Two years had passed since Toshiro left the Soul Society. Seeing everyone again filled him with excitement, so he exchanged greetings.
While Toshiro greeted everyone, Ashido, who returned with him, also stepped out of the Senkaimon and walked straight to stand behind Toshiro.
Seeing Ashido, no one was particularly surprised, assuming he was just one of Toshiro's subordinates.
But Kyoraku felt a familiar sense from the depths of his heart, though he couldn't immediately recall who Ashido was.
"You... you are...?" Kyoraku asked Ashido.
Seeing this, Toshiro couldn't help but tease, "Hey, hey, Shunsui. This is the person you asked me to find. Don't tell me you can't even recognize him?"
Hearing Toshiro, Kyoraku suddenly realized. "You... you're Ashido!"
The only person Kyoraku asked Toshiro to find was Ashido.
Ashido walked up to Kyoraku, somewhat excited. "It's been a long time, Captain Kyoraku!"
Kyoraku and Ashido were both friends of the 7th Kenpachi. Though not extremely close, they knew each other.
For Ashido, returning to the Soul Society after centuries and meeting someone he knew was no easy feat. So even with his steady temperament, he couldn't help but feel excited.
Seeing it really was Ashido, Kyoraku said incredulously, "Ashido, you're really alive. It's unbelievable!"
Emotionally, he always hoped Ashido was alive. But rationally, Ashido had been missing for centuries, so the chance of survival was slim. Yet now, Ashido had truly returned alive!
Kyoraku grabbed Toshiro and Ashido. "Come on, come on. Let's find a place to have a drink and talk about what happened after you disappeared, Ashido."
"Oh, right, Jushiro, you come too!" Kyoraku said to Ukitake behind him.
"Cough, cough. Although my health isn't great, it's rare for Toshiro and Ashido to return safely. I'll make an exception and join you for a drink," Ukitake smiled.
But Toshiro declined. "Um, Jushiro, Shunsui. Although I'd really like to get together now, unfortunately, I need to report to the Captain-Commander first. So you'll have to wait a bit."
Hearing this, Kyoraku released Toshiro's hand. "Well, that's true. I wasn't considerate. How about tonight, same place? We won't leave until everyone arrives."
"That's fine," Toshiro nodded.
Then Toshiro said to Ashido, "You come too, Ashido. Let's go see Captain-Commander together."
Taking Ashido to see Captain-Commander was to resolve his identity issue. After all, Ashido had been missing for centuries. Even if records of him existed in the Soul Society, he was presumed dead. So Ashido was currently a 'person without status'.
"No problem," Ashido replied.
Afterwards, Toshiro bid farewell to everyone and headed to the 1st Division with Ashido to meet Yamamoto.
1st Division, Duty Room.
Toshiro entered alone. As for Ashido, he was waiting in the 1st Division's reception room. After all, Yamamoto, as Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13, wasn't someone anyone could just meet.
Upon entering, Toshiro saw Yamamoto sitting there, handling official business.
In Toshiro's memory, every time he came to see Yamamoto, he seemed to be handling work, never resting. It was as if Gotei 13's affairs were never-ending.
"You've returned, Toshiro," Yamamoto looked up.
"Yes, Genryusai-sensei," Toshiro replied.
Since Yamamoto taught him, Toshiro privately addressed him respectfully as 'Genryusai-sensei'.
Yamamoto sharp gaze studied Toshiro for a moment, then he finally said, "You've grown stronger again, Toshiro."
Toshiro was somewhat surprised. "Yes, Genryusai-sensei. My Reiatsu has broken through the peak of Captain-level to a higher level. Moreover, I've mastered true Bankai, no longer in the immature state like before."
Although Toshiro didn't deliberately hide his power, Yamamoto seeing through his breakthrough at a glance still surprised him.
Hearing Toshiro's explanation, Yamamoto sighed. "Your growth truly exceeds my expectations. With your current strength, even among the Gotei 13's Captains, you are at the very top. It seems it won't be long before you catch up to, or even surpass, this old man."
"No, catching up to Genryusai-sensei won't be easy," Toshiro said.
This wasn't just modesty. Although Toshiro was confident that few in the entire Soul Society could match him, when he fought Aizen in Hueco Mundo, Aizen easily suppressed him.
This showed there was still a significant gap between Toshiro and Aizen. Moreover, purely in terms of combat power, excluding Kyoka Suigetsu's hypnosis ability, Aizen still had some gap compared to Yamamoto. The current Toshiro was even further behind.
Yamamoto didn't comment on Toshiro's words.
Next, Yamamoto had Toshiro report on the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force's matters.
Toshiro answered one by one, even telling about defeating Baraggan and encountering Aizen. Of course, Toshiro didn't directly say it was Aizen, only mentioning a mysterious person in a cloak, concealing their appearance, who saved Baraggan and repelled him.
Although somewhat surprised that the mysterious person was stronger than Toshiro, Yamamoto clearly didn't connect the mysterious person's identity to someone within the Gotei 13. He just assumed it was a hidden powerhouse in Hueco Mundo.
After all, Hueco Mundo was vast, and the number of Hollows far exceeded Shinigami. It was normal for someone stronger than the nominal King of Hueco Mundo, Baraggan, to be hidden there.
Toshiro didn't say anything more about that. Now wasn't the time to confront Aizen.
Even if Toshiro told Yamamoto about Aizen, without evidence, would Yamamoto believe him? Even if he did and wanted to deal with Aizen, aside from Toshiro, no one could handle Kyoka Suigetsu. And Toshiro currently wasn't a match for Aizen.
Exposing Aizen's true nature early and disrupting the plot's development wouldn't be good for Toshiro either.
"I also brought someone back, Genryusai-sensei," Toshiro said.
"Who is it?" Yamamoto asked.
"The first commander of the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force," Toshiro said.
"The first commander of the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force?" Yamamoto exclaimed in surprise.