Honestly, Suzuki Makoto hadn't expected that Jeanne Alter would be able to shed the identity of a false creation and truly leave her own mark. Moreover, the text in the remarks also proved that she had gained her own emotions and was no longer an automaton filled with the hatred manufactured and implanted by Gilles de Rais.
However, whether her emotions were more of resentment or something else, it was hard to say now.
He could only prepare for both eventualities—there was fine wine for friends, and a great sword for enemies.
Suzuki Makoto gripped the greatsword before him with his left hand and placed his right on the hilt of Sukunagiri, concentrating fully.
"Bankai: Myriad Purgatory Witch's Sorrow."
The Zanpakuto in his hand instantly vanished, appearing at the waist of the humanoid figure in front of Suzuki Makoto. The black armor, the tattered cape, and the silver hair whose tips seemed dyed by shadows all showcased that she was almost the polar opposite of the true Saint Jeanne d'Arc.
Black Jeanne opened her eyes. For the first time, Suzuki Makoto saw not hatred and rage in those pupils, but lingering sadness and confusion.
"What is this..."
She murmured to herself, examining her body, before finally realizing that the person before her was the opponent she had fought earlier.
Black Jeanne placed her hand on the longsword at her waist, but instead of drawing it, she cast her gaze towards Suzuki Makoto's backhand.
There, the Command Seals, which had once again returned to red, were so dazzling in her eyes.
"You... summoned me out?"
"Is there something wrong with that?"
"Huh? Don't you already have the real one? Honestly, I'm just a twisted imposter, possessing only this disgusting power—but that's no use to you, is it?"
The girl loosened her grip, her body no longer tense, but her face was filled with impatience.
"Are you going to publicly execute me in front of the French again? Hurry up, though I'll tell you, being burned at the stake doesn't work on me anymore."
"I need your help."
"Huh?!! Are you out of your mind! I've killed so many people, I should be the one you hate the most, right? How could you possibly need my help?"
Her voice gradually became somewhat hysterical.
"I am merely a revenger, a witch who only wants to destroy all of France! No matter how many achievements I make, how many lives I save, I can never atone! Gilles created me, but that hatred wasn't planted in my heart by him; I myself wanted to take revenge on them!"
"I know full well that you are someone who has committed heinous crimes, an irredeemable soul burdened by sin, but I still need your power—no matter how many righteous deeds you do, your sins cannot be purged, but the things you do in the future will not be denied because of your sins."
Suzuki Makoto didn't think there was any room for justification for Black Jeanne's actions, but uniting all possible forces was what he urgently needed.
Did those fanatical battle-crazed followers of his, like Ken, have no sin? Had they not committed evil acts of bullying before they met Suzuki Makoto?
Even those slaves liberated by Suzuki Makoto, had they truly never harmed anyone?
Impossible.
As the old man he first met told him, in the Zaraki District, kindness could not survive.
Suzuki Makoto had no ketsujoku no kuseki - cleanliness obsession regarding morals. If he wanted to reshape the order of the Zaraki District, he had to let go of their past.
Black Jeanne certainly couldn't be considered in the same light as the people of the Zaraki District; the evil she committed far surpassed that of any villain in Zaraki. However, if she was willing to fight for a new order, then Suzuki Makoto was willing to accept her into the Yellow Turbans.
Everything would start anew from this moment. If there were any further evil deeds after this, be it Ken, the liberated slaves, or the black Jeanne before him, Suzuki Makoto would not let any of them off.
"...You mean, you need me?"
"I need you."
The resolute answer stunned the young girl. She bit her lip, looked at the man with burning eyes before her, and turned her head away.
"Fine, I agree—what do you need me to do?"
"Start by being my deputy, responsible for handling all the various messages submitted. I need you to be in charge of rear security and logistics while I advance, because this place is not peaceful, and monsters called [Hollows] sometimes cross through spatial rifts. Therefore, the most important thing now is to establish an effective inspection system, not only for monster sweeps but also for internal supervision and..."
"Wait a moment."
"What is it?"
Suzuki Makoto looked at the slightly blushing girl before him with confusion. Logically, wasn't she the dark side of Jeanne d'Arc? She should have been able to handle these matters with ease.
"Um..... I'm illiterate."
The illiterate village girl shamefully admitted this fact.
Because this world had no Throne of Heroes, nor any systematic knowledge infusion like the Holy Grail Wars, Miss Black Jeanne had to start learning all the knowledge of this world from scratch.
Faced with this unexpected fact, Suzuki Makoto had to pause his advance plan.
Instead, he first helped Black Jeanne secure a student spot at the newly established Great Lake Town Elementary School, and then...
He himself, relying on his past experience as a corporate slave, began to manually create an inspection system.
However, Black Jeanne's appearance had already been a great help. After all, Suzuki Makoto had always worried that the inspection system lacked a powerful enforcer, as he himself had to continue advancing towards the inner ring. Now, although the system he manually created might still have issues, at least there was personnel to use.
And Black Jeanne's current form also removed another concern. Because she was only able to manifest by relying on the Zanpakuto and Suzuki Makoto's Command Seals, as long as Suzuki Makoto maintained the Bankai of this Zanpakuto, she could continue indefinitely and could operate independently at a great distance from Suzuki Makoto.
With Black Jeanne's example, Suzuki Makoto did not discard the remaining Asauchi to be used by others. This was because the appraisal of this Zanpakuto had proven that even if the system did not recognize it as an Asauchi, as long as the awakening conditions were met, it could still become his own sword.
Furthermore, Suzuki Makoto had a rather bold plan—if the Asauchi could not accommodate his sword intent, why not try to insert his three awakened swords into the Asauchi first, similar to how Black Jeanne was handled?
____
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