Rukongai.
It sounds like a poetic name, but it is actually just a giant circle drawn around the Seireitei. The circle is stuffed with lost souls who have nowhere else to go.
The closer you are to the Seireitei, the lower the district number. Life there is relatively "stable." After all, the Shinigami are only a few steps away, so the cost of causing trouble is too high.
In contrast, the higher the district number, the more the rules of Seireitei look like a scrap of waste paper.
District 80, Zaraki.
This place is right on the edge of the area the Seireitei controls. It is normal not to see the shadow of a Shinigami for decades.
As a result, everyone gathered here: those who couldn't survive elsewhere, those being hunted, those who just wanted to be far from rules, and those who simply liked to cut things.
The air always smelled like a mix of rust and a terrible stench.
"Heh, this place really hasn't changed a bit."
Kuruyashiki Kenpachi walked down the main road of Zaraki District with his right hand tucked inside his Shinigami uniform.
That is, if you could call a small path full of broken stones, trash, and crooked houses "a main road."
He glanced at both sides of the path.
Figures hid inside broken houses without doors. Every few steps, something was lying on the ground—some were dead, and others were still groaning. The stains on the walls were layered over each other.
Lieutenant Ashido followed behind him. His gaze swept over the eyes hiding behind broken windows and in the shadows. Those looks were slimy and fierce, but no one actually jumped out.
"Captain," Lieutenant Ashido said in a flat voice. "It seems even here, they know what happens if they attack a Shinigami."
A Shinigami, especially one wearing a Captain's haori, usually means "stay away" in the Rukongai. Those who survive here might be crazy, but they are not stupid.
"Hey, you can't be sure about that." Kuruyashiki Kenpachi grinned. His smile was so cheerful it didn't fit the surroundings at all.
"I came here about a hundred years ago. Back then, the squad was short on people. I heard Squad 11 had an old tradition of 'picking people up' here, so I came for a look."
He gestured with his left hand. "The result? I walked around and found they were all fakes. They looked scary, but in a real fight, they couldn't even beat the new kids in our squad."
Lieutenant Ashido didn't respond. He was too familiar with his Captain's standard of "might is right."
Kuruyashiki Kenpachi suddenly stopped walking.
He tilted his head and looked at a pile of broken wood and junk by the side of the road.
"Oh, hiding here, are you?" He walked over with a smile.
"Captain?" Lieutenant Ashido was a bit confused.
Kuruyashiki didn't answer. He pulled his right hand out of his clothes, grabbed a few pieces of wood, and ripped them aside!
Crash!
The boards fell away, revealing a man curled up behind them.
The man was very thin. His clothes were torn into rags, and his skin was covered in dirt and scars.
When he saw Kuruyashiki Kenpachi, especially that haori, he shook all over. He immediately held his head and curled up tighter, let out a sharp scream:
"Don't kill me! I don't know anything! Let me go!"
His voice was raspy and full of absolute terror.
Lieutenant Ashido frowned. "Captain, this kind of person..."
He didn't finish his sentence.
At that moment, Kuruyashiki Kenpachi seemed to relax slightly because of the man's pathetic appearance.
The curled-up man suddenly sprang up!
His right hand, which had been hidden, held a rusty short sword. The blade was covered in dark red stains. He aimed right for Kuruyashiki's stomach and stabbed!
"Die!"
There was no fear left on the man's face. It was replaced by a twisted look, and his eyes were bloodshot.
It was too close and too fast!
Lieutenant Ashido's pupils shrank, and his hand moved toward his sword handle.
Clang!
A crisp sound rang out, like metal hitting metal. The rusty blade hit Kuruyashiki's stomach perfectly. Then, the tip snapped off. The rusty piece flew away and bounced on the ground before stopping.
The thin man stared at the broken handle in his hand.
He looked at the broken sword, then at Kuruyashiki's Shinigami uniform, which didn't even have a mark. His twisted expression froze, and in the blink of an eye, it turned back into terror.
"It's... it's not my fault! He forced me!" he started wailing again.
While howling, he opened his mouth to show his uneven yellow teeth. He tried to bite Kuruyashiki's neck, which was right in front of him!
The crying and the biting were perfectly connected. Begging for mercy and killing were the same thing to this man.
This time, Kuruyashiki Kenpachi moved.
His right hand, which had been near his stomach, rose up at some point. He opened his fingers and grabbed the man's dirty face.
"Tch, your teeth are pretty sharp." Kuruyashiki easily lifted the man off the ground.
The man's thin legs kicked wildly in the air, hitting the Shinigami uniform with dull thuds.
Kuruyashiki even had time to turn his head and give Lieutenant Ashido a look that said, "See that?"
"Now you understand, Ashido," Kuruyashiki's voice was still loud and clear.
"In Zaraki District, you only see three types of people. One type is already lying on the ground." He pointed to a corpse. "Another type is about to lie down."
He shook his "prize" in his hand, who was currently trying to scratch Kuruyashiki's wrist.
"And then there's this type... They look like a pile of trash, but the moment you relax, they go for your throat. No one breathing here is a little rabbit, and no one is truly useless. They just hide their fangs well."
Lieutenant Ashido let go of his sword. He watched the man who was still trying to attack even while his face was being crushed. He didn't say anything; he understood.
Kuruyashiki turned back to the man. His smile faded a little, but the interest in his eyes remained.
"Hey, I'm looking for some information. Who is in charge of Zaraki District now? Tell me, and I won't kill you."
His tone was casual, but his words carried a heavy pressure.
The man stopped kicking so hard. His eyes, visible through Kuruyashiki's fingers, darted around.
"Is... is it true? If I tell you... you really won't kill me?" His voice was muffled because his face was squeezed.
"Of course," Kuruyashiki nodded. "I am the Captain of Squad 11, Kuruyashiki Kenpachi. I keep my word." However, his hand did not let go.
The thin man hesitated for at most two seconds—in Zaraki, two seconds is enough to die three times. He immediately spoke very fast:
"There... there are no big bosses anymore! There were before, but they are all dead! Zaraki District is now the territory of the 'Demon'!"
"Oh?!" Kuruyashiki's eyes lit up instantly. "A demon? He really exists! No wonder there are bodies everywhere along the way. Did the 'Demon' do that?"
"It's... it's him! He kills people every day! He does whatever he wants! No one can control him! Everyone stays away from him!"
The man nodded as much as he could. His deformed face tried to turn toward the end of the street. "That way! There is an old well in the middle! He... he is often there!"
"Good." Kuruyashiki laughed and tossed the man aside.
Thud!
The man hit the rocky ground and rolled several times. He coughed up some blood but didn't dare make another sound. He scrambled away and crawled into another pile of junk, disappearing.
Kuruyashiki clapped his hands, turned around, and walked toward the end of the street.
"Ashido, did you hear that? A 'Demon'! This trip wasn't a waste!"
Lieutenant Ashido followed quickly, but he was still frowning.
His main goal for this trip was to see if there were any "good seeds" in Zaraki District for Squad 11.
Squad 11 didn't care about background, and District 80 sounded like a good place.
But looking at it so far... corpses, cripples, and wolves pretending to be sheep. They were mean and tricky, but could they be squad members? Discipline and obedience were out of the question.
More importantly, their Spiritual Pressure was incredibly weak. They wouldn't even be a breeze among Shinigami.
"Captain," Lieutenant Ashido said in a steady voice. "Even if there really is a 'Demon,' based on the people here, I'm afraid he might also be..."
"Don't be so quick to judge, Ashido." Kuruyashiki Kenpachi interrupted him while walking.
"Past District 60, territory is just a stage where 'big villains' fight each other. Every time someone tries to be king in Zaraki, they usually end up dead soon. To stay here and be called a 'Demon'..."
He paused, and his smile had something else in it.
"He is either a real madman, or... he has some real skill. We are already here, it would be a waste not to see for ourselves."
The two kept walking as they talked.
Zaraki District wasn't big, and the so-called "center" soon appeared before them.
It was a slightly wider open space. The stone slabs on the ground were completely broken, with dead grass growing in the cracks.
In the middle of the space, there was indeed an old well made of stacked stones. The edge was broken, and it looked like it hadn't been used in a long time.
Their gaze was immediately caught by the person sitting under a tree by the well.
It was a youth.
Messy black hair hung over his broad shoulders. He was tall, and the lines of his muscles bulged under his pale skin, showing a raw, untamed strength.
He was shirtless, and his skin was covered in various scars.
Cuts from swords, scratches, tears... some were old, others were still pink.
A uniquely shaped long sword leaned casually against the tree roots. The blade was wide, and the edge was not a smooth curve but was jagged. It gave off a dark glow under the dim sky.
The youth was originally sitting with his head down, as if he were napping or looking at something on the ground.
The moment Kuruyashiki Kenpachi and Lieutenant Ashido stepped into the space, he raised his head.
His face was quite young, and his features were clear—even good-looking. But his eyes were terrifyingly empty, like two dry wells with nothing inside.
That was until his gaze landed on Kuruyashiki Kenpachi, especially on the Captain's haori.
In those empty eyes, a bit of light suddenly appeared.