Sanjo's older brother, Kujo, was as hard as steel from head to toe. No matter how the guard facing him slashed, every blow rang out like metal striking metal.
Sanjo explained that this was Kujo's Zanpakuto release. His Zanpakuto turned his skin to steel, making it as hard as a layer of armor that swords simply couldn't cut through.
Rei was interested when he heard that. Wasn't this the basic ability Arrancar had, as he remembered? In his previous life, the Arrancar had interested him most when he heard the otaku talking, though he only knew the first three Espada, and the few episodes he'd watched had only shown several captains ganging up on three Espada.
As the three watched from the sidelines, the fight on the road below was nearing its end. The caravan guard's ribs had been broken, and they seemed to have pierced his lungs. He spat blood and could no longer fight...
Only two ordinary guards and the caravan owner remained. Besides Kujo himself, the Kujo Group still had three men who, despite some minor injuries, could still fight.
The caravan owner was a middle-aged man with a drooping mustache. He wore a hat and wooden clogs, with a small gold chain around his neck. Seeing his best fighter die, he completely panicked.
"Go on, kill them!"
"Ahhh~"
"Hey, what are you doing?!"
The caravan owner shouted in terror, only to grow even more terrified. Instead of facing the enemy, the guards he'd hired turned and fled, leaving him alone to face four burly men.
"Haha, they did pretty well to hold out this long before running. What about you? Are you planning to face us alone now?"
"Hahahaha..."
Kujo was smug, and his three companions were overjoyed. It was a huge haul of food, and it would soon be theirs. A few teammates had even died, leaving fewer people to split the money with. Wonderful...
Squish, squish! Blood sprayed!
"Argh!"
"Who's there?"
While the four were carried away with triumph, Rei came up behind them and cut down two as fast as he could. A third managed to block briefly, but Rei struck his foot, and he fell to the ground screaming.
Kujo came to his senses and looked to the side. A young man in tattered black clothes was smiling at him with a Zanpakuto in hand. That smile filled him with rage.
"Brat, you're asking for death!"
"Wait. Look who's over there."
With an angry roar, Kujo was about to charge and throw a punch when Rei raised a hand to stop him. Following Rei's pointing finger, he saw his younger brother Sanjo behind Rei to one side, his hands and feet bound, with another young man holding a blade to his neck.
"Big brother, save me! They won't let me go unless you pay them..."
Sanjo called for help at just the right moment. Rei watched Kujo with a smile, waiting to see what he would choose.
Kujo's expression, which had been vicious and hesitant, suddenly turned vicious. He clenched his fist and charged Rei again. Rei was caught off guard and sent flying by a vicious punch, crashing into a tree trunk and sliding down.
"Ahahaha, good catch! Hurry up and kill that piece of trash, and then there'll be nobody left to split my money with! Hahahaha..."
Kujo's words left Rei dumbfounded. Damn, they really were brothers! He couldn't help thinking of the Extra Money Hermit, but this man was even more utterly devoid of conscience.
Rei wasn't the only one stunned; everyone present was. Sanjo found it especially hard to believe. Was this really the brother who loved him most? How could he say something like that?
Sanjo fell silent. For the first time, he felt how cold the world was. The brother lying on the ground with an injured foot also felt a chill and strained to move himself away.
"I see. That punch was worth taking! Kill him, Maki!"
"Yes!"
Rei slowly got to his feet. His Reiatsu had blocked most of the damage from Kujo's punch. Following his order, Maki finished Sanjo off, then killed the man whose foot Rei had injured.
Seeing that Kujo indeed showed no sign of wavering, Rei gripped his sword and rushed at him.
Clang!
"Nice strength, but your sword can't hurt me!"
Kujo knocked Rei's sword aside and threw a straight punch. Rei ducked it and slashed across his stomach, but sparks flew from the strike, and it didn't hurt him at all.
Kujo pursued him, throwing punches wildly and breaking a large tree with a single blow. Rei seized more chances to slash him, but he couldn't cut through his neck, fingers, or calves, even with Reiatsu concentrated on his blade.
Rei also took a punch to his left shoulder. It wasn't broken, but the bone was slightly cracked.
Clang!
"Bastard, I told you it was useless! Why are you still bothering?!"
Rei had slashed Kujo in the crotch, making his expression change instantly. Although the sword still couldn't hurt him, the chill from the blade terrified him all the same.
"Useless? All right, I understand!"
Rei remained calm. After putting some distance between them, he planted his Zanpakuto in the ground.
Does this guy have another trick? Never mind. I can barely maintain my Shikai with my Reiatsu much longer. I have to finish him quickly!
Seeing that Rei had failed repeatedly yet showed no panic, Kujo felt a trace of unease and charged forward to settle the fight.
"Slaughter on a whim—Blood Drink!"
The Shikai release command slowly left Rei's lips. Red Reiatsu spilled from his body and enveloped his Zanpakuto, and the fierce wind it gave off forced Kujo's eyes shut.
When the wind died down, the Zanpakuto in Rei's hand had become a red, double-edged straight sword, with the end of its hilt reaching as high as his chin.
"That's... Shikai? Impossible. How can you use Shikai at your age? It took me ten years just to form an Asauchi into a Zanpakuto, and fifty years to fully master Shikai. You brat must have..."
As Kujo kept prattling on, Rei gripped his sword in both hands, rushed forward, and delivered a quick upward diagonal slash. Kujo reacted swiftly and jumped back, preventing the strike from landing in full.
Even so, a wound about twenty centimeters long appeared on his chest. Blood slowly flowed out, then immediately evaporated into a red mist that gathered in Blood Drink's blood groove. The fuller the groove, the greater its attack power.
The crack in Rei's shoulder bone also healed. This ability was truly overpowered. From now on, whenever he was injured, he only had to find a few people or animals that could bleed and absorb their blood.
"See? That hurt you, didn't it? But the wound is so shallow, it definitely won't kill you..."
When he finished speaking, a bloodthirsty smile appeared on Rei's face. He cut open his left hand and fed the blood into Blood Drink. The blade glowed red, and a crescent-shaped blade of red Reiatsu slashed toward Kujo.
Blood-Coagulating Slash!
This was a move Rei had learned while meditating with his sword over the past few days. It was activated with his own blood and strengthened with Reiatsu, allowing him to attack enemies at a distance.
"Damn it!"
Kujo cursed under his breath and crossed his arms in front of him, taking the blow head-on. Clearly, the Hierro on his hands wasn't hard enough, and the slash left them streaming with blood.
By the time Kujo endured the slash and looked ahead, Rei had already appeared low on his left, swinging his sword. The sword absorbed more blood flowing from Kujo's hands, and its Reiatsu rose again. Rei's strike severed Kujo's lower left leg.
"Aaaaaah~"
A scream like a pig being slaughtered rang out. Unable to maintain his Shikai, Kujo dropped out of the state and clutched his leg, screaming loudly, while his Zanpakuto fell beside him.
Rei walked over coldly, raised Blood Drink, and struck Kujo's Zanpakuto. With a sharp clink, it broke in two.
"Stop howling. Tell me where you've hidden the wealth you've plundered over the past few years, and I'll spare your life..."
Rei merely set the heavy Blood Drink down in front of Kujo, and its weight drove the tip into the ground.
Intimidated, Kujo fell silent at once. He shakily got up, knelt before Rei, and said, "Kill me! I'm finished. Even if you take the money, I won't be able to survive!"
Rei thought he had a point and quickly changed his terms. "I'll leave you a tenth. Your brother said you'd saved up a whole wagonload of valuables. That should at least be enough for you to survive in one of the districts farther in..."
"Really?"
Kujo, who had been convinced he was going to die, wavered. Only after Rei assured him he wouldn't kill him did Kujo have Maki bandage his wound and lead Rei and Maki to the hiding place.
Before they left, the caravan owner thanked Rei repeatedly and invited him to lead his caravan guards, but Rei declined.
I'm about to become rich. There's no way I'm working for someone else. That was what Rei thought at the moment.
The three came to a hidden cave, the Kujo Group's headquarters. They lit torches and entered the pitch-dark cave, where stalactites and stalagmites were everywhere.
Ten small wooden chests were stacked neatly inside, each about the size of a suitcase from a later age. They opened them one by one: eight held banknotes, and two held gold and silver jewelry, including plenty of gold pocket watches, a luxury in the present-day Soul Society.
"Hahaha, we're rich!"
"Yes, Brother Nangong! At least we don't have to worry about food anymore. We can easily buy it in the districts farther in."
Rei and Maki's eyes both shone. It was the first time the two penniless men had seen so much money. This gang really had spent years robbing people in the wealthy districts.
According to Kujo, he had been in this line of work ever since he learned Shikai, a full seven years. He didn't just rob caravans; he paid a visit to any wealthy household, and even went after Soul Reapers...
Rei had originally intended to kill him, but since he hadn't played any tricks, Rei felt it wouldn't be right to break his promise. Still, he gave him only the chest with the least money of the eight.
Seeing that the chest was only half full, Kujo could only sob. He didn't even dare howl, for fear Rei would kill him. He picked up the chest and a crutch and limped out of the cave.
For a man who would abandon even his own brother for money, staying alive was already good enough, as long as he didn't run into a Hollow or robbers...