A Desperate Gamble

"Hiss—"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the tavern who had been eavesdropping couldn't help but gasp in shock.

The reason Great Villains were called Great Villains was precisely because they were the absolute strongest existences in District 80. Yet now, someone was telling them...

That the Great Villain of West District 80 had escaped from his territory. If it weren't for Habutae saying it, they would never have believed it.

Duan Mu ignored the reactions of the people in the tavern. He had completely given up on getting any information from these useless people. They were in West District 79, the closest district to District 80, yet they hadn't gotten any news about the war between South District 80 and West District 80.

It was the completely unrelated North Rukongai that had learned of the war first, which was utterly ridiculous!

"Because of South District 80?"

"Yes." Habutae nodded.

"As far as I know, the various districts of Rukongai rarely interact with each other, don't they?" Duan Mu said, glancing at Nishijin-ori beside him.

To be honest, the fact that West District 80 had a Vice-Captain level combatant had already changed his initial perception of Great Villains. Now, someone who could force Nishijin-ori to flee had undoubtedly refreshed Duan Mu's understanding once again.

It wasn't that he looked down on the Great Villains of District 80. After all, both Unohana Retsu and Kenpachi Zaraki had once held the title of Great Villain.

But it was precisely because of these two that Duan Mu believed that no matter how strong the Great Villains of District 80 were, they wouldn't be that strong.

The reason was simple. As far as Duan Mu knew, Unohana Retsu had killed all the strongest villains in Rukongai before she even became the first Kenpachi. After she became the first Kenpachi, she also carried out a major purge in the lower-numbered districts under the guise of hunting down Rukongai villains.

Even more ridiculously...

After her, Kenpachi started from a young age and grew up fighting. Although he didn't know how many years he spent fighting in the lower-numbered districts, the Thirteen Court Guard Squads had gone through nine 'Kenpachi's, so it was likely a considerable amount of time. It could be said that before becoming the eleventh 'Kenpachi', Kenpachi had also been continuously purging the lower-numbered districts.

Going even further back, when the Thirteen Court Guard Squads were first established, they also seemed to have purged the lower-numbered districts.

This led to the current situation where the lower-numbered districts still firmly believed that the 'Thirteen Court Guard Squads' were the largest and most brutal killer organization in Soul Society.

Under such repeated devastation, for any strong individuals to still survive in District 80, Duan Mu could only say...

Soul Society truly had an abundance of talent.

"Have you heard of 'Kenpachi'?"

"Huh?"

Duan Mu was slightly taken aback, looking at Habutae with a suspicious expression. Did this tomboy have the ability to read minds?

"I don't think you would know either, as even I have only heard about him." Habutae continued without waiting for Duan Mu's answer, "The Kenpachi I'm talking about is not the name of the district 'Kenpachi' in North District 80, but a Great Villain named 'Kenpachi'."

"No one knows when he appeared, nor why he was so strong. But until about 100 years ago, when Kenpachi joined that killer organization, the 'Thirteen Court Guard Squads', he was recognized as the strongest person in Rukongai. In his era, no one else was qualified to hold the title of Great Villain."

As she spoke, Habutae glanced at Nishijin-ori. She noticed that he showed no reaction, merely leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed, recuperating. Only then did she continue, "Actually, the Great Villains in the East, South, West, and North districts today are all people who were once defeated by Kenpachi and were fortunate enough to survive."

"These people are not only Kenpachi's defeated opponents but also his admirers. Every Great Villain strives to reach Kenpachi as their ultimate goal, all wishing to become the next Kenpachi."

Habutae paused and continued, "In the entire West District 80, there are three such people. My boss is one of them. Although they are called Great Villains outside, they have always referred to themselves as 'losers'."

"At least until they defeat Kenpachi, that won't change."

Duan Mu chuckled at this. It seemed these people might be losers for their entire lives, considering that man was arguably the most talented monster in all of Soul Society, born with a cheat!

"It's ironic, isn't it?"

Habutae let out a strange laugh. "Even though everyone is working towards 'Kenpachi' as their goal, no one can do anything to each other. Instead, they coexist within a single district. They constantly fight, and although there have been casualties, no one has emerged who can sweep through all of Rukongai like 'Kenpachi'."

"Not long ago, this mode of coexistence in the southern district ended." Habutae changed the subject. "Someone in the southern district defeated another Great Villain in the same district, even making the latter submit and willingly become his follower."

Taken under his wing?

Duan Mu was stunned. If what Habutae said was true, and the Great Villains of Rukongai's District 80 had been in a state of coexistence for the past hundred years, it meant that the gap in their strength wasn't that large. At the very least, they should have been able to escape easily even if they couldn't defeat each other.

But now, one person had made someone of the same level submit to him. To achieve this, either the subdued Great Villain was not as strong as rumored, or... that person's strength had become even greater.

"So, after subduing the Great Villain in his district, he set his sights on West District 80?" Duan Mu asked.

"Strictly speaking, he's targeted all the Great Villains. As I said before, all Great Villains aim to sweep through Rukongai and then, with the title of the strongest, challenge Kenpachi, who spared their lives in the end, and defeat him!!"

Habutae let out a sinister chuckle at this. "However, we went to South District 80 before he could make a move. In my boss's opinion, no one in the entire Soul Society, except for 'Kenpachi', is qualified to have Great Villains become their followers."

"And you know the result." Habutae shrugged helplessly. "Before that person in the southern district could make a move, my boss and the Great Villain who became his follower ended up in a mutual defeat."

"..." Duan Mu's mouth twitched slightly.

After all that talk, it turned out you were the ones who initiated the conflict!!

Duan Mu had underestimated these lunatics. He had thought that after that person conquered South District 80, he would then target West District 80. Instead, these two attacked South District 80 first because they simply didn't like the look of the other party. No wonder Habutae suddenly had the idea of recruiting Diao Ao and the others a while ago.

Diao Ao and his group, who were eavesdropping outside, turned pale.

Although they had considered that they might be used as cannon fodder if they surrendered to the Great Villain of West District 80, they never expected that that bitch 'Habutae' would want to take them to attack South District 80, and the target of the attack was a monster who could make Great Villains willingly become followers.

This treatment was worse than being cannon fodder!

"So, this injury..." Duan Mu asked tentatively.

"He came to West District 80."

"Is he strong?" Duan Mu asked gravely.

"Very strong!"

It wasn't Habutae who answered, but Nishijin-ori, who had opened his eyes at some unknown time. He pointed to his chest and said, "One slash."

Duan Mu blinked, looking at Habutae.

"My boss means, the opponent only used one strike."

Habutae seemed to recall something, her tone tinged with bitterness. "The first ones to attack us were Jiu Su and his group. He didn't show up then. Only after my boss killed Jiu Su did he appear... His Spiritual Pressure was extremely strong, and it was a strange kind of Spiritual Pressure I'd never felt before."

"If my boss hadn't shown up in time to save my life, I might be dead by now."

Habutae paused, then emphasized again, "Just one strike, and he nearly cut me in half at the waist. My boss took a hit through the chest saving me, and then my boss brought me here, escaping from District 80."

"...I can't believe you managed to bring someone back from that situation," Duan Mu said, narrowing his eyes. He then lifted the curtain and addressed Uzuki, who was eavesdropping behind the bar. "Uzuki, close up."

"Huh?"

"As for the rest of you..."

Duan Mu looked at the villains in the tavern. "You can all go back. You must have heard what Habutae just said, right?"

The villains in the tavern exchanged glances, understanding Duan Mu's meaning. In a flash, most of them dispersed, though a small portion remained.

"Boss Duan Mu, we'll stay and help you."

Diao Ao patted his chest, his expression earnest. "If I die, I'll die with you."

Duan Mu swept his gaze across the tavern, noticing that everyone who stayed was from West District 79, and like Diao Ao, they all adopted a 'we'll stand and fall with this tavern' stance.

"Heh, die with me?" Duan Mu sneered. "Be honest."

Diao Ao chuckled nervously. "That person... isn't he in District 80 now? We're a bit afraid to go back." While that was true, if they were truly afraid of the person who had heavily damaged Nishijin-ori, they could have scattered and hidden in the earlier numbered districts.

They chose to stay for two reasons. Firstly, they liked this place. Although it wasn't explicitly stated, in their hearts, they had begun to see Duan Mu as their new boss.

Moreover, without Duan Mu, they might have already died in South District 80.

And secondly...

The most important reason was that they didn't feel it was dangerous to stay with Boss Duan Mu. Besides his formidable strength, Boss Duan Mu had the strongest backing in all of Rukongai – the Shiba Clan!!

If even the Shiba Clan couldn't protect Boss Duan Mu, then there would be no safe place for them to hide.

Therefore, rather than hiding in a safe zone they disliked, they preferred to stay here.

Meanwhile, Habutae stared blankly at Duan Mu. She never expected that even after she had explained the situation in such detail, this Boss Duan Mu would still be willing to keep them.

Duan Mu glanced at Diao Ao and the others, not driving them away. Instead, he focused his attention on the system interface.

[Habutae's Favorability +1, Gained 640 Experience Points, Current Favorability: 42]

[……]

[Habutae's Favorability +1, Gained 1280 Experience Points, Current Favorability: 50]

[……]

[Habutae's Favorability +1, Gained 1280 Experience Points, Current Favorability: 60]

Current Experience Points: 20480

These were the experience points Habutae had provided to Duan Mu in that instant, and also the basis for Duan Mu accepting this request.

Over twenty thousand experience points were enough to raise Duan Mu's strength from 'Stage Five' to 'Stage Four', equivalent to a Vice-Captain.

He didn't believe the person Habutae mentioned possessed Captain-level strength, otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to escape.

Furthermore, compared to High-ranking Officers, the gap in combat power between Vice-Captains was enormous. Even among Vice-Captains, some could completely overwhelm others.

Duan Mu was fundamentally similar to Diao Ao and the others. He would absolutely not provoke an opponent in a fight with a ten-percent chance of survival unless absolutely necessary.

But with a nine-percent chance of survival...

Duan Mu didn't mind taking a gamble. The more than twenty thousand experience points were worth the risk this time.

It was a shame, though, if the system could generate experience points.

Then he could just tell Habutae, "You guys should leave too," and her favorability would probably drop immediately. Then he could say, "I was just kidding," and it would increase again...

Unfortunately, Uzuki had already proven that this method didn't work.

After a drop, any subsequent increase in favorability would not provide him with experience points.

"Um... Mr. Duan Mu." Just then, a timid voice sounded.

Duan Mu looked at Hanatarou behind him and blinked. "Uh, you're still here."

"..." Hanatarou.

Written and deleted, deleted and rewritten... I've revised it many times. I'll upload it now that it's time and revise it slowly later.