Junrinan, the First District of the 'Rukongai District.'
"Captain Kuruyashiki, are you all right?!"
Ashido looked at Kuruyashiki lying amid the rubble and spoke helplessly.
"Yo! Ashido, did Captain-Commander Araki send you flying too?!"
Kuruyashiki happily greeted his friend upon seeing Ashido.
"No, no, no. You're the only one who got sent flying, Captain..."
Ashido replied speechlessly after hearing Kuruyashiki's words.
"Ahahaha, I was the only one sent flying?!"
Kuruyashiki said, wearing a foolish grin.
Then, after thinking for a moment, he asked Ashido, "Ashido, what did I tell you? Our Captain-Commander is strong like a monster, right?!"
"Just as you said, our Captain-Commander is exactly like you. Both of you are monsters that ordinary Soul Reaper squad members like us could never catch up to in our entire lives~"
Ashido replied helplessly after hearing Kuruyashiki.
"No, no, no..."
"Ashido, you've got one thing wrong!"
Kuruyashiki shook his head repeatedly after hearing Ashido.
"Hm?!"
Ashido looked puzzled at Kuruyashiki's words.
"First, Ashido, you're very talented. You're not some ordinary Soul Reaper squad member!"
"Second, Captain-Commander Araki isn't a monster like me! He's a monster far stronger than I am! Even if I spent my entire life trying, I doubt I could catch up to Captain-Commander Araki. Whenever I become stronger and think the distance between Captain-Commander Araki and me has grown smaller, he always reveals strength that I simply cannot see through."
As Kuruyashiki spoke, he lay back in the ruins behind him and stared up at the sky above the 'Seireitei,' his eyes filled with emotion. He had thought that after putting in enough effort, he should have grown closer to the heavens. Yet when he looked carefully, he realized it was only because he had stood up that he had developed the illusion of being closer to the