Chapter 130: Right Now? In Here?
Hollow power.
The alt's abilities couldn't be applied directly in the present, but as described before: reiatsu and the panel numbers themselves were shared. Which meant the Hollow Power gains were directly reflected in Matsushita Yusuke's own capabilities.
You get stronger, I get stronger.
[Hollow Power Level: 21]
[Sonido: 11] [Cero: 22] [Hierro: 13]
Solid gains across every number, driven by the additional Hueco Mundo trips over these past months.
For Matsushita Yusuke, this was only one part of the picture. Based on his testing and observation over that same period, he'd mapped out the basic framework of how this system worked.
The current contribution to his overall combat strength? Still modest.
The reasoning was simple.
His Reiatsu cap was sitting at 65 now. The Hollow Power Level was at 21. For the alt to meaningfully boost the main body, the two numbers needed to be operating in the same range. Right now, the gap between them was too wide for the feedback to register as anything significant.
Still in the development phase. No rushing it.
He was sitting with that thought when footsteps reached him from the hallway, getting louder as they approached. He pulled himself back to the present.
He'd barely had time to clear his head before the door opened.
Soifon. Visibly exhausted, but her voice still carried.
"It's about time. You need to go say a few words. How are you holding up?"
She'd been running things inside and out all day, but the final piece of the event was his to handle. That had been the arrangement from the start, and there was no getting out of it.
"You've worked hard. I'm heading over now."
The two of them left the office side by side, heading toward the main cafeteria.
"Aside from three captains, basically everyone showed up..."
Soifon paused for a moment there, then added, more quietly:
"I didn't expect you'd be this well-liked in the Gotei 13."
"Well. Obviously."
He said it with confidence. Privately, he was also a little surprised.
Honestly though. Am I really that well-liked?
He stepped into the hall and read the room immediately.
The crowd had arranged itself into distinct groups, which was completely predictable. People had their allegiances and their preferences. The factions had formed on their own without anyone organizing them.
Scanning those clusters, Matsushita Yusuke quickly worked out who was missing.
The Captain-Commander.
The old man not coming in person was reasonable. Sasakibe was here though, which said what it needed to say. No further reading required.
Then Squad 6's captain.
At this point in the timeline, that reserved noble post hadn't passed to Byakuya yet. The current holder was the serious-faced little old man Yusuke had met a handful of times. A formal, proper sort.
"Squad 6's captain apparently has some health trouble," Soifon murmured beside him.
Matsushita Yusuke gave a quiet nod, expression complicated.
Soul bodies weren't exempt from the ordinary processes of aging and illness. People like Yamamoto and Unohana, who had held on for over a thousand years, were the exceptions. Most didn't last nearly that long.
The current Squad 6 captain had presumably been watching his own condition decline over the years and eventually decided to step back, handing the position to Kuchiki Byakuya.
The specifics were his own business.
Squad 6 was a particular kind of organization: a noble family's private reserve, arguably even more insular than Squad 2. Kuchiki standards weren't strict in the ordinary sense of the word. They were extreme.
Which made what Byakuya had actually done in canon genuinely remarkable.
He'd brought Abarai Renji in. He'd married a woman from Rukongai with no noble background.
He walked around looking like the most rigid, tradition-bound person in the Seireitei.
Underneath that, he was probably the most quietly rebellious captain in the entire Gotei 13.
And the third absence.
Ukitake Jushiro.
No need to overthink it. His health flared up and he couldn't make it. Completely understandable. Everyone already knew. The Captain-Commander had long since quietly made an exception for him on attendance, and nobody questioned it anymore.
Yusuke set that aside and stepped up to the front.
He reached over and tapped the microphone.
THUNK. THUNK. THUNK.
A hollow boom rolled through the hall. Half the room winced.
From somewhere below the stage, Urahara Kisuke was already waving his hand frantically.
"It's working! Stop tapping it! Just talk!"
Well. The Technical Development Bureau equipment was reliable. That much was confirmed.
Matsushita Yusuke cleared his throat.
"First of all, thank you all for coming. I know everyone has their own responsibilities, so the fact that you're here today means a lot to me. Genuinely."
And after that?
Not much left to say, honestly.
"I hope everyone will look after me going forward. It's my first time as a captain, so... hm? Soifon, why are you kicking me? A script? Where is it? Let me see... oh. You actually wrote me lines?"
Every word of that came through the broadcast, clear as day.
Across the room, Yoruichi Shihoin had tears running down her face from laughing, watching Soifon on stage go from composed to ready to combust.
"This guy is so entertaining!"
Setting aside the unplanned interruption.
Matsushita Yusuke closed with one more line.
"Squad 11 is covering the bill today. Everyone eat and drink as much as you want. That's it!"
The oversized cafeteria opened up in buffet style, which turned out to be an unfamiliar format for most of the guests. People were curious. The atmosphere loosened immediately.
Soifon naturally gravitated toward Yoruichi's side of the room, which made sense. She was Squad 11 now, but her respect for her former captain hadn't gone anywhere.
"Matsushita-kun."
A familiar voice from close by.
He turned halfway and found Aizen Sosuke standing nearby, Tosen Kaname beside him, both of them holding plates, Aizen wearing his usual composed smile.
"Congratulations on the captaincy."
"Aizen-sensei, thank you for coming. Can I get you anything? We have sake, and-"
"Food and drink can wait. There's something I need to discuss. Could we step somewhere a bit more private?"
Wait.
Right now? In the middle of this?
Is he about to transform into a titan? Wait, wrong series.
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