Bleach: I Love Making Friends

After returning home, Haruki was still puzzled about what the Tsunayashiro family wanted him to do.

What task could they possibly have for him?

He had just become a vice-captain, and the Tsunayashiro family was already targeting him?

As a vice-captain, Haruki had the right to refuse the Tsunayashiro family's orders.

But there was no need for that. He wanted to see what the Tsunayashiro family had in store for him.

In the Seireitei, there were two special power structures.

The first was, of course, the Central 46 Chambers. The Central 46 Chambers were the highest judicial authority in the Soul Society. Once a decision was made by the Central 46, even the Gotei 13 had no right to oppose it and could only carry it out resolutely!

The second power structure was the Noble Assembly, which governed all the nobles of the Seireitei. It was led by the five great noble families, especially the Tsunayashiro family, the foremost among them.

On the surface, these two power structures seemed to have different roles, with the Central 46 being the highest authority. But upon closer inspection, that wasn't entirely true.

The Central 46 was indeed the publicly recognized highest authority, but the so-called "wise men" who made up the Central 46 were all nobles.

Since they were nobles, they naturally fell under the jurisdiction of the Noble Assembly.

In other words, by controlling the nobles, the Tsunayashiro family could easily control the Central 46, which was composed of nobles.

Thus, the five great noble families held an exceptionally lofty position in the Soul Society, especially the Tsunayashiro family.

For someone like Haruki, who had just become a vice-captain, he might be a rising star in the Seireitei, but to the Tsunayashiro family, which had ruled the Seireitei for millions of years, he was hardly worth noticing.

If he had become a captain, that would be one thing, but a mere vice-captain...

He was hardly worth mentioning.

But Haruki was more than happy to play along with the Tsunayashiro family. After all, this family had so many good things to offer.

He wanted to see if he could snatch some benefits from them.

With this in mind, Haruki decided not to sleep.

He still had three days before the mission. He planned to use these three days to train as hard as he could, improving as much as possible.

So, for the next three days, he didn't go out to raise favorability. Instead, he stuck to a routine of work, training, and brief rest.

On the third day, as soon as Haruki entered the Fifth Division, he saw a Hell Butterfly floating toward him.

The Hell Butterfly landed on Haruki's finger, and in the next moment, information flooded his mind.

"Huh?"

Haruki was momentarily stunned, then couldn't help but chuckle softly. "As expected."

He had received the mission assigned to him by the Tsunayashiro family. Unsurprisingly...

It was to go to the human world and help the Tsunayashiro family investigate a group of people.

A group of humans with special abilities—the Fullbringers!

This was the conclusion Haruki had reached after three days of thinking.

To the people of the Soul Society, the human world was a world of ordinary humans, a world of matter where spiritual particles were sparse. Spiritual beings would feel uncomfortable in such an environment.

How could a noble family like the Tsunayashiro family possibly care about the human world?

So, the only thing in the human world that could attract their attention was the Fullbringers, who possessed fragments of the Soul King.

Yes, the reason Fullbringers could wield such strange abilities was largely because they carried fragments of the Soul King within their bodies.

These fragments of the Soul King attracted Hollows to attack their mothers, leading to the emergence of "Fullbring."

However, sending him to investigate the Fullbringers...

This was quite interesting.

Those guys...

Could they have mistaken him for a fragment of the Soul King as well?

This wasn't impossible.

The Tsunayashiro family controlled the surveillance of the entire Seireitei. Many of his actions couldn't escape their notice.

Although his battles had taken place in the Rukongai, he might have left some clues in the Seireitei, which the Tsunayashiro family could have picked up on.

Did they suspect he might possess the power of the Soul King?

Perhaps they were even planning to make a move against him in the human world this time.

Knowing the plot of Bleach, Haruki was aware that the Tsunayashiro family would eventually target the Fullbringers. This time, he was being sent to gather information on them.

Once the investigation was complete, the Tsunayashiro family might eliminate both the Fullbringers and him, possibly even framing him for the deaths of the Fullbringers.

Haruki felt he had figured out the truth. Tsk, you think you can outsmart me?

Haruki released the Hell Butterfly and headed toward the Fifth Division's office.

Aizen was busy handling paperwork and didn't react when Haruki walked in.

It had to be said, Aizen's work ethic was impressive. He single-handedly kept the Fifth Division running smoothly.

Gin Ichimaru didn't seem like the type to work diligently, and Haruki certainly wasn't either. That meant the bulk of the Fifth Division's work fell on Aizen's shoulders.

You've worked hard, Aizen.

Haruki walked in and greeted him, saying, "Captain Aizen, I'm heading to the human world for a mission. Do you want me to bring back any souvenirs?"

Aizen finally looked up and said, "Since it's a task assigned by the Tsunayashiro family, go ahead and do it. The division doesn't need you anyway."

"Ouch, that hurts. You make it sound like I'm completely dispensable," Haruki sighed. "Well, I'm off. Oh, by the way..."

He turned around and glanced back at Aizen, adding, "While I'm in the human world, should I say hello to any of your old acquaintances for you?"

"..."

Aizen was silent for a moment, then smiled. "That's up to you. I've always believed in giving my subordinates freedom."

"Alright then," Haruki said before leaving the office and heading toward the Senkaimon.

Captains had the authority to open Senkaimon with their Zanpakutō, but since this mission was a "covert operation," Haruki couldn't use the official Gotei 13 channels.

Following the information from the Hell Butterfly, he arrived at a Senkaimon and passed through it into the Dangai.

The Dangai was a special space-time passage that separated the worlds. The density of time here was two thousand times that of the outside world, making it a terrifyingly dangerous passage.

Purple "Kōryū" currents flowed around him. If caught in the Kōryū, one would be trapped in the Dangai forever.

There was also the Kōtotsu, a cleaner that appeared once every seven days. If touched by the Kōtotsu, even a soul would be erased.

No Shinigami, no matter how strong, could withstand the Kōtotsu. As long as you were a Shinigami, you couldn't resist this rule-bound entity.

Haruki was curious to see if his Destruction Beam could harm the Kōtotsu, but it wasn't the right time for the Kōtotsu to appear, and he had no interest in waiting around in the Dangai for it.

If it didn't work, he'd be done for!