Chapter 11: First Battle
Sunlight fell across the young man's calm face, his jet-black eyes showing not a single ripple of emotion.
"A pack of wild dogs, barking in front of me."
The wooden blade's tip pointed toward the scarred man as Suoh spoke coldly.
"You're dead!"
Faced with such provocation, rage surged through the scarred thug. He roared and charged forward, swinging his short blade down in a vicious chop.
But Suoh moved faster. His wooden sword struck first despite moving second, shooting forward like a white silk ribbon to pierce the scarred man's weapon hand with perfect precision.
"Ahhh!"
The scarred man screamed in pain. The agony and numbness made his grip fail completely. The short blade clattered to the ground with a metallic ring.
Suoh didn't stop after landing the first hit. His wrist dipped slightly, reversing the blade's direction in a fierce rising diagonal slash from lower left to upper right. The wooden blade slammed heavily into the scarred man's right kneecap.
Crack—
"AHHHHH—!"
The crisp sound of breaking bone echoed through the narrow alley, particularly harsh in the confined space. The scarred man's agonized scream tore through the air as he pitched forward and crashed to his knees.
But the screaming hadn't even stopped when Suoh's blade pursued like a disease eating at bone. It swept horizontally without mercy, smashing into the side of the scarred man's face. Blood mixed with shattered teeth painted a grotesque arc through the air before spattering across the ground.
The heavy impact knocked the scarred man unconscious instantly. He rolled to the side of the road like a discarded sack, falling silent.
The entire world went quiet.
The remaining four thugs stared at the scene in stunned disbelief. Everything had happened too fast. Before they could even process what was happening, their boss had been kicked down like a stray dog in the street.
The four men's faces drained of color as they looked at Suoh standing there with his blade tip lowered and dripping blood, his expression utterly indifferent. They trembled and tried to back away.
In their eyes, this youth was no longer a fat sheep ripe for plucking. He was a lion who'd revealed his claws, staring down at his prey with contempt.
"Sir, please... don't kill us!"
That intimidating gaze made the remaining four thugs' legs shake so badly they could barely stand, let alone run.
Their eyes filled with terror as they dropped to their knees in unison before Suoh, begging for mercy.
Faced with their pleas, Suoh remained unmoved.
The wooden blade moved again. In the blink of an eye, all four thugs lay on the ground. Each had one arm and one leg disabled, writhing and wailing in agony on the dirt. Gone was their earlier arrogance and swagger.
Suoh wiped the blood from his wooden blade on the nearest thug's clothes, then returned it to his waist. He picked up his bundle and turned to leave without a backward glance.
The small interruption on the return journey ended. As he walked, Suoh mentally reviewed what couldn't even be called a "battle"—it had been pure one-sided domination.
In the world of Shinigami, spiritual pressure was everything. That statement might be somewhat one-sided, but it held true in most situations.
After last night's spiritual power training, he'd already vaguely learned to sense the strength of souls. If most ordinary souls registered as a 1 to him, then slightly more robust souls floated somewhere between 1 and 1.5.
During his morning shopping, he'd also observed that some souls—despite appearing young and having ordinary builds—possessed soul strength approaching 2.
Given Rukongai's massive population base, souls with spiritual power aptitude weren't numerous, but they certainly weren't rare either.
As for himself, after his training, his strength measured around 5. He'd originally thought dealing with a few thugs would take some effort. Instead, it had ended almost immediately.
The scarred man had possessed only raw aggression, his movements full of openings. When he'd swung his blade down, he'd committed all his strength with no flexibility. The fight hadn't even required spiritual power.
"My spiritual power is still too weak."
Disappointment stirred in his heart. Just now, under the influence of his spiritual pressure, the thugs had still managed to stay conscious enough to actively kneel and beg for mercy.
His original plan had been to knock them unconscious or press them flat to the ground to prevent escape. He hadn't fully achieved his intended result.
He clenched his fist lightly, feeling the spiritual power flowing through his body. This amount of strength was still far from enough.
As these thoughts flowed through his mind, Suoh quickly turned the last corner. The curtain of Terada-ya came into view ahead.
At that moment, a delivery worker's assistant had just pulled up a cart loaded with ingredients in front of the shop, preparing to unload the goods.
When Suoh stepped inside, Terada-san was holding an invoice and checking items with the worker, her finger running down the list line by line.
"I'm back."
"Mm, welcome back."
Hearing the movement at the entrance, Terada-san glanced up briefly in response. Her gaze lingered on him for a short moment before returning to the inventory check before her.
"These two don't count. They're too small."
"Yes, yes, no problem."
Terada-san pointed out inferior fish in the basket. The assistant beside her nodded quickly in agreement. Their conversation returned to verifying the delivery.
Seeing she was busy, Suoh didn't say more. He carried his bundle and the wooden sword at his waist upstairs to his small room, setting everything down before quickly descending again.
By now, Terada-san had finished the inventory. The assistant was lifting a basket of vegetables, preparing to carry the goods into the back kitchen storage in batches.
Suoh walked straight to the pile of supplies. Without a word, he hoisted a heavy sack of rice onto his shoulder and began carrying goods with steady steps.
The two figures moved back and forth between the supply pile and the storage room. The mountain of goods quickly shrank, leaving only a few scattered baskets.
Terada-san sat behind the counter moving beads on her abacus, but she kept everything in her peripheral vision.
"You're Suoh Tsukasa, right? You're really strong."
"I'm Kentaro from Kuramoyo-ya. Really appreciate your help today."
When the last basket had been properly stored, the assistant wiped sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. Looking at Suoh standing nearby with steady breathing, his face showed clear admiration as he expressed his thanks.
In the past, he'd carried deliveries of this size by himself. Today, less than a third had passed through his hands. How could he not be grateful?
Rukongai had little entertainment. With hardly any fresh news normally, word that Terada-ya had hired a new cook had spread quickly among the neighbors.
"It was nothing."
Suoh nodded slightly in response.
It truly was a small matter for him. Finishing early meant they could start preparations sooner. At the same time, carrying heavy loads served as physical conditioning for his body.
"I need to get back and report. Next time I make a delivery, I'll thank you properly!"
Stacking the empty delivery baskets, Kentaro gave Suoh a grateful smile and left a parting word of thanks before hurrying off.
Suoh walked to the washing basin, scooped up a ladle of clear water, and washed the thin sheen of sweat from his face. Cool droplets ran along his jawline and dripped back into the basin.
Returning to the main hall, Terada-san sat in a spot by the window, holding hot tea and taking small sips.
"Terada-san, all the goods are organized."
"Mm, good work."
"This is a snack I bought at the market today. The taste is quite good."
"How thoughtful."
Suoh stepped forward to report the work results, and at the same time placed the oil paper package of moon plums from inside his clothes in front of her.
"Sit."
Terada-san accepted it with a nod, picking up the teapot to pour him a cup of hot tea.
She casually untied the string and pushed the opened oil paper package to the center of the table. She placed one moon plum in her mouth, a faint smile playing in her eyes as her gaze fell on Suoh.
In just one day, the young man had undergone such obvious changes—not the superficial things like clothes or appearance, but something deeper. This kind of transformation from inside out in such a short time struck her as quite interesting.
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