novelblue
Chapter 159
Chapter 159
Chapter 159
Kaelith led Kisuke Urahara away from the Second Division barracks, heading for the prison in the rear mountains.
This place wasn’t unfamiliar to Kisuke.
It was the entrance to the Nest of Maggots.
He had once fought side by side with Kaelith here.
Even some distance away from the prison entrance, the defenses were already tight.
Members of the Punishment Force, clad entirely in black, lay concealed in various hidden positions.
The moment any unidentified individual approached, they would be driven away. If one warning didn’t suffice, the next measures taken would not be fit for young eyes.
Of course, none of this applied to Kaelith.
His current position was Third Seat of the Second Division, temporarily managing the Nest of Maggots. The entire security system here consisted of his subordinates.
Several guards posted openly at the entrance saw Kaelith coming and knelt down on one knee from afar in salute.
At first, Kaelith wasn’t used to this form of greeting.
If he had his way, he’d prefer these subordinates to wear black suits and sunglasses, line up in two neat rows, and bow at a thirty-degree angle as he passed by. Ideally, he’d return from the battlefield, discover his beloved Aizen holed up in a doghouse after being humiliated by villains, and at that key moment, receive such a grand greeting. Just imagining it made him feel good.
But this was the Soul Society, with countless years of tradition. His personal opinions had no real impact.
This was no Freetown; he couldn’t just change things at will. Sure, he could make them abandon certain rituals now, but what if one day he left this post?(t/n: see notes)
If the team members hadn’t reverted to the default formalities by then, they might offend the new officer due to improper etiquette. For his own momentary satisfaction, he’d be causing others trouble.
Kisuke Urahara had no idea what Kaelith was thinking right now. He only felt immense pressure.
This guy brought him all the way to the Nest of Maggots—could he be planning to lock Kisuke up for fun?
As absurd as it sounded, with Kaelith, nothing was impossible…
“Kaelith-san, why did we come here?” Kisuke couldn’t help but ask.
Kaelith replied, “Recently, the Gotei 13 have been rounding up rebels and searching the Tsunayashiro family’s properties. They’ve captured quite a number of criminals. The more important ones are under intense interrogation—executed if necessary, or thrown into Muken. As for the less important ones, most have been sent to the Nest of Maggots. Now, the place is more crowded than ever, practically overflowing. The Supervisory Team is too busy to handle it all.”
As he spoke, Kaelith removed his Zanpakut? and handed it to the guard outside the prison.
One of the key rules here was no entering with a blade.
Even managers had to surrender their swords before going inside.
Kisuke followed suit, removing his sword as well, nodding thoughtfully.
Indeed, the aftermath of a large-scale rebellion was a major headache.
But what did this have to do with him?
Suddenly, a bad thought crossed his mind.
Sure enough, shortly after entering the Nest of Maggots, Kaelith pointed at a group of wandering prisoners.
“Kisuke, let’s test your skills.”
“Go handle those guys. If you finish in under 60 seconds, that’s three stars; under 90 seconds, two stars.”
“Over 90 seconds… death penalty.”
“Death penalty?!”
Kisuke’s eyes widened.
“One… two…” Kaelith had already started counting. Kisuke wanted to swear up and down, but he had no time. He flashed forward, landing right in the midst of the prisoners.
They paused, startled, then grinned ferociously.
Another prison officer, perhaps?
For these inmates, one of life’s greatest pleasures was roughing up Shinigami.
Without Zanpakut?, Shinigami were like toothless tigers, easy prey!
Several inmates reached out large hands, aiming for Kisuke’s head.
Kisuke took a deep breath, then began to move in a blur.
With each Shunpo, he appeared behind another inmate, striking their weak points.
In less than twenty seconds, all the prisoners were foaming at the mouth, unconscious on the ground.
Watching Kisuke land steadily, Kaelith clapped his hands, satisfied.
As expected from the future manager of the Nest of Maggots in the original storyline. Though he was still young, his skills were already commendable.
“Excellent, subarashii!”
“Kisuke, it’s settled. Starting today, you’ll be in charge of security inside the Nest of Maggots!”
Kisuke: “…”
Damn it, he knew this would happen.
He tried a last-ditch struggle: “Kaelith-san, I have my own work too…”
“Isn’t your current job just arranging attendance rosters? Assign a couple of secretaries to handle it. There’s never a shortage of people for administrative tasks.”
With a casual wave, Kaelith crushed Kisuke’s final hope.
Seeing Kisuke’s face as though he was attending his own funeral, Kaelith crossed his arms.
“Kisuke, what’s with that reaction? I’m giving you an opportunity here.”
“Management of the Nest of Maggots has always been handled by the Third Seat of the Second Division. Getting you familiar with this work now will be a big help for you when you aim for Third Seat in the future!”
“Don’t worry, you won’t be doing it for long. Once the rebels are mostly dealt with and there’s no need to keep logging and interrogating all these people, you’ll be free.”
Kisuke silently looked at the ceiling.
What sin had he committed to deserve such a boss?
After casually dumping his job onto Kisuke, Kaelith strolled around the Nest of Maggots.
As he’d said, compared to when he first took over, the place was now overcrowded.
Groups of criminals huddled together, causing trouble for the Shinigami stationed here.
He might be able to keep them in check himself, but he couldn’t always be around.
Now with Kisuke, this excellent laborer… ahem, excellent subordinate, things could finally settle down.
As he wandered, Kaelith suddenly froze.
He was surprised to see someone sitting in a corner of the prison.
A man who looked to be in his thirties, with messy blue hair, a dirty face, and hollow eyes, clearly lost in thought.
Seeing him, Kaelith grinned.
Mayuri Kurotsuchi!
He’d scoured countless places to find him, and yet here he was, right at hand again!
Kaelith approached with a wide smile.
Today, no matter what, whether using CPU or CAD, he was determined to recruit this scientific genius into his fold!
Mayuri, sitting on the ground and deep in his own mental blueprint of some new project, noticed a pair of straw sandals appear in his field of vision. He frowned slightly and looked up.
When he saw who it was, his eyes widened.
Just as Kaelith was about to begin his persuasion, Mayuri’s eyes shone with excitement—
“Kaelith! I want to work for you! Get me out of here!”
“?”
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T/n: About "Freetown" This basically means Soul Society isn’t like Freetown, is a reference to a place where authority or personal power can freely overturn traditions or established rules.