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[Anime] Ch 236: Same Job as Shinigami
🕑 Added 2025-05-12 22:41:58 +0000 UTC— — — — — —
Shuren opened the River and personally sent a fresh new soul straight to Hell.
Watching the contribution points rise, he smiled in satisfaction.
If this keeps up, maybe a promotion and a raise aren't that far off.
Suddenly—
Shuren's brow twitched. He turned his head, eyes narrowing.
A Reiatsu was heading his way. Fast.
He muttered under his breath, "Finally… after all this time."
Was it a Shinigami? Or a Quincy?
Either way, he stood his ground calmly, waiting.
Didn't take long.
A group in standard black robes appeared.
The moment he saw their uniforms, Shuren understood.
"Shinigami, huh…"
But, just a bunch of nobodies. He didn't see any captain-class attire.
With a bored sigh, he waved dismissively. "Gunjo, you guys handle this."
---
Rukia Kuchiki and Nanao Ise approached cautiously, eyes narrowed as they spotted Shuren's group in the distance.
Nanao said grimly, "This is the area where we lost all contact with that soul."
Rukia nodded. "Then it's safe to assume… they're involved somehow."
She hesitated briefly, then suggested, "Maybe we should try talking first."
Nanao nodded. "We'll start there."
Still, her gaze passed over the others and settled on Shuren.
That man… He gave off a dangerous vibe.
A captain-level threat?
Nanao frowned slightly. This wasn't going to be easy.
To be safe, she discreetly released a Jigokucho (Hell Butterfly) back to Soul Society.
Then, they closed the distance and stood before Gunjo and others.
Nanao scanned the area, then cut to the chase. "The recent disappearance of souls and Hollows in Karakura Town—you're responsible, aren't you?"
She adjusted her glasses. Though phrased as a question, her tone made it clear she already knew the answer.
This group was suspicious as hell.
"Mind telling us what exactly you've been doing?"
Gunjo and the others exchanged glances, but didn't seem fazed.
"Just doing our jobs. Didn't know the Soul Reapers were sticking their noses into everything these days."
"'Your job'?" Nanao frowned. "You mean wiping out souls and Hollows?"
"What do you mean, 'wiping out'?" Taikon snapped. "We're just doing what Shinigami already do."
"…?"
Nanao blinked. That didn't make sense.
Rukia frowned too. "Doing what Shinigami do…?"
Could they mean—
"Konso (Soul Funeral)?" she asked, stunned.
"Ding ding. We have a winner," Shuren said, arms crossed, face calm. "No prizes though."
As far as Hell's higher-ups were concerned, there weren't any orders to keep their work under wraps.
Which meant Shuren had no need to be sneaky about it.
Now that he was officially part of Hell's workforce, he stood taller, spoke bolder.
He had backup now—who cared about the Soul Society?
Rukia and Nanao exchanged a baffled look.
Wait… he's serious?
You're doing Konsō? That's our job!
So what the hell are the Shinigami supposed to do now?
And the missing souls and Hollows—where the hell did you send them?!
Rukia stepped forward, ready to argue—but Nanao held her back.
"...?"
Rukia shot her a confused glance.
Nanao just shook her head. "We're here to investigate, not fight."
Besides, she had no guarantee she could handle someone like Shuren, who gave off clear captain-level energy.
She memorized their faces, then pulled Rukia away.
"…?"
Shuren watched them leave, stunned.
They're just… leaving?
Weren't Shinigami supposed to be their rivals?
He'd mentally prepared for an all-out brawl… but this?
He narrowed his eyes, recalling how the glasses woman kept glancing his way.
"Ohhh~ someone smart in the group."
They sensed the power gap, got a read on the situation, and made a clean exit.
Smart move.
Beside him, Gunjo asked hesitantly, "Lord Shuren, should we chase them?"
Shuren paused, then frowned. "No. Let's report this to Hell first."
He still didn't know how the higher-ups wanted to handle Shinigami.
Better to send in a report and wait for orders.
---
On the other side—
As they retreated, Rukia frowned. "Why?"
Nanao answered seriously, "That tall guy's strong. I don't think I could beat him."
"!!!"
Rukia's eyes went wide. "Stronger than you?!"
Nanao nodded grimly. "He's probably on par with a captain."
Rukia's pupils shrank in shock.
A captain-level threat?
Only now did she realize how serious this was.
In the shadows—Byakuya Kuchiki stood silently.
"The living world has gotten dangerous."
He considered pulling Rukia off this mission.
So far only Shuren had shown his strength, but that alone hinted at a deeper, more powerful force lurking behind the scenes.
Byakuya had already scanned all of Karakura Town faster than Rukia and Nanao.
What he found was unexpected.
Lots of unusual people had shown up.
The strangest thing? None of them had detectable Reiatsu.
But his gut told him—they were dangerous.
And just like Shuren's group had said, they were working.
Doing something similar to Soul Funeral, their Konso.
But they weren't sending souls to the Soul Society.
Which meant one thing—this would disrupt the balance between the three realms.
Byakuya's eyes narrowed, focusing on a half-human, half-dog creature nearby.
The easiest way to get information was to just grab someone and ask.
But, that would spook the whole group. Besides, this wasn't even his mission.
As a noble, Byakuya couldn't interfere with another Division's assignment lightly.
Why was he even in the living world?
— — —
Meanwhile, in Soul Society—
Kyoraku Shunsui lazily lifted a finger as a black butterfly fluttered down.
A second later—Nanao's serious voice came through.
"Captain, initial investigation suggests captain-level individuals are involved in the living world!"
Kyoraku's laid-back expression twitched. He sighed.
"Captain-level, huh…"
Yeah, this was going to be more trouble than he thought.
He scratched his messy hair, already regretting things.
Now he'd have to go in person.
And if cute little Nanao-chan was worried enough to say that. If he didn't go, he might be attending her funeral.
"…Kinda wish I'd taken that Hell assignment when it came up."
Soifon came back from Hell overnight and even looked happy. The mission must've been a breeze.
Too bad he missed that chance.
Oh well!
Kyoraku grabbed his zanpakuto, stood up from the wooden floor, adjusted his hat, and said with a light grin: "Time to do some actual captain work for once."
— — —
Meanwhile, in Hell—
Lynn leaned on his hand, flipping through the intel Enma Ai had just delivered.
"So… they ran into the Shinigami, huh?"
He wasn't surprised.
If anything, it took the Shinigami way too long to react.
It's been days, and only now they realize something's wrong in the human world?
After skimming the report— Lynn waved it off.
"Ai, have Yoruichi keep an eye on them. She knows how Shinigami tick."
---
"…??"
Yoruichi blinked when she got the mission.
But hey—that actually sounded like fun.
---
Back in Hueco Mundo—
"Uwaaah! Lady Nel!!"
Pesche cried uncontrollably.
"I finally found you!!"
Nel blinked awkwardly.
She'd gotten way too into her little adventure and completely forgot about them.
After a good cry, Pesche glared at the others with righteous fury.
"You humans! How dare you kidnap Lady Nel?!"
"ROAARRR—!"
A black glow gathered in his mouth, ready to fire a Cero blast!
"Wait—!"
Nel's eyes went wide. She waved her arms frantically to stop him.
BAM!!
Before Pesche could fire, Midoriko smacked him into the ground like a ragdoll.
The dark energy fizzled out instantly.
Pesche: "???"
What just happened?
Midoriko stared at the weird-looking creature that had jumped in their way, then turned to Nel.
"This thing your friend?"
Nel nodded on reflex.
Midoriko nodded back and dropped the idea of killing it.
Still, they were both Hollows, right?
So why was Nel so cute and this thing so… not?
Tch.
Might as well ship this guy off to Hell to work as free labor.
Then—
Midoriko looked up at the sky and asked, "That guy up there—he your friend too?"
Nel: "Huh?"
Her gaze drifted away from Pesche, who was half-buried in the white sand.
She followed Midoriko's line of sight and looked up as well.
And then—She saw him.
A man with short, messy, dirty blonde hair and a black eyepatch.
He was staring straight at Nel, unmoving. His lips slowly curled into a wide, exaggerated grin as he spoke in a low, eerie voice: "Found you…"
"!!!"
.
.
.
