The entrance to the mine is a narrow rock crevice. The rock walls on both sides have been mined, and the cross-sections are uneven.
When the team of Uesugi family walked in, there were four Sixth Division and Squad Member, two in front, two in the back, the noble in the middle, the entourage and porters around the noble, Soul Reaper at both ends, and the team was very long.
Uesugi family's nephew was sitting on an open-air sedan, using a folding fan to block the sunlight leaking from above the rock crevices. His brows had not relaxed since he entered the mine. He didn't like this place being too dark, too damp, too quiet, as quiet as a tomb.
The robbers quickly emerged from the entrance
They were holding iron knives, wooden sticks, and sharpened bamboo poles in their hands, and they were shouting something
The clearest thing is these three words: "Hold him down!"
The sound clashed back and forth in the narrow mine tunnel, turning into a buzzing noise. The leader was the dark man. He held a chipped machete in his hand, and the tip of the knife was pointed at the nobleman riding a pony in the center of the team.
The four Sixth Division and Squad Member drew their swords at the same time, and the sound of the sword being unsheathed was particularly clear in the mine tunnel.
The two Squad Member at the back immediately liberated Zanpakutō. These two Squad Member were carefully selected guards by the nobles. They both liberated Zanpakutō one after another.
"Travel through the land! Earth Eel!"
"Turn over on the ground! Rock Whale!"
The two Squad Member did not build a large wall to block the passage, but directly built a low wall that only reached the belly, blocking their charging posture. The two in front immediately Shunpo rushed to the side of the person who liberated Zanpakutō
Two Shikai auras exploded in the mine tunnel. The gravel on the ground began to shake violently, as if something was traveling rapidly beneath the soil. The soil in the center of the mine tunnel suddenly rose upwards, gravel and sand surged to both sides, and a low wall rose from the ground.
The low wall only reaches the height of an adult's waist and abdomen, which is just enough to stop the charging crowd without completely blocking the mine tunnel.
The momentum of the charge was cut off by the low wall. The robber running at the front had no time to brake and hit the wall directly. He rolled over with a groan and fell to the gravel ground on the other side of the wall.
The people behind were pushing and shoving in front of the wall. Some were trying to climb over, some were trying to go around the two ends of the wall, and some were pushed forward by the people behind but didn't know where to go. Their charging formation was shattered into a pile of sand in front of the low wall. Most of the overwhelming momentum they had just hit the wall was lost the moment they hit the wall.
For these Rukongai souls, Soul Reaper has never taken the initiative to kill them. Even if they come to attack, most of them choose to make them lose their combat effectiveness and then ignore them.
But this time it's different
The two soldiers in front cut in at the same moment as the low wall rose.
A black shadow slashed down from the sky, Zanpakutō drew a precise arc in the air, blood spattered, and the leading bandit who climbed the wall was cut down.
Then another chanted Kidō
"Ruler! Visored of flesh and blood, all things, feathers, the one who bears the name of man! Truth and temperance, the wall of the dream of knowing no sin, only stand on it!"
Reiatsu condensed in his palm, blue light overflowed from between his fingers, and quickly expanded into a fireball the size of a fist. The core of the fireball was dazzling white, and pale blue flames danced around the edges.
The three Squad Member had already sensed the direction of Kidō when he was halfway through the chant. They Shunpo at the same time, and three black shadows retreated from the low wall back and forth, falling in the shadow of the rock walls on both sides of the mine tunnel.
"Hadō #33! Sōkatsui!"
Blue flames spurted out from the palm, drawing a straight, dazzling blue trail in the air
The robbers fell down like wheat cut by a scythe. The ones in the front row were blown away by the shock wave. Their bodies turned around in the air and then fell heavily to the gravel ground. Their knives flew away far away.
The people behind were brushed by the edge of the flames, and their clothes were burned with large and small holes. Some were rolling on the ground with their arms covered, and half of their hair was singed.
The blue flames burned in the mine tunnel for a moment before gradually extinguishing, leaving behind the charred ground and weapons scattered on the ground. The pungent smell of burnt hair and cloth filled the air, mixed with the smell of damp stone coming out from the depths of the mine tunnel.
"Let's go!" The dark-skinned leader got up from the ground. He fell to the ground the moment the blue flames exploded. The edge of the flames brushed against his back, and a palm-sized hole was burned in his clothes, revealing the reddened skin underneath.
Ignoring the pain, he grabbed the collar of a boy next to him and dragged him out. The boy was still in a daze, looking straight at the people lying on the ground in front of him, his lips were trembling. He wanted to say something but couldn't. All that came out of his throat was a vague sob that seemed to be stuck by something.
He has not seen Sōkatsui, ever.
The robbers poured out of the mine tunnel like sea water at low tide. Some ran fast, some ran slowly, and some fell and got up and continued running.
The iron knives, wooden sticks, and bamboo poles were thrown all over the floor, and the mine tunnel became quiet. Only the sounds of four Sixth Division Squad Member sheathing their knives echoed among the rock walls.
"Master Uesugi, are you okay?" The attendant ran over to help him. The noble nephew tremblingly got off the sedan, pushed away the attendant's hand, stood up straight, straightened his collar, and patted the dust on his clothes. His hands were still shaking, but he stood up straight.
"It's okay." Although his voice was trembling, the family's mission still had to be completed. The mine has not been finished yet, and the data on the reserve report has not been verified. He is the son of Uesugi family, and his purpose here is Reishi Iron Ore, not a robber.
"Keep walking, we haven't finished watching the mine yet." His voice was forced to calm down, as if he was slowly regaining his confidence in his identity while speaking.
The team continued to walk deeper into the mine. Sixth Division and Squad Member were at the front, their swords already sheathed, and they did not choose to pursue them.
Return to Seireitei the next day
"Go to Central 46" the noble nephew said firmly.
Just a request from a nobleman does not require the forty-six Sage to be present. There are only a dozen people present, some are approving documents, some are talking in low voices, and some are closing their eyes to rest.
The noble nephew stood in the center of the hall, with a long table in front of him. Behind the table sat an elderly Sage, with white beard and hair, and wrinkles on his face like a dry riverbed. He was Sage on duty tonight.
"Uesugi family, tell me, what's the matter?" said the elder Sage when he saw him walking over.
The noble nephew took a deep breath, and then he told what happened to North District 68, and asked Central 46 to order Soul Reaper to suppress the bandits.
The elder Sage looked at him for a few seconds
"Are there any casualties?"
"No"
"Is there any loss?"
"No"
"Then what bandits are you killing?"
The elder Sage's tone did not fluctuate at all. He was confirming whether the matter met the standards for Central 46's intervention.
The face of the noble nephew changed, not because of fear, but because of anger. "There are no casualties because Sixth Division's Soul Reaper reacted quickly. If I had been slower, I would not be standing here talking now, but lying there."
He pointed to the hall floor
The elder Sage was silent for a moment. "Rukongai's bandits are endless. We suppressed them today, and they will come out again tomorrow. You suppressed a group, and another group appeared further away. There are as many Rukongai bandits as Rukongai's wandering souls. Can you kill them all?"
The noble nephew's lips moved and then closed again. He knew that Sage was right, but he didn't want to admit that he was scared, but he didn't want to be scared a second time.
The purpose of suppressing bandits is not to make Rukongai clean, but to enable him to sleep well at night.
The elder Sage looked at his expression and sighed, "Central 46 understands your request. Go back and wait for notification."
The noble nephew stood there with his hands on the table and his eyes wide.
'Waiting for notification'
These three words in Central 46 most likely have only one meaning; wait, and then forget
He wanted to say something, but he swallowed it back. He bowed, turned around and left.
The elder Sage was sitting on a chair, looking at the direction in which the noble nephew disappeared. A young Sage next to him came over and said, "Uesugi family, he was very frightened."
Older Sage nods
"The matter of suppressing bandits..."
The elder Sage shook his head. "Rukongai's bandits can never be wiped out. It's not that Central 46 doesn't want to take care of it, but that it can't be taken care of. Tenth Division is at every day. Rukongai patrols, they know better than Central 46 where they need to suppress and where they don't. Uesugi family will suppress the bandits if they are frightened once, but Rukongai's wandering souls will be frightened every day, should they also suppress the bandits?"
Young Sage said nothing.
It's not because Soul Reaper is not strong enough, it's because Rukongai will not change. As long as Rukongai remains like this, the gangsters will always be there.
It's not that Soul Reaper doesn't want to change Rukongai, it's that Rukongai, as a reincarnation transit station, you can't change anything. Today you changed something, and tomorrow the changed people will go to reincarnation, leaving some new faces who have not changed, so have you changed them?
Rukongai has always been bad, so bad that no one thinks it needs to change.