Naruto: Copy System#757+758: I Never Took You for That Kind of Person, Not a Bad Idea

Hearing Shin’s words, Yachiru Unohana offered a faint smile.

“I was measured when I acted. His injuries weren’t light, but they certainly weren’t fatal.”

Though she rarely fought these days, Unohana still knew how to hold back—at least enough to ensure Shunsui Kyōraku wouldn’t end up dead.

"What's going on?" Yoruichi Shihōin asked, completely in the dark about what Shin and Unohana were discussing.

Yoruichi knew the man they were talking about, Shunsui Kyōraku, but she wasn't particularly fond of him.

"It's nothing."

Shin glanced at the curious Yoruichi but had no intention of explaining. It would be a pain to get into the details.

More importantly, it might tarnish his image—and in Shin’s eyes, his image was everything.

What if people started thinking he was the kind of guy who frequented 'those' kinds of places? If Yoruichi got wind of it and started spreading rumors, his reputation would be in shambles.

“Perhaps I should tell her?” Unohana suddenly offered, turning to Yoruichi.

"Hold on, you don't have to tell her everything," Shin quickly interjected.

If Unohana spilled the beans, what little face he had left would be gone.

"If you'd rather I didn't, Shin, then why did you go with Shunsui Kyōraku in the first place?" Unohana asked, her smile never wavering.

Despite the smile, Shin could practically feel a dark, chilling aura emanating from her. It was genuinely terrifying.

"Ahem, I think I can explain."

After clearing his throat twice, Shin began his defense. "It wasn't my idea. Shunsui Kyōraku insisted, and it would have been rude to refuse, so I just went along."

Once again, Shin threw Shunsui under the bus. If the man ever found out, he’d probably have a fit.

"Heh, 'insisted,' 'rude to refuse'... If you didn't want to go yourself, Shin, you would have turned him down no matter how much he insisted, wouldn't you?"

Unohana let out a cold little laugh. What was the point of denying it now?

"Can you tell me what happened?"

Yoruichi asked Unohana. She wouldn't have asked if she wasn't dying to know.

After all, in Yoruichi's mind, she and Unohana were currently enemies.

She considered Unohana her rival, though for reasons she couldn't quite articulate herself.

Unohana smiled and recounted the entire story to Yoruichi, for reasons only she herself knew.

"Tsk, tsk. I never took you for that kind of person. Going to places like that... You ought to be ashamed."

Yoruichi looked at Shin with disdain.

"Since when do you get to judge me? Get over here."

Shin strode over to Yoruichi, lifted her up effortlessly, and carried her toward a nearby room.

"HEY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? LET ME GO!" Yoruichi shouted, struggling in his grasp, but she was powerless to break free.

Unohana watched with a slight frown, then followed them into the room to watch Shin discipline Yoruichi.

"Damn you! Just wait until I get a chance—I won't let you off the hook!" Yoruichi yelled.

Getting spanked... it was the ultimate humiliation. And to make matters worse, Unohana had seen the whole thing.

Having her rival witness such a mortifying moment made Yoruichi want to crawl into a hole and die.

"Feel free to threaten me when you actually find that chance. Though I doubt you ever will."

Shin said to Yoruichi calmly.

"Hmph." Yoruichi snorted coldly, then left in a huff.

But just a few moments later, Shin saw her walk right back in. What was she up to now?

"Did you forget something?" Shin asked her.

"I'm staying here to rest."

After shooting Shin an annoyed look, she explained. Yoruichi had no intention of going home—she'd only get an earful from her family.

————————

Staying in the 2nd Division wasn't a bad alternative. Besides, seeing that Unohana showed no signs of leaving, she certainly wasn't going anywhere either.

"Suit yourself." Shin didn't care. He sat down and leisurely sipped his tea.

“Captain, you have an urgent mission.”

Just as Shin was enjoying his tea, a member of the 2nd Division knocked and entered the room.

"What mission?"

Shin took the letter from the Soul Reaper and read it.

"...This doesn't seem like a job for the 2nd Division."

The mission was to investigate the appearance of Menos Grande in the World of the Living. That shouldn't have anything to do with the 2nd Division.

“Well, I heard the captain of the 8th Division was seriously injured, so the mission was passed on to us.”

The Soul Reaper explained.

Though Shin wasn't particularly interested in a mission assigned by the Captain-Commander, he decided he might as well take a look.

"Alright, you can go." Shin dismissed the man and placed the mission file on the table.

"A mission to investigate Menos Grande in the World of the Living... It shouldn't be too dangerous, right?"

Yoruichi asked after glancing at the file.

"Shouldn't you be hoping I run into trouble?"

Shin shot a look at Yoruichi. Hadn't he just disciplined her? Shouldn't she hate him right now?

"You're overthinking it. I still need you to teach me, after all. If something happened to you, who would I learn from?" Yoruichi said, rolling her eyes.

"So that's all it is? And here I thought you were worried about me." Shin sighed in disappointment.

"Just don't get yourself killed. Call for backup if you run into trouble," Yoruichi told Shin.

But unlike the concerned Yoruichi, Unohana wasn't worried at all. She knew exactly how powerful Shin was.

Even if the entire Seireitei—the entire Soul Society—were to be destroyed, Shin probably wouldn't be in any danger.

"Be back soon," Unohana said to Shin. She wasn't worried about him facing danger, but there was a chance he might linger in the World of the Living. That wasn't out of the question.

"Don't worry, I'll be back as soon as I'm done."

Shin had no interest in the current World of the Living. It was still in its ancient era—utterly boring.

<><><><><><><><>

Shin stepped through the Senkaimon and arrived in the World of the Living. He had come alone, without any of his squad members.

It was a mission concerning Menos Grande, not ordinary Hollows. Bringing his squad members would have been pointless.

Most of them hadn't even achieved Shikai, and their Kidō skills were limited to a few low-level spells.

They would only get in his way. Besides, Shin preferred working alone—it gave him the freedom to act without restraint.

"Not a single piece of intel. What was Shunsui thinking?" Shin muttered, looking at the mission file. All it said was that Menos Grande had attacked a village. It seemed he would have to investigate himself.

He did, however, have some Spirit Bait with him—something to attract Hollows. He could use it to draw them out.

"Let's give it a try."

Shin used the bait, then sat down and waited calmly. Even if a Vasto Lorde showed up, Shin could kill it in an instant.

Besides, he highly doubted a Vasto Lorde would appear. A Gillian was the most he could expect. Gillians were a rare sight in the World of the Living.

After all, their destructive power was considerable. If Gillians were constantly appearing in the human world, it would be thrown into complete chaos. The World of the Living wasn't that unstable.

After about fifteen minutes, Shin only found a few ordinary Hollows drawn to him. They were annihilated by his spiritual pressure before they could even get close.

"ROAR!!!"

Suddenly, a beast-like roar echoed through the air. Shin's gaze sharpened, and he turned in the direction of the sound.

It was the roar of a Gillian. The mission file had mentioned Menos Grande, but it wasn't clear if it was just a Gillian or if an Adjuchas was involved as well.

Adjuchas rarely appeared, but it wasn't impossible.

For now, the only spiritual pressure Shin could sense was that of a Gillian.

"They sent me all the way to the World of the Living for a single Gillian? What a waste of time."

Shin couldn't help but say. With his strength, dealing with a Gillian was child's play.

He was currently in a village. Besides the Gillian, countless ordinary Hollows were also howling. Ordinary humans were completely helpless against them—death was their only fate.

The village was small, and most of its inhabitants had already been slaughtered.

Shin's arrival quickly drew the attention of the Hollows. To them, his spiritual pressure was an irresistible feast.

The Gillian turned its attention to Shin and floated toward him, its sharp claws reaching out.

This was an ordinary Gillian, completely mindless. Shin didn't even bother to waste words on it, killing it with a single slash.

The numerous ordinary Hollows were also wiped out. To Shin, they were nothing more than cannon fodder, easily destroyed by his spiritual pressure alone.

As for the humans here, they had all fainted under the influence of his spiritual pressure.

'I didn't mean to drag you into this.'

Spiritual pressure acted similarly to Conqueror's Haki—ordinary people couldn't withstand it and would pass out. It could even be used to attack directly, crushing an opponent to dust.

But Shin had held back. These people had only fainted. Though they would be affected, their lives weren't in danger.

"This must be the future Karakura Town."

Shin surveyed his surroundings. The town was a magnet for trouble, mainly because it was a "Jūreichi," a place with extremely high spiritual energy, which naturally attracted Hollows. Not every place in the World of the Living could attract them—only those with immense spiritual power.

"Time to head back... Hmm?"

Just as Shin was about to open the Senkaimon and return, he sensed another spiritual pressure.

Using Shunpo, he vanished in an instant, reappearing in a relatively prosperous area.

Well, it used to be prosperous. Now, everything had been destroyed.

"Looks like you're my real target. Tell me, as an Adjuchas, why are you in the World of the Living instead of staying in Hueco Mundo where you belong?"

Shin looked at a gray-white figure before him. It had a gaping hole in its lower abdomen—the signature Hollow hole—and its face was covered by a white mask resembling a dried insect.

"You're a Soul Reaper? I didn't expect to attract one so quickly." The Adjuchas seemed pleased to see Shin, its gaze locked on him.

"..."

"It seems you're deliberately trying to lure Soul Reapers here."

Shin narrowed his eyes, sensing the Hollow's intent. It had likely come here to hunt down and prey on other Soul Reapers.

“That’s right. Once I've devoured enough Soul Reapers, I'll be able to evolve into a Vasto Lorde.” The Adjuchas’s voice was filled with a crazed energy.

Hunting its own kind in Hueco Mundo was difficult—they were too hard to find. And human souls were practically useless to it.

So it came up with a plan: go to the World of the Living, attract the Soul Reapers who protect humans, and devour them to grow stronger.

Compared to searching for its kind in Hueco Mundo, this method was clearly faster.

"Not a bad idea. Too bad you're about to die." Shin looked at the Adjuchas with a touch of pity.

What Shin didn't know was that he had been sent to the World of the Living precisely because a number of Soul Reapers had already died here.

Originally, Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni had wanted to send Shunsui Kyōraku, but since he was indisposed, Yamamoto had thought of Shin.

It was a good thing he had sent Shin. Any other captain might not have been able to handle the Adjuchas before him.

Surrounding this Adjuchas were several Gillians—four or five of them.

They were the ones who had destroyed this place. The Adjuchas considered itself above such menial tasks, so it had its Gillians do the dirty work to attract the Soul Reapers.

A powerful Adjuchas with a dozen Gillian minions—an average Soul Reaper captain would have a tough time against them.

Shin could sense that this Adjuchas was stronger than the ones he had killed before. It was at its peak, on the verge of evolving into a Vasto Lorde.

Even if Shunsui Kyōraku had come, he probably wouldn't have been a match. The current Shunsui hadn't reached his peak strength yet.

"You've got some nerve, Soul Reaper. Judging by that haori, you must be a captain, right? Finally, a captain has taken the bait." The Adjuchas's eyes gleamed with a cruel light.