Seeing Hiyori's pitiful, aggrieved expression, Kazuma and the others finally snapped back to reality and remembered that a hot-tempered little girl was still tied up beside them.
They hurriedly moved to untie the ropes binding her.
"Sorry, Hiyori. We almost forgot about you."
However, the moment the ropes came loose, Hiyori lunged at Batsu'unsai and Saitō like a tiger descending the mountain.
Unfortunately, before she could even reach them, Saitō slapped her straight down onto the floor.
Hiyori's little face made intimate contact with the boards, and Saitō pressed her there, leaving her unable to move.
"Ah! You crazy hag! Let me go!"
Hiyori was still struggling with all her might.
"Hiyori, after all these years, how are you still exactly the same?" Kazuma could not help sighing.
"Can't you learn to behave a little?"
He was beginning to wonder whether bringing her here back then had really been a wise choice.
After all, with a teacher like Saitō, expecting Hiyori to grow into a well-mannered person was harder than climbing to the heavens.
Saitō snorted coldly.
"Keep making trouble, and I'll tie you up again and throw you into the underground training ground!"
Hiyori immediately went quiet.
She really did not want to be wrapped up like a rice dumpling again.
Kazuma felt a little sorry for her and said, "All right, Saitō, let her go. Hiyori, you stop causing trouble too. Get up first."
Hiyori slowly climbed up from the floor, straightened her clothes, and glared fiercely at Saitō.
Then she turned her red-rimmed eyes toward Kazuma, her gaze filled with grievance.
Gritting her teeth, she said, "Captain, I sensed that baldy and the others' reiatsu earlier. Are they in Karakura Town too?"
Kazuma sighed helplessly.
Looking at Hiyori's stubborn little expression, a trace of guilt rose in his heart.
Softly, he said, "Yes. They are indeed in Karakura Town."
When Hiyori heard that, excitement flashed through her eyes, but there was even more anger than joy.
She clenched her fists and said in a low voice, "I'm going to see them."
Kazuma answered without hesitation.
"No."
Hiyori's eyes widened.
"Why?!"
Kazuma fell silent for a moment, then slowly said, "Because as far as the world is concerned, all of us are already dead."
Hiyori froze, disbelief written all over her face.
"How is that possible? When did I die?"
An awkward look appeared on Kazuma's face.
He scratched his head, seeming a little embarrassed.
"Well… two years ago, I reported that you had died in action during a mission in the World of the Living. So right now, you're an unregistered person with no official status. You understand what I mean, right?"
After hearing that, Hiyori trembled with rage.
Her eyes flared as she glared viciously at Kazuma and roared, "Captain! You bastard! How dare you do that to me!"
Kazuma gave a helpless, bitter smile.
He tried to comfort her, but Hiyori cut him off mercilessly.
She was emotional, continuously denouncing Kazuma's shameless scheming until his head began to ache.
After making a fuss for quite a while, Hiyori finally calmed down.
But her eyes still burned like flames as she stared fixedly at Kazuma. If looks could kill, Kazuma would have been chopped into pieces by now.
"Captain… explain yourself! What exactly is going on? What do you mean we're all dead?" Hiyori asked through gritted teeth.
Kazuma rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Your crazy hag of a teacher and Batsu'unsai were recorded as killed in action a thousand years ago. As for me, well, you saw it earlier. They carried my corpse back."
Hearing Kazuma call her a crazy hag, Saitō shot him a fierce glare of dissatisfaction.
Hiyori, however, looked completely lost.
"Crazy hag-sensei and Batsu'unsai died a thousand years ago? Then who are these two standing here now? Am I seeing ghosts?"
Saitō smacked Hiyori on the back of the head again and said with a trace of exasperation.
"Idiot! We were only recorded as dead. We didn't actually die. Aren't you in the same situation right now?"
Hiyori was still confused.
She grabbed at her own hair, her face full of distress as she kept shaking her small head.
"I really don't understand. What is all this? Why did we suddenly become dead people for no reason? And Captain, how did you die?"
Kazuma smiled and answered casually, "Oh, that? I was killed by Aizen. Mm, it happened in front of everyone. Kisuke Urahara saw it with his own eyes, and Shinji Hirako's group saw it too. So none of us can show ourselves carelessly now."
Hiyori finally began to accept reality.
"Then why did we fake our deaths? What is the point of all this?"
"If I said it was just for fun, would you believe me?"
"Enough joking. The truth is, the one who attacked Shinji Hirako and the others back then was Aizen. Kisuke Urahara was framed. He had originally gone there to rescue Shinji and the others. The reason we chose to fake our deaths was to carefully set up a plan so that one day, we can completely eliminate Aizen."
Hiyori's eyes widened, her face filled with shock and disbelief.
"This… this is ridiculous! How could something like that happen?" she stammered.
"What else did you think? Did you think we faked our deaths just for fun?"
In truth, it really was partly for fun.
Kazuma had worked so hard for so many years. Was he not allowed to enjoy himself a little?
"But… but Captain, you didn't beat Aizen. Are you sure we can kill him?" Hiyori was still worried.
"Relax. Aside from us, there are still Shinji Hirako, Kisuke Urahara, and the others. What we need to do is stay hidden and wait."
"All right. Since that's the case, I'll trust your judgment, Captain." Hiyori sighed. "But I still want to see baldy and the others."
"No."
Kazuma rejected Hiyori's request immediately.
"Hiyori, if you want to see Shinji Hirako and the others, then wait until the day we make our move against Aizen."
"How long will that take?"
Kazuma estimated for a moment.
"Twenty years at most. You've already come this far, Hiyori. Don't tell me you can't even endure that much longer."
When Hiyori heard that it would still take twenty years, she gritted her teeth. In the end, however, she agreed.
Twenty years might be a very long time for an ordinary person, but for a Shinigami, it was little more than the blink of an eye.
Seeing Hiyori agree so readily, Kazuma did not believe her for even a second.
He knew Hiyori's personality far too well.
There was no way she would give up on the idea of seeing Shinji and the others so easily.
Therefore, Kazuma decided to frighten this violent little girl a bit, just to make sure she would not try anything behind their backs.
"Hiyori, you had better not get any clever ideas. From now on, I'll be living here, and I'll be watching you at all times. If you're still thinking of sneaking out to find Shinji Hirako and the others, then you should carefully consider the consequences first. If you refuse to behave, I will not hesitate to tie you up and throw you into the training ground, where you can stay all by yourself for a full twenty years!"
Kazuma's voice was stern and threatening.
Hearing that, an awkward expression surfaced on Hiyori's face.
She cursed inwardly.
'Sure enough, my little plan couldn't escape Kazuma's eyes after all.'
Faced with Kazuma's threat, Hiyori could only sigh helplessly and mutter, "Captain… you wouldn't really be that heartless, would you?"
Kazuma glared fiercely at her and warned, "Try me if you don't believe it."
Hiyori immediately deflated like a punctured ball and lowered her head.
"Fine… I understand, Captain."
She realized that Kazuma was not joking.
If she really ran out to see Shinji and the others, then she would have to spend twenty years in that lightless training ground.
From that point on, the internet, good food, and everything else would be far, far away from her.
Just thinking about it filled her face with grief.
---------
Read 30 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator