"Don't call me Lord Sōgo."
From now on, you must call me Captain.
Sōgo is the kind of person who responds better to force than gentleness, and the soft, QQ-candy-like Tsunayashiro Tokinada Sōgo somewhat at a loss for what to do.
"Yes, Lord Sōgo!"
Tsunayashiro Tokinada knelt on one knee, behaving like a subject paying homage to his monarch.
"I..."
Sōgo listened to Tsunayashiro Tokinada's words, his head throbbed with pain, yet he didn't know what to say.
Sōgo admitted that when it came to testing one's patience, Tsunayashiro Tokinada was the strongest he had Sōgo seen.
"Hahaha..."
"Judging from your expressions, you two seem to be getting along very well?"
"If you keep going like this, you'll become good friends very soon!"
Yoruichi Shihōin glanced at Sōgo chatting with Tsunayashiro Tokinada and smiled.
"No, sister, how can you tell that we get along well?"
Sōgo turned to his older sister without saying a word, and gently waved his hand as he spoke.
"This was discovered by my keen sixth sense, as an older person."
Yoruichi Shihōin puffed out her rather impressive chest slightly, revealing a smug little expression.
"Hehe... Let's go, Tokinada team."
Sōgo smiled slightly after hearing Yoruichi's words and spoke to Tokinada beside him.
"Yes, sir! Lord Sōgo!"
Tokinada knelt on one knee, his eyes fixed on Sōgo, his entire being radiating respect.
"I already told you, call me Captain..."
Sōgo, unable to Tokinada from walking directly towards the door of the Second Division Captain's room, was still correcting Tokinada's words.
"Yes, Lord Sōgo!"
A mischievous smile flickered across Tokinada he stood up and followed closely behind Sōgo.
"..."
Sōgo listened to Tokinada's words without saying a word. He felt heartbroken and didn't want to talk.
Goodbye, Sōgo!
Yoruichi watched Sōgo's departing figure, she gently waved her little hand.
Goodbye, sister!
Sōgo disappeared through the gate without looking back.
"Grapes~ So sour~"
After Sōgo left, Yoruichi stretched out two long fingers, picked up a slightly green grape, and threw it into her mouth. Then, like a black kitten, she quickly shook her whole body.
" Lord Sōgo..."
Tokinada followed closely behind Sōgo, quietly calling Sōgo name.
Call me Captain...
Sōgo answered Tokinada very seriously.
"Captain... Lord..."
Tokinada thought for a moment, and just as he was about to blurt out "Lord Sōgo," he stopped himself and changed it to "Captain-sama."
"Hmm~ I like this nickname."
Sōgo nodded in satisfaction Tokinada read aloud.
"Please allow me to presume, Captain, is this your esteemed home...?"
Tokinada said this, he pointed to the sky.
"Um?"
After hearing Tokinada Sōgo, Sougo frowned slightly, but fortunately, the blindfold prevented Tokinada from seeing Sōgo's expression.
"Please allow me to be clearer, Lord Sōgo... you weren't originally from our world (the Three Realms), were you? Do you have any special memories?"
This was no longer a test; it was practically a Sōgo question directed at Tokinada.
In Tokinada's eyes Sōgo, like the Soul King, was a mechanism born from the old world, possessing certain powers within it. He was an existence born to ensure the world's continuation, bearing a mission. (The old world was originally a place where life and death were nonexistent, a world of neither progress nor regression; even becoming a Hollow was part of the Reishi cycle. However, the Hollows gradually began to devour humanity, and the cycle completely ceased. If this continued, all souls would eventually become a single, Menos Grande, plunging the world into complete stillness. At this moment, the Soul King was born, using the power of annihilation to destroy the Hollows, allowing the world to begin its cycle anew.)
"I don't know. I do have some special memories in my mind, but I'm not sure if they're real or just figments of my imagination. After all, I've spent hundreds of years all alone in a small house." Sōgo chuckled at Tokinada's words, his tone incredibly humorous. He did indeed have some special memories of other worlds, but they had become blurred over time. He vaguely remembered a white figure saying something to him... but he couldn't recall it. However, none of this was important. But he was still puzzled as to why Tokinada was asking him these questions. "Why are you asking me these things? They're just some trivial matters."
"Nothing, just a bit curious."
Tokinada Tan smiled slightly at Sōgo Wu and nodded gently.
"Just as I thought..."
Tokinada nodded slightly. He was now certain that the Sōgo before him was the chosen one. This time, the world had chosen them. The facts proved that his previous thoughts were wrong. The ancestors' betrayal of the Soul King was not a mistake, nor was it something that should make him feel sorry. Everything in this world was for the birth of Sōgo, everything was for destiny!
" Lord Sōgo, what are your thoughts on the current situation of our Five Great Noble Clans?"
Tokinada continued to ask Sōgo questions.
What are your thoughts on the Five Great Noble Clans?
I think things are fine as they are!
"You're a really strange person..."
Sōgo turned around and carefully 'examined' Tokinada, then gently shook his head and strode away.
"No opinion? Everything's fine now?"
"This won't do! Great 'King'!"
"You need to have some ambition..."
After hearing Sōgo's words, Tokinada Tan frowned; Sōgo's words gave Tokinada a slight headache.
"It seems that it is the mission of our Five Great Noble Clans to have the great 'King' ascend the throne."
Tokinada stood there for about half an hour, deep in thought. Finally, he relaxed his furrowed brow. He had figured everything out. This was a test from the great 'King' for them. After all, from the moment the 'King' ascended the throne, those who could stand on either side of the 'King' were all outstanding individuals. The incompetent were not qualified to stand beside the 'King'.
Having figured things out, Tokinada strode towards the training ground. His task for today was to... wipe the sweat-soaked floor of the training ground clean!
As evening fell... under the gloomy sky, Tokinada emerged from the house. After looking around and finding no one there, he headed straight for Central 46 Chambers.
*Snap! Tsunayashiro...
Upon seeing Tokinada arrive, the expressions of the Grim Reapers guarding the Central 46 Chambers Soul Reaper changed. They immediately stood up straight, bowed, and greeted him.
"Shh!"
Upon Tokinada immediately made a silencing gesture, quieting the Soul Reaper down.
Without saying much to the others, Shi Tokinada walked into the hall of Central 46 Chambers and then went down the stairs of Central 46 to the underground conference room.
"You've come..."
Inside the underground conference room, a middle-aged man stood with his hands behind his back, quietly waiting for Tokinada's arrival.
"Master."
Tokinada saw the somewhat weathered figure from behind and bowed to greet him.
"That brat from the Shihoin Family..."
The head of the Tsunayashiro Clan asked.
"I am now certain. Although I have never doubted it, I believe in Lord Sōgo even more today than before. He is destined to ascend the throne. In the near future, he will replace the current 'false king' and stand in the heavens by his own will. And those who serve him will surely be our Five Great Noble Clans."
Tokinada Nada addressed the head of the Tsunayashiro Clan, his eyes gleaming with fervor.
"Will it surely stand in the heavens?!"
The head of the Tsunayashiro Clan pondered Tokinada's words.
"However, we have a little trouble before that! But these are tests given to us by Heaven, trials given by the 'King' to his chosen ministers. After all, the 'King' has no need for incompetent people by his side!"
Tsunayashiro Tokinada wrote the sermon by the Tsunayashiro Clan.
What's the problem?
After hearing what Tsunayashiro Tokinada, the head of the Tsunayashiro Clan asked a question.
"Our great 'King' seems to have no intention of ascending to heaven; he is quite satisfied with the current situation of our Five Great Noble Clans."
Tsunayashiro Tokinada explained the problem to the head of the Tsunayashiro Clan.
"It's simple. The point isn't whether the 'king' wants to ascend the throne, but whether he has the ability to do so. If he does, we just need to create conditions that force him to ascend, then the 'king' will have no choice."
After hearing what Tokinada said, the head of the Tsunayashiro Clan smiled slightly. This was no big deal for the Tsunayashiro Clan.
"Yeah?"
"I have a different opinion. I think this time it shouldn't be us who take the lead. This time it should be the great 'King' who makes the choice. In the era of the 'False King,' we made the choice for him, and in the end we didn't get what we wanted. It proves that we are ultimately just mortals, unable to wield divine power."
Tsunayashiro Tokinada refuted the words of the head of the Tsunayashiro Clan.
"..."
"Then I will only set the conditions; how to ultimately proceed is up to the chosen One Descended from Heaven."
After hearing Tsunayashiro Tokinada's words, the head of the Tsunayashiro Clan fell silent. After a full quarter of an hour of silence, he finally made his judgment.
"That would be best."
After listening to the words of the head of the Tsunayashiro Clan, Tsunayashiro Tokinada nodded slightly. He agreed with the head of the Tsunayashiro Clan on this point. They had simply removed all obstacles to Sōgo's ascension to the throne. Whether or not Sougo would ultimately stand in the heavens was Sōgo's own choice. And no matter what Sōgo ultimately chose, Tsunayashiro Tokinada believed it was the mark of a great destiny.
"Then I will continue to stay by Lord Sōgo's side, to understand Lord Sōgo views on the world, and then we will devise a plan to help Lord Sōgo ascend to the throne."
Tsunayashiro Tokinada continued preaching to the master.
"Um!"
The head of the Tsunayashiro Clan nodded slightly, which was taken as agreement with Tsunayashiro Tokinada's words.
"Then I shall take my leave."
After completing all his tasks, Tsunayashiro Tokinada bowed slightly to his family head and turned to leave.
For the rest of the time, Tsunayashiro Tokinada stayed by Sōgo's side, usually helping the trainees carry water, clean up and do other chores. His life was quite colorful, after all, being by Sōgo's side was the life Tsunayashiro Tokinada had been looking forward to.
Time flies... While countless Soul Reaper perished and countless Soul Reaper filled their places in Soul Society, a minor incident caused a slight ripple in the noble circles of Soul Society, but it was only a slight ripple.
It is said that a member of a collateral branch of the Tsunayashiro Clan cruelly harmed his wife and a fellow Soul Reaper...
"Why? Why are you treating her like this? What did she do wrong? Why don't you go after that criminal next to you!"
A dark-skinned man with a blindfold roared angrily in front of the door of Central 46 Chambers. He couldn't understand why someone who had committed such a heinous crime could be so easily forgiven. Wasn't Central 46 Chambers supposed to be a place of absolute fairness? What was the reason for all this?
"You're just a commoner, not even the Soul Reaper, what nonsense are you spouting? Do you know that just for saying these things you deserve to be torn to pieces!"
The two guards blocking the man's way looked at the man who had been born blind with a mocking expression in their eyes.
"That's right! If you keep causing trouble, we'll have to take action!"
The guard appeared to be warning the man, but in reality, he had already drawn his Zanpakuto from his waist; he had no intention of letting the man go at all.
"Please tell me, why is this happening? Why is there no fairness in this world?"
The man continued to question the group, unable to understand why his life was filled with so much injustice, and where the justice he sought was.
Too much nonsense!
The guard, hearing the man's words, grinned maliciously and prepared to swing his sword.
"Ding~"
However, just as the guard was about to execute the man on the spot, a figure blocked the guard's attack.
Hello!
Upon seeing the figure blocking their way, the guards instantly changed their demeanor, bowing respectfully to the man like watchdogs wagging their tails before their master.
"What happened?"
The man was somewhat confused. He didn't know what was happening around him because he couldn't see clearly, but he knew that some important person must have arrived.
Do you feel that your heart is filled with injustice?
Just as the man was wondering, a magnetic voice invaded his ears and echoed in his heart.
Who are you?
The man asked the unknown person with some confusion.
"I am someone who simply couldn't stand by and watch, and I intend to uphold justice."
That magnetic voice rang in the man's ears once again.
"I've had the privilege of meeting Miss Kakyō a few times. She's an extremely kind person, but also someone who should absolutely never join the Tsunayashiro Clan. Her sense of justice would be too dazzling for some members of the Tsunayashiro Clan, and she would ultimately be extinguished by those good-for-nothings of the Tsunayashiro."
That magnetic voice kept penetrating the man's heart.
"You seem to know a lot about the Tsunayashiro Clan. Could you tell me more about this family?"
The man asked the unknown person a question.
"..."
"Of course, because no one understands Tsunayashiro better than me."
The magnetic voice paused for a moment before continuing.
(End of this chapter)