Crossover Anime: Starting with Bankai from Demon Slayer

Chapter 325 The Beginning

This is an extremely tempting offer.

Escape the Soul Society, which is about to become a battlefield, and go to a peaceful human world to live like an ordinary person...

They can even live a life of happiness far exceeding that of ordinary people, thanks to their special physique and strength.

For the Ubuyashiki family, who had endured a lifetime of war and curses, this was the home they had always dreamed of.

But after hearing Asuka's suggestion, Kagaya simply smiled slightly.

"Thank you, Asuka. I appreciate your kindness."

"Why?" Asuka frowned in confusion. "Once war breaks out, I won't be able to protect you."

"With your current strength, you wouldn't even be able to protect yourselves in a battle of that level."

"I know." Kagaya smiled as he looked at the small courtyard, his eyes filled with longing. "But I still want to stay here."

"I don't understand," Asuka pressed.

"Because this is our home now."

Kagaya's voice was soft, calm yet firm: "In our years in Rukongai, we have not lived a life of luxury, but we have also witnessed many injustices and tragedies."

"But here, we planted the cherry blossom tree in the yard ourselves, and we watched Hina and Hinata run and grow up in this yard."

"This place bears the traces of our lives, the neighbors we made, and every ordinary yet real day and night we spent together."

His eyes held a serene acceptance of life and death: "Flying Bird, we've already died once, we're not afraid anymore."

"Although our abilities are limited, Mr. Xingming and I also want to protect these weaker neighbors and our own ordinary daily lives."

"Moreover, I believe in you, Asuka, and I also believe in the swordsmen of the Gotei 13."

"You soldiers are still fighting on the front lines, what reason do we ordinary people have to flee in order to survive?"

Asuka looked into Kagaya's fearless eyes and remained silent for a long time.

He finally understood that the man before him, though lacking powerful spiritual pressure and a sharp Zanpakuto...

But his inner resilience and strength are in no way inferior to any Grim Reaper.

He is still the same Demon Slayer Corps leader who can calmly face life, death, and the impermanence of life.

"I see."

The bird did not continue to persuade him.

He knew that for someone like Yaozai, once a decision was made, any words were superfluous.

Besides... this guy is really good at talking, and I can't argue with him.

"Since you think your life is good now, then live it well here."

Asuka stood up and poured the last bit of wine from her cup onto the soil in the courtyard.

"However, if you ever change your mind, or encounter any problems you can't solve, please let me know."

"Then I'll have to trouble you a lot, Asuka." Kagaya nodded with a smile.

The next morning, as the first rays of sunlight pierced through the thin mist of Rukongai.

Asuka had already quietly left the Ubuyashiki family's courtyard.

He didn't wake Shinobu Kocho, who was still asleep. With the help of Lady Amane, he left a simple note by her pillow, telling her that he was going to take care of some personal matters and would be back soon.

Today, he has a place he must go.

The starting point where all his nightmares were buried.

Rukongai District 78 - Inugami.

Asuka walked alone on the road leading deep into Rukongai.

As he ventured deeper into the landscape, the surrounding scenery began to change dramatically.

In the first few areas near the Spirit Court, such as Runlin'an.

The streets were wide and smooth, the houses stood side by side, and the pedestrians were neatly dressed with peaceful smiles on their faces.

There are bustling commercial streets, upscale restaurants, and even entertainment venues catering to the Grim Reaper and the nobility.

Life there is almost no different from that in modern bustling cities; the only difference is that it is not as modern.

However, when Asuka crossed the boundary of the 50th district, it was as if she had entered a completely different world.

The smooth stone-paved road turned into a bumpy dirt road, and the buildings on both sides gradually became dilapidated.

The simple wooden shacks replaced the traditional townhouses with their blue tiles and white walls, and a foul stench, a mixture of sweat, mold, and excrement, began to permeate the air.

The wandering spirits here are mostly dressed in rags and are emaciated with pale faces.

Their eyes had lost their sparkle for life, leaving only numbness and wariness.

As Asuka walked through these streets in her black Shinigami uniform, which had been repaired by spiritual energy.

The wandering spirits around him seemed to have seen a plague god, and they all hid in fear on both sides of the road, secretly watching him with a complex gaze filled with awe and hatred.

Deep within Rukongai, Shinigami do not represent protection and redemption.

For these wandering souls struggling to survive, the appearance of death often means forced labor or merciless killing.

Those who experimented on the residents of Rukongai, such as Aizen and Azajo, are considered small-scale disasters.

There was once a Grim Reaper captain who, simply for fun and to find something that could ignite his fighting spirit, practically wiped out an entire city block...

The birds ignored these gazes.

It wasn't just because of the murderous aura and malice emanating from him that chilled the surrounding air, making him completely indifferent to this level of surveillance.

More importantly.

This used to be his real home.

He has long been used to it.

District 60, District 70...

The deeper you go, the harsher the environment becomes.

Corpses began to appear lying haphazardly on both sides of the road.

Those were wandering spirits who had died from hunger, fighting, or disease.

Their corpses hadn't even had a chance to transform into spirit particles; they were left to be gnawed on by a few emaciated wild dogs...

Asuka also witnessed several adult men killing each other over half a piece of moldy rice ball. Their eyes gleamed with a ferocious, beast-like light, and they even bit each other's throats with their teeth.

He watched this scene coldly, and the years he had spent struggling in this place involuntarily surfaced in his mind.

"...Have I ever been this disheveled before?" he asked softly.

[You're usually the one getting beaten up, even more pathetic than this.] The voice in my head said.

At that time, he didn't even know his own name.

He was just a lost soul who didn't know where he came from or who he was.

To survive, he fought with wild dogs for food, and to avoid being bullied by strong thugs, he learned to break his enemies' bones using the most ruthless methods.

In this corner of the Soul Society that has been completely forgotten, kindness and weakness are catalysts that hasten death.

Violence is the only rule of survival here.

Finally, when the sun was high in the sky, the bird stopped flying.

Before him stretched a vast slum, built from various discarded planks, sheet metal, and rags.

On a crooked, old wooden sign stuck in the mud, two characters could barely be made out with faded red paint:

【戌吊】

The 78th district of Rukongai is one of the worst areas in the entire Soul Society in terms of security and environment.

It is also the place where Asuka first awakened in the Soul Society.

Asuka took a deep breath.

That familiar smell, a mixture of blood and despair, instantly filled his nostrils.

"It hasn't changed at all, this disgusting swamp."

He stepped into the labyrinthine slum.

>