"If those Quincy continue as before, merely keeping to their own little patch of land, then we of the Gotei 13 cannot be bothered to interfere for now!"
"But if they overstep in any way, then with this Ryujin Jakka in my hand, I will personally show them exactly what the Gotei 13 relies on to protect Soul Society—and what we rely on to 'guard' the Seireitei..."
Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni's eyes blazed like torches, and terrifying Spiritual Pressure poured from his entire body.
Even Araki, who had already become a Gotei 13 captain and defeated the former "Kenpachi," Unohana, to claim the name of "Kenpachi," could not help but twitch his eyelids upon sensing the immense Spiritual Pressure within Yamamoto Genryusai.
"Then I'm relieved!"
Araki looked at Genryūsai, who resembled a fierce tiger before him, and revealed a faint smile.
Even Araki, a fellow Gotei 13 captain alongside Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni, felt his heart tremble when faced with Genryūsai's bared fangs and claws!
If it had been any other Gotei 13 member, even a vice-captain-level Soul Reaper, they might have already been knocked unconscious by the overwhelming Spiritual Pressure inside Yamamoto...
This was the strength of Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni, Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13!
Once Araki had set his mind at ease, he and Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni briefly discussed plans to deal with the Quincy in the 1st Division's meeting room...
In truth, calling it a plan would be less accurate than calling it a warning!
Aside from subtly revealing the Quincy's abilities to Old Man Yama, the phrase Araki repeated most often was, "Better safe than sorry!"
In the end, Araki reminded Old Man Yama far too many times to "be sure to deal with the Quincy carefully, and if you get a chance to kill their leader, do not miss it—strike decisively and with everything you have"...
Araki was directly thrown out of the 1st Division Barracks by Old Man Yama, whose temper was already exceedingly violent, whose methods were decisive and ruthless, and who believed in, "If you can't decide what to do, don't hesitate. If they won't submit, beat them down!"
Oh, and Araki was not the only one Old Man Yama threw out. Araki's vice-captain, Unohana Retsu, was kicked out with him.
"That old bastard Genryūsai just won't listen to reason!"
"Ugh... if you won't listen to your disciple, you'll regret it soon enough! You old bastard Yamamoto!"
Standing outside the 1st Division Barracks, Araki helplessly scratched his cheek.
Ever since Genryūsai established the Gotei 13, Araki was the first captain whose excessive talking had driven Old Man Yama, the Captain-Commander, beyond endurance, resulting in him personally being thrown out of the 1st Division Barracks...
Moreover, Araki was probably not merely the first captain to be thrown out of the 1st Division Barracks by Yamamoto for talking too much—there likely would not be any successors! Barring the unexpected, Araki would become the only captain ever thrown out of the barracks by Yamamoto for being too chatty!
In fact, when the other Gotei 13 captains heard that Captain-Commander Yamamoto wished to see them, forget taking the initiative to speak—they were so frightened their legs went weak!
Even captains who had not received an "invitation" from Captain-Commander Yamamoto still feared Old Man Yama from the bottom of their hearts! Even if they merely happened to pass by the 1st Division Barracks, they would instinctively quicken their pace, or simply use Shunpo to race past the barracks at high speed!
To these captains, passing by the 1st Division where Old Man Yama resided meant running as fast as possible, terrified that Genryūsai would spot them and summon them over for a thorough scolding!
Araki, however, was different. He had annoyed Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni into silence...
Without exaggeration, ever since Araki became captain of the 11th Division, he had set yet another brand-new record in the Seireitei!
"So, Captain Araki... what should we do next?!"
Unohana Retsu had remained close at Araki's side. Now that Old Man Yama had thrown them out of the 1st Division Barracks, where they went next had to be decided by Araki, their captain.
"Ugh..."
"Forget it! Since that old bastard won't listen to reason, Retsu, let's go back to the barracks!"
Araki sighed helplessly at her words. He had not expected that he and Unohana Retsu would ultimately be thrown out of the 1st Division Barracks by Old Man Yama...
With no other choice, Araki brought his vice-captain, Unohana Retsu, back to the barracks of the Gotei 13, 11th Division under his command.
After returning to the barracks, Araki once again plunged headfirst into the 11th Division Captain's Office and ignored everyone else in the barracks!
At the same time, Araki issued an order to the entire Gotei 13, 11th Division: only he, the captain, and Unohana Retsu, the vice-captain, were permitted to enter the 11th Division Captain's Office!
No one else was allowed to enter the 11th Division Captain's Office under any circumstances, nor were they allowed to disturb him for any reason! Even if they ran into him inside the barracks, they were not to speak to him...
If the division members had any issues concerning the 11th Division, they could go directly to Unohana Retsu, the 11th Division's vice-captain.
There was no helping it. Araki actually suffered from an incurable terminal illness called "Complete Inability to Communicate with Rough Men Syndrome!" Anyone afflicted with this condition would become restless and irritable when communicating with rough men, and whenever Araki became restless and irritable, he wanted to hit people~
So Araki was not forbidding the division members from speaking to him because he wanted to slack off. He was doing it for the safety of every member of the division! Araki was truly selfless in this regard. For the sake of all the division members, he even took the lead in having the entire 11th Division isolate him...
Thus, although Araki was nominally the captain of the Gotei 13, 11th Division, the 11th Division was still actually controlled by Unohana! This even gave the 11th Division members the illusion that their captain had never changed.
As for why Araki did this, it was simply because he could not be bothered with pointless socializing. In the Gotei 13, anyone who could serve for several decades already counted as an old member, while hardly anyone could retire safely! There was even less reason to become friends with the captains of the First Generation Gotei 13. Those people should first figure out how to survive another thousand years~
As for the ordinary division members, they should first worry about surviving Yhwach's invasion! Even if they survived, their feeble Spiritual Pressure and frail Spiritual Bodies would make it difficult for them to live for another thousand years...
Araki was the kind of person who would become attached even to a cat or dog he raised. He feared that after becoming familiar with the division members, a century later he would watch patch after patch of earth return to Reishi, only to feel needless sorrow.
Perhaps that was the tragedy of long-lived beings! Soul Reapers above Third Class Spiritual Might and those below Third Class Spiritual Might were no longer beings of the same dimension...
And so, several months passed...
At last, a "guest" arrived at the Gotei 13, 11th Division Barracks in search of Araki.
It was only when this "guest" seeking Araki arrived at the 11th Division Barracks that the 11th Division members remembered that their captain had apparently changed~
Outside the 11th Division Barracks stood a tall, upright figure in silence! Without question, this figure had come in search of Araki!
The visitor had short silver-gray hair and eyes of the same color. His features looked somewhat youthful, and he was rather handsome...
Though the young man was still slightly inferior to Araki in appearance, among the "crooked melons and split dates" of the First Generation Gotei 13, he was certainly considered handsome!
More importantly, compared with the Gotei 13, where everyone was a born killer and unbearably crude, this silver-haired man was exceptionally polite, giving off the air of a British gentleman.
At this moment, the young man, dressed in black Shinigami Robes beneath a thin white woven haori and exuding a gentlemanly air, stood before the gates of the 11th Division Barracks. Smiling at the guards, he said, "Could you two trouble yourselves to go inside and report to Captain Araki? Tell him that Chōjirō Sasakibe, vice-captain of the 1st Division, has come to request an audience! I know Captain Araki of your division does not usually see visitors, but if you give him my name, he will most likely agree to meet me..."
Yes, this young man with a somewhat gentlemanly air and impeccable manners was the person most loyal to Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni, Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13: Chōjirō Sasakibe, vice-captain of the 1st Division...
He was also one of only two vice-captains in the Gotei 13 permitted to wear a white haori!
In terms of strength, Chōjirō Sasakibe was unquestionably captain-class!
The Zanpakuto in his hand, Kōkō Gonryō Rikyū, possessed exceptionally outstanding abilities! It was an extremely rare Zanpakuto in Soul Society that could directly affect the weather...
Incidentally, aside from Chōjirō Sasakibe, the other vice-captain in the Seireitei's Gotei 13 currently permitted to wear a white haori was Unohana Retsu, specially approved by Captain-Commander Yamamoto...
"Huh? Captain Araki?! Strange, why does that name sound so familiar?"
"Oh, right! I remember now. Our 11th Division captain seems to be named Araki..."
After hearing Chōjirō Sasakibe's words, the two 11th Division members guarding the gate first froze, then muttered to themselves.
"Is... there some problem?"
Chōjirō Sasakibe was taken aback after hearing the two 11th Division members.
"My apologies, Vice-Captain Sasakibe! Our 11th Division has always been managed by Captain Unohana!"
"As for Captain Araki, whom you seek, we are not certain whether he is in the barracks! Please allow us to first enter the barracks and report your arrival to Captain Unohana, then ask her about Captain Araki's whereabouts..."
The two division members exchanged glances before explaining to Chōjirō Sasakibe.
"Hmm? Captain Unohana?!"
At that, a hint of confusion appeared on Chōjirō Sasakibe's face!
Although a division's vice-captain could barely be considered part of the captain class, and vice-captains would even temporarily take over their captain's position when the captain was transferred away or killed in an accident...
There were also some vice-captains with formidable strength and great personal charisma who were indeed directly addressed as captain by their own division members. But that was when there were no outsiders around, when they were speaking privately within their own division!
Ordinarily, in the presence of outsiders, no matter how outstanding that vice-captain was, their own division members would still address them as vice-captain! Yet when these two division members addressed Unohana, they did not include the prefix "vice"!
It was as if the two division members genuinely believed that Unohana Retsu was their division's captain...
The second thing that puzzled Chōjirō Sasakibe was that he had clearly sensed Araki's Spiritual Pressure within the 11th Division Barracks! Yet these two 11th Division members seemed quite unclear about their captain Araki's whereabouts. This left Sasakibe deeply puzzled. In his view, no matter how unprofessional a division member was, they should at least have a rough idea of where their own captain was, right?!
"So what exactly is going on?!"
"Could it be that Araki gave the captain's position back to Captain Unohana?"
"Ah, I really want to ask and get to the bottom of this..."
"But this is, after all, a matter between that 'married couple.' Wouldn't it be rude for an outsider like me to ask?!"
For a moment, Chōjirō Sasakibe's heart itched terribly.
In truth, based on Chōjirō Sasakibe's understanding of Araki, Araki was indeed capable of doing something as "against the rules" as returning the captaincy to Unohana Retsu!
As for Araki's motive for doing so~
Chōjirō Sasakibe remembered Araki once telling him, "A married life needs a little spice~ That's how feelings last..."
Whether it was the Sasakibe of the past or the Sasakibe of today, he had absolutely no idea what Araki meant by that!
To Chōjirō Sasakibe, things like "marriage" were entirely unnecessary!
In Chōjirō Sasakibe's eyes, having Captain-Commander Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni was enough!
Ahem...
"You are Vice-Captain Sasakibe of the 1st Division, correct?!"
Just as Sasakibe sank into thought, a clear and lovely voice interrupted him, bringing his mind back to the present.
Chōjirō Sasakibe looked up in the direction of the voice and saw Unohana Retsu, draped in a white haori, walking toward him...
Clearly, while supervising her division members' "slashing" training inside the barracks, Unohana Retsu had sensed the Spiritual Pressure Chōjirō Sasakibe had inadvertently released while standing outside the gates of the 11th Division Barracks.
"Captain Unohana!"
With Unohana Retsu's arrival, the two 11th Division members on guard immediately bowed respectfully to her and greeted her loudly.
"Vice-Captain Unohana, hello. I came to see Captain Araki!"
Chōjirō Sasakibe looked at Unohana Retsu as she approached him, hesitated internally several times, and ultimately added the prefix "vice" to her title.
"Kondo, Minamoto, listen carefully! I am no longer the 11th Division's captain! Normally, when no 'guests' have come to the division, it is fine for you to address me that way~ I will not force you to change it, since you are veteran division members and are used to calling me captain. But once 'guests' from other divisions come to visit, you must follow the rules and address me as Vice-Captain!" Unohana Retsu first gently lectured the two guards, then looked at Chōjirō Sasakibe with a smile. "Vice-Captain Sasakibe, you have come?! Captain Araki is already waiting for you in the Captain's Office~"
"Hmm?! O-okay..."
Chōjirō Sasakibe's forehead was covered in cold sweat. He had the distinct feeling that Unohana was hinting at something.
And Sasakibe did not know whether it was merely his imagination, but he felt that Unohana Retsu seemed to have changed. She had become more "kindhearted" than before, yet she also seemed more "scheming" than before.
This chapter is four thousand words! And there's more!
Before you continue