"What does Old Man Yamamoto take me for? And what do you all take me for?!
He beats me half to death at the slightest disagreement, doesn't even apologize afterward, and then sends over some super-scheming old lady—waving both carrot and stick—to make me submit?!"
Inside the empty Fourth Division changing room, Fūjin Taichi stood before a full-length mirror, dressed in a brand-new black Shihakushō, staring at his reflection—
After a long moment, he slowly put on the white captain's haori and grinned.
"Heh heh heh… but damn, this looks handsome!"
"So, are you ready to depart now?"
"Wha—?! Captain Unohana, when did you come in?!"
Startled by Retsu Unohana suddenly appearing behind him, Fūjin Taichi broke out in a cold sweat and instinctively covered three "important areas" with both hands.
A second later he realized he was fully clothed, then laughed awkwardly.
"Uh… Captain Unohana, I'm changed! Let's go!"
"My, my, Captain Taichi looks even more heroic after putting on the new haori," Unohana covered her mouth lightly as she chuckled. "As expected of the man specially recruited by Captain-Commander Yamamoto to succeed as the Ninth Division Captain."
Hey… at your age, could you please stop pretending to be some shy young maiden, Captain Unohana…
Naturally, Taichi didn't dare say that out loud. He merely responded vaguely before suddenly realizing something.
"Wait—what do you mean 'specially recruited'? Don't tell me this is another one of those appointments without formal authorization from Central 46?!"
"Of course not."
Unohana put away her smile and explained patiently:
"Since the original forty-six sages were massacred by Aizen, the Seireitei is still in the process of selecting replacements.
Therefore, the official commission that should have been issued by Central 46 for Captain Taichi has not yet been delivered. However… it should be soon."
"Hah? This again?!"
Taichi suddenly stopped walking, fuming.
"Then what's the point of being captain? Am I still only getting three thousand kan a month?!"
"No, certainly not."
Unohana shook her head.
"You already possess the strength of a captain—this is something everyone witnessed. So this time, your promotion is entirely legitimate."
"Huh?"
Taichi froze for a moment. He couldn't recall ever undergoing any formal captain qualification test.
But thinking back carefully—on that day at Sōkyoku Hill, he had killed Kaname Tōsen in front of numerous captains and vice-captains, and even exchanged blows with Yamamoto Genryūsai without dying—
Honestly speaking, across the entire Seireitei, there were fewer than five captains who could have achieved what he did.
After all, Yamamoto Genryūsai was hailed as the "strongest Shinigami" in Soul Society. His Shikai alone rivaled the Bankai of most captains in the Gotei 13.
"Captain Fūjin, your Zanpakutō!"
At that moment, Isane Kotetsu entered, holding two Zanpakutō—one long and one short—and presented them to him.
"Thank you, Isane."
Taichi fastened both swords diagonally at his waist with a red sword belt, then flicked his captain's haori so that one Zanpakutō was completely concealed beneath it, leaving only the hilt of the other visible.
"Captain Fūjin, what are you doing?" Isane asked in confusion.
"Two Zanpakutō are too eye-catching… I prefer to keep a low profile."
With that, he walked out of the changing room alongside Unohana, heading toward the Captain-Commander's headquarters.
As Vice-Captain of the Fourth Division, Isane followed behind Unohana, though her gaze occasionally drifted to the bold black "九" (Nine) emblazoned on the back of Taichi's white haori.
After walking silently for some time, and seeing the headquarters building not far ahead, Unohana suddenly spoke again.
"Oh, Captain Taichi—there's one more thing I should remind you of."
"What is it?"
"Once we arrive, please wait in the Second Antechamber."
"Why? Isn't Old Man Yamamoto the one who wanted to see me?"
"No… it's Seireitei custom. Whenever a newly promoted captain takes their seat, Captain-Commander Yamamoto formally introduces them first. Only then do they receive the acknowledgment of the other captains."
"Heh. So becoming a captain requires some ceremony, huh? Got it…"
Fūjin Taichi tilted his head slightly upward, gazing at the headquarters building ahead.
"Putting on this white coat really does make it feel different."
"Captain Taichi, what do you mean by that?"
"Back then I didn't feel much of anything. Every time we had a captains' meeting, I'd just take a nap and get through it! But now… it feels like I'm attending a funeral. My mood's especially heavy!"
"Captain Fūjin, that's because from now on you won't be able to slack off under Captain-Commander Yamamoto's watchful eye!
You're already a captain… how is it that your mindset is still the same as before, without a shred of motivation?!"
Standing beside Retsu Unohana, Isane Kotetsu grumbled inwardly.
"Hehehe, Captain Taichi's way of putting things is always so amusing." Unohana smiled faintly as she stepped onto the stone stairs leading to the headquarters assembly hall.
"Captain Fūjin, please follow me to the antechamber. It'll be a good chance to have a small meeting with the vice-captains," Isane said with a smile.
"They're all familiar faces… what meeting is there to have?"
As he said that, Fūjin Taichi suddenly recalled the Kaname Tōsen he had personally killed, and sighed.
"Don't make it sound like enemies meeting and thanking the heavens for it."
"What?"
"No, I mean Vice-Captain Hisagi!"
Fūjin Taichi frowned.
"The current captain is the man who killed his former captain… No matter how deep our past friendship was, it'd be hard to just let that go, wouldn't it?"
"Uh… probably not?" Isane laughed awkwardly as she led him toward Antechamber No. 2 beside the assembly hall.
"Slide—"
The instant Fūjin Taichi appeared in the room, the previously noisy atmosphere fell completely silent. Nearly everyone turned to look at him at once.
"..."
Expressionless, he walked in and took a seat by the window, ignoring the various gazes gathering around him.
"Tai—"
The straightforward Renji Abarai was about to step forward to greet him, but before he could finish, the quick-eyed Izuru Kira grabbed his sleeve.
"Don't do anything stupid, Renji!"
"What?" Renji whispered in confusion.
"No matter how close your personal relationship with Captain Fūjin may be, he is now the Captain of the Ninth Division! You… must not overstep your bounds!"
"Tch… what kind of crap is that? Taichi's our friend. Just because he became a captain, we're supposed to treat him differently?!" Renji growled under his breath.
"Renji, I understand how you feel. But… this is Seireitei's system. You have to abide by it," Kira urged gently.
"Damn it…" Renji snorted in dissatisfaction, but it was clear he had been persuaded. He reluctantly withdrew back into the crowd.
If even Renji—who had been close to Fūjin Taichi—didn't dare cross Soul Society's rigid hierarchy, the other vice-captains certainly wouldn't act rashly.
They gathered in small clusters on the opposite side of the antechamber. Compared to the empty space around Fūjin Taichi, the division between them was stark and unmistakable.
...
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