With Sasakibe Chojiro accompanying them, Lin Nan and Katori Batsunsai returned to the 8th Division captain's office.
As soon as they entered, they saw the Captain-Commander of the Gotei, Yamamoto Shigekuni, seated in the place of honor, with the bald Kumoi Entetsu and Zhi Xing Nai Wu Gang standing below him.
When Zhi Xing saw Katori enter, he immediately looked at Kumoi beside him, wearing a rueful expression. "I told you little sister Katori wouldn't listen to us, little baldy. And it's not that we got here too late—the Captain-Commander and the others got here too fast..."
Knowing Katori as they did, they had guessed from the start that she wouldn't report Lin Nan's situation on her own. When they spotted people from the 1st Division in the distance along the way, the two of them had immediately returned to the 8th Division to give her a heads-up.
They hadn't expected to be cornered by the Captain-Commander the moment they walked in.
Kumoi gazed at Katori with concern, sneaked a glance at the Captain-Commander in the seat of honor, and sighed deeply.
Yamamoto sat upright, his voice low. "That's enough! You're trying to send a warning right in front of me? Want me to train you in swordsmanship for a month?"
Below him, Lin Nan took a careful look at Yamamoto, who was still middle-aged. He had two thick, downward-curving mustaches, and the beard on his chin reached just to his collarbone. His head was shaved in the traditional style, with a gleaming bald spot on top.
Compared with the familiar elderly Yamamoto from the manga, he looked especially fearsome now. If not for his rough voice being much the same, it would have been hard to believe they were the same person.
"No, no, Brother Yamamoto. We were just taking a walk after dinner and somehow ended up here. If you have things to take care of, please carry on. We won't bother you."
The moment Zhi Xing heard about sword practice, he waved both hands as he spoke, backing away while dragging Kumoi out of the captain's office with him.
Lin Nan was a little stunned.
So this was one of the original captains? How was he nothing like an assassin? He was more of a goofball.
"Instead of reporting what happened, you went and pulled a stunt behind everyone's back." Yamamoto Shigekuni ignored the two as they fled. He turned his stern gaze to Katori Batsunsai and said,
"Even a woman should have some basic principles when carrying out her duties."
Faced with such obvious contempt, Katori Batsunsai's playful mood, which had made her want to sit back and watch the show, vanished in an instant. Pride and stubbornness welled up inside her.
Her face expressionless, she spoke softly and calmly, without a hint of deference. "In the bloody war against the Empire of Light two hundred years ago, half of the male captains among the thirteen captains of the Court Guard Squad were killed, while two-thirds of the three female captains survived."
"Hm?!" Yamamoto Shigekuni's anger flared. He slammed his hand down on the table, his brows knitting tightly together, but not a word came out.
After a moment, he closed his eyes bitterly and said in a low voice, "Saito, the most reckless one, is gone now. I only hope that you and Unohana will think things through before acting from now on, and take care of your lives. I wouldn't want my friendship with your brother to have been for nothing."
"When you released your Zanpakuto two hundred years ago, did you think about sparing the lives of the other captains and squad members?"
Katori's round glasses could not hide her unyielding gaze. She stared at the Captain-Commander, her gentle voice revealing an unshakable resolve.
Beside them, Lin Nan tried his best to make himself seem invisible and avoid drawing anyone's attention, while secretly listening more intently than anyone.
"The Empire of Light"? "Bloody war"? Two hundred years ago... Did that mean the first war against Yhwach? Sure enough, the current timeline was eight hundred years before the manga's original story!
And judging by their conversation, there was more to that battle than met the eye?
"Captain Katori! How can you be so disrespectful to Lord Genryusai? I think if it hadn't been for that battle..." Sasakibe Chojiro couldn't help speaking up.
Katori Batsunsai turned toward Chojiro. Behind her round glasses was a face cold as frost. She said icily, "Did I ask for your opinion? Was I talking to you? Vice-Captain Chojiro?"
"You..." Sasakibe Chojiro was left speechless. Humiliated, he couldn't help turning red.
"That's enough!" Yamamoto Shigekuni struck the ground hard with the scabbard in his hand. A dull thud rang out, stopping the argument before it could continue.
There was a soft knock at the door of the captain's office. A squad member nervously announced from outside, "The 11th Division captain is here!"
The door slid open slowly, and Unohana walked in with a calm expression. She bowed slightly. "Pardon the interruption, Captain-Commander. I was hoping to discuss something with Captain Katori. I didn't realize you were here as well."
After speaking, she moved to a spot not far from Katori and stood there on her own, looking so relaxed that she might have come by for tea.
Looking at Unohana, Lin Nan recalled their clash and couldn't help getting goosebumps again. He thought to himself:
I heard she'd just been scolded by Yamamoto? She's so calm. She doesn't look like someone who's just been chewed out...
Wait, is that a bandage peeking out from her collar? Who hurt her? Did Yamamoto slash her?
...Well, someone as bloodthirsty as her probably only knows how to submit when she's been cut down.
Yamamoto gave a slight nod. "No matter. You're here for this Rukongai resident, too, aren't you? Wait over there for now."
Unohana nodded in acknowledgment, then quietly stepped back half a pace.
Seeing Unohana so docile just now, Lin Nan couldn't help marveling again. It seemed that the only person capable of taming a bloodthirsty killer like Unohana was Yamamoto, who was even more ruthless.
Yamamoto turned his attention back to Katori and continued, "The Court Guard Squad is facing its greatest difficulty in two hundred years. I don't want what happened in the past to affect the Court Guard Squad as a whole."
"As the culprit who personally destroyed half the Court Guard Squad, of course you'd think that way. Perhaps the cripple from the Shihoin House plans to establish the Stealth Force because the Four Great Noble Houses have already lost faith in you."
Katori Batsunsai's words still cut deep, every sentence striking Yamamoto where it hurt.
An awkward silence fell over the room, and then the air filled with tension.
All Lin Nan could do was lower his head and pretend to be deaf and mute. The conversation was not only packed with information, but Katori was even more astonishing by contrast with Unohana.
How could a woman who looked so delicate dare to go head-to-head with Yamamoto? The old saying was right: you couldn't judge a person by appearances. Were women with glasses always this unexpected?
"Katori, mind your words," Unohana couldn't help reminding her quietly.
Katori didn't look away. Light glinted off her oversized round lenses, making her expression impossible to read. "I'm afraid that sort of restraint disappeared two hundred years ago. Otherwise, why has the Court Guard Squad been stretched so thin against the old nobles' rebels for the past two hundred years?"
Lin Nan furrowed his brows, sensing that something wasn't right. These two were talking past each other. Was I really supposed to hear what came next?
Yamamoto was silent for a moment. Instead of replying, he glanced at Lin Nan and said, "A conversation between captains shouldn't be shared too freely in front of outsiders. We came here today for this Rukongai resident in the first place. What's your name?"
You old guys have been chatting online for ages, and only now you realize I haven't joined the room?
Lin Nan grumbled inwardly, then raised his head and looked at Yamamoto solemnly.
"Captain-Commander Yamamoto! My name is Lin Nan."
"I heard you fought Captain Unohana for three exchanges?"
There was no need to mention the outcome. The fact that Lin Nan was still standing there was already the strangest part.
Lin Nan nodded.
"You're not a Soul Reaper. How did you dare to fight the Kenpachi?" Even Yamamoto, powerful as he was, was deeply curious about something that seemed almost too absurd to be true. He narrowed his eyes and asked sharply.
Lin Nan's answer was simple. "If I can win, I fight. If I can't, I die."
The others present couldn't help lowering their heads in helplessness.
That was the same as saying nothing.
Yamamoto nodded, closed his eyes, and pondered for a moment. Then he said, "My Court Guard Squad is in urgent need of talented people right now. Lin Nan, would you...
"be willing to become a Soul Reaper?"
"Huh?" Lin Nan could hardly believe his ears.
What was going on today? First a captain had invited him to join her division, and now the Captain-Commander was doing the same?
Was the Gotei 13 having trouble meeting its recruitment targets?
Perhaps noticing Lin Nan's hesitation, Yamamoto added gravely, "The Court Guard Squad is desperately short on personnel and needs promising talent.
"That was only an informal question. Even if you want to join, you'll still have to complete the proper training and recruitment process."
Had a windfall really just come looking for him?
Lin Nan was about to nod when something stirred in his heart. His eyes quickly swept across the people beside him.
The atmosphere in the room seemed a little off.
Unohana had arrived last. Her gaze was lowered, but it was angled slightly toward him, as though she was waiting for his answer.
Katori Batsunsai stood still, looking straight ahead. Beneath her wide sleeves, however, her slender hands were clenched tight, her knuckles already pale.
Yamamoto stood directly in front of him, watching him thoughtfully as he waited for an answer.
Behind Yamamoto, Sasakibe Chojiro also had his gaze lowered, but Lin Nan could sense something different coming from him.
When Lin Nan's eyes fell on the hand resting on the hilt of Chojiro's sword, he suddenly understood. His heart tightened.
It was killing intent.
An extremely faint killing intent, radiating from Sasakibe Chojiro.
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