Yoshio had nothing to add. He was green—barely out of the Shin'ō Academy. The things he was supposed to know by the book, Shiba Kaien knew even better.
So he didn't nag; he just shared a farewell drink with Shiba Kaien.
After that, Kaien's favorability toward him rose to eighty.
…
The next day after drinking, Yoshio watched Shiba Kaien and members of the Eleventh Division step into a specially designed, giant Senkaimon.
This "Senkaimon" would send them to Hueco Mundo—a world similar to the Soul Society, yet seemingly entirely different.
Still, neither the Thirteenth's Shiba Kaien nor Renji—transferred from the Fifth to the Eleventh—showed even a hint of fear, to say nothing of the Eleventh's battle maniacs.
According to Aizen, Kenpachi originally wanted to go to Hueco Mundo but was refused by Captain-Commander Yamamoto.
Knowing Kenpachi's temperament, if he went to Hueco Mundo he definitely wouldn't obediently hunt the designated weird Hollow—he'd just brawl everywhere.
Breaking into Hueco Mundo to exterminate Hollows isn't the duty of Shinigami; Shinigami need only maintain the balance of the Three Realms. So under normal circumstances neither the Gotei 13 nor the Central 46 would allow Kenpachi to lead a team.
Captains are the Gotei 13's highest combat power; each stands at the summit of Seireitei—never dispatched lightly.
Even so, the Eleventh Division had plenty of elites going.
Third Seat Ikkaku and Fifth Seat Ayasegawa Yumichika—both destined to be renowned—were on the Hueco Mundo Dispatch Team.
Ikkaku's Souls Ability was ["A Well-Known Secret,"] and Ayasegawa Yumichika's Souls Ability was ["Beautiful Things."]
["A Well-Known Secret: designate a secret you want to hide, and it will be inadvertently discovered by others."]
["Beautiful Things: designate a person or object and make it more beautiful."]
Uh, while those two abilities don't look like combat skills, they're actually pretty interesting.
A well-known secret—this must be referring to Ikkaku's Bankai, right?
In the story, Ikkaku hid the fact he could use Bankai so he could keep fighting under the Eleventh Division's Kenpachi, but in the end it felt like everybody knew.
So that's the origin of the Souls Ability ["A Well-Known Secret."] It seems useless, but Yoshio thought of a way to use it.
Having others learn your secret isn't good—unless the secret is fabricated.
Like, say, if he hid the secret "Yoshio Kamado is actually a fragment of the Soul King," then that "secret" would, through various coincidences—or "careful thought"—be discovered by others.
It would be their own minds arriving at that conclusion, so no one would doubt it. Wouldn't that make Yoshio Kamado, for all intents and purposes, the "Soul King fragment"?
When people take you for something, even if you aren't, aren't you that thing?
There are many other uses too: for example, if he designates the secret "Aizen is actually a traitor to the Soul Society," then as people slowly discover that secret, wouldn't Aizen's schemes be exposed early?
Or, if he designates "The Quincy are still alive, they hide in Seireitei's shadows and formed the Wandenreich," then after a while, wouldn't someone find traces of the Quincy?
Of course, for a "secret" to be exposed, there needs to be some basis—at least not something that sounds utterly ridiculous.
Like if Yoshio says his secret is "I'm Aizen's dad"—who would believe that?
If "Aizen is a traitor," it might be credible to an old schemer like Kyōraku Shunsui;
If "The Quincy's Wandenreich exists in Seireitei's shadow," it might plausibly be noticed by Kyōraku Shunsui or Mayuri;
But nobody's going to buy that he's so-and-so's father, right?!
As for Yumichika's ["Beautiful Things,"] that's also a pretty nice ability. Like Rukia's ["Stars,"] it's convenient for Yoshio to learn.
After all, who doesn't like beautiful things?
Yoshio used the ability on himself, making himself more handsome. Most people judge by appearances; a good-looking face often gives you an edge in many situations.
In fact, the Fifth Division once had a Third Seat with a similar ability, but she's gone now.
On a patrol, she encountered a Menos Grande and fell in the Rukongai. As a result, Yoshio never had the chance to obtain ["Appearance Enhancement."]
Now that a similar ability had appeared, naturally Yoshio wanted it.
But they were heading to Hueco Mundo, so Yoshio had no chance to talk to them.
He had zero interest in Hueco Mundo; the Soul Society still had a pile of Souls Abilities waiting for him. If he went to Hueco Mundo, he'd go nuts.
After seeing them off, he watched Shiba Kaien lead the Hueco Mundo Dispatch Team into the Senkaimon.
Then Yoshio returned to the Fifth Division and resumed daily life.
He was either working in the Fifth or training. He could somewhat understand why, later on, many Shinigami seemed a step slow, and why Kyōraku Shunsui's "heart wall" was so thick.
It couldn't be helped. If someone spent decades or centuries doing basically the same thing like an old man, their "heart wall" couldn't thin out.
Work isn't scary—what's scary is working for decades.
Thinking of the coming decades serving Seireitei, Yoshio couldn't help but sigh.
"Senior Yoshio, are you unhappy?"
Hinamori had just walked in and, seeing Yoshio sigh, asked curiously.
"Ah, no," Yoshio shook his head. "Just some work stuff bothering me."
"Work?" Hinamori said, puzzled. "But hasn't Senior Yoshio left all your work for me to do?"
"Uh…" Yoshio hurriedly changed the topic. "Hinamori, did you need me for something?"
With a gloomy look, Hinamori said, "I heard from Captain Aizen that Kira is getting reassigned too?"
…Yoshio was silent for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, he seems to be transferring to the Fourth Division."
"Sigh…" Hinamori sounded a bit regretful. "After Abarai left, I thought Kira would stay. I didn't think that in under two years, Kira would leave too."
The Hueco Mundo Dispatch Team had been in Hueco Mundo for almost two years now, and in those two years, there had been no word at all from the dispatch office.
Yoshio hadn't asked around—he didn't think a small team like that would just die in Hueco Mundo.