I Like It Here

"The people here really were different from the usual lot."

Yue raised his dagger to block the axe blade. The tremendous force nearly knocked the weapon from his hand, and half his arm went numb.

He thought to himself.

He could have dodged it easily... he had only wanted to use the opportunity to test his opponent's level.

After that axe swing, the burly man bared a mouthful of yellow teeth, clearly noticing the kid's struggle.

Still, he was rather surprised that his opponent had managed to block the attack.

With that thought, he raised his axe for a second swing, without changing his technique at all.

After all, in the burly man's eyes, the gap between them was simply too great.

With a whoosh, the second axe strike, clearly heavier and more powerful than the first, missed. Yue's small body turned with the twist of his ankle. He timed it perfectly, bending his knees and leaping the instant the burly man leaned forward with his chop.

Rising with him were the dagger's cold gleam and... spurting blood.

One strike, one kill.

His enemy's neck was sliced open, blood spraying wildly.

Thud.

The corpse collapsed.

The burly man lay in a pool of blood, eyes wide open, unable to rest in peace.

Some blood had splattered onto Yue's body and face, but he did not even bother wiping it away. He paid it no mind and continued onward.

Some of the people around him had been watching the show or gloating over his misfortune. At the sight, they were all stunned.

Where had this kid come from?

He struck so ruthlessly... he was no ordinary child.

"Kenji got taken out!"

"Hey, hey... no way. He was killed by a kid?"

The looks directed at him from the side were complicated, carrying both shock and curiosity.

"So this is what killing feels like... I thought I'd feel repulsed or unsettled, but perhaps because I had already prepared myself and done so much mental preparation, it doesn't seem like anything special now... Just a slight stir in my heart, and it'll settle down soon enough." Yue gave a faint smile.

The coldness in his eyes gradually turned fiery.

Because... several people holding long blades, who had originally only been watching, now joined in.

Having killed someone, there was no way they would let a kid like him simply leave.

There were clear territorial divisions in this lawless place. Those who could survive here generally formed gangs.

Lone wolves like Kenpachi, who disdained associating with trash, were few and far between.

"You've got some skills, kid... You dare kill someone the moment you arrive on my turf." A gaunt middle-aged man with a scar on his face raised his blade one-handed and pointed its tip at Yue's face. "You've performed well. Become my subordinate."

"You're not worthy."

Yue sneered.

He could tell that the samurai-like man before him was no ordinary opponent.

His gaze alone was razor-sharp. One look was enough to tell that he was a veteran fighter.

Others had only seen Yue instantly kill the burly man, but this man likely understood that the decisive factor had been the latter's carelessness.

Without further words, a soul-chilling blade gleam rushed at him the next second.

The angle and speed of the attack made Yue's pupils contract. He hastily retreated, but several strands of his hair were still sliced away.

"This is different... He's not on the same level as that opponent just now. His blade... truly carries killing intent." A thought flashed through Yue's mind. Before his back foot had even touched the ground, another shadow had already darted behind him. Raising a sickle-shaped blade, it swung down with a shrill laugh. "I'll cut off one of your legs first!"

Relying on his astonishing control over his lower body, Yue sprang up in an instant.

He dodged the attack.

But he was facing far more than one enemy.

Two fists could not beat four hands, much less a little kid facing several seasoned executioners.

While he was still suspended in the air, another blade flashed past his cheek.

The Scarred Man's expression changed slightly.

He had chosen his timing carefully, intending to cut off the kid's head. He had not expected Yue to be able to twist his waist and arch backward even while in midair, changing his posture.

In the blink of an eye, Yue landed and launched himself forward from his toes at incredible speed.

The dagger in his hand stabbed toward the scar's throat.

After only a few exchanges, Yue had determined that the person who posed the greatest threat to him was the Scarred Man.

The others were slightly inferior.

The Scarred Man barely managed to turn aside, but a cut was still drawn across his neck.

"..."

The Scarred Man touched the wound and felt the pain carried from his skin to his brain. He fell silent for a moment.

Then he said coldly, "Kill him!"

He had no intention of dragging this out any longer.

The companions beside him, who had thought they would not need to act, immediately joined the fight upon hearing their leader's command.

In an instant, Yue was completely surrounded and attacked.

A strange scene appeared on the street: a gang of villains attacking a little kid.

The strange part was that these brawny adults seemed unable to take down their target for the moment. The kid moved nimbly and reacted with remarkable speed, occasionally using his dagger to deflect weapons and create room to maneuver, making full use of his small stature.

But even so, judging from the battle, he was only buying time and had not gained the slightest advantage.

There was no sign of any chance to turn things around.

"Ah... how did he end up here..."

In the distance, a ragged old man in his twilight years shook his head and sighed with some regret.

Once he had provoked these people... there was no way he would come to a good end.

In the old man's eyes, Yue was already dead.

After less than two or three minutes of fighting, Yue's clothes had been repeatedly torn, and wounds had appeared on his body.

He had underestimated the thugs of this lawless area... He had thought they were merely lowlifes with a few tricks, but now he saw why a place like this could temper people like Kenpachi and some of the ruthless figures from the First Gotei 13.

Through years of fighting and brawling, they had developed experience and methods in their use of weapons and attack patterns.

They were not easy to defend against.

More importantly, his combat experience, including the Taijutsu he had learned at the Ninja Academy... lacked the ability to deal with all kinds of combat situations.

And right now, he had no selection of ninja tools to use, only a dagger resembling a kunai.

"Die!"

After a brief stalemate, someone kicked Yue in the abdomen.

Sending him flying.

The Scarred Man moved with his blade, his murderous face growing larger in Yue's vision.

Yet faced with this unavoidable fatal strike, Yue remained calm.

With a flick of his wrist, he threw the dagger like a kunai toward the Scarred Man's face, then rapidly formed hand seals with both hands.

The Scarred Man easily dodged the flying dagger and drove his blade through Yue's stomach. The tip even plunged into the wooden boards of the building behind him, pinning Yue's corpse to them.

"Hahahahaha!"

"Hahaha!"

The Scarred Man laughed heartily.

"Brat... I admit you've got some ability, but you shouldn't have shown off in front of me."

Looking at the corpse hanging its head before him, the Scarred Man said viciously, "This place... is the edge of hell in the Soul Society Outskirts."

However, the moment his words fell, the body on the wooden boards suddenly burst into a small puff of white smoke.

Everyone froze for a moment. When they looked again, they discovered that what their leader's blade had pierced was actually a log.

Sealing Wood.

"What the hell is that?"

The Scarred Man's pupils dilated.

Substitution Technique!

Before anyone could react, Yue had already appeared behind the Scarred Man. Catching the dagger he had thrown earlier, he swiftly closed in.

"Watch out!"

Someone caught sight of Yue from the corner of his eye, but it was already too late.

Yue flipped and jumped onto the Scarred Man's shoulders. Then, without the slightest hesitation, his dagger descended from above and plunged straight into the Scarred Man's skull.

Dead silence...

A battle that had already seemed decided had actually ended in a counterkill.

The remaining men felt their scalps go numb, their minds going blank.

They seemed unable to accept the scene before them, because an "element" they could not understand had appeared during the fight.

But Yue would not miss such an opportunity. After killing the enemy leader, he immediately leaped toward the nearest person. The dagger in his hand became the reaper's scythe, instantly piercing the man's chest. As the blood-soaked dagger was pulled free, the kid looked utterly vicious, both in expression and bearing.

"Ah!"

Another person in front of him came to his senses and was about to attack again.

But in his daze, an unexpected attack came from behind. Someone swept his legs out from under him, kicking him to the ground and sending his body out of control.

The instant his body neared the ground, Yue's real body had already descended.

Taking his life.

Before dying, the man wore a blank expression, because he had seen who had ambushed him... a youth identical to the kid.

Twins?

When had he appeared?

Had he been hiding in the shadows the whole time...?

That was his instinctive thought.

The Clone Technique's illusion worked in tandem with the real body. It was too deceptive, making it difficult to distinguish one from the other in a short time.

After killing three opponents in succession, especially with the Scarred Man's death, the remaining men's fighting spirit plummeted. With Yue's killing intent at its peak and the clone created by Chakra assisting him, he finally slaughtered the rest after expending some effort.

"Huff, huff, huff..."

After the battle ended, Yue swallowed and panted heavily.

The clone beside him dissolved into vapor.

"That was a little pathetic..."

He mocked himself inwardly.

Ordinary Clone Techniques did not possess physical substance. However, they could coordinate with the real body's movements to confuse targets, affect their judgment, or launch feints, making them quite useful.

Though he had appeared calm throughout the battle, he had panicked a little at the crucial moment when the Scarred Man had nearly killed him.

It was the shock and physiological response brought by death.

Like when an enemy threw a punch, and most people instinctively closed their eyes.

"I have to overcome this obstacle and let both my body and mind accept and grow accustomed to this feeling... Otherwise, I'll be at a severe disadvantage."

Yue stood where he was and pondered for a moment.

He was reviewing the fight.

This was his first battle, and his emotions were in turmoil.

He had merely kept them well suppressed.

He hated this feeling... He had to remain calm at all times, no matter what situation he faced.

Only absolute calmness could allow his brain to make the best choice.

His clothes were disheveled, and his face showed slight fatigue... mainly because the stimulation and tension from his first fight to the death had consumed a great deal of physical and mental energy.

As his body and soul gradually became accustomed to it... things would only get better.

He felt that he looked somewhat pathetic... but the old man in the distance, who had watched the entire fight, stood with his mouth agape, staring at him in fear.

The boy stood amid the pools of blood flowing from several corpses. Thick blood still clung to the dagger in his hand, dripping down bit by bit... At that moment, the youth had nothing whatsoever to do with looking pathetic. He was utterly a god of slaughter.

The old man trembled and immediately ran away in terror.

In a lawless place... "death" had no fixed form. Whether samurai, madmen, the elderly, the weak, women, or children, anyone could take your life.

But there was one kind of "death" that was not limited by age, appearance, or type, and that was strength!

Indisputable strength.

It came from your power.

Yue raised his head, preparing to go deeper into the district and find somewhere to rest.

But the moment he looked up, his steps paused.

He noticed that everyone at both ends of the street who had seen the fight had focused their eyes on him.

Their gazes varied... yet they all held the same emotions: shock, wariness, and the respect Yue had earned through his own ability.

"Looks like... I'm qualified to live here."

Yue calmly returned every gaze and said clearly, word by word, "Very nice. I like the smell of this place... and your eyes."

What answered him was silence.

And acceptance.