Kazuma sheathed his blade and looked at Chika Shihōin.
"How do you feel now?"
Chika moved his body a little. "I can't feel Hell binding me anymore! Are we leaving Hell now, or are we waiting?"
Kazuma cursed at him with a laugh. "What's the rush? The others haven't arrived yet."
Chika scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed.
"Hehe, I'm just anxious. Since we've got time, let's catch up properly. How is my Shihōin Clan doing now?"
Kazuma turned to Rukia.
"Rukia, introduce the current Gotei 13 to Tanned Guy here. I'm going to close my eyes for a bit."
After saying that, he shut his eyes and started resting.
Rukia nodded.
"Oh… yes, Sensei." Then she looked at Chika and said, "Chika-senpai, the position of Second Division captain is no longer held by the Shihōin Clan. The current captain is Captain Suì-Fēng. She comes from the lower noble Fon family."
Chika's eyes widened.
"What? The Shihōin Clan lost the captain's seat? Don't tell me not a single one of my descendants turned out useful."
Rukia shook her head helplessly.
"I don't know about that."
"I'll explain this part," Kazuma said. "Your descendants do have an outstanding representative. Her name is Yoruichi Shihōin, and she even has the title 'Flash Goddess.' Though her Shunpo still isn't faster than mine."
Even while introducing Yoruichi, Kazuma did not forget to step on her a little.
Chika cursed at him with a laugh. "You bastard! Then where is she now? Did she die in battle too?"
At that moment, Kazuma looked at Chika with a malicious little smile.
"She didn't die in battle. But she did betray Soul Society!"
"What?!"
Chika jumped up from the ground in shock.
"Why would she betray Soul Society?"
Kazuma looked at him teasingly and smiled without saying anything.
Chika asked anxiously, "Hurry up and tell me! Stop keeping me in suspense!"
Only then did Kazuma slowly open his eyes and say at an unhurried pace, "Apparently, she fled to the World of the Living together with Kisuke Urahara…"
"Kisuke Urahara?" Chika was even more shocked. "And who is he? How did this also…"
Kazuma stood up, patted Chika on the shoulder, and said in a relaxed tone, "Kisuke Urahara was a captain of the Twelfth Division. I've forgot which generation he was. He researched the principles behind Hollowfication and experimented on captains of the same era. After he was discovered, he defected. Yoruichi, being his close friend, fled with him. Mm, the captains he used as experimental subjects also escaped."
After finishing, Kazuma still looked completely unconcerned.
After hearing Kazuma's explanation, Chika visibly heated up with anger.
Even his skin seemed to flush slightly red!
"How did my Shihōin Clan produce such an unfilial descendant?!"
"Don't panic. I'm also a traitor to Soul Society now," Kazuma comforted him.
Hearing that, Chika froze, completely at a loss.
His eyes widened as he stared at Kazuma in confusion, unable to understand what had happened.
"It's nothing much. I colluded with Kisuke Urahara and the others to kill the captains of the Ninth and Tenth Divisions. Rukia, that's how Soul Society publicized it, right?"
Kazuma explained calmly, as though he were talking about something that had nothing to do with him.
Chika was so shocked by this news that he could not speak.
His mind was in complete chaos.
Rukia quietly nodded from the side, confirming that Kazuma's words were true.
Her eyes carried a trace of helplessness, as though she deeply regretted the matter.
Chika finally came back to himself.
What exactly had happened to Soul Society after his death?
Why had everything become such a mess?
Still, he would never easily believe that Kazuma had truly betrayed Soul Society.
There had to be some hidden reason he did not know about.
Chika was silent for a while, his gaze complicated.
After a moment, he said, "I don't believe you betrayed Soul Society. Let's skip that matter for now. Which old friends are still left in Soul Society?"
A bitter smile appeared on Kazuma's face.
"Who else? Old Man Yama, Yachiru, and me."
Chika frowned, clearly dissatisfied with that answer.
"The others are all dead?"
Kazuma nodded, nostalgia appearing in his eyes.
"Mm. They're all dead."
Chika's expression grew heavy.
He took a deep breath, then slowly asked, "Batsu'unsai and Saitō are dead too?"
Rukia became curious at that.
She looked at Chika and asked, "Chika-senpai, didn't Captain Furofushi Saitō and Captain Batsu'unsai Katori die in the war a thousand years ago?"
Chika turned to look at Rukia, doubt flashing in his eyes.
"Who told you that?"
Rukia blinked.
"That's what the spiritual records in Soul Society say."
"Impossible! Saitō and Batsu'unsai did not die in that war. At the time, only Chigiri Shijima, Entetsu Kumoi, Furuoki Ōtogawa, Uhin Zenjōji, and Saizō Sakahone died in that battle. There was also Nobutsuna Shigyō, who had died earlier."
Chika carefully recalled the situation back then, his tone certain.
'Could the spiritual records be wrong?'
That thought flashed through Rukia's mind, but she quickly rejected it.
After all, the records in Soul Society should have been accurate.
"Besides, if Batsu'unsai had really died long ago, would your teacher still be this calm?" Chika continued.
Rukia looked utterly lost.
She had no idea what Chika was talking about.
What did those things have to do with her teacher?
"Batsu'unsai is your teacher's wife. If she were dead, once your teacher came to Hell, how could he not immediately go looking for her?"
Chika's words stunned Rukia.
So there was that kind of relationship hidden here too?
"Sensei? Is what Chika-senpai said true?" Rukia asked curiously, looking at Kazuma.
Hearing that, Kazuma's heart tightened.
He knew that some of his secrets might have just been exposed.
He glared at Chika Shihōin, dissatisfaction clear in his eyes, as though saying, 'You really talk too much.'
However, Chika looked genuinely confused.
He did not understand why Kazuma was staring at him like that.
To Chika, this was not some secret that needed to be hidden.
Kazuma realized that the situation had become a little awkward, so he quickly changed the topic, trying to cover up his unease.
Pretending to be relaxed, he said, "Why haven't the others come back yet? The red light when you're turning left really is the hardest one to wait for."
After saying that, he put on an impatient look and glanced around, hoping to find a new topic to distract everyone.
Seeing her teacher act like this, Rukia immediately knew he was definitely hiding something.
But if he refused to say it, there was nothing she could do.
Rukia decided not to ask about her teacher's wife for now.
She would wait until she had another chance to slowly learn more.
At that moment, she noticed that the atmosphere had become somewhat awkward, so she took the initiative to ease it.
"Maybe they ran into some trouble. Let's wait a little longer."
Kazuma secretly let out a breath of relief and gave Rukia a grateful look.
But just then, footsteps sounded in the distance.
Everyone turned toward the sound and saw several figures slowly walking toward them.