https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-8-Joining-the-Thirteenth-Division/12900479/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-10-Yecheng-I-m-a-Newbie-Shinigami-Too-Okay-/12900481/
Chapter 9: The Hollow Incident in Rukongai
Chapter 9: The Hollow Incident in Rukongai
"Yecheng, this is our Thirteenth Division's Lieutenant, Kaien Shiba.
Kaien is a man of righteousness and honor, respected and admired by many of the squad members. If you have any questions, feel free to ask him."
Ukitake, due to his frail health, was typically a homebody. If not for this sudden incident, he would rarely step outside his quarters.
Ordinarily, a captain wouldn't bother to explain so much to a mere new recruit, but Ukitake was known for his kind nature. Additionally, Yecheng was also a victim in this incident, so he decided to give him special attention.
Now that Kaien Shiba had taken over, Ukitake naturally couldn't wait to return to his quarters to rest.
"Don't worry about whether the captain has any issues with you. Due to his health, Captain Ukitake rarely handles captain duties; we, as subordinates, usually take care of them.
My name is Kaien Shiba. I was recently promoted to Lieutenant of the Thirteenth Division, having previously been the Third Seat. Please treat me well."
"Thank you, Lieutenant Shiba. I am the new recruit, Naya Makoto."
This was Yecheng's first meeting with Kaien Shiba, and it was also his first time learning about this unfortunate character.
---
Time flew by, and two years after Yecheng joined the Thirteenth Division, Captain Ukitake, the head of the Thirteenth Division, once again had to leave his peaceful abode for an urgent captain's meeting at the First Division.
"Yecheng, what do you think the Head Captain is calling this captain's meeting for?"
The person standing beside Yecheng and asking the question was none other than the Thirteenth Division's Lieutenant, Kaien Shiba. Over the past two years, Yecheng and Kaien Shiba had developed a strong friendship.
Kaien Shiba was originally one of the five great noble families in Soul Society, the current head of the Shiba family, though his family had fallen from grace.
While the original storyline didn't provide much detail about Kaien Shiba, over the two years of interaction, Yecheng discovered that there was a reason Rukia admired Kaien so much.
Regardless of his background and position, Kaien Shiba treated every squad member equally and fairly. His just attitude made him well-liked by both noble-born and Rukongai-born squad members.
Moreover, Kaien was a genius. He completed the six-year curriculum of the Central Spiritual Academy in just one year.
He entered the Thirteenth Division as a Third Seat and was promoted to Lieutenant in just five years.
From any perspective, with Kaien's talent, connections, and character, it was almost certain that he would succeed Ukitake as the Captain of the Thirteenth Division in a few decades.
Over the past two years, Kaien, with his keen observational skills, had also noticed something special about Yecheng.
Initially, Kaien planned to provide Yecheng with additional training due to his concern for new recruits. However, during their sparring sessions, he discovered Yecheng's hidden true strength.
Upon learning of Yecheng's concerns, Kaien did not mock him like Ichikaku and Yumichika, nor did he dismiss them as paranoia. Instead, he smiled and expressed understanding.
Soul Society may appear calm on the surface, but beneath it, there are hidden undercurrents. As a former member of the five great noble families, Kaien was well aware of this.
He also believed that being cautious was not a bad thing. In the past, his wife, Shiba Tsubaki, died because she was too careless.
Over the years, Kaien has always felt that his wife's death was suspicious. Logically, his wife was the Third Seat of the division, a highly skilled Shinigami who had mastered her Shikai. How could she have been killed by a low-level Hollow that appeared in Rukongai? It was simply an inconceivable matter.
"I received a piece of gossip; there have been a large number of soul hollowification incidents in Rukongai. Captain Kyouraku Shunsui and Deputy Captain Kusajima Momo of the 9th Division went to investigate, but it seems something unexpected happened.
The captains and deputy captains are the top combat forces in Seireitei. Now that something has gone wrong, the Head Captain will naturally convene a captain's meeting. This time, the number of captains sent to investigate will likely be greater."
Kaien was not surprised by the gossip Yecheng had obtained. Yecheng, who was born in Rukongai, seemed to have a lot of connections in that place, where all kinds of people mixed together.
Moreover, during the battles of the Gotei 13, Yecheng had very good relationships with many people. While Kaien only had a good relationship in the 13th Division, Yecheng's relationships extended throughout the Gotei 13, making him quite well-connected.
This was not hard to understand. Yecheng was, after all, a person from another world. Although he hadn't discovered his own "cheat" yet, knowing the plot allowed him to understand the personalities of the characters in this world. By catering to their preferences, it wasn't difficult to build good relationships.
"Mass hollowification in Rukongai? Could this be related to the matter I asked you to investigate?"
Hearing about the mass hollowification in Rukongai, Kaien's expression immediately became serious. The occasional hollowification of souls in Rukongai wasn't unusual.
However, the Hollows that typically appeared in Rukongai were usually just low-level Hollows, capable of bullying new recruits from the Central Spiritual Academy. But for one to kill his wife, who was a Third Seat, and now even the captain and deputy captain of the 9th Division have gone missing, the situation is clearly abnormal.
"It's probably not related... After all, there's quite a long gap between the two events."
Hearing Kaien's guess, Yecheng couldn't help but admire his sharp intuition. He wanted to say that both events were actually orchestrated by a certain "Gel Captain."
Whether it was the captain and deputy captain of the 9th Division or Kaien Shiba's wife, they were all sacrifices in Aizen Sousuke's experiments.
But he couldn't reveal this information now because he couldn't explain it clearly. If he did, he might end up being detained and investigated by the Special Forces.
Moreover, although Kaien's current strength was good, going to Rukongai now would be a death sentence.
Even without being present, Yecheng knew that the Head Captain would send Captain Tousen Kaname of the 3rd Division, Captain Aizen Sousuke of the 5th Division, Captain Aikawa Rouji of the 7th Division, Deputy Captain Yachiru Yasochika of the 8th Division, Captain Kisuke Urahara of the 12th Division, and Vice Kidou Isane Kotetsu to form a special task force to investigate.
Undoubtedly, even this team of captain-level combatants would ultimately fail in front of Aizen's Zanpakuto, "Kidosaki," and become his test subjects for Shinigami-Hollow hybridization.
With so many captains and deputy captains failing, Yecheng didn't think that adding Kaien, a deputy captain, would change the outcome. Therefore, he naturally advised Kaien against going to Rukongai to meet his death.
(End of Chapter)
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