Starting with One Piece, a Multiverse Simulation

Looking at the familiar figure in front of him, Tatsumi's eyes widened in disbelief.

Just as surprised as he was was the beautiful black-haired assassin. Or rather, rather than surprised, the black-haired beauty before them displayed more confusion.

“Akame, this boy isn’t the bad guy you think he is. He’s probably one of the victims as well. I know him from Leone.”

"You continue pursuing your assassination target; I'll handle this boy."

Chapter 403 Wood's Passionate Words

Upon hearing Wood's words, Akame did not hesitate for long. She merely glanced at Tatsumi before flashing past the two of them to continue her pursuit of her target, Aria.

For Akame, Wood was a trustworthy companion, and she naturally believed what her companion said, so she didn't ask any more questions and continued to pursue her target.

Seeing Akame intending to continue chasing after Aria, Tatsumi also wanted to get up and give chase, but Wood behind him quickly pressed down on his shoulder.

"Young man, I at least saved your life from Akame's clutches. You can't even say thank you, are you planning to go and die again?"

Although you're quite strong, you're definitely no match for Akame. If she gets serious, you'll be defeated very quickly.

Seeing that the boy, who had just narrowly escaped death, immediately thought of saving the boy as soon as he got up, Wood couldn't help but feel a bit more favorably toward him.

But it was precisely because of this goodwill that Wood wouldn't let the other party be kept in the dark and go to their death.

"So what if we die? Arya and her family are such good people, why are you doing this!"

Not only do you steal and swindle, but now you're committing murder and arson. How are your actions any different from those of demons?

At this moment, Tatsumi was somewhat agitated. Since arriving in the capital, everything here was far from as wonderful as he had imagined. The events of just one day had deeply impacted his worldview.

"We're demons? It seems you think we're the villains?"

Tatsumi did not refute what Wood said, because it was not hard to tell from the conversation between Wood and Akame that the two were probably in cahoots.

Akame's expressionless massacre had left a deep impression on Tatsumi, and Wood, his companion, had recently swindled him out of all his money.

On the contrary, Arya's family not only took him in when he was penniless, but also provided him with food and lodging.

One side was a seemingly gentle and kind family who had helped him, while the other side was a group of criminals who murdered and swindled money. The difference between the two was obvious, and unless one was blind, Tatsumi would naturally know that the side of justice was on the other side.

"Young man, sometimes what you see is not necessarily the truth. The side that seems righteous is not always the good people, and the side that seems evil is not always the bad people."

Perhaps they've only deceived you with their feigned kindness and words. Don't forget how we swindled all your money when you first arrived in the city.

Upon hearing what Wood said, Tatsumi wanted to retort, but a tall and curvaceous figure suddenly landed beside them and lifted Tatsumi up with one hand.

"Wood, all your explanations to him are no match for letting him witness the true darkness of the capital firsthand."

The figure appearing behind the two was none other than Leone, who had now entered the state of using the Imperial Arms "Beast King Transformation: Lion King," transforming from the original blonde older sister into a beast girl older sister.

"Beast King Transformation: Lion King" is a belt-type Imperial Arm that allows the user to transform into a beast, dramatically enhancing their physical abilities, including their sense of smell, and enabling them to locate enemies.

This Teigu's Leone will grow ears and a tail, not only greatly enhancing her physical abilities but also making her more ferocious.

The secret technique of this Imperial Arm is "The Lion Never Dies," which enhances its regenerative abilities. Even if its limbs are cut off or its eyes are gouged out, it can stop the bleeding and reconnect on its own.

Leone's physical abilities were already quite strong, and after undergoing "beast transformation," her physical abilities increased exponentially. Carrying Tatsumi with one hand while running was truly no problem for her.

Tatsumi initially considered resisting when Leone tightened her grip on him, but he immediately stopped struggling when Leone tightened her grip on him.

It's not that Tatsumi gave up resisting, it's just that he's afraid of milk, and his head is being squeezed by two huge mounds of fat, so he's a little short of oxygen...

When Wood and Leone brought Tatsumi to the wealthy merchant's backyard, Akame finally caught up with Aria, who had previously escaped, and killed all of her guards.

Arya had initially planned to make a final, boastful boast before she died, seeing that all the guards were dead and that Akame was cold-blooded and had no intention of letting her go.

But at that moment, Wood and Leone suddenly arrived. When Aria saw Tatsumi being held in Leone's arms, her last desire to live was rekindled, and she cried out in a pitiful manner, "Tatsumi, save me! I don't want to die!"

Upon hearing the girl's cry for help, the boy, who had been drowsy from being breastfed, was suddenly filled with a sense of justice and quickly broke free from Leone's shackles, leaping over to reach Aria.

Seeing Tatsumi standing in front of the mission target again, Akame frowned unhappily. Just as she was about to say something, Wood spoke first.

"Tatsumi, haven't you always thought that we were the evil ones, the indiscriminate executioners who kill innocent people without any purpose?"

Do you see that door behind you? You'll understand everything once you open it.

However, I must warn you first: what you are about to witness represents the true darkness of the empire. If your will is not strong enough, I suggest you don't attempt it lightly.

Upon hearing what Wood said, Tatsumi also looked at a wooden door behind him, which seemed to be a huge warehouse.

Although Tatsumi doesn't quite trust Wood and the others right now, given the strength they've shown, killing him shouldn't be too difficult for them, so there's no need for him to go through the trouble of deceiving himself.

"Tatsumi, don't trust them! They're all ruthless killers! Just protect me!"

Seeing Tatsumi gradually walking towards the wooden door, Aria panicked and even tried to stop him by pulling on him.

However, Wood suddenly appeared in front of Arya in a flash and slapped her away without hesitation.

"Are we ruthless killers? Compared to what you've done, we're probably nothing more than sheep."

“Squeak—!”

With a sickeningly loud sound, the massive wooden door swung open, followed by a nauseating stench that assaulted the nostrils...

When Tatsumi opened the door and saw what he saw, he was completely dumbfounded. This huge warehouse was not just a warehouse as it appeared, but a real hell on earth!

Why does the warehouse smell of decay? The reason is simple: it's filled with a large number of corpses, some of which appear to have died recently.

Some of them seemed to have been dead for a long time, and were hung directly from the roof beams, becoming so-called mummies!

The young man, who had just arrived in the capital from the countryside, had never seen such a scene before, so he vomited instantly.

What Tatsumi found even more unacceptable was that he also met his two close friends from his hometown, Sayo and Ieyasu, here!

Among them, Sayo is dead, and her death is extremely gruesome, because all the skin on her body has been peeled off!

Although Ieyas was still alive, he had been tortured to the point of barely clinging to life. His teeth had long been stripped from his mouth. When he met Tatsumi, he confessed the evil deeds of Aria's family before finally dying.

With Ieyas's irrefutable evidence, Aria knew she couldn't deny it, so she decided to go all out and hysterically said to Tatsumi, "We are the rich people of the capital. You lowly country bumpkins are just there to please us."

Especially that woman, she's just a brat, but her skin is better than mine. I'm just…”

Before Aria could finish speaking, she could no longer continue, for her head had already been severed from her body and flown high into the air, and the one who did it was none other than Tatsumi, who had been protecting her earlier!

When Tatsumi killed someone for the first time, he didn't feel any discomfort. Instead, he felt a sense of relief and peace, as if he had avenged a great grudge.

In his view, although Arya had a human appearance, her actions were not much different from those of a Dangerous Species.

Seeing that the mission target had been taken down by Tatsumi first, Akame was a little unhappy, while Leone, on the other hand, whistled with admiration for Tatsumi.

After Tatsumi killed Aria, the entire family of this hypocritical wealthy merchant was also massacred, leaving no one alive.

Many who initially tried to escape when they sensed the danger were shot dead by Mine, who was guarding the perimeter.

After Aria's death, all the remaining members of Night Raid gathered here, and several opinions arose regarding how to deal with Tatsumi.

The ruthless Lubbock and Akame believed that to ensure their partner's identity was not exposed, they had to kill or imprison Tatsumi, because they had already seen their faces.

Mine and Hill are neutral, while Brand and Leone believe Tatsumi is a good boy and choose to trust him.

With six people holding three different opinions, and each team consisting of two people, Wood's choice of side directly determines Tatsumi's fate.

Looking at the Night Raid squad in front of him, Tatsumi did not choose to struggle. On one hand, he knew that his combat strength was no match for theirs, and on the other hand, he was still immersed in the pain of his best friend's death.

"Young man, would you like to join us?"

Under the watchful eyes of the other six members of Night Raid, Wood suddenly looked at Tatsumi, who was slumped on the ground, and said something that made Akame and the others drop their jaws in astonishment.

"Wait a minute, Wood, are you kidding me? You want this guy to join us?"

Upon hearing what Wood said, the first to raise a question was Mine, the proud loli who seemed to have a very low opinion of Tatsumi.

They believed that since he was fooled twice in such a short time, he was not very smart. In terms of strength, he was not even a "Teigu User" and would lower the average level of their "Night Raid".

"Why not? I have high hopes for this young man, even if his strength isn't particularly strong yet."

But I saw in him the potential to become stronger, and one day he might become stronger than any of us!

Besides, I already took his money. Although I can't make him join the Imperial Army as agreed, it seems I can still recommend him to join us.

Wood's words were quickly echoed by Leone, who had also been optimistic about Tatsumi from the beginning.

When Leone saw Tatsumi kill Aria, she noticed that Tatsumi's determined eyes showed he was born to be an assassin.

Wood's idea was exactly what she wanted, and since she had also received a share of the money that Tatsumi had been swindled out of, she felt she had to do her part as well.

"Well, young man, after witnessing the true darkness of the empire, do you feel you want to join us?"

Leone walked up to the slumped Tatsumi and extended her hand to him, both to help him up and as an invitation.

"Does someone like me really deserve to join you and become one of you?"

To be honest, Tatsumi was already tempted when he received the invitation from Wood and Leone, because the deaths of his two close friends made him deeply disgusted with the darkness of the Empire.

He wanted to spend the rest of his life eradicating such evil and preventing tragedies like those of his close friend Sayo and Iyeas from happening again!

But when facing Wood and his group, Tatsumi felt somewhat inferior. Wood and his group seemed like law enforcers hidden in the night, powerful and handsome.

He was just a naive country boy who was not only constantly deceived, but also had only ordinary abilities.

"A person may not be able to choose their birth, but they can decide whether they are great."

Experiences help people grow, so Tatsumi, what exactly are you confused about?

If you don't even have the courage to make the choices you believe are right, then what's the point of talking about becoming stronger or having dreams?

After Wood's impassioned speech, Tatsumi's previously hesitant gaze instantly hardened, and he extended his hand to Leone, saying, "I want to join you and uproot the darkness of the Empire!"