Chapter 318: Rukia: Is the Punishment About to Begin?
"This way! This way!"
"Those who can use Shikai, take the front! Others provide support from the perimeter!"
"Big Brother is watching us! Anyone who screws up now will commit seppuku when we return!!"
"Raaargh!!!"
In Rukongai's North 49th District, Eleventh Division members formed an encirclement around several roaring, monstrous Hollows.
After a quick assignment of roles, the squad members charged forward with battle cries, engaging the Hollows in chaotic combat.
From a distant hillside, Satoru nodded with satisfaction.
"These guys might be a bit reckless in style—not quite learning my composure—but their overall tactical proficiency passes muster."
Aizen stood beside him: "I've reviewed the training regimens you've implemented over the years. More than half specifically target Quincy combat."
"From the Great Spirit Book Corridor, I uncovered records about Yhwach. He truly was a formidable enemy—several captains from the original Gotei 13 fell during that war."
"But now, the Soul Society has Yamamoto, the young warriors you've trained, and both of us."
"No matter how powerful Yhwach may be, I will help you eliminate him."
Hearing this, Satoru smiled and raised his fist toward Aizen.
Aizen glanced at the offered fist with a somewhat resigned expression.
Then he raised his own hand.
Their knuckles met with a sharp crack.
Suddenly, Satoru turned as if sensing something. "Suì-Fēng, check that area. It seems someone's in trouble."
"Yes."
Suì-Fēng nodded and vanished with a Flash Step.
Seconds later, she returned carrying an unconscious woman over her shoulder.
"Lord Mikami, it's just an ordinary soul. She was probably knocked unconscious by the Reiatsu shockwave from the battle over here."
Upon hearing this, Aizen shook his head slightly.
To be knocked out by Reiatsu from such a distance - such a weak soul wouldn't even meet the quality standards for experimental material.
Satoru nodded without paying much attention, about to instruct Suì-Fēng to take the girl for treatment before sending her off to wherever she belonged.
But just as he was about to speak, he suddenly noticed the girl's hairstyle.
"Huh?"
Under Suì-Fēng's puzzled gaze, Satoru approached and reached out to take the soul from her.
When he saw the soul's face clearly, Satoru's eyes widened.
"Hey now, for real..."
Suì-Fēng's gaze turned cold.
Had this scumbag lord evolved to the point where he could develop feelings for any random girl picked up from the roadside?
Maybe she should jab him a couple times with Suzumebachi to detoxify his filthy brain...
Looking at the woman before him, Satoru even forgot about commanding his team, directly raising his hand to create a Reiatsu isolation barrier.
Then he extended his hand, releasing Kaidō to help regulate the chaotic Reiatsu within her body.
Standing outside the barrier, Aizen watched Satoru kneeling inside, completely focused on his task, and couldn't help but frown slightly.
Had he misjudged? Was this woman actually a cultivatable genius like Ichimaru Gin and Tōsen?
Based on past experience, anyone Satoru picked up from Rukongai was at least SR-tier.
Under Satoru's treatment, the woman slowly opened her eyes.
Seeing Satoru in his Shinigami Uniform, she first looked confused, then fearful.
"I-I'm so sorry, Shinigami-sama... I didn't mean to offend you... I..."
She hurriedly got up and knelt before Satoru, burying her head between her hands.
Satoru waved his hand, helping her up from a distance.
"No need for formalities. I need to ask you some questions - answer them honestly."
"...Yes?"
The woman nodded, showing a confused expression.
She was just an ordinary soul, without even the ability to eat - meaning she had no cultivation talent at all.
What could this Shinigami-sama possibly need to ask her?
Satoru said seriously: "What's your name?"
"My name is Hisana."
The woman answered with her head lowered.
Just as I thought...
Satoru stroked his chin.
"You have a younger sister?"
"?!"
The woman looked up, eyes wide with astonishment.
Seeing her reaction, Satoru knew the answer.
Hisana - in the original story, Kuchiki Byakuya's wife, from Rukongai.
Having no cultivation talent, she could only live in the outer areas of Rukongai where spiritual power was thin.
After marrying into the Kuchiki Clan, living long-term in the spirit-rich Seireitei, her body grew increasingly weak due to spiritual power intolerance, until she eventually passed away.
Her greatest pain in life was abandoning her younger sister by the roadside because she couldn't care for her.
And this younger sister was none other than Rukia, the female protagonist of Bleach.
To fulfill his wife's dying wish, Byakuya found Rukia and adopted her as his foster sister.
Thus, Rukia gained the "Kuchiki" surname and became a noble.
Hisana's expression shifted rapidly.
Shame, surprise, sorrow, pain...
Various emotions made her look as if she might faint at any moment.
Satoru waved his hand:
"No need to ask how I know... rest assured, I won't judge whether your actions were right or wrong. After all, everyone has their own difficulties."
For a woman with no cultivation talent, carrying the burden of a highly gifted younger sister who constantly needed food and water, surviving in the resource-scarce Rukongai was indeed unimaginably difficult for ordinary people.
Therefore, Satoru wouldn't blame Hisana.
He simply didn't approve.
"Just tell me where you originally abandoned... left your younger sister."
"Leave everything after that to me."
Hearing Satoru's words, Hisana widened her eyes, feeling as if she were dreaming.
This Shinigami-sama... could he be planning to save Rukia?
She didn't understand - why would he do this?
He seemed to have known about her and Rukia's situation all along.
How was that possible?
Though confused, she still instinctively revealed the location where she had abandoned Rukia.
Satoru nodded.
"Suì-Fēng, immediately dispatch the Onmitsukidō to search for a soul named Rukia, centering around North District 63."
"Focus on searching groups of child delinquents... use Hisana's appearance as reference!"
"Yes!"
...
...
That very night, a group of children was brought before Satoru.
Among these dirty, ragged-clothed kids, Satoru immediately spotted his target.
The little girl had an onion-shaped hairstyle similar to her sister's, wearing a faded purple yukata, struggling fiercely.
"Bastards, let me go!"
Looking at Rukia's appearance, Satoru felt somewhat emotional.
This wild little girl bore no resemblance to the steady and reliable character from the storyline.
Rukia, in turn, noticed Satoru sitting on the large animal-skin throne.
The girl widened her eyes, glaring at him fiercely yet cutely:
"Are you the boss of these people?"
"I did everything alone! Let them go!"
"You can kill or torture me however you want afterward!"
Hearing this, the surrounding Eleventh Division members couldn't help but chuckle.
This little girl, truly a product of the sixties districts - young as she was, she already had the Eleventh Division's style.
Satoru also smiled.
Sitting in his chair, he leaned forward with his arms resting on his legs.
"Do you know why I captured you?"
"What else... because I stole your things, right?"
"Bring on whatever methods you have! I'll never beg for mercy from scum like you!"
"Hmph..."
Satoru curled his lip.
This little girl dared to speak so boldly - it seemed the folk customs in Rukongai were still quite simple.
If she encountered someone like him...Peh peh peh, if she met certain ill-intentioned individuals, she'd probably be pregnant by now.
Seeing Rukia's stubbornness, he became somewhat interested.
"Not bad, quite spirited."
"Since you're so tough, starting tomorrow you'll join the First Division's... no, the Third Division's training!"
"Tell Komamura to give this girl special attention. Let's see how long her toughness lasts!"
Suì-Fēng nodded, preparing to take Rukia away.
Just then, as if suddenly remembering something, Satoru spoke up:
"By the way, is there a little red-haired guy named Renji among you?"
At these words, Rukia frowned, showing a confused expression.
Then she glared: "As if I'd tell you!"
Although Rukia was being stubborn, Satoru Mikami had already found the answer in the eyes of the other captured children.
These people had never heard that name.
He originally thought he could capture two high-ranking vice-captains at once, but it seemed the timeline was too early and he hadn't encountered them.
Never mind, he could always capture them another time.
...
...
Under the guidance of two female Shinigami, Rukia arrived at a dormitory.
The female Shinigami led her to take a bath, change into clean and warm training clothes, and even brought her to eat.
When she saw the food on the table, Rukia's eyes lit up.
After confirming that these two weren't playing tricks on her, she immediately started devouring the meal.
Since it was a hastily prepared dinner, it was quite simple.
Rice, tofu miso soup, and pickled vegetables.
If it were Satoru, he would definitely be complaining, "At least give me some grilled fish" or something similar.
But for Rukia, this meal could already be considered a delicacy.
Even if it were poisoned, she wouldn't care.
Being able to eat such fragrant rice and drink fresh miso soup—it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call this place heaven.
Watching Rukia eat heartily, the two female Shinigami looked at her with pleased approval.
Someone who could eat this much would surely go far in the future.
Another promising seedling.
After finishing her meal, Rukia went to the bed prepared for her with some apprehension.
In Rukongai, she had always slept on broken wooden boards with just a piece of cloth laid over them.
Here, however, there was clean tatami flooring with a soft futon on top.
There was even a pillow and a blanket!
For a moment, Rukia felt lost in confusion.
Was she here to be punished or to enjoy a life of luxury?
Could it be... that guy named Satoru Mikami was some legendary pervert who wanted to make her happy with good treatment first, only to torture her at the peak of her joy and happiness?
At that thought, Rukia pursed her lips.
She couldn't figure out what that guy was up to.
Well, it wasn't like she could escape anyway. The place was swarming with Shinigami, any one of whom could easily overpower her.
Rather than living in constant fear, she might as well settle down and see what he had in store.
With a somewhat calmer heart, Rukia closed her eyes and slowly drifted into sleep.
Early the next morning, she woke up, tidied her bedding, and waited nervously for judgment to come.
However, what arrived wasn't torture devices or a dungeon, but one of the two female Shinigami from yesterday.
"Rukia, trainee!!"
"Y-yes?!"
Startled by the loud call of her name, she instinctively straightened up and responded loudly.
The female member nodded with satisfaction:
"Good, full of spirit!"
"It seems you rested well yesterday!"
"Starting today, you will join the Eleventh Division, Third Squad as a trainee and participate in training!"
"Although you're a trainee, you'll be undergoing the same training as full members."
"Let me warn you in advance - the training will be extremely tough, and it's not impossible to lose your life!"
"If you understand, come with me now!!"
Rukia blinked.
Eleventh Division... trainee?
What was all this?
Didn't these people capture her to punish a thief?
Why was there training involved?
With confusion in her heart, she hurried to follow.
When she joined the squad, she was surprised to see a large dog standing at the front of the formation.
Under the large dog's direction, everyone began the day's training.
First was running.
The large dog released his Reiatsu, filling the training ground with pressure. Rukia followed at the back of the formation, feeling like she was running through thick glue, struggling even to lift her legs.
But... for her, it wasn't really that bad.
As a petty thief who survived by stealing, her most frequent "training" had always been running.
When fleeing for her life on an empty stomach, the feeling wasn't much different from this - both left her completely drained.
If anything, after eating her fill yesterday, this pressure was nothing.
Standing outside the formation, Komamura was somewhat surprised.
To accommodate this young girl, he had deliberately lowered the Reiatsu used for training.
Yet even so, it left ordinary members panting and overwhelmed.
This girl, however, seemed largely unaffected. Though she was sweating somewhat, she didn't appear to be struggling.
Next came strength training.
Rukia completed all the bodyweight exercises with ease.
During the subsequent combat training, relying on her agile movements and some rough Kidō she had secretly learned from somewhere, she actually managed to hold her own against regular members.
Watching Rukia's performance, Komamura couldn't help but nod.
This girl had potential!
After training, Rukia followed everyone to the mess hall.
When she confirmed that all the food here was available for free, she nearly shed tears of emotion.
And after seeing her appetite, many Shinigami came to accept this newly joined kid.
In just one day, Rukia not only ate two full meals but also made friends with several Shinigami.
The day felt too perfect for her, so perfect it seemed unreal.
As she lay down to sleep that night, worry crept in again—fearing that all these good days would vanish the moment she opened her eyes tomorrow.
Fortunately, the next day continued just the same.
And so, a week passed in the blink of an eye.
With a hint of schadenfreude, Satoru summoned Rukia.
He intended to ask the girl how she was holding up under the punishment he had arranged.
The training intensity of the Eleventh Division was not something just anyone could endure.
He could already picture it—Rukia in tears, begging him for mercy!
Under Satoru's expectant gaze, Rukia was brought before him.
Seeing Satoru, Rukia took a deep breath.
"I... I'm ready!"
"After so many wonderful days, I've already had my fill!"
"Is it time for the punishment? Then bring it on!"
Satoru: "...?"