I Don't Like Solving Problems With Violence

"Pfft!"

Kudō knelt hunched over on the ground, his Zanpakuto broken in two beside his hand. His mask had been torn, a scorch wound marked his face, and blood poured from his mouth.

His eyes held nothing but terror.

This wasn't how the stories went!

People talked about how incredibly powerful Nemu Kurotsuchi was, but most of it was just praise and fear of the unknown.

Nemu hadn't even become a Seated Officer in a research division like their Twelfth Division, so how strong could she be?

But in that brief fight just now, Dōsan Hanyū had been as strong as a monster.

Aside from lacking a sword, he had a Soul Reaper's Hakuda and Shunpo, not to mention that outrageous Kidō.

Nemu Kurotsuchi, a mere artificial soul, can actually match a monster like this?

Ryō Genshi was in even worse shape. One of his arms had been reduced to ash.

Although he hadn't lost the ability to fight on the spot like Kudō, the Fourth Division's current medical methods couldn't possibly restore his arm.

In other words, from today onward, he, Ryō Genshi, the only Soul Reaper ever to come out of East District 56, a man with a boundless future, had become a cripple!

"Ah!"

Ryō Genshi fell to his knees, blood running from the corners of his eyes.

Dōsan carefully brushed off his clothes. He wasn't wearing those rags patched over a dozen holes anymore, but an outfit Sister Kūkaku had specially prepared for him. He didn't know how much it cost, but it was certainly expensive.

So he was careful every time, especially when he fought.

"You almost got my clothes dirty."

"Pfft." Ryō Genshi spat another mouthful of blood, his eyes full of venom. He was a Soul Reaper. How could he suffer such humiliation?

"Talk. Why were you following me?" Dōsan glanced at Ryō Genshi.

He didn't like solving problems with violence.

But he hadn't trained and gained strength day and night, wanting to become a Soul Reaper, just to be pushed around.

"Brat, I'm a Soul Reaper, a Soul Reaper from the Second Division, and you dared lay a hand on me!"

Dōsan's eyelids drooped, and his expression darkened.

In fact, judging by their fighting styles, Dōsan had already suspected as much.

The question now was this:

Why were two Soul Reapers from the Second Division watching him?

"Shut up, Genji, you idiot!" Kudō was so furious that he even spat out a mouthful of blood.

Acting on his own and revealing their identities after the mission failed was already a serious matter. The division would hold him accountable afterward, and he might even be thrown into the Maggot's Nest.

"Shut up, Kudō." Ryō Genshi's eyes reddened. He opened his mouth wide in anger, saliva spilling freely from his lips. "My right hand, the right hand I hold my sword with, was severed. What did I do wrong?!"

Ryō Genshi was so badly injured that he couldn't get up for the moment. He scraped forward on his knees, baring his teeth as if he meant to bite into Dōsan's thigh.

"Aren't you bold? Kill me! Kill me, a Soul Reaper from the Second Division.

Then wait for the Soul Reapers and the Punishment Force to hunt you down without end.

No, not just you. Your family and friends will be dragged down with you too!"

For some reason, the severely injured Kudō felt a chill beside him on this blazing summer day.

That madman Ryō Genshi has really gotten me into trouble!

But Kudō didn't take it seriously either. The other party hadn't killed him right away.

That meant he was a levelheaded person too.

And any levelheaded person would understand just how serious a crime it was to kill a Soul Reaper in Soul Society—no, in Rukongai District 1!

"What was that you just said?" Dōsan's face was as calm as a windless lake.

His calm words broke Ryō Genshi's rambling, hysterical mood.

Ryō Genshi was taken aback for a moment, then burst into a wild laugh again. "That's right, the information we gathered said you value your friends, don't you?

"Repent, you lowly wretch who dared attack a Soul Reaper. Your friends will be judged because of you! Hahaha!"

My friends.

Kūkaku Shiba of the Five Great Noble Clans, or Kūkaku Shiba and Ganju Shiba?

Or the captain of the Tenth Division, or the lieutenant?

But faced with these threats, Dōsan merely brushed off his clothes and wiped his shoes, afraid they might get dusty.

"No, not that one. The sentence before that."

The sentence before that was...

Kill me!

Ryō Genshi looked up in terror, only to see Dōsan Hanyū's outstretched index finger.

That face, so calm it had gone pale, drew close to him. Out of the corner of his eye, Ryō Genshi saw Dōsan's lips part slightly, uttering two faint words that only he could hear.

"All right."

How dare he? Ryō Genshi stared in terror at Dōsan's outstretched finger.

No, that's not right. I was only talking in anger. No, I'm a Soul Reaper, you can't!

Ryō Genshi tried to speak in a hoarse voice, but fear left him able only to open his mouth and gasp violently like a drowning man.

He raised his head.

Ryō Genshi's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets in terror.

He's smiling.

Dōsan Hanyū was smiling.

He was excited.

He felt no fear at all about killing a Soul Reaper. He was even excited by the possibility of the pursuit to come.

Ryō Genshi's pupils trembled, and his legs began to shake uncontrollably beneath him.

He remembered the file the Second Division had compiled on Dōsan Hanyū.

[Dōsan Hanyū arrived in District 49 of Rukongai. Three months later, after traveling, Dōsan Hanyū reached District 11.]

Three months. A departed soul who had only just arrived in Rukongai had crossed more than thirty districts on his own and opened a shop.

What on earth had they overlooked?!

And the Second Division's final assessment of Dōsan Hanyū, submitted to the Thirteenth Division, was:

[Wise, sincere, kind, friendly, and straightforward. A trustworthy teammate and friend.]

Ryō Genshi wanted to cry out, but grievously injured as he was, faced with Dōsan's Seated Officer-level spiritual pressure, he could only weep in terror, tears and snot streaming down his face.

[Inexplicably possessing the wealth to open a shop was considered wisdom.]

[Being willing to face an unknown battle for a friend was considered friendship.]

[In conclusion, Dōsan Hanyū will be an excellent Soul Reaper who possesses all the virtues of a Soul Reaper.]

"It's wrong, all wrong!"

This guy was a monster, a monster like Kenpachi Zaraki!

Unfortunately, I don't like solving problems with violence only because I'm tired of using violence over and over again.

Dōsan Hanyū reached out and placed a finger between Ryō Genshi's brows.

"Hadō #4: Byakurai."

A faint white light gathered on Dōsan Hanyū's finger, aimed at Ryō Genshi's forehead. Dōsan was like a child holding a toy gun with no bullets in it: when he shot at someone, he felt no hesitation or guilt, only a faint delight in an unfamiliar toy.

"Bang!"