Bleach: Starting with Marrying Retsu Unohana

"Captain Araki, please stop making trouble here! The decision to appoint us as captains of the Gotei 13 is not only Captain-Commander Yamamoto's decision, but also the decision of the Central 46. As a member of the Zero Division, you may have the privilege of not being bound by the laws of Soul Society, but personnel changes within the Gotei 13 should still be handled according to the rules of the Gotei 13!"

Following the words of the captain of the 8th Division, the captain of the 9th Division continued his speech.

Clearly, although the captain of the 9th Division and the captain of the 8th Division belong to different aristocratic interest groups, at this moment the captain of the 9th Division decided to fully support the captain of the 8th Division, since they currently have a common enemy, namely Araki.

"You're the captain of the 'Ninth Division'?!"

Araki looked at the captain of the 'Ninth Division' in front of him and asked.

"Exactly."

The captain of the 'Ninth Division' nodded upon hearing this.

“Since you two want me to follow the rules of the Soul Society and the Thirteenth Division, then fine, I’ll follow the rules of the Thirteenth Division and have a chat with you two…” Araki smiled slightly at the two of them, then looked at the captain of the Ninth Division, “Let’s talk about your Ninth Division first.”

"Please speak~"

After hearing Araki's words, the captain of the 9th Division adopted a posture of listening attentively.

“Last month, a son of a high-ranking nobleman caused trouble in public in ‘Wandering Souls Street.’ According to the laws of the ‘Thirteenth Division,’ that son of a high-ranking nobleman should have been arrested immediately. Why didn’t you do anything? Did you not see it? That shouldn’t be the case, right? After all, even we, the ‘Eleventh Division,’ knew about this matter…”

Araki looked at the captain of the 'Ninth Division' in front of him and spoke calmly.

"This……"

Upon hearing this, the captain of the 'Ninth Division's' expression changed drastically.

"And what about the 46th Chamber's retainers beating up students from the Shinigami Academy? And the 46th Chamber's judges insulting ordinary Shinigami soldiers of the Gotei 13? Why did your 9th Division, as the prison division, turn a blind eye to all of this?!"

Araki asked the captain of the 9th Division in front of him.

"That's a matter for the 'nobles,' not under the jurisdiction of my prison squad!"

Upon hearing this, the captain of the 'Ninth Division' retorted loudly.

"You don't care about this or that! When I talk to you about 'rules,' you tell me that's a matter for 'nobles,' and you don't dare to interfere! If you don't dare to interfere with anything, what's the point of having you as the captain of the 'Ninth Division' prison squad? Go find somewhere cool and stay there!"

As he spoke, Araki drew his Zanpakuto from his waist and slashed at the captain of the 'Ninth Division' in front of him.

"boom!"

A jet-black crescent-shaped slash erupted instantly within the teahouse, sending the arguing captain of the 'Ninth Division' flying. It also sent half of the teahouse flying into the sky. As for the captain of the 'Ninth Division,' by the time he fell from the sky, his eyes had rolled back, and he had completely lost consciousness.

"Didn't you say that Old Man Shan had no reason not to give you a break? Don't worry, I've already come up with a reason for your break: injury. What do you think?!"

Araki looked at the 'Ninth Division' captain who had been slashed away by him, and the 'Eighth Division' captain who was dumbfounded in front of him, and asked.

"You made a move? You really made a move?!"

"You're a madman! A madman!!"

"I'm going to report you to the 'Central 46'! I'm going to have Captain-Commander Yamamoto try you! I'm going to..."

After Araki made his move, the captain of the 8th Division completely lost his confidence, and he looked at Araki with constant shock as he spoke.

"Look at your memory, it's deteriorating so badly. You've forgotten everything you said before, haven't you?!"

"You yourself say that I am a member of the 'Zero Division' and am not bound by the laws of the 'Seireitei' at all. What good will it do to sue me in the '46 Chambers'? Do you think they dare to judge me on behalf of His Majesty the 'Soul King'?"

"I think you're getting senile! Since you're so old, why don't you just step down from your position as captain of the 8th Division? Wouldn't it be better to give the younger generation a chance?!"

Araki looked at the captain of the 8th Division in front of him and patiently persuaded him.

"You want me to step down from the position of captain of the 8th Division? Let me tell you, that's absolutely impossible! You don't have that 'right,' and it's against the rules of the 13th Division! Even if the 46th Chamber doesn't have the right to judge you, you have no right to interfere with the selection of the captain of the 13th Division..."

The captain of the 8th Division was all bark and no bite at the moment. He was terrified, but he still acted tough and kept yelling at Araki.

"Rules? My rules are the rules..."

Araki, too lazy to waste words with the captain of the 8th Division, drew his sword and slashed at him.

"boom!"

Another crescent moon shone, and the captain of the 8th Division immediately lay on the ground with his eyes rolled back, just like the captain of the 9th Division before him.

"Too powerful? Unparalleled power. Is this the strength of the current 'Kenpachi'? Dealing with the other captains is like cutting melons and vegetables. With a swift stroke of his sword, one captain after another fell to the ground..."

At this moment, the captain of the 13th Division was dumbfounded. He did not expect Araki to be so strong, so ridiculously strong, even illogical. As the captain of the same 13th Division, the gap between him and Araki was simply immeasurable.

"The reason I advised the captains of the 'Eighth Division' and the 'Ninth Division' to 'take a break' is because since they took office, they have hardly done anything. As captains of the 'Gotei 13,' all they should be doing is using their status to create benefits for the noble forces behind them!"

Before the captain of the 13th Division could think any further, Araki's voice slowly rang in his ears.

As for why I advised you to 'take a break from the team'...

"The reason is actually quite simple. Although your performance during your time as captain of the 'Gotei 13' has been commendable, and you've done your job quite well, your strength is a fatal flaw. In my opinion, you're simply too weak, not meeting my expectations of a captain-level Shinigami in the 'Gotei 13.' Therefore, I hope you will step down and make way for someone more capable."

Araki then put away the Zanpakuto he had drawn.

"As long as you don't cut me, I'll say whatever you want..."

The captain of the 13th Division watched Araki sheathe his sword and slowly breathed a sigh of relief.

To be honest, he was genuinely afraid that Araki might suddenly get agitated and strike him. He could let the captains of the 8th and 9th Divisions slide; those two "noble lords" were used to a life of luxury and must have consumed plenty of supplements to nourish their "spiritual bodies," making their physical strength far superior to his own, unlike his frail old frame. If Araki were to strike him, he feared he would be crippled...

"Of course, as you saw! Even when facing these two pieces of trash from the 'upper-class nobles,' I'm willing to prioritize peaceful persuasion! Naturally, I'm also willing to give you the opportunity to continue serving as the captain of the 'Thirteenth Squad'~"

Before the captain of the 'Thirteenth Team' could say anything more, Araki continued his sermon.

"Oh, so you call those seemingly nitpicking words 'peaceful' persuasion? That's quite enlightening!" The captain of the 'Thirteenth Team' twitched slightly after hearing Araki's words, thinking to himself.

Then, the captain, who was currently the only one standing and had been invited by Araki to have tea, asked Araki, "What kind of opportunity do you intend to give me?!"

"As I said before, I actually have three apprentices..."

"My three apprentices are all 'so-so' in terms of strength, barely meeting my requirements for the captain of the 'Thirteenth Team'! But right now, there are only two vacant captain positions in the 'Thirteenth Team,' and the three of them can't be separated~" Araki said, glancing at the two 'corpses' on the ground, "So, as long as you can defeat any one of my three apprentices, you can continue to serve as the captain of the 'Thirteenth Team'..."

"Of course, this isn't some kind of tag-team battle. I certainly wouldn't stoop so low as to send my strongest disciple to injure you first, and then have my other disciples keep beating you up. I'm not that kind of person! So, as long as you're defeated, I'll heal your injuries so you can continue fighting my other disciples in perfect condition..."

"Doesn't that sound fair?!"

Araki looked at the captain of the 'Thirteenth Team' in front of him and asked.

Chapter 113 Kyoraku: Don't worry! I won't hold you up too much.

"Getting beaten up is one thing? You want me to get beaten up three times in a row?!"

"This is going too far! Isn't this bullying honest people?"

The captain of the 13th Division was an incredibly rational man. He naturally knew that he had absolutely no chance of defeating Araki's three top disciples, unless those three disciples accidentally ate something bad while having breakfast that morning and fought him while 'urinating.' Of course, that was impossible…

Therefore, in the eyes of this captain of the '13th Division', what Araki said was meant to make him get beaten up three times in a row...

So, this captain mentally shouted angrily at Araki, though of course he could only shout it in his mind; he wouldn't dare to yell at Araki to his face.

"No! It's not just about me getting beaten up?!"

"Captain Araki is planning to use me as a stepping stone for his three disciples. Even if I successfully step down from my position as captain of the 13th Division, I'll probably be used as a negative example!"

"From now on, the more brilliant the achievements of Captain Araki's three disciples in Soul Society, the easier it will be for people to use me as a scapegoat! I'll probably even be branded with the title of 'a disgrace to the captain'..."

The captain of the 'Thirteenth Division' has managed to get to where he is today without relying on any background. He is not only rational and knows how to be patient, but also very smart. He immediately figured out why Araki kept him and asked him to spar with Araki's three disciples.

"I……"

After figuring it out, the captain of the 13th Division was about to launch into a classic Chinese opera performance in front of Araki, but he held back when the words were on the tip of his tongue. After all, he had sharp eyes and saw that Araki's hand was on the hilt of his sword again.

"Fair, so incredibly fair!"

"I dare say there is no fairer opportunity than this..."

In response, the captain of the 13th Division gave Araki a thumbs-up while revealing a smile that was more awkward than crying.

"Take it easy~ You're much luckier than this idiot lying on the ground right now!"

"Think about it carefully. This guy has been the vice-captain of the 'Ninth Division' for over a hundred years. Just last week, because Captain Shiba was transferred from the 'Ninth Division' to the 'Tenth Division,' he finally made it to become the actual captain of the 'Ninth Division.' But before he could even settle into his captaincy, he was replaced again..."

Araki looked at the sorrowful captain of the 13th Division, pointed to the 9th Division captain he had slashed down on the ground, and offered words of comfort with a smile.

"hiss……"

"You mean, the reason Captain Shiba nominated her, the vice-captain who had caused him so much trouble, as the captain of the 'Ninth Division' in the name of the 'Shiba' family, was so that you would kill him today?!"

After hearing Araki's words, the captain of the 13th Division suddenly realized something and gasped.

"Do you really think the Shiba family, as one of the current 'Five Great Noble Families,' would just stand by and watch 'this guy' use his family's immense wealth to sideline Shiba Sawako?"

"You might want to guess who told me that they are secretly exploiting loopholes in the 'judiciary' to release people without authorization, failing to prosecute the sons of nobles who commit crimes, and colluding with the 'judges' and 'sages' of the 'Forty-Six Chambers'!"

Araki looked at the captain of the 13th Division in front of him and asked a question.

Araki is usually so busy with important matters, how could he possibly have time to keep an eye on the affairs of the Ninth Division?

The shady things that the former vice-captain of the 'Ninth Division' and now the captain has done in the past few months by taking advantage of his position were naturally told to Araki by Shiba Sawa, the former captain of the 'Ninth Division' and now the captain of the 'Tenth Division'.

As for the relationship between Araki and the Shiba family, it was more of a prudent business deal. Araki obtained the position of captain of the 9th Division, while the Shiba family could use Araki's help to overcome numerous obstacles and vent their anger in a way that avoided conflict with the forces behind the 9th Division captain.

"This……"

Suddenly, the captain of the 13th Division felt a sense of balance.

Just last week, this former lieutenant of the 9th Division, who was recently defeated by Araki and promoted to captain of the 9th Division by the Shiba family, thought he was clever enough that his private schemes and hidden identity had gone undetected by the Shiba family.

In retrospect, he was nothing but a clown who thought he was clever, a pathetic person who was used and then discarded like trash—a complete idiot!

"Master, we're here!"

Just as the captain of the 13th Division was looking at the captain of the 9th Division, who had collapsed to the ground and lost consciousness, and feeling a sense of schadenfreude...

Araki's three apprentices, 'Ukitake', 'Kyoraku', and 'Tokina', have already stepped onto the 'teahouse' that Araki had chopped off with two swords, completely transforming it into an open-air business.

Although the Shihouin family had already prepared themselves for the possibility of not being able to get the teahouse back when they lent it to Araki, the teahouse itself was a sacrifice Araki made to force the three captains to step down.

"Let me introduce you. These three are my apprentices: Kyoraku Shunsui, Ukitake Jushiro, and Tsunayoshi Tokinada."

Araki watched as his three top students arrived at the teahouse and immediately introduced them to the captain of the 'Thirteenth Division'.

"The eldest son of the 'lower noble' Ukitake family, the second son of the 'upper noble' martial arts family 'Kyoraku family,' and the child of a branch family of the 'Tsuna-yayo' family, one of the 'five great nobles'—this lineup certainly has a powerful background!"

The captain of the 13th Division was able to identify Kyoraku and the others simply by looking at the surnames of Araki's three disciples. Putting aside the Ukitake family, who were farmers, the Kyoraku family, as a high-ranking noble family with martial arts blood, was a prominent figure in the Seireitei. As for the Tsunayoshiro family, it goes without saying that even a child from a branch family of the Tsunayoshiro family had a status far above that of the head of an ordinary family.

"If these three kids were to become captains of the Gotei 13, that would be quite a force! That would mean the 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, and 4th Divisions—a total of five divisions—would all be under Captain Araki's control. That's almost half of the Gotei 13. Is Captain Araki planning to 'usurp' the throne? Haha, no way!"

Immediately afterwards, the captain of the 'Thirteenth Division' analyzed the current situation in his mind.

"Then let's not delay!"