Late at night. 1st Division, Captain-Commander's office. A solitary lamp illuminated the desk before Yamamoto. Most of the spacious office was shrouded in darkness.
"You really are a rare visitor. What brings you here in the middle of the night?"
"Ahaha, Yamamoto, it's been so many years, and you're still the same. So stiff."
Accompanied by the rhythmic clack of wooden sandals, a large, plump figure slowly emerged from the darkness. As the lamplight gradually fell over his body, a string of enormous, blood-red prayer beads across his chest and a thick, long beard came into view.
"Monk of the Eye." Seated behind his desk, Yamamoto stared hard at the man's face. "Why aren't you staying in the Royal Palace? What are you doing here?"
"Ah, now you're making me sound like a stranger! Didn't we fight side by side over a thousand years ago?" Ichibe Hyosube, the so-called Monk of the Eye, rubbed his round, bald head and said with some hesitation, "Why does it seem like you're not very happy to see me now?"
Because of a pun in his name, some people also called him the "Monk of the Eye." In that regard, his enormous, perfectly round eyes made the nickname all the more fitting.
Yamamoto gently stroked his goatee. "That's not it. But it's hardly proper for the head of the Royal Guard to sneak into my office in the dead of night like a thief.
"Even when the Seireitei was besieged by the Quincy, Squad Zero never showed itself. Does this mean something important has happened?"
Remembering the great battle two hundred years ago and the price the Gotei 13 had paid, Yamamoto's words carried unmistakable resentment.
If Squad Zero had intervened back then, surely the outcome would have been completely different. Nearly half the captains wouldn't have died in the line of duty.
Ichibe Hyosube casually pulled over a chair and sat down across from Yamamoto at the desk. "It seems you have quite a grudge against the Royal Guard. Understandable, considering the heavy price you paid last time.
"But as the head of the Royal Guard, I still need to remind you: a Soul Reaper must always put their duty first.
"Your duty is to protect the Seireitei and the Five Great Noble Families. Our duty is simply to protect the Soul King. Only by each fulfilling our own responsibilities can we ensure the stability of the entire Soul Society."
His wide-open eyes, like a pair of bronze mirrors, stared straight at Yamamoto. His words carried an indescribable air of authority.
Yamamoto met his gaze without backing down, releasing his spiritual pressure without restraint. His pure white Captain's Haori fluttered in the windless room with a loud rustling sound.
Even the air in the spacious office seemed to grow hot. The monk, however, remained unfazed, still staring at Yamamoto with bell-like eyes and a broad grin.
After a moment, Yamamoto sighed softly and let his surging spiritual pressure dissipate. He turned, grabbed the teapot from the stove, poured two cups of hot tea, and set one before the monk and one before himself. "Let's put the small talk aside. Now, tell me why you came.
"You came in person, so it must be important. But you also snuck in at night, which means it's something you can't discuss openly, right?"
Ichibe's expression finally grew more serious. "Being Captain-Commander has helped you mature quite a bit! You're not so rash anymore. This concerns an old comrade who once fought beside you. Can you guess who?"
"Stop beating around the bush. It'll be dawn soon."
"I'm not beating around the bush! If you can guess who it is, I can spare myself the trouble of explaining what led up to this."
Yamamoto pondered for a moment, then reasoned it out. "If he's an old comrade, that means he's no longer alive. And since he fought beside me, he can only be one of the six captains who died in the Court Guard Squad back then. I personally recruited most of them, and most were younger than me.
"If you truly haven't left the Spirit King Palace since the Hollow invasion over a thousand years ago, you wouldn't have had a chance to meet those young captains... So it can only be..."
The candle on the desk illuminated their faces. Each holding a teacup, they uttered the same name softly, almost in unison: "Saizo Kotsukotsu!"
Ichibe Hyosube gave him a thick thumbs-up and burst out laughing again. "Impressive, Yamamoto! You guessed it right away!"
Yamamoto ignored him, lifted the last of the tea in his cup, and drained it, as if deliberately trying to drown out the image of Saizo Kotsukotsu's death in his mind.
"Did you come to see me tonight because of him?"
Ichibe Hyosube scratched his bald head. "You know, Saizo Kotsukotsu was an outstanding priest. Many years ago, I entrusted something to his shrine for safekeeping, and he did a fine job of looking after it. That is, until you formed the Gotei 13 two hundred years ago and made him one of your candidates for captain.
"You were facing a fight to the death, and I was worried about the safety of that thing. So I approached him in private before the battle and took back custody of it..."
Yamamoto's right hand stopped as he turned his teacup. He seemed to catch the unspoken implication in the monk's words. "Before the battle, you already had an idea of how great our losses would be?"
The monk's pupils narrowed slightly, then he shook his head. "Hahaha, of course not... I had no idea... I was just taking precautions. Though I sealed Yhwach's abilities, he was still incredibly powerful. Anyone could have died in that bloody battle."
Yamamoto fixed his gaze on Ichibe Hyosube's face and said nothing, quietly waiting for him to continue.
"...Since I couldn't take that thing back to the Royal Palace, I disguised its appearance and left it at the shrine. Later, it drew the attention of a Rukongai resident who often came to worship at the shrine.
"His child had considerable talent and was willing to offer himself as a sacrifice, so I agreed to let the thing reside inside the child for the time being..."
Yamamoto furrowed his brow in confusion. "What kind of thing can exist inside a person? And why does the host need to have talent?"
The monk waved a hand, indicating that this wasn't the point. "All you need to understand is that it's something extremely, extremely important... In any case, I also sought the Soul King's approval. Once I received a positive answer, we settled on this arrangement for the time being.
"But the child's health is now cause for concern. His spiritual pressure potential is exceptional, but his body is growing weaker by the day. In my opinion, he needs proper training to strengthen his body. It would also do him good to enjoy a few years of decent meals in the Seireitei and build up his strength. After all, there isn't much proper food to eat in Kotsukotsu District.
"Since he's the Soul King's chosen guardian, I had no choice but to come here and ask for a favor."
Yamamoto guessed what the other man had in mind. "You want to...?"
"Exactly. I already know about how you and Shihoin Sennichi scared Central 46. I came to see you now so I could take advantage of the opportunity..." Ichibe Hyosube nodded and gently set his teacup on the desk.
"...and send the child I mentioned to the Shino Academy as well."
Kirinji's open-air hot spring bath.
"Boss, the temperature's almost right!" A muscular man wearing round glasses that gave him a somewhat comical look stood in the courtyard and called out to Kirinji Tenjiro, who was seated on a small stool.
"The bath supplies are ready too!" Another burly, heavily muscled man walked in from farther away, carrying a stack of neatly folded towels.
Kirinji stood up solemnly and turned toward the room behind him. He raised his voice in invitation. "Come on out, esteemed guests of the Spirit Hot Spring! It's time to witness The Miracle!"
Lin Nan came out of the room wrapped in a towel, looking confused and wary, and clearly reluctant. "You said this would be the last time, right?"
If Kirinji's Shunpo weren't so fast that he couldn't outrun him, he absolutely wouldn't have given him one last chance.
Kirinji Tenjiro held a blade of grass between his teeth, raised his right hand, and declared with conviction:
"One last time! I promise!"
Before you continue