Catching up on updates is hell—absolute hell!
Ever since returning to his room, Fujimiya Seiichi had been trapped in a three-day, three-night marathon of endless torment.
He had gone out to West Rukongai, slaughtered his way from one end of the street to the other, and spent two and a half months mercilessly cutting down countless wicked souls without so much as blinking—a true iron-blooded badass.
But those few days of badassery had cost him dearly—over two hundred chapters of backlog!
Even though the memories of Lord of Mysteries were etched into his mind, and he occasionally revisited them for fun—alternating with Impartial Star Rail, Lewd Ark, and other little mental videos—writing them all down by hand was a completely different beast.
In just these three days, Fujimiya felt like his soul had been hollowed out.
If not for the ever-watchful Takatori Hōzuki—standing coldly beside him, shackling his ankles, prodding his ribs with a shinai, and forbidding him from doing anything except eat, sleep, and use the bathroom (even tying his hands while he slept)—he would have bolted long ago.
Takatori Hōzuki: No one gets away with skipping updates.
Finally, on the fourth day, with the manuscripts bound into volumes and clutched like treasure in Hōzuki's arms as she carried them to bed, Fujimiya —now debt-free—was at last released from her dormitory.
"I-I'm back…"
Eyes bloodshot and body exhausted, Fujimiya pushed open the door to his long-absent room.
For a moment, everything inside felt so familiar, so warm.
Kirio, sitting at the small desk doing homework, dropped her pen with a clatter the second she noticed him.
"WAAAAH—!"
She barreled into his chest, crying like the world was ending.
"Big Brother Seiichi! You're finally back!!"
"I'll be good in kidō class from now on! Just take that mean teacher away, please!!"
She clung to his clothes like he might vanish, tears and snot flowing freely.
Life had been so hard without him!
Fujimiya blinked.
Then he looked up—
There, sitting at the desk by the window, was Senjumaru Shutara, leisurely reading a book under the sunlight, held aloft by one of her bone-white arms.
"Oh, congratulations."
"You survived."
Her tone was as languid and arrogant as ever, just like the version he'd seen in his inner world's big screen—utterly unshaken.
"Y-yeah."
"Thanks to your blessings, old lady."
Too drained to banter, Fujimiya just wanted to collapse onto his bed and sleep forever.
"Big Brother Seiichi?"
Kirio was still looking up at him with watery eyes.
Fujimiya scanned her and realized—she'd grown taller in just this short time. For spirits, that meant a rapid surge in spiritual pressure.
He grinned and ruffled her pink hair.
"Kirio-chan, you've gotta learn to adapt, y'know?"
"Otherwise, what'll you do if I marry Senjumaru-sensei one day?"
Senjumaru's eyebrow twitched. She gave him a sidelong glance of pure disdain.
"You dare say such things?"
"I have zero biological interest in caveman copulation."
Kirio, meanwhile, looked like she'd just heard the worst news of her life.
For a second, she just stood there, frozen.
Then—
"WAAAAAH—!"
"Big Brother, please! I'll marry you when I grow up!"
"Just don't get with that monster!!"
Fujimiya pinched her chubby little cheeks, thoroughly amused.
As long as you don't mind the crying and don't have to comfort them, teasing kids is pretty fun.
"Yeah, yeah."
"Just kidding."
Kirio let out a shuddering sigh of relief, still sniffling.
Senjumaru, seeing him about to pass out on the bed, finally stood from the desk.
One of her bone arms casually tossed a small box his way.
"Here."
"That thing you mentioned last time."
"It's barely functional."
"Since our deal's done, I'll take my leave."
She was referring to the "wireless spiritual communicator" he'd described.
He hadn't expected the first prototype to be so compact.
Senjumaru stretched lazily. Babysitting had been fun at first, but even toys grow dull with time.
"Thanks, Senjumaru."
Fujimiya caught it with a grin. "I'll be counting on you next time too."
"Hah."
She turned back, mocking. "Oh? That brain of yours can actually produce useful ideas?"
She never believed he had anything worthwhile to contribute.
Even with the communicator as proof, she still thought he'd just gotten lucky.
"Oh, I've got plenty."
Fujimiya smirked like a fox spotting its next prey.
A reusable, high-quality babysitting tool—what a find!
"Huh?! NOOOO!"
Kirio's wail of despair went ignored.
Objection overruled!!!
---
Life settled into a peaceful rhythm.
As part of the rotation for leave, Fujimiya spent his days at home—teaching Kirio advanced kidō, practicing swordsmanship and hand-to-hand combat, and of course, ensuring Takatori Hōzuki got her daily updates.
Very fulfilling.
Unohana had noticed something, though—
His growth only skyrocketed during life-or-death battles. Normal training did nothing.
After a few sparring sessions confirmed this, she simply… gave up on him.
So irresponsible.
Just as Fujimiya was starting to adjust to this leisurely life, orders finally arrived from headquarters.
---
Genji School Gate
By the time Fujimiya arrived, two figures were already waiting.
Chōjirō Sasakibe and…
Shiba Yozuru.
Unlike Shihōin Senju during his appearance at the dojo, the Shiba family head wore no sekkiseki shackles today.
He was free.
Yet his expression was even more haggard than when he'd been gravely injured.
Fujimiya and Sasakibe's mission?
Escort him back to the Seireitei.
"Head of the Shiba family. Sasakibe."
Fujimiya nodded in greeting.
"Ryū—no, it's Fujimiya , right?"
Yozuru managed a weak smile.
Caught off guard, Fujimiya —still not quite thick-skinned enough—could only chuckle awkwardly.
Sasakibe, as stoic as ever, gave a curt nod.
"If you're ready, let's move out."
---
Shiba Yozuru had not been having a good time.
Not because of torture or interrogation—
But because his entire worldview had been shattered.
As a proper scion of the Five Great Noble Families, Yozuru's century-plus of life had been spent gazing at the glossy paintings of nobility from his privileged perch.
Even if his father had hinted—repeatedly—at the truth, how could a mere hundred-year-old child truly understand?
Especially when, as the Shiba heir, most of his time was spent training, isolated from the world—deliberately kept ignorant of the Seireitei's rot by everyone but his closest kin.
But after just a short stay at the Genji School, his understanding of the world had been completely rewritten.
The catalyst was simple.
A few days ago, Yamamoto Genryūsai had personally taken him to see the peaceful villages under the Genji's protection—
And then sneaked him into nearby noble territories, where corpses littered the streets and people lived like livestock.
That was all it took.
For the first time, Yozuru truly understood—
The nobles ruling the Rukongai were nothing like he'd imagined.
And the journey back only reinforced that realization.
After witnessing how the unexploited souls lived under the Genji's rule, he could never go back to accepting the hellscape the nobles enforced.
Now, standing before the Seireitei's Azure Flow Gate—
The divide between the pristine white walls of the Seireitei and the squalor of the Rukongai felt physical.
Spotless towers and palaces.
Filthy shacks of wood and straw.
Nobles standing tall, barking orders.
Rukongai peasants, bent-backed and groveling.
An invisible line separated them—one that remained unbroken even without the sekkiseki walls.
"Fujimiya ."
Yozuru suddenly spoke, staring at the gate.
"If you had the chance… would you become one of them? A noble?"
Fujimiya thought for a moment, then countered:
"If nobles are the 'upper class,' what does that make Rukongai citizens?"
Yozuru paused, then tentatively offered:
"…The lower class?"
"Mhm."
Fujimiya nodded.
"Setting aside practicalities, being 'upper class' doesn't matter much to me."
"But reducing the number of 'lower class' people does."
Statistically, most people never get the chance to rise.
So he'd focus on the other side of the equation.
His answer was clear.
"Hah!"
Yozuru laughed.
Strangely, he didn't hate this man—the one who'd stabbed him and shown him the truth.
"How interesting…"
So much younger, yet far wiser than he'd ever been.
With that, Yozuru strode through the gate—leaving Fujimiya and Sasakibe behind.
Inside, hundreds of black-clad Stealth Force members lined the path to the Central Underground Assembly Hall.
Yozuru marched forward, straight into the heart of the chamber.
The Central 46 stood on their high platform, faces hidden behind white panels—only their voices permitted to pass through.
"Summoning the head of the Shiba family—"
"Shiba Yozuru."
"This session's agenda: the charge of negligence leading to the massacre of the high-ranking noble Harada Asaemon family by the Ryū faction, due to your reckless frontline actions."
Even as a Great Noble, Yozuru was technically subordinate to the Central 46—the Seireitei's highest authority.
But today, he broke protocol.
"Save your breath."
His voice was calm, cutting through their pompous speeches.
"I'm only here to deliver a message."
"The Tsunayashiro's trump card is no longer a secret."
"Genryūsai-dono's words: 'I await Tsunayashiro Shōgo's personal challenge.'"
With that, Yozuru turned to leave—ignoring the uproar his words caused.
But what shocked the nobles and sages even more was his attitude.
One of them shrieked:
"HALT, SHIBA YOZURU!"
"This inquiry is NOT concluded! What do you think you're doing?!"
Yozuru glanced back, his gaze smoldering with something dangerous.
"What am I doing?"
"I'm DEFECTING to the GENJI!!"