Familiar Faces from His Memories

This war could hardly be called a just one.

Even eight hundred years ago, the Quincy and the Soul Reapers had harbored a deep hatred for each other.

But after that war ended, the Quincy had kept to themselves. Just because they hunted Hollows too aggressively, the Soul Reapers had slaughtered them on the grounds that they were disrupting the balance of souls. The Quincy had been treated unfairly.

But Natsuki had no intention of speaking up for the Quincy.

Ultimately, his own morals weren't noble enough for that.

At present, he wasn't one of the decision-makers, just an executioner following orders.

Many Soul Reapers had died over the years of war.

As a combat division, the 11th Division had suffered especially heavy casualties. Many people Natsuki knew had fallen in battle, while even more new faces had joined the 11th Division. Some were students who had just graduated from Shino Academy, while others had been transferred from the 3rd Division.

The 3rd Division was a support division. Its role wasn't limited to helping other divisions in times of need. When necessary, if another division was short-handed due to battle, the 3rd Division would also send some of its members to make up for those who had fallen.

For this reason, the 3rd Division had the most members in the entire Gotei 13. In fact, there were cases where multiple people held the same Seated Officer position—all to deal with emergencies that might arise at any time.

As the 11th Division's vice-captain, Natsuki had wanted to reduce casualties among his men. But in the face of a prolonged war, there was only so much he could do. At first, the fighting had been limited to Mixed-Blood Quincy and ordinary Soul Reapers. But as the war continued to evolve, the strength of those entering the fray kept increasing.

Even the involvement of vice-captains like Natsuki wasn't the war's final stage.

Later on, even the captains of the Gotei 13 personally joined the fighting, facing the Pure-Blood Quincy.

Gosu, as captain of the 11th Division, naturally led from the front.

He fought hard, but in the end, he simply wasn't strong enough.

He was gravely wounded fighting the Quincy and ultimately had no choice but to return to Soul Society to recuperate.

At a glance, Gosu's defeat might have seemed humiliating.

But as things unfolded, he wasn't the one who suffered the greatest disgrace.

A captain had been killed in battle!

The odds of a Gotei 13 captain dying in battle were quite high.

Though Soul Reapers lived long lives, many souls with spiritual power could live safely in Rukongai for decades, even centuries, before becoming Soul Reapers. Yet once they truly became Soul Reapers and grew powerful, they could no longer expect to live in peace for so long.

The price of having power was facing greater dangers.

As those standing at the pinnacle of the Soul Reapers, the Gotei 13 captains faced the greatest dangers of all.

Their enemies were powerful, so they had to fight with everything they had, without the slightest lapse in vigilance. Often, one moment of carelessness could cost them their lives.

All Natsuki could do about the captain's death was sigh.

As one of the war's participants, he hadn't fought in the Human World the entire time.

He had also returned to Soul Society during the war and spent some time recovering.

Soul Society had adopted a system of rotating rest periods, sending Soul Reapers to the Human World to exterminate the Quincy in shifts.

After returning to Soul Society, Natsuki hadn't sat idle. He had devoted himself to training.

As the 11th Division's vice-captain, unlike when he had been a Seated Officer, his position meant he inevitably came into contact with captains and vice-captains from the other divisions.

Some of the captains were people he didn't know, while others were familiar faces from his memories.

There was no need to say much about Captain-Commander Yamamoto of the 1st Division.

The Second Division Captain was named Shihoin Utsusemi. He wasn't Yoruichi from the original story, but her grandfather.

The 3rd Division Captain was another unfamiliar face, named Toyama Hisanobu. Natsuki did know its Third Seat, Otoribashi Rojuro.

As for the 4th Division, its captain was Unohana Retsu. That went without saying.

The Fifth Division Captain was another old acquaintance: Hirako Shinji. He had become captain around the same time as Gosu, just a year or two apart, making him a relatively young captain.

But the person Natsuki cared about most wasn't Hirako Shinji. It was his vice-captain, the young Aizen Sosuke.

As for the 6th Division, its captain was Kuchiki Ginrei, and its vice-captain was Kuchiki Sojun.

Both were people from Kuchiki Byakuya's memories, mentioned briefly in an anime-original storyline.

There were also many people from Natsuki's memories in the divisions that followed. Some hadn't become captains yet, but they were already beginning to make a name for themselves.

One could say that Soul Reapers who would become captains or vice-captains in the future were all geniuses. Once they joined the Gotei 13, they were bound to make a name for themselves.

Even Aizen had kept his strength hidden until he revealed his true colors in the original story.

He had at least held the rank of 5th Division vice-captain.

Urahara Kisuke was much the same. Before becoming captain of the 12th Division, he had been the 2nd Division's Third Seat, while also serving as captain of its Third Detachment.

While he was in Soul Society, even though Natsuki hadn't gone out of his way to make friends, these people had approached him to say hello. Some Soul Reapers, especially those who hadn't taken part in the war in the Human World, were very curious about what was happening there. They came up to Natsuki to ask about the fighting, and after a while, they had all become old friends.

By now, Natsuki got along well with the vice-captains of the various divisions.

In the woods below Sokyoku Hill, Natsuki's figure darted and flickered through the trees. One moment he appeared on one branch, the next on another. He was practicing Shunpo.

Shunpo was the footwork Soul Reapers used to move instantaneously.

Because Reishi was so dense in Soul Society and Hueco Mundo, Shunpo couldn't carry someone through the sky here as it could in the Human World. Still, there were ways to increase one's speed.

For instance, one could practice Shunpo in places where it was difficult to find footing. Darting between tree branches was one such method.

Yoruichi had told Natsuki about this way of training.

It seemed he had triggered the saying that if you spoke of the devil, he would appear.

Not long after Natsuki began practicing, a woman's voice rang out nearby. "Natsuki, you really are diligent!"

Natsuki stopped practicing Shunpo, and his figure came into view.

His appearance hadn't changed at all compared to a few years ago.

The woman standing before him, however, looked very different from how she appeared in the original story.

She had the golden eyes unique to the Shihoin Family and brown skin. She wore a specially tailored black Shihakusho, its wide sleeves cut short to reveal her brown arms. The legs had been tapered as well. But that wasn't the biggest difference. The biggest difference was that she wore her hair short.

"Yoruichi, you're here!"