Chapter 74: Side Effects of Vollständig

Soul Society buzzed with tension. Yamamoto Shigekuni stood by the Senkaimon, Ryūjin Jakka at his side, braced for Hollows spilling through. Rapid footsteps echoed—only two sets? His brow furrowed. A casualty? Exploring Hueco Mundo was perilous.

Sasakibe Chōjirō burst out first, shouting, “Call a doctor! Captain, get a doctor! Brother Yamabuki’s hurt!”

Yamamoto’s eyes narrowed. Kazenami Haru emerged next, carrying Yamabuki Haruto on her back. “Calm down,” Yamamoto ordered, motioning Haru to lay Haruto down. He pressed Haruto’s chest—muscles slack, sinking under his touch like lifeless clay. This isn’t right.

“Get Kirinji Tenjirō now!” Yamamoto barked. Shihōin Chihiro, fleet-footed, flashed away with Shunpo to fetch him.

Yamamoto’s face darkened. Haruto’s strength shouldn’t have led to this. Kirinji arrived, crouching to examine Haruto. His expression turned grim. “I’ve never seen this. His organs are failing, cells dying en masse. A few minutes later, and he’d be gone. To my clinic—now!”

No one hesitated. Haruto was rushed to Kirinji’s clinic. Yamamoto turned to Chōjirō. “Follow me.”

In his office, Yamamoto’s voice was steel. “What enemy did you face? Haruto shouldn’t be like this.”

“It was Baraggan, the King of Hueco Mundo,” Chōjirō said, eyes flickering.

“His abilities?” Yamamoto pressed.

“Not special… Three minutes before we returned, Brother Yamabuki was chasing him!” Chōjirō paused, recalling Haruto’s warning to stay silent. “But he collapsed entering the gate. I suspect—”

“Speak!” Yamamoto slammed the desk, reiatsu flaring.

Chōjirō spilled everything: Haruto’s reishi control, Cero, and a strange angelic form. Yamamoto’s face stayed stone. Haruto, his first recruit and Gotei 13 founder, hid depths Yamamoto never probed. Quincy powers in a Shinigami? Haruto’s Shikai proved his loyalty, but these secrets…

“You tell no one,” Yamamoto said, his eyes glinting with menace. “Only you, me, and Haru know. A fourth, and you’re done.”

“I swear silence,” Chōjirō vowed, retreating.

“Send Haru in,” Yamamoto ordered.

Haru entered, meeting Yamamoto’s suffocating reiatsu. Unlike Chōjirō, a Rukongai orphan with a clean slate, Haru’s assassin roots and noble ties made Yamamoto wary. The Tsunayashiro and Shihōin families were no saints—Haruto’s secrets in their hands could spell chaos.

“Haru,” Yamamoto said, voice like icy blades. “Haruto trusted you in a pinch, so I trust his judgment. But if you leak a word of today, you’re finished.”

“I’d never betray the Chief,” Haru said, kneeling, sweat soaking her back. Betraying Haruto meant death—not just from Yamamoto but from her master, Shihōin Chihiro. The five noble families might become four.

“Go,” Yamamoto dismissed her.

Alone, he exhaled heavily. Soul Society teetered on unrest. Haruto’s Quincy powers, if exposed, could stir the nobles. Yamamoto vowed to protect him, but if those lurking in shadows moved against the Gotei 13, Ryūjin Jakka would burn them to ash.