Squad 11, Fourth Seat

As a clone of the King of Hueco Mundo, Hyakume-ki Seikyo knew his past experiences with perfect clarity... after all, he was him.

As a transmigrator, the King of Hueco Mundo's life could be considered both rich in experience and utterly tedious.

He had transmigrated into this world in his physical body.

However, because he had arrived directly in Hueco Mundo, he had unsurprisingly died within five minutes of his arrival.

Killed by a Hollow!

Yet, his unwillingness to accept such an end caused him to rapidly metamorphose into a Hollow himself, allowing him to turn the tables and kill the very Hollow that had slain him.

Following that, he found himself on a battlefield, devouring hundreds of other Hollows in a desperate bid to evolve into a Menos.

He clearly remembered that the final Hollow to contest control of his body was one capable of using an "aging" ability.

But that Hollow's consciousness was ultimately devoured by him!

Thus, he became a Gillian.

After continuously devouring other Gillians, he evolved into an Adjuchas.

It was such a coincidence that it seemed whenever their kind gathered and ascended to the rank of Adjuchas, they would inevitably become a skeletal Hollow.

After waging war in Hueco Mundo for countless years, he became a Vasto Lorde, established Las Noches, and became the true King of Hueco Mundo.

The numerous events that transpired during that time were almost all legendary in their own right.

Yet, the one thing the clone Hyakume-ki Seikyo did not know was the purpose for which he had been split off.

If it were to plant a sleeper agent in the Soul Society, he wouldn't need to order himself to work so diligently, truly forcing himself to act like a Soul Reaper.

There would be no need for him to personally take the field, either.

He often felt as if his existence was merely to provide amusement for the original, intentionally forced to relive the original plot.

Of course, these thoughts occurred only while Hyakume-ki Seikyo was descending from the sky.

Once he landed, he cast these matters to the back of his mind, reverting to his role as the 4th Seat of the 11th Division... that most mysterious of seated officer positions.

The other squad members had already gathered around, one after another expressing their reverence for 4th Seat Hyakume-ki.

This scene reminded Hyakume-ki Seikyo of the time he first arrived in the Soul Society two hundred years ago, when he saw that Kenpachi who had even cut down a Vasto Lorde!

"Damn it, Seikyo! You didn't even leave a single one for us!"

"You damn glutton, always hogging all the fun!"

Two voices—one boisterous and the other complaining—suddenly drifted over from the direction of the Seireitei as two Soul Reapers in shihakusho approached.

Walking over in wooden sandals with a swagger was Madarame Ikkaku, the 3rd Seat of the 11th Division.

Dressed like a maiden—and destined to become even more feminine in the future—was Ayasegawa Yumichika, the 5th Seat of the 11th Division.

They had both rushed over upon hearing that a Menos had invaded, only to find that they hadn't managed to snag a single one! Naturally, they took their frustration out on Hyakume-ki Seikyo.

But was Hyakume-ki Seikyo really someone so easily bullied?

"Tch! Who told you two to be so slow!" Hyakume-ki Seikyo didn't give them an ounce of face. "First come, first served. Keep yapping and I'll dock your snack budget! Besides, your wages are already being garnished for the next twenty years to pay for the barracks you two destroyed. It's only natural that the cafeteria stops letting you two buy snacks on credit!"

Stung by Hyakume-ki Seikyo's words, the two unyielding 11th Division officers simultaneously adopted a fawning expression.

Though they were cursing him in their hearts, they dared not provoke Hyakume-ki Seikyo to his face.

After all, he was the true "Lieutenant" of the 11th Division in every sense of the word.

It could be said that if Hyakume-ki Seikyo were gone now, the 11th Division wouldn't even be able to function!

Damn rich guy!

Madarame Ikkaku and Ayasegawa Yumichika thought in unison.

As a combat division, the 11th Division was free to leave once all the invading Hollows had been eradicated.

The trauma suffered by the residents of the West 60th District would be handled by Soul Reapers from other divisions.

Listening to the sorrowful cries of the residents who had lost their loved ones, Hyakume-ki Seikyo had long since become numb to such things.

However, unlike the other members who were heading back toward the Seireitei, Hyakume-ki veered off in a different direction when they reached the 50th District.

"Seikyo, where are you going?"

Madarame Ikkaku noticed Hyakume-ki Seikyo's departure and asked curiously.

"There are some things to attend to. Don't worry about me. I'll be back in a while!"

With that, Hyakume-ki vanished from the spot in a flash.

"Damn it, that guy isn't trying to dodge the report, is he!" Ayasegawa Yumichika felt as if he had uncovered a secret.

An invasion of this scale, involving Gillians—five of them, no less—definitely required a formal report!

And someone had to write the written documentation to be filed!

That guy Hyakume-ki was definitely trying to skip out on the paperwork!

Upon hearing this, sweat began to bead on Madarame Ikkaku's forehead.

If Hyakume ran away, wouldn't that mean either he or Yumichika would have to do the writing?

No way, I'm running too!

Madarame Ikkaku had just engaged his Flash Step when Ayasegawa Yumichika grabbed him and pinned him down!

The veins on Yumichika's temples were bulging, showing just how much force he was using to hold Madarame. "You are not allowed to run! Ikkaku, you're the Third Seat, this is your responsibility!"

"Yumichika, if you hadn't insisted on coming, we wouldn't have given Aoto that chance! You should be the one writing!"

"What did you say!!!"

The two good friends glared at each other before shouting in unison.

"Aoto, you get back here!"

Those two idiots, letting me get away so easily.

They never learn no matter how many times this happens; calling them a pair of salted fish would be an understatement!

Confirming that those two, who barely knew any Kido, shouldn't be able to catch up, Aoto strolled slowly toward a house in District 48.

It was quite a distance from the other houses; the resident living here was rather reclusive!

But Aoto specialized in curing such reclusiveness.

"Yo! Shiro, your master is here, aren't you going to come out and welcome him?"

Before he even reached the door, Aoto called out.

The sliding door of the house opened abruptly, and a white-haired child walked out.

But when he saw Aoto's empty hands, he immediately put on a smug expression. "What is it? You didn't bring any watermelon? I'll say it again, you are not my master."

"You little rascal, when you were eating that huge watermelon I brought last time, with your mouth full of fruit, you agreed readily enough! Now you're going back on your word? Watch out, or lightning might strike you one of these days!"

Aoto tapped his own chest. "Your master just finished slaying five Gillian-class Menos that invaded Soul Society; I didn't have time to buy you any watermelon!"

"Hmph! Bragging!" The white-haired child didn't believe a word Aoto said, and was promptly tapped on the head.

However, it wasn't Aoto who tapped him, but an elderly grandmother.

"Don't be rude to your master, Toshiro!"

After being tapped by his grandmother, the white-haired child—the future Tenth Division Captain, Hitsugaya Toshiro—didn't dare show any disrespect to her, though he did sneakily make a face at Aoto.

But Aoto didn't mind at all.

This was exactly how it should be!

It meant that the bond between him and the boy had already been established!