"Lord Fūjin, you mustn't do this, you really mustn't!!"
Standing to the side, Okikiba Genshirō watched in alarm as Fūjin Taichi stamped documents with rapid clack-clack sounds, his heart pounding. He hurriedly spoke up to stop him.
"What? Is there a problem, Third Seat Okikiba?"
Fūjin Taichi paused mid-stamp and looked up.
"Lord Fūjin, although these documents are merely the daily routine reports from the various divisions, as Vice-Captain of the First Division you still need to carefully review their contents and issue appropriate instructions!
After all… these documents will eventually be submitted to the Captain-Commander for review as well. Handling them so perfunctorily is very likely to anger the old man!"
Okikiba Genshirō explained nervously.
"Huh? Why didn't you say so earlier— I've already stamped them all!!"
Fūjin Taichi complained, then picked up the final report on the desk. Written on it were the words:
"Captain Shiba has an important appointment in the Human World and hereby applies for three days of leave.
Applicant: Vice-Captain Matsumoto Rangiku, Tenth Division."
Fūjin Taichi stared intently at the words "Captain Shiba", silently thinking:
Looks like the Bleach timeline has reached the point where Shiba Isshin 'mysteriously disappears'…
In another twenty years or so, the thousand-year "peace" of Soul Society would be completely shattered by Kurosaki Ichigo, and Aizen and his two companions would officially defect to Hueco Mundo.
Seeing Fūjin Taichi fall silent, Okikiba Genshirō mistakenly thought he was reflecting on his mistake, and continued explaining in a gentler tone:
"Lord Fūjin, although the First Division doesn't handle concrete field duties like the other divisions…
we still must carefully organize and compile the daily reports from all divisions, keeping them on record for later inspection by the Captain-Commander's audit team.
If an urgent document arrives, you must mark the cover page with a red seal indicating 'Top Priority,' 'Urgent,' or 'Normal,' and then immediately submit it to Headquarters!"
Clack.
Fūjin Taichi stamped the Tenth Division's report with the Vice-Captain's seal, then asked Okikiba Genshirō:
"Other than that, do we have any additional duties?"
"Mm… Aside from reviewing division reports and relaying official directives, the First Division is also responsible for the security and defense of Headquarters."
"Isn't that the Seventh Division's job?"
Fūjin Taichi asked in surprise.
After all, Bleach's setting made it clear: the Seventh Division was the internal guard unit, tasked with assisting and protecting the First Division and the Central 46—
"No… Lord Fūjin, to be precise—"
Okikiba Genshirō said solemnly,
"The Seventh Division answers only to the Captain-Commander himself.
In other words, their so-called protection of the First Division and Central 46 exists solely because those orders come from the Captain-Commander.
However, due to manpower constraints, and at Lord Chōjirō's instruction, the First Division currently handles Headquarters' security, while the Seventh Division is dedicated exclusively to guarding Central 46."
"Heh… Vice-Captain Chōjirō is surprisingly considerate…"
Fūjin Taichi frowned slightly, then asked:
"So how many people are currently in the First Division?"
"According to the original roster, there should be 300 members, but in reality there are 301.
Of those, 76 remain stationed at the barracks. The rest are divided into day and night shifts, each shift having 8 patrol teams with 28 people per team, taking turns patrolling outside the Captain-Commander's Genryū Hall."
"Heh, that extra one must be me. And besides… does Old Man Yama really need you guys to protect him?"
Fūjin Taichi muttered inwardly, then asked again:
"Then how many people are in Headquarters itself?"
"At present, including Lord Chōjirō, there are 46 members in total—all of them the elite of the elite from the First Division—responsible for the Captain-Commander's daily needs and liaison with Central 46."
"Oh, so-called 'elite of the elite'… basically just means they wear one extra white haori than we do, right?"
"No… that's not quite accurate."
Okikiba Genshirō hesitated, then cautiously glanced around. After confirming no one else was nearby, he lowered his voice and said—
"It's said that every member of Headquarters possesses at least seated-officer–level strength! And Lord Chōjirō himself has power rivaling a captain—more precisely, he mastered Bankai over a thousand years ago!!"
"Oh…"
Fūjin Taichi responded with a noncommittal "oh," his expression completely unchanged, clearly not taking Chōjirō's Bankai very seriously at all.
"What? Lord Fūjin, aren't you surprised?"
Okikiba Genshirō exclaimed in astonishment.
"Lord Chōjirō mastered Bankai a thousand years ago! Back then… he was the only man who ever crossed blades with the Captain-Commander and still walked away unscathed!"
Heh… that's only because two thousand years ago Old Man Yama hadn't yet reached his peak, and because his match with Chōjirō was just a spar—more like testing Chōjirō's Bankai, really.
Thinking this, Fūjin Taichi couldn't help but shake his head and sigh inwardly:
Truly worthy of Vice-Captain Chōjirō. Among Shinigami who have lived for a thousand years and mastered Bankai...
Others could at least give Kurosaki Ichigo a bit of a fight for a while. But when it was his turn, he got knocked flying by a single punch from the kid! Holy crap!
Clack!
Fūjin Taichi stamped the final document, tossed aside the vice-captain's seal, and said to Okikiba Genshirō:
"Third Seat Okikiba, all the documents have been processed. Please have someone organize them. I still have things to do, so I'll be heading out first."
"Lord Fūjin, where are you going?!"
Okikiba Genshirō hurriedly blocked him.
"It's still working hours. If you leave now and get caught by the Headquarters disciplinary patrol, it'll be trouble!"
"What kind of trouble?"
Fūjin Taichi asked with interest.
"If an ordinary Shinigami is caught, they just dock a bit of pay. But if it's a seated officer or above—"
Okikiba Genshirō stared at him intensely.
"Not only will you be fined one thousand kan, you'll also be sent to the Repentance Cell for solitary confinement for one to six months!"
"What the hell—more pay deductions?! Is Soul Society's management seriously this crude and backward?! It's already the 20th century and you're still docking wages?!"
Fūjin Taichi had just been fined a thousand kan by Captain Chōjirō for "being late," and after barely calming down, hearing about another fine instantly broke his composure.
"Then, Lord Fūjin, I'll take my leave!"
Okikiba Genshirō had no ability to hear Fūjin Taichi's inner rant. Seeing his ashen expression, he said no more and simply carried the thick stack of documents out of the barracks.
"…"
After closing the door, Fūjin Taichi sat alone on the tatami, hesitating.
If nothing went wrong, Shiba Isshin's so-called "important appointment in the Human World" was really him risking punishment from Soul Society to secretly meet Kurosaki Masaki in Karakura Town—
What Isshin never expected was that once he left, he would never be able to return, triggering a chain reaction:
The Tenth Division was left leaderless;
the newly Bankai-awakened Third Seat Hitsugaya Tōshirō was hastily pushed into the role of captain;
and Isshin's "unexplained disappearance" was tacitly treated by Soul Society as desertion, causing the already-declining Shiba noble house to be completely exiled to Rukongai…
For some reason, whenever Fūjin Taichi thought about Isshin's reckless behavior, a song automatically started playing in his head:
"Love's magic spins around and around,
Thinking of you makes my heart bloom day and night,
But I'm afraid love is only a fleeting moment,
Gone in the blink of an eye—so I'll venture forward slowly…"
The indescribable melody kept looping endlessly in his ears.
"So… impulsiveness really is the devil."
Fūjin Taichi sighed to himself.
"But without Isshin's impulsive act, how would that insanely overpowered Kurosaki Ichigo ever be born?
So, as a peace-loving transmigrator, I theoretically shouldn't change the protagonist's fate…
But just going to watch from the sidelines—or maybe acknowledging a godson or something—should be fine, right? Then… let's go!"
Hiss—
A pitch-black, cross-shaped void suddenly opened.
Fūjin Taichi sheathed Zanpakutō: Ichi, stepped into it at a leisurely pace, and in the next instant, both he and the cross-shaped void vanished completely…