Yoruichi's Letter

Hell Butterfly—that is the name of the small creature currently in Diezuka Hiroe's hand. The chime he heard just moments ago was produced by it, and since he was the only one present, it was clear this Hell Butterfly had come specifically for him.

In the Soul Society, Hell Butterflies serve as messengers for Soul Reapers. They are also the guides that lead the souls of the deceased—after being sent to the afterlife by a Soul Reaper's Soul Burial—into the Soul Society, making them one of the most essential tools for any Soul Reaper.

There was no doubt in Hiroe's mind that this one had come from the Seireitei. After all, in the Plain of Slaughter, smoke signals and Kido were the preferred methods for communication; the leisurely pace of a Hell Butterfly made it far from the optimal choice.

And who in the Seireitei would be sending him a message? It wasn't hard to narrow down. While many had promised to keep in touch, the only ones currently capable of reaching out to him were Old Man Yama, or the duo of Yoruichi and Urahara.

Old Man Yama had stated he wouldn't initiate contact for one hundred and fifty years, leaving the progress of the mission entirely in Hiroe's hands. Therefore, this Hell Butterfly was almost certainly a gesture of concern from Yoruichi and her partner.

The voice carried by the Hell Butterfly echoed in his mind. It was that familiar tone—it was Yoruichi, sure enough. She had a conscience after all!

"Dead-fish eyes! What on earth is going on inside that head of yours?!" There was no expected concern or consolation, only Yoruichi's furious accusations. "Do you have thorns on your body—no, wait, thorns on your mouth? Can't you just keep that filthy trap of yours shut?!"

"Damn it!" Hiroe couldn't help but curse. He was greeted with a verbal lashing right out of the gate; this was nothing like what he had imagined!

As for why Yoruichi was scolding him, Hiroe knew well enough. His actions at the temporary outpost had undoubtedly reached the Seireitei.

In the past, Soul Reapers in the Plain of Slaughter would simply report events back to the Seireitei in a concise manner. But it seemed the other party hadn't just reported the incident; they had relayed his exact words, word for word. Were they children tattling to their parents?

The "temporary outpost" was the one Kamisawa had taken him to when he first arrived in the Plain of Slaughter. As for what happened, it was a farce that took place back then.

At the time, there was a man who had mocked him. Although the man had introduced himself, Hiroe had already forgotten his name; he only remembered that he was a 5th Division 5th Seat. The reason for the man's hostility, beyond looking down on him, was a desire to stand up for Kao Susumu.

Being insulted by one person was no big deal. Having experienced all sorts of pressure from superiors in his past life, Hiroe naturally wouldn't take it to heart. But when the others present realized he was Diezuka Hiroe and learned of his reputation in the Seireitei, they began a collective denunciation, and the situation changed.

The problem still stemmed from that 5th Seat. The strength of the crowd seemed to give him inexplicable courage, making him increasingly overbearing. It was one thing for his spit to fly onto Hiroe's face, but he had even jabbed his finger into Hiroe's forehead, almost poking him in the eye!

At that point, Hiroe decided he wouldn't endure it any longer. Adhering to the principle of a gentleman using words rather than fists, he fired back with a few insults of his own to express his feelings. However, his insults were a bit too potent; he launched a map-wide attack, calling the 5th Division a collection of trash, claiming the whole division was filled with garbage, and calling it the Seireitei's true dumping ground for losers.

"Is sympathizing with that trash Kao Susumu a case of birds of a feather flocking together?" Hiroe, caught up in the heat of the moment, ended his rant with that biting remark. It was this sentence that made the situation take a turn for the worse.

If his previous comments had only offended the 5th Division, this last remark had offended every division except for the 1st and 2nd. Perhaps the 11th Division was also excluded, as Kamisawa and Yamagata were busy debating whether they were too weak or the newcomer was too strong to bother sympathizing with Kao Susumu.

In short, the power and reach of that blast far exceeded Hiroe's imagination. His original intent had only been to target that 5th Seat, but no one was willing to listen to his explanation—or rather, he wasn't even given the chance.

That 5th Seat had slapped him right across the face, claiming Hiroe didn't know how to respect his seniors and that he was going to discipline him on behalf of the Captain-Commander.

Hiroe could only laugh at that. Not to mention whether the man had the qualifications to discipline him on Old Man Yama's behalf, if that slap had actually landed, Old Man Yama would likely have beaten him to death or forced him to commit seppuku! Hiroe felt the latter was more likely.

Naturally, the slap didn't land. Hiroe grabbed the man's hand, twisted it, and accidentally broke his arm in the process. That should have been the end of it, but the 5th Seat wasn't deterred; he drew his sword, acting as if he were going to cut him down.

Seeing the man draw his blade, Hiroe moved faster, sweeping his legs out from under him and slamming his head into the ground, creating a crater. The 5th Seat passed out, and the temporary outpost gained a new casualty.

Once it came to blows, there was no turning back. This group wouldn't reflect on their own behavior; they simply piled labels like "vicious," "disrespectful to seniors," and "abusing power" onto Hiroe and drove him out of the outpost.

Even as he was being kicked out, Hiroe was baffled. Abusing power? Hadn't he just been using his strength to convince them? Did they really think they lost because they were afraid of the Captain-Commander? It was a miracle this mindset had allowed them to survive this long!

Regardless, he was the one kicked out, and his reputation was completely ruined. Hiroe didn't care much, though. He was essentially acting on orders to be willful; once the mission ended and the truth came to light, wouldn't his reputation return?

The events at the temporary outpost spread through the Plain of Slaughter with astonishing speed—all four sectors! At the same time, it reached the Seireitei and eventually the entire Soul Society.

Over the years, Hiroe had been ignored by passing Soul Reapers more than once while fighting Hollows. Even those who came running toward the sound of battle would immediately turn around and leave, as if they existed in different dimensions.

Even when seeking treatment in the Rukongai, the stationed Soul Reapers were unwilling to provide help; he had to find places run by civilians to recover on his own. He wasn't quite a "rat crossing the street that everyone yells to beat," but he was like a filthy beggar no one wanted to approach. That was Hiroe's situation.

However, Yoruichi's next words made him realize that his words hadn't been relayed word for word; the rumors circulating in the Seireitei were far more exaggerated than what he had actually said! Things like "I am the Crown Prince of the Seireitei" and "It's a miracle that trash like you could even become Soul Reapers"—hearing these things made him want to slap himself.

No wonder those people ignored him; so that was why!

Hiroe was speechless. That person really just made things up on the spot; the level of artistic embellishment was absurd! He had previously thought those who turned away were petty, but now that he thought about it, the fact that they hadn't teamed up with Hollows to attack him was a sign of great restraint and character!

According to Yoruichi, many in the Seireitei now felt that Diezuka Hiroe's temperament was unsuited for a Soul Reaper, and that leaving him out in the field would eventually make him a major threat to the Seireitei!

The 1st Division Captain-Commander's quarters were visited almost daily. At first, Old Man Yama would see one or two people, but eventually, he grew tired of hearing the same complaints and stopped seeing anyone at all.

Though nothing was explicitly stated, Old Man Yama's behavior already indicated his stance—or perhaps what Hiroe had expressed was actually Yamamoto's own attitude.

If he, Diezuka Hiroe, was the "Crown Prince," then what kind of existence was Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni? Everyone could guess, but no one dared to say it aloud.

"The atmosphere in the Seireitei is truly suffocating right now. Because of you, people have started speculating about Old Man Yama's intentions, and everyone is on edge."

As she said this, Yoruichi's tone was filled with melancholy. Hiroe even detected a hint of anxiety, though he wasn't sure if it was just his imagination.

"Father, the old man from the Kuchiki family, and..." Yoruichi rattled off a few names, then shouted as if she had reached her limit: "Can't you just come back for once and explain yourself properly?! You were just being a loudmouth, you didn't have any ulterior motives! No, wait, you actually laid hands on them too! This is so annoying!!!"

Listening to Yoruichi's wailing echoing in his mind, Hiroe couldn't help but smile bitterly. Was she worried about the worst-case scenario where he and the others would end up clashing blades? Could she have a little more faith in him!

"Forget it, you'd better not come back right now. Let Old Man Yama deal with the mess himself!"

After a moment of silence, Yoruichi's voice returned to his mind. "As for you, reflect on your own stupidity! Do you know what kind of opportunity you've lost because of this? The Royal Palace, the Royal Palace! You could have gone too, but now, just stay put in the Rukongai!"

The Royal Palace is the residence of the Soul King, the creator of the Soul Society. Legend says it floats above the Seireitei, though some claim it exists in an entirely separate space. Regardless of where it is, it is the holy land in the hearts of all Soul Reapers.

As a holy land, the Royal Palace is not a place just any Soul Reaper can visit. Generally, only those promoted to Squad Zero earn the right to enter, though another possibility is a private summons from the Soul King—a privilege usually reserved for the genius Soul Reapers of the Seireitei.

That said, those geniuses who receive private summons are usually the heirs of the Five Great Noble Families, and only the most exceptional among them at that.

But hearing Yoruichi's tone, it seemed he had been on the list of those summoned. He hadn't expected that. But it was what it was; it wasn't as if he hadn't seen the Royal Palace in his past life.

"Although I can't see your expression right now, I bet you're gritting your teeth and regretting this immensely! Hahaha!"

He wasn't quite gritting his teeth, but Hiroe was truly regretting it! That was the Royal Palace! Even if he had seen it in his past life, he had never been there himself! He wanted to go—he really did! Unfortunately, the chance was gone now.

At this moment, Hiroe had somewhat forgotten that he hadn't come to the Plain of Slaughter as a punishment.

In truth, the Soul King's private summons had been declined by Yamamoto. The reason, naturally, was that Hiroe needed to carry out his mission, as he was an indispensable part of his future grand plan. So, regardless of whether that incident had occurred, he wouldn't have been able to go to the Royal Palace anyway.

"I'm not sure how long Yoruichi and Urahara will be staying at the Royal Palace. Perhaps by the time you return to the Seireitei, we won't even be back yet, so you don't need to send us a reply~"

Hongjiang patted his chest to catch his breath. Can't lower myself to a child's level. I'm a man destined for great things, a man destined for great things.

"Right, there's also Urahara. Anything you want to say to him?" After Yoruichi's voice vanished from his mind for a moment, it reappeared, replaced by Urahara's cheerful tone: "Nothing much to say. Hongjiang, you need to reform yourself and turn over a new leaf!"

Well, fine. He hadn't learned anything else from him, but he'd certainly picked up those jokes from his past life with ease. Still, the phrase was quite fitting for him right now.

The problem was, Hongjiang suspected those two didn't even understand the meaning of "turning over a new leaf"! Well, he supposed that was his own fault; after all, his explanation at the time had been to train hard and make his strength brand new!

Before Hongjiang's face could darken, Yoruichi's voice returned: "Did you hear that? Reform yourself and turn over a new leaf! Since you're already out, stop hanging around Rukongai. Be proactive and go to the Plain of Slaughter to temper yourself!"

Hongjiang's mouth twitched uncontrollably. Just how pathetic am I in their eyes? Why do they think I'm on vacation just because I'm stationed in Rukongai? Has the mutual trust we supposedly had vanished into thin air?

"But you should be careful, too. Don't go and get beaten to death by a Hollow by mistake. Even though we're going to the Royal Palace to train and our strength will surely skyrocket, don't you worry—we won't give up on you! You might not make Captain, but the seat of 2nd Division Lieutenant is still yours! Don't put too much pressure on yourself, okay~"

He had actually felt a bit touched at first, but who knew there would be such mockery at the end? It was truly... too much! Hongjiang didn't even wait to hear the rest of their farewells before flicking the Hell Butterfly away.

"Going to the Royal Palace, big deal!"

Well, it is a big deal. Especially for people like Yoruichi and Urahara; they would certainly gain a great deal from a trip to the Royal Palace.

But even if they went to the Royal Palace, it didn't necessarily mean they would surely surpass him, right? Hongjiang was puzzled. Were those two unaware of just how large the gap between them and him really was?

Upon further reflection, Hongjiang realized it was quite possible that Yoruichi and Urahara really didn't know, considering the grand performance he had put on during the graduation ceremony.

But that wasn't the point. The point was, why did they think he would be beaten to death by a Hollow? He had just finished beating up eleven of them, for heaven's sake!

By now, Hongjiang's thoughts had wandered. He felt the regret of not being able to go to the Royal Palace, mixed with the indignation of being looked down upon by his best friends. He needed to vent; he wanted to fight ten more Hollows just to show those two who really needed to be careful!

Perhaps the heavens heard his plea, for at that moment, a whistling sound came from the distance. A green orb of light, trailing a long tail, slowly ascended into the far eastern sky.

A distress signal between Soul Reaper. It was the first time he had seen one in all these years. The corners of Hongjiang's mouth curled upward as he vanished from the spot. Under the setting sun, a black silhouette flickered in and out of sight across the plains, streaking toward the east at an astonishing speed.

Speak of the devil, and he shall appear, Hongjiang thought with a secret thrill. No, that's not right—it's more like: the Hollows you ordered have arrived!

Coach, I want to fight ten more—no, twenty!