In the First Division meeting room, the atmosphere was heavy and solemn.
Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni stood at the head of the long table, his piercing gaze scanning the Captains present.
"I have convened this meeting to formally announce an important matter. Captain Kirio Hikifune of the Twelfth Division, for her revolutionary development of Artificial Soul Technology, has officially been granted the rare opportunity to be promoted to the Zero Division—the Royal Guard. That is all for this meeting."
As soon as his cane tapped the floor to signal the end of the announcement, a wave of warm congratulations filled the meeting room.
"Congratulations, Captain Hikifune!"
"Captain Hikifune, that's truly amazing!"
Kirio smiled humbly, adjusting the sash of her haori. "Thank you, everyone. It was just a stroke of academic luck. To be recognized by the Royal Guard is an unexpected joy."
Jūshirō Ukitake smiled warmly from his seat. "Captain Hikifune, please do not be so modest. Your technology is a massive boon to the entire Soul Society."
Kazuma also stepped forward, offering his sincere congratulations. "Captain Hikifune, congratulations. I was just thinking of returning to ask for more guidance on your Soul research, but I didn't expect you to be leaving us so soon."
Kirio replied with a bright smile, "Captain Kazuma, if you are genuinely interested in that specific field, I'll have Hiyori compile a copy of my foundational research notes and send them over to the Seventh Division. I hope it will be of some help to you."
Her smile softened, a trace of motherly concern entering her eyes. "Also, after I leave, I beg you... please keep an eye on that child, Hiyori. She can be quite a handful, and she is taking my departure very hard."
Kazuma nodded, his expression turning serious. "Don't worry, Captain. I'll make sure Hiyori is looked after."
Kirio bowed her head gratefully. "Then I will be counting on you, Captain Kazuma."
With the meeting adjourned, the Captains began to file out of the room one by one, returning to their respective duties.
However, Kazuma remained standing near his seat.
"Kazuma, let's go. Come back to the 8th Division with me for a drink," Shunsui offered as he passed by.
It had been a few weeks since they had shared a bottle of premium sake.
Hearing this, Kazuma turned to look at Shunsui and smiled faintly.
"Shunsui, thank you for the kind offer, but not today." His voice carried a hint of genuine apology.
Shunsui was slightly taken aback, then chuckled. "Haha, what's up? Do you actually have something important to do for once?"
Kazuma nodded. "Yes. I need to discuss something privately with the Captain-Commander."
A flicker of sharp curiosity crossed Shunsui's eyes beneath the shadow of his straw hat, but his laid-back smile never wavered.
He patted Kazuma's shoulder.
"Alright. In that case, come find me for a drink after you're done saving the world."
With that, Shunsui turned and strolled out of the meeting room.
Kazuma watched Shunsui's back disappear through the heavy wooden doors, sighing inaudibly with relief.
He knew Shunsui was a reasonable, highly perceptive man who wouldn't pry unnecessarily.
But right now, Kazuma desperately needed to talk to Yamamoto alone.
The timeline was shifting, and he needed to lay some groundwork.
"Kazuma. You stayed behind to ask about the Royal Guard, didn't you?" Yamamoto's gravelly voice broke the silence.
He had remained at the head of the table, his eyes closed.
"Captain-Commander, inquiring about the Royal Guard is only part of it. I have other, far more critical matters to report to you," Kazuma said. "Perhaps we should speak in your private office."
Yamamoto opened one eye, studying him intensely. "Let us go, then. I'm very curious to hear what you consider 'critical'."
Moments later, Kazuma followed Yamamoto into the heavily fortified Captain-Commander's office.
The heavy doors clicked shut behind them.
"Captain-Commander, the duty of the Royal Guard is to protect the Soul King Palace and the Soul King himself, correct?" Kazuma stated as soon as the door closed, instantly bringing the most heavily guarded secret of the Soul Society out into the open.
A terrifyingly sharp, murderous glint flashed in Yamamoto's eyes. "How do you know that?"
"Woah! Captain-Commander, please don't get so worked up," Kazuma raised his hands defensively.
"Don't think that I just spend my days drinking sake and wandering around doing nothing. I've gathered a substantial amount of deep intelligence."
"Gathering intelligence?" Yamamoto scoffed, his hand resting casually—yet dangerously—near his cane.
"Is that not the designated duty of the 8th Division?"
Kazuma met the old man's fiery gaze without flinching. "Don't worry about Shunsui. I have my own, entirely separate channels. Not only do I know about the true existence and mission of the Royal Guard, but I also know that including Kirio, there are now exactly five members up there. The leader is Ichibē Hyōsube, the 'Monk Who Calls the True Name,' whose Zanpakutō commands absolute rules—the very power you refused to tell me about centuries ago. There's also Ōetsu Nimaiya, who forged the first Zanpakutō, Tenjirō Kirinji, and Senjumaru Shutara."
Hearing Kazuma effortlessly rattle off the highly classified identities of the Zero Division, the faint, mocking smile vanished from Yamamoto's face entirely, replaced by an aura of suffocating pressure.
He stared intently at Kazuma, his voice dropping to a terrifying rumble.
"What else do you know?"
Kazuma hesitated for a fraction of a second, his heart pounding against his ribs, but he decided to be as frank as possible.
He took a deep breath and answered, "I know the truth about the Soul King."
Those two words made Yamamoto's face instantly turn grim.
His eyes flared with unyielding vigilance.
In a blur of motion, he slammed his hand onto the hilt of Ryūjin Jakka, simultaneously erecting an incredibly dense, soundproof Kidō Barrier around the entire office.
"How do you know about this?" Yamamoto asked coldly, unsheathing his blade an inch. "I was certain that absolutely no information regarding the true state of the Soul King could have possibly leaked to the lower Seireitei."
Seeing the Captain-Commander actively prepare for a life-or-death execution, Kazuma felt a massive wave of cold sweat break out across his back.
He quickly waved his hands, stepping back. "Hey! Hey! Captain-Commander, calm down! Put the sword away and let me explain!"
Yamamoto gripped Ryūjin Jakka tightly, the temperature in the room already beginning to rise.
"Captain-Commander, please believe me, I have zero ill intentions toward the Soul Society!" Kazuma hurriedly explained.
"As for the truth of the Soul King... I saw it. But please rest assured, I will not breathe a single word of it to anyone else."
"You said you saw it?" Yamamoto's grip on the hilt tightened, his eyes narrowing to slits.
"Explain. Now."
Kazuma forced his racing heart to calm down.
He looked Yamamoto directly in the eye and said, "Captain-Commander, you know the exact circumstances of how I woke up from my centuries-long slumber."
Yamamoto nodded slowly, not lowering his guard. "I do. Unohana reported that Yhwach's corrupting power was violently entangled within your soul, and that you somehow absorbed that Quincy power to forcibly awaken yourself."
"That is exactly what happened," Kazuma nodded slightly. "But the key is how I managed to absorb a power that should have completely eradicated my soul. You don't know the exact mechanics of that, do you?"
Yamamoto shook his head. "Unohana could not explain the phenomenon, because she did not understand the evolution herself."
Kazuma exhaled smoothly, preparing to drop his final lie. "The truth is, during the extermination war against the Lichtreich a thousand years ago... I hadn't actually learned Bankai at all."
Yamamoto's eyes widened in disbelief.
The sheer absurdity of the statement momentarily broke his killing intent.
"Say that again."
Kazuma repeated, his voice steady, "I said I hadn't mastered Bankai back then. I slaughtered those Sternritter using only the raw power of my Shikai."
Yamamoto was silent for a long, heavy moment before nodding slowly, the pieces clicking together in his mind.
"I see. You finally achieved true Bankai while trapped within your own soul, fighting for survival during your slumber. That evolutionary breakthrough is how you were able to overpower and absorb Yhwach's residual energy. So, your ability to 'see' the truth of the Soul King... is that also a clairvoyant power you gained after achieving Bankai?"
"Yes," Kazuma lied flawlessly. "When I fully connected with Hokushin Raitei's domain, my perception expanded beyond the physical realm. I saw the absolute essence of the Three Worlds. I saw how the original Soul King used his power to divide the chaotic primordial world into the Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, and the World of the Living. And... I saw the process of how he was betrayed, dismembered, and sealed into a limbless crystal battery by the Founders of the Five Great Noble Families to act as a permanent linchpin."
Kazuma spoke the final words cautiously, aware of Yamamoto's body language, genuinely unsure if the Captain-Commander would fly into a rage and execute him for simply knowing the ugly, shameful truth of their world's foundation.
'My apologies, Captain-Commander,' Kazuma thought internally. 'The truth is, I'm a transmigrator who watched an anime! Everything I just said about clairvoyance was a complete lie to deceive you, except for the part about me genuinely not knowing Bankai during the war.'
That truth was Kazuma's biggest secret, one he would never reveal, even in death.
Explode in silence, or perish in silence!
Yamamoto's eyes were piercing as he stared at Kazuma, his gaze as scorching and deadly as a burning flame.
However, he did not draw his blade. Instead, he fell into deep, heavy thought.
Time seemed to freeze entirely, and the office was filled with an overwhelmingly tense, suffocating atmosphere.
Finally, Yamamoto broke the agonizing silence. His voice was low, rumbling with the weight of centuries of duty.
"Kazuma. Tell me the truth right now. What exactly is your attitude towards the Soul Society?"
This question hit the room like a thunderclap, making even Kazuma flinch slightly.
The old man was evaluating whether Kazuma was a threat to the stability of the universe.
Kazuma clearly hadn't expected the Captain-Commander to ask such a deeply philosophical question.
A flash of genuine surprise crossed his face, but he quickly regained his composure.
He straightened his back, meeting the ancient Shinigami's fiery gaze without an ounce of hesitation.
"The Soul Society?" Kazuma's tone was incredibly firm. "To me, this is not just a military organization or a temporary afterlife. It is my home."
"Here, I have you, the man I respect the most. I have my beloved wife, Batsu'unsai. I have Shunsui, Ukitake, and the rest of my friends. They are all vital, irreplaceable parts of my life, and I am willing to give absolutely everything I have to protect them. Therefore, no matter what horrific truths I learn about our past, or what apocalyptic challenges we face in the future... I will not hesitate to step forward and defend the peace and order of my home."
Kazuma's words were filled with raw determination and unshakeable loyalty.
A resolute, unyielding light shone in his eyes, proving his sincerity to the man who had founded the Gotei 13.
Yamamoto was silent for a very long time.
The oppressive heat in the room slowly dissipated, and the old man slowly released his white-knuckled grip on the hilt of Ryūjin Jakka.
He gave Kazuma a deep, complex look, his voice carrying a solemn warning.
"Remember this well, Kazuma. This matter is never to be mentioned again, to anyone. The continued existence of the Soul King, in his current state, is the only thing maintaining the stability of the entire cosmos. If this truth leaks out and sparks a rebellion, the consequences for the Three Worlds will be utterly unimaginable."
Kazuma nodded repeatedly, indicating he understood the gravity of the situation perfectly.
He was secretly, overwhelmingly relieved that the Captain-Commander hadn't just incinerated him on the spot.
It seemed the darkest secret of the Soul Society was indeed no laughing matter, and he had barely managed to talk his way out of an execution.
He would have to be infinitely more cautious with his metaknowledge in the future.
---------
Read 30 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator