Or Face the Consequences!
1: Chapter 1: Join Us…
Or Face the Consequences!
Soul Society.
The Shin’ō Spiritual Arts Academy, Grand Hall.
At this moment, a massive crowd of graduates had gathered here for their graduation ceremony.
It was a vital turning point in the lives of these prospective Soul Reapers: choosing their division.
Though for a Soul Reaper, one’s assigned squad was not necessarily a lifelong commitment like marriage, without a compelling reason, ordinary Soul Reapers’ transfer applications were almost always rejected.
In fact, for certain hot-tempered Captains, there was no such thing as a “divorce”—only “widowhood.” However, while the Academy’s old principal was still droning on in his speech, reminding the graduates standing at attention below to choose their divisions carefully, a burly, villainous-looking man standing to the side—wearing a somewhat tattered haori, his hair spiky like a hedgehog—shoved the speaking old principal aside.
Tilting his head, he spoke with utter dissatisfaction.
“Prattling on and on…
that’s enough.
I’m almost out of patience!” Without giving the slightest damn about the principal’s ghastly expression, the man looked down at the large crowd of green, naive graduates below.
His wild, beast-like gaze swept over them as he spoke.
“What a pain.
Anyway, I cut down the old Squad 11 Captain, Kiganjō Kenpachi.
I’m the new Captain of Squad 11, Kenpachi Zaraki…” The scar on Kenpachi Zaraki’s face twitched.
That nonchalant yet terrifying declaration made more than a few graduates shudder involuntarily.
To these ordinary graduates of the Shin’ō Spiritual Arts Academy, becoming a Seated Officer in the Gotei 13 was already a remarkable achievement; rising to Lieutenant, or even a true Captain, was an almost unimaginable dream.
Yet the savage man standing before them had actually killed a Captain, taking the title of new Captain in such a terrifying manner.
*Gulp…* Amidst the subtle sound of nervous swallowing from the graduates, Kenpachi Zaraki grinned.
“Squad 11 lost a lot of people.
Kids who love to fight and slaughter, join my squad.” However, what should have sounded like an invitation sounded more like a blatant threat coming out of Kenpachi Zaraki’s mouth, implicitly conveying a clear message: *Join…
or I’ll cut you down!* For a moment, dead silence fell over the entire hall, as if a frigid wind had swept through.
Watching the colossal frame of Kenpachi Zaraki on the podium, fear showed in the eyes of countless graduates.
Were there really that many vacancies in Squad 11 because the new Captain, Kenpachi Zaraki, had personally bathed the squad in blood with his blade?
Just as the scene fell into an awkward silence, a little pink-haired girl suddenly popped out from behind Kenpachi Zaraki’s back and sat on his shoulder.
Reaching out her tiny hand, she patted the terrifyingly fierce man and pouted.
“Kenny, you’re going to scare everyone like that.” To the graduates’ surprise, the devil-like man showed no anger at the pink-haired girl’s disrespect.
He merely crossed his arms over his chest and said dismissively, “Cowards who lose their drive to fight and kill just from a few words of mine aren’t fit to serve under me anyway.” “Now, now, that won’t do, Kenny!
If this keeps up, Squad 11 won’t have anyone left to play with me…” As she spoke, the pink-haired girl gave the graduates a sweet smile, the cute blush on her face becoming even more distinct as her crisp voice rang out.
“Hey, hey!
I’m Yachiru Kusajishi, Lieutenant of Squad 11!
All of you, join Squad 11 and play with me!” Instantly hit by a charm offensive from a little girl, the eyes of many graduates who witnessed this couldn’t help but light up.
For graduates of the Shin’ō Spiritual Arts Academy, basic information about the Gotei 13 was essential coursework.
However, because Kenpachi Zaraki’s public challenge and kill of the former Squad 11 Captain, Kiganjō Kenpachi, had occurred so recently, the information hadn’t yet been updated at the Academy.
As a result, this year’s batch of graduates lacked a basic understanding of Squad 11’s new Captain, Kenpachi Zaraki, and his Lieutenant, Yachiru Kusajishi.
Realizing that a battle division traditionally dominated by muscled meatheads now contained such an adorable little girl, many graduates who weren’t opposed to fighting and killing felt their hearts flutter.
She looked just like Captain Kenpachi Zaraki’s daughter!
If one could earn the favor of this pink-haired little girl, wouldn’t their career soar?
Marrying into favor with the girl, getting special care from the Captain…
forget becoming a Seated Officer, maybe there was even a shot at becoming the next Captain!
Meanwhile, Makoto Senju, blending into the crowd of graduates, looked at the eager spark in his classmates’ eyes and shrank his neck back, trying his best to keep a low profile to avoid drawing the interest of Kenpachi Zaraki or Yachiru Kusajishi.
Play with Yachiru Kusajishi?
They’d probably get broken in an instant!
Others might not know, but Makoto Senju knew Zaraki and Yachiru all too well.
Kenpachi Zaraki: a monstrous beast who lived for pure battle and slaughter!
Yachiru Kusajishi: a little girl adopted by Kenpachi Zaraki, with a mischievous personality and a habit of giving everyone weird nicknames.
Moreover, Yachiru Kusajishi’s true identity was extremely mysterious.
She seemed to possess an inseparable bond with Kenpachi Zaraki.
In fact, in Makoto’s memories from his past life, many theories pointed to the highly popular little girl being the true identity of Kenpachi Zaraki’s Zanpakuto Bankai.
Of course, none of that had much to do with Makoto Senju.
He had long since decided on his squad destination and goal.
Following the reckless speeches from Squad 11 Captain Kenpachi Zaraki and Lieutenant Yachiru Kusajishi, the representatives from the other present squads began making their speeches one after another.
Naturally, unlike Kenpachi Zaraki’s absurd recruitment pitch, the representatives from the other squads spoke mostly of practical matters—such as specific duties, benefits, working environments, and promotion prospects.
After all, when it came to squad selection, the graduates were granted a degree of autonomy.
Just like romance, the Captain-Commander’s intent behind squad selection was a mutual arrangement: the squad provided satisfactory conditions, and the graduates dedicated their bodies.
Very reasonable.
Of course, unlike Kenpachi Zaraki attending in person as the Captain of Squad 11, most of the other squads sent Seated Officers, or at most Lieutenants.
No other Captain appeared in person.
Still, that was normal.
In the Soul Society, Captains stood at the absolute pinnacle of Soul Reapers.
The routine division selection of ordinary graduates wasn’t enough to attract any sane Captain.