Chapter 24: The

"Captain Araki, Captain Maozhihua, I have been waiting here for a long time! Please both follow me at once! Captain Yamamoto, and the other squad captains, are already seated in the conference room."

When Araki and Maozhihua Lie arrived at the gate of the Guardian Court First Squad's barracks, a First Squad soldier clad in black Death‑Dominion armor immediately stepped forward to meet them.

"Looks like we really are the last two to arrive."

Araki heard that and still smiled at his side, Maozhihua Lie.

"Let's hurry to the conference room!"

"So that Captain Yamamoto won't blame you later!"

Maozhihua Lie looked at Araki's "calm and breezy" demeanor and couldn't help rolling his eyes.

"Then you better hurry up~"

"Old Man Yamamoto's preaching can put anyone to sleep without pause!"

Araki heard that, chuckled, and couldn't resist making a small joke about his beloved teacher, Captain Yamamoto of the Guardian Court Thirteenth Squad.

"Ugh..."

The leading First Squad soldier, tasked with escorting the newly appointed Guardian Court Eleventh Squad captain Araki—attending a squad‑head meeting for the first time—and his deputy captain Maozhihua Lie, proceeded to the First Squad's conference room…

After hearing Araki's unreserved teasing of their squad captain Yamamoto Genryuusai Jukoku, the soldier broke out in a cold sweat on his forehead.

Looking across the entire Guardian Court Thirteenth Squad, the only one bold enough to mock Yamamoto Genryuusai Jukoku is probably Araki, the sole person designated by their senior captain as the heir of the "Primordial Flow."

"Lie, did you know? Actually, old man Yamamoto isn't at all the imposing figure you imagine. That constant air of authority is just a façade he puts on; you have no idea what he's really like behind the scenes…"

Without waiting, the First Squad soldier broke into a cold sweat, and Araki's teasing rang out again behind him.

This made the First Squad soldier even more panicked! To avoid hearing anything he shouldn't, he quickened his pace…

"We've arrived..."

"Captain Yamamoto, and the other squad captains, are waiting for you behind the large door ahead! In fact, Captain Maozhihua should know the way; I have other business, so I won't accompany you!"

After speaking, the First Squad soldier vanished in an instant, as if using a flash step to flee, disappearing before Araki and Maozhihua Lie.

One must admit, anyone serving as a soldier in the Guardian Court First Squad is clever! He knows deep down that some "secrets" Araki can speak freely, but must never actually listen; otherwise, one could die without even knowing how they died...

Just kidding, in this vast Jingjingting, who would dare gossip about Yamamoto Genryuusai Jukoku's affairs?

Aren't you afraid that tomorrow, because you stepped into the barracks with your left foot first, you'll be deemed a spy, sentenced to death, and executed immediately?!

"What are you running for? I'm not some devil!"

Araki watched the fleeing soldier, shook his head helplessly, and thought, wasn't he just talking about the foolish things Captain Yamamoto did back when he was younger teaching at the Yuanzi Academy? Why be so scared?

"Lie, let's go in~"

Seeing the other squad's soldier clearly unwilling to hear Yamamoto's little secret, Araki said no more, and with Maozhihua Lie at his side, pushed open the door bearing the First Squad emblem.

"Zilala..."

With a soft sound, the assembled Guardian Court Thirteenth Squad captains appeared before Araki.

"Yo! Is everyone here?!"

Araki entered the doorway as if he were the senior captain, greeting the captains in the conference room in a "friendly" manner. Meanwhile, as he spoke, his gaze swept across the faces of the Guardian Court Thirteenth Squad captains inside the room...

"Hmm, the original Guardian Court Thirteenth Squad captains really have a pleasant and affable appearance!"

"Not a single one looks human! Where did these monsters come from?!"

Araki looked at the captains on his left and kept shaking his head.

Because Araki had just entered the conference room, his position mirrored that of Yamamoto Genryuusai Jukoku, who stood at the front among the Guardian Court Thirteenth Squad captains.

Thus Araki's left side corresponded to Yamamoto's right, the side where the captains of the even‑numbered squads—Second, Fourth, Sixth, Eighth, Tenth, and Twelfth—stood.

The captains of the even‑numbered squads actually look more human than those of the odd‑numbered squads! As for the odd‑numbered captains, Araki refuses to look at them; they are too explosively striking to bear.

On the even side, for example the Second Squad captain Sifengyuan Qiri, who can truly be called a dark‑skinned hunk; the Sifengyuan clan, one of the oldest and most elite families of the Corpse Soul Realm, boasts consistently excellent genetics—aside from a slight darkening due to historical legacy, both boys and girls in the clan can be described as handsome and beautiful.

The Fourth Squad captain Shijima Chimu has a pallid, bloodless complexion, dry gray long hair, eyes filled with endless fatigue, a gaunt, powerless frame, and seems perpetually on the brink of a nap, as if he could fall asleep to death at any moment...

Although Shijima Chimu's looks can't compare to Sifengyuan Qiri's, he at least has a human appearance! He's just a bit weak; a little kidney tonification would help...

"Cough cough..."

As for the Sixth Squad captain, no further introduction from Araki is needed; those who know understand...

"When a woman lowers her head and her toes disappear, she is a mortal beauty! The ancients truly did not deceive me!"

Captain Rokuto Bakuun Zai of the Eighth Squad is beyond the point of merely hiding her toes; when she lowers her head, only two white clouds are visible, everything else disappears!

"What a surge? What a torrent?!"

Araki found himself at a loss for words, unable to find the right terms to describe the scenery before him. He could only say that the view's grandeur and elegance were beyond any mortal realm!

"Araki, what are you looking at?!"

Just as Araki was stunned by Rokuto Bakuun Zai's peerless masterpiece, Saito Furofushi, standing beside Rokuto, could no longer stand it and stepped in front of Rokuto, blocking Araki's view.

"Could you please move aside? You're standing here, and I can't see anything..."

As Araki watched Saito Furofushi burst onto the scene, the flame of artistic appreciation that had ignited in his heart was instantly snuffed out, as if a few copies of "Boruto" had been thrown onto his head.

"What? You think watching Boruto will ignite anything? It just won't catch fire, okay?!"

If Rokuto's art is "Shippūden" level, then Saito Furofushi's art is "Boruto" level! That's Araki's most direct impression of the disparity between Rokuto and Saito.

"Huh? What else do you want to see?"

Saito Furofushi heard that, her eyelids twitching, "Is size really that important?!"

She, Saito Furofushi, can indeed strive to become stronger, but the size of certain things is innate; there's nothing she can do about it!!

"Damned Araki!"

Infuriated and embarrassed, Saito Furofushi stepped right up to Araki and reached to grab his collar.

In response, Araki stood rooted, not even lifting an eyelid, because...

"Snap~"

With a light sound, Saito Furofushi's hand that aimed for Araki's collar was knocked away by Maozhihua Lie, who had been trailing behind Araki.

"Don't be rude to my captain!"

Mao Zhi Hua Lie stared at the small‑bowl‑level Zhai Teng Bu Lao Bu Si, and a faint smile traced her gorgeous face as…

Mao Zhi Hua Lie even deliberately puffed out her ample chest in front of Zhai Teng Bu Lao Bu Si.

"Lost! I lost?!"

Zhai Teng Bu Lao Bu Si looked at Mao Zhi Hua Lie's proud figure, as if a heavenly thunder, shaped by Que Bu Zhang Jirou's Bankai "Yellow Radiance Strict Spirit Palace", had struck the celestial spirit dome.

"No, that's not right!"

"Mao Zhi Hua, this is the Thirteenth Squad captains' meeting! You're no longer the captain of the Eleventh Squad; why are you still here?"

Zhai Teng Bu Lao Bu Si finally thought of something, a faint grimace appearing on her face, and she shouted loudly at Mao Zhi Hua Lie.

"It was I, the old man, who sent her!"

Before Mao Zhi Hua could speak further, a hoarse voice suddenly rang out from directly in front of the captains.

"Lord Commander Shan Ben?!"

Hearing this, Zhai Teng Bu Lao Bu Si turned her head in disbelief, looking at the person who had been holding a Zanpakutō, standing before the captains with eyes closed, resting.

Indeed, the speaker was none other than Shan Ben Yuan Liu Zai Chong Guo, the commander of the Thirteenth Squad!

"Enough! Let this farce end here!"

"Huang Mu, immediately have Mao Zhi Hua take you to where you belong!"

"The other captains, each to their posts! The Thirteenth Squad meeting will commence at once."

Shan Ben Yuan Liu Zai Chong Guo's expression turned solemn as he announced the end of this minor farce, which had arisen from Huang Mu, within the captains' meeting room.

"We obey!"

The captains of the Thirteenth Squad, hearing this, immediately returned to their respective spots.

Even the ever‑reckless Zhai Teng Bu Lao Bu Si, silent as always, took her place as the captain of the Sixth Squad.

And Huang Mu, under Mao Zhi Hua Lie's guidance, stood between the captain of the Thirteenth Squad and the captain of the Ninth Squad.

"I want to change seats; at the very least, I hope the captains on either side of me look human."

Huang Mu glanced at the captain of the Thirteenth Squad on his left—a gaunt, grim‑faced old man—and then at the captain of the Ninth Squad on his right—a towering eight‑foot man with glasses perched on his nose and a ring of gold teeth around his lips—instantly feeling exhausted.

"Sorry everyone! Something came up today, so the update was a bit delayed~ also~"

(End of Chapter)