Infinite Anime [328-329] (Patreon)

Chapter 328: Playful Interrogation

Yoruichi watched Gusion shatter her kidō and shrugged. "All these years and you're still no fun. Come on, at least humor me a little in front of my subordinates. Would it kill you?"

"I just didn't sense any hostility when you moved. Same as I'm not showing killing intent. Otherwise, would you really dare circle behind me like that?"

As Gusion spoke, he dismissed his Shikai. His spiritual pressure drew in tight, making it hard for Soi Fon—trailing behind Yoruichi—to gauge his depth.

"Tch. Still as cocky as ever. If Aizen hadn't asked me personally, I wouldn't be out here doing this."

Yoruichi sounded annoyed. "We'll finish your procedures first. Then I'll show you who's actually stronger now."

Gusion raised both hands in a mock surrender. "Then I'll trouble the Commanderof the Onmitsukidō."

"That's better."

Yoruichi smiled, waved a hand. "Soi Fon, we're done. Pull the team back."

"Huh? Lady Yoruichi, we're not going to search for the other squad members? If even Mr. Gusion used an anomalous Garganta to escape, then the others…"

Soi Fon looked confused. Weren't they here to search for those who went missing last month? Why call it after finding a guy who disappeared seventy years ago?

"That's Hueco Mundo. The survival rate is low. I'll arrange for others to continue the search later."

Yoruichi tossed it off casually. Truthfully, she didn't think those people had survived. She was here to try her luck based on Aizen's analysis. Who knew she'd actually find Gusion?

And she hadn't had to risk entering Hueco Mundo. Gusion carved his own way out.

Most likely he'd forced a Menos into opening a garganta and seized the chance to slip through.

It's just that the correlation between a garganta's opening point in Hueco Mundo and its exit point in the World of the Living hasn't been systematically studied by Soul Society. The fact Gusion emerged right from the area she was investigating did feel suspicious.

But after observation and conversation, she was sure this was the Gusion she knew. Her wariness dropped a lot, and she had no intention of throwing him in a cell.

"Is this really okay?"

Soi Fon muttered under her breath, sneaking glances at Gusion and wondering what on earth had transpired between him and Lady Yoruichi.

"What's not okay? Let's go back to Soul Society and get his situation straight first."

Yoruichi rubbed her fists together as she looked at Gusion. Someone who didn't know better would think she was about to use heavy torture. In truth, she was just dying to know how he'd survived Hueco Mundo.

No need to urge or restrain him—Gusion followed Yoruichi's lead of his own accord.

He understood returning this way would raise questions. But compared to quietly returning to the World of the Living and waiting for Yoruichi to find him—inviting endless speculation—it was better to fight his way out right in front of her.

At least that proved his stance: he was still a Shinigami battling Hollows.

As for coincidence, Aizen had covered that angle. This place, later known as Karakura Town, was a singularity.

Seventy years ago, he disappeared here. A month ago, Shinigami also vanished here. So if he returned via a frequently opening garganta in this location, it could be chalked up to him reverse-engineering the pattern.

Yoruichi just happened to be investigating at the time and witnessed his return.

There were still plenty of doubts, but no matter what he did, a once-weak Shinigami returning alive from Hueco Mundo defied reason. Whether the higher-ups would doubt him hinged on Yoruichi's final report.

"You really should thank Aizen. If he hadn't come to me, I wouldn't have run out here. Onmitsukidō has its hands full."

Yoruichi said that as she strolled along, snacking on convenience-store treats. She didn't look busy at all.

Soi Fon wanted to complain that Lady Yoruichi had been having way too much fun in the human world the past few days—like she was on vacation.

Still, Yoruichi wasn't entirely wrong. With preparations underway for a campaign against the Quincy, Onmitsukidō was swamped. Yoruichi had likely fled to the human world to give herself a break.

"Judging by your earlier orders, can I assume that aside from Sosuke, no one in Soul Society has spared any thought for rescuing me all these years?"

Gusion shot back.

Yoruichi halted, a bit embarrassed. "I did think about looking for you, but I was just a student then. In your situation, the official ruling is basically presumed dead. It's… standard."

Seeing Gusion go quiet, she added, "Don't dwell on it. You're back, that's what matters. The Commander-Captain and Captain Unohana will be happy to hear it."

She knew the Gotei 13 could seem cold about missing personnel. From Gusion's perspective, that might feel heartless.

But as Commander of the Onmitsukidō, she also understood their constraints. Ordinary disappearances were manageable—usually lost in the human world—and Onmitsukidō could mount rescues.

Gusion, however, had been confirmed lost in Hueco Mundo. How were they supposed to rescue him? Invade Hueco Mundo? Unrealistic.

Soul Society would not risk many lives for a single person. Hueco Mundo is extremely dangerous for most Shinigami.

Aside from Captain-class, free activity in Hueco Mundo was near impossible. Onmitsukidō had only one Captain-level: Yoruichi. Faced with the vastness of Hueco Mundo, there was nothing they could do.

So Yoruichi understood the Gotei's cold handling. But personally, she knew missing Shinigami would find it hard to accept.

"Forget it. I'm alive. Tell me how Soul Society's been."

Gusion put on a magnanimous air. He'd already learned a lot from Sosuke, but he wanted Yoruichi's perspective—it fit his years away persona.

They chatted as they stepped into the Senkaimon.

Compared to a Hollow's garganta, the Senkaimon was far more stable. Even weaker Shinigami could pass without forming a reishi foothold beneath their feet.

…

"Yoruichi, sometimes I really have to wonder what you've been through these years."

Gusion sat in a chair, feeling his tied-up body, watching Yoruichi—one foot propped on a stool gap—twirling a little whip. "Did some, uh, peculiar tastes awaken in you?"

Crack—

Yoruichi snapped the whip through the air with a grin. "Gusion-kun, give me a few screams. I need to log that I interrogated you and you checked out clean."

"Aaah—so painful, I'll tell you everything…"

Gusion droned lifelessly. "Satisfied? Is this protocol really necessary? Is the Detention Unit a secret S&M club?"

"Boring."

Yoruichi tossed the whip aside and waved toward the door. "Next step."

Gusion burst the ropes apart with his spiritual pressure. "These tedious procedures feel designed to radicalize even loyal people. Who came up with this?"

"Who else? The old geezers in Central 46, of course. I think it's dumb too."

Yoruichi's blasphemy made the masked Detention Unit scribe sweat bullets. Should he even write that down?

"Pretty dumb," Gusion agreed.

Most of Central 46's fossils hailed from the Five Great Noble Clans—many from the Shihoin, in fact. They weren't much in personal strength but wielded the true power in Seireitei.

Even Commander-Captain Yamamoto operated within the rules they set—though Gusion felt that was mostly because the Commander-Captain himself valued strict order.

Gusion's biggest obstacle now would be Central 46. Even if Yoruichi glossed things over for him, if they revisited the case later, he could still get dragged through the mud again.

But he wasn't going to linger in Soul Society. He could only stay in this mission world for six months at most. As long as nothing big happened in the interim, he'd be fine.

And if it did, he could always flee back to Hueco Mundo.

"Alright, next is a written deposition. I ask—you answer…"

Yoruichi sat, snatched the pen from the Detention Unit officer, and signaled him to leave.

She trusted her unit's discretion. No one would betray the Commander of the Onmitsukidō. In terms of tight lips, no squad in the Gotei 13 beat hers.

After a long, tedious round of questioning, Gusion finally completed the interrogation under Yoruichi's guidance.

"Exhausting. Get over here and let me pound you once."

With the paperwork done, Yoruichi tossed the files aside and rolled her shoulders. "That was the price of my deal with Aizen."

"You didn't ask my consent."

Gusion did not share her enthusiasm for getting hit.

"Ungrateful, aren't you? Fine, let's spar instead. I want to see if your hakuda's improved."

Yoruichi was raring to go. She couldn't wait to regain some face.

She'd sensed Gusion's strong spiritual pressure and seen him kill an Adjuchas with her own eyes, but she figured his seventy years in Hueco Mundo were focused on zanjutsu. In hand-to-hand, he must be lagging.

She just wanted to win in her specialty, not fight to the death.

"You sure?"

Gusion gave her a strange look. In his view, Yoruichi's spiritual pressure wasn't all that. Barely captain-class at full power—maybe 84 points in raw stats.

With her Shunko, she was no slouch, but still lower-tier among current captains.

As for hakuda, Gusion had kept up with his close-quarters mastery, now at the master level.

"Seventy years later and you think it's the same as before? Let's see in the training hall."

Yoruichi saw that look and got irritated. She'd matured in many ways, but not in her obsession with beating Gusion.

For training, Onmitsukidō had the largest dojo in the Gotei 13, hidden beneath Seireitei's surface. Their members' identities were secret—so was their strength. Outsiders weren't allowed to observe.

"Fine. It's been a while since I had a good match."

Gusion grinned.

…

A black-suited figure blasted through the air with a boom, slammed into the underground dojo wall, and made the entire space tremble.

Yoruichi's curvaceous form was embedded in the wall. She struggled free, coughed blood, and twin lines of red traced down the unarmored sides of her back. Shunko had been disrupted by the heavy blow, leaving her reiryoku in disarray.

"Sorry. Misjudged my strength for a moment."

Gusion walked over, saying what felt like pure mockery to Yoruichi.

"You really are as insufferable as ever…"

Yoruichi's mouth twitched, and she winced as she moved. "I'm done. When I refine Shunko, I'll come teach you a lesson."

She gestured for her stunned subordinates to patch her up with kaidō. "You really have no sense of gratitude. I helped you. Couldn't you let me win once?"

"If I pulled my punches, you'd be even angrier."

Gusion smiled.

Yoruichi was speechless for a moment. "True… Still, it annoys me that my deal with Aizen ended like this. You're right—it's between me and him. Maybe I should just beat him up instead."

Gusion really wanted to say: You'll lose even worse to Sosuke…

He held back. He wanted to throw Aizen a curveball and see how he'd act. That would be fun to watch.

By the time Gusion and Yoruichi were amicably sparring, Onmitsukidō's report was already out.

Besides the copy sent to Central 46 for the record, one was sent to the Commander-Captain, and another to the 5th Division, where Gusion had once served.

…

In the 1st Division's barracks, Commander-Captain Yamamoto was enjoying afternoon tea, eyes half-closed like a kindly old grandpa.

"Commander-Captain, a new report from Onmitsukidō."

The voice broke the mood, and the old man's eyes opened, tinged with displeasure.

He looked to Sasakibe Chojiro, puzzled. As his closest aide, Sasakibe knew this was Yamamoto's rare quiet time and usually wouldn't bring work—unless it was urgent.

But as far as he remembered, none of Onmitsukidō's current tasks were urgent.

"Chojiro, is it urgent?"

The Commander-Captain's calm voice drifted through the tea-steam, like a mountain veiled in mist, steady and reassuring.

Sasakibe knelt across the table, slid the report over, and summarized, "Not urgent. But they say they found Gusion and brought him back to Soul Society."

Chapter 329: Commander-Captain—Let Me Test This Him

"What!?"

The Commander-Captain shot to his feet, grabbing the report. "Gusion didn't die?"

"Onmitsukidō wouldn't lie. It was an unexpected find during their search for the missing Shinigami."

Sasakibe explained, "Gusion has completed Onmitsukidō's procedures. The report says it's definitely him."

He'd been surprised too. Seventy years is long in the human world, and for young Shinigami. But for those like him and the Commander-Captain, who've lived over a millennium, it wasn't that long. Recent, even.

So Sasakibe remembered Gusion clearly. Only one person had ever graduated from Shin'ō Academy in three months.

Back then, the Commander-Captain had favored him, even personally instructing him multiple times—a rare honor.

Receiving the report, Sasakibe figured the Commander-Captain would be interested and brought it right away.

"Stubborn little devil. I meant to use him as a cautionary tale… and he survives."

Yamamoto stroked his beard. His words sounded annoyed, but his face wore a smile.

He'd wanted Gusion as a negative example: the boy ignored advice and rushed to graduate, only to get killed by a Gillian. What better lesson?

But hearing he'd lived, Yamamoto was in a good mood.

At the least, the Gotei had gained another high-potential combatant—good for protecting Seireitei and the balance of the three worlds.

"The report says he spent seventy years fighting in the Forest of Menos?"

The Commander-Captain frowned. "Back then he couldn't even beat a Gillian. How did he survive?"

He felt Onmitsukidō's report was too cursory. Gusion's testimony clearly had omissions.

"Should we have Onmitsukidō interrogate him again?"

Sasakibe asked.

The Commander-Captain shook his head. "Minor details. I'll check myself. Then we'll know if there's a problem."

Sasakibe understood. How Gusion survived in Hueco Mundo didn't matter. What mattered were his strength and allegiance. As long as he hadn't violated taboos and was still loyal to Soul Society, the rest was irrelevant.

…

"Yo, Gusion-kun, looking lively. Still remember me?"

A blond man with a straight-cut mane waved, grinning with a row of even teeth, a tongue piercing flashing when he spoke.

Gusion eyed the laid-back man and feigned confusion. "Fifth Seat Hirako?"

Behind him, Yoruichi seized the chance to tease and rapped Gusion on the head. "That's Captain Hirako. You think it's still seventy years ago? People get promoted, you know."

"Huh? What about Captain Akiyama?"

"Captain Akiyama died in the line of duty."

A flicker of grief crossed Hirako's face, gone in an instant. "Aizen talks about you often, Gusion-kun. He'll be thrilled to hear you're alive."

Yoruichi blinked. Aizen had gone straight to her; she'd assumed the 5th Division Captain would be the first to know Gusion lived.

Apparently, Hirako knew nothing—and thought Aizen didn't, either.

By sequence, Aizen must've had the intel first, then approached her.

So the 5th's Captain and Lieutenant… weren't on good terms?

"Things have changed. Yoruichi told me—Sosuke's a lieutenant now. You've all climbed fast while I was gone."

Gusion smiled.

"Since your name was struck from the 5th's roster, you're technically not a member. To rejoin, we need to process the paperwork. That's why I asked Captain Hirako to come collect you."

Yoruichi explained, "You used to be glued to Aizen back at the Academy. You'll probably want back in the 5th, right?"

"Then thanks."

Gusion nodded to Hirako. "Captain, shall we head to the barracks? It's been a long time. I've missed it."

He could've joined any division, but sticking with Aizen was most convenient.

For pure safety, the 1st was best—at this point in history, almost no one could beat Yamamoto.

Explorers or pioneers, no matter how strong, had ceilings at this tier. Against the Commander-Captain, it'd be one strike, no debate.

But Yamamoto's upright nature made Gusion's private moves awkward under his gaze. Better to be with Aizen. If needed, Aizen's Kyōka Suigetsu could cover for him.

"Then come wi—"

Hirako began, eager to bring Gusion back and ask questions—about Gusion's experience, and about Aizen, whom he found increasingly odd.

But he froze mid-sentence. From the left street, Commander-Captain Yamamoto and Lieutenant Sasakibe were approaching.

This wasn't a coincidence. The Commander-Captain was here for Gusion.

"Commander-Captain."

Hirako and Yoruichi bowed.

Gusion, a beat late, followed. "Commander-Captain."

"Lively enough. Seems Hueco Mundo didn't grind you down."

Yamamoto looked Gusion up and down, eyes narrowing, probing his spiritual pressure.

To him, Gusion felt between lieutenant and captain. Not shocking—after all, Yoruichi from the same era was already a captain.

"Thanks to your iron-fist lessons, I scraped by in Hueco Mundo."

Gusion replied humbly.

"The report says you cut down an Adjuchas in a garganta?"

That surprised Hirako; Yoruichi's version had only said Gusion was back, with little detail.

"After all these years, if I'd learned nothing, I'd have failed you and my other teachers."

Gusion admitted it outright. He couldn't hide too much—how else explain surviving Hueco Mundo? Without vice-captain-level power, it'd be nonsense.

"You've trained well enough. But I want to see your combat ability."

The Commander-Captain seemed in good spirits. To Yoruichi and Hirako's surprise, he continued, "Come. Let me see how much you've grown."

Gusion lifted his head, battle-lust flashing. "Hakuda? Or Zanjutsu?"

"You think this is the Academy? If I'm testing you, it's Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Shunpo, and Kido—everything."

He shrugged off his haori to Sasakibe. "Yoruichi, lead the way."

Yoruichi couldn't hide her grin. "Please follow me, Commander-Captain."

She loved a good show, especially after getting thrashed by Gusion. She wanted to see him get flattened. More than that, she wanted to gauge his ceiling. She'd seen him kill an Adjuchas, but was that his peak?

She'd only tested hakuda before—she didn't know the rest.

"Commander-Captain… Gusion-kun just—"

Hirako tried to suggest Gusion rest after years in Hueco Mundo and the grilling. But Sasakibe's hand on his shoulder stopped him. Their eyes met, and Hirako understood.

Yoruichi wouldn't be impartial with an old friend. The Commander-Captain likely had doubts—about identity, allegiance, ability—and would judge firsthand.

Worst case, if Gusion had been tainted, he'd be executed on the spot.

Best case, pass this trial and no one would question him again.

Following Yoruichi, they returned to the underground dojo.

The Commander-Captain glanced at the wall still repairing itself and then at Yoruichi. "You just sparred?"

"I tested Gusion's current hand-to-hand skill."

Yoruichi, reckless as she was, acted properly before the Commander-Captain.

"No need to ask who won…"

From lingering traces of reiryoku and his knowledge of Yoruichi's style, combined with a human silhouette dent in the wall, he could tell who'd been sent flying.

His interest grew. He stepped into the arena, shrugged his shihakushō down to his waist, revealing a torso corded with scarred muscle. "Boy, come at me with everything."

"You won't draw your sword, Commander-Captain?"

Gusion stepped in, facing the mighty elder.

Compared to the past, he'd grown vastly stronger, yet the pressure hadn't diminished. Beneath those millennia of battles, the small frame stood like a mountain.

"Draw my sword?"

The Commander-Captain's voice hardened. "Try to make me draw it."

The dojo lights cast a shadow under his brow. His aura rolled out like a tide, squeezing Gusion's heart in an invisible fist.

Gusion's blood boiled. He knew this wasn't the old master-pupil lesson. The Commander-Captain wasn't suppressing himself to Gusion's level. This was a real audit of a suspect.

And he could scale his power at will.

A mountain that could grow without limit—despair and exhilaration for any climber.

"Shatter the chains—Mazuko."

Facing that pressure, Gusion didn't dare probe slowly. He went straight to Shikai. "Commander-Captain, I don't think you know my Shikai's ability."

That piqued Hirako and Yoruichi. In the Gotei, unless you're close, you rarely know another's zanpakutō. Even among captains, Shikai abilities might be public, but Bankai details remained vague.

Gusion had graduated via a secret exam and disappeared right after joining. Aside from Captain Unohana, no one knew his blade well.

The Commander-Captain had only seen Unohana's testing notes: his blade slightly boosted reiryoku, was sharp and sturdy—nothing more.

But many Shinigami later discover new facets of their Shikai.

"My Shikai: as long as I break through the opponent's defense—even a tiny cut—it inflicts significant absolute damage that cannot be suppressed or offset by spiritual pressure."

Gusion stated it matter-of-factly.