In the outer ten districts, from District 71 to District 80, people barely had the most basic understanding of the world they lived in.
Maybe some had known more once… but they were long dead.
Or Seff simply hadn't crossed paths with them.
Either way, the intel he gathered had been fragmented at best.
But Seff didn't find this situation particularly frustrating.
In fact, he preferred it this way, at least it wasn't like being stranded on a desert island or lost at sea, where there was literally nothing but sand or water for miles, and not a soul in sight.
At least here, he had a sword.
And as long as he held it, no matter how many came at him, they posed no real threat.
At least now, he knew where he was.
And more importantly, where he needed to go.
The further he traveled, the more people he encountered.
And while living conditions gradually improved, if only slightly, he also started to pick up more detailed information through bits of gossip and conversation.
When it came to Rukongai, very few people truly understood the structure or logic behind it.
Most were just… adapting.
Living purely for the sake of survival.
Yes, they were all dead.
But in this afterlife, this Soul Society, they were still alive, in a way.
As if death had granted them a second lifetime.
Death here was final.
Only if you died in the Soul Society were you truly gone.
Like life had granted them a strange extension, an encore.
Seff also learned something else:
Souls in the Soul Society didn't need to eat.
They didn't fully understand why, but it was common knowledge, people here didn't get hungry the way the living did.
Water was essential, but food… wasn't.
That was why, in Rukongai, water was life.
Especially from District 78 and outward, where clean water was scarce to nonexistent.
District 80 had nothing.
As a result, drinking water became hard currency.
People hoarded it, sold it, killed for it.
Even bordering districts like 75, 76, and 77 felt the ripple effect, as raiders came to steal and smuggle what little water they had.
Strangely, even though food wasn't needed, it was still considered more valuable than water.
One bite could sustain a person far longer than a sip of water.
Seff chalked it up to the difference between solids and liquids.
And yes, water might be a necessity, but you didn't need gallons of it every day.
A single drink could suppress hunger for a long time.
Food could suppress it even longer.
When Seff first learned this strange rule unique to the Soul Society, he was floored.
Because he'd still been eating like he was alive.
Three meals a day, like clockwork.
Not out of habit, but out of actual hunger.
He had carefully rationed the supplies he'd scavenged off the dead Soul Reapers at the start.
But now, that food was nearly gone.
Worse still, he was starting to feel hungry between meals.
Fighting only made it worse.
Using sword techniques, especially those energy-infused strikes that felt like something out of a fantasy game, left him even more drained.
And when those strikes were followed by rapid bursts of movement, the hunger grew stronger.
There was a saying, or maybe a rumor, in Rukongai, specifically among the lower districts from 55 to 80.
"Those who grow hungry even after drinking water…
Those who grow weak from that hunger…
Can become Soul Reapers."
Seff didn't think it was just a rumor.
Not because he liked the idea, but because it lined up.
He fit the description perfectly.
He felt it.
From the very first day he arrived in this world, this second life, there had been a power stirring inside him.
And that power was the only reason he wasn't dead already.
It was a gift… but also a problem.
Because if food wasn't essential for most people, then it was also incredibly rare.
You couldn't just walk into a shop and buy it, not here.
Unless you were extremely lucky, the only way to get food was to steal, rob, barter, or negotiate.
Seff wasn't comfortable with any of those.
Even now, even though he could kill without blinking, he still couldn't bring himself to steal from the innocent or rob someone weaker.
So he came up with a plan.
Bait the hook.
Pretend to be rich.
Act like a walking payday.
Lure the greedy toward him.
Then, serve justice.
Punish evil.
Uphold righteousness.
Redistribute wealth.
And honestly… it worked.
The further inward he traveled, the less he saw of that cutthroat savagery.
By the time he left District 70, he noticed a shift.
Seff mentally split the lower twenty districts into categories.
The back ten, Districts 71 through 80?
Barbaric.
Poor, violent, ruthless.
Murder and looting were daily occurrences.
He wasn't even sure those people could still be called human.
Districts 60 through 70?
Apathetic.
Fewer street fights, sure, but the people were hollow.
Dead-eyed.
They weren't living, they were just not dead.
Starting from District 59, the drop in living standards was stark.
Bare feet, tattered clothes everywhere.
After that, Seff hadn't seen a single pair of shoes, except his own, which he'd had when he arrived.
It took over two full months, but finally…
He crossed into District 50.
They said Soul Reapers could move between districts in a flash, covering in minutes what took him months.
But Seff had no such ability.
Not really.
He did have some instinctive techniques, movements that felt natural when he gripped his sword.
Like muscle memory he was born with.
But there was a problem…
Even as the environment improved, and real food started to appear, barely edible, but edible, he still felt hunger.
When he learned that hunger was tied to spiritual energy, he stopped experimenting.
No flashy sword arts.
No energy-based techniques.
Not until he had a reliable food source.
Finally, though, after two grueling months, Seff had made it.
District 49.
A dense forest greeted him.
He took a deep breath, long, slow.
And for the first time since he arrived, the air didn't smell like filth and suffering.
Instead… it smelled of hope.
A quiet stream murmured nearby.
Seff turned toward the sound.
After a brief stop, he made up his mind.
"...Time for a bath."
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200 P.S = 1 Extra Chapters
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• TL/N •
Hello guys Fanfic recommendation!
Check out my other work:
> Naruto: Mind Control
If you like smart and strong MC, this fanfic is for you.
It's Peak.
Give it a chance and you won't be disappointed