Bleach: I Love Making Friends

Haruki didn't have much to say. After all, he was relatively new, having just graduated from the Shin'ō Academy not long ago. Anything he theoretically should know, Kaien would know even better.

So he didn't offer any advice, simply joining Kaien in drinking the farewell wine.

And in doing so, he raised Kaien's favorability to 80.

The next day, after the drinking session, Haruki watched as Kaien and the members of the 11th Division stepped through the specially constructed giant Senkaimon.

This Senkaimon would transport them to Hueco Mundo, a world similar to the Soul Society yet fundamentally different.

However, neither Kaien from the 13th Division nor Renji, who had transferred from the 5th Division to the 11th Division, showed any fear. As for the battle-crazed members of the 11th Division, fear was the last thing on their minds.

According to Aizen, Zaraki Kenpachi had also wanted to go to Hueco Mundo, but Captain-Commander Yamamoto had refused.

With Zaraki's personality, if he went to Hueco Mundo, he wouldn't focus on finding the strange Hollow. Instead, he'd be looking for fights everywhere.

Invading Hueco Mundo to eliminate Hollows wasn't the duty of Shinigami. Their role was to maintain the balance of the three realms, so under normal circumstances, neither the Gotei 13 nor the Central 46 would allow Zaraki to lead such a mission.

Captains were the strongest fighters of the Gotei 13, each standing at the pinnacle of the Soul Society. They weren't supposed to be deployed lightly.

Still, the 11th Division sent quite a few of their elites.

The 3rd Seat, Ikkaku Madarame, and the 5th Seat, Yumichika Ayasegawa—both future notable figures—were part of the expedition team.

Ikkaku's soul ability was "The Well-Known Secret," while Yumichika's was "The Beautiful Thing."

'The Well-Known Secret: Designate a secret you wish to hide, and it will be inadvertently discovered by others.'

'The Beautiful Thing: Designate a person or object to make them more beautiful.'

Hmm, while these abilities didn't seem combat-oriented, they were still quite interesting.

"The Well-Known Secret" was likely a reference to Ikkaku's Bankai.

In the story, Ikkaku hid the fact that he had achieved Bankai so he could continue fighting under Zaraki Kenpachi in the 11th Division. However, it seemed like everyone eventually found out anyway.

Thus, the origin of "The Well-Known Secret" soul ability. While it might seem useless at first glance, Haruki could think of a few ways to use it.

Letting others discover your secret wasn't ideal, but what if the secret was fabricated?

For example, what if he hid the secret that "Haruki Murakami is actually a part of the Soul King"? Then, through various coincidences or "careful consideration," others would discover this secret.

Since it would be a conclusion they reached themselves, no one would doubt it. Wouldn't that make Haruki Murakami truly a "part of the Soul King"?

When everyone believes you are something, you become that thing, whether it's true or not.

There were many other uses for this ability. For instance, he could designate the secret that "Aizen is actually a traitor to the Soul Society." Over time, this secret would gradually be discovered by others, exposing Aizen's schemes ahead of time.

Or he could designate the secret that "The Quincy are still alive, hiding in the shadows of the Soul Society and have established the Wandenreich." After some time, wouldn't someone uncover the Quincy's existence?

Of course, the "secret" being leaked had to have some basis in reality, at least enough to make it seem plausible.

For example, if Haruki said his secret was "I am Aizen's father," no one would believe that, right?

But if he said "Aizen is a traitor," someone like Kyōraku Shunsui, the cunning old fox, might believe it.

Similarly, if he said "The Wandenreich, the Quincy's empire, exists in the shadows of the Soul Society," someone like Kyōraku or Mayuri Kurotsuchi might eventually uncover it.

But claiming to be someone's father? No one would buy that!

As for Yumichika's "The Beautiful Thing," it was also a pretty useful ability. Like Rukia's "Star," it was a convenient way for Haruki to gain favor.

After all, who doesn't love beautiful things?

Haruki could use this ability on himself to become more handsome. In a world where most people judged by appearances, having a good-looking face could give him an edge in many situations.

In fact, there had once been a seated officer in the 5th Division with a similar ability, but she was no longer around.

During a patrol mission, she encountered a Menos and ultimately died in the Rukongai. Haruki never had the chance to obtain her "Beauty Enhancement" ability.

Now that a similar ability had appeared, Haruki was determined to get his hands on it.

However, they were about to head to Hueco Mundo, and Haruki didn't have the chance to speak with them.

He had no interest in going to Hueco Mundo. There were still plenty of soul abilities in the Soul Society waiting for him to obtain. He'd have to be crazy to go to Hueco Mundo.

After waving them off, Haruki watched as Kaien led the Hueco Mundo expedition team through the Senkaimon.

Then he returned to the 5th Division and resumed his daily life.

Every day was either work or training. He could now understand why so many Shinigami seemed to react slowly and why Kyōraku's heart had such thick walls.

It couldn't be helped. When you spend decades or even centuries doing the same things day in and day out, your heart's walls naturally grow thicker.

Work itself wasn't scary. What was scary was having to work for decades.

The thought of spending the next few decades working for the Soul Society made Haruki sigh.

"Vice-Captain Haruki, are you unhappy?"

Momo, who had just walked in, noticed Haruki sighing and asked curiously.

"Ah, no." Haruki shook his head. "Just thinking about work."

"Work?" Momo looked puzzled. "But Vice-Captain Haruki, you've been handing most of your work to me, haven't you?"

"Uh…" Haruki quickly changed the subject. "Momo, did you come here for something?"

Momo also seemed a bit troubled. "I heard from Captain Aizen that Kira might be transferring divisions too?"

"…" Haruki paused, then nodded. "Yes, it seems he's transferring to the 4th Division."

"Sigh…" Momo sounded regretful. "After Renji left, I thought Kira would stay. I didn't expect that in less than two years, Kira would be leaving too."

It had been nearly two years since the Hueco Mundo expedition team entered Hueco Mundo. In those two years, there had been no news from the team.

Haruki hadn't made any special effort to follow up. He didn't think the team would simply die in Hueco Mundo.

...

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