"Aren't we going to continue pushing forward? Those guys are already prepared to go to war with you anyway, so why stay in District 70?"
The girl in black armor sat on the table, her two long legs swinging back and forth.
"What good would continuing to advance and occupy territory do? My purpose in establishing the Yellow Turbans is to bring new order to the commoners of the Rukongai, not to let them continue to be displaced in war."
Suzuki Makoto didn't take Black Jeanne's words seriously; he knew that whenever this fellow felt bored, she would just say whatever came to her mind—literally speaking whatever she dreamt of.
"Then doesn't that mean we should attack even more? If you don't completely destroy the old world, how are you going to build a new one?"
"If you smash the old world, all you get is a broken world. A new world won't just pop out of a rock because the old world died; it needs to be rebuilt by the people."
"You aren't worried that you can't win, are you?"
"It's not about winning or losing. It's about the fact that a signed treaty must be observed by oneself before the other side breaks it."
The man's answer made the girl's eyes go wide.
"Eh? Are you actually such a rigid guy? Does a thing like a treaty have any binding force on you? Besides, when I was escorting that girl back, there were people intercepting her to kill her, you know? The other side won't care about this treaty either, right?"
"I asked you to scout the situation of the opposing army. Did you find anything?"
"I didn't see the banners of the Gotei 13 or any related personnel. That... Third... it was the 3rd Division, right? They are still staying within District 40. Don't change the subject! I'm asking about the treaty."
"That treaty wasn't signed with the Seireitei, but with the Gotei 13. As long as I don't continue to push the Yellow Turbans' influence past District 70, the Gotei 13 won't mobilize as an enemy."
Suzuki Makoto helplessly began to give a supplementary lesson to this witch who had zero political experience.
"The Gotei 13 nominally protects the Seireitei, but in reality, they protect the Soul King. It is only because the passage to the Soul King Palace is within the Seireitei that they are called the Gotei 13—my establishment of the Yellow Turbans has only touched upon the interests of the nobles; it poses no threat whatsoever to the Soul King.
"Therefore, Shigekuni Yamamoto sent that treaty. As long as the Yellow Turbans don't press too close to the Seireitei, the Gotei 13 has a reason not to mobilize."
"Furthermore, in the higher-ranked districts of the Rukongai, under the management of the Shinigami, the people there should have already adapted to their living environment. Conversely, they might not necessarily accept the ideology of the Yellow Turbans, because they are not like these people in the 70s districts who have nothing."
Suzuki Makoto had never intended to advance any further. In fact, upon reaching District 70, the expansion of the Yellow Turbans had already become somewhat difficult.
This was because the people here were not slaves; the vast majority had their own property and jobs. They were cautious about the arrival of the Yellow Turbans. In the eyes of these people, Suzuki Makoto and his group were no different from ordinary bandits.
This was also within expectations. After all, extreme survival of the fittest and extreme harmonious order are both rare; most districts still maintain this quiet and peaceful atmosphere. Aside from the occasional invasion by Hollows, the residents here hated change the most.
Suzuki Makoto only wanted to bring order to those who did not enjoy it, not to forcibly destroy an existing order to make way for his own.
"Fine, whatever you say makes sense—so how do we fight this battle?"
"We attack proactively."
"Eh? Didn't you say we wouldn't continue expanding?"
"It will be just the two of us, splitting into two paths and attacking proactively. It has nothing to do with the rest of the Yellow Turbans."
The man corrected her.
"Because the only ones with real combat power are actually just us two. With the support of the nobles, plus the support of the local tyrants in the nearby districts, if we really let the opponent attack from all sides, we'd be running ourselves ragged trying to put out fires—so it's better to make them run ragged putting out fires."
Black Jeanne instantly stopped feeling bored. She immediately hopped off the table and walked over to the map that was still being drawn on the rack.
"Here, here, here, and here. These four camps are the biggest ones. Half for each of us?"
"Sure, you pick first."
"Then I want these two."
Having proactively taken on the work, the girl happily went off to kill people.
"Remember to kill fewer people and set more fires. Don't harm the innocent. If you encounter a strong enemy, run away first and come find me."
"I know, I know! You're even more naggy than Gilles!"
The girl instantly turned into Spirit Form and left, leaving behind a complaint that didn't carry a hint of grievance.
Suzuki Makoto sighed. He had only just discovered that this Black Jeanne really did have the disposition of a young girl. He wondered if that Saintess's excessive maturity was because all the superfluous personality traits had been dumped onto this Jeanne.
He shouted for Hideki, gave him a few instructions, and then likewise set out to kill and set fires.
Thus, in the days that followed, the coalition force backed by the nobles encountered a hellish nightmare—if half their camp wasn't burned down today, then a patrol squad would be found dead in a ditch tomorrow, or the leaders would be found beheaded the day after, or they would wake up the day after that to find their own heads hanging at the camp entrance.
*
"Can Central 46 actually still keep their cool and not issue any orders to you?"
Shunsui Kyoraku sat on his knees beside his teacher, Shigekuni Yamamoto, while the old man continued to write calligraphy at a leisurely pace.
"They have no reason to make the Gotei 13 leave the Seireitei and head to the Rukongai for battle."
His plain narration was no different from Suzuki Makoto's explanation.
"True enough. The Yellow Turbans are merely a large faction within the Rukongai. There is no evidence indicating they can truly threaten the Seireitei, let alone threaten the Soul King."
Shunsui Kyoraku could naturally figure this out, so he was more curious about Suzuki Makoto's strength.
"Among the people the nobles dispatched, there were already those equivalent to Lieutenant-level. Yet even they couldn't mount any effective counterattack against the assassinations by Suzuki Makoto and that young girl... I really am curious. What exactly is so magical about the Zaraki District? Counting the new Kenpachi, three Captain-level individuals have emerged one after another in just a few short decades?"
"Kenpachi Zaraki did not appear just recently. It was simply that the fool Kiganjo before him caused too much of a disgraceful scene. Even Retsu couldn't stand watching it anymore, so she went to find him to take over the position of Kenpachi."
The Captain-Commander's words startled Shunsui Kyoraku. He hadn't expected that Kenpachi Zaraki was actually found by the senior veteran Retsu Unohana. Since she could find this man so precisely, it implied that their meeting might have happened back when Retsu Unohana still held the position of the First Kenpachi.
"Speaking of which, it was also very strange when Senior Retsu stepped down from the position of Kenpachi back then."
"Kyoraku."
"My deepest apologies! This student overstepped!"
_____
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