Kuna Mashiro Also Has a Strategy

The idea of having Ao mentor Yoruichi sounded quite appealing at first glance. Knowing how often Yoruichi had bossed Diezuka Hiroe around since he was a child, the prospect of getting some payback was certainly satisfying.

However, Hiroe only indulged in the fantasy for a moment. He wasn't certain if such a profound thing as a "bond" truly existed in this world. If it didn't, fine; but if it did, prolonged contact could easily lead to his identity being exposed.

Ultimately, the development of Shunko remained Yoruichi's primary project. She would refine her ideas first and ensure they were feasible. Hiroe would serve as a secondary support—and certainly not to design some bizarre Kido. His task was to act as Yoruichi's sparring partner once she had completed the initial version of Shunko, helping to iron out any remaining flaws.

With their goals set, the two went their separate ways, though Yoruichi was clearly the one putting in the bulk of the effort.

Because of this, Hiroe hadn't seen Yoruichi for several days since their last soak in the hot springs. Developing Shunko was no easy feat, and he figured it would be a long time before he saw her again.

Urahara had also gone missing; his friends had all suddenly vanished from sight. Hiroe, however, didn't feel bored, as he had some private matters of his own to attend to.

Within the Soul Society, the hunt for the Quincy would need to continue for quite some time. When Old Man Yama said he wanted to pull the weeds out by the roots, he wasn't joking. For a Soul Reaper, cleaning up the Soul Society was merely a matter of time.

The problem currently giving the Seireitei a headache was how to deal with the Quincy factions in the living world. After all, the safety of the mortals there was a topic that could not be ignored.

With Quincy, Soul Reaper, and Hollow all in the mix, the fragile living world could not withstand the three parties tossing it about. The Extermination Operation was not born out of a mere clash of egos between Soul Reaper and Quincy; it would be counterproductive to leave the living world in ruins just to spite the Quincy.

Fortunately, Hiroe's Star-Extermination Siege had been completed successfully, and the Senkaimon within the Sternritter Fortress had not suffered a single bit of damage. The Kido Corps had already transferred its spatial coordinates to the Senkaimon inside the Seireitei. Previously, the Quincy would have arrived directly at the Sternritter Fortress via their own gates; now, they would arrive in the Seireitei and walk straight into a trap.

It was a good plan, but over the past three months, the number of Quincy who had arrived in the Seireitei through the gate was negligible, and all of them had died of natural causes.

The Quincy had their own methods of transportation; that much was easy to guess. Perhaps it was tied to a specific time, or perhaps the Sternritter Fortress sent people to guide them. The Soul Reaper objective was to uncover this method—which, of course, was also the goal of Diezuka Hiroe's current visit, or at least one of them.

As the highest combat force in the Seireitei, the Gotei 13 had various functions beyond guarding the city; for instance, the 4th Division served as the medical corps. However, Hiroe's destination today was not the 4th Division, but the division responsible for prisons and interrogations within the Seireitei: the 9th Division.

Just as Hiroe caught sight of the large "9" on the gate of the 9th Division, a slim girl with short green hair trotted up to him, pouting in a display of displeasure.

"Little Die-die, why are you only just getting here!"

"Kuna, can you please stop calling me Little Die-die? It sounds... really weird." Hiroe rubbed his arm in protest; the name always reminded him of Xiaodie from the Huaixiang Pavilion, which felt bizarre.

"You don't like it?" The girl, known as Kuna, rested her chin on her hand and thought for a moment before continuing, "How about Little Zuka-zuka, or Little Hiro-hiro? Little Jiang-jiang doesn't sound too bad either!"

The girl before him was Kuna Mashiro. It was hard to believe that someone so childish was the lieutenant of the 9th Division, which was why Hiroe had always suspected that a black-hearted nature hid beneath her innocent exterior—he just lacked the evidence.

Giving people nicknames was one of Kuna Mashiro's hobbies. Whether the other party accepted it or not, she would insist on using it. The fact that she was offering him options now was already an improvement.

"Any of them is fine, as long as it isn't Little Die-die!"

"Then it's Little Die-die! What do you think, Little Die-die?"

See? How could someone who had lived for over a hundred years be this naive? Hiroe stopped resisting; the more he fought it, the harder it would be to shake the nickname. Perhaps one day, when she couldn't find any more amusement in him, she would change it on her own.

"I suppose it's fine, let's go with that." Hiroe sighed and pointed at the building behind her. "Can you take me inside now, Kuna?"

"Sure, sure!" Kuna turned to the side, squinting as she smiled. "But don't be late next time! I'm a very busy person!"

Watching Kuna Mashiro skip away, Hiroe shook his head and immediately followed. Busy? She didn't look busy in the slightest.

Although the 9th Division was in charge of prisons and interrogations, the entire division lacked any gloomy or terrifying atmosphere. The barracks above ground went without saying, and the underground prison was exceptionally clean. According to Kuna Mashiro, Muguruma Kensei required the place to be cleaned at least ten times a day, though whose idea that actually was remained up for debate.

"Little Die-die, are you afraid of the dark?"

"No. Why do you ask?"

"Eh?" Kuna Mashiro, walking ahead with her hands behind her back, didn't seem to believe him. She turned her head to the side and continued, "Then why did you ask us to set up the interrogation room like that?"

"Usually, we keep the interrogation rooms a bit dim. It's not to scare people, just so the members don't have to look at those expressions too much. Staying in a place like this for too long is really depressing!"

"Yeah, I suppose."

Once the conversation started, Kuna Mashiro couldn't stop. In fact, from the moment Hiroe met her, her mouth hadn't rested for a second.

However, she wasn't annoying; when she chattered away like a little sparrow, Kuna was actually quite cute.

"Every time a rotation ends, I make them eat extra desserts, but everyone has had such heavy missions lately that the dessert consumption is huge! The division budget can barely keep up! But that guy Kensei actually said desserts aren't necessary—he's just a muscle-brained idiot who only knows how to train, hmph!"

"Yeah, I suppose."

Hiroe continued to answer perfunctorily, but this time, Kuna Mashiro stopped in her tracks and suddenly turned to stare at him. Hiroe's heart tightened—had his universal response failed?

"So, you made such a weird request just to trick me out of my desserts!"

"Uh, well..." Just as Hiroe was about to explain, Kuna Mashiro leaned her little face right up to his, looking dead serious. "Or is it like what others say—that you're actually a pervert!"

"I am not a pervert!" Hiroe shouted the denial instinctively, then realized something was wrong and asked, "Who said I was a pervert?!"

"Not telling~ but even if it were true, it wouldn't matter. Lisa is a pervert too, so I'm already used to it." Kuna Mashiro didn't seem to have any intention of answering. She stood on her tiptoes, turned around, and began walking forward again, kicking her legs as she went.

"Tell me, Kuna, who was it?"

"..."

"Let's make a deal: I'll cover your desserts for the next month!"

Kuna Mashiro whistled, slowly holding up two fingers. Seeing this, Hiroe gritted his teeth, his voice sounding as if it were squeezed through his teeth. "Deal!"

"Thanks for taking care of me for the next two years~"

Two years? Wasn't it two months? He'd been played again!

The laughter of Kuna Mashiro echoed through the silent dungeon, audible even to the 9th Division members at the exit. They knew their lieutenant was in a good mood, though that was normal—she was in a good mood every day, just exceptionally so today.