Chapter 55

The captains all shook their heads.

Suì-Fēng had often followed Yoruichi around before, so naturally they all recognized her, and now they were filled with sympathy for Suì-Fēng.

Hopefully she could endure Kuchiki Senya's torment.

"Vice-Captain."

"You haven't left your room for three days already. Your health is important."

"The new Captain has already arrived. Our entire division must go and welcome him."

Second Division quarters.

Outside the door, a big, burly fatty with a face full of jowls and thick lips knocked on the door.

Ōmaeida Marechiyo wore a worried expression.

The next moment, with a "creak~" the door opened, and a haggard Suì-Fēng, sporting huge dark circles under her eyes, walked out.

"Let's go." Suì-Fēng's voice was hoarse.

Not long after.

Inside the Second Division training ground.

A dense, surging crowd.

One part wore jet-black shihakushō, with zanpakutō at their waists.

The other part had black cloths covering their faces, eyes sharp, resembling ancient ninjas.

They were all members of the Second Division.

Belonging to different departments.

"Up above."

"That is our new Captain, my lord Kuchiki Senya."

Ōmaeida Marechiyo let out a breath, and Suì-Fēng also raised her head, looking up at the young man swaying unsteadily, reeking of alcohol.

He wasn't even wearing shihakushō, but a casual outfit, like a rich family's Young Master out for a stroll.

"Can a person like this really be fit to be Captain?"

"Kuchiki Senya may be Soul Society's number one genius, but looking at him like this, he seems far too unreliable."

048: If You Think That Way, I'll Have to Pile More Burdens on You

Inside the training ground.

The crowd buzzed with discussion.

Their eyes were full of doubt and confusion, but out of respect for the Captain, no one voiced their questions to his face.

"He might know something."

Suì-Fēng's lips were pale, her face haggard. Yoruichi's departure had shattered her composure, left her in disbelief.

Yoruichi.

Had abandoned her!

And Kuchiki Senya, being Yoruichi's close friend, might know the reason she had abandoned her.

Thinking of this.

Suì-Fēng stepped forward, walking toward Kuchiki Senya.

Kuchiki Senya merely took a sip of wine, paid no heed, and lazily surveyed his subordinates below.

Coming here this time.

Was only to explain the future operations and distribute the division's internal authority.

Then.

He could be a hands-off boss.

Personally managing an entire division?

Absolutely impossible!

The Thirteen Court Guard Squads.

Each division was divided into ten to twenty squads, each squad with a dozen or so members.

And the Second Division.

Gathered the Punishment Corps, the Secret Mobile Corps, and intelligence organizations together, consuming an even greater amount of manpower.

All twenty squads fully staffed.

Twenty members per squad, adding up to four hundred people!

Moreover.

Every member's combat power had reached the level of an elite Shinigami!

Managing so many people consumed a terrifying amount of mental energy.

This was only the official roster.

The intelligence network spread across all of Soul Society and infiltrating the World of the Living contained an even greater amount of manpower.

This was an extremely powerful force.

By comparison.

The other divisions' strength was roughly similar; aside from the Fourth Division, every division had a large number of elite Shinigami combatants.

In the original work.

The Kuchiki Clan's advantage over other clans was nothing more than a hereditary Sixth Division Captain position, yet that alone was enough to make the Kuchiki Clan the head of the Four Great Noble Houses.

"Captain Senya."

"About Yoruichi…"

GLOSSARY:

【Ōmaeida Marechiyo, Suì-Fēng, Yoruichi, Kuchiki Senya, Second Division, Thirteen Court Guard Squads, Punishment Corps, Secret Mobile Corps, Fourth Division, Sixth Division, Kuchiki Clan, Four Great Noble Houses, Soul Society, World of the Living, Shinigami, Young Master, my lord, Qiaoqiao Sect】

A hoarse female voice rang out.

Kuchiki Senya turned his head to look, and saw a girl with purple-black bangs cut straight across, petite and unremarkable in build, but with a very lovely face.

However.

She was in low spirits now, her lips pale, her eyes still ringed with heavy dark circles, looking as though she had suffered a tremendous blow.

"Ha~"

Kuchiki Senya lazily yawned.

He sized up the girl before him — flat-figured, but brisk and decisive.

Suì Fēng.

She possessed the Rule-Type Zanpakutō Suzumebachi.

Shikai: two strikes, certain kill. Bankai: one strike, certain kill — both extremely powerful abilities.

Far stronger than the shame of the captains, Renji Abarai — wait, no — far stronger than the captain's disgrace, Rokutaro Kensei — no, that's wrong too — far stronger than the captain's disgrace, Sasakibe — no — far stronger than the captain's disgrace, Muguruma Kensei — far stronger than the shame of the captains, Muguruma Kensei.

However.

Due to the issue with her own Reiatsu.

She could not pose too great a threat to boss-level figures like Aizen or Captain-General Yamamoto.

Originally a lower noble loyal to the Shihōin house, she later displayed extraordinary talent.

Through arduous training, her strength grew formidable.

She was spotted by Yoruichi, taken on as a trusted confidante, held Yoruichi in the deepest respect, and regarded her as her own role model.

However.

Suì Fēng was a proud woman who took obeying the rules as her duty and her glory.

She was the one least tolerant of traitors' existence — if you were the enemy, you had to die.

In the original work.

After Yoruichi ran off.

It was she who took over as captain of the Second Division and Commander-in-Chief of the Onmitsukidō.

At the same time her mindset took a severe blow, and toward Yoruichi she harbored a tangled mix of resentment and respect.

"Captain Senya?"

Suì Fēng raised her head, looking at Kuchiki Senya, the tide of betrayal and being-betrayed surging inside her nearly drowning her whole.

Right now, she.

Desperately needed an answer.

"Yoruichi didn't abandon you. Before she left, she entrusted you to my care."

Kuchiki Senya lazily yawned.