Chapter 322: I Won't Take Up Too Much of Your Time
"I... this..."
Hearing Satoru's words, Katori Batsu'unsai's face instantly turned red.
"M-marriage is a serious matter, how can it be so casual?"
Perhaps too shocked, her previously battle-ready stance became completely disorganized.
Satoru gently shook his head.
"Captain Katori, as a junior member of the Gotei 13, I grew up listening to stories about all of you."
"Every time I think about how you gave so much for the Seireitei, for the Soul Society, yet could only spend your lives busy with warfare, with no time to enjoy life, not even experiencing the most basic joys, I can't help but feel deeply pained."That you and I can meet across time and space like this is truly a heaven-sent fate.""
"If sacrificing my young and beautiful body can let you experience the happiness life should have, then my sacrifice would be immensely worthwhile!"
"Don't hesitate, let us pledge ourselves to each other here and freely engage in all sorts of this and that!"
Katori Batsu'unsai's eyes widened.
The deer-in-headlights expression, accentuated by her round glasses and long braids, made her appear even more pure and adorable.
"M-Mikami-san... to think you'd care so much about me... but how could I..."
"If Captain Katori can't overcome this mental barrier, then let's add a condition."
Satoru showed a smile.
"If I can defeat you in the upcoming battle, you'll become my lover. How about that?"
Katori Batsu'unsai didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"That's impossible, Mikami-san."
"Right now, Hell has given us a mission, temporarily allowing us to descend to the Soul Society. That's why I can regain this form and recover my self-awareness."
"Whether we complete the mission or fail, we'll be reclaimed by Hell and turned back into mindless guardians of Hell."
"So what you want to do is impossible..."
"In that case, let's change Hell!"
Satoru interrupted her.
Under Katori Batsu'unsai's astonished gaze, he crossed his arms.
"I, Satoru Mikami, am the man who will turn the Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, and the human world into paradise!"
"With such grand ambitions, adding Hell to the mix wouldn't be too much!"
"Very well, it's settled then, Captain Katori!"
"I, Satoru Mikami, hereby declare that I will change the rules of Hell and make Hell submit beneath my feet!"
"To boost my fighting spirit, become my lover!"
Katori Batsu'unsai widened her eyes, staring at the man before her with an incredulous gaze.
Did this person truly understand what he was saying?
"Sorry, I... I don't know how to react in this kind of situation..."
Pressed by Satoru's overwhelming Reiatsu, her voice grew quieter, tinged with uncertainty.
"All we need is to fight."
With an exceptionally warm smile, Satoru shattered the iconic moment with a single sentence.
Hearing this, Katori Batsu'unsai froze momentarily.
Then, she revealed a confident smile.
"Mm, if you put it that way, I understand now!"
Their eyes met, shining brilliantly, before they charged toward each other simultaneously.
Fierce Reiatsu exploded and spread out!
...
...
Kensei Muguruma shot up into the air, standing opposite the bald man with glasses.
The bald man looked at him and revealed a smile.
"You are the current captain of the Ninth Division?"
"First time meeting you. I am the former captain of the Ninth Division, Kumoi Entetsu."
His mouth lacked lips, exposing two rows of teeth, resembling a Hollow.
Kensei Muguruma proudly lifted his head.
"Although I heard the original captains would return from hell, it's still somewhat surprising to actually see it."
As he spoke, he drew his Zanpakutō.
"Perfect. I've long wanted to see which generation is stronger—the original captains or ours!"
Seeing Kensei Muguruma immediately ready to fight, Kumoi Entetsu made a surprised sound.
He rubbed his bald head:
"Won't we chat a bit more? Fighting already?"
"Heh, don't worry. I won't take up too much of your time."
Kensei Muguruma, full of confidence, swung his blade and charged forward—
"Turn to dust, Tachikaze!!"
Seeing this, Kumoi Entetsu said no more and raised his own blade to meet the attack.
Several minutes later, Kensei Muguruma's battered body fell from the sky, crashing into the ground with a thunderous impact.
Kumoi Entetsu felt somewhat conflicted.
This generation's captain... seems a bit lacking...
As he was thinking this, he suddenly froze, then instantly disappeared with a Flash Step, reappearing some distance away.
In the spot where he had just been standing, a figure slowly materialized.
Shunsui Kyōraku held his sword, smiling at him.
"Yo... senior from the original Gotei 13. Hello there."
"I heard in your era, you didn't play many games—you were all very busy people."
"As compensation, let me play some little games with you."
"Little games?"
Recalling the heart-pounding sensation from that moment before, he grinned.
More like deadly games, I bet.
With some curiosity, he raised his sword to face Shunsui Kyōraku.
...
...
Ukitake held his twin swords, watching the old man before him warily.
"Fufufu... So it's you, the successor who inherited my position as captain of the Thirteenth Division?"
The old man's face was covered in wrinkles, gaunt and hunched over.
The white Captain's Haori he wore draped loosely, dragging on the ground.
Looking at his Haori, Ukitake inexplicably thought:
Treating a Haori like that would probably make him a regular customer at Satoru's uniform factory.
"I am Jūshirō Ukitake, captain of the Thirteenth Division."
"You must be the original captain of the Thirteenth Division, Mr. Sakahone Saizō."
"Yes, Sakahone Saizō, Saizō of Sakahone district~"
The old man replied in a bizarre, half-smiling tone.
With somewhat trembling hands, he reached for his Zanpakutō.
He didn't look like he could fight at all.
But Ukitake didn't let his guard down in the slightest.
Before the battle, as a precaution, Yamamoto had told them much about the original Gotei 13.
He remembered clearly.
Among the original Gotei 13, aside from Yamamoto, the strongest was this unassuming old man.
Facing such an opponent, any carelessness or underestimation could lead to irreversible consequences!
Watching Sakahone Saizō draw his sword, Ukitake didn't hesitate and raised his own blades.
"All waves become my shield, all lightning becomes my blade!"
"Sōgyo no Kotowari!!"
The glow of Reiatsu boiled and surged from his body.
His twin Zanpakutō transformed into interconnected forms.
Seeing his swords, Sakahone Saizō nodded.
"Twin Zanpakutō are quite rare."
"Worthy of the man who inherited my position. Interesting."
"Let's test your quality first!"
The moment his words fell, he drew his blade.
"Howl, Ōryō!"
The moment his Zanpakutō was released, a black gale suddenly swept through.
It wasn't that the air had color.
Rather, the wind was filled with densely packed insects!
Every building and object touched by this wind became covered in crawling bugs.
A mansion was devoured by the black insects in mere seconds, vanishing without a trace.
Even though Ukitake had mentally prepared himself, witnessing this eerie scene still sent shivers down his spine.
He swung his Zanpakutō, launching several slashes to block the incoming insects.
But the bugs only scattered momentarily.
The moment his slashes passed, the dispersed insects reformed instantly.
Seeing Ukitake's astonished gaze, the old man grinned:
"My insects aren't mere living creatures."
"These bugs are all manifestations of my Reiatsu... They can convert anything they touch, be it Reishi or physical matter, into their own substance and digest it completely."
"Everything digested becomes nourishment for me."
"Trying to kill these little ones is like trying to destroy countless microscopic Kidō spells invisible to the naked eye... If you think you can do it, be my guest."
Hearing the old man's explanation, Ukitake nodded in understanding.
"I see, they're similar to Kidō then..."
"In that case, this should be easier."
Saying this, he raised one of his twin Zanpakutō to meet the oncoming black storm.
Observing Ukitake's movement, the old man curled his lips.
Kidō... or perhaps wide-area destruction beams?
Not a bad approach—such attacks could indeed eliminate large numbers of his insects.
Unfortunately, his insects were nearly limitless. No matter how many you kill, when will it ever end?
After destroying the front wave, the weakened Kidō or energy beams would be devoured by the following insects.
And then, they'd become his power!
He channeled more energy.
Billions, even more, of tiny black flying insects surged toward Ukitake like ants swarming toward meat!
But just before reaching the tip of Sōgyo no Kotowari, all the insects suddenly seemed drawn by an invisible force.
Like a galaxy passing a black hole, endless light particles were torn apart and sucked in!
Under Sakahone Saizō's astonished gaze, his black insects were completely absorbed by Sōgyo no Kotowari!
In the blink of an eye, half of the billions of insects he'd released were drawn into the Zanpakutō.
Once absorption was nearly complete, Ukitake pivoted, pointing his other sword forward.
The insect swarm absorbed by the first blade was converted by Sōgyo no Kotowari into pure destructive energy.
BOOM!!!!
A massive energy beam erupted violently!
The remaining half of the insects were completely annihilated by this blast.
Sakahone Saizō flashed away, dodging to a distant location.
Where he'd just been standing was swallowed by the energy beam, leaving a kilometers-long deep trench.
Looking at the destructive power of Sōgyo no Kotowari's blast, the old man clicked his tongue.
"Cheating... Your ability completely counters mine, boy!"
"Are you really the captain of the Thirteenth Division? Did Yamamoto give you that Captain's Haori just to counter me?"
Ukitake shook his head: "Of course not."
"Tch."
Sakahone Saizō scratched his head with the hilt of his sword.
Right now, he really wanted to find someone—anyone—to swap places with.
But... that would be too humiliating.
After all, he was the founding captain of the Thirteenth Division. He couldn't afford to be looked down on by a junior like this.
Maybe he could try a delaying tactic?
Continuously devour the surrounding Reiatsu with Ōryō—buildings, plants, whatever—anything would do. By constantly absorbing it, he could keep his own Reiatsu in an invincible state, then slowly wear the kid down with various techniques.
Hmm, not a bad plan, but still a bit embarrassing.
As he pondered, he suddenly caught a whiff of something.
"Huh?"
Sakahone Saizō abruptly turned his gaze to Ukitake.
"Kid... have you been to the Sakahone District?"
At these words, Ukitake's expression changed.
Seeing his reaction, Sakahone Saizō grinned.
"Just as I thought... I was born and raised in the Sakahone District. I'm all too familiar with that scent."
"What kind of great calamity did you run into? To actually seek out that thing to prolong your life..."
"Mimihagi isn't exactly a gentle being."
"The life begged from its hands will eventually be returned to it."
"Even I wouldn't dare make a deal with that thing. You've got quite the nerve, kid."
Hearing Sakahone Saizō's words, Ukitake smiled bitterly and shook his head.
The name "Sakahone" had sounded vaguely familiar to him.
Now he finally remembered.
When he was three years old, he had contracted a severe lung disease.
The illness was so critical that all his hair turned white.
Just as he was on the verge of death, his superstitious parents brought him to the East 76th District of Rukongai, praying to the local earth deity "Mimihagi" and offering his internal organs in exchange for saving his life.
Through his parents' prayers, Mimihagi displayed god-like power.
Ukitake, who had been beyond saving, was protected by a special power that preserved his organs and gave him a new lease on life.
It was from that moment he learned Mimihagi's true identity.
The right arm of the Soul King.
At the same time, he instinctively understood one thing.
Sooner or later, his life would be returned to Mimihagi due to this contract.
He didn't particularly mind this.
After all, he should have died at three years old. Being able to live this long was already fortunate enough—he shouldn't ask for more.
Unexpectedly, this former captain of the Thirteenth Division also knew about this legend.
Under Ukitake's gaze, Sakahone Saizō grinned, revealing an eerie smile.
"Originally, I was somewhat troubled about how to deal with you."
"Now that I know you're sustained by Mimihagi, it becomes simple."
"That thing's method of saving lives is crude—it treats the symptoms, not the root cause... Heh, kid, you must have terrible stamina, right?"
Hearing this, Ukitake knew things were about to go wrong.
"Although my physical strength isn't great either, dealing with a sickly person kept alive by Mimihagi shouldn't be a problem~"
"Bankai—"
"Sakahone!"
A crimson Reiatsu storm erupted from the old man, sweeping outward in all directions.
Ukitake raised his arm to shield his face, warily watching the storm's center.
The next moment, to his astonishment, a figure tore through the storm and charged out.
However, it wasn't the withered, hunched, bald old man from before.
Instead, it was a man with flowing long hair, handsome features, and an upright posture.
The Captain's Haori that had been too loose and long now fit him perfectly!
The man held a long sword wrapped in black, fine winds, charging forth like thunder.
With a single slash, he struck down at Ukitake!