showering him with clumsy flattery.
"As expected of Lord Uesugi, both cultured and martial."
"Amazing. Even legendary Teigu users would be no match."
"You fool. How could mere Teigu users compare to Lord Uesugi?"
"I'd say my lord has the strength of a general. General Uesugi himself!"
Listening to their terrible attempts at praise, Uesugi Ryu felt a chill run down his spine.
He waved them off.
"Enough."
The purpose of having Gore bring them here was mainly to establish authority.
Since he had taken on this identity, it was worth spending some time consolidating his forces.
Even a makeshift organization was better than nothing.
At the very least, it would make handling matters more convenient.
Besides that, he also wanted to gauge the power level of Akame ga Kill!.
Uesugi Ryu flicked nonexistent dust from his sleeve.
"Gore."
"At your service!"
Gore's muscular back instantly straightened.
"From now on, stop gathering girls."
Still kneeling, Gore answered respectfully.
"As you command."
As for why Uesugi Ryu possessed such overwhelming strength, he did not dare ask.
A master was still a master, no matter how much he changed.
It was not a butler's place to question him.
Besides, serving such a powerful man offered far greater prospects than before.
.......
Night Raid, outskirts hideout.
Inside the meeting room.
Najenda sat at the head of the table, with the other Night Raid members seated on either side.
She tossed the file in her hand onto the table.
The dark green metallic sheen of her prosthetic arm gleamed under the lights.
"This time, our target is Uesugi Ryu, one of the shareholders behind the underground trade network."
"He also controls the red-light district, regularly gathering young women and men to curry favor with officials."
"The number of victims he has ruined is beyond counting."
"Now, Night Raid will deliver divine punishment."
Tatsumi glared at the portrait in his hand, gritting his teeth.
"This bastard looks respectable enough."
"Who would've thought he was this kind of scum?"
"So he's involved in human trafficking too, right?"
Bulat, sporting his signature pompadour, shook his head.
His expression was serious.
"No. While he's undeniably a complete bastard, human trafficking isn't actually one of his crimes."
Tatsumi looked confused.
If not trafficking, then where did the workers in the red-light district come from?
Leone, the blonde bombshell sitting nearby, lowered her head.
She wore only a black tube top on her upper body.
Born in the slums herself, she understood the answer all too well.
Folding her arms across her chest, she spoke quietly.
"For people in the slums who can barely afford to eat, working in the red-light district is actually considered a decent job."
"A lot of them go there willingly once they have no other way to survive."
Tatsumi's face filled with confusion.
The darkness of the Empire revealed itself to him once again.
"How could that be..."
Akame, Najenda, Mine, and Sheele all remained calm.
Such things were far too common in the Capital.
Najenda tapped the table.
"That is our job."
"We eliminate people like him."
Then she turned toward the four seated on her left.
"This operation will be handled by Leone, Sheele, Mine, and Tatsumi."
"Sheele and Mine will assassinate Uesugi Ryu."
"Leone and Tatsumi will dismantle his red-light district operations."
Najenda looked at Mine and reminded her seriously.
"Mine, Sheele, be careful."
"The target is extremely cautious. He has many guards, and his butler, Gore, is a master trained at Koshin Temple."
"According to our intelligence, he was originally supposed to leave the estate for several days."
"It seems our recent actions have frightened these maggots. Gore has canceled his trip."
Mine nodded confidently.
She gently patted the black sniper rifle resting beside her.
Roman Artillery: Pumpkin.
"Hmph. I'll blow his head off with Pumpkin."
After the meeting ended and everyone had left, Najenda stopped Lubbock.
Lubbock looked puzzled.
Then, seemingly thinking of something, his breathing suddenly quickened.
"Could Najenda be confessing to me? How should I respond??"
Najenda, however, paid no attention to his strange behavior.
"Lubb."
"Headquarters' divination suggests there may be a new crisis in the Capital."
"Tomorrow, I need you to secretly follow Sheele and the others."
"I have a bad feeling about this."
Lubbock nodded.
His posture instantly slumped.
His voice was barely above a mosquito's buzz.
"I understand..."