Slaughter from the Darkness: The Captain Slaughter Plan

Oh my, I never expected to run into Kenpachi this early! Ten Unohana thought, holding his sword loosely at his side. At the same time, he slowly stepped forward.

Kenpachi looked at Ten, grinned, and said bloodthirstily, "A handsome kid in fancy clothes, holding a Zanpakuto that looks like a work of art. You must be the 'Slaughter Demon' who's been slaughtering people at will in the 30th District, Zaraki District."

Ten said in surprise, "Slaughter Demon? You mean me? Oh?! I didn't expect to be so famous. Slaughter Demon is a bit of a tacky name, though. But never mind. From now on, I'll just kill everyone I see in the 30th District, one by one. Hmm—how about I start with you?!" It was unclear whether Ten was joking or serious.

As he spoke, Ten drew his Zanpakuto and walked toward Kenpachi Zaraki.

"Mm, ah." Just then, a little girl's clear voice rang out.

Ten looked down at Yachiru Kusajishi. Blood stained one of her little hands, and she stretched the chubby hand adorably toward him, all five fingers spread.

Ten was just about to bend down and pick Yachiru up when a bold voice called out angrily, "Bastard, you've killed so many people again! Stop it! Mama Hana wants you to come back!"

Ten straightened up helplessly and looked at Kenpachi Zaraki, who was holding his Zanpakuto. "We can't fight now. How annoying," he said casually.

He looked impatiently at Yoruichi as she hurried over, slid his Zanpakuto into its sheath, and suppressed the turmoil in his heart. "Let's go," he said expressionlessly.

With that, he swiftly used Shunpo to return to the Seireitei. Retsu Unohana had summoned him, after all, so Ten dropped what he was doing and hurried back.

Behind him, Yachiru lowered her head dejectedly, while Kenpachi gave a bloodthirsty grin.

Ten was fairly fast, and it wasn't long before he reached the Fourth Division. Retsu Unohana stood there quietly by herself. Ten threw himself at her and buried his face in her full breasts.

Blushing, Retsu pulled Ten away from her chest. "Yoruichi said you've been slaughtering people all over Zaraki District. Is this your plan? Mommy thought you had some grand plan, Little Ten."

Ten shook his head. "No, this isn't the plan. It doesn't even count as part of it. There was just a problem with my Zanpakuto, and its spirit fell unconscious, but that's been resolved now. It'll still be some time before the plan can be put into action, though."

"I see!" Retsu said. "Then go ahead with your plan! As for the people you killed, I'll take care of things with the Second Division."

Ten knew that although his actions wouldn't be fatal for him, they would still cause considerable trouble, so he didn't argue. "Thank you, Mom," he said.

Then he went into his room. In truth, Ten's heart was far from calm at the moment, not because of the killing, but because of Kenpachi Zaraki.

The appearance of Kenpachi Zaraki and Yachiru Kusajishi had given Ten a rough idea of the time period in the Soul Reaper world. It should be about two hundred years before the story began. Ten had already made an estimate based on Yoruichi Shihōin's and Byakuya Kuchiki's ages, but that was too unreliable. From as far back as Ten could remember until he turned twelve, those two had apparently always looked eleven or twelve.

Ten, however, had grown up just like a normal human child.

Because of that, Ten hadn't been able to determine the time more precisely.

But after seeing that scene just now, Ten finally had a rough idea. Before long, people from Rukongai like Aizen, Gin Ichimaru, and Rukia would come to the Seireitei to attend Shin'ō Academy, and a series of struggles would begin.

Ten chuckled. "Then, so the story can keep playing out, the captains who retired in the original story can just obediently wait for me to kill them! I've been planning this for a long time—"

Shock, utter shock!!!

So, so,

So this was Ten's real objective, or rather, his real plan—to set his sights on the captains.

This was a grave crime in Soul Society. After all, even Aizen hadn't killed that many captains. No, Aizen hadn't actually killed a single captain. He had only created the Visored, caused Yoruichi and Kisuke Urahara to defect, and gone to war with Soul Society. Those things alone were already grave crimes against Soul Society.

He had been tried and sentenced to eighteen thousand eight hundred years in Muken, the eighth and lowest level of the underground prison. If Ten's plan succeeded, he would definitely become the enemy of everyone in Soul Society except Retsu Unohana.

Even Retsu would be implicated to some extent, but—

"I don't care about any of that!"

Ten said, almost frantically, "The captains of the Third Division, Fifth Division, Sixth Division, Seventh Division, Ninth Division, Tenth Division, and 11th Division are all mine!"

After saying that, he calmed his excitement and slowly said, "If I weren't afraid of the trouble, I'd even want to kill the current captain of the Second Division. But, hmm—the strength of the Sixth and 11th Division captains is still a bit troublesome. Forget it, I'll leave those two until last!"

In an even tone, Ten laid out the plan that would later stir up a storm in Soul Society.

This—

Was slaughter from the darkness!!!

While Ten was preparing his plan,

Yoruichi was deeply worried.

Though she called Ten a bastard, in Yoruichi's young heart, Ten, who was always teasing her, was her best friend. For his sake, she could even discard the noble teachings of the Shihoin clan like worn-out shoes.

She had become carefree and outspoken.

But Ten's current state left Yoruichi at a loss. Secretly shedding tears, she said, "Ever since Bastard Brother spat out those white things, he hasn't been normal. What exactly were those white things?"

"Those things have nothing to do with the change in Little Ten." A gentle voice rang out.

Yoruichi turned around, tears streaming down her face. "Mama Hana, Big Brother Ten, he, he..."

Retsu nodded. "I know, I know."

Retsu drew Yoruichi into her arms. Yoruichi asked, puzzled, "Then why don't you stop Big Brother Ten, Mama Hana?"

"Because Little Ten said he hadn't done anything wrong." Yoruichi said in surprise, "Just because of that?"

Retsu said firmly, "Just because of that. Because I believe in Little Ten."

Yoruichi's eyes widened—only now did she understand why Ten put Retsu first.

But Yoruichi still couldn't help asking, "Then aren't you worried Big Brother Ten will do something wrong, Mama Hana?"

Retsu smiled. "Little Ten is determined to do this, so I won't stop him. Even if it's wrong, as long as Little Ten wants to do it, I'll support him."

It was only then that Yoruichi, who had been born and raised among nobles, learned that the bond between mother and son outside the Four Great Noble Clans could be so great.

Tears in her eyes, Yoruichi asked Retsu, "Do I have to be like that too?"

Retsu stroked Yoruichi's head. "If you want to stand by Little Ten, you have to be prepared to be enemies with the whole world. Soul Reapers, humans, Hollows—you could say they're all Little Ten's enemies. Come find me when you're ready for that."

Retsu looked at Yoruichi, who had been struck dumb by her words, sighed inwardly, and left.

This was a necessary condition for following Ten, because

Once Ten's Hollow power was discovered, there would be only one outcome—

Death.

At the thought, Retsu let out another deep sigh. It was only to be expected that Yoruichi would be stunned for the time being.

"Little Ten, the path you're on... sigh..." Retsu sighed.

Yoruichi and Retsu each had their own thoughts.

But what about Ten? What was Ten doing?

"Mom, I want to go look around Rukongai again. But I'm not going to kill anyone this time. I saw a few geniuses in Rukongai, and I'm going to see if I can bring some of them over."

Ten said this to Retsu and left. Retsu said, "Don't get hurt, and come back soon."

"And be careful," Retsu said gently.

But she didn't know that what Ten's actions signified was—

The captain slaughter plan's—

Beginning!!

Ten was going to keep watch on the second-generation captains who would take office in the original story, while the first-generation captains from the original story—the members of the Visored—should be about to start studying at Shin'ō Academy.

Ten had to ensure that Soul Society's captains were replaced without trouble. It wasn't for the sake of the story or because he couldn't bear to do otherwise. What concerned Ten was the Zero Division.

That was a force whose weakest members were still Captain-level, and it wasn't something he could stand against in his current state.

Most importantly, the Zero Division's position was, in a sense, a level above Retsu's. That could cause him to lose Retsu's protection and even jeopardize her position.

That was something Ten didn't want to see.

Therefore, Ten had to ensure the captains were replaced without trouble and do his best to keep the unrest in Soul Society from alerting the Zero Division.

As for Ten's earlier slaughter in two districts, he hadn't killed any important figures, after all. With Retsu covering for him, it wasn't much of a problem.