The Captain of Squad Two showed only a faint trace of displeasure.
The Captain of Squad Eleven, on the other hand, let out a bitter smile, clearly regretting that he had steered the conversation in this direction. Without making it obvious, his expression plainly conveyed his desire to stay as far away from noble affairs as possible.
The Captain of Squad Two noticed this reaction. Seeing the other man's wry smile, he instead found himself smiling as well. Compared to the helpless frustration written all over the Captain of Squad Eleven's face, his own mild irritation hardly seemed worth mentioning.
Still, he didn't continue pressing the topic.
A brief hint was more than enough. The Captain of Squad Eleven was no fool.
The Head-Captain of the Gotei Thirteen had personally summoned the two of them, explaining the current situation and assigning their respective tasks.
Just as the Captain of Squad Two had said, the Head-Captain had merely refrained from stating things outright. In reality, the missions had already been arranged for each of them.
Even a purely combat-oriented division like Squad Eleven was absolutely forbidden from interfering in matters between the noble houses. Doing so wouldn't resolve anything, instead, it would only drag them into endless trouble.
By contrast, the Captain of Squad Two, though likewise a member of the Gotei Thirteen, also held another identity: the commander of the Executive Militia and the head of the Shihōin Clan, one of the Five Great Noble Houses. He not only commanded an unquestionable armed force, but also possessed unparalleled authority at the very top of noble society.
So long as the Head-Captain and Central 46 were determined to put an end to the current chaos among the nobles, the Captain of Squad Two could act without regard for noble sentiments or the indecision of the Seal-Bearing Noble Assembly, forcibly bringing this internal strife to a close with lightning speed.
That said, theory and practice were two different things. In reality, there would inevitably be many constraints to consider.
After all, the Shihōin Clan was only one of the Five Great Houses. In any concrete action, it was reasonable to expect support from the Kuchiki and Shiba clans, but as the foremost of the Five Great Noble Houses, the Tsunayashiro Clan would not necessarily submit so easily.
As for the house opposed to the Tsunayashiro, they would likely do nothing more than observe coldly. From the very beginning, that clan had been far more concerned with matters related to Hell.
None of this needed to be explained to the Captain of Squad Eleven.
These were matters the Captain of Squad Two had to weigh and consider in his capacity as a noble. And even if he did explain them, the Captain of Squad Eleven would probably just cover his ears and shout, "I don't want to hear it, don't tell me!"
"So, in other words," the Captain of Squad Eleven said, rubbing his chin, his tone noticeably lighter, "Squad Eleven handles the Quincy, with Squad Two providing support. And as for… well, the noble side of things, that'll be up to you, Captain Shihōin?"
It seemed that the moment the meeting ended and he left the Head-Captain, he had hurriedly chased after the Captain of Squad Two just to confirm this point.
Even if he said, "The Head-Captain simply couldn't state it outright," if the Captain of Squad Two had also refused to take on that mess and instead declared, "We'll deal with the Quincy," then Squad Eleven, no matter how unwilling, would have been forced to handle the nobles' situation themselves.
After all, Squad Two was perfectly capable of dealing with the Quincy through assassination.
If it came to that, Squad Eleven would practically have to brace themselves with the resolve to die ten thousand times over. And yes, not to fight, but to get dragged into the mess.
Fortunately, the Captain of Squad Two was a decent man and had, in the end, done the right thing.
"Do you need our assistance?" the Captain of Squad Eleven asked. "If it's just combat, you won't find anyone more professional than us."
"That won't be necessary," the Captain of Squad Two replied, giving him a look that clearly said, Don't think I don't know you're just being respectful. "No matter what, you wouldn't actually want to get involved in this, would you?"
The Captain of Squad Eleven could only chuckle awkwardly, dropping the subject.
"Then there's only one last matter left," the Captain of Squad Two continued. "Recent reports from Rukongai mention large-scale, abnormal Hollow appearances causing widespread destruction. We can probably take this as Hueco Mundo making some kind of move against Soul Society. How unfortunate. Of all times, it has to be now."
Under normal circumstances, this would be nothing for the Captain of Squad Eleven to worry about. He wouldn't even need the Head-Captain to say a word, he'd already have led his men straight into Rukongai to slaughter Hollows to his heart's content.
But these were special circumstances.
They had to remain on constant alert, prepared to clash with the Quincy the moment negotiations collapsed. Until then, unnecessary sacrifices and the expenditure of strength were unacceptable.
Moreover, Rukongai was vast. Even though Shinigami possessed specialized techniques for long-distance movement, the reports indicated that the Hollows were scattered across different districts. That meant there was no possibility of a single large-scale engagement, only small squads dispatched to fight separately.
In normal times, they could leisurely send everyone out to enjoy the slaughter. But right now, they had neither the time nor the mood.
"It's also possible they deliberately chose this moment to stir up trouble," the Captain of Squad Eleven muttered.
Hollows appearing in Rukongai and causing destruction wasn't unusual. But such dense, large-scale appearances within a short time span, spread throughout Rukongai, were anything but normal.
This was an incident Seireitei had no choice but to monitor, investigate, and resolve.
The Head-Captain had summoned the Captain of Squad Two and the Captain of Squad Eleven to discuss three matters in total.
The first two corresponded neatly to one another. The troublesome one was the third.
Squad Eleven had good reason why they couldn't handle it, while Squad Two faced an even more severe challenge of its own.
Either way, it was difficult for either side to spare manpower.
In truth, worrying about whether the Captain of Squad Two would refuse to act had been unnecessary from the start. The real issue had always been this matter, something that wouldn't even count as a problem under normal circumstances.
Because this wasn't normal times.
"Honestly, what is the Head-Captain thinking?" the Captain of Squad Eleven grumbled. "The missions are heavy enough already, and now he throws in extra work like this. Why not hand it off to another squad? Squad Three, Squad Five… or even Squad Nine or Squad Ten."
"Captain Kuruyashiki," the Captain of Squad Two said calmly, "watch your words. Since the Head-Captain has made this decision, he must have his reasons."
It was a well-intentioned reminder.
Still, he knew that even if someone overheard those words and spread them, nothing would come of it.
After all, this was a man who bore the title of Kenpachi. He enjoyed that kind of privilege.
That said, the Captain of Squad Two himself began to ponder whether the Head-Captain's decision truly held deeper meaning.
His thoughts soon turned to the task he was about to undertake.
The entire chain of events had been sparked by the failed execution of the Azashiro Clan.
He had been the first to sense that something was wrong. When he personally rushed to the scene, what he saw was a sight even he found difficult to stomach.
The victims had not died in any uniform manner. They had been killed in countless different ways.
The stench of spilled organs and blood filled the air. The nobles' deaths were so horrific that not only were their bodies incomplete, there was no way to even determine how many corpses were present.
Several of them had already disintegrated into reishi particles, scattering into the atmosphere of Soul Society.
Only the Hollow used for the execution, writhing at the bottom of the pit, had been spared.
It was precisely because the scene was so horrifying that it ignited internal strife among the nobles.
The Captain of Squad Two knew his own kind well. Most nobles were useless at anything productive but excelled at oppressing others.
The moment their interests were harmed, or they imagined themselves facing the same danger, they were quicker than anyone else to lose their composure.
One could even say they were a group prone to paranoia. Once the thought of suffering the same fate crossed their minds, nothing they did afterward was surprising.
But that wasn't the real issue.
The crucial point was this: despite the fact that some noble corpses had already dispersed into reishi dust, making it impossible to account for everyone with certainty, there was one thing unmistakably absent.
Azashiro Sōya, the son of the Azashiro Clan, was nowhere to be found at the execution site.
And afterward, there was no news of him at all.
If Azashiro Sōya was no longer in Seireitei, then where could he be now?
The Captain of Squad Two lowered his gaze slightly and spoke in a calm, measured tone.
"In that case… I'll go take a look myself."
"Huh? Hey, don't joke around!" the Captain of Squad Eleven exclaimed in shock. "Captain Shihōin, you can't possibly spare the time for that, can you?"
"If it's just me, I can," the Captain of Squad Two replied. "My own situation does require handling, but it's still far from reaching its worst stage."
As he said this, a trace of undisguised revulsion surfaced on his face.
"Once a few more of them die, they'll finally understand fear. At that point, dealing with them will actually be easier than it is now. Before that happens, my absence from Seireitei under the pretext of investigation is the perfect excuse. And while I'm at it, I can see what Hueco Mundo is really planning."
His eyes turned cold.
"Just in time to remind them that Soul Society is not their personal garden, somewhere they can come and go whenever they please."
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200 P.S = 1 Extra Chapters
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