A month later, the Nangong family residence was complete. Its tallest section had two floors, and a ten-meter-high watchtower overlooked the town. It stood at the foot of a small hill, with the slope rising behind it, covered in green grass and dotted with a few assorted trees.
The residence was not very large inside, but it had everything it needed. A house with a tiled roof was a rare sight in Rukongai, and the Nangong Family soon became known throughout the town...
Next came the recruitment of guards. Quite a few lazy good-for-nothings applied, but Rei personally screened them. Everyone had to sign a life-and-death waiver and then fight him with real weapons. Only those who could get back up after being cut qualified.
It was only a test, and Rei showed restraint, never killing an applicant with a single stroke, only seriously wounding them. But many people, terrified of dying after taking one cut, lay on the ground and tried to bluff their way through.
After half a month of screening, Rei had taken on only seven retainers, who served as both servants and guards. Seven were just right for the modest courtyard...
Then there was the question of income. Relying on robbery alone certainly would not do; that would only make them nouveau riche. They needed to use money to make money, and then make more money from that, so they could remain wealthy in the future.
Maki wandered the streets, familiarizing himself with every part of them and reporting all the different shops to Rei. Rei decided to enter the restaurant business, which the town lacked.
The first type was hot pot, a dining style suited only to autumn and winter, with few people eating it in spring and summer. The second was sliced raw fish, which suited spring and summer. Rei did not know whether they could make a fortune from it, but he went ahead anyway.
At first, hardly anyone dared try the new food. But after just a few days, the number of customers exploded, and they practically grew rich overnight.
Business boomed for more than half a month. Then some envious, uninvited guests came calling...
The sounds of fighting outside roused Rei from Zan Zen. He had been fighting Blood Drink in his inner world. When he emerged from the dojo, he found the courtyard packed with people. Besides his own guards, there were more than thirty strangers.
"Mr. Nangong, we're here to collect protection money!"
The middle-aged man named Ryōnosuke Yamada was the boss of the town's largest gang, the Eight Dragons Group. He had brought his men into Rei's home to collect protection money.
"Huh? Protection money? Interesting..."
"Lord Tsunayashiro, we're terribly sorry..."
Rei looked around. Maki was nowhere to be seen, and every one of his household guards was bruised and battered, kneeling on the ground in shame. They had failed to stop the intruders.
"You don't have to pay it. Give us a third of the hot pot restaurant's profits every month, and we can become..."
Boom!
Before Ryōnosuke could finish saying "friends," Rei, still barefoot, erupted with astonishing Reiatsu, drew his sword, and charged.
"So fast!"
That was Ryōnosuke's first thought. By the time he reacted, he had drawn his sword to block, but blood still sprayed from his chest...
"Boss!!!"
"Everyone, get him!"
"Raaagh!"
The eight strongest members of the Eight Dragons Group, including their boss, were no match for Rei even when they attacked together. Rather than a fight, it was a one-sided slaughter...
Gulp!
A bruised guard swallowed, cold sweat covering his forehead and back.
The stench of blood filled the courtyard. The only one still standing was their lord, Master Nan. Every member of the Eight Dragons Group who had come to collect protection money lay howling in pools of blood, and some were clearly dead.
The guards knew Rei was strong; they had learned that much during their examinations. But they had never imagined he was this strong. He had crushed the entire Eight Dragons Group single-handedly without suffering so much as a scratch.
Their gazes grew increasingly fervent as they looked at their lord, though their fervor was mixed with fear. They were fortunate to follow such a powerful man.
"Big Brother, I heard there was trouble..."
The gate was pushed open again. Maki, returning from entertaining guests at the hot pot restaurant, looked anxious, but he was left speechless. Clearly, the matter had already been settled.
"Ah, ah, ah! What happened here?"
"A gang fight?"
Two men dressed as Soul Reapers followed Maki inside. They were Maki's guests, both minor local nobles.
Maki had recently been cultivating good relations with them so they could deal with these petty troublemakers. He had not expected that just as he had established those connections, the troublemakers would be gone.
"These people invaded my home, and I cut them down myself. May I ask whether that counts as a crime in Soul Society?"
Rei asked the two with a smile. In remote areas, people could kill one another without consequence, but this place was close to Seireitei, where regulations had to be followed and people could not be harmed at will.
That was why the Eight Dragons Group had planned to intimidate Rei today. If he refused to cooperate, they would resort to underhanded tactics later and make them disappear quietly. But the Eight Dragons Group had misjudged Rei's temper and strength, and had been cut down in someone else's home.
"Uh, well, I don't think so!"
On hearing that Rei had personally cut down so many people, the brown-haired young man could not help looking at him with some fear.
"Of course it doesn't. Rest assured, Lord Nangong, we'll report the details of this incident with the thugs to our superiors. We won't let it cause you any trouble!"
The other nobleman, who had a small mustache, had a shrewd look in his eyes. He was indeed much cleverer, and he made his judgment in an instant:
Lord Nangong had displayed great strength, but he had no important backing at present and needed someone to look after him. If Lord Nangong became a Soul Reaper, however, his strength would likely earn him a position as a Seated Officer in the Gotei 13. When that happened, he would have to ask Lord Nangong to look after him!
With that thought, the mustached man took the whole matter upon himself and offered to help Rei resolve it. The brown-haired young man also came to his senses and hurriedly offered his help...
Not all of the thirty-odd people in the courtyard had died. More than ten were still breathing, and they were all arrested and handed over to the Tenth Division.
The Tenth Division was specifically responsible for patrolling Rukongai, keeping watch, and maintaining order. It had a department dedicated to handling cases involving Rukongai residents, and its members were exceptionally busy.
If a Hollow caused an incident, they sent people to deal with it. If a person was responsible, they did their best to catch the culprit. After the trial, the culprit was handed over to the Ninth Division, which was responsible for the prisons. Those who were to be imprisoned went to prison; those who were not were killed and sent to be reincarnated...
Rei took over all the gambling dens behind the Eight Dragons Group, but he did not take over their protection-money business. He also took on more than ten new retainers, looking every bit like a wealthy nobleman.
There were several other gangs of thugs in the area. After hearing what had happened to the Eight Dragons Group, they decided the Nangong family was not to be offended, at least not until they had a clear idea of Rei's strength.
Another year passed. It was now 268 years before Aizen was sealed.
Feeling that their foothold was secure, Rei told Maki, whose strength was becoming difficult to improve through normal training, to apply to the Shin'ō Spiritual Arts Academy so he could grow stronger more quickly.
Maki readily followed Rei's advice. He knew Rei intended to travel and improve his strength through combat. Maki understood that Rei's method of improving was not suited to him, which was why he agreed.
Maki wanted to keep up with Rei too. He did not want Rei to protect him for the rest of his life. If he was too weak, he could not fulfill his old vow to "stand in front of Big Brother Nangong."
Starting in the eastern districts, Rei planned to travel straight to Rukongai's East District 80, then head for North District 80 and return in a straight line to North District 10. He had traveled part of the route through northern Rukongai before, so he planned to change course when he reached it and return through the western districts.
After making arrangements for Maki, Rei set out. This time he brought none of his retainers, departing alone from East District 10 of Rukongai...
In just one month, Rei traveled alone from East District 10 to East Rukongai District 21. The town there was nothing special, but it did have a kind-hearted group.
They collected no protection money. Instead, they arranged for people to farm and protected villagers from Hollow attacks.
Their method of identifying where Hollows were was simple. Whenever someone went out, they carried a clapper made from a bamboo tube. If they encountered a Hollow, they would sound it, alerting others even if they themselves could not escape.
What caught Rei's attention was that the idea had come from a boy with a yellow Mushroom Head. Apparently, the boy already had a Zanpakuto...
"An outsider? Running around with a Zanpakuto only Soul Reapers have? Who'd believe you're a good person?"
Shinji Hirako, the future leader of the Visored, was still a boy and had not yet joined the Gotei 13. He stood directly in the way of Rei, who was also a boy and was dressed in fine clothes.
"Don't you have a Zanpakuto too? You're not a Soul Reaper either. You're being a little nosy, aren't you? Want to fight?"
Rei smiled and drew his Zanpakuto. He had been going into town to buy some supplies, only for a local to stop him, thinking he was dangerous.
That was right: Hirako, who had spent years with nothing much to do, had developed a keen nose and often sunned himself at the town entrance. He had smelled the scent of blood Rei carried long ago.
"Just as I thought. People around here often go missing while they're out working. You wouldn't happen to be the one who killed them, would you?"
Hirako drew his Zanpakuto too. He was making a baseless accusation against Rei, merely wanting to see how he would react. But Rei showed no reaction at all, and Hirako knew things had gotten a little troublesome.
Enrollment at the Shin'ō Spiritual Arts Academy had already begun for the year, and Hirako had originally planned to apply. But souls had been disappearing from the town lately, and even after the Soul Reapers were notified, they could not determine whether a Hollow was responsible...
Rei did not care about any of that. He had come out to gain experience, and sensing that the blond boy before him had decent Reiatsu, he had deliberately approached and released his killing intent to provoke him.
"Come on!"
"I'll chop you into eight pieces!"
Faced with Rei's contemptuous tone, Hirako calmly shot back and charged, unwilling to lose momentum. Their Zanpakuto clashed, sending sparks flying.
As their weapons continued to collide, the not especially powerful gusts of Reiatsu scattered in every direction, blowing the rainproof thatch off the roofs. The commotion drew a large crowd, all people Hirako knew.
Damn it, his swordsmanship doesn't have a single opening, and on top of that, he isn't even using his full strength...
The longer Hirako fought, the more alarmed he became. Rei's sudden counterattacks often left him with another small cut, and Rei was holding his sword in only one hand. Hirako could feel the difference in their strength.
As Rei cut his right shoulder, Hirako seized the chance to slash horizontally across Rei's chest. The solid sensation of the blow made Hirako think he was cutting sheet iron.
"That strike only broke the skin? What a monster!"
Hirako's voice was trembling a little now. His Zanpakuto could not yet achieve Shikai, but he was confident that he was already stronger than most Soul Reapers, and he had even killed quite a few Ragged Hollows.
Yet a full-strength strike like that had only left a wound a little over ten centimeters long on the man before him. At most, it had broken the skin, and the bleeding was quickly stopped by Reiatsu.
Rei touched the blood on his chest and smiled faintly. "You're very good. I've met quite a few experts on my way here from North District 10, but among those nearly my age, not one was as strong as you. Now I'll give it everything I've got."
Boom!
The sudden pressure made Hirako's eyes widen, and a few drops of sweat ran down his cheek. Rei unleashed his Reiatsu, a faint red aura covering his body.
This was already Rei's full strength without using Shikai. With Shikai, his Reiatsu could rise further, and it could rise again when the blood gauge was full...