Inuzuri District, the 78th district of South Rukongai.
Under Gilgamesh’s instructions, Renji Abarai, Rukia Kuchiki, Hoshi, and Inari dispersed to different locations to spread the same message.
“Good news, good news! There’s free water in Kuro-machi, limited quantities, first come, first served!”
Unnoticed, this message began to spread quickly throughout Inuzuri.
Although the people of Inuzuri were numb to life and devoid of hope for the future, they still cared deeply about water, a scarce and vital resource.
Soon, the news caused an uproar among the people.
“Is this news true or false?”
“It’s definitely false. Kuro-machi is the poorest and most chaotic place in Inuzuri. How could there be free water?”
“Do you trust me or this news?”
“It’s too fake, probably another trap.”
“Wasn’t there similar news before, saying there was water in the remote wilderness, and nothing came of it?”
Most people didn’t believe it.
In Inuzuri, lies and deceit were normal, often accompanied by death.
In contrast, kindness was highly abnormal in Inuzuri.
Thus, something unusual was often met with suspicion.
However, some who were in dire need of water clung to a sliver of hope and headed towards Kuro-machi.
Meanwhile, in Kuro-machi.
Gilgamesh wandered alone.
Gilgamesh, with his golden hair, red eyes, and noble demeanor, stood out starkly in the impoverished, backward, and foul-smelling Kuro-machi.
This drew the attention of those around him.
Though they were numb to their circumstances, they were curious about Gilgamesh.
To them, Gilgamesh appeared to be a wealthy young man from one of the high-numbered districts, possibly even a noble.
Some recognized Gilgamesh from the previous day, wondering why he had returned to this hellish place.
Others began to eye him greedily, thinking he must have valuable items or that he himself was valuable.
They thought capturing him could be their ticket out of this hell.
However, they hesitated, unsure if he had hidden bodyguards.
Unbeknownst to them, under the illumination of the Star of Omniscience and Omnipotence, Gilgamesh saw through all their thoughts.
But Gilgamesh didn’t care.
Although he wanted to build a kingdom, not everyone was fit to be his subjects.
Those who had completely fallen into the abyss of evil, beyond redemption, were not needed.
Of course, nearly everyone in Inuzuri bore sins.
But this was due to the larger circumstances, not their fault, but the world’s.
The fact that they were in the Soul Society meant they hadn’t committed grave sins in the human world; otherwise, they’d have been dragged to Hell for eternal torment.
The chaos, poverty, and backwardness of this place bred their sins, and their sins, in turn, nourished the chaos, poverty, and backwardness.
It was a vicious cycle.
Though cruel, Gilgamesh needed such a vicious cycle.
In troubled times, heroes emerge—a timeless truth.
The more chaotic, impoverished, and backward a place, the easier it is to establish a kingdom.
Conversely, it’s harder to establish a kingdom in stable, affluent, and happy places.
Unnoticed, Gilgamesh had already recruited twelve people with the promise of water.
Of course, Gilgamesh carefully selected these twelve.
Under the Star of Omniscience and Omnipotence, he could discern their hearts, knowing they still had goodness in them and various talents.
Satisfied with his progress, Gilgamesh moved to the end of Kuro-machi, a clearing connected to the uninhabited wilderness, to begin his plan.
This plan was to use water as capital to win people’s hearts.
To avoid unnecessary trouble, Gilgamesh needed to make a show of power.
He opened the exchange store, finding the items he needed.
[Water (1 cubic meter): 1 point].
[Water Barrel (1 cubic meter): 1 point].
This water was from the Soul Society.
Without hesitation, Gilgamesh chose to exchange.
The next moment, a huge water barrel appeared out of thin air, shocking the onlookers.
One cubic meter of water equals 1000 liters, and a normal person needs about 2 liters of water a day.
This meant Gilgamesh could exchange enough water for 500 people for just 1 Royal Point.
With 9910 Royal Points left, he could exchange enough water for 5 million people for one day.
This was Gilgamesh’s foundation for building his kingdom.
Then, Gilgamesh opened his Gate of Babylon.
Before the crowd could recover from the shock of the water barrel, they saw a golden ripple appear in the air behind Gilgamesh.
From it emerged an ancient, golden throne, exuding an aura of timelessness, gently landing behind Gilgamesh.
Gilgamesh sat on the golden throne, his gaze calm yet imposing, commanding awe.
He then signaled the twelve he had recruited to start their work.
By now, more and more people had gathered, their eyes filled with greed and desire, staring at the huge water barrel.
They wanted to seize it but were intimidated by Gilgamesh’s mysterious power.
The twelve began their tasks smoothly.
Following Gilgamesh’s instructions, they divided the work.
Some repeatedly emphasized Gilgamesh’s royal status, subtly instilling it into people’s minds.
Others informed them that to receive free water, they needed to register their real information for unified management. Any falsehood would result in disqualification from future water distributions.
Additionally, free water was only available for the first three days. After that, they could still get water but had to work for it.
No one questioned it.
Though they didn’t know Gilgamesh’s purpose, it didn’t matter.
For them, as long as there was free water, it was enough.
If not for Gilgamesh providing free water, many of them would have died from lack of it.
From this perspective, they owed Gilgamesh gratitude.
Under Gilgamesh’s watchful eye, the previously chaotic residents of Kuro-machi began to line up in an orderly fashion to receive their daily free water.
Building a kingdom clearly wasn’t something that could be done overnight.
But Gilgamesh was not short on time.
The storyline of Bleach hadn’t even started yet.
Gilgamesh was confident he could establish his kingdom before it did.
A prosperous and enduring kingdom required not only a good king but also talent in various fields.
Gilgamesh remembered that at this stage, Momo Hinamori, Tōshirō Hitsugaya, and Izuru Kira were still in Rukongai. They were invaluable talents.
There was also the fallen noble Shiba Clan, once one of the five great noble families, which could be part of his plans.
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