Soul Reaper: My Zanpakuto Is a Bit Trendy

Less than half a day had passed since Haruto switched teams. No matter how meticulous the intelligence network was, it wasn't that fast since they were outside the Seireitei.

"Yes."

Haruto nodded.

"You should know that I have no interest in joining the Gotei 13."

Naa Ichihara was unable to explain her Zanpakuto and its origins.

--To allow ordinary Rukongai strength to directly join the Gotei 13, they would need the endorsement of a captain.

"I'm inviting you to join the Stealth Force..."

"The adjutant of the second Patrol Corps, interested?"

Haruto asked with a smile.

From Naa Ichihara's perspective, the Stealth Force and the Gotei 13 are actually not the same.

"What is your current status?"

"Deputy Commander of the Stealth Force, and concurrently Captain of the Second Squad 'Patrol Corps."

Naa Ichihara knew this very well.

The Second Division, which deals with intelligence and surveillance, has always been in the hands of Ōmaeda trusted confidant of the Shihoin Clan.

"Arrest at will?"

Naa Ichihara did indeed become interested:

This is even more useful than the official status of the Gotei 13.

In all those years she'd spent navigating the Rukongai, she'd accumulated a long list of enemies she'd made enemies with but hadn't yet dealt with.

I'll give you a list; the rest is up to you.

"Aren't you afraid I'll ruin your reputation?"

"I don't believe you're unaware of the recent rumors, and I trust your character."

"... cut."

Naa Ichihara curled her lip in disdain.

"Da da."

Dry cigarette ash fell onto the jade plate, Naa Ichihara, dressed in a red embroidered high-slit cheongsam, stood up from the cushion.

--No matter the occasion, she always dresses herself up quite glamorously.

"Your suggestion is certainly amusing..."

I agree.

"Call out."

As the pipe spun, it transformed back into Zanpakuto and was sheathed at his waist, a shard that had somehow appeared sometime earlier.

Graceful and charming...

That perfect balance between youth and maturity is a beauty that Haruto rarely sees in other women.

"Wait."

Before Haruto turned around-

"When I'm not around, will Josuke handle Jōsuke gang's affairs?"

It's up to you.

"I do want to train him, but this kid might not be able to hold his own... He doesn't have the air of that 'big brother' he used to talk about."

The Jōsuke brother Josuke was referring to was naturally Haruto, whom he had known since his time in the District 66.

"I'll have the Thirteenth Division help me out..."

You should recognize Kūkaku Shiba, right?

Thanks to Kaien's connection, Haruto is quite familiar with the current Shiba Clan.

"... One of the Five Great Noble Clans? She must have been the boss of West Rukongai, right?"

The Seireitei separates the West Rukongai Seireitei.

"It's alright. Her younger brother Ganju Shiba, has been active in East Rukongai lately. We'll just have Kaien give him a heads-up."

"The vice-captain of the Thirteenth Division, who is also the current head of the Shiba Clan... is he really so easy to order around?"

"Just think of me as having good interpersonal relationships."

"So popular that even getting promoted to a mid-level noble would cause people to sabotage him?"

"... You were just pretending you didn't know."

"..."

I don't know why.

Haruto's friends all seem to enjoy oral exercises, and although they usually lose to him in the end, they really enjoy it immensely.

Let's go.

Naa Ichihara stood beside Haruto.

"Should I go directly to the Stealth Force?"

Even though she was already considered tall for a woman, from Haruto's perspective she still looked like a little girl.

"No, let's go to the Eighth Division and gather intelligence first."

Haruto already had a lot of information about the Second Division and Rukongai, but he still wanted to get more details, so he had to ask his old friends from the Eighth Division for help.

"The Eighth Division..."

Of course, Naa Ichihara was not unaware of the situation surrounding Haruto's lovers.

Won't anyone get jealous?

"That's because you're too aggressive... Come to think of it, you and Ayaka don't seem to get along very well."

Are you pretending you didn't see that girl's murderous glare?

"No."

"... a boring man."

"Today's experience has been interesting enough, didn't you see I didn't even bother you?"

"I take back what I said earlier, you vulgar man."

"All men are like this; the only difference is whether they show it in public."

"... You think you've seen things clearly."

After making her Naa Ichihara added:

"Remember to give me your endorsement. Dealing with the noble lords of Seireitei requires more than just the strength of Vice-Captain-level."

When she encountered the incident with Sakai Shukugo, Naa Ichihara already possessed Fifth-Class Reii, equivalent to Vice-Captain-level. After handing over the burden, perhaps due to her mood, she recently even broke through to the fourth rank... Appointing her as a vice-commander would be more than enough.

"Rest assured."

"A tricky one, I'll remove the thorns beforehand."

There are basically no Captain-level Soul Reapers among the mid-level nobles; Haruto only needs to pay special attention to a few upper-level noble families.

Haruto certainly couldn't openly attack or kill members outside the Stealth Force, but he wanted to teach them a lesson they wouldn't forget...

He certainly won't be polite.

"That's good."

One month later.

The routine Noble Assembly soon came to an end.

The meeting proceeded unusually quickly, not because there was a lack of topics to discuss, but simply because more than half of the nobles were somewhat distracted.

What's wrong with you?

They've done so much already that it's impossible to count it all.

Who would have thought...

Those old, trivial matters were unexpectedly brought up one day, and even more so...

The kind where you wake up in the morning and see a whole book on your bedside table.

Capable yet chooses not to kill?

The nobles understood perfectly: to maintain the social circle, everyone still needed to follow the rules.

But if you don't even make a request...

That's what truly makes people uneasy.

After all...

Nobody wants to have a debt collector's knife hanging over their head all the time.

And.

These are still in a better situation.

Those whose mental state was truly terrible... the clansmen who were finally managed to get into the Stealth Force, only to have their heads hung from the treetops or pond edges in their own yards late at night—that's what could truly terrify someone.

Because there are too few people.

The Shihoin Clan rarely speaks at meetings or other formal occasions.

But this does not mean that the status of the Four Great Noble Clans can be ignored: planting spies in the direct forces of the great noble families—regardless of whether they have ulterior motives or not, if the Shihoin Clan investigates, no one will be able to protect them.

The key point is...

Because Yoruichi Shihōin didn't care about this matter, during the years she was in charge, dozens of noble families from different backgrounds infiltrated the Punishment Force.

Now.

One head a day, and I've been losing them for a whole month...

The nobles, feeling guilty, finally couldn't resist gathering together for a discussion.

We're doomed!

The Shihoin Clan isn't just going to let things slide; they're waiting for the right moment to settle scores!

Just then...

"Report!"

More than one noble family head who left the Noble Assembly received secret reports from spies...

It could hardly be considered a secret report anymore. After all, no matter how important the news was, if dozens of men in black appeared in the same location at the same time to report it, anyone would know that something was wrong.

After they had read the message in their hands...

"How is that possible!"

This is unbelievable.

This is outrageous!

This is because I'm short on money.

"The retaliation came so quickly..."

This is a case of regretting not buying the remedy sooner.

Actually.

Everyone received the same message:

The Shihoin Clan Tsunayashiro Clan Executive Militia, the Fifth Seat of the Second Division and the captain of the 5th Division of the Stealth Force, whom the Tsunayo family had painstakingly bribed, was beheaded at Sōkyoku Hill by Central 46 to vent the Shihoin Clan's dissatisfaction.

As for the inspector in charge of this execution, it was a name they had never heard of yet was all too familiar with: