After parting ways with Sawada Tsunayoshi and his group, the Visored chose to temporarily conceal their movements.
Unlike Tsuna and the others—outsiders to the Soul Society—the Visored still retained lingering ties to the Seireitei. None of them were particularly willing to directly interfere with it.
Thus, upon arriving in the Soul Society, they split off from Tsuna's group. When the execution began, they would reappear—and personally settle their scores.
Having just separated, the immediate question before Hirako Shinji and the others was how to pass the next few days without drawing attention.
"Hey, baldy, what's the plan?" Hiyori Sarugaki asked in her usual blunt tone.
"Nothing special," Shinji replied casually. "Life in the Soul Society isn't like the Human World. We haven't been back in a long time, so take some time to readjust. We'll meet at the West Gate of the Hakudōmon (White Road Gate) at noon the day after tomorrow."
"Got it. You're dismissed.."
"Noon the day after tomorrow, huh? Plenty of time," said Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi (Rose).
"But why noon the day after tomorrow?" Mashiro Kuna asked curiously.
Watching the airheaded girl, Love Aikawa silently sighed. Having a lieutenant this lacking in common sense couldn't have been easy for Kensei Muguruma back then.
"There's regular trade between the Seireitei and Rukongai," Love explained. "To maintain order, goods are usually transported around noon. That's when the White Road Gate opens—we can slip in with the flow."
As a former captain, he was quite familiar with such procedures.
"There are actually two other ways to enter the Seireitei," Shinji added. "One is to have Hachigen look for loopholes in the barrier formations he left behind… but it's been over a hundred years. There's a good chance they've been fixed—or worse, it could alert the Gotei 13."
Hachigen Ushōda gave a faint smile.
As a former member of the Kidō Corps responsible for barrier defenses, he had indeed left himself a few "backdoors." But after a century, even he couldn't guarantee they still existed. That option was discarded.
"The other option," Shinji continued irritably, "is that bastard Urahara. He definitely knows a way in."
Thinking of Urahara Kisuke's smug expression made his temper flare again.
"He actually said if we can't even get into the Seireitei, we shouldn't bother talking about revenge."
Annoyingly, it was true.
Lisa Yadōmaru adjusted her glasses. "If we wait until then, Tsunayoshi's group will already have caused a disturbance. Security in the Seireitei will be tighter. Will the White Road Gate still open?"
Love didn't answer. Logically speaking, during a lockdown, the gate shouldn't open.
"Hah. A bunch of insignificant Ryoka—how could they possibly disrupt the daily lives of the noble lords?" Shinji scoffed. "Don't worry. The gate will open. There'll just be more guards."
"In that case, a day and a half is more than enough for my investigation," Lisa said calmly.
But the glint beneath her glasses betrayed something far less innocent.
"Oi, Lisa… what are you planning?" Shinji narrowed his eyes. He knew his subordinates too well.
"I just want to check which districts are thriving and study market trends," she replied.
Shinji snorted. "You're planning to bring those erotic books into the Soul Society, aren't you?"
"So what if I am?" Lisa said without shame. "The Soul Society is seriously lacking in artistic enrichment. As Tsuna said, I can promote cultural development while making some money. Two birds with one stone."
Her glasses gleamed triumphantly.
At last, she had found a new purpose in life: spreading "art" throughout the Soul Society.
Shinji actually knew a bit about this.
Back when Tsuna trained with them, he had once asked what they planned to do after taking revenge. Shinji had no answer.
In his eyes, he bore significant responsibility for Aizen Sōsuke.
He had chosen Aizen as his lieutenant precisely because he sensed Aizen was hiding his true nature—hoping to keep him close and monitor him.
Instead, Aizen outmaneuvered him completely, framing him and the others in the Hollowfication incident, forcing the Visored into exile.
Every time Shinji thought about it, regret gnawed at him. He should have killed Aizen the moment he realized the truth—instead of giving him time to grow.
So when Tsuna asked about the future, Shinji couldn't answer. For him, revenge against Aizen was the only reason to keep going. As for what came after… that could wait.
Tsuna had openly mocked that answer.
"You talk about revenge, but after a hundred years, you still haven't mastered Hollowfication. Even Sakanade is only half-developed. And you want to defeat Aizen? That's a joke."
After that, Shinji devoted himself entirely to developing Sakanade's abilities.
He had heard Tsuna describe it like this:
"Shikai is for fighting bosses. Bankai is for clearing mobs."
So Shinji focused on refining his Shikai to its limits.
After getting nowhere with Shinji, Tsuna turned to the other Visored.
Aside from Kensei—who still blamed himself for the Hollowfication incident—the others had all found some form of purpose over the past century.
Lisa, of course, needed no explanation. A closet pervert by nature, the Human World was practically paradise for her, filled with endless "research material."
Love Aikawa was a manga otaku.
Rose remained devoted to music—now including Human World compositions.
Mashiro continued living like a full-blown chuunibyou, fantasizing about being a masked hero.
Hachigen became fascinated with aristocratic lifestyles in the Human World.
Even Hiyori was trying, in her own way, to adapt.
Those with clear goals had at least imagined a future beyond revenge.
"Lisa, I'll go with you," Love said.
"Love, are you planning to open a shop too?" Kensei asked.
"Hobbies cost money," Love replied seriously. "Like Lisa, I'll make a business out of it—selling manga and merchandise. Enrich the Soul Society's entertainment scene."
Shinji knew immediately—that last line was definitely something Tsuna had taught him.
"Then I'll take a look as well," Rose added elegantly.
"You too?" Lisa raised a brow.
"Of course. Music transcends boundaries. I could open an instrument shop," Rose said, already imagining instruments unavailable in the Soul Society.
"Are you sure anyone would buy that? We don't exactly have much capital. Don't let it all go to waste."
Lisa's sharp business sense showed through. You didn't survive as Kyōraku Shunsui's lieutenant without being competent—especially when your captain was that lazy.
Living in the Human World hadn't been cheap for the Visored. Most of their support came from Urahara, with occasional odd jobs. Their savings were minimal.
Love spent most of his money on manga.
Hiyori often failed at part-time work.
Many of them got by with the bare minimum.
As the three of them bickered, they disappeared down the street.
Shinji turned to Kensei. "Didn't you like boxing? Why not open a gym?"
"Don't be ridiculous," Kensei scoffed. "Most Shinigami can't even be bothered to train Hakuda. A boxing gym? Who'd come?"
Beneath his indifferent tone, a flicker of anger burned.
He wanted nothing more than to smash Tachikaze into Aizen's face.
"Kensei, let's go eat!" Mashiro poked his shoulder, acting spoiled.
Kensei sighed. He was long used to her behavior. "Fine. Anyone else coming?"
"I'll join," Hachigen said. "After all these years, I've barely experienced Rukongai."
The Kidō Corps didn't have the same freedom as the Gotei 13 to leave the Seireitei.
"I'll pass," Shinji said. "Haven't been back in so long—I'll just walk around. What about you?"
He was asking Hiyori.
She was crouched in the corner, drawing circles in the dirt with a stick.
"I'm not going."
Kensei, Mashiro, and Hachigen left, leaving only Shinji and Hiyori behind.
"Where are you going?" Shinji asked, lightly nudging her.
Hiyori froze.
She had never thought about it.
She came here for revenge against Aizen—that was all. But now that she was back in the Soul Society, she realized something:
There was nothing here she truly cared about.
The one person she genuinely respected—former Squad 12 Captain Kirio Hikifune—had long since ascended to the Royal Guard.
Within Squad 12, she had few friends. The only one she got along with was Urahara… and he had been exiled along with them.
In truth, she had no attachments left here.
That was why she threw herself into life in the Human World—at least there, she had something familiar.
Here, she had nothing.
Seeing her like this, Shinji sighed softly.
He understood her well. Beneath her violent temper and arrogance, she wasn't a bad person. But her way of interacting with others pushed people away, leaving her isolated.
That was why the others had always tolerated her.
After so many years together, they had become something like family.
Shinji reached out and ruffled her hair, then started walking down the street.
"If you've got nowhere to go, come with me."
Hiyori froze for a second—then chased after him, furious.
"Damn baldy! Get back here!!"
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