"Uh… well…"
"I'm not here because I heard you got injured in your fight with that nasty woman, Unohana."
"I'm definitely not worried about your condition, so I didn't come here just to check on you."
Saitō sidestepped slightly after hearing Araki's words, doing her best to avoid looking directly at him.
At this moment, it seemed like she was too flustered to meet Araki's gaze. She appeared deeply afraid of accidentally revealing something she shouldn't.
She played with a strand of her long purple hair, which had somehow fallen in front of her chest, and hesitated awkwardly as she spoke to Araki.
"Hey?! She's like a completely different person from earlier."
"Hold up, you weren't this gentle with us just now!"
"She's so easy to read! It's like all her thoughts are written across her face."
"Seriously, she might as well just stamp 'I like you' on her forehead!"
The bruised and battered members of Squad 11, who had just been beaten up by Saitō Immortal, internally grumbled as they observed her stark transformation.
"Anyway... uh..."
"Since I see you're not dead, I'll just take my leave now."
After thoroughly examining Araki from head to toe and confirming he wasn't injured, Saitō breathed a sigh of relief.
Simultaneously, she silently cursed a certain dark-skinned idiot who had fed her false information. With her objective completed, she turned to leave.
"So... did we get beaten up for no reason?"
The Squad 11 members sprawled on the ground and stared blankly at the sky, their expressions twitching as they realized Saitō had only come to see Araki.
They had initially assumed she was here to mock Unohana's defeat, but it seemed that wasn't the case at all.
"Since you're here, why don't you stay a bit longer?"
"Coincidentally, I was just about to go look for you."
Araki waved a hand to stop the departing "little lab rat," smiling as he spoke.
"Huh? You... you were going to look for me?"
Her twin ponytails twitched at the mention of this, her mood clearly showing.
As the Squad 11 members had pointed out, she was utterly incapable of hiding her feelings.
"Yes, there's something I need help with, and you're the only one who can assist me."
He replied with a sincere tone, his straightforward words directed at Saitō.
"Only I can help you."
Saitō's pupils trembled slightly.
"Ahem." She cleared her throat before responding, "If you're going to beg me so earnestly, I suppose I could consider helping you."
"Let's go."
He didn't bother wasting words on formalities. They'd known each other long enough that every tsundere remark from Saitō automatically translated into plain speech in his mind.
Without hesitation, he grabbed her and hoisted her up, carrying her off toward the Squad 11 dojo.
"H-Hey, wait! Put me down—I can walk on my own."
She protested loudly, her pretty face flush with embarrassment. Yet, despite her words, she didn't struggle or resist at all. Her actions spoke louder than her objections.
As the two of them left, the courtyard outside the Squad 11 captain's office was left in stunned silence, populated only by the gaping members of Squad 11.
Moments later, someone finally broke the silence.
"Damn it! Why does he get to live this kind of life?! He's already flirted with Captain Unohana, and now he's so close to Captain Saitō too."
"And judging from how things look, Captain Saitō obviously likes him. Captain Araki, you're nothing but a scumbag."
"Ugh! Why is it that our new captain is just a little better-looking, stronger, smarter, and smoother than us, yet his luck with women is this ridiculous?!" Another member grumbled.
"He's not satisfied with our former captain Unohana; now he's after Captain Saitō from Squad 6. What's next—he's going after Captain Batsu'unsai from Squad 8?"
"Shh! Watch what you say—you might jinx it... Do you realize how serious this is?"
"Out of the entire Gotei 13, there are only three female captains. And with Captain Unohana defeated by Araki, we're down to just two."
"If he ends up wooing Captain Batsu'unsai too, we'll have to call him 'Seireitei's Greatest Playboy' and 'Soul Society's Ultimate Casanova'!"
----
Meanwhile, at the Squad 11 dojo...
Araki casually tossed Saitō, whom he'd been carrying on his shoulder, onto the other side of the room.
"Huh?!"
Saitō was still confused, her thoughts racing through countless scenarios—none of which involved ending up here.
"Come on, draw your Zanpakutō and attack me head-on."
Araki beckoned with a casual wave of his hand, signaling for her to charge at him.
"Wh-What?!"
She blinked, utterly baffled by Araki's sudden demand.
"I don't know what you're trying to accomplish here, but since you told me to draw my blade, don't expect me to go easy on you."
Shaking her head vigorously to clear her mind, Saitō gripped the hilt of her sword. The moment she drew her Zanpakutō, her demeanor shifted dramatically—her aura became cold and deadly, exuding murderous intent.
After all, the reputation of the original Gotei 13 as bloodthirsty killers wasn't just for show...
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I had to research extensively and rewatch some flashbacks to get the accurate names of the first-generation members of the Gotei 13. In the Chinese version, it was extremely hard to decipher their names and if the original author did their research. This translation may stray from the source material; I will correct anything I do not like and try to minimize some inconsistencies.