Bleach: Starting From Joining Squad 6

A sparring match?

The moment he heard Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni's words, Nagasawa Masaru's heart skipped a beat.

To be honest, if Yamamoto had suggested a Shokugeki-style cooking duel, Masaru would've gladly agreed on the spot. But a serious duel? No thanks.

He remembered a certain Bleach movie where a poor kid happened to have the same Zanpakutō as Tōshirō Hitsugaya. Because of the "only one Zanpakutō of each kind" rule, the Central 46 decreed that only one of them was allowed to live.

Although Kubo had later clarified that the movies represented a parallel Soul Society, Masaru wasn't about to assume the Central 46 in this world wouldn't come to the same brilliant conclusion.

After all, idiots have a way of thinking alike. Especially forty-six of them.

Luckily, even while using the experience card, Masaru had already prepared a cover story. He raised his hands with a helpless look and said:

"If I told you that having Ryūjin Jakka was purely a coincidence, would you believe me?"

At that, several captains looked visibly stunned.

Masaru went on calmly.

"My Zanpakutō is... extremely temperamental. I can't even be sure what form it'll take the next time I release it."

"And once a form is released, if I don't make proper use of its ability, I can't swap it out. It's honestly a pain."

Watching his genuine-looking annoyance, even the ever-composed Aizen Sōsuke looked like he was struggling to keep a straight face.

"So exactly how moody are you to end up with a Zanpakutō like that?!"

Everyone knew that a Zanpakutō's form and abilities were reflections of the wielder's own soul. If what Masaru was saying was true...

For some reason, Yamamoto began to regret letting this guy into the Gotei 13.

After giving Masaru a long, hard look, he chose not to pursue it any further.

Soon, the graduates of Shinō Academy, who had been evacuated earlier by their homeroom teachers, returned to the graduation ceremony venue. Thanks to some black-tech miracle from the Shinigami Research and Development Institute, the damaged grounds were fully restored in no time.

To be fair, the quality of these graduates was quite high. Although over ninety percent of them would end up as regular rank-and-file soldiers, just making it through the selection process from the millions of souls in Soul Society meant they all had something special.

After a brief rest, nearly all of them had adjusted and were back in form.

Still, most of them hadn't seen much of the real world yet. The earlier chaos aside, getting to witness a captain-level showdown, not to mention Ryūjin Jakka in action, had left them thrilled.

As they re-entered the venue, they eagerly looked around, wide-eyed with curiosity.

But unfortunately, aside from the scorch marks on Zaraki Kenpachi's face, and the unfamiliar youth in a Shinō Academy uniform standing beside Captain Kuchiki Ginrei and Vice-Captain Kuchiki Sōjun with a warm smile, everything else looked like nothing had ever happened.

"Hmm? Wait a second. Why is that guy standing behind both my grandfather and my father?"

Kuchiki Byakuya had always been a stickler for rules. As the rightful heir of the Kuchiki clan, he had been trained from a young age to become someone who upheld those rules.

So when he saw someone his own age standing behind his father like that, he immediately realized Masaru must have won his bet with Yamamoto.

Not only had he been accepted into the Gotei 13, he had even joined their Sixth Division. Byakuya's elegant eyebrows furrowed tightly.

What he didn't know, however, was that while they were all curiously observing Masaru, Masaru was also quietly observing them—especially Byakuya and Ichimaru Gin.

When Masaru caught a glimpse of Byakuya furrowing his brows at him, he sighed inwardly.

Sure, Soul Society respected strength above all, but that didn't mean it lacked structure or rules.

By joining the Gotei 13 through such an unorthodox path, he was bound to upset a few people.

The more rules you break, the more pushback you'll face later.

He understood that those who stood out got cut down first. And he had no desire to one day be mysteriously stabbed seven times in the back and have it ruled a suicide after his experience card expired.

Right now, he was basically the equivalent of KING from One Punch Man—famous in name, but lacking the power to back it up.

And unlike KING, there was no bald-headed savior coming to bail him out.

That meant he had to become the most likable guy around. At least until he genuinely became the strongest, he needed to be someone even while slacking off, others would still praise.

Otherwise, with his current position as the Sixth Division's third seat, even the most random mission could get him killed.

The graduation ceremony for Shinō Academy wasn't particularly elaborate, and the enlistment ritual was just as simple.

After all, by the time students reached their sixth year, they were already interning at their assigned squads. Unless something unusual happened, they would almost always join the division they trained with.

Worth noting: both Ichimaru Gin and Kuchiki Byakuya were appointed as seated officers right away.

Gin was made the Seventh Seat of the Fifth Division. Byakuya, the Fourth Seat of the Sixth Division.

Seeing this, Masaru rubbed his chin with great interest.

Now this was getting interesting.

Putting aside Ichimaru Gin and his fixation on revenge for now...

In the original timeline, Byakuya, as the supreme genius of the Kuchiki clan and six-time top student at Shinō Academy, was supposed to graduate straight into the Sixth Division as its Third Seat.

That would've completed the old-young-middle trifecta—locking down the Sixth Division's top three seats and firmly cementing the Kuchiki family's absolute authority.

But because of Masaru's intrusion, Byakuya had been bumped down a rank to Fourth Seat.

Which meant now was a good time to explain the Gotei 13's command structure.

Each squad had one captain and one vice-captain, followed by several ranks of seated officers. The ranks usually reflected their strength, with the Third Seat assisting the vice-captain, and so on. Below them were over 200 regular squad members.

The higher your seat, the harder the missions you'd be assigned.

Some squads even had ten or twenty people holding the same seat rank, depending on circumstances. Some were so large they were divided into separate platoons, each with its own squad leader.

Thinking of this, Masaru subconsciously started counting on his fingers.

"Kuchiki Sōjun, as vice-captain, supports the captain."

"I, as the Third Seat, support the vice-captain."

"So... if I hand all my work over to Byakuya, the Fourth Seat, I've created a perfect loop!"

Nagasawa Masaru, enlightened.

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100 P.S = 1 Extra Chapter