Time flew by, and soon a month and a half had passed. It was the height of a sweltering summer. The scorching noon sun beat down on the quiet Seireitei, bathing the crisscrossing streets in shimmering golden light.
Inside the First Division barracks at the base of the Hill of Penitence, Fūjin Taichi sat eating watermelon while questioning Keichirō Saitō. "Keichirō, is it confirmed?"
"Keichirō, have you confirmed it?"
"Mm…"
Kneeling opposite Taichi, Saitō Keichirō frowned slightly and said,
"Just as I suspected… the night Tsukiyomi arrived in the Human World—Karakura Town—she lost her Shinigami powers entirely.
And the one who took her Shinigami powers is called Kurosaki Ichigo—a human who's… honestly very hard to describe in words. But I have to admit, I kind of admire him."
"..."
Taichi understood that Saitō Tsukiyomi had likely followed the same path as Kuchiki Rukia in the original Bleach storyline—unable to escape Kurosaki Ichigo's 'clutches,' she had transferred all of her Shinigami powers to him.
Because Ichigo acted as a substitute Shinigami in Tsukiyomi's stead, Seireitei did not initially notice anything unusual in Karakura Town.
That was, until more than a month later, when the Central 46 suddenly urged the Gotei 13 to establish an inspection team to investigate the duties of the stationed Shinigami in the Human World.
By coincidence, Saitō Keichirō was assigned as an inspector for Karakura Town. And when he went alone to investigate, he was shocked to discover that Saitō Tsukiyomi had completely lost her Shinigami powers—
And that the one who had obtained them, Kurosaki Ichigo, was a human.
According to Article 61 of the Seireitei Shinigami Management Regulations:
A Shinigami who privately transfers their powers to a human commits a grave crime. Depending on the severity of the consequences, Seireitei shall impose varying degrees of punishment upon both the Shinigami and the human involved.
As Tsukiyomi's adoptive elder brother, Keichirō clearly understood the seriousness of the matter. In order to protect her, he deliberately concealed the truth and did not report it to Seireitei.
What Saitō Keichirō did not know was that by this point, the Central 46 had already been completely "replaced" by Aizen's Kyōka Suigetsu—so how could they possibly accept his one-sided testimony?
Thus, by noon of the second day after Keichirō's return to Soul Society—namely, at this very moment—the Gotei 13 had already dispatched several members of the Discipline Corps to the First Division barracks to escort him back for questioning.
"Then… I leave this matter to you, Lord Taichi."
Before the Discipline Corps arrived, Saitō Keichirō had already revealed the truth behind the "missing Shinigami of Karakura Town" to Fūjin Taichi, and begged him to protect Saitō Tsukiyomi at all costs.
Afterward, with a calm expression, Keichirō was shackled by the Discipline Corps with stone restraints forged from Sekkiseki, fitted with shackles and ankle chains, and escorted to the Repentance Cell.
"You really think too highly of me, Keichirō…"
Taichi put down his watermelon and gazed up at the cloudless sky, thinking,
"I'm nothing more than a vice-captain in name only. How could I possibly interfere with the will of the Gotei 13?
Besides, this was Aizen's calamity from the very beginning—a catastrophe he orchestrated to obtain the Hōgyoku.
And this disaster doesn't target Saitō alone—it engulfs all of Soul Society. Almost no one escapes unscathed."
In the original Bleach storyline, the criminal who illegally transferred Shinigami powers to a human was Kuchiki Rukia.
Thus, desperate to protect his sister, Kuchiki Byakuya volunteered to go to the Human World, bringing along the equally worried Abarai Renji, to execute Kurosaki Ichigo in order to reduce Rukia's sentence.
Unexpectedly, Central 46 completely ignored the protests of the great noble Kuchiki family, directly sentencing Rukia to death—and repeatedly postponing and altering the execution date.
Though Byakuya appeared calm on the surface, his heart was already filled with uncontrollable fury toward Central 46.
He went alone to Sōkyoku Hill, defeating everyone who attempted to rescue Rukia along the way—
All because he wanted to bear the crime of "disrupting the execution grounds" alone, so others would not be implicated in the act of saving her.
Yet in the end—
The absolute protagonist of Bleach, Kurosaki Ichigo, descended like a god, openly using plot armor, bulldozing straight through Seireitei's mid-lane, and ultimately destroying Sōkyoku Hill itself.
But now, the one who had lost her Shinigami powers was Saitō Tsukiyomi.
Though she had been adopted by the mid-ranking noble Saitō family, and though she had an "elder brother" in Keichirō who was willing to stand up for her—
In terms of strength and status, he could not be compared to Kuchiki Byakuya at all. How could he possibly save Tsukiyomi from Aizen's grasp?
Not to mention that Keichirō himself was already imprisoned in the Repentance Cell for "deceiving Seireitei," barely able to protect himself.
"So…"
"If Tsukiyomi is to be saved, the only option is to have a fair-minded, benevolent captain-class Shinigami take responsibility for the mission to apprehend the criminal in the Human World!"
At that thought, two ideal candidates immediately surfaced in Taichi's mind:
Tenth Division Captain Shiba Kaien,
and Thirteenth Division Captain Ukitake Jūshirō.
Both captains were kind-hearted and approachable, and both had good relations with him. If he could persuade either one of them to take the mission, they might show mercy to Kurosaki Ichigo and Saitō Tsukiyomi in the Human World…
…
"Accordingly, Tenth Division Captain Shiba Kaien is hereby ordered to form an advance capture unit, proceed to the Human World, execute the human calamity Kurosaki Ichigo, and arrest the criminal Saitō Tsukiyomi, escorting her back to Soul Society to face execution!"
Two days later, inside the Gotei 13's council chamber, Yamamoto Genryūsai solemnly announced the final ruling. The captains below erupted into an uproar:
Some questioned whether the Central 46's judgment was too severe; some remained silent; some were openly excited, eager to watch the drama unfold; others looked on coldly, while a few seemed visibly relieved…
"Commander-Captain, I request that First Division Vice-Captain Fūjin Taichi accompany us!"
Upon hearing the verdict, Shiba Kaien immediately stepped out of the ranks and addressed Yamamoto Genryūsai.
"Your reason," Yamamoto replied flatly, not even lifting his eyelids.
"Because he… is very capable!"
"..."
Yamamoto's expression remained unchanged—but anyone who knew him well would recognize this as the prelude to an outburst.
"Furthermore, Vice-Captain Fūjin has been stationed in the Human World and is familiar with the environment there. With his assistance, I can complete the mission more efficiently and swiftly!"
"..."
Yamamoto slowly opened one eye and stared deeply at Shiba Kaien for a long moment before finally speaking:
"Permission granted."
"Thank you, Commander-Captain!" Kaien said with repeated bows.
"Tch… It seems the Commander-Captain is especially lenient toward captains with the surname Shiba," Mayuri Kurotsuchi muttered under his breath.
"Captain Kurotsuchi! I heard that poorly timed complaint of yours," Kaien said quietly after returning to the ranks.
"Tch… an ignorant little brat," Mayuri turned his head away, clearly unwilling to engage with Kaien—
In his eyes, this young captain was just as irritating as his predecessor, Shiba Isshin.
"Then, dismissed."
With that, Yamamoto left the council chamber. The captains dispersed as well, each departing with their respective vice-captains, until the hall was completely empty.
"So—how did it go, Captain Kaien?!"
Only after Aizen had walked far away did Fūjin Taichi emerge from a corner, grabbing Kaien and asking eagerly.
"Ah…"
Kaien put on a sorrowful expression and gazed up at the blue sky with a sigh.
"In order to help you… I may have unintentionally offended a certain pervert."
"A pervert? You mean Captain Mayuri, right?"
The moment Taichi heard the word pervert, his mind immediately went to the Twelfth Division captain.
"Huh? How did you know—"
Kaien suddenly stopped, glanced around to make sure no one was eavesdropping, then lowered his voice.
"I don't know why, but I always feel like that guy has some kind of bias against the Shiba family…"
"Maybe because the Shiba family owes him a lot of money… or maybe someone from your clan offended him in the past?" Taichi said casually.
"Heh, who cares about him?"
Kaien shook his head, then said to Taichi,
"Anyway, let's not waste time. Let's go!"
"Right!"