Iori said nothing at all, only looking at him calmly, and this reaction further confirmed Budo's judgment.
"Never showing your face, possessing extraordinary agility, and choosing the same kinds of targets as the Faceless One, local high officials and wealthy merchants, with the same stance and inclinations… how ridiculous."
"For Honest to actually let a man as dangerous as you enter the Imperial Army, he's finally suffering the backlash now."
Grand General Budo's gaze darkened. "It seems I can't allow him to continue running amok. Otherwise, the Empire won't last until His Majesty comes of age."
"I didn't expect the Grand General to really be a loyal minister!"
Iori sounded surprised. "I thought you were one of the minister's allies."
"What?!"
Budo's expression changed abruptly. Even if he couldn't defeat Iori, he would never allow anyone to insult him.
"Don't lump me together with that kind of vermin!"
"Is that so? But I think you and the minister work together quite well."
Iori said with a smile, "You sit in this position, have the ability yet do nothing, watching with your own eyes as the minister eliminates dissent and monopolizes the court, letting the situation rot to this extent."
"In name, you say you protect those loyal officials, but in reality they're still removed one by one, even assassinated. With this kind of occupying-a-seat-and-eating-salary behavior, how are you any different from siding with Honest?"
"Bastard!"
The man clenched his fists, arcs of lightning flaring up once more from his heavy armor. The violent flashes revealed the turmoil in his heart.
"Honest certainly needs to be eliminated, but your Revolutionary Army isn't anything good either. Only by suppressing all traitors and rebels can the Empire flourish again!"
He seemed to have already decided that Iori was a member of the Revolutionary Army… and Iori had no interest in explaining.
After hearing all this, the young man immediately asked a question in return, "Can you do it?"
"What?"
"You might be able to defeat the Revolutionary Army, but are you confident you can defeat me? And against Esdeath, how much confidence do you have?"
"If you did manage to defeat all your opponents, could you wipe out all the darkness throughout the Empire, top to bottom?"
"Could you make the people lay down all hatred, stop opposing the Empire, and ensure everyone has work and food to eat?"
"..."
"Of course you can't, because you know very well that the root of all this isn't the Revolutionary Army, nor the people, it's in the Imperial Capital, behind those towering palace walls!"
"As long as… as long as His Majesty rules personally, everything will get better."
"Can you make the young emperor trust you? Can you say with certainty that he'll become a wise ruler in the future?"
"..."
"See? All of these things are beyond your capabilities. The only thing you can do is immediately take people and chop Honest down, even though that still wouldn't change much, at least it would count as a small contribution you made to this era."
Iori smiled with clear delight. "But you can't even do that, because you are a 'loyal minister'!"
He deliberately emphasized that term, speaking it with great force, though it was hard to tell whether it was mockery or lament.
Objectively speaking, Budo was simply a blindly loyal and muddleheaded martial man who couldn't distinguish priorities. Anyone with even a bit of political sense would silently shake their head after looking at him.
That said, mockery aside, Iori could somewhat understand people like Budo.
It was like the story of the elephant and the small wooden stake. Though it's a parable that doesn't care much for logic, the lesson within it is quite real.
People are always bound by their own cognition. For Budo, "loyalty" was not merely a compliment, it was a rule and a piece of common sense that had to be followed.
And the "loyalty" in his mind was extremely complex, loyalty to the emperor, loyalty to ancestral teachings, plus a small measure of personal conscience… all of which resulted in a very awkward political stance.
He knew it was wrong, and he knew he had the ability to stop it, at least to weaken the minister's power, but he couldn't do so, like an elephant pinned in place by a small wooden stake, seemingly huge and strong yet lacking independent will.
You could call it a weakened version of a thought seal.
"You're destined to watch the Empire head toward destruction in helplessness and pain. With nothing but brute strength, you can't change anything. In the end, you'll only be turned into firewood and buried alongside the Empire!"
Iori's words undoubtedly pierced Budo. He responded with silence, neither refuting nor attacking, as the lightning around his body gradually dimmed.
His expression remained resolute and stern, but Iori knew it was something like a "mask." Trained from childhood to be a "loyal minister and good general," he had to be an unshakable rock, using that expression alone to conceal his inner thoughts.
"…Leave."
After a long time, Budo spoke with difficulty. "There's no meaning in continuing this fight. I can tell you have no intention of deciding life and death here, but likewise, I won't be swayed by your words."
"Stubborn as expected~" Iori looked at Budo and still couldn't help offering one last piece of advice. "If you were willing, everything would become different."
"..."
"Minister Honest is definitely going to die. No matter who takes power, there will be no place for him. His head will inevitably be used to quell the people's overwhelming anger."
"But the young emperor is different. Everyone knows he's just a puppet, and that he himself hasn't indulged in extreme luxury or committed acts of cruelty against the people."
Iori said seriously, rare for him. "If you're willing to cooperate, I can guarantee you this, as long as the young emperor behaves himself in the future, his life will be safe."
He wasn't making empty promises.
Because he did genuinely value Budo, not just for his strength and military status, but also because of a matter with far-reaching implications.
One must understand that Iori would not be able to stay in this world long-term to govern the nation. Power would inevitably have to be delegated extensively, which created a problem.
Esdeath was simply too dominant within the military.
Among the commander-type talents under Iori's command, there were only Esdeath and Najenda. In a world like Akame ga Kill, where might reigns supreme, even if the two held equal positions, Esdeath would inevitably be the more dominant one, especially since she also commanded the most elite border troops.
Before her own strength surpassed Iori's, she had no interest in anything other than becoming stronger.
But her very existence would subtly influence the military's atmosphere.
All right, that's learning a real-life Bankai now.
Bringing Budo over was precisely to reduce Esdeath's influence, using his steadiness and conservatism to counterbalance the Ice Queen's extraordinary boldness.
Keeping the army energetic was a good thing, but having no steady-handed general at the helm was unacceptable.
Of course, Iori had known from the start that the chances were slim. Grand General Budo was harder to deal with than anyone else, and gaining his loyalty…
"His Majesty… will not fall from the throne."
After saying this, Budo seemed to feel the words lacked force, so he quickly added, "I will protect the Empire!"
"…Then can I take that as a refusal?"
Iori spoke sincerely. "What a pity… a thousand-year imperial bloodline is about to be severed."
"!!"
Budo's entire body trembled. He knew this was Iori's verbal assault, yet he couldn't help imagining what might happen if he set aside his pride and cooperated with the Revolutionary Army…
"In that case, let's end things here today."
In the end, Iori failed to get a response from Budo. He sighed inwardly, but quickly regained his usual state of mind.
He had already done everything he reasonably could. If they were to meet again on the battlefield in the future, he would no longer give the other man any chances.
"Clumsy, but not laughable… I hope that when this grand drama comes to an end, you can still carry out the will you hold right now, and be buried alongside the thousand-year Empire."
With that, Iori prepared to leave, without the slightest hesitation, he was very busy.
Right now, not only did he have to crack down on local tyrants in various regions, he also had to maintain contact with Najenda and Esdeath, while monitoring the actions of both the Revolutionary Army's high command and the Empire's upper echelon… he truly didn't have enough time or energy.
For him to personally come and persuade Budo was already special treatment. Asking for more was out of the question, there was no way Iori would demean himself just to recruit someone.
"May you ultimately get what you wish for~"
———
After entering autumn, the situation across the entire Empire suddenly took a sharp turn.
Originally, in order to placate members of his own faction, the minister issued an edict in the emperor's name, creating a new post above the prefects called "Provincial Governor," responsible for overseeing both military and civil affairs within a province.
He also allowed counties and districts to recruit local militias as needed, organizing their own forces to suppress bandits and rebels, thereby easing the pressure on the Imperial Army.
In addition, the minister went all out and actually managed to gather several Imperial Arms users, forming around a thousand-man gendarmerie unit centered on them, named the 'Wild Hunt'
He did all this to suppress the momentum of the Revolutionary Army and Iori, while also courting local powerholders. The position of Provincial Governor was practically that of a local emperor, there was little the Revolutionary Army could offer that was more tempting.
However, developments turned out completely contrary to the minister's expectations. Local powerholders did accept the title of Provincial Governor, and they did recruit troops, but instead of suppressing the Revolutionary Army as he had hoped, they each hoarded their own forces and maintained a tacit non-aggression with the revolutionaries.
Some even defected outright.
Not long after the provincial governor system was implemented, just as autumn began, the Revolutionary Army had already raised banners across the land and officially launched their uprising.
At the same time, Iori's prestige among the populace rose steadily. After the Revolutionary Army revolted, he openly raised the slogan of "purging the traitors around the throne," leading his elite subordinates across various regions, moving like a sharp razor as he uprooted provincial governors and prefects one by one.
Using the influence of the Path of Tranquility among the people, he gathered intelligence. Officials with grave crimes were publicly executed, while those with clean records or only minor offenses were recruited and appointed, tasked with calming the populace and restoring production.
During this process, many landlords and wealthy elites stepped forward to support the provincial governors and oppose Iori. Iori showed no mercy toward such people, always dealing with them harshly and strictly.
For a time, Iori's name as the "God of Death" spread throughout the Empire. In the hearts of the people, his image grew ever more mysterious, and ever more towering.
As major forces like the Empire, the Revolutionary Army, the Path of Tranquility, and the Masked General all began to move, the smaller organizations affiliated with them also became extremely active.
Take [Night Raid] for example, recently, in their clashes with the [Wild Hunt] in the Imperial Capital, they had been winning repeatedly. Najenda was practically on a killing spree.
The Imperial Arms users under Iori, along with the Twin Demons of Rakshasa, also repeatedly served as tactical cores that determined victory, gradually growing into a coordinated and powerful elite force, fully able to rival 'Night Raid'.
And just as the situation within the Empire was reaching a boiling point, worrying news arrived from the north, the northern tribes had officially declared war on the Empire.
———
"Hey! Fresh vegetables~ nice and tender greens~ come take a look!"
"Miss, this is a local specialty. You can't buy it anywhere else."
"Take a look at this mask, doesn't it look lifelike?"
In the bustling marketplace, Akame was rarely not in disguise, appearing openly in public. She examined the street scenes on both sides while carefully avoiding passersby, feeling deeply moved.
"Just five days ago, this place still looked utterly desolate. I never imagined it could become this prosperous."
"This counts as prosperous?" Iori looked around, clearly unimpressed.
"This town's location is very good. There's a canal right next to it, and the terrain is flat. It's a perfect place to be a logistics hub. It's only just beginning to recover, there'll be more and more people here in the future."
"Incredible… it hasn't even been that long. It's like two completely different worlds."
Akame couldn't help looking at Iori, a trace of admiration in her eyes. "You did all this so easily. You're really amazing."
"Me? I didn't do anything at all." Iori shook his head at her words. "This is all 'natural evolution.' Don't push the credit onto me."
"But didn't you drive away the tax officials and Imperial Army here, and wipe out the nearby mountain bandits and river pirates?"
Akame smiled gently. "If not for that, how could they do business here?"
"I only did what a 'competent government' should do." Iori didn't think it was anything special. "It's all thanks to how bad the others are by comparison."
He had seized quite a bit of territory, but limited by manpower and time, it was mostly rule without governance, at most letting the Path of Tranquility take some action.
Still, he had completed a few basic tasks. For example, he forcibly sold grain hoarded by local officials and wealthy merchants at fair prices, eliminated underworld gangs that monopolized river transport, and dealt with bandits entrenched along surrounding roads.
He truly hadn't done anything remarkable. He had simply provided a "safe and stable environment," and then the market naturally flourished on its own, without any need for deliberate guidance.
Of course, this was only the beginning. As trade expanded, many conflicts of interest would inevitably arise and would need to be regulated in advance… but whether that was Iori's responsibility was another matter. He planned to let professionals formulate relevant trade regulations later.
Even so, despite being a hands-off boss who only handled killing and not cleanup, this place was still far more prosperous than it had been under Imperial rule.
The facts proved that as long as you don't recklessly meddle, even just "governing by non-action" can already surpass most regimes, how he wished Emperor Yang of Sui and the Ming Baozong could understand this principle.
"You say that, but it's still really amazing."
The black-haired, straight-haired girl was in a very good mood. She had undergone extremely brutal combat training since childhood, spending most of her life practicing how to kill. Peaceful, tranquil daily life was something very distant to her.
In truth, she had little real sense of what a "happy life" was, because she had never truly experienced it. Only when she was with her sister could they seek comfort from each other… but that didn't stop her from sincerely feeling happy for these people.
She felt like she was watching everything through a window. Even if she couldn't integrate into it herself, just seeing the smiles on people's faces was enough to bring her immense satisfaction.
Wasn't this the very reason she had betrayed the Empire and joined the Revolutionary Army, to let everyone show such smiles?
One day, there would no longer be children like her sent into cruel slaughterhouses… as long as that vision could be realized, then the sacrifices and efforts they had made would all be worthwhile.
"You're really amazing… I'm not talking about fighting."
"I've always wanted to save them from suffering, but I couldn't do it on my own, because I don't know how to do anything else."
"The only thing I'm good at is killing… It was Najenda who told me that killing one evil person can protect ten good people, and that's when I found my reason to swing my blade again."
"Najenda taught me many things. I believe that once the world is pacified, people like her can lead the populace out of sorrow and build a better country!"
"But… even Najenda can't compare to you."
[T/N: Seeing the lack of readers, I am conducting a vote to see which novels I should drop. So if you don't want this novel to be dropped, please vote in discord announcements or p@treon pinned post, whicever suits you. There are no paywalls anywhere.]