Ginjō Kūgo stood tall with pride, his tone confident and his face full of self-satisfaction.
Naruto listened with a smile.
"But, Fullbringers are all people who have been hurt by human society," Ginjō said, glancing at the little boy with an octopus hairstyle and gesturing for him to come over.
The boy tiptoed hesitantly for a moment. But his trust in Ginjō outweighed his wariness of Naruto, and he walked over.
The one-eyed youth remained unmoved.
Ginjō sighed and patted the little boy's head. "That's why it's hard for them to trust strangers."
"The organization has actually existed for several years now, but we haven't been able to recruit many members."
"I thought this was just the beginning of development, and I had planned to show some results before telling you and Captain Ukitake."
Naruto spread out his "Kagura Shingan," blanketing the entire area.
Except for this house.
There was another spiritual pressure about a kilometer away, inside a convenience store—but it didn't belong to a Shinigami.
He spoke thoughtfully: "Your organization only has three people, and the last one is a child."
The octopus-haired boy raised his head, eyes more guarded. "How do you know that?"
That person wasn't even home!
"Captain Uzumaki is amazing. Of course, he could sense it," Ginjō said, patting the boy's head to calm him down.
Once the boy was settled, Ginjō turned to Naruto and said, "This isn't the organization's base."
Naruto looked at him with a puzzled expression.
"Karakura Town is a spiritually rich land," Ginjō explained. "It's easy for Fullbringers to be born here, but once they grow up and gain some financial independence, most choose to leave."
"Although they don't move too far away, they usually don't want to return."
"So, after discussion, we decided to base the organization in Naruki City, next to Karakura Town."
"Most of the members are there."
"I only bought this house here to look for new companions."
Naruto frowned slightly.
This was undoubtedly a good thing—uncontrolled power being organized.
And the organization's core goal was protection.
From their time together, Naruto knew Ginjō was inherently a gentle person.
But the timing—
"Shall we talk inside?" Ginjō gestured toward the house.
They entered a conference room.
"I feel like I might have made a troublesome decision without realizing it," Ginjō said, looking slightly grave.
When Captain Uzumaki told him that Fullbringers were being targeted by the Tsunayashiro family, he had a bad feeling.
Thinking carefully now, his own actions felt like skipping all the prep work and serving Fullbringers as a ready-made dish—just waiting for someone to dig in.
Naruto shook his head and said nothing.
He unsheathed his sword and plunged it into the ground, allowing the Nine-Tails' power to blanket the room.
"Why did you make this decision?" Naruto asked.
Ginjō was stunned, then lowered his head in guilt. "I probably shouldn't have..."
"No, your decision was a good one," Naruto shook his head. "But for some reasons I can't disclose yet, I need to confirm a few details."
Ginjō responded, "A few years ago, I saw a Fullbringer fighting a Hollow and saved him. That sparked the idea."
Naruto frowned.
Was it really a coincidence?
Or was it a carefully orchestrated setup?
That was what troubled him most.
He could sense something was off—but only he could.
Not even those he had warned, like Uncle Kyōraku or Captain Unohana, could detect anything strange.
What made Aizen Sōsuke truly terrifying wasn't just his "invisible to the eye" ability—it was his frighteningly meticulous mind.
When people are completely unaware, who knows how many have already been manipulated by him?
And he was very patient.
He exploited just a tiny part of human nature, taking advantage of the situation, going with the flow—layer after layer until he achieved his goals.
Just like now.
The Tsunayashiro family, who had long been interested in the Soul King's power, targeting Fullbringers made perfect sense.
A kind-hearted Ginjō Kūgo forming a group to protect Fullbringers—also made perfect sense.
But all these "perfectly reasonable" actions could slowly lead things exactly where Aizen wanted.
"Captain Uzumaki?" Ginjō asked nervously, seeing Naruto so deep in thought. "What should I do next?"
Naruto kept thinking.
That man had his strengths, but Naruto wasn't completely at a disadvantage.
Aizen was in the shadows and wouldn't act recklessly.
Naruto, on the other hand, could act boldly—probe each suspicion. As long as he didn't act violently, he had the upper hand.
The best approach would be to relocate the Fullbringer group into the Soul Society.
But that wasn't realistic.
Humans and souls were fundamentally different forms of life.
And they all had their own lives.
If they were "imprisoned" in the name of protection…
That would be just like how Konoha treated the Hyūga clan. Neji's reaction had already proven that even well-meaning actions could be hard for the recipients to accept.
"Do you also engage in Hollow hunting activities?" Naruto asked.
Ginjō nodded with a frown. "Of course. Do you want us to stop?"
"If possible, that would be best," Naruto nodded. "If not, then send the weaker members out in teams."
Ginjō nodded solemnly.
After some thought, Naruto added, "If any Shinigami tries to attack you, capture them. Don't kill them—keep them as evidence."
Ginjō froze.
Wait—
What did that mean?
Capture them?
Could they even handle someone who made Captain Uzumaki this serious?
"Can we even manage that?" he asked, lacking confidence.
"I've already asked a very reliable senior to monitor the Tsunayashiro family. The powerful Shinigami won't act. And if some do slip through, they're the kind you can handle," Naruto reassured him. "But still, be cautious just like I said earlier."
The Tsunayashiro family might be upper noble class—
But their overall strength wasn't particularly high.
Publicly, only the head of the family had captain-level reiatsu. There were a few vice-captain level individuals as well, and these were the focus of the 8th Division's surveillance.
Kanmiyashiro Tokitake, the one shown to the outside world, only had vice-captain-level strength.
Aizen was merely using the Tsunayashiro family—so it was unlikely he would take action personally and expose himself.
Still, Naruto couldn't be careless.
If Aizen found the right timing, he might strike subtly—slipping past the 8th Division's detection.
Ginjō nodded heavily.
Naruto turned to leave but suddenly thought of something and looked toward his waist pocket. "You're still carrying the Substitute Soul Reaper Badge?"
"Captain Uzumaki trusts me enough to tell me everything," Ginjō grinned and pulled out the wooden badge. "How could I betray that trust?"
Naruto stared at it silently.
His visit to the World of the Living wasn't just to talk to Ginjō Kūgo.
The real purpose was to catch the Tsunayashiro family slipping.
To capture some of their spies or retainers watching Ginjō.
But surprisingly, within his sensing range, there weren't any so-called "monitors."
The Tsunayashiro family were indeed guilty—but they weren't fools.
There's no way they'd target someone without collecting intel first.
They must be monitoring—so how?
Ginjō's expression changed. He seemed to realize something too.
"This thing seems to be malfunctioning," Naruto casually said, extending his hand. "Give it to me. I'll take it to the 12th Division for repairs."
Ginjō agreed without hesitation and handed it over.
Naruto sealed it, gave a few more instructions, and returned to the Soul Society.
He headed straight for the 12th Division barracks.
The division was as busy as ever. When Naruto arrived, the squad members respectfully greeted him, then dragged out a Nemu clone from the nearest corner.
"Naruto-kun," Nemu greeted lazily, "What is it this time?"
"Don't come to me with boring matters—I'm busy."
Naruto replied calmly, "Take me to your real body."
"I have something important to say."
"Very important."
Nemu stared at him.
Only one man in the Soul Society could make Naruto look this serious.
Aizen?
She nodded and gestured for him to follow.
In the Tsunayashiro estate, Soul Society
News of Naruto's meeting with the substitute Shinigami in the World of the Living quickly reached the Tsunayashiro clan head.
"Captain Uzumaki went to see the substitute?" the clan head's face darkened. "And he took the Substitute Badge too?"
"Has he figured something out?"
The clan member reporting the news trembled with fear.
"Someone from Kyōraku's team also seemed to be asking questions about our actions recently," said Tsunayashiro Tokitake, his face smiling falsely. "Looks like he's working with Captain Uzumaki."
"A noble standing on the same side as a commoner from the Rukongai—how disgraceful," the clan head spat. "Since Captain Uzumaki found out—"
"Tokitake."
He called a name.
A man sitting at the far end smiled.
"You'll handle this," the clan head said without hesitation. "The family needs those Fullbringers."
"The hybrid of Soul King and Hollow power is a valuable specimen."
"You've disappointed us once before—don't fail us again."
Tsunayashiro Tokitake bowed deeply, forcing down the grin on his lips. "Yes."
After everyone left—
He looked up and laughed wildly.
His laughter was arrogant and delighted.
He knew exactly what the family meant.
At this moment, sending him out was a death sentence—no hope of completing the task.
They just didn't want to offend Captain Uzumaki, so they pushed him out as a sacrificial pawn, cleanly cutting ties.
(End of Chapter)