Crossover Anime: Starting from Soul Society and Slicing Through All Worlds

Chapter 9 The Hollowfication Incident in Rukongai

"Yoru, this is our 13th Division Vice-Captain, Shiba Kaien."

Haiyan is a kind and loyal man, admired and respected by many team members. If you have any questions, feel free to ask him.

Because of his poor health, Ukitake was a complete shut-in. If it weren't for this unexpected situation, he would basically never leave his house.

An ordinary team leader wouldn't say so much to a mere newcomer, but Ukitake has a kind-hearted persona, and since Yoru was also one of the victims this time, he's given him special treatment.

Now that Shiba Kaien has taken over, Ukitake naturally couldn't wait to run back to his barracks to rest.

"Don't worry about whether the captain has any opinions about you or not. Due to his physical condition, Captain Ukitake rarely manages the captain's important affairs. We, as his subordinates, have always handled them."

My name is Shiba Kaien. I was only recently promoted to vice-captain of the 13th Division; before that, I was only the third seat. Nice to meet you.

"Not at all, I should ask Vice Captain Zhibo for guidance. I'm a newcomer who just joined the team today, Nan Yecheng."

This was the first time Yoru met Shiba Kaien, and it was also the first time Yoru had come to understand the tragic character of Shiba Kaien.

—————— Divider

Time flies by. Two years after becoming a member of the 13th Division in Yoru City, the captain of the 13th Division, Jushiro Ukitake, was once again forced to leave his retirement home due to an emergency captains' meeting and head to the 1st Division for another meeting.

"Night City, what do you think is the reason the Captain-General hastily convened this captains' meeting?"

Standing next to Yoruichi and asking the question was Shiba Kaien, the vice-captain of the 13th Division. Two years had passed, and Yoruichi and Shiba Kaien had developed a very good friendship.

Shiba Kaien was originally one of the five great noble families of Soul Society, and the current head of the Shiba family, but the family declined.

The original storyline didn't describe Shiba Kaien much, but after two years of getting to know him, Yoru found that Rukia's admiration for Kaien wasn't without reason.

Born into a noble family, Shiba Kaien treats every member of his squad equally, regardless of their social status or background. His fairness makes him beloved by both noble and Rukongai members.

Moreover, Haiyan is a genius. She completed the six-year curriculum of the True Central Spiritual Arts Academy in just one year.

He started as the third seat member and joined the current 13th Division. In just five years, he was promoted to vice-captain.

From any perspective, given Kaien's talent, connections, and personality, it's almost a certainty that he will succeed Ukitake as the captain of the 13th Division in a few decades.

During these two years, Haiyan, with her superior observational skills, also discovered the special features of Night City.

Because he cared about the newcomers, Haiyan initially planned to give Yecheng intensive training. However, during their sparring sessions, he discovered Yecheng's hidden true strength.

After learning of Yoru's concerns, Kaien didn't mock Yoru for being overly worried or having paranoia, unlike Ikkaku and Yumichika. Instead, she smiled and expressed her understanding. The Soul Society may appear calm on the surface, but undercurrents are surging beneath, a fact that Kaien, as one of the Five Great Noble Families, understands best.

He also believed that being cautious wasn't a bad thing; his wife, Shiba, had been killed by a Hollow because of carelessness. (PS: I've seen many people confused; it's not that they haven't read the original story. The reason Kaien's wife was killed off so early was because I wanted her to be resurrected later.)

Over the years, Haiyan had always felt that there was something strange about his wife's death. Logically speaking, his wife was the third seat of the team and an elite Shinigami who had mastered Shikai. How could she be killed by a lower-level Hollow who appeared in Rukongai? This was an inconceivable thing in itself.

"I received a tip that a large number of souls have suddenly become ethereal in Rukongai. Captain Kensei Muguruma of the Ninth Division and Vice Captain Shiro Kunan went to investigate, but it seems that something unexpected happened."

The captains and vice-captains are already the top fighting force of the Seireitei. Now that a situation has arisen, the Captain-Commander naturally convened a captains' meeting. It's estimated that the number of captains dispatched to investigate this time will be even greater.

Haiyan wasn't surprised by the inside information Ye Cheng had obtained. Ye Cheng, who came from Rukongai, seemed to have quite a few connections in that kind of mixed place.

Furthermore, during the battle of the Gotei 13, Yoru was also very popular. While Kaien was only popular within the 13th Division, Yoru was quite popular throughout the entire Gotei 13.

This isn't hard to understand. Ye Cheng is, after all, a transmigrator. Although he hasn't discovered his cheat yet, he knows the plot and has some understanding of the characters' personalities in these worlds. As long as he caters to their preferences, it's not difficult to get along with them.

"The entire Rukongai has become Hollowfied? Could this be related to the thing I asked you to investigate?"

Upon hearing that a mass Hollowfication had occurred in Rukongai, Kaien's expression immediately turned serious. It was not uncommon for the souls of Rukongai to occasionally become Hollowfied.

However, the Hollows that usually appear in Rukongai are just low-level Hollows. They can bully newcomers who have just graduated from the Shingon Academy, but to kill his wife, who is the Third Seat, and now that the captain and vice-captain of the Ninth Division have also disappeared, then the situation is obviously a bit abnormal.

"I don't think so... after all, there's been quite a long gap between these two events."

Upon hearing Haiyan's guess, Ye Cheng couldn't help but admire her keen intuition. He wanted to say that she was right; both of these incidents were actually orchestrated by a hairspray tycoon.

Whether it's the captain and vice-captain of the Ninth Division, or Shiba Kaien's wife, they were all just victims of the experiments conducted by the boss, Aizen Sousuke.

But he can't break his promise now, because he can't explain it clearly. If he reveals these secrets, he might become the one detained and investigated by the criminal investigation team.

Moreover, although Haiyan's current strength is not bad, going to Rukongai now would be a dead end.

Even though Yoruichi wasn't present at the so-called Captains' Meeting, he knew that the Captain-Commander would dispatch a special operations team to investigate, consisting of Captain Rojuro of the 3rd Division, Captain Hirako Shinji of the 5th Division, Aikawa Rabu of the 7th Division, Lieutenant Yadomaru Lisa of the 8th Division, Hiyori of the 12th Division, and Kido-shu Vice-Chief Yushōda Hachigen.

Without a doubt, even this fighting force composed of captains will eventually be defeated by Aizen's Zanpakuto "Kyoka Suigetsu" and become his test subjects for Hollowfication.

With so many captains and vice-captains already fallen, Ye Cheng didn't believe that adding Hai Yan as a vice-captain would change the outcome, so he naturally tried to dissuade her from going to Rukongai to her death.

(End of this chapter)