REVIEWS AND POWERSTONES PLSSS!!!!!REVIEWS AND POWERSTONES PLSSS!!!!!REVIEWS AND POWERSTONES PLSSS!!!!!Chapter 110: The Full Story
Matsushita Yusuke had a general sense of direction and what he wanted to accomplish going forward.
Of course, the actual implementation was another matter entirely, so for now he was keeping his expectations conservative.
First, go report in. Everything else after.
"Oh, right. Kishinoshin-senpai, there's also something else I need to—"
"No place to stay tonight, right? Don't worry about it. You can stay at my place. The house is quite large. There's definitely room to spare."
Having a reliable senpai was genuinely useful. Whatever the motivations, Kishinoshin's support covered practically everything.
"I'd be grateful."
"Ha ha, don't mention it! Having the future — ah, rather, the current Squad 11 captain staying under my roof: that genuinely honors the place."
Since it was on the way, Matsushita Yusuke first went with Kishinoshin to the Squad 2 base for a brief stop.
Kishinoshin had originally wanted to arrange a moment for Yusuke to speak with Yoruichi, but the head of the Shihoin household came and went on her own schedule, and in the end nothing came of it.
Instead, they ran into someone considerably rarer.
"Hey, old man. Who's this?"
A child with one finger stuck firmly up his nose stared up at Matsushita Yusuke with a thoroughly unimpressed expression.
"He looks kind of shabby. Is this actually your friend?"
Kishinoshin's fist came down squarely on top of the child's head, tucked him under one arm, and turned to Matsushita Yusuke with an apologetic smile.
"My son. Marechiyo. He's been a little spoiled, I'm afraid. Please don't take it personally."
So this is young Marechiyo.
From what Yusuke knew: the kid supposedly had real talent, was specifically picked out by leadership as more capable than his father. Just hadn't expected the childhood version to be this full of himself.
He doesn't act like this when he grows up.
After the detour, Matsushita Yusuke rearranged his bags and followed Kishinoshin toward Squad 1.
Arriving there, his expression shifted slightly.
He had been to quite a few squads by now, but this kind of pure traditional construction was genuinely uncommon. The architecture throughout Squad 1 was distinctly antique. Walking through the corridors, he could see squad members going over surfaces with what looked like cloths.
Yusuke couldn't quite place what they were doing and asked.
"Waxing the wood. Keeps it from rotting."
Useless life knowledge +1. Noted.
After a reflective moment, he was led to what appeared to be a meeting room. Kishinoshin stepped away, the rest of this apparently not his business. Matsushita Yusuke waited for some time before hearing footsteps approaching.
Click.
The door opened. A gray-haired, neatly dressed man entered, carrying a large collection of document bags. He sat down and took a moment to straighten his collar.
"These past few days have been relentless. I haven't even had time to go to the Western restaurant for coffee."
The small complaint delivered, he took a quiet breath and turned a composed smile toward Matsushita Yusuke.
"Young man, though this is our second meeting, we haven't had the chance for a proper introduction. So then: a pleasure."
He smiled and extended his right hand.
"My name is Sasakibe Chojiro. Vice-captain of Squad 1."
Matsushita Yusuke nodded and carefully returned the greeting.
Oh, I know who this is.
In the original story, he had been one-shotted by Ichigo Kurosaki. At the time, it had seemed like he might just be a background figure.
But thinking about it clearly: someone who had survived fierce combat against the Quincy a thousand years ago, who had even found the opportunity to put a blade into Yhwach, losing that quickly to a kid who came in yelling Getsuga Tensho? Didn't add up. And with a move like that, it wasn't hard to work out whose son the kid was.
The only reasonable explanation was that Sasakibe had been holding back.
And even setting all of that aside: the man had Bankai. Mastered it more than a thousand years ago. Suggesting that those years of discipline and accumulation had produced no results would be an insult to anyone's intelligence.
In Yusuke's honest assessment, Sasakibe could fully step into a captain's role if he chose and have things running properly in short order.
These thoughts moved through his head while he exchanged a quick acknowledgment with Sasakibe across the table.
"Matsushita-kun, before anything else, I need to express apologies to you on the Commander-General's behalf."
Sasakibe's head dipped slightly in a gesture of genuine acknowledgment.
"Huh? What — why?"
At Yusuke's mildly confused expression, Sasakibe looked up and continued.
"Regarding the matter of Shin'o Academy. The way your departure was handled and the way it was communicated to you was as a withdrawal. An expulsion in all but name."
He added, with a gravity that sat naturally on his features:
"You had defeated the Squad 11 captain. We should have given your achievement proper recognition. Instead, we not only chose not to publicize the result of the fight: we compelled you to leave the school. Matsushita-kun, we are genuinely sorry."
Ah. This.
Yusuke hadn't particularly minded.
He wasn't the type to care much about titles and reputation. Compared to that kind of thing, what he actually cared about was practical gain.
What does a title do for you? When did I ever need people's respect? If I needed that, would I be picking fights with the Squad 11 captain?
Completing the quest was what mattered.
"I'm honestly fine with it."
"I see. You're quite a composed person."
Sasakibe's smile was quiet. Then, in a lower voice, he asked:
"Since we've brought it up: does Matsushita-kun have his own understanding of why things were handled this way?"
Was this an exam now? Some kind of pre-employment interview from a different angle?
After processing that internally, Matsushita Yusuke folded his arms and gave it a moment's genuine thought.
Then he had the answer.
"To prevent others from trying to do the same thing?"
"Correct."
Sasakibe Chojiro's expression opened noticeably.
"Precisely. Because Squad 11's nature is so particular, the discussion we held reached the conclusion that we should minimize the spread of this fight's result as much as possible. The ideal outcome was what we called a 'painless transition.'"
Unlike a thousand years ago, the Soul Society today needed order more than it needed the logic of violence.
So actively promoting Squad 11's philosophy of strength as the only metric: that was itself an unreasonable direction.
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