Chapter 209: Operations Begin
After about half a day of preparation and rest, along with a series of preliminary survey activities, the two captains finally set out.
As previously noted, in the context of this world's feudal arrangements, a captain traveling anywhere was itself part of the procedural framework.
The procedures were complicated, and the rules governing the travel itself were no less so.
Without a wartime special order from Squad 1, even the maverick Squad 11 still had to operate within various regulations and rules before taking any action.
That was why feudal bureaucracy was a killer. With efficiency like that, it was no wonder multiple parties kept finding ways to take advantage of you.
But one way or another, they had safely transferred into Hueco Mundo.
Shiba Kaien took the lead and without hesitation began directing everything for the work ahead, getting all the preparations that had been made in advance into position.
Matsushita Yusuke even caught sight of Kaien's wife busy among the activity.
'I think they don't have children yet?'
The entire Shiba family core was here. If they were wiped out the way the original story had it, it was too terrible to think about.
Watching Kaien work with such focused energy, Matsushita Yusuke couldn't help a moment of quiet reflection.
When the captain didn't carry their own share, if the people below them weren't diligent either, everything just piled up and got worse. People like Soifon and Shiba Kaien were the type of talent genuinely suited to administrative work.
"Captain Ukitake, I'm going to take a look around the immediate area first."
Ukitake, settled on a small stool someone had set up for him, was taking small sips of hot tea and nodding with a broad smile.
"Of course! Please be careful out there, Captain Matsushita."
Matsushita Yusuke nodded, but couldn't suppress an internal comment.
I know this place better than my own hometown. I don't need reminding.
After a brief internal mutter and a quick word to the Squad 11 members at camp, Matsushita Yusuke was already planning to head out.
Because of the prior arrangement with Squad 13, his role here was essentially support. A bit of quiet slacking, as long as it wasn't too obvious, was entirely within the parameters of the situation.
Just don't take it too far.
"Hey, hold on!"
An unexpected voice stopped him. He halted and turned.
Zaraki was standing in his characteristic loose, unhurried posture, looking around while calling out.
"This place, we can basically do whatever we want here, right? Nobody's going to come after us?"
Matsushita Yusuke pressed his lips together helplessly.
He hadn't originally planned to bring Zaraki along. The man theoretically respected others, but once the fighting spirit kicked in, self-control went out the window.
But when Zaraki heard that Squad 11 was going on a mission to a place where you could do whatever you wanted with no one holding you accountable, he'd been like a stray dog catching the smell of meat.
He had pestered Matsushita Yusuke relentlessly until Yusuke had no choice but to bring him.
That said.
Some ground rules needed to be established. If Zaraki was left completely to his own devices, there was a real chance he'd do something completely out of bounds.
"Let's say we establish some basic ground rules. As long as you don't do anything specific that I'd have to step in for, I basically won't come after you for whatever else you get up to. Within Hueco Mundo, you can cut loose."
"Ha! With that kind of arrangement, don't even bother explaining the conditions. I'll agree to whatever they are!"
This guy is surprisingly easy to manage.
With that thought barely registered, Matsushita Yusuke moved to state the actual conditions. But before he could even start walking, Zaraki was already laughing and calling out to his group.
"Let's go! Time to cut loose! Back in Soul Society you can't get away with much, but out here you can go as far as you want and nobody's going to say a word!"
Watching the squad members gathering behind Zaraki, Matsushita Yusuke showed a somewhat complicated expression.
Honestly, he was a little surprised.
These squad members had been drawn to Zaraki personally. The truth was, as an individual, Zaraki had genuine personal magnetism.
He was strong enough, and his disposition toward those under him was actually quite warm. Even going back to his earlier days in the Rukongai, he'd built meaningful connections with a lot of people.
The seated officers under him in the original story, Ikkaku and others, were essentially all people who had prior connections to him.
Even now, with Zaraki no longer in a captain position, simply serving in Squad 11 had been enough to draw around twenty people willing to follow him.
Day-to-day, it was these people sparring and roughhousing with him. Nothing that would make any official record, but it genuinely moved Matsushita Yusuke to some reflection.
So Zaraki was actually the soul of this squad.
'I wonder, now that the captain has changed... would people like Ikkaku and Yumichika still want to join Squad 11?'
Matsushita Yusuke as captain would welcome them with both hands. Improvements in squad members' strength fed directly back to him as rewards.
The more potential the better.
The bald one's Bankai might be on the weaker side, but in a room full of short people the tallest still counted. Being able to release a Zanpakuto at all was no small thing. Better not to judge too harshly on that front.
These thoughts rose and fell, and Matsushita Yusuke turned and headed out.
As he went, he observed the environment and compared what he was seeing to what he carried in memory.
He had done similar terrain surveys in Hueco Mundo long before this. He had a detailed impression of the general landscape.
He reached a quick conclusion.
'Not bad...'
The passage from Soul Society opened at a fairly remote corner, an area where Aizen's forces were rarely active. Because of that, the follow-up cleanup work he had come partly to do had already been largely spared.
When you were out in the field, any work you could avoid was welcome.
Besides the surface-level assistance, another purpose in coming along was to deal with certain traces of prior activity that hadn't had time to be properly covered.
'Saved a fair amount of effort, then.'
With his thoughts drifting, Matsushita Yusuke kept moving without stopping, and quickly found his way to a target location based on prior experience.
This was it.
He came down slowly and looked at the small depression visible in the desert not far ahead, showing a quietly satisfied expression.