Of course, this could not deter the determination of the lords to protect their ancestral foundations. Consequently, the first large settlement Suzuki Makoto encountered arrogantly rejected his banner.
Then, unsurprisingly, they were served the full three-course meal: city breached, capture, and public trial.
Thus, these pot-bellied, tyrannical lords finally realized once again that although they had always mocked the people of other districts as wild dogs eating scraps, when those wild dogs came to tear at the house dogs under their command, they showed absolutely no mercy.
Only at this moment did these people realize that the Zaraki District had truly produced another monster. Moreover, this monster seemed not to have accepted recruitment from the Seireitei, but had instead remained in the Rukongai.
However, this amount of casualties alone was not enough to make the lords give up their turf. So, they decided to unite once again to deal with Suzuki Makoto. But these lords were far smarter than those who lived on the edge of a blade; they merely sent their confidants to lead the men, while they themselves stayed behind to pack their valuables, preparing for both outcomes.
The result of the battlefield naturally emerged very quickly.
"Lord Suzuki, our scout teams report that the holders of power in this area already left a day ago, taking with them a large amount of wealth and guards."
"Hn. Then you all make the arrangements. Same rules as always: maintain stability first. We can talk after we return."
"Yes!"
The soldiers of the Yellow Turban Army had become accustomed to receiving such news, just as they were accustomed to Suzuki Makoto charging alone at the front during battles while they quietly dug holes in the back.
And the result was always that they couldn't dig the holes fast enough.
As for what Suzuki Makoto and Black Jeanne were going to do... The opposition had resisted him so maliciously; how could he let them just run away peacefully with their gold, silver, and valuables?
It was time for them to properly atone for their sins.
As a large batch of snot-nosed, tear-stained fellows were dragged back, public trial assemblies began to convene in various locations. Although the lives of these ordinary people were not as tragically inhumane as those of slaves, the oppression they suffered was not a bit less.
Suzuki Makoto also temporarily paused his pace of expansion with satisfaction. He took a moment to settle his mind and turned back to begin testing the preliminary district integration plan.
Since District 75 already possessed quite a few large water sources—ranging from lakes to rivers, and even flows leading to the outer districts—it was the perfect place to verify his plans.
Aside from merging villages and stockades based on large water sources, the recruitment work of the Yellow Turbans was finally put on the agenda. After all, the occupied area was simply too vast, and the number of Hollow invasions had increased. Even though the local militia units had expanded in scale due to the settlement mergers, they could only deal with ordinary Hollows. The moment slightly stronger Hollows appeared, powerful forces had to intervene.
However, Suzuki Makoto deliberately established two thresholds. One was that he had to see them personally to ensure the candidate wasn't some anti-social murder enthusiast. The other was age.
"Why won't you let us join?"
Rukia slammed the table in anger.
"Lord Suzuki's standard—if you want to become a soldier of the Yellow Turban Army, you must be over eighteen years old. The two of you are currently unqualified. Go study at the literacy school being built first. Come back to enlist after you can understand what's written on this board."
The recruiter tapped on the wooden board, which was covered in intersecting strokes that Rukia and Renji could not understand.
"But we both possess spiritual power, and we are very strong! When those guys were still around, the two of us could fight a whole patrol squad, and they were all adults with spiritual power too!"
"That's right, Old Man! We're amazing. And we only look small; we've really already reached eighteen!"
Facing the self-aggrandizing boy and the girl trying to muddle through by acting cute, the uncle merely sneered and lifted his chin.
"Fine then. Stick your hands out and let that doctor over there feel your bone age. As long as you are eighteen, I'll accept you immediately."
The boy and girl instantly went silent. That doctor was an old acquaintance of theirs; he often treated them for bruises and injuries. There was absolutely no way he would bend the rules for the two of them.
"Rukia, Renji, there is a good opportunity now. You should go to school. Even if you come to join the Yellow Turban Army after you finish school, it won't be too late."
The doctor also persuaded them. Before, there was no other way; he could only treat the children and not say much about their lives. But now that there was a way and an opportunity, he certainly couldn't sit by and watch them stay on a stray path.
"Books aren't something we can learn..."
Renji muttered under his breath, but he still obediently turned around and left with Rukia.
"Doctor, if you know them, keep an eye on them later. Those two kids look like the most mischievous troublemakers; I'm afraid they won't go to school obediently."
"Rest assured, I won't watch them go astray. If all else fails, I'll have them follow me to learn medicine. Didn't Lord Suzuki say that every stockade must have at least two doctors? Doctors with spiritual power are even better; not only can they protect themselves, but they can also use Reiatsu to help others recover."
The uncle laughed in despite himself.
"That little girl might be okay, but that lad becoming a doctor?"
"Hahahaha, that guy Renji... indeed, it's not very likely."
Listening to the joking behind them, both of them looked quite puffy with indignation, and even a little panicked.
"Rukia, I absolutely don't want to be a doctor!"
"I don't want to either! If it really comes to that, I'd rather go to the Shin'ō Spiritual Arts Academy!"
"Eh? You really want to go?"
"I'm just joking! We can only go to the school for now. As long as we stay in the school, the doctor probably won't come looking for us, right?"
Rukia stuck out her tongue. She didn't want to run so far away to enroll. Now that the Yellow Turban Army was comprehensively registering residents, maybe she could rely on the Yellow Turbans to find her lost sister. How could she leave at a time like this?
"Why did Lord Suzuki have to set up such an age limit!"
"It's precisely because there are too many self-righteous brats like you."
"Who's there!"
The two looked warily at the young girl in armor before them.
"You two, your talent is quite good. Do you want to follow me and join the Yellow Turban Inspection Team?"
Jeanne scrutinized the two people before her, feeling quite satisfied in her heart.
Suzuki Makoto had emphasized to her before that the personnel of the current Inspection Team would all need to be replaced in the future, and they all needed to be capable young people. Firstly, they hadn't been thoroughly rotted by this terrible environment yet, so they could truly act with vitality in their hearts and not wallow in the mire with others.
As for the other point... being able to fight was naturally very important too.
_____
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