__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
At that moment.
Out in the suburbs of Karakura Town, inside an abandoned warehouse…
"Tsk tsk… that sly old fox Urahara Kisuke finally gets to show off a little. I knew he'd been hiding his real strength this whole time…"
From the rust-eaten, half-collapsed metal ceiling, Hirako Shinji hung upside down like a bat.
His face, framed by his bowl-cut, was full of obvious envy.
Through the transparent screen projected in the center of the warehouse, the Visoreds were all watching the ranking video.
Unlike Urahara's careful, guarded reaction, the ever-casual Hirako didn't bother overthinking anything. He was just impressed by how cool the shopkeeper looked.
"Baldy, you're right. Urahara does look kind of cool in that clip. But don't forget the ranking just started. There are still fourteen empty slots!"
"If he can get on the list…"
"Why can't we?"
Hiyori Sarugaki planted her hands on her hips, chin tilted up with full bratty confidence.
She didn't think she was any worse than Urahara Kisuke.
Sure, she could admit it:
A fully chanted Kido #91 was insane.
But the Visoreds had their own trump card—Hollowfication.
Exactly.
In Hiyori's mind, as long as they had a chance to show off their Hollow forms, the Visoreds absolutely deserved a spot on that list.
Not far away, Muguruma Kensei was lifting dumbbells, sweat dripping everywhere, speaking with total confidence: "Hiyori's right. Experience, strength—there's no reason I'd lose to Urahara. There's definitely a place for me in the top fifteen."
"That's what I think too!"
Aikawa Love agreed.
So did Ōtoribashi Rōjūrō.
Even the honest, dependable Hachigen Ushōda—former Lieutenant of the Kidō Corps—was quietly thinking the same thing.
Every one of the Visoreds firmly believed they would appear somewhere in the upcoming rankings.
Just then, the paused screen flickered back to life.
Subtitles appeared.
The next entry had begun.
[NO. 14]
[Noble Pride — Kuchiki Byakuya]
—
"Huh?"
"Kuchiki Byakuya… why does that name sound familiar?"
"Idiot. That's Ginrei Kuchiki's grandson!"
"No way. That brat who used to run around in crotchless training pants a hundred years ago? How's he top-tier?"
"Right? I don't buy this!"
The group stared at the words on the screen, seriously considering whether they were hallucinating. Not a single one of them was willing to accept the ranking.
Sure, they remembered Kuchiki Byakuya as a prodigy.
Under the full support of then–6th Division Captain Ginrei Kuchiki, young Byakuya had been raised with sky-high expectations.
But potential wasn't strength.
No matter how talented he was, no matter how privileged his upbringing… there was no way he could surpass the old guard in just a century and break into the top fifteen of the entire Soul Society.
It just wasn't realistic.
"Maybe it's a mistake?"
Hirako blinked and forced an excuse. "Feels like the video creator is trolling us for laughs."
"Probably!"
"That Byakuya kid—didn't Yoruichi mention he's the current 6th Division Captain?" Kensei scoffed, unimpressed. "If he were really that strong, Yoruichi would brag nonstop. As his former mentor, she wouldn't keep her mouth shut."
"I'm not buying it! This ranking is seriously suspicious."
"I wanna see for myself what that brat did to deserve the spot!"
The warehouse erupted.
Not one of these century-old captains accepted the result.
Kuchiki Byakuya at rank fourteen?
Yeah right.
On what grounds?
—
Meanwhile, on the Gotei 13's side…
Chaos had broken out for the exact same reason.
11th Division.
"You're kidding. Kuchiki Byakuya? That emotionless pretty boy made the list?"
Kenpachi Zaraki stood with arms crossed, white haori draped loosely, black shihakusho underneath. His scarred face twisted in an expression that basically said, "Are you serious?"
Forget Byakuya.
He wasn't even satisfied with the last ranking.
Sure, Urahara Kisuke was strong, but he only convinced people because he used a fully chanted Kido #91.
And to Kenpachi—the king of straightforward sword-fighting—Kido was the most contemptible thing imaginable.
In his world, only "swing harder" and "cut deeper" counted as real power.
Everything else was fancy nonsense.
And now even Byakuya made the list?
Kenpachi felt like someone was messing with him.
"Hehe, Ken-chan, that's a bit much. Byakuya's still a captain, you know. You're making it sound like he's weak."
From his shoulder, Yachiru giggled, wiggling her fingers.
On the sofa near the desk, another voice chimed in. "Yachiru, I get where the Captain's coming from. Honestly, I feel the same."
Ikakku, head perfectly shaved and shining, frowned.
"No doubt about it… as the 6th Division Captain, Byakuya's strong. But if I remember right, he can't use anything above Kido #90."
"And besides…"
"Captain-Commander, Captain Kyōraku, Captain Ukitake, Captain Unohana… I can name several people off the top of my head who are stronger. Not to be rude, but…"
Ikakku emphasized it:
"Among the captains, Byakuya isn't exactly top-tier."
He had a point. Hard to argue.
In his mind, Byakuya was strong—but not first-rank strong.
"You're forgetting something," Yumichika said softly, fluttering his eyelashes. "There are fifteen slots. Even with Urahara included, thirteen captains fit perfectly well."
"So I think this ranking makes sense. The rest will probably just be the other captains."
In Yumichika's view, the ranking was practically made for captains. At this point in time, Aizen hadn't betrayed anyone, the Espada hadn't appeared, and the Visoreds were off the radar.
To him, the captains were obviously the strongest.
"Whatever. Let's keep watching… maybe Byakuya's been hiding a lot more strength than we thought." Kenpachi muttered. He didn't really care whether Byakuya made the list.
What he cared about was whether the video could hurry up.
Preferably fast-forward straight to his own appearance.
Meanwhile, the next scene appeared.
A torn-up battlefield full of craters and destruction.
"Clang!"
Zanpakutō collided, sparks flying.
"Byakuya… I'm sick of that emotionless face of yours. Bankai against Bankai—your advantage is gone!" Clutching Tensa Zangetsu, cloak fluttering, Kurosaki Ichigo glared across the field.
On the other side, Byakuya stood with cold pride, surrounded by a swirl of shimmering pink sakura petals.
"It's starting!"
"Another fight scene, of course. But… why does the background look so familiar?" Ikakku murmured, brows knitting.
"It's not 'familiar'—it's obviously Sōkyoku Hill," Yumichika said confidently.
"..."
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________