Chapter 315: Yamamoto's Question
Hearing Satoru's words, the Eleventh Division squad members were first stunned, then moved expressions appeared on their faces.
"Big Brother... to protect his subordinates, he's taking the blame himself!"
"As expected of Big Brother, a true man!"
"Big Brother, I'll follow you for life!"
Amidst the moved expressions, many squad members wore thoughtful looks.
Was there some deeper intention behind the elder brother publicly admitting his guilt?
Currently, the Eleventh Division gathered numerous powerful fighters, boasting formidable strength and abundant manpower.
In contrast, within Seireitei, only Yamamoto warranted serious attention—the rest were nothing but feeble fares.
Understood—the elder brother aimed to become the true king!
The seated officer in charge of managing Satoru's uniform factory grinned, revealing an eerie smile.
He opened the bag he always carried with him and pulled out a white Captain's Haori.
On its back was embroidered the character for "One."
"Elder brother! The weather's turning cold! Wear this!!"
He raised the haori, shouting toward Satoru's direction.
"?"
Seeing the raised haori, Yamamoto couldn't help but form a question mark in his mind.
Satoru flashed over with a Flash Step, arriving beside the man. He kicked him flying, snatched the haori, then Flash Stepped back to Yamamoto's side. Chuckling, he draped the haori over the old man's shoulders.
"That guy got too excited seeing you, Sensei, and misspoke. He noticed you came bare-chested and was worried you'd catch a chill, so he prepared this haori for you."
Yamamoto fell into deep thought as he looked at the Captain's Haori draped over his shoulders.
An Eleventh Division member could casually produce the Captain-Commander's Haori.
You came quite prepared, didn't you?
While Yamamoto was lost in thought, Satoru Mikami had already risen into the air.
Crossing his arms over his chest with his feet dangling naturally, he looked down upon the nobles below.
"Today, I, Satoru Mikami, head of the Mikami Family, am touring the Seireitei with my relatives."
"During this tour, my cousin was..."
He glanced at Ichimaru Gin, who mouthed a word back at him.
Satoru squinted for a moment but couldn't quite make it out.
"...my cousin was attacked by a noble's descendant! To protect his life, he fought back desperately!"
"Though he miraculously survived, he sustained severe injuries and has been sent to the Fourth Division for emergency treatment!"
"I will thoroughly investigate this attack on my cousin by certain nobles and will not tolerate those behind it!"
"?"
Hearing Satoru's words, the nobles were stunned.
They had seen shameless people before, but never...
Oh, well, they had actually seen people this shameless before.
There were plenty of nobles in the Soul Society who were even more shameless than this.
The real issue was that there had never been a noble like Satoru Mikami before - someone of common origin who rose meteorically, accumulating such influence in less than a century.
Killing a young master of the Kitarajima Family wasn't particularly significant.
What truly mattered was how much of their interests would be consumed if they allowed him to continue growing like this!
Several nobles immediately spoke up:
"Unacceptable!"
"Who says it was the Kitarajima Family who attacked your cousin?"
"Exactly! Convene a Central 46 meeting! Let's have an open vote!"
At these words, the expressions of some higher-ranking nobles with more insider knowledge immediately darkened.
Sure enough, upon hearing this, Satoru nodded without hesitation.
"A Central 46 vote? No problem, I agree."
Yamamoto frowned.
If this went to the Central 46, it would become difficult to handle.
Just as he was about to say something, a figure appeared beside Satoru.
Yoruichi, wearing a white haori, tossed her high ponytail:
"Fine, let's meet at the Central 46 then. More people means easier handling. When the time comes to investigate who was truly behind the attack on the Mikami Family... I, Yoruichi Shihōin, will certainly lend my support!"
Yamamoto was slightly taken aback.
Then, Sōjun Kuchiki came to stand by Satoru's side.
"Don't worry, Satoru, I'll help you get to the bottom of this too."
The Shinigami who had proposed Central 46 arbitration couldn't help but swallow hard.
Isshin arrived beside Satoru.
"I'm not particularly skilled at handling these matters... but if there's anything I can help with, I won't slack off."
Yamamoto: "..."
This was absurd.
Although he had long known that Satoru got along well with these scions of great noble families, he never expected that these core representatives of their families' interests would unconditionally side with Satoru without even knowing the full facts.
At that moment, an old man came running from the distance.
Stepping on Reishi platforms, he ascended to Satoru's side in midair.
"This old man is an elder of the Tsunayashiro Clan, representing the Tsunayashiro Family in guaranteeing our full support to help Lord Mikami uncover the truth behind this incident!"
The assembled nobles erupted in uproar.
The noble who had initially demanded Central 46 arbitration now looked as pale as death.
Of the Five Noble Clans... except for the Luzhinomiya Family who never participated in such matters, the remaining four families were actually simultaneously supporting Satoru Mikami?!
Throughout the entire history of the Soul Society, such an absurd incident had never occurred before!
Watching the elder from the Tsunayashiro Clan voluntarily step forward to align with them, Yoruichi revealed an intrigued expression.
"Old man, has your Tsunayashiro Clan finally come to its senses? No longer opposing Satoru?"
The elder smiled. "The head of the Shihōin Clan jests. Our Tsunayashiro Clan has always supported the Mikami Family."
"Hmph."
Yoruichi curled her lips and said no more.
The Tsunayashiro Clan's voluntary assistance could mean either they recognized the prevailing trend and hurried to board the ship, or they had been beaten into submission and dared not continue their opposition.
Whichever it was, it was good news for Satoru Mikami.
Yamamoto coughed lightly.
"Since you nobles have already decided on a resolution, I shall not interfere further."
He turned and left.
As he passed by Satoru, he glanced at his troublesome disciple.
"Come to the First Division and explain everything after this matter is settled."
With that, Yamamoto vanished in a flash.
The nobles who had initially clamored for an explanation dispersed one after another.
Members of the Eleventh Division cheered in celebration.
Yoruichi, Sōjun Kuchiki, and the others went to disperse the squad members they had brought along.
Satoru remained silent for a long while, staring at the carriage left abandoned in the middle of the road.
"What's wrong? Feeling pity for that noble who was killed now that it's come to this?"
Aizen appeared beside him at some point, chuckling as he asked.
Satoru turned to look at his friend, who had been by his side since their school days.
"No, I just feel like we're even again now."
"How so?"
Aizen raised an eyebrow, curious.
Satoru grinned.
"Before, it was always you accumulating life debts everywhere, dragging innocent me into your conflicts."
"This time, I've incurred an unrelated life debt too, and you'll have to shoulder it for me."
"Feels pretty good thinking about it."
Hearing this, Aizen shook his head in amusement.
"Don't worry, there will be plenty more debts for you to shoulder for me in the future."
"Mm, leave it to me. The strong always have to bear more burdens."
Satoru crossed his arms, wearing a smug expression.
Aizen wanted to retort, but after a moment's thought, his mood suddenly grew complicated.
Somewhere along the line, this guy who used to only charge ahead recklessly had genuinely surpassed him in combat prowess.
Although Aizen still won more often during sparring sessions, that was only because Satoru couldn't use many of his lethal techniques in practice.
From a rational perspective, having such a capable, daring, and trustworthy guy standing in front to attract attention was quite beneficial.
But emotionally, being left so far behind by his friend left him somewhat dissatisfied.
No... he needed to develop his own ultimate technique too.
As a genius far surpassing Satoru, the true possessor of astonishing wisdom, how could he allow himself to be outshone in this aspect?
The era of overwhelming with raw power was over. Next would be the time to astonish that fool with an ultimate technique!
...
...
Following the direction of Ulquiorra's escape, Shinji Hirako and Kensei Muguruma pursued relentlessly.
After an unknown period of time, Shinji suddenly stopped.
Kensei was puzzled but stopped as well, trusting Shinji's judgment.
Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi, who had been following behind them, quickly halted too.
"Captain Hirako! Kensei!"
He caught his breath and hurried over, wanting to persuade them to abandon the chase.
During the recent battle, he had seen from a distance that this matter seemed to involve Satoru Mikami.
To be honest, anything related to Satoru Mikami was definitely beyond their level to handle.
But before he could speak, Shinji Hirako raised his hand to stop him.
His newly grown short golden hair standing on end, Hirako frowned and carefully sensed the surrounding air.
A few seconds later, he suddenly reached out and tore at the empty space.
With his movement, a black fissure appeared in the air, surrounded by fragmented space.
Seeing the fissure before him, Hirako's pupils contracted sharply.
"Hey now... you've got to be kidding me..."
For a moment, he felt his entire body turn cold, his hands and feet freezing.
Although he had always suspected that Aizen and Satoru Mikami were plotting something evil, he thought that even at their most insane, they would just become another Tsunayashiro at worst.
Now it seemed he had given these two too much credit.
"Captain Hirako?"
Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi approached.
Under the gazes of both Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi and Kensei Muguruma, Shinji Hirako gritted his teeth:
"A Garganta... the guy Satoru brought left through a Garganta!"
"Though it was well concealed, I'm skilled at detecting such details."
"To open the Garganta, he used Reiatsu."
"This Reiatsu feels somewhat special, but its essence remains unchanged... it's from a Hollow!"
Upon hearing this, both Kensei Muguruma and Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi understood what Hirako meant.
Their faces turned pale.
Shinji Hirako twisted his lips into an ugly smile:
"Satoru Mikami... and undoubtedly Sōsuke Aizen too - these two have colluded with Hueco Mundo."
"Worst case scenario, they might have already joined forces with Las Noches."
Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi exclaimed in shock:
"How could this be... Why would Commander Satoru do such a thing?!"
Kensei Muguruma also found it hard to believe.
However, recalling the report he had just received, it seemed to mention some connection between the perpetrator and Satoru Mikami.
Could it be that the truth was exactly as Shinji Hirako had said?
"No, I must report this immediately to..."
At this point, Shinji Hirako stopped speaking.
Looking at the two men before him, he revealed a serious expression.
"Captain Kensei, Captain Rōjūrō, what I am about to do is fraught with danger."
"Whether in terms of personal strength or influence within the Seireitei, Satoru Mikami has reached a level unattainable by ordinary people."
"Even if we know he has done these things, without sufficient evidence, it would be difficult to bring him down immediately."
"If we carelessly expose our intentions, we will be discovered by those two, and what we face afterward will likely be more than just a simple battle."
"Gentlemen, if you decide to fight alongside me for the sake of the Seireitei, please be resolved and bring forth your full capabilities."
"If you cannot make up your minds, then withdraw now and pretend you saw nothing today. I won't say another word."
Hearing this, Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi and Kensei Muguruma exchanged glances.
After a moment of silence, Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi took a deep breath.
"I don't believe Commander Satoru would do such a thing... but everything that has happened so far does prove he holds certain secrets."
"Captain Hirako, I will cooperate with you to uncover these secrets. Afterward, if it is confirmed that Commander Satoru has truly betrayed us, I will join you in defeating him and making him repent!"
Kensei Muguruma also nodded.
"That's right! If Commander Satoru has truly betrayed us, I will never pretend not to see it!"
Shinji Hirako grinned, revealing his teeth.
The Seireitei still had loyal and courageous souls.
...
...
First Division, study.
Yamamoto stood before the desk, holding a brush, creating bold strokes of ink.
Satoru Mikami pushed the door open and entered the room.
Looking at Yamamoto's back, he prepared to explain what had just happened.
However, Yamamoto spoke first:
"Brat, it has been several decades since you became my disciple."
"I have some understanding of your character."
"Only the two of us are here. I have a few questions for you, answer them truthfully."
"Depending on your answers, I will decide how to proceed from now on."
Hearing this, Satoru Mikami nodded.
Yamamoto slowly asked:
"Do you have any intention of betraying the Soul Society?"
Satoru Mikami thought for a few seconds.
"Maybe yes, maybe no."
"?"
Yamamoto's blood pressure slightly rose.
In such a serious situation, are you being playful with me?
Before he could snap the brush handle, Satoru Mikami said, "If by 'Soul Society,' Teacher means this social system that has been passed down for millions of years, then yes, I do intend to betray it."
"However, if Teacher means this world of the Soul Society and the people we know living on this land, then I will never betray them."
Listening to Satoru's words, Yamamoto remained silent for a while.
Finally, he nodded.
"Good, then the second question."
"If I stand in your way, to resolve me, would you cooperate with the Wandenreich and join forces with Yhwach?"
Satoru's face fell, showing a disgusted expression as he repeatedly waved his hands.
"How could that be possible?"
Hearing this, Yamamoto raised the corners of his mouth and snorted with a laugh.
As expected of his foolish disciple—at this critical moment, he had not disappointed him.
P.S.
To be honest, what the blonde baldy did wasn't particularly strange.
Setting aside our reader's perspective on Satoru Mikami, his actions genuinely didn't resemble those of a good person...
Or perhaps he was never a good person to begin with?
Hiss, that can't be right.