Chapter 114: Satoru, How Dare You?
Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi felt his hands trembling slightly.
He had been a Shinigami for quite some time and had witnessed no shortage of brutal scenes.
He had even experienced situations where his comrades were snatched away by Hollows and had their heads bitten off in a single gulp.
But now, as he watched the young man before him—eyes gleaming with excitement—stomping on a charred corpse while occasionally stabbing it with his sword, he couldn't help but feel an indescribable sense of dread.
Was the mental state of this squad commander, personally appointed by the Captain-Commander, really okay?
Instinctively, he glanced to the side, wanting to see how the others were reacting.
There, he saw Yoruichi walking over with a curious expression.
The girl crouched beside Satoru and lifted the head of the person lying on the ground.
Then, her eyes lit up with pleasant surprise.
The others, too, showed expressions of shock and joy once they clearly saw the charred face.
Rōjūrō, however, widened his eyes in disbelief.
The person beneath Satoru's foot was none other than their former captain—Rennosuke Kamikawa!
What… what in the world had happened?
Satoru stabbed his sword into Rennosuke's right hand and warned,
"Be careful. This guy's been trying to take me down with him the whole time."
Ever since they emerged from the Bankai space, Rennosuke had been acting like a madman, constantly looking for an opportunity to land a fatal blow on him.
In response, Satoru made sure to stab Rennosuke every time he showed any sign of movement.
Since childhood, he had been a persistent boy—if he kept stabbing Rennosuke, the man would eventually behave.
Under the watchful eyes of the group, he twisted the blade embedded in Rennosuke's hand and asked,
"Hey, hey, Rennosuke, who sent you this time?"
"And where is Captain Takada now?"
Rennosuke snorted coldly, about to speak—
But Satoru suddenly cut him off. "Listen well, Rennosuke. Think carefully before you answer."
"If you can name someone powerful enough to scare me, I might spare your life for negotiation purposes."
"But if you're just here on your own, as the commander of this special anti-bandit squad, I have every right to execute you on the spot."
Then, he turned to Kensei, who looked dumbfounded. "Captain Kensei, am I right?"
Kensei nodded reflexively. "You were appointed by the Captain-Commander. I'll follow your orders…"
Satoru then looked at Rōjūrō.
Rōjūrō hesitated. "C-Commander Satoru, maybe we should just bind him with a Kidō spell… Stepping on him like this isn't really…"
Hearing this, Rennosuke's expression changed.
As his former captain, he knew Rōjūrō's personality all too well.
Given the boy's intelligence and reaction speed, if Satoru's position as commander was fabricated, Rōjūrō wouldn't have addressed him so naturally.
Had the Captain-Commander gone to such lengths just to deal with him and Takada?
Satoru continued, "These past few days, someone has been attacking noble estates. I'm sure you've heard about it."
Rennosuke remained silent.
Of course he knew about this matter. The very reason he had been sent here was because of it.
Satoru chuckled cheerfully. "In fact, the purpose of all these actions was to find you and Yasushi - the two traitorous captains."
"Normally, I hate trouble, but I've been forced to go through all this hassle for you two. I've been bottling up quite a bit of anger."
"Not to mention, there's already bad blood between us."
"Right now, I sincerely hope you refuse to talk. That way, killing you would be completely justified."
As he spoke, he pulled the sword from Rennosuke's hand and slowly pressed the blade against the latter's neck.
Feeling the sharp edge of the Zanpakutō against his skin, beads of sweat formed on Rennosuke's forehead.
Just as Satoru said, there was too much history between them.
Not only did he want to kill Satoru, but Satoru had undoubtedly been wanting to kill him too.
While thinking this, he suddenly sensed Satoru's blade subtly inching closer, as if planning to "accidentally" kill him!
He quickly exclaimed, "Satoru! If you kill me, you'll be making an enemy of someone you can't afford to cross!"
Satoru laughed. "There aren't many in the Soul Society I can't afford to cross."
"With your limited capabilities, what kind of powerful backer could you possibly have?"
"Even if you don't say it, I can guess. It's Tsunayashiro Takatori, right?"
"Don't worry, a mere third-generation member of the Tsunayashiro family is nothing to me."
"Have a good journey. I'll burn some paper money for you."
With that, he began to press the blade down.
"Wait!"
Seeing that Satoru wasn't bluffing, Rennosuke finally panicked.
He remembered a story Yasushi Takada had once told him.
Captains like them couldn't simply dissipate after death, their souls remaining in the Soul Society would disrupt the world's order.
To solve this, the Soul Society used a secret technique to send their souls to Hell, where they would engage in endless battles.
He wasn't afraid of death, but he absolutely didn't want to be sent to Hell.
Even for a Shinigami, Hell was too dark, too hopeless.
Prostrate on the ground, he gritted his teeth and said, "Fine, since you want to know, I'll tell you."
"Have everyone leave, and I'll tell you about... mmm!!"
Before he could finish, Satoru pressed the sword down, stabbing his arms multiple times.
"Idiot, still trying to bargain at a time like this? Do you think my sword isn't sharp enough?"
Writhing in pain, Rennosuke's face twisted in agony.
Furious and desperate, he blurted out, "Alright! I'll tell you!"
"My backer is none other than Lord Senzaemon Tsunayashiro!"
"Well then, Satoru, do you dare oppose the Tsunayashiro family, the foremost of the Five Great Noble Houses with a million years of history?!"
Hearing this, Rōjūrō couldn't help but take a step back.
Kensei's eyes widened.
The others present showed various degrees of strange expressions.
Satoru closed his eyes, searching for the tracking Kidō he had previously placed on Tsunayashiro Takatori.
After a few seconds, he looked at Kōga.
"Time to make the arrest."
"Noble District, 229, west courtyard annex, second room on the right after entering."
Kōga nodded.
He took two steps back and bowed to Satoru.
"My thanks."
Then, with a flash, he disappeared from the room.
Watching Kōga vanish, Rennosuke suddenly realized something wasn't right.
His eyes widened. "Wait, Satoru, what are you doing?"
Something about the address this guy just mentioned felt off!
With two swift sword strikes, Satoru pierced through Rennosuke's Soul Chain and Soul Sleep.
Then, he kicked the latter aside and casually cast a binding spell on him.
"What am I doing?"
He tore off his tattered upper garments and sat down in a nearby chair.
"Using your confession to capture Tsunayashiro, of course!"
Hearing this, Rennosuke ignored the agony of his spiritual energy draining rapidly from his body, his eyes filled with despair and terror.
How... how dare this guy?!