Punishment Force

"Phew~~ It's over."

Duan Mu sat outside the low house, looking somewhat tired. Iwao, who had been moving things with him from morning till night, looked even worse. He lay to one side like a dead dog, staring at Duan Mu with an extremely strange look.

"Were you some kind of strongman like Jidanbō when you were alive?"

"I'm just better at conserving my stamina than you are," Duan Mu replied without offering any further explanation.

Although his Spiritual Power was not as strong as Iwao's, after spending the day together, he had discovered that he was far better than Iwao at controlling and regulating Spiritual Power.

Control and regulation were not things gained by adding experience points to Spiritual Power. They were a by-product of his uninterrupted cultivation of Hado #4: Byakurai over the past three years. From this, it was clear that... unlike his elder sister, Iwao was not very skilled in the Kidō arts.

"You should say that he simply knows better than you how to conserve his Spiritual Power."

Kūkaku had arrived beside the two of them at some point. She directly planted her foot on her younger brother and said with disdain, "Don't go around telling people you're my brother, Shiba Kūkaku. Your Spiritual Power is so much stronger than his, yet you're actually this useless."

"Uh, I'm not... It's just that he... Hmm?" Iwao instinctively tried to defend himself, but then suddenly realized something. He whipped his head toward Duan Mu. "You have Spiritual Power too!?"

"Yeah."

Duan Mu nodded without hiding it.

He was not surprised in the slightest that Kūkaku had noticed he possessed Spiritual Power. After all, he had deliberately revealed it.

However, the Spiritual Power he had displayed was only half of what he truly possessed, roughly equivalent to that of the students at the Soul Reaper Academy.

"You're not a Soul Reaper, are you?" Iwao asked, eyeing Duan Mu suspiciously.

Duan Mu said, "Do you think a Soul Reaper would open a Yorozuya in Rukongai?"

"I advise you not to stay in Rukongai for too long. Judging by your control over reishi and the strength of your Spiritual Power, the Soul Reaper Academy's entrance examination shouldn't be difficult for you." Kūkaku looked at Duan Mu and continued, "Besides, if I remember correctly, you've only been in Rukongai for a little over three years. If you continue growing at this rate, you should be able to graduate successfully, join the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, and become a Soul Reaper."

"What's so great about becoming a Soul Reaper!!"

Pinned beneath Kūkaku's foot, Iwao's face filled with undisguised hatred. "Running off to Seireitei to become their lackey? You'd be better off staying in Rukongai and becoming my underling... Mmph..." Before he could finish, Kūkaku stepped on the back of his head and drove his face into the dirt.

"Don't listen to this idiot." Kūkaku seemed to recall something and sighed softly before continuing, "There are some special reasons my brother and I didn't become Soul Reapers. For the people of Rukongai, becoming a Soul Reaper is unquestionably the best choice."

"I understand."

Duan Mu pondered for a moment. Without hiding his own thoughts, he continued, "When I first came to Rukongai, I also considered enrolling in the Soul Reaper Academy. But after staying in Rukongai for so long, I came to like life here instead."

"Compared to being bound by all kinds of complicated rules, I prefer the feeling of being able to do whatever I want now. Besides, the more I learned about it, the more I realized that a Soul Reaper's work was incredibly dangerous. I'm also very afraid of dying, so I simply gave up on becoming a Soul Reaper."

"That's more like it." Iwao struggled to raise his head and gave Duan Mu a thumbs-up.

Hearing this, Kūkaku nodded and did not continue trying to persuade him. Since Duan Mu already understood the advantages and disadvantages of becoming a Soul Reaper, there was naturally no need for her to keep pressing the matter.

Besides, with the Yorozuya's current reputation, Duan Mu would not have to worry about making a living. Compared to becoming a Soul Reaper, his current way of life was indeed much more comfortable.

"It's already dark. Have dinner at my place."

After saying that, Kūkaku turned and walked toward the low house. But after only a few steps, she suddenly stopped and spun around to look into the night.

Her strange behavior immediately drew Duan Mu's attention.

Duan Mu looked in the direction Kūkaku was watching, but did not notice anything unusual. A trace of confusion flashed across his face.

Iwao had just gotten to his feet. Seeing this, he asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"

The instant Iwao finished speaking, Duan Mu noticed a deep-blue arc of light appear in his field of vision. As the arc appeared, several figures gradually emerged from the night several hundred meters away.

Only after seeing the people did Duan Mu sense the fluctuations of reishi. He could not help glancing at Kūkaku beside him.

When Duan Mu looked into the distance again, the several figures had already reached within dozens of meters. One person was fleeing in front, while four others pursued him relentlessly.

The five were dressed differently. The fleeing man was a fierce-looking middle-aged man of around forty, wearing a Shinigami uniform. His face was filled with terror. The four pursuing him were dressed in black and wore masks, making their exact appearances impossible to discern.

Onmitsukidō?

When he saw the pursuers' attire, a strange light flashed through Duan Mu's eyes.

As far as Duan Mu knew, the Onmitsukidō was an organization that stood independently of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads together with the Kidō Corps. However, because several generations of commanders-in-chief had also served concurrently as captains of the 2nd Division, the Onmitsukidō had gradually begun trending toward becoming a subordinate organization of the 2nd Division.

"Soul Reapers!?"

After seeing what they looked like, Iwao showed disgust and instinctively moved forward to drive them away, but Kūkaku stopped him. "Don't interfere."

Just as she spoke, the four members of the Punishment Force surrounded the Soul Reaper.

"Why!?"

The middle-aged Soul Reaper cried out in despair, his voice hoarse and shrill. "What did I do wrong..." Before he could finish, the four members of the Punishment Force had already attacked.

However, they did not use their Zanpakuto. Instead, they fought the Soul Reaper, who wielded a Zanpakuto, using only pure Hakuda.

Although the Soul Reaper had the advantage of wielding a Zanpakuto, the four members of the Punishment Force were clearly far stronger than the man they had pursued. Less than half a minute after the battle began, the middle-aged Soul Reaper left an opening and took a punch to the abdomen. The blade he had been swinging halted.

In that instant, the remaining three seized the opportunity and closed in!

Bang, bang, bang...

Amid a series of dull impacts, the middle-aged Soul Reaper was like a leaf caught in a storm, completely unable to fight back. In the end, he crashed heavily onto the ground, his life or death unknown.

"Don't let him die," someone said.

At those words, another person crouched beside the middle-aged Soul Reaper. A deep-blue glow spread across both hands and enveloped the man's injuries. Only after a long while did he withdraw his hands and nod at the other three.

Two of them immediately stepped forward to support the middle-aged Soul Reaper. However, the four did not leave at once. Instead, they looked toward where Duan Mu and the others stood.

More precisely, they were looking at Shiba Kūkaku, who stood in front of Duan Mu and Iwao. After respectfully bowing to her, they took the middle-aged Soul Reaper and disappeared from the spot.

"Let's go."