I'm really not the number one slacker in Soul Society.

So Mima laughed and added fuel to the fire: "It seems that the Shindou Group is just a bunch of spineless cowards who don't even have the courage to show their faces. No wonder they can only pick up shit to eat on this little patch of land in Rukongai."

After saying that, he raised his hand and fired two Azure Fireballs, blasting the two henchmen hiding in the shadows of the eaves, along with the entire gate and the half-collapsed courtyard wall, to smithereens. Then he strolled in with his hands behind his back, sneering, "If you don't have the guts to show yourselves, then I'll come in."

This move truly stunned the several criminal police leaders who were monitoring from the woods.

"Captain...Is it alright for Vice-Captain Watanabe to do this?"

Someone couldn't help but ask, "If we anger the bandits, it will inevitably lead to..."

"What's the word?"

Soi Fon snorted coldly: "The purpose of this trip was to capture or annihilate the Shindou Group. Do you think you can achieve that by pretending to negotiate? Vice Captain Watanabe has his advantages. It's actually a good thing to provoke Shindou Ryuga. The angrier he gets, the more he will try his best to attack, and he will expose his abilities."

Soi Fon is no longer the soft girl she was when Yoruichi was still around. The departure of the Visoreds and the Urahara Shop trio has changed many things, including making the already irritable and impulsive Soi Fon even more irritable, and making Kuchiki Byakuya, who was in his prime, much more composed. Just like now, the Soi Fon used to think that Yama's behavior was too impulsive, but now she thinks that's exactly how it should be.

The saying that brute force is the true essence of assassination is nothing more than this.

Shindou Ryuga, 459 years old, is a half-baked Shinigami not officially registered in Seireitei, a half-baked villain whose name exudes a strong sense of defeat.

If judged by conventional standards of conduct, Shindou Ryuga is undoubtedly a bad person. He has committed all the common evils of adultery, robbery, murder, and arson, and he does them with great ease without feeling any guilt. After all, this sense of guilt completely disappeared after he killed more than 10 people. Now he is an absolute pervert who can derive pleasure from bloodshed and pain (of course, the pain of others), and he is not worthy of any sympathy.

However, if evil is measured by some standard, Ryuga Shindou can only be described as "mediocre" in his life. He is worse than the average bad guy, but he is not a particularly great villain. He can only be stuck in the middle in a very awkward position, a half-baked person for life.

There is no other reason.

There are thresholds to becoming a bad person.

Moral constraints are easily broken. One might suddenly have a bad feeling one afternoon and grab a knife to slash innocent bystanders. In short, as long as one musters the courage to commit some evil deeds that exceed the constraints of the law, a person can be called "bad".

But for most bad guys, that's where it ends. After all, law enforcement isn't going to let them get away with it. It's hard for ordinary people to escape punishment after they've done something wrong. They'll be tried, imprisoned, or executed. There's no other way out.

Therefore, being a "villain" requires strength to back it up. This strength can be manifested in fists or in the mind, and it is best to have both. For example, Aizen is both quick-witted and physically strong. A person like him can come up with evil deeds that most bad people would never be able to do in their entire lives in the time it takes to eat breakfast, and he can firmly and smoothly carry them out.

Unfortunately, I, Ryu Shindou, have not achieved much in either of these areas.

He could be considered a gifted individual. Born in a place like the 76th district of East Rukongai, he quickly became a local tyrant through his strength. He killed someone at the age of seven and had grown to 1.7 meters tall by the age of ten. As an adult, he became famous for his burly physique and powerful strength. Within a few years, he gathered a group of bandits who bowed down to his strength and established the "Shindou Group," which continues to this day.

In terms of strength, Shindou Ryu is not lacking, and he is also quite intelligent. Otherwise, he would not have been able to rise from the ranks of a poor commoner to become a local tyrant. However, the year he was born is a bit wrong. More than four hundred years ago, the Gotei 13 had completely transformed from an assassin organization into a regular law enforcement agency. Naturally, they could no longer accept a savage like him with a bad record, and his path to promotion was cut off.

This is a bit upsetting.

Although this sounds a bit far-fetched, Ryuga Shindou still harbors some grand ambitions.

His impoverished childhood instilled in him a deep longing for a life of abundance, while the deceit and treachery of the environment made him almost perversely insecure. Thus, a seemingly arrogant idea naturally arose in his heart—to become the best in the world, or at least to be a superior person!

But the very reason a dream is a dream is because it is difficult for it to become reality.

To put it bluntly, a weakling like him, who doesn't even have a third-level spiritual power, can bully the poor and that's one thing. But if he really makes any big moves, the 13th Guardian Squad will probably come and tear him to pieces the very next day.

So how did he end up where he is today?

It's very simple—if you want a promotion, commit murder and arson and then accept amnesty.

Throughout the long history of Rukongai, there have been many villains similar to Shindou Ryuga. Most of them would be double-crossed or found and killed on the spot by law enforcement after committing evil deeds for a period of time, and they basically did not live for long. So the smarter ones would naturally find a better way out - to put it bluntly, they would become someone else's dogs.

Chapter 209: That was truly explosive!

The current Gotei 13 naturally doesn't recruit such people (except for Kenpachi), but noble private soldiers are a different story—nobles don't care how many criminal records their subordinates have. As long as they're not complete lunatics and have some value, they can be recruited and put to good use. The treatment is quite high, which can be considered a great way out for underworld bosses.

As mentioned before, Shindou Ryuga is somewhat intelligent, so it was only natural that he embarked on this path... So who is his employer?

Gang Midai.

That's right, it's Tsunayoshiro.

The strength of a vice-captain is already considered top-tier in Soul Society. Although the identity of a gang leader is not respectable, his strength speaks for itself. Shindou Ryuga is still qualified to choose a good ally to join. Coincidentally, among the four noble families, only Tsunayoshi's family regularly recruits experts from outside. So the two sides hit it off and quickly became good partners in the same boat.

Shindou Ryuga would do some dirty work for the Tsunayashiro family that was inconvenient for the main family to handle. In return, the Tsunayashiro family would provide him with a large amount of money and information on the movements of the Gotei 13, ensuring that he wouldn't be killed by a passing expert. This cooperation lasted for more than three hundred years, and Shindou Ryuga enjoyed this comfortable life for more than three hundred years. At the same time, he worked hard to repay his employer, just like he killed the Ninth Division Vice-Captain who had learned of a certain conspiracy of the Tsunayashiro family by chance a hundred years ago.

But no matter what, a dog is still a dog. Although Ryuga Shindou is quite a useful dog, the Tsuna Yayo family would never give him a second glance.

Although his self-esteem was humiliated day after day, the Tsunayo family was giving him so much that Shindou Ryu, who was used to luxury, had no choice but to join the partnership. So he would find all sorts of reasons to convince himself, such as that it was not shameful to work for nobles, and that others would not have the means to be their dogs. In short, as long as one is willing to compromise, there is always a way to overcome difficulties. That is how things are in this world.

It's not shameful to lie to yourself; being broke is shameful.

He also knew that this was the limit of his abilities in this life. The only way he could improve was in his dreams at night. Otherwise, he would just do whatever he wanted. After all, people need to eat, and being a dog is no shame.

But sometimes, when the opportunity arises, even a pig can take off.

The opportunity that belonged to Ryuga Shindo came to him just a few months ago.

..........................................

After taunting her with trash talk, Mima went inside the courtyard.

He yawned, further amplifying his arrogance with a relaxed posture.

As he expected, the bandits huddled inside the house couldn't withstand the provocation. Their spiritual pressure surged, their steps became disordered, and then a faint, deep male voice silenced the commotion and turned to walk towards the door.

Then there was a loud bang.

The main hall door was kicked open, and then Mi Zhen saw an extremely burly figure.

He had a fleshy face, a bald head, thick eyebrows, and bulging muscles. He exuded an aura of menace and was over three meters tall.

Hmm, the spiritual pressure is at the vice-captain level, and that appearance... this guy must be Shindou Ryuga.

As for the hellish miasma... I didn't sense it. Could it be hidden away? Or is it just a misunderstanding?

"You're the leader of the Shindou-gumi?"

Mi Zhen fully conveyed the disdain law enforcement officers have for criminals through his expression. Any dignified villain would be furious to see this, and that was exactly what he wanted to achieve.

—Get angry, get furious, or better yet, just rush over and slash me a couple of times; that would save a lot of time.

It's one thing to act opposite Aizen, but can you please stop wasting my time with this nobody who just appeared out of nowhere?

"Indeed, I am Shindou Ryuga."

The burly man, over three meters tall, looked down at Mima and sneered, "The vice-captain of the Eighth Division? You actually dared to barge into this place alone. Should I praise your courage or laugh at your stupidity?"

"..."

If it weren't for the fact that saying this is rather inappropriate, Mi Zhenzhen really wanted to ask this guy, "Does your mother know how brave you are?"

"You heard what I just said." He glanced coldly at Shindou Ryuga. "Choose one: surrender or be killed on the spot."

"Hmph, how arrogant."

A terrifying smile spread across Ryuga Shindou's fleshy face:

"Perhaps I can choose a third path, which is to kill you and leave here calmly."

This attitude is making things a bit difficult for Mima.

No way, this guy didn't realize that a large group of people have already surrounded this place?

Or perhaps... he has something to rely on?

He frowned and continued provocatively, "Kill me? That's not something you can do just by talking."

"Then let me show you." Shindou Ryuga sneered, "A reward from the Lord!"

Lord? What Lord?

Mima, sensing something was amiss, changed his expression and saw that Ryuga Shindou didn't draw his sword, but instead reached into his robes and pulled out a strange object.

A... token?

It's about the size of a palm, two centimeters thick, made of wood, and has half a bright red skull carved on it.

There was a faint sense of unease about it; I wondered what it was for.

What ability is required...?

In private, the time it would have taken for Shindou Ryuga to pull out his token would have been enough for Mima to slash him a dozen times over. But this time, he was just a simple mine-clearing probe, so there was no need for him to do anything extra. Let's see what kind of work this guy is up to.

And so, Mima watched in bewilderment as Shindou Ryuga slapped the token onto his forehead. The protruding skull on the token immediately left a clear mark on his forehead like a stamp. After a strange fluctuation of spiritual pressure, Shindou Ryuga's aura inexplicably became much stronger out of thin air.

Already... barely touched the edge of captain level?

Of course, that's not the point; the point is his Zanpakuto.

It emitted a dark red mist that looked very familiar to Mima.

Hellish miasma...?

Mi Zhen was dumbfounded.

Holy crap! It really exists!

According to the plan agreed upon by Yama and Aizen, they would randomly find a place some time after the search began and have Shikato Hakunsai make a cameo appearance to create and incite panic, thus putting the Seireitei into a state of complete war preparedness.

Of course, after the interrogation this morning, they already knew that there were nine more wicked people hiding in various parts of the Three Realms, plotting something unknown. So it wouldn't be surprising if the Seireitei could find something in this long and extensive manhunt.

Chapter 210: Layered Armor, Pass!

But this is only the first day of the search... The chance of getting results on the first day is not zero, but it's basically like finding a gold bar while going out for a meal. It's just too outrageous.

While it's true that not everything in Hell is related to the Asura Clan... after all, this organization was only established in the last few decades, and there have been frequent incidents of Hell culprits escaping before that. Perhaps this guy named Shindou Ryuga gained some Hell-related abilities from such incidents? That's not impossible.

...Forget it, that possibility is really slim. Let's face reality bravely.

The reality is...

From last night until now, Mima has had a feeling that she's been set up.

He found two horrible people while taking a walk on the beach, and on the first day of the investigation, he found a bandit leader who might be connected to hell... Once is one thing, but to have them happen one after another, only someone with a screw loose would believe it's all a coincidence.

So who is the mastermind behind this?

Could it be the leader of the Asura Clan, the one in the red cloak who resembles me?

If that's my future self, then it explains why I was able to calculate my future so accurately...

But what is the purpose?

Judging from the current situation, he doesn't seem to have shown any malice towards me. Otherwise, if he had come up with two big shots who were first-generation captains to attack me, even if I had great abilities, I would have lost at least one of my clones. But that guy's actions are just like... deliberately giving me a big gift.

No, I know too little to make any reliable guesses.

Let's take down this guy named Shindou Ryuga first...

After considering the matter with lightning speed, Mima focused his attention on what was in front of him and continued watching Shindou Ryuga's performance.