Friends (Chapter)

 is the 69th chapter of the Attack on Titan manga, written and illustrated by Hajime Isayama.

Overview
A dying Kenny Ackerman remembers some events of his life. He remembers the time when he met Uri Reiss. Uri in a partial transformation holds him in his Titan hand, after Kenny tried to kill him. Despite Rod's requests to kill Kenny, Uri spares his life and even apologizes to him for the persecution the Ackermans suffered and for failing to save humanity. An impressed Kenny joins him as his bodyguard.

Kenny goes to visit his sister Kuchel but she has already died, and he adopts her son, Levi. Kenny lives with him for some years and teaches him to fight, and then leaves him without saying goodbye.

Some years later, Uri tells Kenny about the inherited power of the Reiss family, making him desire to obtain it. Two years after the fall of Wall Maria, he becomes the captain of the Anti-Personnel Control Squad.

After Rod's Titan transformation, Kenny is hit by the debris of the collapsed basement. Back in the present, the dying Kenny is found by Levi. Kenny talks about his life dreaming of obtaining power, recognizes he was a bad uncle for Levi, and then dies.

Historia is crowned as the new queen. After the ceremony, she goes with Levi to meet his challenge of punching him, but a still shocked Levi just smiles and thanks her.

Summary
Some time in the past, a partially transformed Uri Reiss holds Kenny Ackerman in his Titan hand, who is surprised to meet someone stronger than him and to see a Titan for the first time. Rod Reiss tries to shoot Kenny, since he attempted to kill them after someone in the council leaked their whereabouts; but Uri stops him, because he recognizes that Kenny as an Ackerman should have reasons to hold a grudge against them. Kenny attempts another attack by launching his knife against Uri but the latter stops it with his human arm, though the knife gets impaled into it.Kenny begs for another chance and Uri releases him, much to Rod's shock. As Uri approaches Kenny, the latter points his gun at him, and Rod demands that they must kill him because his memories can not be erased. However, Uri bows before Kenny and apologizes for the persecution the Ackermans suffered at the hands of the monarchy, and for failing to make the Walls the paradise they all dreamed of. He then begs him to spare his life since he can not die yet as his goal of creating a paradise has more work to be done.

Kenny is shocked to see a king with that much power bowing before someone like him, and offers to help him; to Uri's acceptance. In the next meeting with the council, the mole Kenny talked to is no longer there, but Kenny has become Uri's bodyguard. Kenny thinks on the irony of the events but feels calm that the Ackermans are no longer persecuted.

Kenny goes to the brothel his sister Kuchel was working at and is surprised to find her lying in bed with a haggard appearance. He tries to wake her up but a child curled up in a corner of the room informs him that she has already died due to sickness, and reveals he is her son, Levi. Kenny introduces himself without revealing his surname and just tells him that he is an acquaintance of Kuchel's.

Levi is adopted by Kenny, who raises him and teaches him everything he needs to survive in the Underground; including how to fight holding the blades in his characteristic style.

In a meeting with the Wall Cult, Kenny talks to Djel Sanes, who offers him to join the Central Military Police. However, Kenny refuses, since he is content with staying below the king, because he acknowledges Uri as the strongest and believes the strongest deserves to be at the top. As he remembers this, he recalls the time when he left Levi without saying goodbye, while the latter was in a street duel with knives.

Another jump forward in time and Kenny talks with an aged Uri, who tells him about how he will pass on his powers and memories to some of Rod's children and hence he will not die. He believes the world will end in a near future and reveals he wants to build a paradise for the small number of mankind left, where people befriends each other instead of fighting. However, Kenny points out the irony that they befriended after he tried to kill him, though Uri still believes in a miracle.

Some time after Frieda ate Uri, Kenny is present in a mass with the Reiss family and recognizes Uri presence after looking at Frieda's eyes. As he sees her, he wonders why the Reiss family are always talking about love and peace while all that means nothing to him, and concludes it is because they have the power to make it real. He then wonders what would happen if he obtained that power.

Two years after the fall of Wall Maria, Kenny introduces himself to the Military Police Brigade Anti-Personnel Control Squad as their new captain, revealing that he was "Kenny the Ripper", and believing they will be hesitant to work with him for that reason. However, a female soldier tells him that it is irrelevant, since they all have given up on fighting the Titans and hence the only thing left to them is to fight each other.

Kenny calms her down by telling her that it is just a show and that he is fighting for a dream; although in secret his true dream is just to obtain power and to feel how it is to be at the top like Uri did. He ends his memories by remembering the collapse of the underground chapel after Rod's Titan transformation and how he got hit by the falling debris.

Back in the present, he is leaning against a tree, dying from his injuries. He is found by Levi, who informs him that all his subordinates have fallen and observes that Kenny will die soon too.

Kenny takes out a box with needles of Titan serum and considers to inject himself to escape death. He philosohpizes about how the only thing he always wanted was power and how all people live for the same purpose, always being slaves of something; either power, alcohol, women, family, or even dreams like Uri.

He asks Levi if his reason to live is to be a hero, but Levi ignores the question and asks him why the Reiss family never did something to stop the Titans, and what kind of connection he has with his mother. Kenny tells him he does not know the answer for the first question but reveals he is Kuchel's older brother. This prompts Levi to ask why he abandoned him when he was still a child, to what Kenny responds it was because he was unfit to be Levi's parent. After giving him the box with the Titan serum, Kenny dies.

Historia is crowned as the new queen among the admiration of the citizens, who acknowledge her as their savior. Historia remembers when she asked Erwin to tell the citizens that she was the one that stopped Rod to make people accept her; before the actual fact took place, and how at the end she really did end up stopping him. After the ceremony, Historia and her friends search for Levi, wanting to meet his challenge of punching him after becoming the queen. Eren tries to discourage her, fearing Levi's wrath; but Historia believes she will not be a proper queen if she does not do it, to what Jean agrees.

The group finds Levi leaving a room and Historia beats him in the shoulder. She expects he is going to get mad but a still shocked Levi just smiles and thanks them all.