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The same scene.
It was unfolding simultaneously across every corner of the Gotei Thirteen.
Fifth Division.Underground Base.
"Eh… eh… eh…"
"Captain Aizen, this is incredible! Looks like we've stumbled onto another huge discovery!"Beneath his pale violet bangs, Ichimaru Gin's eyes were no longer half-lidded. They were stretched wide open, every bit of white showing.
At this moment, his gaze was filled with a storm of emotions.
Shock. Doubt. Excitement. And… a faint, deeply buried unease.
That's right.The fox-faced man's heart was a mess of contradictions.
On one hand, he couldn't understand where this title, "Second Head Captain," had even come from.On the other, because he believed the video itself was real, an unsettling worry crept in.
What if that title was real?
What if, in the future, Kyōraku Shunsui really did become the second Head Captain?
Then…
Where did that leave old man Yamamoto?
Don't tell me he was… dead?
The moment that thought surfaced, Gin felt his breath hitch.
That old man was the strongest Shinigami in a thousand years.Who in this world could possibly kill him?
"Second Head Captain…"
Aizen didn't respond to Gin's comment.
He simply stared at the screen, his mind racing through possibilities of his own.
As the shadowy mastermind who toyed with the Gotei Thirteen like pieces on a board, anything Gin could think of, Aizen had already considered.
And yet…
Even with those words clearly displayed before him, Aizen still found it hard to believe.Deep down, however, a trace of anticipation quietly bloomed.
Could it be…
That in the not-so-distant future, Soul Society truly fell to an invasion by pure-blood Quincy?
If that happened, with the Head Captain gone…
There would be no one left capable of stopping him from replacing the Soul King.
Eleventh Division.
"Th-this… can't be real, right?"
Their pupils shook violently.
The trio from Squad Eleven stood frozen in place.
The joy they had felt just moments ago, basking in Zaraki Kenpachi's valor, was instantly swallowed by a creeping chill.
"I'm not questioning Captain Kyōraku's strength. He's like Captain Zaraki, easily among the top tier of captains!"
"But… how could he possibly become the second Head Captain?!"
Madaram Ikkaku was drenched in sweat, his thoughts in complete disarray.
Back then, when he was still roaming Rukongai with Ayasegawa Yumichika, Yamamoto Genryūsai's name had already been carved deep into his soul.
Even now!
Across all of Soul Society, no one dared to question the Head Captain's authority. No one even entertained the idea of replacing him.
Old man Yamamoto was the Head Captain of the Gotei Thirteen.
That was an ironclad law that would never change.
And precisely because of that, Ikkaku found this utterly absurd.
So absurd that his first instinct was to doubt the subtitles themselves.
But then…
If the video wasn't real, how were they supposed to explain all of Captain Zaraki's battles?
If it was all fake…
Didn't that mean they'd just gotten excited for nothing?
"Second Head Captain… that just means the old man's dead, doesn't it? What a load of crap."Kenpachi snorted, completely unconcerned, clearly not taking the words seriously at all.
"I'd rather believe the video's fake than let myself get fooled by this nonsense!"
He ground his teeth, roaring in irritation.
"The Head Captain… that old monster who's even more of a beast than me. There's no way someone kills him in the future!"
The Human World.Karakura Town, outskirts.
Inside the Visoreds' hideout, the reaction was much the same.
"No way! Absolutely impossible!"
"Kyōraku Shunsui, that freewheeling, laid-back guy, becoming the Head Captain of the Gotei Thirteen?"
"And who would he be replacing? Old man Yamamoto, of all people!"
…
The moment the subtitles appeared, the Visoreds' first reaction was disbelief.
Compared to the current captains, they had worked alongside Kyōraku extensively a hundred years ago, before their exile from Soul Society. They knew that easygoing middle-aged man far too well.
Setting everything else aside…
Even if the old man truly met an unfortunate end in the future and a successor had to be chosen, then by reputation and seniority alone, shouldn't Captain Unohana Retsu be the first choice?
Kyōraku Shunsui clearly wasn't the kind of leader who would win everyone over.
"So, what do you all think?"
Hirako Shinji broke the silence first.
Even he, usually so flippant, wore a serious expression now, not daring to joke around.
After all…
Everything shown in these ranking videos so far had proven to be true.That much, they had all already acknowledged.
"I don't know. I can't make sense of it either. I think everyone feels the same," Sarugaki Lisa said quietly, lowering the magazine in her hands.
Back then, she had been Kyōraku's lieutenant.
No one understood him better than she did.
Which was exactly why she found it even harder to believe that he could ever become the leader of all Shinigami.
"…"
The group nodded in silence.
The doubt in their hearts refused to fade.
And just then—
The subtitles slowly disappeared, replaced by a familiar scene that had appeared before.
Karakura Town's city center.
And then…
A brand-new voice, one they had never heard before, rang out.
"Someone once said…"
"When facing a common enemy, banding together is a uniquely human vice. But… as an artist, I don't quite agree with that."
Beneath long, wavy blond hair stood a man dressed in a perfectly tailored, ornate suit.
As the camera drifted upward, Ōtoribashi Rōjūrō was revealed, standing calmly in midair.
"That's right. Because… we are all heroes!"
Another rough, powerful voice followed.
With an afro and a relaxed demeanor, Aikawa Love walked up to stand beside his companion.
The moment the two appeared, shockwaves rippled through the Gotei Thirteen.
"Who are they?!"
In the Tenth Division, Hitsugaya Tōshirō frowned in confusion.
He had never seen these two before.
"Are they humans? No… that can't be right."After carefully sensing them, Matsumoto Rangiku's expression changed drastically."They have captain-level spiritual pressure!"
Not just that.
The sheer density of their reiatsu far surpassed that of an ordinary captain.
They were far stronger than Captain Hitsugaya was now.
So just who… were they?
Second Division.
"Are those reinforcements?"
As the commander of the Stealth Force, Soifon judged the situation instantly from a single shot.
"It looks like, in that future war against the Arrancar, the Gotei Thirteen were on the losing side, at least for a while."
"C-Captain, seriously? The Espada are that terrifying?"Ōmaeda broke out in a cold sweat.
As the lieutenant, he'd be sent to the battlefield too, wouldn't he?
Would he… die there?
That was way too scary.
"Quiet. Watch."Soifon snapped coldly."Since this round focuses on Captain Kyōraku, these two appearing can't be a coincidence."
At the same time, she couldn't help but secretly wonder whether she herself would appear on screen next.
Fifth Division.Underground Chamber.
Staring at the two figures on the screen, Ichimaru Gin quickly shook off his shock and suspicion.
The corners of his mouth curled upward into a teasing smile.
"Well, well… I've got to say, the viewing experience just keeps getting better. The bombshells are coming so fast it's hard to keep up."
Who would've thought?
The Visoreds, the ones they had once toyed with like lab rats and driven into exile from Soul Society…
After all these years…
Would reappear before them in such a way?
"..."
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