After all, Suzuki Makoto was not a person of this world, and the Yellow Turbans were not something he had created merely to satisfy his own vanity. If the Yellow Turbans were to collapse after he and Black Jeanne departed, causing the Soul Society to revert to its past state, he would never be able to forgive himself.
Of course, he was willing to support Aizen in attacking the Soul King Palace. However, what to do after that—how to continue maintaining the Three Worlds and ensure the Yellow Turbans could smoothly transition into a stable phase—was what Suzuki Makoto truly wanted to accomplish.
The issue of the Three Worlds, or rather the foundation known as the Soul King, was easy to handle. Aizen had no interest in the Soul King itself, and even if an accident occurred, there was still Yhwach as a backup option. Aizen and Kisuke Urahara even possessed the ability to create an artificial Soul King replacement together, so maintaining the Three Worlds would not be difficult.
The troublesome point lay in how to make the Yellow Turbans completely replace the nobles, or rather, replace the Seireitei's current order.
Because the lifespans of Shinigami are exceedingly long—and the more powerful the Shinigami, the harder it is to see their limit—the concept of time bringing about change is difficult to witness in the Soul Society. Class issues are usually resolved through the simplest form of violence; otherwise, the boundary between the Seireitei and the Rukongai would not have remained unchanged for a thousand years.
However, no matter how long their lives, signs of aging can still be seen eventually. Thus, Shinigami will not live forever. The only ones who can remain immortal alongside the Soul King are the members of the Zero Division.
There are no members of noble origin within the Zero Division, and they themselves have no superfluous sentimental attachment to the Soul Society. As long as nothing interferes with their protection of the Soul King, they do not care. Therefore, as long as the Zero Division feels that the order maintained by the nobles is inferior to the order maintained by the Yellow Turbans, they will not do anything unnecessary. Instead, they would be happy to let the Gotei 13 stop maintaining the nobles' rule and merge into the Yellow Turbans.
Sosuke Aizen only needs to consider how to fight his way up to the Soul King Palace, but Suzuki Makoto, as the founder of the Yellow Turbans, has a mountain of things to consider.
"But we will arrive at the Soul King Palace eventually, Suzuki-kun."
"And we will eventually leave the Soul King Palace, Aizen-kun."
Sosuke Aizen gazed at Suzuki Makoto, somewhat puzzled by the man's definitive attitude. Why did this man feel that above the Soul King, there was an even higher stage?
"Are you so certain?"
"At least there is still Hell, isn't there?"
"That is true."
Suzuki Makoto still did not reveal any specific information.
"In that case, I will have Gin and Kaname accept the nobles' recruitment. With the addition of them, as well as the 2nd Division, 6th Division, and 10th Division, this power should be enough to let the nobles' ambitions continue to swell—it really is interesting. The more powerless people are, the more they cling greedily to power."
"After all, that is the only thing they have left, isn't it?"
On the second day after the Reishi fluctuation incident subsided, Suzuki Makoto welcomed an unexpected guest.
"Mr. Makoto."
"Miss Jeanne? Have you not returned yet?"
"Ah, because there is quite a lot of equipment, and our transport dragon carriage also developed some issues during the Reishi fluctuation earlier, we need to take some time for repairs. So, we have no choice but to intrude upon the Eastern Branch for a while longer."
"I imagine the Captain-Commander won't mind—but what brings you to see me?"
The man was somewhat surprised. The young girl before him did not look like a battle maniac like Retsu Unohana.
"It's like this: I want to take advantage of this time to have more contact with your Miss Jeanne. I wonder if that would be possible..."
"She might not be able to come to the Seireitei for the time being."
"Ah, I know that. Therefore, I was thinking of going to the Rukongai to pay a visit. Also, I have frequently heard the name of the organization you founded during this time, so I came to apply to you."
"For something like this, shouldn't Miss Jeanne apply to the Captain-Commander first?"
It wasn't that Suzuki Makoto was unwilling, but since Jeanne was not a local and carried a certain status as a diplomatic envoy, he didn't want to make things difficult for the Eastern Branch.
"The Captain-Commander has already agreed."
Although this Jeanne d'Arc had no scheming mind, she was obviously very clear about the rules of conduct.
"Since that is the case, then I have no objections. I will notify her to come and pick you up. Just tell me when you are ready."
"I just need to go back and get my luggage."
"Alright, I will notify her now."
Closing the door, he contacted Black Jeanne once again using the Command Seal.
"Hah? Why does that guy want to come over to the Yellow Turbans all of a sudden?"
"I don't know. Maybe she wants to experience the folk customs and sentiments of the Eastern Branch?"
"Can't you refuse?"
"She has the Captain-Commander's application approval, and I can see that you don't reject her either. Isn't it good to make another friend?"
"It's not good! Who said I don't reject her! I'm annoyed to death by that guy!"
Hearing the familiar tone, Suzuki Makoto knew her old bad habits were flaring up again.
"If you don't agree, I will force you to agree. In short, you must get along well with her during this time, understand?"
"Tch, you only know how to threaten me with Command Seals..."
It sounded like she agreed reluctantly on the other end, but Suzuki Makoto had long been accustomed to her attitude. This girl, Black Jeanne, simply lacked an existence like White Jeanne staying by her side constantly.
Or perhaps a partner who could "wallow in the mire" with her would also do.
Soon, Suzuki Makoto and Jeanne, waiting at the gate of the Seireitei, saw Black Jeanne rushing over.
"Hello, Miss Jeanne."
"...Hello."
Although it sounded a bit awkward, Black Jeanne still responded to the greeting with a reluctant expression on her face.
"Then we will set off first. Thank you, Mr. Makoto."
"You're welcome. If there is any lack of hospitality, please bear with us."
"You are too polite."
After leaving the Spirit Court, the two Jeannes walked side by side toward the outskirts of the Rukongai.
"Hey, I say, how long are you going to stay here?"
"I will stay for a while. I have handed over the Western Branch's return team to my deputy; he will arrange everything properly."
"Hah? Is it Gilles?"
"Gilles? I haven't found Gilles. Do you know where Gilles is? How is he doing now?"
This question silenced Black Jeanne. She didn't know how to describe the Gilles de Rais she had seen. Could she say he was an evil warlock who used children as sacrifices?
Perhaps noticing Black Jeanne's embarrassment, Jeanne changed the subject.
"Speaking of which, how were you born?"
Black Jeanne fell into silence once again. She couldn't very well say she appeared due to the resentment of being burned to death, could she? Facts had already proven that whether it was the Jeanne of her own world or the Jeanne of this world, neither held any resentment over that event; they only regretted not having done enough.
"Stop asking questions."
"Oh, okay."
____
New Story: Danmachi: But I am a God, time to make a family!
🔥 25% off something at the funeral parlor... care to take a look? 🔥
✅ Read 40 chapters ahead on all series.
✅ Get exclusive content and updates.
Help us hit our targets:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 free chapter for all
🚀 140 MEMBERS = +5 bonus chapters (all stories)!
👻 P - Walnutchan