Chapter 293: Gin's Clever Plan to Pacify Satoru
In the blink of an eye, over ten days had passed since the explosion that shook the entire Seireitei.
Thanks to the relentless efforts of the Shinigami from all divisions and the Kidō Corps, the ruins had mostly been cleared.
Even witnessing it firsthand, many found it hard to believe that such a massive "crater" had been created by a single individual impacting the ground with their body.
Initially, panic spread among numerous Shinigami.
Satoru had been struck down from the heavens, falling like a black eagle—how terrifying was that?
Who could possibly accomplish such a feat?
An otherworldly intruder? An ancient Menos Grande?
Or perhaps... the legendary Quincy organization, lurking in the shadows and eyeing the Seireitei?
However, the very next day, a debunking announcement was released—
Captain Satoru's brutal beating was actually carried out by the Captain-Commander!
Hearing this, the squad members all breathed sighs of relief.
So that's how it is... It was the Captain-Commander who did it. I was wondering who it could be!
For a moment, the squad members all celebrated Satoru's demise.
Meanwhile, the protagonist of the story was sitting on a large fur-covered seat, speaking eloquently:
"At that time, the Zero Division sent five thousand warriors to surround me completely!"
"You know about the Divine Soldiers, right? Warriors enhanced with Soul King Power!"
"Each one was impervious to blades and possessed boundless spiritual power, no less capable than ordinary vice-captains!"
"Facing such a formation, I showed no fear, charging through as if in unoccupied territory, slaughtering left and right, turning the Soul King Palace into a river of blood and a mountain of corpses!"
"The Zero Division—what you call the Royal Special Forces—they all knelt down together, begging to know why I was angry."
"I told them the rules of Seireitei are problematic! Why do female Shinigami have to wear such long Shinigami Uniform pants? This is a blasphemy against human nature!"
"The Zero Division immediately broke down in tears, begging me to stop, saying they would issue an order right away for all female Shinigami in Soul Society to switch to short skirts!"
Getting excited, Satoru stood up on the chair, one foot on the armrest, speaking with passionate fervor.
The squad members below also grew excited.
"Short skirts! Short skirts! Short skirts!!!"
"WAHAHAHAHA!!!"
Amid the sincere support of his squad members, Satoru threw his head back and laughed heartily.
Outside the crowd, Aizen stood with crossed arms, watching coldly.
Seeing Satoru's triumphant expression, he raised a hand to his throat and modified his voice using Reiatsu.
Then he shouted loudly:
"Captain! When will this order be implemented?"
On the large seat, Satoru's laughter abruptly choked off.
Everyone also looked at him with curious eyes.
Right, when will the short skirt legislation be implemented?
Under countless gazes, Satoru coughed once:
"Fools! Matters with the Zero Division aren't that simple!"
"They're all long-lived monsters who've lived for hundreds of thousands, even millions of years! In their eyes, a hundred years is like a single day to us!"
"If they take a few days to handle it, centuries will have passed on our side!"
"But don't worry—I have many connections there. I'll definitely make them implement it as quickly as possible to boost our army's morale!"
Hearing this, the squad members grew excited again, howling and shouting together.
A muscular man suddenly yelled:
"Big bro! I don't want to see female squad members in short skirts! I want to see you in one!"
The moment these words were spoken, the scene fell silent for two seconds.
Then the atmosphere suddenly exploded, becoming even more intense than before.
"Big bro's short skirt!"
"Big bro's muscles!"
"Big bro's bulge!"
The muscular men danced wildly, some swinging their swords, others waving flags.
Aizen took a deep breath, feeling like he'd been through hell.
This damned place was unbearable for even a single day.
Fortunately, the farce didn't last too long.
Rangiku ran up to the platform, forcibly pulled Satoru down, and took him back to his room.
Back in the room, Rangiku put on a stern face and handed Satoru a bowl of medicine.
"Satoru, have you forgotten what Captain Unohana said?"
"Your body hasn't fully recovered yet! No fooling around!"
Hearing this, Satoru smirked disdainfully.
With his innate physical body, why should he fear medical advice?
He took the medicine bowl and drank it all in one go.
Rangiku nodded in satisfaction.
Taking the medicine bowl, she was about to say something more when the room door suddenly opened.
Ichimaru Gin walked in carrying a bowl of porridge.
"Captain, I made you some vegetable porridge. Have some."
"Considering your taste, I added a little bit of meat to it. Don't worry, it won't taste bad."
Reaching out to take the porridge, Satoru smelled it and his eyes lit up.
This porridge was cooked almost as well as he could make it himself.
Watching Satoru drink the porridge, Rangiku narrowed her eyes.
She looked at Ichimaru Gin with displeasure in her gaze.
How dare this newcomer act so arrogantly?
The latter slightly opened his eyes and gave her a mocking smile.
What does a mere girl understand about the Captain?
Only men can truly understand each other!
A vein bulged on Rangiku's forehead.
Ichimaru Gin, you're asking for death!
Just as she was about to take action and eliminate the rebel Ichimaru Gin, a figure pushed the door open and entered.
Black Shinigami Uniform, Vice-Captain's badge.
It was Aizen.
Entering the room, Aizen looked at the two of them.
He didn't say anything, just showed a polite smile.
Without hesitation, Ichimaru Gin stood up and left the room.
After thinking for a moment, Rangiku quickly slipped away too.
Before leaving, she casually closed the door behind her.
Aizen nodded in satisfaction and sat down opposite the glutton currently slurping porridge.
"Alright, Satoru, tell me in detail what happened this time."
After being dug out from the pit, Satoru had been unconscious for several days.
Led by Retsu Unohana, a group of medical Shinigami exerted their full efforts and finally managed to revive him.
Originally, someone should have been discharged from the hospital days ago.
But, just one day before his scheduled discharge, the Captain-Commander came to visit the hospital.
That very night, for unknown reasons, Satoru Mikami's condition rapidly deteriorated, landing him back in the hospital bed.
It wasn't until today that he was finally released.
Aizen's comment on this was: serves him right.
After finishing his porridge in one gulp, Satoru put down the bowl.
Under Aizen's gaze, he recounted every detail of his journey to the Soul King Palace.
"Sōsuke, I really suffered this time! Do you know how strong that Monk is? Right here—just one hit, a single blow from him—he broke my bones! And this is my tempered, innate physique we're talking about!"
"The final blow was even more excessive—a massive slap that sent me flying down from the Soul King Palace... Who knows how long that fall was? My clothes burned away completely, and I was left naked for everyone to see!"
"The most absurd part is that even though I firmly denied the matter of the flame mark, how did the old man still conclude it was me?"
"That old man hits brutally hard. I felt like I didn't even get beaten up this badly in the Soul King Palace..."
As Satoru rambled on, Aizen began to ponder.
Everything this guy had said and done in the Soul King Palace was enough to anger any ruling class.
It wasn't surprising that the one called Monk had attacked him.
But... Monk's ambiguous attitude was somewhat difficult to comprehend.
As an existence meant to protect the Soul King and maintain the order of the Three Realms, why had he spared Satoru's life at the final moment?
Key terms rapidly combined and rearranged in his mind.
Gradually, a conjecture emerged.
The Monk who protects the Soul King... didn't seem to value the "Soul King" itself?
Why would that be?
Could it be that the Soul King is merely a concept, not a specific person or object?
So Monk believed Satoru's claims had no possibility of realization and saw no need for anger?
No... If that were truly the case, then all the various records about the Soul King he had previously investigated would be false.
Throughout his years of research, he had collected numerous fragments related to the Soul King.
Through reverse-engineering these fragments, he could confirm that the Soul King was an individual with a life form.
Then, perhaps... the Soul King possessed a certain uniqueness that made it impossible for anyone else to replace him, not even Satoru?
That was possible, but if true, Monk's act of sparing Satoru's life would seem rather strange.
Analyzing Monk's behavior, even if the Soul King couldn't be replaced, he could definitely be damaged, or even killed.
If it were him, he would eliminate all those who coveted the Soul King's position, using absolute and powerful rule to make people abandon such ideas.
Someone like Monk, who obstructs but doesn't eradicate completely, would only encourage more people with similar thoughts.
An old being who has lived for millions of years couldn't possibly fail to realize this.
Wait...
Aizen's gaze sharpened.
All his thoughts so far had been from the challenger's perspective, completely opposed to Monk's position.
From this perspective, no matter how one analyzes it, there will always be loopholes.
Then, what if we reverse it?
If the challenger's stance is not opposed to the Monk, and can even achieve some form of alignment...
Aizen suddenly changed his expression.
"Sōsuke?"
Noticing the emotion in Aizen's eyes, Satoru asked curiously.
Aizen turned to him and stared for a moment.
Then he spoke:
"Yū, from now on, you are forbidden from taking any independent actions to advance the plan regarding the Soul King."
"If I find out you've proceeded with this plan without consulting me first..."
He left the sentence unfinished, but the threat in his tone was unmistakable.
Hearing this, Satoru's eyes lit up.
"Did you think of something?"
"The moment you spoke, I knew you had an idea!"
"To be honest, I've already mostly figured it out too—maybe it's the same as what you guessed... Should we compare notes?"
"Fine, you go first."
Aizen nodded directly.
Satoru: "..."
After a few seconds of silence, he coughed.
"Sōsuke, you need to work harder!"
"?"
"Wasn't the reason I got beaten so badly by the Monk ultimately because you didn't try hard enough?"
"From now on, you must double your training efforts and strive to surpass the Monk's Reiatsu within ten years, helping me achieve the supreme path!"
"?"
Watching Satoru's commanding attitude, Aizen felt his blood pressure rise.
He opened Satoru's exclusive grudge notebook and furiously added several entries!
Suddenly, as if remembering something, he looked at Satoru:
"Are you curious why the Captain-Commander suddenly concluded that you were the one who severed the connection?"
"Yes."
Aizen's lips curled into a smile.
"I know."
"Right when you were almost fully recovered, Captain Hirako returned from the Zero Division."
"He went to the First Division barracks to report, and half an hour later, the Captain- Commander stormed over to your place."
Hearing Aizen's words, Satoru's eyes widened with boiling rage.
"Hirako, you old traitor, you've signed your death warrant!!"
...
...
Whether it was an illusion or not, Satoru felt the Eleventh Division had become somewhat strange.
Kaname Tōsen, Ichimaru Gin, Komamura Sajin...
These guys all looked at him with inexplicable expressions.
What was with those gazes mixed with emotion, anticipation, and pride?
Should I get a pie chart to analyze the meaning behind your stares?
Finally, one day, Satoru couldn't take it anymore and grabbed his most loyal boy.
"Gin, do you acknowledge me as your captain?"
Satoru dragged Ichimaru Gin into an alley, pressed him against the wall, and grinned.
Seeing Satoru up close, Ichimaru Gin showed a slightly startled expression.
He nodded instinctively:
"Of course."
"The captain will always be my captain!"
Satoru nodded with satisfaction.
"Then, quickly tell me, what have you all been scheming lately?"
"Why do you, Sajin, Kaname, and even that guy Isshin always look at me so strangely when you see me?"
Hearing this, Ichimaru Gin understood.
After thinking for a few seconds, he smiled:
"Well, since we've been discovered, I'll tell you, Captain."
"We wanted to find out when your birthday is."
"Most of us are orphans, street kids from Rukongai—we don't have things like birthdays."
"If we could celebrate the captain's birthday, it would be like celebrating our own birthdays too."
"Everyone's just too embarrassed to ask, which is why the captain finds it strange..."
Hearing Ichimaru Gin's words, Satoru was momentarily stunned.
"You guys... really..."
He reached out and patted Ichimaru Gin's shoulder repeatedly.
"What a bunch of idiots! For something this small, you could have just asked me directly!"
"No, that won't do. I can't be the only one... I need to come up with birthdays for all of you!"
"Don't tell the others - I'm going to prepare a huge surprise, hoho!"
With some excitement, Satoru released Ichimaru Gin and vanished from the spot.
Watching the direction Satoru had disappeared in, Ichimaru Gin breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, the captain was easy to fool.
Their intentions weren't as simple as just wanting to give birthday gifts.
Sooner or later, we'll give you a big present, Captain...
...
...
Several days later, a captains' meeting was convened.
Yamamoto stood at the head position, looking at everyone.
"Today, I've gathered you all here to discuss... the candidate for the new captain of the Twelfth Division."
Upon hearing this, veteran captains like Kyōraku and Ukitake felt somewhat complicated.
Only at this moment did they suddenly truly realize that Captain Hikifune had really left the Seireitei and would likely not return.
Whether it was an illusion or not, it felt like the frequency of captain replacements had been quite rapid over the past century.
Old faces were gradually disappearing, replaced by new forces led by Satoru.
Was this... the tide of the times?