As the King of Hueco Mundo's clone, Hyakume-ki Seikyo knew every detail of his past... After all, he was the King of Hueco Mundo.
As a transmigrator, the King of Hueco Mundo had lived a life that was both eventful and dull.
He had crossed over into this world with his physical body.
But he had arrived directly in Hueco Mundo, so it was no surprise that he died within five minutes of crossing over.
A Hollow had killed him!
His unwillingness to die quickly turned him into a Hollow, and he killed the Hollow that had killed him.
After that, he had fought hundreds of Hollows on a battlefield, devouring one another as they tried to evolve into Menos Grande.
He clearly remembered that the last Hollow to vie with him for control of the body had been one with the ability to "age" its targets.
But in the end, he had devoured that Hollow's consciousness!
And so he became a Gillian.
After devouring countless other Gillians, he became an Adjuchas.
As luck would have it, when Hollows like them fused together and evolved into an Adjuchas, they became a skeletal Hollow.
After waging war across Hueco Mundo for countless years, he became a Vasto Lorde, founded Las Noches, and became the true King of Hueco Mundo.
Nearly every event along the way had been the stuff of legends.
But the one thing Hyakume-ki Seikyo, the clone, didn't know was why he had been created.
If he was meant to be a spy in Soul Society, there was no need for his original to tell him to work so diligently and truly consider himself a Soul Reaper.
And why did he have to go in person?
It felt as though he existed to entertain his original, deliberately living through the events of the original story.
Of course, he had been thinking all this while falling from the sky.
Once he landed, he put those thoughts aside and became the 11th Division's Fourth Seat once more... the most mysterious Seated Officer position of all.
The squad members had already gathered around, all expressing their admiration for Fourth Seat Hyakume.
The scene reminded Hyakume-ki Seikyo of what he had witnessed two hundred years ago, when he had first arrived in Soul Society: a Kenpachi who had even cut down a Vasto Lorde!
"Damn it, Seikyo! You didn't leave even one for us!"
"You greedy little Hungry Ghost! You just had to hog them all!"
Two voices, one boisterous and one grumbling, suddenly rang out from the direction of Seireitei. Two Soul Reapers in Shihakusho approached, one bald and one dressed like a girl.
The boisterous one clopping along in wooden sandals was Madarame Ikkaku, the 11th Division's Third Seat.
The one dressed like a girl—and destined to look even more feminine—was Ayasegawa Yumichika, the 11th Division's Fifth Seat.
They had rushed over after hearing that Menos Grande had invaded, only to find that not a single one was left for them! Naturally, they took their frustration out on Hyakume-ki Seikyo.
But Hyakume-ki Seikyo wasn't someone they could push around so easily.
"Tch! You're the ones who showed up late!" Hyakume-ki Seikyo didn't bother sparing them any face. "First come, first served. Keep yapping and I'll dock both your snack allowances! Your wages are already being garnished to pay for the barracks you wrecked, all the way through the next twenty years. It's only fair that the cafeteria stops letting you run up a tab for snacks!"
Hyakume-ki Seikyo had hit a sore spot, and the two unyielding 11th Division officers immediately put on obsequious expressions.
They still cursed him in their hearts, but they didn't dare provoke him to his face.
After all, wasn't he the 11th Division's real "lieutenant" in every sense of the word?
Without Hyakume-ki Seikyo, the 11th Division could hardly function!
Damn rich guys!
Madarame Ikkaku and Ayasegawa Yumichika thought at the same time.
As a combat squad, the 11th Division could leave once it had wiped out all the invading Hollows.
Soul Reapers from other divisions would come to deal with the damage inflicted on District 60 of the West.
Hyakume-ki Seikyo had long since grown numb to the grief-stricken cries of residents who had lost loved ones.
But unlike the other squad members, who headed back toward Seireitei, Hyakume turned in another direction when he reached District 50.
"Seikyo, where are you going?" Madarame Ikkaku asked, noticing Hyakume-ki Seikyo had left.
"I've got something to take care of. Don't worry about me. I'll be back soon!"
With that, Hyakume vanished in an instant.
"Damn, is that guy trying to dodge the report?" Ayasegawa Yumichika felt he had uncovered a secret.
An invasion like this had involved Gillians—five of them, no less—so they would definitely have to report it!
And someone would have to write up the paperwork for the records!
That guy Hyakume was trying to get out of writing the report!
At that, Madarame Ikkaku started sweating.
If Hyakume had run off, wouldn't either he or Yumichika have to write it?
No way. I'm running too!
Madarame Ikkaku had just started to use Flash Step when Ayasegawa Yumichika grabbed him and held him fast!
Yumichika's temples bulged with the effort it took to grip Madarame's arm. "You're not going anywhere! You're the Third Seat, Ikkaku. This is your responsibility!"
"Yumichika, if you hadn't insisted on coming, Hyakume wouldn't have had the chance to escape! You write it!"
"Hell no!!!"
The two good friends, Ikkaku and Yumichika, glared at each other, then shouted in unison.
"Seikyo, get back here!"
Those two idiots let me get away that easily.
They never learned, no matter how many times it happened. Calling them a pair of dead-fish slouches wouldn't be an exaggeration!
After making sure those two, who barely knew any Kidō, weren't likely to catch up, Seikyo ambled toward a house in District 48.
It was quite far from the other houses. The residents who lived here were pretty antisocial!
But Seikyo specialized in dealing with antisocial people.
"Yo, little Shiro! Your master's here. Aren't you going to come out and greet me?"
He called out before he even reached the front door.
The sliding door flew open, and a white-haired little boy stepped outside.
But when he saw Seikyo's empty hands, he immediately put on a smug look. "What? You didn't bring a watermelon! I'll say it again: you're not my master."
"Why, you little rascal! You ate that huge watermelon I brought last time, your mouth full of melon, and agreed to it without hesitation. Now you're going back on your word? Watch out, or lightning will strike you one day!"
Seikyo tapped his chest. "Your master just cut down five Menos Grande that invaded Soul Society. I didn't have time to buy you a watermelon!"
"Hmph! You're making that up!" The white-haired boy didn't believe a word Seikyo said, then got a tap on the head.
But it wasn't Seikyo who tapped him. It was an old woman.
"Don't be rude to your master, Toshiro!"
His grandmother had tapped him, so the white-haired boy—none other than the future captain of the 10th Division, Hitsugaya Toshiro—didn't dare show her any disrespect. He only secretly stuck his tongue out at Seikyo.
But Seikyo didn't mind in the slightest.
That was just what he wanted!
It meant he and Toshiro had already built a relationship!