Yue left Huaku, leaving behind what the exiles considered a fairly decent district.
The others at the orphanage could not understand it. If Yue could not endure such poverty and wanted to go to a safer, more prosperous district, that would only be even harder. Unless Yue had some connection, such as getting acquainted with some important figure. The closer a district's number was to the center of Seireitei, the stricter its administration became. They would not casually accept outsiders, because those places were home to wealthy families behind high walls and secluded courtyards... and they looked down on "stray dogs" from impoverished areas.
In the Soul Society, the nobility stood high above everyone else, which made class divisions especially prevalent, though not overtly so.
But they were deeply ingrained.
That meant Yue's only option was to head for dangerous areas with numbers higher than Huaku's.
To others, that was no different from seeking death.
After all, Yue was only a child.
The next day, inside the room.
Gin Ichimaru unusually did not go out to work. Instead, he sat by the window and gazed out at the street, looking absentminded.
"Are you going to look for him?"
Rangiku stood behind Gin, her face full of worry.
Gin turned at her words and gave a faint smile. "It's fine."
"He'll be fine... he's Yue."
Rangiku bit her lip, wanting to say something but stopping herself.
She knew that Yue was irreplaceable to Gin.
Elsewhere, several days later.
Yue was already on his way to another district when several thugs stopped him.
"Well, where did this little brat come from? Are you lost?"
Several adults blocked Yue's path. The leader, a man wearing a black eyepatch, grinned maliciously.
Although Yue's clothes were old, they had no patches. The exposed skin on his body was fair and clean, without a trace of dirt. He did not look like a child from the local district.
"District 75 is up ahead, right?"
Yue showed no panic at all. Instead, he asked a question.
"Heh heh."
The man did not answer. He exchanged glances with his companions and laughed. "Starting today, you belong to me."
As soon as he finished speaking, a fat man beside him approached with a vicious grin, intending to seize Yue.
A child like Yue had plenty of added value in districts without rules. He could be sold for a little money.
They could raise him and make him do things for them, like stealing and robbing. Or they could sell him on to wealthy people, organizations, or groups with unusual tastes... If they could use certain channels to win the favor of some wealthy household, they could make an even bigger profit. The odds were slim, but judging by Yue's appearance, he was not bad.
At least, he looked far more presentable than the homeless children in their district. Easy on the eyes, too.
The fat man did not take a little brat like Yue seriously. Once he got close, he crudely reached out with his large hand to grab Yue by the hair.
As his hand came down, Yue nimbly dodged to the side, then swung back with an elbow strike that slammed into the fat man's belly.
The man immediately cried out and spat saliva, his eyes bulging as he clutched his stomach and fell to his knees, drenched in sweat.
"How... is that possible?"
The fat man stared in disbelief at the calm little brat before him.
Where had that much strength come from?
The searing pain in his abdomen nearly left him unable to breathe.
"A bunch of trash who can't even hold their ground in the district, forced to sleep out in the wilderness... Looks like I finally found the right place," Yue said blandly.
"Get him."
Realizing that this little brat was not so simple, the eyepatched man immediately urged them on.
The other companions gave a low shout and closed in on Yue together.
Yet Yue merely shifted his small, agile body a few times within the limited space. After a series of heavy blows from fists and feet, all the adults crumpled to the ground, clutching their injured vital spots and losing the ability to move.
"Ah!"
Seeing this, the eyepatched man immediately backed away in fear, swallowing hard.
Then he let out a scream, turned, and ran, abandoning even his companions.
Yue did not chase him.
After all, he had attended the Ninja Academy and had constantly trained his Taijutsu. Even at the Hokage's home, he had often sparred with his father, so dealing with a few ordinary people was not a problem.
As for physical strength, because of the Fuma Clan's uniquely designed ninja tools, he needed strength far beyond that of children his age if he wanted to wield them.
"Still not enough."
He looked down at the terrified thugs, frowning slightly.
He could not sense any spiritual pressure from them.
The only thing he could be sure of was that this place was more chaotic than Huaku.
He pulled an undrawn dagger from one of them, spun it skillfully in his hand, and claimed it for himself.
Then he continued onward.
Less than an hour later, he arrived at District 75.
As he walked through the streets, he keenly noticed that the people here no longer bothered to hide the malice in their eyes. Every face was filled with vigilance. The houses lining the streets were even more crude than those in Huaku... but fortunately, everyone was fairly "restrained." Things were still normal enough. It remained an "orderly" district.
Yet a faint atmosphere of danger had already begun to spread.
"Starting from District 78, food is almost impossible to find. Every soul's right to survive... can only be earned through slaughter and struggle." Yue lowered his gaze, his mind steady.
Passersby nearby would occasionally look at the unfamiliar young boy. They all seemed to sense that this little fellow was somewhat "different."
His gaze gave off an aura that warned strangers to stay away.
There was even a weapon tucked at his waist.
He stood out far too much.
"Hey."
Just as Yue was about to leave District 75, a boy around his age called out timidly.
"You came from another district, right?"
"Don't go any farther. Things over there have been extremely chaotic lately."
The boy was clearly warning Yue out of kindness.
The place he meant was naturally the lawless region of the Soul Society Outskirts.
In fact, District 75 no longer had any so-called "elders." There were only seemingly respected older people carrying out perfunctory control, but it was little more than empty formality.
Yue slowly turned around and smiled at the boy, who seemed somewhat afraid of him. Then, without slowing his pace in the slightest, he gradually disappeared into the distance.
If this had been Huaku, adults would certainly have come over to ask questions or offer help when someone like Yue walked through so openly. But here, the only person who dared speak up was a child just like him.
Eastern Soul Society Outskirts, District 76 Gyakukotsu.
By the time Yue arrived, it was already late at night.
What surprised him was that this place was the last line of defense on the edge of the Soul Society Outskirts, bordering the lawless lands, yet it was not as chaotic as he had imagined. In the darkness, many homeless drifters and drunkards lay in the streets, but there was still "order."
The feeling of danger was actually weaker than in District 75.
"Because of this, perhaps."
After wandering around for a while, Yue stopped outside the gates of a shrine.
He discovered that even at this hour, people were still kneeling in the street and worshipping before the shrine's tightly shut gates. They murmured under their breath, their expressions devout.
Where there was a shrine, there were naturally priests.
Not only in the Soul Society Outskirts, but throughout the entire Soul Society, priestly families held an unusually special status.
One of the more famous examples was the Ise Clan, to which Nanao Ise belonged.
The shrine before him enshrined Great God Mimihagi, the Soul King's right arm. In order to treat his illness, Jushiro Ukitake, captain of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, had gained this power.
"A fragment of the Soul King..."
Seeing it, Yue could not help thinking of Rangiku.
Fragments of the Soul King were undoubtedly absolute treasures.
Obtaining even one was a tremendous fortune.
And there were still many scattered throughout the world.
"Still, better to believe in yourself than in gods."
Yue glanced once more at the people still worshipping, left those words outside the shrine, and departed cheerfully.
If some great disturbance broke out within the districts under the jurisdiction of District 76 in the Soul Society Outskirts, and the locals could not suppress it, the nobles of Seireitei would still intervene or send people to handle it. But beyond District 76, it was basically a place the nobles could not be bothered to care about.
Unless Hollows appeared, they would simply let the people living there fend for themselves.
This place had already entered the lawless lands. Put plainly, it was a great cesspool trapped in an endless vicious cycle. Whatever Gu Worms or monsters it bred... did not matter.
Yue rested briefly in the outskirts for several days, recuperating and gathering his strength.
When he reached District 77, he sensed a different atmosphere the moment he stepped into the entrance.
Dilapidated houses, civilians with barely enough clothing to cover themselves, thugs, madmen, thieves, and the like... wandered the streets like walking corpses. Most notably, people here had begun carrying knives and other weapons. The stagnant gutters by the roadside gave off a powerful stench.
Every person's eyes contained a mixture of madness, fear, lifelessness, vigilance, greed, and other emotions.
Most people could not even be bothered to hide in houses that offered no protection from wind or rain. In broad daylight, they simply found a place to sit, like lone wolves licking their wounds as they rested silently.
Yue's gaze shifted, and he saw a vicious man in the distance dragging a gaunt, tearful woman into a collapsed house that resembled ruins, where he began forcing himself on her... A dozen meters farther away, a group of people were fighting with blades, the battle fierce.
The others seemed accustomed to such scenes. They merely kept a safe distance and turned a blind eye.
"If I keep going, there probably won't even be houses left..." Yue smiled.
He was happy.
Because the scent of blood was stimulating his nerves.
And he could feel pressure from some of the people in the streets.
These were true desperadoes!
Even though he was an orphan, his clothes and appearance were already utterly unremarkable in other districts. But to the hyenas living here, it was obvious at a glance. This little brat who had suddenly appeared was clearly "new" and did not belong here.
"Not bad, kid. Such smooth skin... What are you doing in a place like this?"
"This place is dangerous... How about it? Want uncle to protect you?"
A lecherous, bare-chested brute suddenly stood before Yue like a mountain. Drool hung from the corner of his mouth as he spoke with a disgusting expression.
Yue flicked his wrist and gripped the gleaming dagger in a reverse hold.
Then he raised his head to look at his opponent and asked seriously, "Here, it's fine to kill people, right?"
"Hm?"
The brute froze and stared blankly into the boy's eyes.
The next second, his expression darkened. He felt that he had been looked down upon.
"You little brat... You've got some backbone. Looks like I'll have to teach you the rules."
As he spoke, the brute instantly raised his axe and hacked down at Yue.
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