The Division Meeting Convened, the Losers' Resentment

Because of Third Generation Kuroemon Tsujiyo's inefficiency, the captain's haori had been delayed by several days.

This also caused the Captain Inauguration Ceremony to be held a few days later than stated in the notice.

Coupled with Kensei Muguruma's lingering influence within the Ninth Division, quite a few Shinigami Soldiers were dissatisfied with Su Feng.

After all.

Su Feng had only joined the Ninth Division three years ago.

He had joined considerably later than Fifth Seat Kaname Tosen.

Moreover, when Su Feng had served as Third Seat, he had acted as though he cared nothing for worldly affairs and nothing had anything to do with him.

Whether it was clerical assignments or investigations outside the division.

He had never participated in any of them.

Some Ninth Division soldiers had never even seen what Su Feng looked like.

They only knew that the Third Seat position had not been vacant, nothing more.

Yet now, they had been informed that the former Third Seat would become Captain of the Ninth Division.

The soldiers who still clung to fantasies about Kensei Muguruma simply could not accept this.

As a result, when Su Feng summoned the soldiers for an internal division meeting, several dozen of them were absent.

The Ninth Division courtyard.

Within the spacious, empty grounds.

"Wow, so many people actually skipped it."

Rangiku Matsumoto held the attendance sheet in her left hand and marked it with her right.

"Captain, those guys aren't giving you even a shred of respect."

She smiled slyly, like a fox that had successfully stolen a meal.

In Rangiku Matsumoto's impression, whether in the Tsunayashiro Family or at the Soul Reaper Academy, Su Feng had rarely suffered setbacks.

Now that she had finally witnessed such a scene, she was naturally delighted.

The only pity was that she had not brought along the spirit-particle camera developed by the Department of Research and Development.

Everything that was about to happen would be highly collectible.

"Sentimental attachment to their former captain?"

Su Feng spoke without the slightest attempt at concealment. "Is it because he had prestige, or because they don't know enough about me?"

"Or is it a little of everything?"

He knew very well where the problem lay, and he also knew how to solve it.

Now, it depended on whether Fifth Seat Tosen, who had just been discharged from the hospital, was willing to cooperate with him.

"You don't seem nervous at all."

Rangiku Matsumoto sounded somewhat discouraged. "If you can't win over the division, it'll be difficult to carry out the division's work."

"When the time comes, if you can't guarantee mission efficiency at the monthly captain's meeting, your pay might get docked..."

As she spoke, a look of sudden realization appeared on her face. She slapped the attendance sheet and said in exasperation:

"Damn it, I almost forgot. You're a filthy rich bastard who doesn't care about this bit of salary at all."

"The Tsunayashiro Family's daily expenses alone easily exceed a captain's pay..."

Su Feng nodded and replied calmly, "Salary is only a minor issue, but you've guessed my thoughts wrong."

"Winning over the division is actually quite simple."

He left her hanging and did not continue.

Seeing his deliberately mysterious expression, Rangiku Matsumoto could not help puffing out her cheeks in annoyance, looking like a goldfish.

As the soldiers arrived one after another, the spacious courtyard gradually became crowded.

"Captain..."

A slender figure passed straight through the crowd and stopped before Su Feng. She gave a slight bow and said calmly, "Nanao Ise reporting to you."

She wore a black Shinigami uniform, its white sash cinching her waist and making her already slender figure even more alluring.

Her black bangs were held to the left side of her brow by a hairpin. There was rarely any emotional fluctuation in her violet eyes, while gold-rimmed glasses rested on her delicate nose, accentuating her gentle and refined temperament.

While Su Feng sized up the bespectacled girl, she was also studying him.

A rare trace of curiosity and confusion surfaced in the depths of Nanao Ise's violet eyes.

She had originally become a soldier of the Eighth Division and had gradually grown familiar with clerical work. Just as she was preparing to be promoted to Seated Officer, she received a transfer notice issued by Shunsui Kyoraku.

The Eighth Division's Seated Officer position was no longer hers, but the Ninth Division had a place for her.

She would even begin as Third Seat.

The person responsible for Shunsui Kyoraku issuing that order was the man before her, the Ninth Division's new captain.

Tsunayashiro Su Feng.

Nanao Ise could not understand the reason behind this.

As the intelligence division, the Eighth Division was primarily responsible for gathering information throughout Soul Society, tracking developments across Rukongai's eighty districts, as well as the movements of the other divisions.

Her knowledge of Su Feng was likewise limited to what had been described in intelligence reports.

Six uneventful years as a Soul Reaper Academy student, followed by joining the Ninth Division after graduation. Within three years, he had uncovered his own potential, his strength advancing by leaps and bounds. During the Assessment Battle, he had defeated Kaname Tosen, the Ninth Division's Fifth Seat, head-on and successfully become the Captain of the Ninth Division.

Such a brief description revealed nothing at all.

Nanao Ise could not figure out what connection she might have had with Su Feng either, so when they met, she was filled with curiosity.

However, she did not show it on her face and still carried herself with reserved composure.

Su Feng nodded in satisfaction. "Stand to the side for now. We'll be holding a division meeting shortly, and you can take the opportunity to get acquainted with the other Shinigami Soldiers."

After a moment of hesitation, Nanao Ise took her place to Su Feng's right.

Back in the Eighth Division, she had rarely attended division meetings. Usually, she merely carried out orders issued by Seated Officers or the First Division.

This was mainly due to Shunsui Kyoraku's laid-back nature.

If Lisa Yadomaru were still around, the Eighth Division's initiative would likely have increased severalfold.

As the soldiers gradually arrived, Su Feng stepped forward. His calm, indifferent gaze swept across the surroundings, passing over every soldier.

Though he treated everyone equally, his gaze lingered a little longer on one particular figure.

Kaname Tosen, with purple dreadlocks and white goggles.

By then, he had removed his bone mask and was showing his true face.

Yet Kaname Tosen's mood was extremely complicated at that moment.

Especially when he sensed Su Feng's gaze lingering on him.

While recovering from his injuries at the General Relief Station, he had received a transfer notice issued by someone.

At the time, Kaname Tosen had been on the verge of collapse.

According to the plan Aizen had discussed with him, the position of Captain of the Ninth Division was an indispensable link.

Many steps, including the unfolding of their later plans, required the cooperation of that position.

Yet not only had he lost to Su Feng in the Assessment Battle and missed his chance to become captain, he had now been directly kicked out of the Ninth Division.

Although Aizen had not thought much of it and had even offered words of comfort.

But—

How could he possibly accept such a disparity so easily?

On top of that.

The detestable surname of this newly appointed captain made him even more unwilling to accept this so-called transfer notice.

And so.

As the division meeting was about to begin, Kaname Tosen immediately returned to the barracks.

At this division meeting, he would demand justice for himself!