Bleach (BLEACH)

Ichigo's mission to Hueco Mundo continues.

He has now defeated Grimmjow, and successfully rescued

Orihime.

The fight against Sosuke Aizen and the Espada goes on.

But we will pick up that narrative at another time.

For now, let us turn our attention

to the Soul Society, where a totally new storyline unfolds.

The curtain is about to rise on a battle unlike anything

our heroes have ever seen before.

Wow!

Have you heard the latest news?

They're bringing in a new captain

to take over command of Squad Three.

-Yes, of course I've heard about it.

As a captain, I've been notified.

It will be made official at the meeting tomorrow.

It must be Izuru Kira.

That's very strange though.

I wonder when he found the time to master Bankai.

-Izuru received no such promotion.

No.

You've got to be kidding.

Stop making such a mess.

I'm not kidding, and frankly, I haven't

been briefed on any of the details.

Is that right?

The truth is, I never thought Kira was good captain

material anyway.

Squad Three's pretty tough.

You think the new captain will be able to take charge?

-We'll find out tomorrow, Rangiku.

Now forget about this and get back to work.

You don't have to be so rude.

I'm just curious.

-Yesterday an expedition returned safely

to the Soul Society.

Their long-term assignment has been

completed without suffering a single casualty.

This is a truly great accomplishment.

As you all know, Squads Three, Five, and Nine

of the 13 Court Guard Squads are presently without captains.

Therefore two other captains and myself

summon the expedition units leader,

and tested his qualifications.

The purpose of our examination was

to determine his ability to fill one of the three posts

currently available.

I am pleased to say our decision was unanimous.

And so, at this time, I would like

to introduce you to the man who will

be taking over the position formally held by Gin Ichimaru.

The new captain of Squad Three, Shusuke Amagai.

-So this character, Shusuke Amagai,

know anything about him?

Nope.

-I don't like the idea of some newbiw coming along and being

put in charge of the squad.

-I hear that he's been away on a long assignment, working

on suppressing Hollows.

-That doesn't mean anything to me.

The problem is, some guy I've never even heard of

has just become my captain.

How am I supposed to follow his orders?

Yeah, I know what you mean.

But lieutenant Kira isn't much better.

Right.

Good morning, everybody.

A new captain, huh?

I sure hope he turns out to be nice.

It's looking so good.

Huh?

Interesting.

He carries two Zanpakuto.

Hm.

He's got some style, I'll give him that.

I'm Shusuke Amagai.

As you're probably aware, I'm new to this position.

I look forward to working with you,

and I'll do the best I can.

-First of all, welcome to the team.

There's a lot of protocol involved with being a captain,

and it's hard to get used to.

So feel free to ask my advice at any time.

Thanks.

I just hope I don't become a bother.

-Who else oversaw his examination

with Head Captain Yamamoto?

Beats me.

Does it really matter?

The bottom line is, we have one less open position

in the squad.

We should count our blessings.

-Well, I suppose you're right about that.

So there's a body in place.

But it doesn't mean he can do the job.

Now he has to prove to us that he's any good.

-We finally filled one of the openings.

-It's progress, but we still have two spots remaining.

And that represents quite a problem.

In any world, including our own, an empty leader's seat

only invites discord and negative opportunities.

When evil tries to expand its influence,

such squads are most vulnerable, and provide the easiest entry

point to mount an attack.

That must be him.

Not too impressive.

Good morning.

Which one of you is the Lieutenant.

That would be me, sir.

I'm Lieutenant Izuru Kira.

My name is Shusuke Amagai.

I'm here from headquarters.

I'm the newly appointed Captain of Squad Three.

Pleased to meet you.

-Pleased to meet you as well, sir.

Welcome to the squad.

Allow me to introduce you.

This is my associate, Makoto Kibune.

Along with me, he'll also be joining the squad today.

He was part of my expeditionary patrol unit,

and is very skilled.

That's why I wanted to bring him along.

He will be our new third seat.

Thank you, sir.

I do appreciate your confidence.

-That guy doesn't look like much.

Are you sure he's the new captain?

-Well, if not, he's in big trouble.

He's wearing a captain's coat.

Oh yeah.

Is there a problem?

Well, to be frank, I mean--

-He's trying to say, that up until yesterday,

we were doing fine without a captain.

Quiet.

-Hey, believe me, I understand how you feel.

What?

-After all, you've just had some guy

you've never seen before suddenly show up out of nowhere

and say, hi, I'm your new Captain.

I don't blame you in the least.

I'd be annoyed if I were in your shoes.

But let me tell you something, and I really mean this.

My primary duty as Captain is to protect my men, no matter what.

That's what being a captain's all about.

What's the problem?

For all you know, this guy might turn out

to be really good Captain.

Well, that's true.

In theory, but, the Squad's got a bad attitude.

And no one trusts the guy enough to give him

a chance to prove himself.

It's miserable.

When I think about going in there

and having to face that resistance,

day after day, I get sick.

Geez.

What kind of wimp are you.

It's no different than having a transfer student arrive

at school.

You just have to let the class show the new guy the ropes.

-Yeah, but what if that doesn't work?

Do you see the problem?

Then I'm the one stuck in the middle.

OK, OK.

I can see this is making you nervous and uptight.

Well I know just what will do the trick.

Voila!

Good old sake.

Drink up and forget all about your troubles.

No way.

I can't be drinking in the middle of the day.

Oh come on.

It's tastier because you're drinking it

in the middle of the day.

Hey, that's it!

Throw a party for the whole squad,

and have the Captain as the guest honor.

Once they've got some sake in them,

they'll be buddies in no time.

-Oh, it's as simple as that, huh?

Come on, give it a shot.

I mean, what have you got to lose?

Well, well.

So you've been hiding sake in my quarters, have you?

Captain.

I can explain.

It's Izuru's fault!

Rangiku!

Ah!

What's happening?

-We decided to throw a welcome party for you

and Third Seat Kibune, sir.

Huh?

You did all this for us?

What a nice surprise!

Thank you, everybody.

-I've been told this is one of the very best ways

to establish an atmosphere of camaraderie.

Here you go, Captain.