South Rukongai, District 78, Inuzuri.
At Gilgamesh's instruction, Renji Abarai, Rukia, Xingxing, and Yegou split up and began spreading the same message in different places.
"Good news! Good news! There's free water in Kumu Street! Supplies are limited, so get there while they last!"
Before long, the message began spreading quickly through Inuzuri.
The people of Inuzuri had grown numb to life and had no hope for the future, but they still cared deeply about water, which was essential to survival and in desperately short supply.
Soon, everyone who heard the news was in an uproar.
"Is this for real or not?"
"It's definitely fake. Kumu Street is the poorest and most chaotic place in Inuzuri. How could there be free water?"
"Who are you gonna believe, me, your daddy, or this rumor?"
"That's obviously a trap. I bet someone's behind it again."
"Wasn't there a similar rumor before, saying there was water in the wilderness on the outskirts? Nothing ever came of that, either."
Clearly, most people didn't believe it.
In Inuzuri, lies and deceit were perfectly ordinary, and they often went hand in hand with death.
Kindness, by contrast, was utterly out of place in Inuzuri.
So when something seemed too good to be true, there was usually a catch.
Still, a few people who were desperately short on water clung to a sliver of hope and hurried toward Kumu Street.
Meanwhile, on Kumu Street.
Gilgamesh strolled through the streets alone.
With his golden hair, red eyes, and noble air, Gilgamesh was a strikingly beautiful boy, utterly out of place amid the poverty, squalor, and stench of Kumu Street.
As a result, the people around him couldn't help looking his way.
They had grown numb to everything, yet Gilgamesh still piqued their curiosity.
In their eyes, Gilgamesh had to be the son of some wealthy family from one of the higher-numbered districts, or even a noble.
Some of them remembered seeing Gilgamesh the day before. They had no idea why he had returned to Kumu Street, a place with nothing to offer, like Hell itself.
Others were already getting restless, their eyes glinting with greed, desire, and cruelty.
They figured Gilgamesh must have something valuable on him—or that Gilgamesh himself was something valuable.
If they kidnapped him, they could escape this Hell.
But they weren't sure if Gilgamesh had bodyguards lying in wait nearby, so they didn't dare make a move.
What they didn't know was that, beneath the light of the Star of Omniscience, Gilgamesh saw right through them and their every thought.
But Gilgamesh didn't care.
He intended to found a nation, but not everyone was worthy of becoming his subject.
He had no need for those who had sunk so deep into evil that they could no longer be saved.
Of course, nearly everyone in Inuzuri had sinned.
But that was the way things had turned out. They weren't to blame; the world was.
The fact that they had made it to Soul Society meant they hadn't committed any truly heinous crimes in the world of the living. Otherwise, they would have been dragged to Hell and condemned to suffer there for all eternity.
The chaos, poverty, and backwardness of this place had bred their sins, and those sins had, in turn, fed the chaos, poverty, and backwardness.
It was a vicious cycle.
Cruel as it was, Gilgamesh needed precisely such a vicious cycle.
Heroes had always risen in troubled times.
The more chaotic, poor, and backward a place was, the easier it was to build a nation there.
Conversely, founding a nation was harder in places that were peaceful, prosperous, and happy.
Before long, Gilgamesh had won twelve people over with water.
Naturally, he had chosen all twelve himself.
Beneath the light of the Star of Omniscience, Gilgamesh could see into their hearts. He knew they still had goodness in them, and each had their own talents.
When Gilgamesh decided the time was right, he began putting his plan into action at the end of Kumu Street, in an open area that connected to the uninhabited wilderness.
The plan was to use water as capital and win people over.
To prevent unnecessary trouble, Gilgamesh also needed to make an example of his power.
He opened the exchange shop and found the items he wanted.
[Water (1 cubic meter): 1 point].
[Water bucket (1 cubic meter): 1 point]
This was water from Soul Society.
Without hesitation, Gilgamesh exchanged for them.
The next moment, a giant water barrel appeared out of thin air before the crowd's astonished eyes.
One cubic meter of water was 1,000 liters, while an ordinary person needed about two liters a day.
That meant Gilgamesh could provide enough water for 500 people for a day with just one King's Way Point.
He still had 9,910 King's Way Points. If he spent them all, he could provide enough water for about five million people for a day.
That was the confidence and capital behind Gilgamesh's plans to found a nation.
Then Gilgamesh opened the Gate of Babylon.
Before the crowd had recovered from the shock of the giant water barrel appearing from thin air, a golden ripple formed in the air behind him.
An ancient Golden Throne, imbued with the weight of the ages, emerged from within and settled gently behind Gilgamesh.
Gilgamesh sat on the Golden Throne, regarding the people before him with a calm yet deeply imposing gaze, making sure they understood his power.
Then Gilgamesh signaled the twelve people he had won over to get to work.
By then, more and more people had gathered. They stared greedily at the giant barrel of water, their eyes filled with longing.
They wanted to claim it for themselves, but Gilgamesh's unfathomable abilities kept them from daring to act.
The twelve carried out their work smoothly.
They divided the tasks according to Gilgamesh's instructions.
Some repeatedly emphasized King Gilgamesh's identity, gradually imprinting it in people's minds.
Others explained that anyone who wanted free water had to register their real information and agree to unified management. Anyone caught falsifying information would lose the right to receive water in the future.
Free water would only be available for the first three days. After that, people could still come for water, but they would have to work in exchange.
No one objected.
They didn't know what Gilgamesh was planning, but it didn't matter.
As far as they were concerned, free water was all they needed.
After all, if Gilgamesh hadn't given away water for free, who knew how many of them would have died of thirst?
In that respect, they had Gilgamesh to thank.
Under Gilgamesh's watch, the once-chaotic, disorderly residents of Kumu Street began lining up of their own accord, calmly waiting their turn to collect their free water for the day.
Founding a nation clearly wasn't something that could be done overnight.
But Gilgamesh had time to spare.
The story of Bleach hadn't even begun yet.
Gilgamesh was confident he could establish his own nation before it did.
Of course, for a nation to prosper and endure, it needed not only a good king but also talented people in every field.
Gilgamesh remembered that Momo Hinamori, Toshiro Hitsugaya, and Izuru Kira were all still in Rukongai at this point. They were rare talents.
The Shiba Clan, once one of the Five Great Noble Clans but now fallen into decline, was also worth pursuing.
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