If getting his hands on the Reigai (Spirit Body) of the First Generation Thirteenth Division Captain, Sakahone Saizō, had been an accident…
Then the Reigai of the First Generation Ninth Division Captain, Entetsu Kumoi, was something Higashino Shuuichi was determined to obtain—no matter what.
In the earliest rough draft of Higashino Shuuichi's plan—back when he was still in Soul Society—what he had envisioned was this:
He would bring along Kisaragi Shūsuke, Nagasawa Satomi, and Kabuma Sayako—who had specifically improved and researched the divine crests—while, with the assistance of his Quincy clone Kabuno Takuya,
They would lure out the Reigai containing the souls of the First Generation captains from Miyazaki Sakai Masato one by one, then send those First Generation captains' souls back to Hell, one after another.
And along the way, they'd also clean up Miyazaki Sakai Masato, that Soul Society traitor.
But once Entetsu Kumoi appeared outside of expectations, that plan inevitably had to change.
Faced with a First Generation captain's Reigai—one that even Urahara Kisuke would feel awkward about stabbing in the back—
Before figuring out the reason behind it, Higashino Shuuichi naturally wasn't going to step on that landmine himself.
Just let Entetsu Kumoi die the death Urahara Kisuke had already designed for him—done.
But he was Higashino Shuuichi.
If something had value, he was going to squeeze it dry.
For example—
How do you recover Entetsu Kumoi's Reigai right in front of all those captains?
One option was for Higashino Shuuichi to make a forceful entrance and simply take it.
Given Soul Society's current captain lineup, as long as Head-Captain Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni didn't personally come out, among the remaining captains, nine out of ten would give Higashino Shuuichi face.
The only one who wouldn't—the Seventh Division Captain Komamura Sajin—couldn't beat him anyway.
The upside to that route was obvious: simple, direct, violent, and aesthetically "beautiful" in the way of both brute force and social etiquette.
But Higashino Shuuichi chose a different road.
He would have Kuchiki Kōga—whom he had saved from Soul Society—accomplish the "great deed" of killing Entetsu Kumoi.
Truthfully, Higashino Shuuichi wasn't particularly interested in taking Kuchiki Kōga under his wing. Kōga's personality and worldview had already solidified; it would be hard to shape him the way he could shape Kisaragi Shūsuke or Yushima Ōko.
But if he could trade Kuchiki Kōga for high-value goodwill and favors from the Kuchiki clan, Higashino Shuuichi considered that worth it.
As for whether eliminating a dangerous shinigami like Entetsu Kumoi could earn Kuchiki Kōga meaningful sentence reduction from Head-Captain Yamamoto—
That wasn't something Higashino Shuuichi needed to worry about. That was Kyōraku Shunsui's problem.
All Higashino Shuuichi had to do was lay out his stance and actions clearly. Then, no matter how unwilling Kuchiki Byakuya and Kyōraku Shunsui might be, they'd still have to mark that favor down for him—because he had saved Kuchiki Kōga and given him a chance to live.
And letting Kuchiki Kōga claim Entetsu Kumoi's Reigai in the name of the Kuchiki clan would also leave the captains of Soul Society—especially Kurotsuchi Mayuri—with nothing they could say.
"Even if you put it that way, how could just the two of us possibly land the final blow on a First Generation captain like Entetsu Kumoi in front of so many captains?
Kisaragi Shūsuke… either you people are crazy, or I'm crazy.
Are you seriously overestimating my strength that much?"
Inside the beach villa at Tokyo-dō, Kuchiki Kōga asked that bluntly.
What he'd done back in Soul Society had been a last struggle forced by circumstance.
But what Kisaragi Shūsuke was asking him to do now—how was it any different from marching to his death… or throwing himself back into the net?
"Of course it's not just the two of us."
Kisaragi Shūsuke answered with confidence.
Kuchiki Kōga frowned in suspicion.
"Kyōraku Shunsui? Or Kuchiki Byakuya?
Impossible. Neither of them would do something like that for my sake. If they were willing, then back in Soul Society, the Tsunayashiro nobles would've been cut down by me long ago!"
Kuchiki Kōga didn't believe they had any helper at all.
Which only proved how little Kuchiki Kōga understood about Higashino Shuuichi's network.
"Of course it's not those two captains. In fact… there's a captain who doesn't care about worldly things at all. And no matter what she does, as long as she isn't openly betraying Soul Society…
Head-Captain Yamamoto won't do anything to her."
"Impossible!
How could Soul Society have a captain like that?
Even Head-Captain Yamamoto's two disciples back then—Kyōraku Shunsui and Ukitake Jūshirō—wouldn't dare say something like that!"
Kuchiki Kōga's face screamed four words: You're lying to me!
His expression now was practically identical to Kisaragi Shūsuke's when he'd first heard the same information from Higashino Shuuichi.
The difference was—Kisaragi Shūsuke could quickly tell himself to accept it, because Shuuichi-sama had said it with his own mouth.
Kuchiki Kōga couldn't.
And yet, in the current Soul Society…
That "rule-breaking" captain truly existed.
"Coming in person to provide medical support… that really doesn't seem like your style, Captain Unohana."
Standing in the rear and watching the fierce fight ahead—Komamura Sajin, Tōsen Kaname, and the Eleventh Division's Third Seat, Ikkaku Madarame, battling Entetsu Kumoi—Kurotsuchi Mayuri spoke as if casually.
"After all, this is a battle against a First Generation captain. The danger is quite high. I was worried Isane couldn't handle everything by herself, you see~"
Unohana Retsu replied softly, her tone gentle as ever.
"Ah—th-that's right, Captain Kurotsuchi!
My strength is still too weak. I was worried I'd mess up in a situation like this, so I specifically asked Captain Unohana to come!"
Kotetsu Isane didn't catch the second layer in Kurotsuchi Mayuri's words, but she could sense the odd tension in the air. So she decisively took the matter onto herself.
But to two clever people, that kind of cover was meaningless.
"Oh? Is that so?
Then why hasn't the rest of the support arrived yet?
If I remember correctly, weren't Captain Kyōraku Shunsui of the Eighth Division and Captain Aizen Sōsuke of the Fifth Division assigned to come reinforce as well?"
Kurotsuchi Mayuri spoke calmly while observing the battlefield, showing no sign of worry at all.
It was unclear whether he wasn't worried about Komamura and the others losing…
Or whether he simply didn't care whether they lived.
"Aizen Sōsuke, I'm not sure about," Unohana Retsu said with a smile, "but as for Kyōraku Shunsui… I suspect he won't be coming~"
"Oh?"
Kurotsuchi Mayuri felt like there was a story there.
There was.
But Unohana Retsu was certainly not going to tell it.
"After all… I came~"
That was all she would reveal—no more than that.
Kurotsuchi Mayuri, unusually, gave Unohana Retsu a longer look from the corner of his masked eyes.
Clearly, this was a captain with a story.
But… that was all.
For now, Unohana Retsu still wasn't interesting enough to Kurotsuchi Mayuri.
In his eyes, she was far less important than the Reigai carrying Entetsu Kumoi's soul.
"Feels like the previous combat-power analysis model had issues after all. Three captain-class combatants look like they're completely outmatched by Entetsu Kumoi.
As expected, using Higashino Shuuichi as the standard combat model was too forced. Next time, I should switch the benchmark.
Should I use Komamura Sajin from the Seventh Division… or Tōsen Kaname from the Ninth?"
Even with the battle going like this, Kurotsuchi Mayuri was still thinking about the brand-new captain-level evaluation standard he had designed based on Higashino Shuuichi's combat power.
It should've been a perfect model.
But now he realized that because Higashino Shuuichi's combat quality was too absurd—and because his growth speed was too outrageous—the model had drifted away from reality.
He needed a captain whose strength was stable and whose combat ability wasn't so wildly over-tuned to serve as the benchmark.
"We need to call in new reinforcements…"
After Ikkaku Madarame carelessly ate a blade from Entetsu Kumoi and nearly died on the spot, Kurotsuchi Mayuri decided to send another reinforcement request back to Soul Society.
This First Generation shinigami captain was no longer something two or three captain-class shinigami could handle together.
They needed more—many more!
However, just as Kurotsuchi Mayuri established contact with Soul Society, the situation on the field changed.
Two unexpected shinigami appeared on the battlefield.
"Kisaragi Shūsuke… and Kuchiki Kōga?"
Kurotsuchi Mayuri recognized both of them. After all, they were both traitors to Soul Society.
"Hello? Captain Kurotsuchi?
Are you listening over there?
I'm confirming with you: based on your judgment, does the situation in the World of the Living still require support from two captains?"
The reply came from Soul Society.
"No—no, not two. The situation here needs at least five captains to come as support, and if possible, I want the Head-Captain to come personally!"
Kurotsuchi Mayuri immediately corrected himself.
Even though he still didn't know how Kuchiki Kōga had ended up mixed in with Kisaragi Shūsuke, one thing was certain:
Wherever Kisaragi Shūsuke was, Higashino Shuuichi was absolutely nearby!
And if Higashino Shuuichi and the First Generation Captain Entetsu Kumoi were on the same side…
Then the few captains present in the World of the Living might genuinely not be enough for those two.
This was extremely dangerous.
Kurotsuchi Mayuri was already thinking about how he should run.
Because his relationship with Higashino Shuuichi existed only in private. Publicly, the two of them were "not close."
They had only ever exchanged normal work communication due to duties.
Kurotsuchi Mayuri believed that if he met a severely injured Higashino Shuuichi in an official setting or official mission, he absolutely would not show mercy.
Well—he'd leave Higashino Shuuichi one breath, for research purposes.
And as for Higashino Shuuichi?
Kurotsuchi Mayuri had no doubt Higashino Shuuichi would think the exact same way.
That was the special, unknown relationship between them.
In Kurotsuchi Mayuri's eyes, it might even have been the most "special" relationship in all of Soul Society.
If the other captains knew he maintained that kind of mutually beneficial private relationship with Higashino Shuuichi, they'd probably label him a traitor too.
"Oh! Okay, Captain Kurotsuchi—so it's five captains of support, right?
You're confirming that, correct?"
Soul Society responded quickly.
That was the captain hotline.
"…Wait, not five. I think… we don't need support anymore."
Soul Society was about to end the call and notify the Head-Captain to arrange candidates, only to suddenly hear Kurotsuchi Mayuri's uncertain voice from the other end.
Even without visuals, Kurotsuchi Mayuri could picture the shinigami on the other side twitching at the corner of their mouth.
He had, indeed, made a mess of things.
But it really wasn't his fault—who could've guessed that Kisaragi Shūsuke and Kuchiki Kōga would, without so much as a word, turn around and start beating Entetsu Kumoi?
And they were beating him even more viciously and more earnestly than the "normal" Soul Society captains.
What kind of situation was this?
Kurotsuchi Mayuri couldn't make sense of it.
Even taking advantage of chaos wasn't supposed to look like this.
From Higashino Shuuichi's and Kuchiki Kōga's standpoint, shouldn't Kisaragi Shūsuke and Kuchiki Kōga wait until the Soul Society captains and Entetsu Kumoi had both suffered heavy losses—then step in and reap the spoils?
He couldn't understand it.
Truly couldn't.
Kurotsuchi Mayuri couldn't comprehend Higashino Shuuichi's move at all.
And then Unohana Retsu's next action left Kurotsuchi Mayuri completely stunned.
That elegant sword posture.
That razor-sharp sword momentum.
Those fierce techniques.
Those brutal cuts.
This was nothing like the Unohana Retsu that existed in Kurotsuchi Mayuri's impression!
"Captain Kurotsuchi!
Captain Unohana—she, she… she's…"
Kotetsu Isane was still here. Watching Unohana Retsu like this, she started wondering if she was dreaming.
But for Kurotsuchi Mayuri, this could only be called unexpected—yet also reasonable.
It was obvious now: this was Unohana Retsu's true reason for coming.
For what?
For Higashino Shuuichi?
What relationship did she have with him?
A mere "former captain and vice-captain" relationship shouldn't be enough to drive Unohana Retsu to this extent…
A chain of new questions burst into Kurotsuchi Mayuri's mind—only to be snuffed out one by one by Kurotsuchi Mayuri himself.
They were all useless questions.
Kurotsuchi Mayuri had no interest whatsoever in the answers.
There was only one thing he cared about:
Who would claim Entetsu Kumoi's Reigai—this vessel carrying the power of a First Generation captain?
"Nikubakudan (Flesh Bomb)!"
Spotting the timing—when Ikkaku Madarame got close to the heavily wounded Entetsu Kumoi, who was being surrounded and battered by multiple attackers—
Kurotsuchi Mayuri didn't hesitate for even a fraction of a second. He directly detonated the Nikubakudan (Flesh Bomb) he had planted long ago inside Ikkaku Madarame's body.
Then his body moved—like an Arrancar's Sonīdo (Sonido movement).
Kurotsuchi Mayuri wanted to seize that extremely special Reigai.
Because this time, Soul Society would clearly open research access to this kind of Reigai.
But what Kurotsuchi Mayuri didn't expect was—
Someone moved faster than him.
A gigantic manta ray swallowed Ikkaku Madarame whole—before the Nikubakudan (Flesh Bomb) inside him could even detonate, before Ikkaku could even react.
Then, that familiar silhouette stepped in front of Kurotsuchi Mayuri, a powerful reiatsu (spiritual pressure) capable of severing space itself blocking his path forward.
"Just like I told you, Yachiru—you have to be careful. Kurotsuchi Mayuri acts without scruples. He doesn't value his comrades' lives that highly.
When necessary, he's absolutely the type who can sacrifice an ally."
The memory of that meeting still felt vivid.
Unohana Retsu smiled and sighed softly.
"Looks like you were right again~"
And in front of Kurotsuchi Mayuri and Unohana Retsu—
Kisaragi Shūsuke intercepted Komamura Sajin.
Kuchiki Kōga drove his blade straight into Entetsu Kumoi's heart.
//Check out my P@tre0n for 20 extra chapters on all my fanfics //[email protected]/Razeil0810.