Chapter 66: Chapter 66: Eyes
Chapter 66: Eyes
"Are you saying you’re going to be promoted to the Lieutenant of the 13th Division?"
A bandit’s blade slashed right through Yato Uchiha’s nose bridge, yet it felt as if it had merely cut through empty air. The black pinwheel in the boy’s eyes slowly rotated as his body solidified once again.
Slash!
He cleaved open the bandit’s chest with a single stroke and turned around with a smile:
"Congratulations, Kaien-senpai."
Wielding his trident, Kaien Shiba’s killing efficiency was no slower than his. With a single sweep of a deep blue maelstrom, he could shatter the internal organs of several enemies at once.
"Actually, Captain Ukitake has brought up promoting me to Lieutenant many times now. The last time was during this year’s graduation season at the Shin’o Academy. But I always felt that my training wasn’t sufficient yet, and that I couldn’t bear such a responsibility."
"Oh? Then why did you agree this time? Did Miyako Asano say she wouldn’t consider marrying you unless you became a Captain-class officer? Haha..."
"Don’t tease me, Yato." Kaien casually cast a Kido, blasting away a bandit attempting a sneak attack from behind, and continued:
"Because of the recent situation with the 10th Division, I just feel like I have to do more."
"Kaien-senpai, bearing too much responsibility will cloud your judgment. Besides, didn’t you say that the Head of the Shiba branch family, Kazuo Shiba, is a reliable elder... Hm?"
Yato’s blade stopped mid-air, halting its downward slash.
Because the roaming bandit in front of him was already groveling on the ground, throwing his sword aside, and kowtowing repeatedly as blood streamed down his face.
Looking further out, all the bandits and ronin had dropped their weapons and were kneeling on the ground, expressing total submission and abandoning all resistance.
"Tsk." Yato Uchiha frowned. After a moment of hesitation, he sheathed his Zanpakuto.
Since they had surrendered, there was no need to slaughter them all. Letting the 2nd Division drag them off for hard labor was a good alternative. Besides, that guy Mayuri Kurotsuchi had been constantly clamoring lately for sturdy souls to use in testing his latest Gigai models.
Having received a noble education since childhood, Kaien Shiba also lowered his blood-stained trident and joined Yato in casting Kido.
"Bakudo #4: Hainawa!"
Ropes of yellow light materialized, guided by the two of them to bind the limbs of these desperate outlaws.
Their imposing presence was too overwhelming. They had already completely broken the bandits’ courage; before they even had to interrogate them, the bandits spilled the location of the missing patrol squad members.
What followed—contacting the 10th Division, rescuing the patrol members, inventorying the spoils, and escorting the prisoners—was all completed in one seamless breath, without the slightest hiccup.
Ultimately, having two Lieutenant-class combatants handle this kind of mission was truly using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
When the 10th Division squad members called for backup, they would have been thanking their lucky stars if even a low-ranking Seated Officer showed up. They never expected that by some stroke of fortune, two absolute monsters would arrive!
By now, the sky had grown dark. Yato stretched his back and was just about to leave when Kaien Shiba stopped him.
"It’s been so long since we last saw each other. Where are you rushing off to, you bastard?"
"Going back to catch up on sleep... I’ve been pulling all-nighters every single day lately."
"With your level of Reiatsu, what does losing a bit of sleep matter?" Kaien threw a hearty arm around his shoulder:
"Come drink at my place! Consider it an early celebration for my promotion!"
"Eh? Forget it, Kaien-senpai. I really have things to do tonight."
"I’ll have Kukaku set off fireworks for you!"
"Uh..."
"Ganju recently learned how to ride a boar through flaming hoops. Want him to put on a show for you?"
"??? Okay, that I can do!"
...
"Haha! Cheers, cheers!"
Deep in the night, Rukongai, Main Shiba Estate.
With one arm around his sister and the other around Yato, Kaien leaned forward and drank deeply.
"S-stop drinking, Senpai." The boy shook his head with a bitter smile:
"We both have to work tomorrow."
"Just dissolve it with your Reiatsu, what are you afraid of?" The noble Clan Head laughed loudly:
"Ganju!"
"Coming right up, Big Bro!" The headband-wearing Ganju hollered, carrying a massive jug of sake with both hands and setting it down in front of Kaien.
Gulp, gulp, gulp. Kaien Shiba drank with uninhibited joy. Only when the jug hit the bottom did his eyes glaze over; he mumbled a few incoherent words before collapsing with a thud, falling into a deep sleep.
"Phew..." Ganju Shiba wiped away his sweat and took off his eldest brother’s outer robes and socks.
"He’s finally asleep. Yato-kun, Big Bro is always so happy whenever he sees you."
Yato Uchiha took a deep breath, using spirit particles to suppress the roiling intoxication, and shook his head:
"This is my first time seeing Kaien-senpai drink this much. He usually controls himself."
Looking heartbroken, Kukaku Shiba gently straightened Kaien’s face and placed a hot towel on his forehead, explaining to Yato in a low voice:
"Big Bro has been under a lot of pressure lately."
"Because of the 10th Division?"
"Yes..." Because of the alcohol, the young girl’s cheeks were flushed. She pouted and said:
"Lord Arima died in Hueco Mundo, yet the 1st Division still hasn’t appointed a new Captain for the 10th Division. Many people in the Seireitei are treating us like a joke right now."
"Uh, if you don’t mind me asking, is there anyone in the Shiba or Arima families who can succeed as the 10th Division Captain? Neither Kaien-senpai nor Isshin-senpai seem to have reached the level of Bankai yet..."
"There’s still Lord Kazuo Shiba! Uncle Isshin’s biological grandfather and the Head of the branch family. His Zanpakuto, Nekitora, is the absolute strongest of the water-type!"
The young girl spoke with excitement, but then immediately deflated:
"Anyway, Big Bro is just really tired right now, and the 10th Division is completely swamped. Sigh. They’re the division responsible for security patrols, but because there’s no Captain to hold down the fort, a lot of ronin and bandits have been causing trouble lately."
"Isn’t that the truth!" Ganju Shiba immediately chimed in. Spending his days messing around in the Rukongai, he was intimately familiar with this sort of thing:
"A ton of gangs are having turf wars, and so many people have died! But if you ask me, it doesn’t matter how many of them die."
"Oh? Why is that?"
"Because none of them are good people anyway... Big Bro Yato, have you heard of the ’Blue Coat Gang’?"
"Never even heard the name," the boy replied softly, his eyes pitch-black and unfathomable.
Ganju Shiba snickered:
"It’s a certain gang that operates in the South Rukongai. Because the members all wear blue clothes, they call themselves the ’Blue Coat Gang’. How should I describe them? They commit every evil deed imaginable. It wouldn’t be a big deal even if they all died off completely."
"From the way you’re talking, did they all die?"
"I don’t know. But I haven’t seen those blue-wearing bastards in quite a few days. They probably stopped hanging around the South Rukongai." As the young Ganju spoke, he suddenly raised his cup:
"Here’s to those bastards dying early!"
Kukaku rolled her eyes, but Yato found Ganju’s childishness amusing. He also raised his cup and agreed:
"To death!"
...
Yato stepped onto the grass, the bizarre arm sculptures of the Shiba clan already left far behind him.
The night wind blew, stripping away the last lingering trace of intoxication.
The boy looked up; the bright moon hung high in the dark, gloomy sky.
"All existence returns to ruin; the Six Paths reduce to ash."
Yato murmured softly, reciting the release command of Akame.
Then, he took a step forward, but miraculously, his foot didn’t land on the next patch of grass.
The ground he stepped on was now hard, gray rock.
The sky was leaden gray, gloomy, cold, and dark. Countless massive stone pillars stood tall, resembling unmarked gravestones.
This was the Kamui dimension, virtually identical to the inner world of Yato’s mind.
Usually, he was the only one here.
But right now, neatly laid out atop a certain stone pillar, were over a dozen corpses.
They were all dressed as ronin. Although their specific garments varied, the primary color of their attire was blue.
Blue hakama, blue kimonos, blue kosode...
Even more bizarrely, a layer of white cloth was draped over their faces, covering their features.
Looking slightly further away, there were rows of glass jars, each about as thick as a man’s arm.
Eyeballs floated inside the preservative solution filling each glass jar.
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