'I wrote Toyako just because I was bored, okay?! I suddenly remembered a gag from Gintama!'
'And what is with this CG name anyway? It's almost as long as a light novel, hey!'
'And what the hell is this Toyako Hermit? A budget Yhwach or what?! Can you let him come out and give me a buff or something? Let me learn some flashy transformation like Getsuga Mugetsu too, like Gin-san!'
Of course, Iori knew his complaints wouldn't get any response. All he could do was sigh at how unpredictable the CG system was.
Very soon, Amagai led Iori to the captain's office. He politely knocked and announced them, and from inside came a low female voice that sounded distinctly unhappy.
Amagai gave Iori a good luck to you look, pushed the door open, and called out, "Captain, the newcomer you personally requested has arrived."
As the two stepped into the tatami room, the scene inside made their eyes go wide in shock:
On the inner wall of the room hung a huge character for "Righteousness". Beneath it, the dignified first-generation Sixth Division captain and current supreme commander of the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force, Saito Furofushi, was actually wearing a plain white kimono, pulled open from both sides to reveal her upper body tightly wrapped in layers of bandages.
In front of her was a low table and a tray holding a wakizashi short sword, clearly set up like she was about to perform a traditional act.
"C-Captain, why would you go this far?!" Amagai was stunned on the spot.
Iori was also dumbfounded. He knew this outdated violent loli wasn't exactly reliable, but he hadn't expected her to pull something this big right from the start.
Could it be she had committed some grave crime and was about to commit suicide?
"I committed a terrible mistake… At over a thousand years old, I actually flirted with a child while drunk, and even worse, I broke my word to a little brat who isn't even a hundred yet~ ngh!"
Saito had even replaced her eyepatch with white cloth, her remorse overflowing. "To express my shame, I shall commit seppuku to apologize to the world!"
She secretly shot a quick glance at Iori, then immediately closed her eyes again.
"Huh?" Iori froze. "Are you talking about the time you taught me Shunpo?"
"If this gets out and people think I, Saito, am someone who flirts with little boys and doesn't keep her promises, how am I supposed to survive in this world?!"
Saito took a deep breath and declared solemnly to the two of them, "My mind is made up. You don't need to stop me!"
With that, she decisively drew the short sword and raised it high.
"..."
"..."
"..."
Three seconds passed. Five seconds passed. Eight seconds passed…
"…Why aren't you stopping me?!" Saito was the first to break the nearly frozen atmosphere. "Amagai?"
"I mean… I honestly have no idea what you're even talking about."
Amagai frowned deeply. "And could you please stop messing around already?"
"Hanging today, poisoning tomorrow, this kind of scene has happened over ten times just this year alone. You might be carefree about it, but the rest of us have to cooperate, and I even have to clean up after you!"
Saito had nothing to say and turned to look at Iori. Iori maintained his shocked expression and very innocently asked, "So… when can we start?"
There was even a hint of anticipation in his tone.
"..."
"This is my first time seeing real seppuku. Nothing else, I just want to broaden my horizons."
Iori extended his right hand, gesturing for her to continue. "Please!"
"Uh..."
'Now you're sweating bullets, aren't you, Captain Saito?!'
Clearly, "Furofushi" was just Saito's name, not an ability. She wasn't like some blond vampire who could survive decapitation, nor did she plan to learn creative ways of trying to die from Kaido next door.
She was just bored and liked messing around, why take it so seriously?
After all, when people are killed, they die.
"Sigh, it's just that I don't have a kaishakunin… For now I'll, Iori, why are you borrowing Amagai's sword?"
"Are you looking down on me? You are, right?! Careful or I'll really die for you to see!"
On his first day in the unit, Iori had already witnessed the bizarre style of his superior, and for a moment he wondered if he had come to the wrong place. Maybe he should've gone to the World of the Living instead?
Then again, that wasn't quite right either. Hueco Mundo was dangerous, but the Quincy weren't pushovers either.
You could tell just from how the higher-ups had mobilized so many elites and still felt it wasn't enough, Central 46 truly feared the Quincy clan from the bottom of their hearts.
Of course, that might also be related to the fact that the Gotei Thirteen was currently in a transitional, understaffed phase.
"To think they'd send a student who hasn't even graduated to Hueco Mundo… Have things really gotten this desperate for the Gotei Thirteen?"
After getting dressed, Saito brought out some sake vessels, seemingly intending to invite Iori and Amagai for a drink and forget about the earlier unpleasantness.
"No, I applied voluntarily," Iori said righteously. "At a time like this, everyone has a duty to step forward and protect Soul Society. Even though I'm just a trainee, I still have a burning passion!"
"…Ah, uh, that's… admirable…"
Amagai and Saito held their cups, unsure how to respond. They themselves were willing to risk their lives for Soul Society, but at their age, saying something like that out loud in front of others… was honestly pretty hard.
Instinctively, they felt that Iori was lying, but it was awkward to call him out on it~
"Still, it's fine. I know your skills. Even though you're still officially a student, you're no worse than elite seated officers. In the expeditionary force, you're considered a rare capable fighter."
"Hm?"
Amagai looked at Iori in surprise. Because of the killing-stone charm on him, it was hard for others to judge Iori's true spiritual pressure. Seeing how young he was and lacking any overwhelming presence, Amagai had assumed he was just a technical support type…
Yet Saito, a captain of a thousand years, had given him the evaluation of "a rare capable fighter."
The Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force consisted of elites selected through repeated elimination. Seated officers and vice-captain–level fighters were rare talents anywhere, yet Iori was still so young, and Saito was already placing him on the same level…
You really can't judge people by appearances.
Saito nodded. "I'll approve the transfer request. But you need to understand one thing first, even if you're joining as support personnel, once you reach Hueco Mundo, you will still fight."
"No one will give you special treatment. Do you understand?"
"I'm not some pampered noble brat. On the battlefield, you can only rely on yourself. I understand that much."
"Then things are simple. Go back and pack your things. Aside from essential supplies, the expeditionary force has nothing. If you're a clean freak or have any quirks, prepare them now."
"Once you're there, if you still feel like asking me for guidance, I won't be stingy with my time. You can learn as much Shunpo technique as you want."
After thinking for a moment, Saito added, "We'll depart a bit later than the main force heading to the World of the Living. You still have some time."
"The main force is about to move?" Iori's heart tightened. "So it's finally time to officially go to war with the Quincy?"
"The old geezers in Central 46 have hated the Quincy for a long time. The only reason it dragged on until now was because Captain Kuchiki kept overruling them, insisting on full preparation to reduce our casualties."
Saito spoke with clear disdain toward Soul Society's highest authority, Central 46.
"Captain Kuchiki?" Iori caught another detail. "Not the Head Captain or Kenpachi leading them?"
"Hah? Hand something this big over to that idiot Kiganjo? You've got to be joking!"
"Uh…"
Iori was left momentarily speechless. Even a Shinigami-in-training like him had heard of Kenpachi Kiganjo's "glorious reputation."
Generally speaking, the Head Captain couldn't easily take the field. In large-scale wars, another powerful captain would serve as the frontline commander.
By tradition, that "general" role usually went to "Kenpachi," the title of the Eleventh Division captain.
"Kenpachi" was a title with special meaning, hailed as the strongest Shinigami (aside from the Head Captain).
The Eleventh Division under him was full of battle maniacs. Throwing them onto the battlefield naturally meant sweeping everything aside. As for strategy and planning, that could be left to sharp-minded supporting officers.
But the awkward reality was that something had gone wrong during the succession of Kenpachi in recent generations…
The Seventh and Eighth Kenpachi were both exceptional heroes. One had died, and the other had been sentenced to life imprisonment. The Ninth was mediocre, and the Tenth, while decent in strength, was… well, his personality and intelligence were another story entirely.
Handing the army over to someone like that, Central 46 might feel at ease, but no other captain would.
So in Saito Furofushi's account, the commander this time had been changed to the widely acknowledged mature and steady Sixth Division captain, Kuchiki Ginrei.
He was the current head of the Kuchiki clan, a model of conduct for the Five Great Noble Houses, and for all nobles.
Strength, background, seniority, wisdom, he lacked none of them, and each commanded respect. Even the Head Captain valued his opinions highly. The battle plans he proposed were taken seriously even by Central 46.
A completely different treatment from someone like Saito Furofushi, an "old-era remnant."
"Actually, if you really want to say it, there was another candidate… No, that woman would absolutely never agree."
Saito smirked mischievously. "If she picked up her sword again, even Central 46 would start sweating, wouldn't they?"
Amagai didn't know who she was referring to and looked puzzled. Iori did know, but he raised his cup to cover it up.
The first Kenpachi, Unohana. In terms of combat power, she was more than enough, but with Yamamoto's temperament having grown more restrained over time, the most dangerous person in all of Seireitei was this woman.
Unless things truly reached a dead end, it was better to let her keep her blade sealed.
"I don't have much to prepare. I can join immediately."
Iori knew quite a few people in Soul Society, but Shunsui, Mayuri, Shiba, these were friends or collaborators. His leaving wouldn't really affect them.
Tosen Kaname, though newly recruited as his subordinate, was a resolute and patient man. His mentality was the least worrying, being gone for a while just meant giving him a heads-up.
What Iori truly cared about were his "family."
Yuki already knew. But Grandma… better not tell her about Hueco Mundo. He'd say he was going to the World of the Living as an outstanding student for a year or two of internship.
He'd need to talk it over with Yuki beforehand to avoid any slip-ups, and ask her to look after Grandma more during this period.
"That's a good look… the kind of eyes you only have when you've made up your mind to do something."
Saito held her cup and looked at Iori with interest. "You must have some special reason for joining the expeditionary force, right?"
"But your choice is correct. I'm not Yamamoto or Kuchiki, I don't insist on digging into everything. In my expeditionary force, people are either fools or burdened with all kinds of trouble, but I never ask about their private matters."
"Remember this: as long as you can cut down enemies on the battlefield, you are my comrade. Everything else means nothing to me!"
"And before that, let me give you one last reminder..."
"Aizen Iori, you're about to step into a shura battlefield~"
———
"A shura battlefield, huh… but I'm a Shinigami!"
At the edge of the continent in the Akame ga Kill world, Iori stood by the sea, gazing at the vast, deep-blue ocean. At the farthest horizon, a pale white line seemed to stitch the sky and sea together, like the edge of the world.
But Iori knew that beyond the sea lay a mysterious eastern island nation, a place that inherited extraordinary forging techniques.
"Captain Saito, the shura battlefield I'm heading toward in the future is far more than just Hueco Mundo~"
After sighing wistfully, the boy suddenly thought of something and let out a quiet snicker.
"Of course, that includes romantic relationships too!"
———
Two days ago, Iori cooperated with the Revolutionary Army to ambush Seryu and her subordinates, successfully killing Flameheart and Izo, and capturing Seryu and Cosmia.
Both captives were taken back to the Revolutionary Army headquarters. Seryu was to be used as a bargaining chip with the minister, most likely to be abandoned in the end, with the Revolutionary Army using his head to win over the masses.
Cosmia's fate was still up for debate. She was from the Western Kingdom. Though she had committed serious crimes, she didn't have a blood feud with the Revolutionary Army.
Some believed she could be handed over to the Western Kingdom in exchange for support, which would be more valuable than killing her outright.
None of that concerned Iori anymore. After collecting the agreed-upon payment, he took some time to return to Soul Society, then made his way straight to the eastern coast.
It was said that there was no trade between the eastern island nation and the mainland, and that no one could cross the sea, which was sometimes shrouded in dense fog and sometimes wracked by lightning and thunder.
Yet Izo had undoubtedly crossed the sea from that island, so there had to be a way.
Iori searched villages along the coast for a long time, using money to open doors, wiping out several pirate groups that plagued the area, and gathering intelligence through various means. Only then did he finally obtain a sea chart and the necessary tools, including a ship and a compass.
For that, he even specifically learned how to sail from old sailors… of course, they told him that even a small boat couldn't be mastered in just a few days, and that solo voyages were no different from suicide. They sincerely advised him not to challenge the authority of the sea.
But Iori had his own plans, and he didn't explain those secrets to anyone else.
For ordinary people, mastering navigation in a month, or even less, was impossible, and solo ocean crossings were utterly out of the question.
But Iori wasn't an ordinary person, he wasn't even "human".
As a Shinigami, he didn't need to prepare large amounts of food or fresh water on the ship, nor did he need to worry about scurvy. Even if his spiritual power ran low, he could return to Soul Society to replenish it.
More importantly, he possessed the spatial Imperial Arms [Dimensional Formation: Shambhala]!
By setting a marker on the coast, if he made a mistake in his route and got lost at sea, he could simply transfer back to land and prepare another small boat for departure.