Chapter 302: Kill Everyone!!
An autumn rain suddenly dropped the temperature in Seireitei from over twenty degrees to just above ten degrees.
Smack!
Satoru pushed open the window and took a breath of the cool air.
"When one encounters happy events... hmm, seems like there aren't any happy events though."
"One feels refreshed when seasons change, I'm getting younger as I live!"
"Kekekekeke!"
While letting out a righteous laugh, Satoru put on his clothes.
The weather was quite nice today, a good day to stay home and play games.
Last time he went to the living world, he bought several newly developed games there and had Kisuke use special means to convert them into Reishi form to bring back to Soul Society. Today he would carefully enjoy them!
However, before he could even finish the tutorial, a member of the inner court communications squad came looking for him.
After hearing the report, Satoru showed a surprised expression.
The captain of the Sixth Division, Ginrei Kuchiki, had fallen ill.
Without hesitation, he threw down the game console and headed straight for the Kuchiki residence.
Seeing Satoru, the guards at the entrance bowed in greeting.
Over several decades, basically all the Kuchiki family guards had become familiar with this guy.
Aside from those named Kuchiki and the Kuchiki family stewards, Satoru was probably the person with the fewest restrictions in this mansion.
Soon, Satoru found Kuchiki Byakuya.
Following the latter's lead, he came to Ginrei Kuchiki's room.
Sōjun was keeping watch here, looking somewhat dispirited overall.
Only when he saw Satoru did he finally show some energy, nodding slightly in greeting.
Retsu Unohana stood by Ginrei Kuchiki's bedside together with Seinosuke Yamada.
After completing an examination, Unohana turned around.
She first bowed slightly to Satoru.
Then she said to Sōjun:
"Lord Sōjun, please step outside to speak."
Satoru followed him out.
Yamada did not emerge; instead, he opened the medical kit he carried and swiftly sorted through the necessary medications.
He had no time to spare even for Satoru, with whom he shared a deep-seated enmity.
For any other patient, he wouldn't have bothered expending such effort.
But Sōjun Kuchiki was one of the original Shin'ō Academy quartet—how could he face his comrades in the future if he didn't give it his all?
Once outside, Retsu Unohana spoke:
"My apologies, Lord Sōjun."
Hearing this, Sōjun Kuchiki's heart sank.
Sure enough, Unohana continued:
"Lord Ginrei's condition is less an illness and more a matter of his lifespan having reached its end."
"I will do everything in my power to treat him and strive to slow the progression, but I cannot guarantee what the final outcome will be."
Sōjun staggered.
"How can this be... Father is a captain, someone so powerful. His lifespan should be long."
Satoru reached out to steady him but said nothing.
There was no doubt—Ginrei Kuchiki's lifespan was not as long as Sōjun believed.
If the old man had lived on, he could not have remained indifferent during the Rukia incident.
Nor could he have stood idly by during the Kōga Kuchiki affair.
As expected, in the original timeline, after Sōjun's unexpected death, the old man had stubbornly persisted in maintaining the Kuchiki Clan.
By the time Byakuya had somewhat matured, the old man had already passed away.
Otherwise, given the old man's temperament, Byakuya would either never have been allowed to marry Hisana, or would have faced no resistance when bringing her into the family.
Now that Sōjun had survived, the old man no longer had such a strong sense of crisis, and his will to live naturally diminished.
In a way, this was actually a good thing.
Satoru gently patted Sōjun Kuchiki's shoulder, comforting his friend's wounded heart.
...
...
First Division, main conference room.
An emergency captains' meeting was convened.
After Ginrei Kuchiki collapsed, Central 46 became unusually active.
Historically, the position of Sixth Division captain had always been held by one of the Five Noble Clans.
Among them, the Luzhinomiya family never participated in such worldly matters.
The Shihōin Clan already controlled the Second Division.
The strongest member of the Kuchiki Clan was Sōjun Kuchiki.
Although his abilities were decent, they were only at vice-captain level.
He still fell somewhat short of being qualified for a captain position.
The Shiba Clan was in a similar situation—while Shiba Kaien was strong and had become a seated officer at a young age, he still wasn't quite ready for captaincy.
Therefore, many nobles began scheming.
They couldn't produce genuinely captain-level fighters.
But... they could produce Shinigami who had merely mastered Bankai and could barely fill the position.
With that monster Satoru providing protection, they didn't dare act against the Kuchiki Clan.
But... competing for the Sixth Division captain's seat shouldn't count as offending Satoru, right?
Currently, the Five Noble Clans generally suffered from talent gaps. Whoever could seize this opportunity to take control of the Sixth Division might become the new power broker in Seireitei for the next century!
Hearing Sasakibe's report, many captains couldn't help shaking their heads.
These nobles always became so clever at times like these.
Yamamoto, standing at the head of the room, spoke slowly:
"The Sixth Division is exclusively for nobles, and its captain must come from the noble families. Therefore, I have approved the nobles' request."
"The screening process for the Sixth Division captain will take place three days from now at Sōkyoku Hill."
"At that time, Bankai-wielding Shinigami sent by various great families will participate in this election under everyone's witness."
"All noble families may send one or two candidates. The final result will be determined through combat trials."
"All captains..."
"I want to participate!"
Before Yamamoto could finish speaking, Satoru suddenly declared loudly.
Everyone looked at him in surprise at his words.
Yamamoto frowned.
"Nonsense! The Sixth Division is for nobles, you..."
Halfway through his sentence, he suddenly remembered that this troublesome brat before him was also a noble.
Damn, it never showed normally.
He said irritably, "You're already the Eleventh Division captain. Do you intend to lead two divisions simultaneously?"
"Then I'll quit being the Eleventh Division captain!"
"?"
A vein bulged on Yamamoto's forehead.
There it was—his blood pressure was rising.
After speaking, even Satoru himself realized it didn't sound right.
He frowned and said, "Anyway, the Sixth Division belongs to Sōjun, or at least to Byakuya! I won't let those random guys interfere!"
"Teacher Sōjun might not be strong enough yet, but he'll get there eventually!"
"If he becomes captain and there are fights to be had, I'll fight them for him!"
Listening to his unruly disciple's nonsensical remarks, Yamamoto fumed with anger, his beard bristling.
Just as he was about to draw his sword and blast the scoundrel out, Satoru suddenly seemed to remember something, slapping his palm with a smack.
"That's right! Didn't you say, Teacher, that all noble families have the right to nominate someone?"
"The Mikami Family will also put forward a candidate for the election!"
Yamamoto was momentarily stunned.
After thinking for two seconds, he realized this was indeed within the regulations.
The old man asked doubtfully, "Isn't the Mikami Family just you alone at this point? Who do you have to nominate?"
Satoru snorted with a laugh.
"There will be someone soon!"
"This is utterly absurd!"
Yamamoto felt a headache coming on from the anger.
Just what did this brat think the Gotei 13 was?
In private, he could turn a blind eye to whatever willful or rule-breaking things Satoru did.
But this was a captains' meeting—how could he act so recklessly here?
Watching the argument between master and disciple, Yoruichi curled the corner of her mouth.
She lifted her foot, preparing to step forward and support Satoru.
But before she could take a step, she was surprised to see Retsu Unohana step forward.
"Captain-Commander, I support Captain Mikami's opinion."
"As a member of the nobility, the Mikami Family certainly has the right to participate in this election."
"As for the personnel issue... I don't believe it's a problem. Since the election hasn't started yet, the Mikami Family naturally has the right to recruit followers."
Looking at Unohana standing there, Yamamoto couldn't help but be taken aback.
Who was this?
Was this really Unohana?
Whether it was the bloodthirsty executioner from a thousand years ago or the always gentle and calm head of the medical division over the past few centuries, Unohana had never involved herself in these trivial noble disputes.
What was happening today?
He instinctively glanced at a certain unruly disciple.
Could it be that this kid...
The old man shuddered slightly, as if imagining some terrifying scene.
Meanwhile, Yoruichi was even more surprised than Yamamoto.
She looked at Satoru with an intrigued expression.
Yoruichi stepped forward.
"Captain-Commander, I share Captain Unohana's opinion!"
Next, Satoru's two senior brothers, as well as his loyal follower Mayuri Kurotsuchi, also stepped forward.
Seeing so many captains standing together, Yamamoto nodded slightly.
He coughed once:
"Captain Mikami, as an old man, it's not my place to interfere too much in noble family affairs."
"Given the circumstances, you have until tomorrow to finalize your family member roster and submit it to Central 46!"
"Dismissed!"
...
...
The Satoru faction was electrified.
For many years, many of them had been clamoring to join the Mikami Family and help build its influence.
But Satoru had always shown no interest in developing his family lineage. Not just others—even Sōsuke Aizen hadn't been invited to join the family.
Seeing that even Aizen hadn't gotten in, others gradually stopped thinking about it.
Unexpectedly, their old dream was now being revived—their leader had officially announced he would recruit members into the family!
The conditions were mastering Bankai and being willing and able to fight.
Kenpachi Zaraki was the first to show up, asking his leader who needed to be cut down so he could help.
Then he got kicked out.
Never mind that the captain of the Sixth Division must know Bankai—even if Kenpachi Zaraki actually could, Satoru wouldn't send him out.
This guy was his insurance policy, reserved to inherit the position of Eleventh Division captain.
In the end, in less time than it takes to drink a cup of tea, two people joined the Mikami Family.
Ichimaru Gin and Komamura Sajin.
Though Kaname Tōsen wanted to help, he strongly resisted the idea of becoming a noble.
Seeing that someone had volunteered, he breathed a sigh of relief and stayed out of it.
Rangiku cried herself unconscious in her dorm. Although she possessed the strength to clash with captain-level fighters, she had not mastered Bankai.
In her view, as long as she was strong enough in combat, whether she could use Bankai was irrelevant.
Wasn't her own vice-captain the best example? He didn't even know Shikai, let alone Bankai, yet no one dared to underestimate his combat prowess.
Thus, over the decades, Rangiku had rarely practiced zazen with her sword and naturally never learned Bankai.
If only she had known, she would have worked harder on her sword meditation.
Next, somewhat to Satoru's surprise, Kisuke approached him, hoping to join the Mikami Family.
It wasn't for the position of Sixth Division captain, but because Kisuke believed that to realize Satoru's ambitions, he would inevitably have to deal with the outside world in the future.
Having a noble title affiliated with the Mikami Family would make it more convenient for him to handle various matters.
Satoru had no objections to this and promptly added Kisuke's name to the roster with a flourish of his pen.
When Mayuri Kurotsuchi heard about this, he hurried over and added his own name as well.
What surprised everyone was that Retsu Unohana, captain of the Fourth Division, also joined the Mikami Family.
This incident sparked considerable discussion throughout the Seireitei.
For a time, various speculations emerged one after another.
Thus, in just a single day, the Mikami Family transformed from a lone clan with only its head into a behemoth with five captain-level followers!
Including Satoru himself, this "newly risen" family now possessed six captains simultaneously!
Such a luxurious lineup had never been seen before in the entire history of the Seireitei!
For a time, all the major noble families fell into chaos.
Just what was Satoru planning?
The moment Ginrei Kuchiki fell, the Mikami Family began expanding wildly. Had he been waiting for this day all along?
The only relief for the nobles was that the two "family members" sent by Satoru were both obscure minor figures.
Komamura Sajin, Ichimaru Gin...
The latter at least was considered a prodigy from Shin'ō Academy back in the day, but who was the former?
Never even heard of him.
Soon after, another matter captured the aristocracy's attention.
The Shiba Clan had also sent a candidate.
Isshin Shiba, from a branch family!
Only then did everyone suddenly realize the Shiba Clan still had such a person.
All these years, Isshin Shiba had been mingling in the Eleventh Division, never involving himself in noble affairs, leaving him completely unknown among the aristocracy.
His sudden appearance reminded people that the Shiba Clan actually possessed a captain-level fighter who had mastered Bankai!
Moreover, this guy undoubtedly bore the mark of the Mikami Group!
Not just the nobles—almost all Shinigami in the Seireitei suddenly felt a sense of shock.
Was Satoru and his Eleventh Division finally beginning to reveal their power?
...
...
As the first rays of sunlight fell, Ichimaru Gin stepped out of his room, sliding his Zanpakutō into his belt.
Today marked his first battle against external enemies for Satoru.
No matter what opponents those noble bastards sent, he would absolutely not lose!
Halfway there, he encountered Komamura Sajin.
The two exchanged a glance and nodded.
"Lord Ichimaru, let us do our best together!"
Ichimaru Gin curled his lips: "Sure, let's have a friendly competition~"
Walking side by side, they arrived at the Tenth Division's gate.
There, they saw Satoru leaning against the gatepost, watching them.
Under their gaze, Satoru waved his fist:
"Go all out! Beat the shit out of those noble dogs' lackeys!"
"Whoever wins the championship—I'll grant them one request!"
At these words, the expressions of both Ichimaru Gin and Komamura Sajin shifted instantly.
They simultaneously turned to look at each other.
Friendly competition?
Kill everyone—including you!!