The Situation Has Changed!

Chiba Makoto spoke somewhat sheepishly.

"Teacher Unohana overpraises me. It seems I caused everyone quite a bit of trouble instead, didn't I? I truly have all of you to thank for being able to come back to life."

"Indeed. Makoto, you sacrificed yourself without saying a word. You broke your promise to return and play a game with me. That is not the way to treat a friend."

Kuchiki Byakuya replied with a cold expression, though the corners of his lips lifted inadvertently.

"Sorry, sorry, Byakuya. I'll personally visit Kuchiki Courtyard later and offer a formal apology," Chiba Makoto said, his face full of remorse.

Kuchiki Byakuya said coldly.

"Good. I will make you understand that your chess skills, stagnant for decades, are no longer a match for mine. Let your defeat be branded upon you as a mark and punishment for breaking your promise."

"Yes, yes, yes..."

Chiba Makoto somewhat sheepishly went along with his friends, including Kuchiki Byakuya, maintaining the same manner he had always displayed in the Seireitei.

He was gentle and kind-hearted, yet his gaze held a faint trace of bewilderment as he examined each person and the changes in his surroundings. He looked exactly like someone who had just awakened after sleeping for decades—flawless, yet utterly low-key.

Of course, after Chiba Makoto had nearly performed a miracle by driving back Aizen Sōsuke not long ago, no one truly thought he was merely a harmless healing-type Soul Reaper anymore.

Still, Chiba Makoto's familiar demeanor and reactions quickly closed the distance between him and his many old acquaintances, allowing all the fond impressions of Chiba Makoto in their memories to swiftly merge with the man before them.

Just as the atmosphere of reunion between Chiba Makoto and the others seemed to grow increasingly lively, Unohana Retsu gave