Chapter 97: with translation of chapter title

"More Wood District"

North Flow Soul Street's security is the "most wicked" and "most unbearable to behold" area.

Its serial number is eighty, compared to the "Runlin An" district ranked first, it's literally heaven and earth apart……

There, let alone drinkable water, even "fresh tree bark" is a precious resource.

"Burn", "kill", "rob", "plunder"—these acts considered evil in stable areas are nothing more than the most basic survival skills of the "residents" in the More Wood region!

Its significance to the "wandering souls" is comparable to the Shinigami's "cut", "punch", "walk", "ghost"; in More Wood District, anyone with even a hint of compassion will be slaughtered and become fodder for the "hungry ghosts"!

However, no matter how wicked the "riffraff" nature of these people appears in the eyes of the noble lords of the Seireitei, to the Shinigami of the Seireitei they should be utterly harmless!

But now, the Shinigami who wield "Soul-Cutting Swords" and possess "sharp weapons" have suffered setbacks in More Wood District—this sounds incredibly implausible, yet it is what actually happened.

Upon hearing the report from his subordinates, Araki immediately went to the Guardian Court Tenth Division (Patrol Security Unit), which is also the most dangerous division within the Guardian Court Thirteen Squads……

In Araki's memory, whether in the official Shinigami novels or in the recollections of the "Masked Army" such as Hinamori Momo etc. from 110 years before the original timeline, the "Tenth Division" has almost never been whole……

After carefully reviewing his own memory, Araki discovered that it seemed the captain of the "Tenth Division" had been constantly cycling between "death" and "newly appointed"; this situation persisted until "Shiba Isshin" stayed in the living world to save his "wife", after which "Shiro" succeeded as captain of the "Tenth Division", and only then did the division's situation improve……

Even so, the "Tenth Division" remains the most dangerous of the Guardian Court Thirteen Squads; whenever a new enemy appears, the young "Shiro" invariably becomes the enemy's first appearance "stepping stone", used to gauge the enemy's strength, to give them their "first blood", one of those captains. Although "Shiro" always manages to "turn danger into safety", it does not prevent his battles from being extraordinarily awkward……

All that can be said is…… the "Tenth Division" is "tragic"!

"Damn it, we don't have enough manpower!"

When Araki arrived at the office of the Tenth Division's captain, he saw the nobleman who had succeeded "Wang Tucao Yuyouhi" and become the current captain of the Tenth Division……

This is a man wearing thick glasses, with an oily hairstyle, his whole person exuding the four characters "living in luxury", and at this moment he is continuously reviewing the reports on the desk.

In terms of spiritual pressure, according to Araki's judgment, this man undoubtedly stands at the level of "third-class spiritual pressure", and even among that tier he is considered quite good!

However, regarding actual combat ability, Araki doubts whether he could win without having trained at the "Soul King Palace"; just having recently entered the third class, any one of "Kyōraku", "Ukitate", "Shiina", or "Yoruichi" would be a match.

"Cough cough~"

Araki had observed the man for about half a minute; seeing that the man hadn't noticed, he helplessly let out a soft cough twice.

While coughing lightly, Araki mentally marked the man as "not sensitive enough to spiritual pressure".

"Huh?!"

Upon hearing the cough, the man finally lifted his head and instinctively pushed his glasses, which had almost slipped off due to his vigorous movement.

"Are… are you Captain Araki?"

Upon seeing Araki, the man first hesitated, then realized his identity.

"Hmm."

Araki, upon hearing that, lightly nodded.

"Hey! Captain Araki, you said you were coming but didn't even give me a heads‑up?"

"My failure to 'sweep the mat and welcome you' is truly regrettable! Please have a seat first, I'll have the attendants bring tea."

The man looked at Araki enthusiastically; upon confirming that the visitor was indeed Araki, he immediately stood up and instinctively tried to push the table aside to walk out from his seat to greet Araki……

However, no one expected that, perhaps because he was overly excited inside, he exerted too much force, causing the reports lying on the table to tumble all over the floor with that push, instantly turning the whole room into a mess.

"This…"

The man's face instantly turned somewhat unpleasant, and he also felt a bit "embarrassed"; he hadn't expected that his first formal meeting with Araki would give him such a "sloppy" image.

"Captain Araki, I'm truly sorry! I've been too busy, the desk is too messy, and I accidentally made it look like this."

The man tried to express his apology to Araki.

"Hum!"

Araki didn't say much; just saw him wave his hand broadly, and the man's desk in front of him, along with the reports scattered on the floor, glowed with a white light, and "in the next second" everything in the room began to move on its own……

At this moment, everything in the room seemed as if a video had been pressed on "rewind", with all objects moving back to their original positions; in a moment, the room's "desks and chairs" and "reports" were completely restored.

"This?!"

The man stared at Araki's methods, his eyes widening gradually; even with his vision he couldn't comprehend how Araki managed to do all of this.

"Could this be the ability of Captain Araki's Soul‑Cutting Sword?"

The man speculated in his mind, after all he had never seen Araki's Soul‑Cutting Sword released, and the information on Araki in the Soul Society is pitifully scarce, leading him to a mistaken judgment.

"You go about your business, no need to mind me! I merely heard from my subordinates that your division encountered difficulties in More Wood District, so we intended to send the Eleventh Division to help, and thus came by to ask if this is indeed the case!"

Araki looked at the enthusiastic man before him and spoke up.

"This…" Upon hearing that, the man seemed somewhat reluctant to speak; after hesitating a few seconds he still nodded and told Araki: "Indeed! To our shame, all three Shinigami squads of our Tenth Division have lost contact in More Wood District!"

"Besides that, some squads handling disturbances in other districts have also recently gone out of contact; our manpower is truly insufficient, so I hope you can lend a hand to ease the pressure on our division."

"Once the students enrolled at the "True Central Spiritual Arts Academy" graduate this year, I plan to recruit more of them to serve in our Tenth Division; surely then the staffing pressure on our Tenth Division will necessarily be greatly alleviated……

"Uh……"

Upon hearing that, Araki's eyelid twitched slightly; has the Tenth Division's manpower become so strained that they're looking to the soon‑to‑graduate students of the "Spiritual Arts Institute"? Indeed, units that are chronically short‑staffed and unable to retain personnel are invariably problematic to some degree.

"Alright! You go about your business; leave this matter to our Eleventh Division to handle……

Having said that, Araki waved his hand at the enthusiastic captain as a farewell, then turned and left.

"Having you and the Eleventh Division help investigate the incidents in More Wood District is wonderful!"

"When I have free time, I'll definitely treat you to a drink!"

"Captain Araki, take your leave!"

The captain of the Tenth Division pushed up his glasses on the bridge of his nose, bowed deeply in the direction Araki had gone; although he really wanted to detain Araki and exchange a few pleasantries, after all the chance to connect with the contemporary "Sword Eight" is rare……

However, the endless stacks of unreviewed documents on his desk are like a heavy mountain weighing on his shoulders, giving him no chance to rest; thus he can only offer Araki his utmost respect, thanking him for sharing the workload.

"Good~"

Araki didn't turn back to say anything else; instead he lightly waved his hand at the overly courteous man behind him, indicating his agreement with what was said.

"Captain Araki, he's not as hard to get along with as the legends say~

"Indeed, 'hearing is false, seeing is believing'; they say Captain Araki is extremely brutal, but that's actually hard to believe—I see Captain Araki as quite refined and easygoing……

The captain of the Tenth Squad watched Araki's retreating figure and muttered to himself.

In fact, Araki has always been easy to get along with; when others show him respect of a foot, he often returns it ten feet!

But after coming to this 'man-eating' 'Soul Society', most of the people Araki encountered were not good—they either wanted to use him or threatened him with authority; for such people, Araki giving them a pleasant expression would already be strange…

Meanwhile, at the First Squad's barracks.

Inside the captain's quarters.

"Report to Commander-General Yamamoto: just now, the Eleventh Squad's Captain Araki went to the Tenth Squad's barracks."

A First Squad soldier whose usual duty is to monitor Araki's specific movements reported to Yamamoto.

There's no helping it—Araki's tendency to occasionally slaughter the 'Forty-Six Rooms' or behead a squad officer for fun means Yamamoto can't just assign someone to watch him; he truly can't rest easy!

In fact, Araki naturally knows someone is watching him—aside from the spies Yamamoto sent, these few blatant observers, plus the spies of other major forces who occasionally loiter outside his barracks—but Araki simply doesn't care.

After all, given Araki's strength, any information these scouts obtain is exactly what he wants them to know; any information he doesn't want them to know, they could rack their brains and still never learn it.

"You say Araki went to the Tenth Squad's barracks?!"

Genryūsai stood in the First Squad captain's quarters and asked the soldier before him.

"Exactly!"

The soldier, hearing this, gave a slight nod.

"Anyone dead?"

Genryūsai continued asking, as if in his subconscious, Araki going to any squad other than the Eleventh or Fourth usually meant he was going to kill someone.

"Um…"

"Captain Araki did not take any public disciplinary action against the Tenth Squad's captain! In fact, Captain Araki got along swimmingly with this newly appointed Tenth Squad captain; they agreed that when free, they could sit down and drink together for fun!"

That First Squad soldier is also an 'old-timer' among the First Squad; ever since Araki joined the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, he has been the one responsible for following Araki…

Thus, out of habit, he refers to the current Tenth Squad captain as the 'newly appointed' captain, as if in his memory his familiarity with each squad captain still dates back to the original generation.

Meanwhile, after hundreds of years of training, that First Squad soldier knows exactly how to phrase things: what he reports to Yamamoto, and the content concerning Araki's actions, whether it's 'strike' or 'kill', in his mouth it's always 'discipline'.

"Oh?! I see, you may go now!"

Genryūsai, hearing this, raised his eyebrows slightly and gave the First Squad soldier a slight nod.

"Yes, sir!"

Seeing his reporting duty end, that First Squad soldier immediately let out a sigh of relief.

He first bowed slightly to Genryūsai, then turned into a shadow and vanished into the barracks.

"Good! Good!"

After that soldier left, Genryūsai finally broke from his usual sternness, speaking with a slightly lighter mood.

"Hey, Chōjirō! That brat Araki has finally made some progress! He finally knows that in this world, it's not just about fighting and killing—there's much more to human affairs!"

"Now, once that brat Araki's strength completely surpasses mine, I can entrust the protection of the 'Tranquil Spirit Court' to him."

Genryūsai gripped his Soul-Cutting Sword and softly spoke to a certain person waiting in the shadows.

The current Genryūsai truly needs to find someone with whom to share his inner joy…

However, when Genryūsai, relying on his sword, gradually rose to the position of commander-general of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads and took control of the entire Tranquil Spirit Court, he realized that the number of people with whom he could share happiness was dwindling.

Before his subordinates, he is an invincible commander-general, forever forced to wear that stern 'poker face'; the only one who can be called a 'relative' is his unfilial son, who constantly causes trouble outside for this old father…

These days, Genryūsai can only lay aside his stern expression in front of Quebu Chōjirō, gaining a few degrees of genuine smile from the heart.

"Lord Genryūsai…"

"Your efforts have finally borne fruit!"

Quebu gently wiped the tears from his eyes, shed from excessive joy, and spoke to Captain-Commander Yamamoto Genryūsai from the heart.

"Hmm…"

Genryūsai, hearing this, gave Quebu a slight nod; after sharing his inner joy with Quebu, he once again resumed his usual sternness, for the present Tranquil Spirit Court still needs him, this 'iron-faced mountain' of a commander-general…

He must never let anyone notice any emotion besides his sternness and severity; he must project an image of invincible flawlessness—only then can the noble-controlled Tranquil Spirit Court avoid descending into chaos!

At this very moment, Araki, whom Genryūsai has called grown and who now knows that the Tranquil Spirit Court is not just about fighting and killing but about human affairs, is loudly lecturing in the Eleventh Squad.

"Listen up! Follow me to the Changed Wood District for a good slaughter!"

Araki stood on the platform, drew his Soul-Cutting Sword from his waist, and roared loudly.

"Oh!!"

All the Eleventh Squad members within Araki's sight nearly simultaneously drew their Soul-Cutting Swords from their waists, responding in unison to Araki; their Eleventh Squad, having returned from the Hollow Realm, hasn't seen blood in ages, and their Soul-Cutting Swords are already thirsting for battle…

Instantly, boundless spiritual pressure erupted from the bodies of these Eleventh Squad soldiers! Most of their spiritual pressure lies between the sixth and fifth classes, with some even reaching around the fourth class! Over the past century of these Eleventh Squad soldiers' return to the Soul Society, there have been no shortage of strong warriors, repeatedly invited by other squad captains to serve as vice-captains in other squads…

Or there have been requests from higher-ranking nobles to become their retainers, yet no matter who made the request, they have refused them all! In their hearts, 'life' means being of the Eleventh Squad, and 'death' means being a departed soul of the Eleventh Squad; even if they fall into hell, they remain sinners of the Eleventh Squad!

"Kill!"

With Araki's shout upon drawing his sword, the Eleventh Squad soldiers surged forth in a mighty throng from the Eleventh Squad barracks, their goal clear: to sweep clean the entire Changed Wood District!

"So why am I the one stuck guarding the house again?!"

After Maito Retsu left the Eleventh Squad and successfully rose to vice-captain, Saito the Immortal watched the throng of soldiers marching away and let out a resentful roar—she had guarded her home for over a century, and she's grown tired of it! She too wants to go out and play with Araki~

Yes, in Saito's eyes, Araki leading the Eleventh Squad to the Changed Wood District for a so-called subjugation is tantamount to Araki taking a group out for a picnic, except that she isn't among them…

"Changed Wood District".

The Eleventh Squad soldiers, under Araki's leadership, pressed forward, overcoming every obstacle; whether organized gangs of thugs or certain shady entities, the armed forces covertly backed in the Wandering Souls Street, upon encountering the Eleventh Squad soldiers led by Araki, would instantly turn into a one-sided massacre.

Even though these armed forces or mobs might contain individuals with innate strong spiritual pressure, or powerful cultivators secretly nurtured by the nobles, when they face Eleventh Squad soldiers of average high-officer caliber, they all become paper tigers, quickly chopped into mud under the relentless sword pressure…

Yet from start to finish, he never even got a chance to draw his sword, causing Araki to gradually furrow his brow, thinking to himself: 'Could my guess have been wrong?!'

In fact, the Changed Wood District itself is quite chaotic; ordinary-strength Soul Reaper soldiers encountering opponents they cannot handle, ultimately leading to total annihilation, is not impossible…

Just as Araki's brows knit tightly and he began to relax his senses, his originally furrowed brows finally eased open.

All that could be seen was Araki gazing into the depths of the Changed Wood District, the corners of his mouth slightly lifting: 'Looks like this outing has yielded some gains~'

Continue advancing toward the northeast!

In response, Aramaki issued orders to his own squad members.

Yes sir!

After receiving Aramaki's orders, the squad members all proceeded further north; as they advanced, the region that came into view became increasingly desolate...

The greenery had completely vanished; within the area only remained 'withered trees,' 'rivers dried up to mere mud puddles,' 'hills of white expanse made of rubble and sand, devoid of any green,' and 'the ground littered with bones'!

Tsk~

If I didn't know this was the Soul Society, I'd think we'd returned to the Hollow World?

I never imagined there would be such a desolate place within the vast Soul Society...

I really want the nobles of the Pure Soul Court to come here and take a good look.

When the members of the Eleventh Division stood in this area, even their battle-hardened hearts felt a hint of pressure; it was hard to imagine that such a scene, which could only be seen in the Hollow World where evil spirits dwell, actually occurred within the Soul Society. Thinking of the nobles' 'extravagant waste' and 'luxurious depravity' in the Pure Soul Court, a spark of resentment rose in their hearts.

The squad members pressed on, slaying many belligerents along the way, yet still failed to find the person Aramaki was seeking; thus they could only continue advancing in the direction Aramaki commanded.

As the sky began to darken and the sun gradually set, someone finally noticed something...

Hey! You guys look, there seems to be a mountain over there! How strange—all the mountains we've passed on this route have been white, why is only this one black?!

As they kept advancing, a squad member with sharper perception, using the faint evening light in the sky, suddenly seemed to spot something ahead; he pointed to the distant dark bulk not far ahead and voiced his doubt.

Huh?!

Upon hearing that, the Eleventh Division squad members instantly felt something was off.

Something's wrong! There shouldn't have been a mountain here just a moment ago—how could a peak appear in the time it took to turn around?!

A veteran squad member said while breaking out in a cold sweat on his forehead.

That's no ordinary mountain peak—look carefully! It's clearly a 'corpse mountain' piled up from bodies! Moreover, the corpses on this corpse mountain should have been just slain; the blood seeping out is still fresh red, so the killer is probably nearby...

A squad member stared at the 'red lake' beneath the corpse mountain, his pupils constantly constricting; the blood contains much iron, which easily oxidizes with atmospheric oxygen, eventually turning black...

Yet the blood beneath the corpse mountain is red, which can only prove two points: first, the bodies on the corpse mountain were recently injured and deliberately piled here; second, the killer must be nearby.

In fact, if it weren't for the fact that they've slaughtered so many enemies along the way, reeking of blood, they would have been able to detect the killer's approximate direction from the scent of blood in the air even before approaching the corpse mountain.

Everyone, be on guard!

With a loud shout from the Seat Officer, all members of the Eleventh Division held their breath, drew their Soul-Cutting Swords from their waists, nervously scanned the surroundings, ready to face any possible enemy.

Crack—crack—

As everyone fell silent, their ears kept picking up the sound 'crack, crack,' as if someone were chewing something near their ears.

The sound is coming from the corpse mountain; the killer hasn't left!

A person with keen hearing immediately determined the direction of the sound, staring at the corpse mountain before them with an expression of disbelief.

Burn! Crimson Flame Pill!

Before he could say more, a squad member had already released his Soul-Cutting Sword; only to see him swing the blade, wreathed in roaring flames, and launch a huge fireball toward the sky.

The fireball kept rising, illuminating the corpse mountain before them; as the flames climbed, they could clearly see the expression on every corpse on the mountain.

Each corpse on the corpse mountain had stared wide-eyed before death, either in disbelief or terror; the squad members did not know what these people had seen in life to cause such expressions.

As the firelight grew brighter, the killer seemed to notice as well; the 'chewing' sound grew fainter and finally vanished; when the firelight reached the very top, they finally saw the situation at the summit...

It was a dirty-faced boy holding a broken Soul-Cutting Sword, giving them a mocking smile.

A kid?!

When the Eleventh Division squad members saw that the so-called 'killer' was merely a half-grown child, they froze in place, their eyes filled with the same incredulity as the corpses on the corpse mountain.

Swish!

At the very moment they saw the boy, the child moved!

In an instant, the boy vanished from the summit of the corpse mountain; by the time they reacted, he was already before them, gripping his Soul-Cutting Sword, raising it high in a chopping stance.

Boom!

With just that motion, the boy caused all the Eleventh Division squad members present to feel a sudden pang of panic...

Although the boy's blade hadn't fallen, they caught the moonlight glinting off his Soul-Cutting Sword and, as if seeing their own 'deathly visages' reflected in the blade's light, even these battle-hardened Eleventh Division members couldn't help but feel a flicker of fear in their eyes.

At that moment they finally understood why the bodies on the corpse mountain had shown such terrified expressions—the boy was a monster, an invincible existence in the Sarugaki District and even throughout Wandering Soul Street.

Ding!

As the Eleventh Division squad members felt the oppressive pressure from the boy's sword, nearly suffocating, a silver blade flash swung up to meet his chopping motion!

Immediately, with a clear metallic clang, the formidable, invincible boy was sent flying by that bright silver blade...

Aramaki Captain!

When the squad members heard that clear metallic sound, they finally snapped out of the illusion of being killed; they then looked at the man who had sliced the boy away, their eyes shining with excitement.

Indeed, no matter how strong or talented the enemy, it means nothing! Because on their side they have the 'strongest,' 'invincible' Aramaki Captain...

Their Aramaki Captain specializes in defeating the invincible!

Finally found you~

Aramaki himself also wore a hint of 'fighting spirit' toward the boy.

Hehe...

The boy whom Aramaki had sliced away first stared at his own Soul-Cutting Sword, slightly stunned, then looked toward Aramaki with an expression of 'wild joy'; he finally understood what 'fun' meant!

(End of chapter)