Chapter 203: Tonight's Katsudon
Matsushita Yusuke didn't respond immediately.
His brow furrowed slightly. He thought for a moment, then put on an expression of carefully working through something. As though going over every angle and assembling the full picture before speaking, he finally opened his mouth.
"Wait... Sasakibe-senpai, are you saying... you suspect I'm the traitor?"
In theory, Aizen's Zanpakuto covered any gap in the evidentiary side of things. But the reaction that should appear, the kind any innocent person would have, was still a necessary part of the performance.
Without waiting for Sasakibe to say another word, Matsushita Yusuke was already on his feet, speaking in an extremely serious tone.
"With something as serious as the Captain-Commander being attacked, you can actually suspect me of being the traitor?! This..."
He appeared to be momentarily at a loss.
To the extent that Matsushita Yusuke couldn't find a more effective counter in the moment.
Sasakibe wiped the fine sweat that had appeared on his forehead and quickly rose.
"Calm down, calm down... Matsushita-kun... ah, Captain Matsushita. Please take a seat, and let me explain the situation properly."
Matsushita Yusuke visibly wrestled with himself for a moment before returning to his seat.
"So what exactly is happening?"
Sasakibe Chojiro rubbed his temple, his expression one of barely contained helplessness. He let out a quiet sigh and spoke slowly.
"Just this evening, when the Captain-Commander and I set out toward the Rukongai..."
He relayed the events of the evening in the briefest, most direct language.
Of course, because of the difference in perspective, what Matsushita Yusuke heard was an entirely different account of the night.
"Four criminals suddenly attacked the Captain-Commander! Forced into a corner, the Captain-Commander struck back and cut one of them in two at the waist!"
...Oof.
"Captain Matsushita, is something wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
"Nothing... please continue."
After the full account, Matsushita Yusuke had formed a reasonably clear picture of what his group looked like from the other side.
"Criminals of unknown origin. Exceptional ability. Managed to escape intact against the Captain-Commander..."
You had to admit.
Those keywords together produced a genuinely unexpected impression of menace.
It honestly sounded like the Captain-Commander had been attacked by some formidable unknown force. Only the person directly involved knew the real situation.
Exceptional ability, sure.
One more cut and everything was coming apart.
After quietly venting internally for a moment, Matsushita Yusuke coughed twice to settle himself, then worked on adjusting his expression.
"Why would something like this happen? And how is the Captain-Commander now?"
"Captain-Commander Yamamoto is fine and currently attending to other matters. I have to make this clear once more, Captain Matsushita: from my standpoint, this is not a matter of suspecting you. It's about gathering enough useful information to eventually arrive at the correct answer."
Matsushita Yusuke had a rough understanding now.
"Because the number of captain-level individuals is limited, you believe that even if none of them is directly the traitor, there may be some form of 'collaboration' on another level?"
Sasakibe Chojiro didn't respond immediately. He looked at Matsushita Yusuke for a moment, as though briefly weighing something.
Then he gave a slight nod.
"In theory, yes. Because in the course of this attack, we identified that among the assailants there were individuals who are not residents of Soul Society."
What a roundabout way to put it.
If you didn't already know the full picture, you could actually get turned around by that phrasing.
Matsushita Yusuke rolled his eyes internally and sighed.
They took my partner's bisected body and dissected it. Recovering it would have sped up the reconstitution, but at this point it had almost certainly already been sent to the Research and Development Bureau.
Consider it a write-off.
Back to the matter at hand.
Because remains were left behind, Soul Society's follow-up investigation would naturally proceed from there. And the result currently developing was, in essence, anticipated on another level.
Because Arrancar and Hollow were not fundamentally different in nature. With enough study, the shared characteristics between the two were easy to identify.
In that case, the direction of the investigation would easily be guided toward one conclusion: if Hollows were among the attackers, where do Hollows generally gather?
Hueco Mundo.
As long as the Gotei 13's attention was focused in that direction, the chances of all three of them being identified would drop dramatically.
As for Hueco Mundo's current state, it could essentially be described as secure. Long-term operation and Aizen's total control had theoretically brought over ninety percent of the native population into line. Compared to the original story, the remaining gap was essentially just a matter of technical refinement.
Once the Arrancar process was a little more developed, the true Espada plan could begin in earnest.
Matsushita Yusuke pulled his wandering thoughts back in, blinked twice, coughed quietly, and settled his expression.
"Understood. If this is the Captain-Commander's intent, I'm entirely willing to cooperate. Ask away."
Sasakibe Chojiro visibly let out a breath.
"Your understanding means a great deal. Thank you."
He rubbed his cheek, settled his own expression, then asked in a measured tone:
"Let's start from the most basic. What were you doing this evening, and who was with you?"
"I was in my captain's office at the Squad 11 compound all evening, handling administrative matters."
After a brief pause, Matsushita Yusuke considered and added:
"If you're asking who can verify it... actually, about five squad members came to me to sign various documents during the evening. They're all my people. If needed, you can ask them directly. I'll wait here in the meantime. No problem at all."
Sasakibe produced paper and a writing instrument and nodded.
"Understood. Please give me the names and positions of these squad members..."
I was just being polite. You're actually going to ask?
Of course, Matsushita Yusuke wasn't going to let anything show.
As previously established, Kyoka Suigetsu was capable of simulating basic scenarios without a full release. Simulating someone sitting in their office handling paperwork and making brief exchanges was entirely within its reach. There hadn't even been a need to coordinate any story in advance.
"I'll need to send someone to verify this. In the meantime..."
Matsushita Yusuke nodded cooperatively.
"Fine with me. I'll wait for the result."
"Your understanding is most appreciated. Ah, are you hungry at this hour? Would you like something to eat?"
Eat something?
Matsushita Yusuke rubbed his stomach. He hadn't even answered yet.
Sasakibe had already glanced toward the door, and spoke with a smile:
"Although it seems all that's left is katsudon. Would you like some, if you don't mind?"