First Division
"Captain-Commander, there's still one area of the Seireitei where the shadows haven't been eliminated."
Shunsui pointed to the map in front of Kazuma.
"Judging from everything we've found, there's a good chance Yhwach himself is hiding there."
Kazuma opened his eyes.
"How's the fighting?"
"The Soldat appeared throughout the Seireitei, but we were prepared. Most of them have already been eliminated." Shunsui frowned. "The strange part is that none of their elite fighters have appeared yet. After two and a half hours, they still haven't launched a proper counterattack."
Kazuma considered that for a moment.
"Once the remaining foot soldiers are cleared out, everyone below lieutenant level returns to their divisions and stays on standby."
He tapped the dark region on the map.
"Place a detachment of Onmitsukidō around this area. I want eyes on it at all times."
Then he stood up.
"And summon every captain back to the First Division."
The real battle was about to begin.
"Brat! You've barely been Captain-Commander for a few days and you're already causing this much trouble!"
An angry roar suddenly came from the middle of Kazuma's office.
A Senkaimon opened without warning. Before the figure inside had even appeared, Yamamoto's furious voice was already booming through the room.
"I finally get a few peaceful days of retirement, and you drag me straight back into this mess!"
Shunsui, who hadn't left yet, immediately put on the expression of a man who had just been handed front-row seats to excellent entertainment.
Kazuma nearly exploded.
"You damned old man!" He pointed accusingly at the Senkaimon. "This is my office! You left a Senkaimon coordinate in here?!"
Admittedly, Kazuma had pulled similar stunts plenty of times himself.
That was different.
Other people weren't supposed to do it to him.
"I think you need another beating."
Yamamoto stepped through the gate, grabbed Kazuma by the collar without ceremony, and lifted him off the floor like an unruly child.
"Genryūsai!"
Another voice immediately snapped from the Senkaimon.
"Put my husband down before I rearrange that face of yours!"
Batsu'unsai strode through with her hands on her hips, glaring daggers at Yamamoto.
Before the argument could escalate, laughter came from behind her.
"Hahahaha! Genryūsai, come on."
Another figure emerged.
"Kazuma is the Captain-Commander now. At least leave the poor bastard a little dignity while people are watching."
There was only one woman who would greet the situation with that much amusement.
Saitō Furofushi. She immediately spotted Shunsui and waved.
"Well, if it isn't little Shunsui. Been a long time!"
"Captain Saitō!" Shunsui's face lit up. "You came back too!"
He hurried over to greet her, genuinely delighted. It had been far too long since the days when the two of them could sit around drinking and talking for hours.
Now that she was back, Shunsui had every intention of making up for lost time.
Saitō grinned.
"Oh, it's not just me."
Before Shunsui could ask what she meant, nine more figures stepped through the Senkaimon.
He stared. Every one of them wore a captain's haori.
"...Who the hell are all of you?"
For several seconds, Shunsui's mind simply refused to catch up.
Nine unfamiliar captains had just walked into the First Division alongside Yamamoto, Batsu'unsai, and Saitō.
Then he felt their reiatsu.
His expression changed.
Each of them carried an overwhelming spiritual presence, traces of transcendent power leaking through despite their restraint.
A ridiculous thought flashed through his mind. Then he noticed the division numbers on their haori.
Shunsui went silent.
'Oh.'
Of course.
There was nothing to figure out.
These were the other captains of the original Gotei 13. The division numbers were literally written on their backs.
Shunsui almost laughed at himself.
He'd spent so much time trying to deduce the answer that he'd overlooked the most obvious clue in front of him.
Then again, perhaps he could forgive himself this once.
It wasn't every day that a group of legends who should have been dead for a thousand years casually walked into the First Division office.
"Old Man Yama, you're finally back!"
Kazuma immediately brightened.
"In that case, you can host the captain's meeting from here on out. And naturally, there's no one better suited to remain at First Division headquarters."
He was already doing the calculations in his head.
Being Captain-Commander sucked!
There was paperwork everywhere, responsibilities never ended, and worst of all, he couldn't even enjoy a proper fight anymore.
Every time he wanted to stretch his legs, he had to worry about strategy, contingencies, and the precious "bigger picture."
What kind of miserable life was that?
Yamamoto saw straight through him.
"No." He shook his head without hesitation. "I'm retired. Stop trying to dump your problems on me, brat."
Besides, Yamamoto had no intention of sitting this battle out.
His strength had reached an entirely new level, and Yhwach had returned at exactly the right time.
A thousand years ago, Yamamoto had failed to kill the Quincy King completely, and that failure had bothered him ever since.
Now he had another chance.
There was no chance in hell he was spending it sitting behind a desk.
"I'm fighting too!"
Kazuma slammed a hand against the table.
"That old bastard screwed me over a thousand years ago and nearly killed me! I spent centuries asleep because of him." His eyes burned with anger. "I've been waiting a thousand damn years to beat Yhwach to death myself!"
The original captains exchanged knowing looks.
Right, they'd nearly forgotten about that.
Kazuma's hatred for Yhwach wasn't exactly a secret among those who'd fought in the first war, and with a grudge like that, telling him to stay behind was basically impossible.
Batsu'unsai thought for a moment.
"Then I'll stay at First Division." She stepped forward. "You go settle things with Yhwach. I'll hold headquarters."
Kazuma's heart practically sang.
His face, however, became deeply troubled.
"Well… I don't know about that, darling." He sighed dramatically. "You're one of our strongest fighters. If you stay behind and one of those slippery bastards escapes because we were missing your strength, that would be a terrible waste."
Internally, he was delighted.
Shunsui immediately understood what Kazuma was doing and, for reasons he would soon regret, decided to help.
"Exactly!" He nodded solemnly. "Captain Batsu'unsai is one of our most valuable combat assets. Leaving her behind during the attack would weaken our side considerably."
Hunting Yhwach was no small matter.
One mistake could ruin everything, so naturally, the more overwhelming fighters they brought along, the better.
Batsu'unsai frowned.
"Then what are we supposed to do?"
Kazuma also put on a troubled expression.
The married couple looked at each other and sighed, apparently unable to come up with any solution at all.
Shunsui opened his mouth.
"Captain-Commander, what if—"
Kazuma and Batsu'unsai turned toward him at exactly the same time.
"Captain Kyōraku, we'll leave the glorious and important duty of defending First Division headquarters to you!"
Shunsui froze. He stared at them. Then he realized what had just happened.
These two bastards had set him up.
He'd only been trying to make a suggestion, and somehow the husband-and-wife team had maneuvered him directly into the chair neither of them wanted.
"I…"
Shunsui opened his mouth. Nothing useful came out.
"…Haaah."
In the end, all he could do was sigh.
Kazuma immediately nodded in satisfaction before Shunsui could recover enough to object.
"Excellent. Captain Kyōraku, send word immediately." His smile widened. "Every seated officer who has achieved Bankai is to attend the meeting."
And just like that, Shunsui's escape route was sealed.
...
Eleventh Division
"Huh?!"
Ikkaku stared at the Onmitsukidō messenger.
"They want me at a First Division meeting? Are you kidding? Why the hell would I qualify?"
He rubbed his bald head nervously.
Then a horrifying possibility occurred to him.
'Wait. Did somebody find out about my Bankai?'
The thought spread through his mind like wildfire.
Who leaked it? Yumichika? Renji? Those were basically the only two people he'd ever told.
But Yumichika had been around him constantly lately — there was hardly any opportunity for him to spread the secret.
And Renji? That idiot had disappeared so long ago that nobody even knew where he was.
So how had the news gotten out?
While Ikkaku stood there spiraling into paranoia, the Onmitsukidō messenger had already disappeared in Shunpo, leaving him alone in the wind and looking increasingly uneasy.
Poor Ikkaku was far too naïve.
He genuinely believed his secret was airtight.
In reality, most experienced captains had figured him out ages ago.
People didn't become captains by being blind.
Compared to veterans who'd spent centuries judging reiatsu, combat habits, and Zanpakutō users, Ikkaku's attempts to hide his real strength were about as subtle as carrying a sign over his head.
He'd learned an incomplete Bankai and immediately started acting as though he'd successfully fooled the entire Gotei 13.
Of course people noticed.
The funniest part was that Renji had been exactly the same.
He'd also learned an incomplete Bankai and somehow acquired enough confidence for three people.
First, he'd picked a fight with Kazuma while Kazuma was disguised as a member of the Executive Militia and promptly got beaten into the ground.
Later, he'd challenged Rukia, only for her Big Dipper power to smash Zabimaru apart.
And the best part? The man who'd taught Renji how to achieve Bankai in the first place was Ikkaku.
Master and student truly were made for each other.
Two idiots with half-finished Bankai and entirely too much confidence.