"Let me help!" At this moment, Leone spoke up proactively and, without any hesitation, sat right on Takeru's back.
Seeing this, Takeru was both amused and exasperated, but Leone's weight wasn't much of a burden for him. He then quickly started doing push-ups.
Feeling Takeru doing push-ups steadily and rapidly even with her on his back, Leone, on his back, showed a surprised expression.
Although she had learned before that Takeru had quite a bit of muscle, she hadn't expected his strength to be this great, and it seemed his control over his power was also very impressive.
Bulat, watching from the side, was also surprised to see Takeru doing push-ups at a speed almost matching his own even with Leone on his back. He unconsciously sped up his own pace, while Takeru simply maintained a steady speed.
After doing about five hundred, Takeru stopped. It wasn't that he couldn't continue, but Takeru had performed slightly beyond expectations, surprising the onlookers, including Akame and the others.
"Takeru, you seem really strong. Let's have a match!" Bulat said excitedly, looking at Takeru.
"Alright!" Hearing his words, Takeru thought for a moment and nodded.
Then, the two each took a wooden stick and faced off against each other in the courtyard. Leone, Akame, Sheele, Mine, and Lubbock watched from the side. Everyone was very curious about Takeru's strength.
Although Takeru, with his healing abilities, could just stay in the rear, as assassins, they could face special situations at any time and might fall into danger. So, having necessary combat strength was still required.
"Watch out!" Shouting a warning, Bulat was the first to attack Takeru, launching a powerful, heavy strike towards him.
In Takeru's perception, everything was very clear. Seeing this, Takeru also swung his stick to meet the attack.
Bang!
With the sound of wood colliding, everyone noticed Takeru and Bulat locked in a stalemate, somewhat amazed that Takeru could match Bulat in strength.
Bulat was also surprised. Although he hadn't used his full strength in that attack, he had used about seventy percent, yet Takeru had firmly blocked it. Moreover, from Takeru's demeanor, he hadn't used his full strength either.
"Next, I'm getting serious!" After assessing briefly, Bulat took a deep breath and shouted loudly.
He then quickly withdrew his stick and began launching rapid attacks at Takeru. However, his so-called 'rapid' was still too slow in Takeru's eyes. So, even though Takeru didn't know stick techniques, he was always able to block the attacks at critical moments.
Seeing this, everyone initially thought Takeru wouldn't last long before being defeated. But unexpectedly, under Bulat's fierce assault, Takeru never fell behind.
Takeru himself had no intention of defeating Bulat. Instead, he was learning by observing Bulat's attack patterns.
Soon, Takeru's movements went from initially appearing somewhat 'clumsy' to becoming smoother and smoother.
Quickly, he progressed from only being able to defend passively to exchanging blows with Bulat on equal terms, leaving everyone dumbfounded.
Then, after more than twenty minutes of continuous attacks, the wooden sticks in their hands could no longer withstand the collisions between Takeru and Bulat and finally shattered...
And with that, the match between Takeru and Bulat came to a stop.
Clap clap clap!
Seeing this, everyone couldn't help but applaud. Clearly, Takeru's strength had completely won everyone's recognition.
Leone's eyes even sparkled, feeling incredibly excited and thrilled.
As for Lubbock, he looked at Takeru as if seeing a ghost, 'He was supposed to be a support, so why did his combat power seem higher than mine?'
Of course, Lubbock admitted he wasn't Takeru's match in a head-on fight. But when it came to assassination, Lubbock was still very confident. Takeru naturally didn't know his inner thoughts, and if he did, he would probably just smile faintly.
As for Takeru, his expression remained calm. Perhaps due to his high Spirit, or the incredible effects of the Aptitude Potion, he had already fully absorbed Bulat's fighting style from just now, completely converting it into his own combat experience...
After that, there wasn't much else. Everyone began their own activities. Leone also needed to conduct one final reconnaissance, as the assassination operation would begin tonight. The target was a noble.
And to make Takeru feel even less psychological pressure, Leone even listed out the crimes committed by the noble for Takeru.
He enjoyed luring travelers to his home, then subjecting them to various forms of torture. The entire family were people with extremely twisted minds.
As for the guards, although they didn't participate directly, they were accomplices and also fell within the scope of Takeru and the others' elimination...
Seeing this, Takeru understood this should be the noble family that initially took in Tatsumi, the one where the entire family was extremely disgusting.
After confirming the target, everyone began conserving their energy for the night. Takeru, meanwhile, directly took out his staff and began swinging it, simultaneously gradually transforming the fighting methods he had just learned into attack techniques more suitable for himself.
As each person trained, time slowly passed. Soon, the sky began to darken. After enjoying a good meal, everyone slowly headed towards the imperial capital.
Then, when the night was deep and quiet, Takeru and the others quickly made their way to the destination.
…
"Alright, time to write in my diary today!" In a luxurious mansion, a noblewoman with a gentle smile, holding a diary, walked towards a room, appearing extremely pleased.
However, the next instant, blood splattered. The noblewoman was directly cut in half by a giant scissor-like weapon. The sudden change left her with no time to react to what had happened, and she could only descend into hell with confusion...
"Sorry!" Sheele, who had effortlessly killed the noblewoman, bowed slightly to the corpse and spoke softly.
Simultaneously, Takeru, standing high above, clearly perceived everything happening within the mansion through his Observation.
At this moment, Takeru and the others, using Lubbock's Cross Tail, stood on silk threads high in the air, overlooking the noble's mansion. Takeru's Observation Haki had long since enveloped the entire estate.
Gazing downward, the expressions in Akame and the others' eyes changed. Gone was the usual amiability, replaced by an aura full of killing intent.
Leone had also already activated her Teigu: Lionel, undergoing beastification. In this beastified state, her physical abilities received a dramatic boost, and her senses like smell were enhanced, allowing her to track enemies.
Bulat had also activated his Teigu: Incursio, his entire body now armored.
Perhaps sensing the killing intent from everyone, Tatsumi, who had been taken in, woke up from his sleep in shock, staring at Takeru and the others in disbelief.
In his mindset, Takeru and the others were undoubtedly targeting this place out of jealousy towards the noble's wealth.
At the same time, the guards below also noticed Takeru and the others' presence and rushed out.
"Those three guards are also targets, Akame, Takeru!" Lubbock said with a light laugh, looking down at the guards.
"Eliminate!" Hearing this, Akame directly dropped from the high ground to below, with Takeru following closely behind.
"Listen up, don't let that blade touch you!" Akame's signature Teigu: Murasame, was already infamous!
If cut by this cursed blade, one would be infected with a deadly curse poison from the wound, leading to rapid death, with no known antidote.
These guards had long anticipated Night Raid's arrival. After all, they were very clear about what kind of people their masters were...
"Ah!" Feeling the terrifying pressure, a guard finally couldn't bear it and charged at Akame. Akame quickly passed by him, and in the moment they crossed, she slit his throat...
As Akame began to move, Takeru also flashed to the front of another guard who was still on alert. With a motion of his staff, he thrust it hard towards the guard's chest.
The staff pierced straight through him. Instantly, blood erupted from the wound.
Then, Takeru gently pulled the staff out and gave it a flick, sending the blood staining the staff onto the ground.
"For someone rotten to the core like me, is this the deserved retribution"?! The guard who had his throat slit but didn't die immediately spoke with a pained expression, feeling the corrosion of the curse.
"Who are these guys? They're monsters!" The last guard looked at Akame and Takeru in terror and, without another thought, turned and fled.
Squelch!
A sound of flesh being pierced rang out. It was Bulat, still high above, who had directly thrown his weapon, spear-like in shape, at the fleeing guard, easily piercing through his back...
"I hope you all become good people in your next life, if there is a next life!" Takeru, on his side, placed a hand over his heart, appearing to pray for everyone. At this moment, Takeru was still constructing his persona...