LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 155 – Reunion with Kugo Ginjo
After glancing at the location sent by the 12th Division on the Denreishinki, Ailin tucked the device into his pocket and vanished into thin air.
"This is the place?"
Even with the reiatsu-limiting seal placed upon him, Ailin's speed still surpassed that of most captains. Within three minutes, he arrived at the location where the Substitute Shinigami Badge's signal had last been detected.
It was an opulent mansion, yet to Ailin's surprise, it seemed neglected, with no one tending to its upkeep or landscaping.
"Faint, but Ginjo's reiatsu residue is definitely here."
Entering the mansion, Ailin followed the traces of Kugo Ginjo's lingering reiatsu, eventually stopping in a grand hall.
This was where Ginjo's reiatsu had disappeared.
Surveying his surroundings, Ailin quickly noticed something peculiar about the hall. Rather than a reception area for guests, the hall felt more like a "memorial hall."
At its center stood a raised platform adorned with countless white chrysanthemums, with two rectangular spaces left vacant amidst the flowers.
If Ailin's guess was correct, these spaces were where two coffins had originally been placed, hence the empty areas of identical shape and size within the white chrysanthemum platform.
Further ahead, on a table at the front of the hall, three photographs were displayed. On either side were black and white portraits of a man and a woman, while the central one was a color photo of a family of three.
Ailin didn't recognize the man and woman. But he remembered the child between them. It was Yukio Hans Vorarlberna.
Seeing Yukio's photo, Ailin understood why Soul Society had lost track of the Substitute Shinigami Badge on Ginjo.
Yukio was a member of the Fullbringer organization, Xcution, with the ability "Invaders Must Die," using his favorite game console as his Fullbring focus.
"Invaders Must Die" allowed Yukio to create a game space using his console.
Kugo Ginjo was likely hiding within this game space at this very moment.
As Ailin examined the photos on the table, the space behind him suddenly distorted with black pixels. A figure emerged, wielding a giant sword and swinging it down towards Ailin.
Clang!
Ailin extended his hand, catching the blade. With a flick of his wrist, he flung both the sword and its wielder away.
Boom!
A wall crumbled as the figure crashed through it, burying them beneath a pile of falling debris.
Boom!
Reiatsu surged, bursting forth from the rubble with immense force, scattering the stones. It was Kugo Ginjo.
"Long time no see, Ginjo," Ailin said calmly, gazing at Ginjo, who was now enveloped in a white aura of reiryoku.
"Teacher... Ailin?" Ginjo was visibly surprised to see him.
Over the years, Ginjo had grown not only in strength but also in experience. Especially after interacting with Shinigami, he understood the significance of the white haori amidst the black shihakushō worn by most Shinigami.
It represented the pinnacle of the Gotei 13. Only the thirteen strongest individuals in all of Soul Society could become captains of their respective divisions.
His teacher's white haori, with the number "eleven" emblazoned on the back, revealed the true identity of the man who had instructed him for half a month – the Captain of the 11th Division of the Gotei 13.
"After all these years, it seems you haven't progressed much, Ginjo." Ailin stood calmly in the center of the hall, his gaze fixed upon Ginjo.
Ginjo's face flushed with a mix of emotions. If anyone else dared to speak to him like this, he'd show them the true purpose of his Zanpakuto, "Cross of Scaffold." But coming from the man who had been his teacher, he couldn't retort.
"Teacher, are you here to kill me too?" Ginjo dispersed his reiatsu, emerged from the debris, lowered the tip of his sword, and questioned Ailin.
"Kill you? You overestimate yourself, Ginjo. I wouldn't need to personally deal with you if I wanted you dead. I merely received some information in Soul Society and came to the World of the Living to investigate."
Hearing Ailin's confirmation that he wasn't there to kill him, Ginjo visibly relaxed. If possible, he didn't want to fight Teacher Ailin.
Although, after mastering that power, he believed he might not be any weaker than those so-called "captains" of the Gotei 13.
"Ginjo, when I entrusted you with the Substitute Shinigami Badge, I explained that it served both as Soul Society's recognition of your Shinigami status and as a means to detect any betrayal against Soul Society. It seems you didn't take my words to heart..."
"Hahaha..."
To Ailin's surprise, Ginjo burst into laughter upon hearing his words.
"Teacher, I know, I know! I know the Substitute Shinigami Badge given to me by Soul Society has a monitoring function. But for years, I haven't concealed it. Everything I've done, the Shinigami in Soul Society are aware of, right?"
Ailin frowned and countered, "Ginjo, what do you take Soul Society for? The Substitute Shinigami Badge does indeed monitor you. However, the monitoring records are stored within the 12th Division's Research and Development Institute. Only if your betrayal against Soul Society is confirmed will someone access those records to determine the reason for your actions.
I told you, even as a Substitute Shinigami, you still possess the rights and obligations of a Shinigami. As long as you haven't betrayed Soul Society, no one has the right to access the monitoring records in the 12th Division."
"What?"
Ginjo was taken aback by Ailin's words. He had assumed the Substitute Shinigami Badge's monitoring function worked like surveillance cameras in the World of the Living, constantly watching him. He hadn't expected it to simply store data, only to be accessed if he betrayed Soul Society.
He believed Teacher Ailin's words. But...
"Teacher Ailin, if you say the monitoring data is only accessed upon betrayal, then why... Why did those Shinigami know that the Fullbringers who joined me intended to transfer their powers to me? And why did they massacre them after they lost their abilities?"
"What? You're saying someone was monitoring you through the Substitute Shinigami Badge at all times?"
"That's the only explanation, right? Otherwise, their timing wouldn't have been so perfect."
Having voiced his suspicions about Soul Society, Ginjo seemed to have lifted a weight off his shoulders. He looked directly at Ailin and asked, "Teacher Ailin, what will you do now?"
"Wait here for a moment."
Without delay, Ailin took out the Denreishinki and dialed Jushiro Ukitake's number.
"Hello, Captain Ukitake."
"Captain Ailin, what's the situation on your end? I just received information from the 12th Division that they've re-acquired the Substitute Shinigami Badge's signal... Eh? This reiatsu... Captain Ailin, have you already arrived there?"
Ukitake, looking at the information from the Research and Development Institute, noticed that Captain Ailin's reiatsu and the red dot representing the Substitute Shinigami Badge were overlapping.
"Yes, I've found Substitute Shinigami Kugo Ginjo."
Ailin proceeded to relay everything Ginjo had said to Ukitake.
"Captain Ukitake, Ginjo suspects someone bypassed the Research and Development Institute and accessed the Substitute Shinigami Badge's monitoring records, leading to the deaths of his subordinates who trusted him to help them live as ordinary humans...
Now, I need you to investigate who secretly accessed Ginjo's data and determine which division those Shinigami Ginjo killed belonged to."
"Very well, I'll begin the investigation immediately."
After ending the call, Ailin turned to Ginjo. "Ginjo, I'll be staying in the World of the Living for a few days to await the investigation results from Soul Society.
During this time, it's best if you avoid hiding in that space. And if you must enter, leave the Substitute Shinigami Badge outside. I don't want to receive another report from the Research and Development Institute about losing the badge's signal..."
With that, Ailin turned and left Yukio's mansion without looking back.
Once Ailin had completely disappeared, black pixels materialized within the hall, and three figures emerged from the game space.
One was a rebellious teenager with yellow hair and a black cap – Yukio Hans Vorarlberna.
Another was a middle-aged man with an eyepatch, dressed in a black and white butler's outfit – Giriko Kutsuzawa.
The last was a slightly frail young man with a melancholic expression, holding a book in his hand – Shūkurō Tsukishima.
"That person is terrifying." The words came from Tsukishima.
"Yeah, no need to state the obvious."
Yukio sat down on the sofa in the living room with a gloomy expression. "Just look at how Ginjo reacted. Even his sneak attack was tossed aside like trash..."
"Yukio, we should be more respectful towards Lord Ginjo." The older, Giriko, gently reminded Yukio.
Within the Xcution organization, Tsukishima was the founder, and his Fullbring ability garnered immense trust from all members.
Yukio, having inherited a vast fortune from his parents, financed the organization's activities.
Kugo Ginjo, the Substitute Shinigami, was also able to cultivate Fullbring and was currently the strongest member of Xcution.
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