Daimaru

"Boss Daimaru, they've stopped outside the town."

Daimaru sat on the steps in front of a dilapidated house, listening to his subordinate's report as he gazed toward the town entrance.

As the overlord of West District 79, Daimaru stood out conspicuously among the crowd. He was over two meters tall, with a broad, sturdy build. His bulging bronze-colored muscles nearly burst through his clothes. His eyes were small, but he lacked the impulsiveness of a brawler. Instead, he was exceptionally steady and calm.

There were plenty of lunatics in the districts with higher numbers, and Daimaru was one of them. But unlike the crazies he had killed, Daimaru was crazier than anyone when he went mad, and more cautious and composed than anyone when caution was needed.

It was precisely this personality—going mad when he needed to, and staying steady when he needed to—that had earned him the top spot in West District 79.

But he was unwilling to remain confined to this tiny area forever. Soul Society was vast, and setting aside the other districts, there were already plenty of terrifying Great Villains in District 80 of West Rukongai.

If he wanted to completely control the districts with higher numbers, he had to defeat those monsters.

Daimaru had tried once. The result... was that he had been defeated effortlessly. If the Great Villain of District 80 hadn't disdained killing him because he was too weak, he would already have been dead. After narrowly surviving at the hands of that monster, Daimaru realized one thing: no matter how large his forces were, if his own strength was insufficient, he was nothing more than meat on someone else's chopping block.

And the simplest way to become stronger was to learn the Soul Reapers' combat techniques. But to learn those techniques, he had to become a Soul Reaper—something Daimaru absolutely could not accept.

Thus, after his crushing defeat, Daimaru had been searching for a way to learn Soul Reaper combat techniques without becoming a Soul Reaper.

Shiba Ganju was precisely the method he had found!

The Shiba Clan had once been one of the five great noble clans of Seireitei. This was no secret in Soul Society.

According to Daimaru's investigation, that young thug named Shiba Ganju was the biological younger brother of the current head of the Shiba Clan.

Of course, Daimaru knew very well that even a fallen noble clan was not someone he could afford to provoke. The female head of the Shiba Clan was an existence even the Great Villains of District 80 were unwilling to anger. So he had manipulated several thugs into luring Shiba Ganju to District 79.

As far as he knew, the fallen Shiba Clan consisted of only two siblings and two servants. As long as he captured Shiba Ganju and forced the Soul Reaper cultivation techniques out of him, Daimaru only needed to hide in another district of Rukongai. With the Shiba Clan's few people, finding him would be impossible.

Moreover, Daimaru had never intended to kill Ganju. Once he obtained what he wanted, he would naturally let Ganju go. That way, the Shiba Clan should not pursue him to the death.

"Boss Daimaru, they seem to be getting ready to head back. Should we have the brothers make their move?"

A ruthless glint flashed through Daimaru's calm eyes.

He looked around and said coldly, "Have them move! But remember one thing: absolutely do not kill Shiba Ganju. As for the others... don't kill them if you can avoid it, but if they resist too strongly, killing them is fine."

At those words, eager excitement appeared on everyone's faces.

The districts with higher numbers were never short of madmen. The crazier the act, the more excited they became. As the signal was sent, figures emerged from every direction around Ganju and the other five, surrounding all six in the blink of an eye.

"Bro... Brother Iwao..."

Hawk looked at the people closing in around them, and his face instantly went pale. "They seem to have targeted us."

Shiba Ganju said nothing, but his expression darkened as well.

He could tell that these people had clearly been lying in ambush nearby for some time. Thinking back to Duan Mu's question just now, even Ganju, as dense as he was, could sense that something was wrong.

Those thugs had deliberately lured them here!

With that thought, Ganju gritted his teeth and said to Duan Mu beside him, "I'll find a way to break open a gap. Take Hawk and the others and get out through it. Run as far as you can."

More or less, spiritual pressure fluctuations radiated from the people surrounding them.

The burly man who emerged from the town radiated spiritual pressure even stronger than Ganju's. Of the people on their side, only Ganju and Duan Mu possessed any spiritual pressure, and Duan Mu's was barely there. Facing these people head-on was impossible.

At the very least, he had to ensure Duan Mu and the others escaped safely!!

Ganju reached toward the gunpowder at his waist, constantly scanning the surroundings from the corner of his eye in hopes of finding a weak point through which Duan Mu and the other four could escape the encirclement.

"Leaving won't be that easy."

Duan Mu shook his head. Based on his observations, even setting aside the burly man at the head, at least ten of the people surrounding them possessed spiritual pressure equal to Ganju's. They were distributed throughout the area, and with Ganju's strength, breaking through was impossible.

Moreover, judging from the arrangement of the encirclement, the enemy clearly intended to ensure that not a single person returned to report what had happened, even if that meant killing them all.

Breaking out? How could it be that easy!

"You're Shiba Ganju, right?"

Daimaru stopped five meters away from the six, staring intently at Ganju, who stood in front of the others. A ferocious grin spread across his face. "I advise you to surrender obediently. My men have never known how to hold back. Once the fighting starts, the other five besides you will all die by their hands."

At his words, Daimaru's surrounding subordinates revealed ferocious grins identical to his own. They stepped forward together. Their movements were far from orderly, but with every step, the killing intent around them grew denser.

The killing intent of over a hundred people gathered together, causing even the wild boars beneath Duan Mu and the others to grow restless. Hawk and the other three were in an even worse state. Their backs were instantly drenched in sweat, and their faces went as pale as paper. They nearly slipped off their boars.

Over a hundred villains who had survived mountains of corpses and seas of blood were on an entirely different level from the thugs Hawk and the others had encountered before. Without even fighting, that nearly tangible killing intent had already left the four of them dazed and practically unconscious!

Ganju's face paled as he clenched both fists, his knuckles turning white. He repeatedly told himself not to be intimidated by the enemy's aura, but an intense sense of powerlessness enveloped his entire body.

By himself...

He simply couldn't help Duan Mu and the others break through the encirclement!!

However, Ganju's will was much firmer than Hawk and the other three's. After taking several deep breaths, some color returned to his pale face.

Although Duan Mu's "Soul Reaper Cram School" was little known in Rukongai, with only the students of the Soul Reaper Academy basically aware of it, he had not concealed it from Ganju and Uzuki.

So Ganju knew very well...

Although Duan Mu's spiritual pressure was extremely weak, his actual combat ability might not be inferior to that of a regular member of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads!

At this moment, the enemy's attention was entirely focused on him. As long as he drew their attention, Duan Mu might still be able to take Hawk and the other three out by catching them off guard!

With this thought, he subconsciously wanted to explain his plan to Duan Mu.

However, before he could speak, Duan Mu's low voice reached his ears:

"Throw a Blood Tear Bead at our feet!"

A Blood Tear Bead?

Ganju was stunned. The so-called Blood Tear Bead was a type of firework he made using "specially prepared chili peppers." After the firework exploded, it produced red smoke that could obscure the enemy's vision while also injuring their eyes and throats.

But this move had one fatal weakness: it could not be detonated nearby, or the user would also be harmed by the chili smoke. Yet Duan Mu clearly knew this, and he was actually asking Ganju to set off a Blood Tear Bead at their feet.

Did he think the enemy wasn't strong enough and want to weaken himself first?