Chapter 109: Right, That's How Nobility Eats
Matsushita Yusuke had a headache.
Because the situation was exactly as Kishinoshin had described.
Squad 11 was a disaster left behind by Kijishi's management, and walking in right now was asking for trouble.
The rational play: leave it alone for a few years. Let the Gotei 13's internal rebuilding process run, get the funding sorted, bring in support from the other squads, and then eventually take the post once it was back on its feet. That would be the best possible option.
But Matsushita Yusuke couldn't do that.
Because his quest was urgent.
Very urgent.
[Quest: Take the Post as Squad 11 Captain]
[You have defeated Kijishi Kenpachi. You have become genuinely strong. Build a territory of your own, find your way of surviving, and implement your will within it. This is your path forward.]
[Note: Must take post within five days]
[Rewards: Reiatsu Level +20, Zanjutsu +5, Hakuda +3, Hoho +3, Kido +5, one randomly selected Shikai-unlocked Zanpakuto raised to 70 (Bankai)]
Generous rewards, but the conditions attached were significant.
Five days. This was a timed quest.
Previously, defeating Kijishi hadn't generated any immediate reward. He had thought it slipped through the cracks. In hindsight, the System had been holding it here all along.
The reward for defeating Kijishi and the reward for taking the captain's post had been merged into one.
Not particularly unusual. After dealing with this quest system long enough, Yusuke had developed some familiarity with how it worked.
This quest was evil. Generous with rewards, yes, but the primary purpose was clearly to make things difficult.
Theoretically, waiting for everything to settle before stepping in was an option. But then there would be no challenge. And the System, apparently, was not going to let him take the easy road.
Couldn't slack off even a little. Fantastic.
But he couldn't afford to miss this reward.
Because it could bring one of his Zanpakuto directly to Bankai.
For someone who had the power but not the ultimate technique: the appeal was obvious. What a word to see in a notification. If he trained on his own, maybe he would reach that threshold eventually. But right now? Just say yes and jump straight to the top without the grind.
Was there anything more tempting than that? Matsushita Yusuke thought probably not.
None of this, of course, could be explained to anyone. Telling Kishinoshin "I'll get stronger by taking the captaincy and can immediately unlock a Bankai to wreck third-rate captains" was not a sentence a sane person said out loud.
He would be escorted somewhere and examined.
"I just feel that since I'm going to take the post eventually anyway, I'd rather get involved in the rebuilding from the start. That way I can get to know the squad members earlier too."
"I see."
Kishinoshin naturally shifted into a leadership-assessment mode. He rubbed his chin, nodded slowly, and developed a thoughtful expression.
"If you're thinking about it from a rebuilding standpoint, getting involved from the ground up actually makes a lot of sense."
Not only would Yusuke be able to select his own squad members, he could also make targeted decisions about how the funding was used.
But most importantly, it was a matter of ownership.
"If you hand it to someone else to manage, nine times out of ten they won't put their heart into it. But if the Squad 11 captain handles it himself, that concern goes away."
Sound reasoning, all of it.
But at the end of it, one question remained.
"The process is going to be genuinely difficult. Are you really sure?"
Because by any realistic assessment, this was building from nothing. Sending a newcomer in to handle all of that: it would be false to say there was no concern.
But what choice did Yusuke have?
Difficult or not, the only available answer was yes.
"It'll be hard. But I'll manage."
Kishinoshin was visibly moved, nodding several times.
"Truly worthy of being the person Yoruichi-sama recognized. Having that kind of resolve is genuinely rare. Matsushita-kun, if there's anything I can help with, please say the word. I'll do whatever I can."
That would be an enormous help, actually.
A squad of several hundred people, no administrative staff in the early stages, every miscellaneous task handled personally by default. Having Kishinoshin involved would make things considerably less overwhelming.
Matsushita Yusuke rubbed his cheek. His expression was carrying a faint edge of exhaustion.
Winning wasn't the part that was scary.
The scary part was winning and then ending up even busier than before.
"So, Kishinoshin-senpai: what's the first step?"
"Let me think. First, go to Squad 1 and report in. Make your intentions clear to the Commander-General."
Proper procedure mattered, especially in the current Gotei 13. In the original story, at least a few unfortunate individuals had gotten pulled in for a personal lecture from the Commander-General just for not wearing the captain's haori correctly.
That particular pitfall was not worth stepping into.
"After you've made your formal declaration, there's an inauguration ceremony to prepare for. Your name gets recorded and submitted to Central 46."
Something seemed to open up in his thinking once he got started. Kishinoshin's pace picked up.
"After that, you'll have the authority to modify your base location, and the right to publicly recruit squad members. Then each month there's corresponding funding and assistance, and all of those things-"
The details kept coming, and Matsushita Yusuke's head started to ache in a very specific way.
How is any of this this complicated.
Though at the same time, he wasn't entirely surprised.
Running a squad was not easy. If you were going to be lazy about it, you could survive: probably the state things had been in under Kijishi's watch. Weeds through the base, every manner of troublemaker on the roster.
Actually building something? Not without putting in the work.
But there was something more immediately worth asking about.
"Can the base location actually be changed?"
"Of course. Land inside the Seireitei proper is premium, but in the outer areas there are far fewer restrictions. As long as you want it and are willing to pay, minor issue."
"..."
Matsushita Yusuke paused.
"Wait. Why do you have to pay?"
Kishinoshin looked over with an entirely matter-of-fact expression.
"Right, how else do you buy land? Nobility. That's how we eat."
"...Right. That's how we eat."
There's a real estate component?
He nearly laughed. All he could say was that this semi-feudal social structure was genuinely something.
But regardless.
First: become the captain. Then deal with everything else one piece at a time.