"Brat, what exactly happened in the Seireitei while I was gone?"
Looking at Naraku Sora, who had taken a solid beating but only suffered a bruised and swollen face, Yamamoto couldn't help but twitch his eye.
Long ago, he had already confirmed that this brat was infected with Hollow poison.
But for some unknown reason, when a normal Soul Reaper was infected with Hollow poison, they would at best suffer mental confusion and fall into madness; at worst, their soul would commit suicide and completely vanish from this world.
But Naraku Sora was different.
He showed not a single sign of confusion, let alone soul suicide. He was full of life and bursting with energy, acting as if he had some sort of hyperactivity disorder.
He couldn't sit still for even a moment.
Furthermore, his body had developed traits unique to Hollows.
The first was the physical sensation when beating him.
As Naraku Sora's teacher, Yamamoto had beaten him quite often during their daily training to impart the techniques of the Genryū style.
He vaguely remembered that when he first disciplined his disciple, the feeling was no different from hitting Kyōraku and the others—at most, he was just a bit more resilient.
But at some point, the fists landing on Naraku Sora began to detect a strange, inexplicable change.
At first, Yamamoto thought it was just an illusion.
But as time passed, he starkly realized that some unknown changes had occurred within Naraku Sora's body.
Considering that everyone had their own secrets, and that his disciple was merely a bit too straightforward but fundamentally righteous at heart...
Yamamoto didn't deliberately press the issue.
It wasn't until Muken was half-destroyed by a certain brute, and Yamamoto went to investigate, that he finally realized Naraku Sora had mastered the power of a Hollow.
If it had been the Yamamoto of the past, he would have long since executed his own disciple for the greater good.
But after experiencing so much together, his personality had long since changed.
Originally, anyone who violated the laws of the Soul Society would be punished with the corresponding penalty.
Later, as long as it didn't cross the bottom line, it was acceptable.
And now... whatever, as long as the Soul Society wasn't destroyed, it was fine.
Under the influence of a certain "great figure," Yamamoto's threshold for tolerance had grown higher and higher.
He even entertained the thought of trying Hollowfication himself.
But that thought was quickly tossed to the back of his mind.
As the guardian of order, a staunch conservative, and the Head Captain who had lived as a Soul Reaper for thousands of years, how could he be tempted by such an unorthodox power?
If he wanted to get stronger, he just needed to train hard.
Getting stronger through illegal crimes—how would that make him any different from Naraku Sora?!
Forcibly expelling this dangerous thought from his mind, Yamamoto turned his gaze back to Naraku Sora.
Only to see that the bruised and swollen injuries had already completely healed.
Yamamoto's eye twitched violently.
'Hierro, High-Speed Regeneration... is there anything you don't know how to do?'
As the guardian of the Soul Society, Yamamoto had fought countless Menos Grande over his thousands of years of life.
But he had never seen a Menos Grande quite like his rebellious disciple.
Not only did he possess the astonishingly defensive Hierro, but he had also mastered the self-healing High-Speed Regeneration.
He was practically a little monster.
'Was Hollowfication really that powerful?'
Just then, Yamamoto noticed a curious gaze directed at him. Feeling as though his current thoughts had been seen through, his old face instantly flushed red. He raised his hand and delivered a slap, smacking his rebellious disciple straight into the ground.
He flew into a rage out of humiliation.
"I asked you a question!"
Naraku Sora nonchalantly dusted himself off, rubbed his chin, and disclosed everything about Inaba Kagerōza.
"That's the general gist of it."
"The reason your clone was killed is that, in Inaba Kagerōza's mind, you are the strongest Soul Reaper in the Soul Society."
"He treated you as his trump card, completely unaware that there is always someone stronger out there..."
Yamamoto's old face darkened.
'What did that mean?'
'Did this brat actually think he could beat me now?'
"Cut the nonsense."
Yamamoto snorted coldly. "I want to know the extent of the damages and casualties across the Seireitei."
Hearing this, Naraku Sora grinned and said confidently,
"You can rest easy on that front, teacher. I have Pesquisa as a passive ability, so I can easily distinguish between the originals and the Reigai clones. Therefore, there was no friendly fire."
"Furthermore, I specifically instructed the new Gotei 13 to focus on containment until identities were confirmed, so casualties should be minimal."
Hearing this, Yamamoto breathed a sigh of relief, and his gaze toward Naraku Sora softened with a bit of gratification.
'Although this bastard brat is usually a bit reckless, he is quite useful in critical moments.'
'He might deviate on the details, but his grasp of the big picture is absolutely solid.'
'With such ability, he is already qualified to take on the role of Head Captain.'
'After a bit more grooming, perhaps the heavy burden can truly be handed over to Naraku Sora.'
"Hmph, words are empty without proof."
Yamamoto transformed Ryūjin Jakka back into a walking stick and tied his Shishakushō top back on, restoring his usual appearance.
"I am going to Squad 1 to review the specific intelligence. You are coming with me."
Naraku Sora hesitated for a moment and pointed at the battlefield behind them, where the Reiatsu was becoming increasingly chaotic, as if it were about to collapse the sky.
"What about the Reigai clones?"
Hearing this, Yamamoto briefly released his Reiatsu to sense the area, then snorted coldly in extreme dissatisfaction.
"Leave them to Kyōraku and the others."
"Once this matter is settled, I will personally compare their battle records. The one with the worst performance will be thrown straight into Squad 11 to be tempered."
Naraku Sora immediately found this amusing.
If he remembered correctly, that guy Zaraki Kenpachi had already successfully mastered his Shikai under his day-and-night drilling.
His current strength was who knew how many times greater than in the original timeline.
Let alone ordinary Captains, even Unohana Retsu wouldn't be able to defeat that brute whose head was filled with nothing but slaughter.
Speaking of which, that guy hung around him all day but hadn't learned a single bit of his refined and easygoing nature. He truly was a lost cause.
Soon, the old man and the young man returned to the Squad 1 barracks.
Compared to the chaos elsewhere, this place was still quiet and peaceful. Even the barracks were completely intact, without a single sign of damage.
Seeing that the tea room and the office were exactly as he had left them, Yamamoto's expression softened considerably.
'At least this brat has some conscience.'
Because Sasakibe Chōjirō was over at the Squad 12 barracks, the one who came out to receive them was the Third Seat of Squad 1, Okikiba Genshirō.
A stern old man who rarely smiled.
"Lord Genryūsai, you have returned."
"Mm."
"Genshirō, bring all the important intelligence from the time I was away to the office. I will review it personally."
Hearing this, Okikiba Genshirō froze for a moment.
Then, he raised his head, cast a look of pity at Naraku Sora beside him, gave him a deep glance, and turned to leave.
Naraku Sora blinked. '?'
'What was with that old man's look?'
'Did I get busted for something again?'
'That can't be right. I've been strictly fulfilling my duties lately and haven't messed around at all.'
'Did I overlook something?'
Naraku Sora furrowed his brows, unable to make sense of it no matter how hard he thought.
Before long, a stack of organized files and documents was placed on the desk.
Okikiba Genshirō bowed his head respectfully. "Lord Genryūsai, all the major events that have occurred recently are here. Please..."
"...Uh, please take care of your health."
Yamamoto blinked. '?'
He cast a strange look at his old subordinate, a sense of foreboding suddenly welling up in his heart.
Without asking further, Yamamoto sat at the desk, opened the topmost file, and began reading it page by page.
At first, his expression was somewhat tense.
But when he saw that the intelligence recorded matched Naraku Sora's description quite closely, he relaxed a little.
'This foolish disciple can still distinguish the severity and urgency of matters.'
'At least he didn't falsify anything here to deceive me.'
The intelligence related to the Gotei 13 was quickly reviewed, and there was nothing bizarre.
At most, the damage to the barracks was a bit severe.
That was inconsequential.
With the experience of rebuilding after the Hell Rebellion, doing it again would surely be much more efficient.
'Speaking of which, how many times have the barracks been rebuilt over the years?'
Yamamoto did a quick mental calculation.
The Shihōin Clan's internal strife, the Zanpakutō Rebellion, the Tsunayashiro Clan's treason, the destruction of Muken, the Hell Rebellion, and now this Reigai turmoil.
In addition to those, there were numerous instances of dojos collapsing, martial arenas crumbling, and training grounds shattering because of Naraku Sora.
Yamamoto was surprised to find that he had lost count of exactly how many times it had been.
Even the Squad 1 barracks had been rebuilt countless times.
And that was the one with the fewest rebuilds.
Thinking of this, he glared fiercely at his rebellious disciple beside him.
Naraku Sora fell silent.
'Why do I suddenly feel like I shouldn't be here?'
Yamamoto angrily continued flipping through the files and soon came across intelligence related to the Sixth District.
The Oda Clan, the Kaede Clan, the Fukada Clan...
Several important members of lower and upper noble families had been replaced by Reigai clones. Given the extremely severe harm they could cause to the Seireitei and even the Soul Society...
The relevant personnel were hereby executed. The specific evidence is as follows...
Reporter: Captain of the new Gotei 13's Squad 12, Kurotsuchi Mayuri.
Seeming to notice what Yamamoto was reading, Okikiba Genshirō added from the side:
"It is somewhat strange. The Reigai clones identified by Captain Kurotsuchi were mostly nobles who committed all sorts of evils but lacked concrete evidence against them."
"However, according to the tests provided by the Onmitsukidō, it seems Captain Kurotsuchi did not falsely accuse them."
Naraku Sora paused.
He remembered now.
Previously, after Aizen said he was going to wipe out Central 46, he specifically borrowed Kurotsuchi Mayuri, saying he had a special mission for him to execute.
So this was what he had been planning.
Yamamoto was no fool either. As an old man who had lived for thousands of years, he quickly figured out the crux of the matter, and his face instantly darkened.
'This bastard is definitely using his public office for private gain.'
'Taking advantage of the turmoil in the Soul Society, he directly targeted those nobles who had no evidence against them.'
'If he dared to break the rules against the nobles this time, wouldn't he target Central 46 next time?'
'Even if his intentions were good, this absolutely cannot be tolerated!'
Yamamoto narrowed his eyes, staring intently at his rebellious disciple beside him.
"Brat, what do you think of this?"
Naraku Sora grinned and said candidly,
"It's all Kagerōza's fault!"