"Head Captain Naraku, these are today's squad duties. Please process them."
Inside the Squad 1 barracks, in the captain's office, Sasakibe Chōjirō dropped a stack of documents taller than a person onto the desk with a heavy thud.
Looking at the mountainous pile of files and various rosters before him, Naraku Sora's face turned ashen. This was honestly more agonizing than watching Urahara Kisuke slack off.
"Old man Sasakibe, are you kidding me?!"
At this moment, he no longer cared about the traditional virtue of respecting his elders. He roared in anger, "I might not be the most well-read, but I've seen the old man handle his official documents, and it wasn't even half of this! Are you messing with me?"
"Ah, Lord Genryūsai left in a hurry, so these are the accumulations from recent days. There is also a portion of old, unresolved duties gathered from earlier years."
Sasakibe Chōjirō's voice was gentle, making it impossible for anyone to get angry at him.
"Before Lord Genryūsai left, he specifically instructed me to hand these over to you to process."
"Also, some files that other squads couldn't finish processing have been submitted here as well."
"?"
Naraku Sora's eyes widened as he stared at the seemingly honest man in front of him. "Squad Member Sasakibe, are you in your right mind?"
"If the other captains couldn't finish processing them, what makes you think I can?"
"Do you have some sort of misunderstanding about me?"
Sasakibe Chōjirō smiled gently and said slowly, "I believe in you, Head Captain Naraku."
Naraku Sora took a deep breath, his expression twisting. "Then I really must thank you for your trust, Lieutenant Sasakibe!"
"No thanks needed. This is all part of my duty."
As a veteran who had followed Yamamoto for thousands of years, no one knew better than Sasakibe Chōjirō how to read the room and manipulate people's hearts.
He had figured out Naraku Sora's personality a long time ago.
This kid responded to a soft touch but would fiercely resist any coercion.
If you actually tried to force him to do something, there was a high probability he would just turn hostile.
But if you positioned yourself as a humble subordinate and appealed to him with reason and emotion, he would have no choice but to bite the bullet and accept the raw deal.
Speaking of which, Lord Genryūsai had the exact same personality.
When dealing with people like this, Sasakibe Chōjirō had nine different methods to handle them.
Nine.
Seeing that he couldn't refuse, Naraku Sora could only brace himself and flip through the files in front of him, trying to find a few simple ones to deal with.
He figured he could take his time, drag it out for a week or two, and once old man Yamamoto returned, he could safely dump the blame back on him.
*Yes, brilliant as always.*
Having come up with a solution in a single second, Naraku Sora immediately felt relieved and began reading the files with a clear conscience.
However, the very first document nearly broke his composure.
"Translate this for me. What do you mean by 'a major error occurred in the High-Level Spiritual Position Management Bureau, the registration roster was lost, and seated officers' salaries cannot be issued normally'?"
"Since when did our Gotei 13 have this kind of organization?"
Sasakibe Chōjirō looked at Naraku Sora with an odd expression and earnestly explained, "The High-Level Spiritual Position Management Bureau is overseen by Squad 6. It primarily registers matters concerning seated officers."
"The history of this organization's existence even predates the Gotei 13."
Naraku Sora's face turned green.
The difficulty of handling squad duties was much higher than he had anticipated.
When he previously served as the Shino Prison Warden, he had tried resolving a few files, but that usually only required writing 'approved' or 'rejected'. It was never this troublesome.
"And what the hell is the Household Registration Bureau?"
"When residents in the Seireitei wish to marry, they need to submit their paperwork to the Household Registration Bureau."
"Fuck."
Setting aside the files he couldn't immediately figure out how to solve, Naraku Sora continued searching for documents he could actually handle.
He kind of missed his good brother Aizen.
With the Document Dragon's working capabilities, he could surely resolve this mountainous pile of files in no time, right?
*Was it too late to say 'I was just joking earlier'?*
Just as he was agonizing over this, a knock suddenly came from outside. Sasakibe Chōjirō spoke up at the perfect moment.
"Come in."
A figure with flowing long hair stepped into the office.
However, the moment he entered, he witnessed an unbelievable sight.
A person who absolutely shouldn't be here was sitting in Head Captain Yamamoto's usual seat, staring at the documents in front of him with a massive headache.
Hirako Shinji froze. He rubbed his eyes vigorously, seriously doubting if he had knocked on the door the wrong way.
He hesitated, stepped back out of the room, stood in the hallway for a few seconds, and then walked back in.
The scene before his eyes hadn't changed at all.
Watching Hirako Shinji walk in and out, Sasakibe Chōjirō couldn't help but frown.
The Substitute Head Captain was already abnormal enough, why are you acting crazy too?
Was there some sort of contagious pathogen running rampant in the Seireitei?
"Captain Hirako, what exactly is your business?"
Seeing that Hirako Shinji was preparing for another two rounds of his in-and-out game, Sasakibe Chōjirō couldn't hold back any longer.
"I just can't quite believe my eyes."
Hirako Shinji pointed at the figure buried behind the desk and asked cautiously, "When did Head Captain Yamamoto master a Kidō for youth restoration?"
"?"
Naraku Sora looked up, mentally making a severe note of Hirako Shinji's offense.
"Ahem, that is not Lord Genryūsai, but the new Substitute Head Captain, Naraku Sora."
Sasakibe Chōjirō had just sent squad members to the other squads, but the relay was slow, and they hadn't managed to notify everyone yet.
Although the Denreishinki was convenient and fast, as a traditionalist, he still preferred having squad members deliver important news in person.
Hearing Sasakibe Chōjirō's words, Hirako Shinji's heart instantly sank halfway.
The reason he refused to believe his eyes was entirely because the matter he came to report was related to Naraku Sora.
A long time ago, due to some special reasons, he had been paying close attention to Aizen.
Later, when Naraku Sora frequently visited the Squad 5 barracks and displayed a close friendship with Aizen, it dispelled some of his suspicions.
However, as time passed, Naraku Sora's reputation spread wider and wider throughout the Seireitei and even the Soul Society.
His various deeds made Soul Reapers and citizens alike look up to and revere him.
Coupled with his rapidly advancing personal strength, Hirako Shinji appropriately shifted some of his suspicions onto Naraku Sora.
What if everything this guy displayed was just a disguise?
Although Naraku Sora was powerful and highly popular, Hirako Shinji knew very well that the more someone appeared this way, the more dangerous they were.
If he harbored malicious intentions, it would deal a devastating blow to the Soul Society and even the three realms.
Not to mention, this guy had the highly dangerous Aizen Sōsuke by his side.
Even now, Hirako Shinji didn't dare to completely trust his own lieutenant.
Even though the other party had saved him once during the Zanpakutō rebellion.
Harboring the thought of saving the world, Hirako Shinji never gave up his investigation into Aizen and Naraku Sora.
Hard work pays off.
It wasn't until recently, shortly after the Hueco Mundo rescue operation ended, that he finally made a discovery.
In a remote area of the 5th District, he found traces of world-crossing.
It wasn't a conventional Senkaimon, but a method similar to a Garganta.
Although he couldn't prove Aizen did it, Hirako Shinji had a strong urge that this matter was absolutely connected to Aizen.
Furthermore, during the Hell rebellion, Naraku Sora was taken away by the Menos Grande's exclusive ability, Negación, and when he appeared in Hueco Mundo, he had no obvious injuries on his body.
All signs indicated that whether it was Naraku Sora or Aizen, they had some sort of hidden connection with Hueco Mundo.
Perhaps Naraku Sora had already defected to Hueco Mundo and betrayed the Soul Society.
Similar incidents had been recorded in the history of the Soul Society.
Hirako Shinji originally intended to inform Yamamoto of his findings.
Before coming here, he had hyped himself up several times.
After all, Yamamoto and Naraku Sora had an unusual relationship. If Yamamoto decided to cover for him, there was nothing Hirako could do.
In the end, he decided to trust Head Captain Yamamoto's character.
However, upon arriving at the Squad 1 office, he was dumbfounded. Where did that old Head Captain go?
"W-why is there a Substitute Head Captain?"
Sasakibe Chōjirō raised his gaze, glanced at the conflicted Hirako Shinji, and explained in a deep voice, "Lord Genryūsai has an urgent mission to handle. For the time being, squad duties are being overseen by Head Captain Naraku."
"If Captain Hirako has something to say, just say it directly. Don't delay the Substitute Head Captain from processing squad duties."
Hirako Shinji's face flushed the color of pig liver.
How the hell was he supposed to say it?
*How could he report the magistrate to the magistrate himself?*
*Am I supposed to report Aizen's abnormalities to Naraku Sora?*
*Even the captain of Squad 11 wouldn't do something this stupid, right?*
*Looking across the entire Seireitei, who doesn't know that these two are as thick as thieves?!*
Despite cursing inwardly, Hirako Shinji managed to squeeze out a smile, forcibly scraping his brain for an excuse.
"It's about the Kidō Restoration Room. After it was destroyed by the Hell Sinners previously, the reconstruction has never been completed. I wanted to ask if the Head Captain has any solutions."
"Go to the Department of Research and Development and find Kurotsuchi Mayuri or Urahara Kisuke. If neither of them has time, find a kid named Akon."
Naraku Sora said without even lifting his head, "Just tell them it's my order."
Hirako Shinji froze.
He had just made something up on the spot, but he didn't expect Naraku Sora to actually provide a solution.
After thinking for a few seconds, he nodded, turned around, and left the office.
Naraku Sora raised his gaze, watching Hirako Shinji's retreating back, a thoughtful look flashing in his eyes.
*This guy seems to be hiding something.*
*Whatever, I can't be bothered to think about it. He's Sōsuke's captain anyway, so it has nothing to do with me.*
"Lieutenant Sasakibe, I'm going to go resolve this matter first."
"You keep an eye on the remaining files and process them. If you really can't, wait until I get back."
Naraku Sora stood up and stretched his body, which was on the verge of falling asleep.
Handling squad duties was honestly more exhausting than fighting.
He couldn't let this continue; he had to think of a way out immediately.
Sasakibe Chōjirō looked closely and saw the title written on the cover of the file Naraku had taken:
*Proposal for Handling the Vacancy of the Squad 10 Captain Position.*