Chapter 531 - 531 Target – Hueco Mundo! Departure!

"Rangiku, Sojiro, Ashido, how did you get here?" Toshiro asked.

"Hmph, if we hadn't come, were you planning to keep us in the dark and sneak off to Hueco Mundo alone?" Rangiku said with a displeased pout.

"W-well... ahaha..."

Toshiro laughed awkwardly. He indeed hadn't planned to tell Rangiku and the others.

Although they were all members of Toshiro's 10th Division and had always been loyal to him, this time he was planning to disobey Yamamoto's orders and go to Hueco Mundo to rescue the Expeditionary Force. He didn't want to involve Rangiku and the others.

After all, Toshiro was the Vice-Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13 and the Captain of the 10th Division, second only to Yamamoto in rank among the Shinigami.

So even if he disobeyed Yamamoto's orders, at worst Yamamoto would give him a verbal scolding later. He couldn't really do anything to Toshiro.

But Rangiku and the others were different. The highest ranked among them, Rangiku, was only a Lieutenant. If they were punished for disobeying orders, Toshiro wouldn't be able to say much in their defense.

"Speaking of which, Rangiku, how did you find this place?" Toshiro asked again.

"Hmph, and you have the nerve to ask. Earlier, Captain-Commander Yamamoto suddenly contacted us, saying we must stop you from going to Hueco Mundo to rescue them. We were completely confused. After asking the Captain-Commander, we found out what had happened."

"Then we thought, since you're in the Living World, if you wanted to go to Hueco Mundo, you would definitely come to ask Urahara-san for help. So we hurried over. Fortunately, we arrived in time, just before you were about to leave for Hueco Mundo." Rangiku sighed, still angry.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have kept it from you..." Toshiro apologized repeatedly.

But after apologizing, his expression suddenly turned serious. "It was indeed wrong of me to keep it from you earlier. However... did you come this time to stop me on Genryusai-sensei's orders?"

Hearing Toshiro's words, Rangiku, Sojiro, and Ashido exchanged glances. Then Rangiku sighed and said helplessly, "No, Captain. Do you really not trust us that much? Although as Shinigami we must strictly follow Soul Society's rules, the premise is that we are Shinigami of the 10th Division. We are first and foremost responsible to you, our Captain. Even the Captain-Commander's orders come second."

"And don't forget, I am your Lieutenant. A Lieutenant is appointed by the Captain and is only responsible to the Captain. Even the Captain-Commander cannot directly order a Lieutenant of another division without going through their Captain. So, unless you are no longer... no, even if you are no longer our 10th Division Captain, we would still follow your orders. I think Sojiro and Ashido feel the same way..."

With that, Rangiku glanced at Sojiro and Ashido.

"That's right. In my heart, you will always be the Captain of our 10th Division. I only acknowledge Captain Hitsugaya as the Captain of the 10th Division. Even if Central 46 and the Captain-Commander remove you from your position, none of us in the 10th Division will accept it." Sojiro said solemnly.

A look of recollection flashed in Ashido's eyes, and he said quietly, "For me, without you, Captain, I would probably still be living a lonely life in the dark Forest of Menos. You brought me back to Soul Society, let me join the 10th Division, and gave me comrades again. Without you, Captain, the me of today wouldn't exist."

"So, I will only be loyal to you, Captain. Even if it's the Captain-Commander's order, if it contradicts your will, I will not carry it out. As a Shinigami, this might be wrong, but... I would still do it anyway..."

Hearing Rangiku, Sojiro, and Ashido's words, Toshiro was greatly surprised and moved.

Rangiku aside, as in the original work, she was the one who guided Toshiro towards the path of a Shinigami. In this life, Toshiro had known her since awakening his Shinigami powers. They had been close friends for decades.

So, if Rangiku impulsively said something like only obeying Toshiro's orders, it wouldn't be entirely unexpected.

But Sojiro and Ashido had always been models among Shinigami. Sojiro's original life goal was to be loyal to Soul Society.

Ashido had originally planned to fight alone in the Forest of Menos for his entire life to reduce Hollow attacks on the Living World.

Yet now, these two Shinigami with ideals and responsibility, who could be called moral paragons among Shinigami, were saying things like only being loyal to Toshiro personally. This truly surprised and moved him greatly.

In fact, Toshiro was not unaware of Sojiro and Ashido's loyalty to him. But he had always thought their loyalty was conditional on Toshiro not violating Soul Society's rules.

Toshiro had thought that if he violated Soul Society's rules, then except for Momo, who had the potential to be a 'crazy fan', even Rangiku, Sojiro, and Ashido would at most not actively oppose him. As for helping him, that would be basically impossible.

After all, in Toshiro's view, Rangiku, Sojiro, and Ashido were not like Momo, who would think he was right even if he started a rebellion, and even follow him into battle like a 'crazy fan'.

It turned out Toshiro had somewhat underestimated his own charisma. Even model Shinigami with ideals and responsibility like Ashido and Sojiro were this loyal to him.

"Ah well, I didn't expect you to say such things. And here I thought you were true Shinigami who followed the rules, with ideals and responsibility." Although Toshiro spoke teasingly, the moved smile on his face clearly showed his true feelings.

"Captain, although we won't stop you, is this really alright? I heard that after our Hitsugaya Advance Team entered the Living World, the new Central 46 in Soul Society has already been formed..."

Rangiku said worriedly, "Even if you do rescue the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force this time, the fact that you violated the rules won't change. Central 46 will probably use this to make things difficult for you. Even the Captain-Commander might have to punish you due to the rules. Your position as Captain might even be threatened."

Toshiro chuckled lightly, unconcerned. "Don't worry. Have you forgotten? In front of my title as Captain of the 10th Division is also the title of Vice-Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13. So, except for the Soul King, even Central 46 and Genryusai-sensei have no authority to remove me from my position. At worst, those old men in Central 46 will just lecture me for a while."

Then Toshiro said, "Alright, Rangiku, and Sojiro, Ashido, it's getting late. I should be going. Otherwise, the second wave of pursuers Genryusai-sensei sends might arrive soon."

Having said that, Toshiro waved goodbye to the three and prepared to enter the Garganta with Nel.

However, Rangiku, Sojiro, and Ashido blocked his path.

"Captain, please let us come with you! Although our strength is far inferior to yours, we can at least help clear out some small fry." Sojiro looked at Toshiro with unwavering determination.

"Hey hey, Captain, you didn't think we came all the way here just to pledge our loyalty, did you?" Rangiku said.

"Speaking of which... it's been many years since I last returned to Hueco Mundo. I plan to pay respects to the comrades who fell in battle back then." Ashido spoke slowly.

Looking at the three's determined eyes, Toshiro knew they were absolutely not at ease letting him go to Hueco Mundo alone. They wouldn't give up unless they came along.

"Ah well, I really can't do anything with you." Toshiro sighed, moved yet helpless. "Alright then, let's go together."

"Hmph, hmph, hmph..." Seeing Toshiro helplessly give in, Rangiku couldn't help but laugh smugly.

Having made his decision, Toshiro hesitated no longer and led the way into the Garganta.

"Target – Hueco Mundo! Departure!!"