A group of three were making their way through a canyon to their destination. These newcomers no doubt being new enemies for the Elite, but even then, two of them looked as young as them. The girl with auburn colored hair, Chelsea, fell into a fit of panting from her exhaustion.

(Chelsea)

Chelsea: "I'm sorry... My legs are about to give out, instructor." The old lady of the group responded to her complaining.

???: "I see. Tough it out."

Chelsea: "Have you forgotten how much we've already walked today?"

???: "Don't take me for a fool. I remember what I had for dinner a week ago." Her response was followed by a dangerous side glare from the old lady, instantly sending chills down the girl's spine, but she still responded.

Chelsea: "That's because you never eat anything other than hamburgers." Before she knew it, Chelsea felt her body be lifted into the air as she found herself on the back of the second young girl apart of the group.

??? 2: "I will give you a piggyback ride."

Chelsea: "Yay!" She cheered, but the old lady immediately scolded the second young lady.

???: "Don't spoil her, Taeko." Taeko was the name of this young lady. Aside from being gorgeous, she had dark gray hair tied into a ponytail, which was contrasted by bright lime green eyes.

(Taeko)

Anyways, the old lady began to speak again, with her closing her eyes.

???: "When I was young and beautiful, I..." She started as Chelsea was instantly sent into an internal panic.

Chelsea's thoughts: "Oh no! She's about to start lecturing and boasting at the same time... I need to change the topic!" With her loudly clearing her throat, she quickly interrupted the old lady. *Out loud* "So! Our mission this time is the assassination of the Secret Imperial Unit, right? Are we going to draw them out?"

Taeko: "That's probably what we will have to do."

???: "We've leaked false information that 'an international trade route used by the Revolutionary Army to obtain income was discovered.'" She answered. The plan was simple yet seemingly effective.

Chelsea: "So we'll disguise ourselves as merchants in that trade rout and ambush them, huh... Hm?" She looked to her right, spotting a white piece of cloth tied to an outstretched branch, signifying that they had arrived at their destination. "Instructor, look."

???: "Looks like we've arrived at the rendezvous point."

>Chapter 7: The Battle of Hakurou River<

Inside of the forest of trees, the group of three met up with some mercenaries from the Revolutionary Army. However, almost in an instant they were confused to see the three women.

Mercenary 1: "Hey, hey. We're teaming up with these women?"

Mercenary 2: "Are you really as good as they say you are?"

Mercenary 1: "Are those two girls the type that assassinate in bed?" he asked with a grin, looking towards Taeko and Chelsea specifically. "Maybe we should try them out."

Chelsea's thoughts: *sweat drops* "Such blatant stereotyping...."

Mercenary 1: "But why is that granny here?" He shifted his attention to the old lady among them. "Are you the cook?" He asked in blatant arrogance, but a grin just formed on the lady's face.

???: "I'm not just any old granny. You can call me, Barbara."

The moment that name left her mouth, a wave of terror washed over the Mercenaries as they just began to realize the dangerous aura of bloodlust the lady gave off.

Mercenary 1: "Wait, Barbara...? THAT Barbara Oarburg?"

Mercenary 2: "From the assassin's guild..." She grinned more, her bloodlust-filled aura growing.

Barbara: "Yes, the great Oarburg stands before you. Shall I kill someone to prove it?"

(Barbara Oarburg)

Mercenary 1: "N-No! you're overwhelming bloodlust was more than enough... We apologize...."

Mercenary 2: "To think that we'd see you in person..." Barbara gestured to Taeko with a proud grin.

Barbara: "And Taeko over there is an assassin whom we Oarburgs have raised since she was a baby. You shouldn't provoke her lightly." While that thought sent more chills down the Mercenaries spines, Chelsea suddenly popped up with her hand in the air and a proud grin.

Chelsea: "And I'm granny's apprentice, Chelsea!"

Barbara: "Did you just call me Granny?"

Even despite Chelsea's behavior, she sent an even greater chill down the spines of the Mercenaries. It was all because of that exact behavior she displayed. Unlike her allies, she showed no form of bloodlust like Barbara, nor any intensity like Taeko. She just looked and felt like an innocent girl... and that's what made her just as terrifying.

Barbara: "You're Tengu Mercenaries, right? I can tell by your outfits."

Mercenary 1: "Yeah. They hired not only us, but the legendary Oreburg on top of that..."

Mercenary 2: "The enemy must be really dangerous."

Barbara lost her grin as she found herself agreeing with them. This group was made up of two of the most dangerous groups to exist. So, if the Revolutionary Army went through the trouble to bring these two groups together, then just how powerful was this enemy they were up against?

Barbara: "We should be cautious."

Northeastern Area of the Empire, near the boarder...
Hakurou River...

Speaking of, Gozuki was seated on a stone step alongside Najasho, who had his head in one of his books as usual. However, in the actual river itself, the rest of the Elite were taking the time to relax a bit and unwind by having a bit of a wrestling contest with each other.

Cornelia: "Okay! Bring it on, Poney!" She challenged the auburn-haired girl who grinned and made a mad dash towards her.

Poney: "Today is the day I surpass you, Corey!!" She yelled in full determination, her hands clashing against the blonde's hands before in one swift motion, Cornelia yanked her arm downwards, lifting her into the air and slamming her into the river with a big splash. In an instant, Guy began clapping.

Guy: "Okay, the winner is Cornelia! Amazing, as always!"

Green: "The champion of All-Girls grappling contest is Corey!"

Poney: "Ugh... If only I could hit her..." She grumbled while rubbing her head.

Guy: "Alright then, Cornelia!" He announced as he began to charge her with a wide grin. "Fight me, the guys' grappling champion! Woah!"

Before he could get very far however, he suddenly tripped over a foot and faceplanted into the ground. Dairoku stood over him with an annoyed expression, his arms crossed.

Dairoku: "You forget I'm the champion, idiot."

Guy: "Grr. Damn you, Dairoku!" He growled but was immediately silenced as a bit of water splashed onto his face. "Gah!?"

Akame: "The final blow!" She announced as it was revealed that she had kicked some water into his face.

Guy: "Akame!? Why you...! That's not fair! You two can't double team me!" Dairoku ignored him and grinned before giving a thumbs up to Akame.

Dairoku: "Nice one."

Najasho: "Are you sure we should be relaxing like this, Father? The targets are going to cross this river, right?" He asked, looking towards the old man further down from him.

Gozuki: "When they get close, we'll be notified. There's no point getting impatient." He looked back at the teens in play. "But..."

Kuraime: "You're wide open, big bro!" The purple-eyed teen charged at Dairoku from behind, lunging forwards as she tackled him, but he stood his ground, turning around and grabbing her by the waist before he lifted her over his shoulder and send her crashing into the water, on her back. "Ow..."

Dairoku: "Better luck next time, sis." He smirked, but instantly dodged out of the way of Akame who attempted a sneak attack from behind.

Unfortunately for her, he anticipated it and dodged before tripping her with his foot, causing her to yelp and fall, instantly falling on top of Kuraime, sending a wave of water crashing over them. A collective groan came from the two ravenettes as the waters around them settled gently.

Kuraime: "A-Ahh... Akame, you're heavy..."

Akame: "S-Sorry." She apologized as she fumbled a bit.

From everyone else's perspective, the crimson-eyed assassin had her best friend pinned down, their well-developed features clashing and rubbing against each other and their white uniforms becoming soaked and nearly see-through, barely revealing anything they had on underneath.

Guy and Green's thoughts: "They're both wearing pink!?"

They both exclaimed as from the girls' movements, their skirts had lifted briefly. With a blush creeping up on his face, Guy slowly began to grin as he stared at the two girls squirming around in the water on top of each other. But in an instant, Dairoku hurled a fireball at Guy, sending him crashing back with a splash. He then glanced at Green, who had a bit of a nosebleed before he froze and looked away, whistling while casually wiping his nose. Finally, the two girls managed to sit up straight, their clothing and hair slightly unhived.

Dairoku: "You girls really are hopeless..."

Akame and Kuraime: "Hehe..." They sheepishly laughed. Gozuki, who was watching this entire time was silent with his eyes wide before he instantly drank from the bottle he had.

Gozuki: "We might be standing out too much..." He mumbled while Najasho glanced down before shaking his head and going back to the book in his hand.

Dairoku: "So! Is there no one else that wants to challenge the champion of the for the guys?" he announced, looking around at his group of friends. Almost immediately, before anyone else could say anything, a decently sized wave of water surfed towards him, but this time, he managed to dodge it in time by moving out of the way. It was then his eyes locked with the attacker's gaze, Cornelia.

Cornelia: "I believe there's no better candidate than the champion for the girls, right?" She placed her hands on her hips, her grin beaming with confidence. Dairoku returned the same look she gave him and rolled his shoulders.

Dairoku: "Oh? You think you stand a chance against me, Corey?" he challenged the blonde as he began to make steps to his left, with Cornelia following his movements, their eyes never leaving the other's gaze.

Cornelia: "It's not a matter whether I think I can. I know I stand a chance."

Dairoku: "Heh. Let's put that to the test then!"

With his exclamation, his feet kicked up the water as he made the first move, dashing towards the blonde at intense speeds, to which she responded by charging back at him. In mere seconds, they collied with one another, their hands clasping together as they were pushing their body weights against one another to attempt to overthrow the other. It was widely agreed that Dairoku was one of if not the physically strongest member of the Elite, but Cornelia was no slouch either, especially since her punching power without Pulverization King was already immensely impressive, which Guy has had first-hand experience with in the past multiple times. So far, it seemed the two were evenly matched as they were locked into a stalemate.

Akame: "You can do it Corey!"

Kuraime: "Take him down girl!" Dairoku stared back at the two ravenettes, flabbergasted at the fact that they instantly chose to route for Cornelia over him, especially his own "sister".

Dairoku: "What the heck!?"

Cornelia: "Heh, heh! S-Seems like I'm..." She grunted as she was struggling a bit but was putting more of her weight against him. "...the more popular one of us here, Dai~. And that's why I'll triumph over you!"

With her statement, she proceeded to perform a similar move she used on Poney, yanking his left arm downwards to knock him off balance. This had worked initially as the black-haired male grunted and stumbled to his left, but much to the blonde's surprise, he instantly planted his left foot down, restabilizing himself but also giving him a wider and sturdier stance than before.

Cornelia: "W-What!?"

Dairoku: "Never... celebrate early before you've secured victory Corey! That's a cardinal rule for us!" He scolded her and this time, began to pit his entire weight against her.

Being bigger than Cornelia thanks to his body structure, this proved to be more effective as Cornelia found herself struggling greatly, her legs trembling under the weight as she took a few steps back to try and find her ground. However, in doing so, she accidentally miss-stepped, causing her foot to slip and for her to yelp as she tumbled to the ground, bringing her opponent down with her and creating a big splash. A collective groan came from the two, with Dairoku shaking his head before he instantly looked at the girl beneath him, worried he might have injured her.

Dairoku: "Corey, are you alright?" The blonde slightly shook her head and opened her oceanic eyes, which locked with his crimson ones. She took a small breath before she responded with a small nod and smiled.

Cornelia: "Y-Yes. Just a bit surprised, is all."

A sigh of relief came from Dairoku as he let out a small chuckle and smiled back at her. Cornelia attempted to move her arms so that she could sit herself up, however, she was surprised at the fact that she couldn't move her arms, as if they were being restricted. The two teens raised their eyebrows and looked to their hands, which were still intertwined firmly and then, the situation they were in began to settle. With their eyes slowly growing wide and faces becoming red, the two locked eyes again, realizing that they were in quite a position, with Dairoku having Cornelia pinned down by her hands and their faces mere inches apart. It took a few more seconds of processing the situation they were in before Dairoku ultimately, pushing himself up right and off the blonde, their hands releasing from one another. Cornelia slowly sat up with a bit of internal relief however...

Cornelia's thoughts: "W-Why am I a bit disappointed...?"

Dairoku: "S-Sorry..." He glanced off, scratching the back of his head as he stared off with a small hue on his cheeks. Cornelia was a bit surprised to see Dairoku... flustered for once, but she quickly glanced away, also feeling her cheeks heat up and her heartbeat ramping up.

Cornelia: "I-It's fine! Don't worry, haha."

Dairoku: "R-Right."

From the sidelines, however, Kuraime had watched everything that just went down and upon seeing the situation her "brother" and Cornelia found themselves in, especially their reactions, a smile crept up on her face as she nodded.

Kuraime: "I ship em~"

Guy: "What!?" He appeared next to her instantly. "Kuraime! What do you mean you shi—OW!" He was cut off by her smacking the back of his head with her hand.

Kuraime: "Shut up."

>>Later<<

Night had Fallen over the Hakurou River. A small squad of wooden boats were spotted, sailing along the river filled with Mercenaries from the Revolutionary Army, hoping to catch the Empire's Assassination Squad, the Elite off guard and eliminate them swiftly. In the boat furthest in the back was Barbara alongside her two students, Taeko and Chelsea.

Barbara: "This'd be a perfect spot for an ambush." She looked towards the auburn-haired girl. "Chelsea, reconnaissance."

Chelsea: "Okay!" She grinned with confidence, a lollipop stick poking out of her mouth as she lifted a trio of makeup in her hand.

Meanwhile with the boat leading the pack, the mercenaries that were the ones that first spoke to Barbara and the two girls apart of her group, suddenly became alarmed, spotting a boat drifting towards theirs.

Mercenary 1: "Hey! A boat's coming this way! Ready your guns!" The cocking of their firearms sounded as the stray boat drifted closer to them. The moment it was in touching range, they peered into it, their weapons ready, but were confused to see that... "It's empty?"

All there was in the boat was a straw cover, that swiftly flew into the air. Taking the trio of Mercenaries by ambushed were Najasho and Dairoku, who both revealed their disguises and swiftly boarded the opposing boat, their swords slicing through their enemies swiftly before they even had a chance to react.

Dairoku: "Tch... Your reactions were too slow, amateurs."

Najasho: "Now, let's go, Small Fries." He called out as the rest of the Elite sprung into action from the single boat, taking the entire fleet of Mercenaries by surprise as they had just realized. They were trying to ambush this very same squad, but instead ended up being ambushed themselves. From the singular boat in the back, Barbara and Taeko watched in surprise from the display. While they were unable to see the faces of the Elite, they could tell that it was them attacking.

Taeko: "They're here already..." She mumbled in surprise.

Barbara: "They attacked sooner than we anticipated." She gritted her teeth.

With her Yocto-Bottoms amplifying her leg strength, Poney leaped from one boat to the next, a grin plastered on her face as she instantly kicked one Mercenary in the face, causing his head to snap back loudly and for blood to spew from his mouth. But as the other Mercenary in that same boat were distracted by her, Guy with his Rhea Suit, erupted from the water and sidelined him, his arm ramming into his face and instantly taking his head off.

Kuraime twirled Kizushinrel, deflecting any bullet that was fired towards her direction as she leaped into the night sky, a thin purple aura surrounding her body. She then looked up and tossed her beloved Shingu into the air. The Mercenaries watched in shock as Cornelia rose behind Kuraime, her right fist reared back as she instantly punched Kizushinrel with Pulverization King, sending it crashing down like a giant buzzsaw that instantly sliced through the boat itself and its occupants. With both teenager girls landing next to each other and Kizushinrel back in Kuraime's hands, the two fist bumped each other, feeling proud of their coordinated tag team attack.

Taeko watched the massacre proceed with gritted teeth before gripping the katana she carried as she prepared to jump into the fray.

Taeko: "An ambush in the middle of the line... we're out of formation." Before she could move however...

Barbara: "Stop right there!" Taeko yelped, her cheeks turning red and her expression becoming flabbergasted as Barbara hard smacked her on her ass, stopping her right in her tracks.

Taeko: "Eep!"

Barbara: "It's the opposite. We're fortunate that we were at the end of the line. The Tengu Mercenaries are getting massacred at an incredible speed!" Taeko's expression displayed one of shock and wariness as she watched her sensei dip into the ocean. "We're retreating before the enemy notices us! We're diving!"

Taeko: "U-Understood." She dove into the water after her, but before they made their escape, the lady took one final look at the battlefield behind them.

Barbara's thoughts: "Now the rest is up to you, Chelsea!"

It has only been a couple of minutes since the ambush and all mercenaries were successfully taken out. Najasho and Green swam over to the final boat and climbed into it, only to realize that it was completely empty.

Green: "Huh? No one's here...?"

Najasho: "They must have dived underwater. Then that's a job for Akame, who's waiting in the water."

Green just nodded in agreement. As the two stood there in silence, the blonde male suddenly had a feeling, as if someone or something was watching him. He took a glance upwards and spot a bird hovering above the boat.

Najasho's thoughts: "Megafukurou... They're pretty common in this area, but they're supposed to naturally avoid people..." He then gave a sudden hard glare towards the bird, that seemed to freak out as it instantly began to fly away from them. ".... Is it a messenger bird...?

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

In an old and run down hut, Barbara sat on top of a wooden box a sigh of relief coming from her, with Taeko standing nearby, all the while wringing out the water that had soaked her clothes. While they were retreating underwater, they nearly had a run in with Akame, but thanks to the fact that other Mercenaries also dived into the water to try and escape, the two females were able to avoid Akame's attention as she was focused on the other mercenaries.

Barbara: "Phew... We should be fine if we're all the way out here."

Taeko: "To think that they'd even be waiting to ambush us in the water..."

Barbara: "We were fortunate that there were others who dived into the water as well. We got away while they were being killed."

Taeko: "...We've done a terrible thing to those Tengu mercenaries." Her gaze was directed downwards, her tone displaying shame in the fact that they ended using their allies as bait while they got away completely unscathed.

Barbara: "But they weren't exactly a group of weaklings, either."

Taeko: "So then, who exactly are our enemies...?" Barbara fell silent as she began to replay the scene of the massacre in her head to see if she could have spotted any faces, but unfortunately, due to their distance from the other boats and the night sky, all she saw were figures highlighted by the moon light.

Barbara's thoughts: "If the Tengu mercenaries were so easily defeated, they must be Rakshasa Demon-Class..." Fluttering of wings caused her to come out of her thoughts. *Out loud* "How did it go, Chelsea? Were you able to see their faces? If you didn't, I'm turning you into dinner."

In an instant, the bird disappeared in a poof of smoke, revealing it to be Chelsea all along as she was panting heavily from exhaustion.

Chelsea: "B-Being a bird is exhausting..." She composed herself before she blurted out. "I saw them!" Without wasting any more time, she took out two blank sheets of paper and proceeded to speedily draw the faces of Green and Najasho. Upon seeing them, Barbara was surprised just by how young they looked.

Barbara: "...They're kids."

Taeko: "Probably just slightly younger than me..."

Barbara: "What about the others? It can't just be the two of them."

Chelsea: "That's all I got because that one without the classes had an overwhelming pressure about him." She trembled at the mere thought of Najasho's intense aura. "Even if I was using Gaia Foundation, I didn't want to stick my neck in any further." The leader of the Oarburgs was surprised to say the least but acknowledged Chelsea's smart choice of retreating.

Barbara: "You did well, heeding your instinct. Well, even just finding out the faces of our previously unknown foes is already very good." *Thoughts* "But she might have fled too soon... Even if that's the trick to survival."

The auburn-haired girl released a sigh of relief as her normal smile returned. Feeling good with what she accomplished, she picked up the drawings and shot up to her feet.

Chelsea: "Alright then, I'm going to pass these off to our spies and see if they're in the towns around this area."

With that final statement, Chelsea left the brief hideout. Barbara was still in thought about the new information obtained. Now that she knew that two of the members of this squad were as young as Taeko, it could mean that the rest of the squad was just as young and powerful. It did concern her a bit, seeing as they so easily and effortlessly took out the Mercenaries before them and even ambushed their ambush. But then when she looked at Taeko, that look of sheer resolve on her face, it calmed her nerves. She knew there was nothing to be worried about now.

Barbara's thoughts: "If it's a battle between youngsters, then there's no one who can defeat our Taeko..." She rose her head and stared at the young girl, who merely took her silence and nodded.

Taeko: "Now it's our turn to make a move."
___________________________________________

Next Chapter: Change Meeting

(It's been so long but finally! Finally I have updated a book! And what a way to start off 2024, with it being Akame Ga Vengeance Zero! Hope y'all enjoyed it.)