Everyone in Extermination Division 1 had already received the notice—S-Class rookie Chiya would be their new Vice-captain.
None of them had met Chiya before, and they were all extremely curious about this newcomer, one of only two to ever receive an S-Class rating.
Of course, this curiosity remained in their minds. In front of Chiya, they wouldn't dare directly address him as a "rookie."
The moment they heard that Vice-Captain Otonashi had arrived, they immediately stopped their training.
As soon as Chiya entered, he was met with a group of people clad in training vests, all staring at him.
"Wow! Vice-Captain Otonashi is actually so handsome!"
A young woman gasped in admiration the moment she saw his face.
"I have to say, those eyes look amazing! I wish I had a pair like them!"
"Hey, hey, aren't you already in college? Still stuck in your chūnibyō phase?"
Though the hierarchy in the organization was strict, the Tokyo Public Safety Bureau was relatively more relaxed. As long as proper respect was shown, a little joking around was permissible.
However, there were also those who were more reserved, like the young man just now, who seriously reminded the others, "Be more serious. Don't make a bad first impression on Vice-Captain Otonashi."
Chiya scanned the room—most of the people here were young, but almost all of them were in their prime.
After all, the lifespan of Public Safety Devil Hunters wasn't long. Either they died in action or retired early.
"Continue your training as usual, don't mind me. Or, if anyone is interested, you can spar with me." Chiya addressed the crowd.
"Really? We can spar with Vice-Captain Otonashi? Let me go first!"
A well-built, blue-haired young man was itching to try.
The opportunity to fight a vice-captain was rare. Who knew if he'd ever get another chance? Take Captain Kishibe, for example—he was barely ever seen. Only a select few rookies with great potential ever got to receive special training from him.
The others also lost interest in their training; they all wanted to witness firsthand how strong this new vice-captain was.
After all, this was a living, breathing S-Class rookie. They had missed the chance to see Captain Kishibe in action when he was a rookie decades ago—this time, they wouldn't let it slip by.
"Go all out." Chiya gave a friendly reminder.
"Yes!"
The blue-haired young man nodded seriously, taking it to heart.
In the Public Safety training facility, sparring matches were strictly limited to hand-to-hand combat—no weapons, no devil powers.
The blue-haired young man assumed a fighting stance and charged at Chiya.
But Chiya saw through every single move. He dodged without counterattacking. Rather than holding back, it felt like he was completely toying with him.
The blue-haired young man used all his strength, yet he couldn't even touch Chiya. He kept chasing after him, but he was the only one getting exhausted.
Everyone knew that throwing punches and missing drained stamina even faster. In professional fights, even seasoned fighters didn't recklessly throw wild swings. Going all out meant gassing out in just a round or two.
"I give up! This is impossible!"
The blue-haired young man collapsed, his spirit utterly broken.
Every punch, every kick, even his sneaky dirty tricks—all of it was useless. No matter what he tried, he couldn't even graze Vice-Captain Otonashi.
The onlookers were in shock. The blue-haired young man wasn't weak among Division 1's members, yet he couldn't even land a single hit?
And Vice-Captain Otonashi still looked completely at ease—not even out of breath after all that dodging. His endurance was beyond monstrous!
At that moment, they all understood why he was rated S-Class.
"Anyone else?" Chiya turned to the rest of them.
He had already decided to use this as a way to get to know his squad.
Most people weren't eager to seek out a beating, but then, a girl with a single ponytail stepped forward. Her eyes were filled with determination.
"Vice-Captain, I'd like to spar with you."
"Come at me."
Chiya remained the same—only dodging, never counterattacking.
The ponytailed girl's strikes were fierce, but they never landed, not even once.
No one was surprised. Vice-Captain Otonashi was just on a completely different level.
But then, something unexpected happened.
After enduring such a one-sided sparring session, the ponytailed girl suddenly stopped. Not only did she stop fighting, but her eyes turned red with tears.
Chiya noticed something was wrong and quickly said, "Wait, hold on!"
But it was too late—she burst into tears.
For a moment, Chiya was at a loss.
He couldn't understand it. She had clearly seen how he sparred with the blue-haired young man earlier—why was she crying now?
The surrounding members began whispering among themselves.
"Ah… Rinka got emotional after all. I should've stopped her from going up."
"I never expected Vice-Captain Otonashi to have such an adorable side. The moment a girl cries, he looks so flustered."
"I thought the new vice-captain would be really strict, but he actually seems easy to get along with~"
"Yeah, if this were Captain Kishibe, he'd just scold her even more harshly."
"…"
They had known Ishii Rinka for a long time. Despite her tough exterior, she was actually quite sensitive. If something pushed her too hard, she would break down into tears.
Hearing their murmurs, Chiya suddenly had an idea.
He deliberately made his voice sound strict. "If you keep crying, I'll have to call Captain Kishibe over."
The effect was immediate—Rinka stopped crying on the spot.
"Vice-Captain, you're so mean…"
She wiped her tears and muttered in a small voice.
"…"
Chiya sighed internally.
If he hadn't done that, who knew how long she would've kept crying?
At that moment, a voice filled with amusement suddenly echoed in his mind.
"Oh? So you have a weakness for crying girls?"
The tone carried a teasing quality, as if it had just discovered something interesting.
Chiya immediately recognized the voice—it was the Wrath Devil, mocking him.
"So what? You got a problem with that?"
"Not at all. I just find it amusing~"
"…"
Chiya decided to ignore the Wrath Devil.
He turned back to his squad and asked, "Anyone else want to spar?"
Even though two people had already been thoroughly beaten, there were still a few eager challengers. It wasn't that they didn't believe it—they just wanted to experience it for themselves.
After all, it wasn't every day that they got a chance like this. Vice-Captain Otonashi wasn't going to injure them, so why not take the opportunity?
And so, that night, Chiya spent his first meeting with Division 1's members engaging in one sparring session after another.