"Yecheng, this is our Thirteenth Division's Vice-Captain, Kaien Shiba. Kaien is a righteous and loyal man who is admired and popular among many members. If you have anything you don't understand, you can ask him."
Ukitake, due to his weak health, is a [shut-in]. If it weren't for this sudden situation, he would basically be someone who doesn't leave his home.
An ordinary captain wouldn't say so much to a mere rookie, but Ukitake has the persona of a [Mr. Nice Guy], and since Yecheng was also one of the victims this time, he's giving him special treatment.
Now that Kaien Shiba has come to [take over], Ukitake naturally can't wait to go back to his barracks to rest.
"Don't worry if the Captain has a problem with you or anything. Due to his physical condition, Captain Ukitake rarely handles captain duties, and we subordinates have been taking care of them. My name is Kaien Shiba.
I was only recently promoted to Vice-Captain of the Thirteenth Division. Before that, I was just the Third Seat. Please take good care of me."
"Not at all, I'm the one who should ask for your guidance, Vice-Captain Shiba. I'm a rookie who just joined the division today, Nan Yecheng."
This was Yecheng and Kaien Shiba's first meeting, and it was also the first time Yecheng understood this tragic character.
Time flew by, and two years after Yecheng became a member of the Thirteenth Division, the captain of the Thirteenth Division, Jushiro Ukitake, once again had to leave his [retirement paradise] to attend an emergency captain's meeting at the First Division.
"Yecheng, what do you think the Head Captain called this emergency captain's meeting for?"
Standing next to Yecheng, the person who asked him was the Thirteenth Division's Vice-Captain, Kaien Shiba. After two years, Yecheng and Kaien Shiba had formed a pretty good friendship.
Kaien Shiba was originally the current head of the Shiba family, one of the Five Great Noble Houses of the Soul Society, but the family had fallen into decline.
In the original plot, there wasn't much description of Kaien Shiba's story, but after two years of contact, Yecheng realized that there was a reason why the [Octopus-Head] Rukia idolized Kaien.
Born into a noble family, Kaien Shiba treated every member of his division equally, regardless of their identity or background. His fair attitude made him popular with both noble and Rukongai-born members.
And Kaien is also a genius. He completed the six-year curriculum of Shin'ō Academy in just one year.
He entered the Thirteenth Division as the Third Seat and was promoted to Vice-Captain in just five years.
No matter how you look at it, with Kaien's talent, connections, and personality, it's almost a foregone conclusion that he will take over Ukitake's position as the Thirteenth Division's captain in a few decades.
And in these two years, Kaien, with his observation skills that are superior to the average person, also discovered Yecheng's special qualities.
Because he cares for recruits, Kaien initially planned to give Yecheng some extra training. But during a sparring session, he discovered Yecheng's true hidden strength.
After learning of Yecheng's concerns, Kaien did not laugh at Yecheng for being paranoid or having a persecution complex like Ikkaku and Yumichika. Instead, he smiled and said he understood.
The Soul Society may seem calm on the surface, but in reality, there are undercurrents. Kaien, who was once a member of one of the Five Great Noble Houses, understood this best.
And he also believes that being a bit cautious is not a bad thing. His wife, Miyako Shiba, was killed by a Hollow in the past due to her carelessness. (PS: I see many people are confused. It's not that I haven't watched the original plot. I made Kaien's wife die early because I want to resurrect her later.)
For years, Kaien has always felt that his wife's death was strange. Logically, his wife was the Third Seat of the division, an elite Shinigami who had mastered Shikai. How could she be killed by a low-level Hollow that appeared in the Rukongai? This in itself is an absurd thing.
"I received a little [inside information]. A large number of souls in the Rukongai have suddenly been Hollowfied.
Captain Kensei Muguruma and Vice-Captain Mashiro Kuna of the Ninth Division went to investigate, but it seems something happened.
The captain and vice-captain are already the top-tier combat powers of the Seireitei. Now that something has happened, the Head Captain is naturally holding a captain's meeting.
I estimate that the number of captains sent to investigate this time will be even greater."
Kaien wasn't surprised by the inside information Yecheng received. Yecheng, who is from the Rukongai, seems to have a lot of connections in that [fish-and-dragon-mixed] place.
And in the Gotei 13, Yecheng's popularity is also very good. His popularity is only good in the Thirteenth Division, but Yecheng's popularity is good throughout the entire Gotei 13.
This is not difficult to understand. Yecheng is a transmigrator after all. Although he hasn't found his [cheat] yet, he knows the plot and understands the personalities of the characters in this world. As long as he [caters to their interests], it's not difficult to build good relationships with people.
"Mass Hollowfication in the Rukongai? Could this be related to the matter I asked you to help me investigate about Miyako?"
Hearing about the mass Hollowfication in the Rukongai, Kaien's expression instantly became serious. It's not rare for souls in the Rukongai to occasionally become Hollows.
But the Hollows that appear in the Rukongai are usually just low-level Hollows. They can bully rookies from Shin'ō Academy, but if they can kill his wife, who was a Third Seat, and now even the captain and vice-captain of the Ninth Division are missing, then the situation is clearly abnormal.
"It shouldn't be... After all, there's been a long gap between the two incidents."
Hearing Kaien's guess, Yecheng couldn't help but sigh at his sharp intuition. He really wanted to say that he was right and that both incidents were the work of a certain [hair wax big shot].
Whether it's the captain and vice-captain of the Ninth Division or Kaien Shiba's wife, they are all just sacrifices for the experiments of the boss, Sosuke Aizen.
But at this moment, he can't reveal the secret, because he can't explain it. If he revealed these secrets, the person who would be locked up and investigated by the Punitive Force might become him.
And although Kaien's strength is good now, going to the Rukongai now is a [dead end].
Yecheng knows that even if he wasn't at the captain's meeting, the Head Captain will next send Captain Rojuro Otoribashi of the Third Division, Captain Shinji Hirako of the Fifth Division, Love Aikawa of the Seventh Division, Vice-Captain Lisa Yadomaru of the Eighth Division, Hiyori Sarugaki of the Twelfth Division, and Vice-Captain of the Kidō Corps, Hachigen Ushoda, to form a special task force to investigate.
And there is no doubt that even this team of captain-level combatants will eventually be defeated by Aizen's Zanpakutō, [Kyoka Suigetsu], and become experimental subjects for his Shinigami Hollowfication.
With so many captains and vice-captains being defeated, Yecheng doesn't think adding a vice-captain like Kaien can change the outcome. So, at this moment, he naturally speaks up to dissuade him from going to the Rukongai to die.