The Man Who Aspired to Become a Captain

Stepping out of the shadows beneath countless watching eyes, Aizen felt a headache coming on.

He didn't like being the center of attention.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have hidden his true strength.

But when you had a terrible friend like Kisaragi Akira, even that tiny wish was nothing more than a pipe dream.

All of a sudden, he regretted greeting him on the day they started school.

If only he'd had a choice...

"Sosuke, you can't just stand by and let me die!"

Kisaragi Akira rushed to his side with a wail. "Three hundred and ninety thousand kan! That old bastard Kaede Junya wants me dead!"

"You're so smart. You've got to have a plan, right?!"

Aizen's gaze was calm, his expression composed. He replied softly, "Actually..."

"You already have a suitable plan in mind, don't you?"

If the Aizen of the future possessed an exceptionally penetrating insight into people's hearts, then the Aizen of today already had the beginnings of that ability.

Perhaps he couldn't yet read people perfectly, but understanding someone wasn't difficult for him.

After spending so much time with Kisaragi Akira, if he still couldn't figure out what kind of person he was, then he hardly deserved to be called Aizen.

Kisaragi Akira looked surprised. "How did you know I was planning to fleece some rich bastard?"

Aizen fell silent.

He suddenly realized that perhaps he didn't understand Kisaragi Akira as well as he'd thought.

"Heh. Three hundred and ninety thousand kan is a lot, but it's not like there's no way around it."

Kisaragi Akira slung an arm around Aizen's shoulders as if they were old pals. Their familiar, arms-around-each-other pose brought a certain idiom to mind.

Birds of a feather.

"I asked around. The rich bastard who bought the Amulet is the sole heir of the Kuchiki Clan—a top-tier rich bastard."

Kisaragi Akira's moods changed so quickly that even Aizen couldn't help marveling at it.

"Because he's so gentle and kindhearted, he's also known as the Kuchiki Clan's good-natured nice guy."

"Not many Nobles are as down-to-earth as he is."

"All you have to do is play along with me like this..."

Kisaragi Akira kept babbling away, looking as excited as he had when he'd cut Kaede Junya down with a single strike.

But people didn't share one another's joys and sorrows. To Aizen, Kisaragi Akira was simply noisy.

He'd known that getting noticed by this guy would bring him no good.

And now he was an accomplice.

No one else heard their conversation. The Shinigami passing by were preoccupied with figuring out how to rebuild the boys' dormitory at Shin'o Academy as quickly as possible.

They couldn't very well make the students sleep in the ruins, could they?

That very day.

A research team from the 12th Division arrived at the Academy. At their head was a beautiful woman named Shutara Senjumaru.

Under her direction, a series of building-like structures woven from colorful cloth rose from the cleared grounds, serving as temporary dormitories.

The students were spared the fate of sleeping out in the open.

Of course, once they learned that Kisaragi Akira was the culprit, a few brave students came to challenge him and issued a formal duel.

After discussing it among themselves, dozens of elite sixth-year students who were about to join a Division officially began their Hakuda duels under the supervision of the Shinigami on guard.

As a training ground for future Shinigami, the Academy had no shortage of hot-blooded brutes or hotheads who were ready to throw punches at the slightest provocation.

To prevent private student brawls from getting out of hand and causing frequent injuries, the Captain-Commander had established rules for duels when he founded the Academy.

There were plenty of details.

For example, no one could deliberately try to kill their opponent. A Shinigami or teacher had to supervise each duel. Underhanded tactics were forbidden. Elite students couldn't refuse a challenge, while ordinary students couldn't challenge elite students at will, and so on.

Given Kisaragi Akira's astonishing Kendo skills—he'd even sent their teacher Kaede Junya flying with a single strike—the students looking to vent their frustration decisively chose Hakuda instead.

Naturally, Kisaragi Akira had no reason to refuse.

When his consciousness returned from the Zanpakuto Inner World, the first thing he noticed was that something about him had changed.

First, his Reiatsu had surged.

Second, his spiritual body and soul felt more substantial.

It was like a balloon that had been filled with air suddenly being filled with water instead.

The strange sensation left Kisaragi Akira at a loss for a moment.

And now that the punching bags had come knocking on their own, how could he refuse his classmates' kindness?

The Kido Barrier unfolded into a massive oval, enclosing Kisaragi Akira and the student who had challenged him.

The student who challenged Kisaragi Akira was named Matsushita Takeo. He was burly and muscular, with hands as large as fans and a face covered in thick flesh. He looked more like a Hollow than a Shinigami.

An elite sixth-year student, Matsushita Takeo was renowned at the Academy for his Hakuda skills. He had already secured his Division assignment before graduating.

During one of his field assignments, he had even defeated a rebel with the strength of a full-fledged Shinigami using Hakuda alone.

"People have to pay for what they do."

Matsushita Takeo's voice boomed, deep and heavy. Just standing there, he radiated a crushing sense of oppression.

"Enough with the crap. Fight if you're going to fight, or get lost."

Kisaragi Akira grinned. "Or are you scared?"

Matsushita Takeo flew into a rage. His bulging muscles rippled, and his already immense frame swelled a few inches larger still.

Scared?

How could he possibly be scared?

He was Matsushita Takeo, the strongest man who aspired to become a Shinigami captain!

How dare a little nobody like this mouse of a kid provoke him?!

"Good. You're the first person to anger me before a duel."

Matsushita Takeo raised an arm like iron and pointed at Kisaragi Akira. "You'll pay dearly for it."

The pre-fight trash talk ended. At the referee's signal, Matsushita Takeo flexed his muscles and charged at Kisaragi Akira like an enraged bull.

The ground trembled faintly as clouds of dust rose into the air. His huge, fan-like hand shot straight down toward his opponent.

As his fingers closed, the air let out a wail.

Unlike Shihoin Yoruichi's nimble, agile Hakuda, with its constantly shifting movements, Matsushita Takeo's techniques were broad and forceful, without an ounce of flash.

He made full use of his massive frame: still as a mountain, moving like one collapsing.

The Kido Barrier had a limited area, leaving little room to dodge.

The only thing Kisaragi Akira could do was meet him head-on.

Though Matsushita Takeo seemed reckless, he had actually calculated everything before the fight even began.

Victory in this duel would be his, no doubt about it!

You foolish brat. Pay for what you've done!

Yet just as his massive hand was about to come crashing down, Matsushita Takeo stared at Kisaragi Akira, who hadn't shown the slightest change in expression from beginning to end, and felt a chill rise inexplicably in his heart.

Why isn't this kid dodging?!

Watching the enormous shadow looming just inches away, Kisaragi Akira grinned. His fingers brushed lightly as though plucking the strings of a harp, then clenched into a fist in an instant as he stepped forward lightly.

Then—

His relatively slender knuckles shot forward with a piercing crack through the air, unleashing a surging wave of force as his fist came crashing down!

In an interview, Kubo once explained that Senjumaru and Mayuri went way back. Before the Department of Research and Development was founded, the 12th Division had already had a similar research team, with Senjumaru serving as Mayuri's group leader. This also filled in a gap in the Thousand-Year Blood War arc about how Senjumaru and Mayuri knew each other.

As for the timeline, the fact that Kurotsuchi Mayuri was imprisoned in the Nest of Maggots a hundred years ago suggests that Senjumaru's promotion to the Royal Guard wasn't much earlier than Hikifune's. So I've simply set it up so that she hasn't been promoted yet. As for the Shihakusho, it's much like the real world: even if you accomplish something, you still have to go through the proper channels before you can get promoted. The Shihakusho had been around for a long time, but the Royal Guard's notice hadn't arrived yet. That's roughly what I mean.