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Many people sat in the tavern, but they all held their breath, looking nervously at the center of the hall.
"Big Bro Ishikawa…"
Upon seeing Ishikawa Katori, Oyama's eyes lit up, as if he had seen a savior. He hurried forward: "You're finally awake."
Oyama's words immediately drew eveKanne's attention to Ishikawa Katori.
The man drinking in the center of the hall also put down his glass and slowly turned to look at Ishikawa Katori.
Ishikawa Katori looked up. The man's eyes were long and narrow, carrying a chilling aura that made eveKanne who saw him tremble.
The moment their gazes met, Ishikawa Katori felt as if the entire world was covered in a layer of crimson, even affecting his sense of smell, making him feel as if he smelled a strong scent of blood in a trance.
What powerful killing intent!
Ishikawa Katori's expression remained unchanged, but a hint of solemnity flashed deep in his eyes.
Unlike when he was unconscious, the awakened man exuded an oppressive aura of natural authority, not intentionally, but a presence revealed inadvertently.
This made Ishikawa Katori understand why the villains in the tavern had become so uncharacteristically quiet.
"Boss."
Himura stood behind Nishijin Ori. Seeing the tense atmosphere between Ishikawa Katori and Nishijin Ori, she, who had a very high opinion of Ishikawa Katori, quickly said: "This is Big Bro Ishikawa, the person who helped me yesterday."
"Mm."
Nishijin Ori nodded and slowly stood up.
Buzz!
Almost the instant he stood up, the space vibrated. Ishikawa Katori felt the air around him become incredibly viscous, making every movement extremely difficult.
A strong sense of danger made Ishikawa Katori's hair stand on end.
The surging spiritual pressure instantly tensed Ishikawa Katori's nerves, making him instinctively wary.
His spiritual pressure erupted, and Ishikawa Katori's gaze met Nishijin Ori's coldly. A sinister aura, as if emanating from the depths of his soul, silently permeated the entire tavern.
The confrontation between the two formed a tangible sense of oppression, pressing down like dark clouds, causing the villains in the tavern to hold their breath.
These two aren't going to fight, are they?
Oyama swallowed, carefully inching towards the tavern entrance. He couldn't help but be afraid; these two in the arena were crazy people who killed without blinking an eye and whose eyes wouldn't get sore. If they really fought… regardless of the outcome, the troublesome guys in the tavern would definitely be wiped out!
"Sizzle~~~"
Just then, a strange sound broke the silence in the tavern.
EveKanne, their nerves taut, couldn't help but follow the sound. What came into view was… Uzuki, sitting behind the bar, drinking strawberry milk with a straw. The sound just now came from the straw.
This scene made eveKanne's mouths twitch.
Even Ishikawa Katori's cold gaze couldn't help but stiffen. He glared fiercely at Uzuki. This scoundrel really had no sense of tension! Your Boss is about to fight someone, and you're still drinking strawberry milk there.
"Uh… sorry…"
Uzuki was startled by eveKanne's gaze and quickly spat out the straw. She naturally saw the tense atmosphere in the arena. However, due to the barrier, she couldn't feel the spiritual pressure clash between the two, so she didn't feel it was very dangerous.
"The wine is good."
Just then, Nishijin Ori suddenly spoke. As he spoke, the powerful spiritual pressure fluctuations instantly dissipated, as if they had never appeared.
"I'll come again. I'll bring the wine money and commission fee together next time." With that, he walked directly out of the tavern. Seeing this, the villains in the tavern instantly and uniformly cleared a path, looking as if they were lining up to send him off.
Ishikawa Katori hesitated for a moment, not reaching out to stop him, but letting him walk past him.
Firstly, he felt that the 'Great Villain' probably wouldn't default on his debt. Secondly… the spiritual pressure clash just now made Ishikawa Katori realize that if the other party really wanted to leave, he wouldn't be able to stop him.
"Don't worry."
Himura had come to Ishikawa Katori's side at some point and whispered: "Besides liking to kill strong people he meets, my Boss is pretty good in other aspects. He was just like that because he didn't have money on him, and he felt…"
"Less nonsense!"
Nishijin Ori's cold voice came, making Himura shiver. This burly 'girl' quickly scurried after him: "Boss, I'm just helping you explain. Big Bro Ishikawa is really a good person."
Looking at their receding figures, a strange look flashed in Ishikawa Katori's eyes.
Vice-Captain-level!
And even among the Gotei 13, he was an extremely strong Vice-Captain.
Although he had anticipated it beforehand, when Nishijin Ori truly revealed his Vice-Captain-level spiritual pressure, it still made Ishikawa Katori feel a subtle shock.
"Hoo~~~"
Seeing Nishijin Ori leave, the villains in the tavern all breathed heavily.
"Wow, as expected of the Great Villain, that oppressive feeling was simply terrifying."
"I'm going to the restroom first…"
"Uh, me too."
"…"
The tavern instantly became noisy. Some people began discussing what had just happened, while others gathered at the bar:
"Hey, Sister Uzuki, Lord Nishijin Ori actually said the wine was good. Did he drink something different from me?"
"Exactly, exactly. We're not without money. If there's good wine, you should let us have some."
"Tell us, how much is it?"
"…"
Uzuki narrowed her eyes and said: "You all poured the wine yourselves from the barrels. Did you see that woman pouring wine from other barrels?"
"Then why did Lord Nishijin Ori say the wine was good?"
"How would I know? Maybe he has unique tastes." Uzuki said impatiently: "Drink it or don't. If you want good wine, go buy it in the top-numbered areas yourselves."
EveKanne exchanged glances, then stepped forward to pay and queued up to pour a glass from the barrel Himura had used.
These people…
Ishikawa Katori looked at the people sipping the inferior wine little by little, his expression as strange as could be.
He just didn't understand why, with so many places to drink in Rukongai, these people all ran here to drink Uzuki's overpriced inferior wine. Besides, they weren't the type to spend money on wine; didn't they usually just snatch it if they wanted to drink?
Is drinking in a tavern very comfortable?
Shaking his head, he didn't continue to ponder the thought processes of these villains. Instead, he sat at the bar and asked: "When did he wake up?"
"I don't know. Anyway, when I came to open the door, he was already sitting there."
Uzuki took a bowl of ramen from under the counter and handed it to Ishikawa Katori: "He's like a clam. Besides asking me when you'd wake up, he just sat there drinking the wine that strong woman poured for him. He drank six cups in total. I've put it all on the tab."
Strong woman?
Ishikawa Katori was stunned for a moment, then realized that the 'strong woman' Uzuki was referring to was Himura.
"Oh, by the way, how much is this commission?"
Ishikawa Katori took a bite of ramen and said casually: "1 million Kan."
"Huh? Then how could you let him leave?!"
"…I wanted to stop him." Ishikawa Katori said with narrowed eyes: "Don't worry, if he really wanted to default, he wouldn't have waited until I came downstairs to leave."
Although Himura's previous words weren't finished, Ishikawa Katori understood her meaning.
Nishijin Ori's act of intimidating him with spiritual pressure was meant to convey one thing:
I'm broke, I'll owe you; I'm stronger than you, don't stop me.
Even though he understood, Ishikawa Katori still felt extremely annoyed. Why was someone who owed money acting like a expert? It was one thing to show off spiritual pressure, but to use it to oppress the creditor and scare him? Who was he trying to scare?
The more Ishikawa Katori thought about it, the angrier he got. He should have invited Sister Kukaku to back him up yesterday.
Actually, Ishikawa Katori misunderstood this. Originally, Nishijin Ori only intended to show off his spiritual pressure, but he didn't expect Ishikawa Katori to react so strongly.
If he had withdrawn his spiritual pressure at that moment, it would have given the impression that he was afraid of Ishikawa Katori. As a result, the two became deadlocked.
Finally, Uzuki gave him an out, making him say 'the wine is good' against his will, which allowed him to say what he had originally intended to say.
Ring, Ring, ring—
Just then, the bell hanging above the bar suddenly rang.
"Oh, a commission."
Uzuki quickly stood up, but then remembered that Ishikawa Katori wasn't going out to work today, so she sat back down: "You go up and receive them yourself."
"I feel like you're becoming more and more unprofessional."
Despite saying that, Ishikawa Katori still carried his ramen out of the tavern and went upstairs along the side staircase.
"Hmm?"
When Ishikawa Katori reached the second floor and saw the figure pulling the bell rope, he paused slightly.
Why is he here?
"Um…"
The newcomer's eyes lit up when he saw Ishikawa Katori holding ramen. He said timidly: "Boss, I… I want… to learn Kaido from you."
"Ah, right, I'm Yamada Hanatarō. We met yesterday."
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