Bleach [11-14] (Patreon)

Chapter 11 Taking Hitsugaya to Enroll at the Academy

Shūhei was already strapped for cash and thought he'd have to pick up the tab again today.

Who knew Yoshio would be so generous!

Great—amid the coldness of the Seireitei, he finally felt a touch of human warmth.

So great, so great!

Shūhei burst into tears. Whenever they went out to eat and drink, he was always the one getting pushed around—finally someone stood up for him.

 Yoshio only paid one bill, yet Shūhei's favorability suddenly shot up to 77, which gave Yoshio quite a scare.

Stunned inside, he kept a calm face and said, "Going out for a drink once in a while really lifts the mood. Next time you drink, you have to call me."

 "Don't worry, I definitely will!"

 Yoshio was hoping to push Shūhei's favorability to 80—then he could permanently acquire [Black Sun], giving him a reliable attack method.

Waving, Yoshio stepped out of the pub and felt the cool night breeze; the alcohol-flushed heat in his head cleared a lot.

This body could really hold its liquor.

Even though he joined midway, he drank only slightly less than Rangiku and Shūhei; both of them were tipsy, while he was just lightly buzzed.

Heading home against the cool wind, Yoshio continued channeling spiritual power into Black Sun.

Without feeding it, Black Sun had no bite.

It was a grow-and-invest kind of skill: if he let it ripen for several hundred years, pouring in a captain's full spiritual power each year, could that instant burst one-shot Yhwach?

Heh—my future's blindingly bright!

 Yoshio's lips curled upward as he returned home.

He injected roughly half his reiryoku into Black Sun; any more would start affecting him. He had to get up early tomorrow, so he didn't want to be exhausted.

…

The next day, Yoshio got up before dawn again.

The drink helped him sleep soundly.

After a stretch and a wash, he headed for the Rukongai feeling refreshed.

Thinking about Hitsugaya, he moved even faster than yesterday; by first light he was already at the White Road Gate.

There he saw Hitsugaya Tōshirō with a bundle on his back.

 Yoshio let out a breath. So nothing had changed—Hitsugaya had still decided to become a Shinigami.

With a flash step, he appeared in front of Hitsugaya and smiled a greeting.

 "Looks like you've made up your mind."

Hitsugaya was startled by Yoshio's sudden appearance, but his cool exterior didn't crack. He said, "Yeah. I've decided to become a Shinigami."

 "That's the spirit," Yoshio said happily. "It's not enrollment season, but if I take you there, the instructors will be thrilled to accept you once they see your talent."

As he spoke, Yoshio couldn't resist ruffling that silver hair.

Hitsugaya slipped out of his grasp and asked, "Didn't you say you were on patrol? If you take me to Shin'ō Spiritual Arts Academy now, isn't that neglecting your duty?"

 "What do you know? How can a trivial patrol compare to discovering a genius?" Yoshio said. "Alright, you've already talked with your grandmother, right? Then let's go!"

 "Yeah, we've talked." Hitsugaya Tōshirō took a deep breath and looked at Yoshio with determined eyes.

 Yoshio led Hitsugaya toward the White Road Gate and saw Jidanbō. Jidanbō wasn't a Shinigami, but one of the Rukongai strongmen selected to guard the gate.

Shinigami normally passed without issue, but Hitsugaya was just a small Rukongai soul—this grazed Jidanbō's duty.

 Yoshio also saw Jidanbō's soul ability.

 ["Gatekeeper: Designate a door and become its gatekeeper; until someone defeats you, no one can pass through."]

Nice—fits Jidanbō's role perfectly. Not that I've got anything I need guarded right now.

Also, Jidanbō's favorability toward him was low, far from sixty.

Still, that ability was excellent.

If the only way in is to defeat you, then if you hide or refuse to fight, doesn't that mean the other party can never enter?

So he wanted that ability. He'd have to visit the west gate more often and befriend Jidanbō.

 "I'm taking this kid to Shin'ō to register. I'll settle the paperwork when I get back," Yoshio said to Jidanbō.

Jidanbō, a ten-meter-tall giant, scrutinized Yoshio and Hitsugaya, making Hitsugaya uneasy.

 "This guy…"

 "He's huge," Hitsugaya couldn't help saying.

 Yoshio chuckled. "Relax.

 "The Seireitei isn't full of giants. Like Jidanbō, there are only four that big."

Because Hitsugaya was short, he was fixated on tall people.

After a while, Jidanbō said, "Alright, you two can go in."

 Yoshio nodded and led Hitsugaya into the Seireitei.

With Hitsugaya in tow, he couldn't go full speed; by the time they reached Shin'ō, it was nearly noon.

On the way, Yoshio didn't idle. He chatted with Hitsugaya, taught him Seireitei basics, and gave him pointers on manipulating spiritual power.

Hitsugaya truly was a prodigy, and with Yoshio's ability boosting him, he made huge progress in just that little walk.

 Yoshio was slack-jawed. What a freakin' genius!

He could only sigh. The gap between people can be bigger than the gap between a person and a dog!

At the academy, Yoshio went straight to find Gengorō Ōunabara. He was very interested in the teacher's ability and wanted to raise his favorability past eighty soon.

 Ōunabara was surprised to see Yoshio. After all, Yoshio was already a Shinigami—he couldn't keep coming back to study, right?

Seeing his surprise, Yoshio quickly said:

 "Sensei, I'm here because I found an absolute genius in the Rukongai. With his talent, staying there would be a waste. I want to bring him to Shin'ō to become a Shinigami."

Chapter 12 Hitsugaya’s Favorability Reaches Eighty

"Oh?"

 Ōunabara frowned. He didn't really believe Yoshio had found a genius.

He knew Yoshio—a hardworking student, but not very gifted. What kind of prodigy could he find?

 Yoshio said nothing more and had Hitsugaya stand before Ōunabara.

 "This child?" Ōunabara asked, puzzled. He didn't see what was special.

 Yoshio tapped Hitsugaya's Saketsu and Hakusui points—the lock and soul-sleep points most crucial to a Shinigami.

Because Hitsugaya couldn't control his power before, Yoshio had sealed his reiatsu. Now, once released, Hitsugaya's spiritual pressure burst forth.

 Ōunabara's pupils dilated instantly!

This…

Such powerful reiatsu from a Rukongai soul who has never trained as a Shinigami?

Unbelievable!

Never trained, yet born with such terrifying spiritual power?

 Ōunabara grew excited. "My god, incredible! You truly never trained before this?!"

 "With reiatsu like this, why didn't you come to be a Shinigami sooner?!"

 "I didn't know I had spiritual power," Hitsugaya said softly.

 "That can't be. Those with reiatsu feel hunger, unlike ordinary souls who only need to breathe and drink water."

 "…" Hitsugaya paused, then said, "Grandma told me only kids feel hungry."

 "I see," Ōunabara nodded seriously, then looked to Yoshio. "Yoshio, you did very well."

 "Next, I'll bring…" He glanced at Hitsugaya—he still didn't know the boy's name.

 "Hitsugaya Tōshirō," the boy said succinctly.

 "Good. Tōshirō-kun, come with me for testing!"

 "I won't disturb you, Sensei."

 Yoshio was about to leave when he suddenly noticed Hitsugaya's favorability toward him had reached eighty!

 Yoshio was overjoyed!

That meant he could permanently acquire Hitsugaya's "Child of Kirin" ability!

Which also meant he'd gone from mediocre to a genius in one jump!

Fantastic!

He kept his excitement in check. He hadn't expected his first permanent ability to come from Hitsugaya.

The kid was indeed cold outside and warm within. He acted cool, and his Zanpakutō was the strongest ice-type, but once he recognized you, he treated you as a true friend.

Maybe he wouldn't show much on the surface, but inside, he'd care deeply.

So Hitsugaya's favorability leapt from below sixty straight to eighty!

Good, good.

Watching Ōunabara take Hitsugaya for testing, Yoshio left Shin'ō in high spirits.

He still had patrol.

On his way out, he activated [Child of Kirin].

Yep, it turned out to be an active skill. Once you start doing something with [Child of Kirin] on, you become a genius in that area.

He'd thought it would be a passive, like [Star Chaser], that let him transcend limits automatically.

Using [Child of Kirin] even consumed reiatsu—but compared to the talent it granted, that cost was nothing.

He'd poured half his reiatsu into [Black Sun] last night; now, after activating [Child of Kirin], he felt himself recovering that spent power quickly.

Keep this up and he'd casually become a seated officer, lieutenant, even captain.

Thrilled, he decided to begin serious training once patrol ended.

When he reached the Rukongai and found nothing pressing, he parked himself at the White Road Gate and chatted with Jidanbō.

Another day of slacking.

…

By dusk, Yoshio strolled home at ease.

Tonight, Renji and the others were actually around—and they'd brought Hitsugaya!

 "How's it feel, Shiro? Did you pass the entrance exam?"

Seeing Hitsugaya with Hinamori, Yoshio called out.

 "It's unbelievable—Hitsugaya tested at a staggering sixth-class spiritual pressure at entry. Incredible!"

Kira spoke. He'd always thought he was pretty talented, but now he felt the meaning of "there's always someone better."

 "The last entrant with sixth-class reiatsu was Thirteenth Division's Lieutenant Shiba. And he's from a noble house—one of the Five Great Noble Clans," Renji added.

Like the Kuchiki, one of the highest-status families in the Soul Society.

Noble offspring generally had higher reiatsu, especially among the Five Great Clans, where super-strong spiritual power was common.

That's why they were shocked—Hitsugaya wasn't noble.

 Yoshio chuckled. "That's normal. I told you Hitsugaya's talent is strong. But raw reiatsu isn't everything—you still have to train Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Hohō, and Kidō."

Think of reiatsu as inner energy—your power supply.

Zan-Hak-Ho-Ki are your fundamental applications.

A Zanpakutō is like top-tier martial arts plus a power amplifier—boosting energy and maximizing output.

Strong inner power is great, but if you don't know how to use it, it's no good.

Sometimes refined technique alone can bridge a power gap—unless the gap is ridiculously huge.

So when Aizen said "a Shinigami's battle is a battle of reiatsu," that was because his own reiatsu dwarfed everyone else's.

 Yoshio couldn't teach them how to increase reiatsu, so he could only coach the basics of Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Hohō, and Kidō.

 "That's it for tonight's lesson. I'm going to be busy next."

He told the four:

 "Next, study well at Shin'ō. Aim to graduate and become seated officers ASAP—don't be like me, still just an unseated Shinigami."

 "Senior Yoshio, are you really just unseated?"

Kira couldn't help asking, "Why do I feel like you're stronger than the instructors I've seen?"

Chapter 13 Promoted to a Seated Officer

"Well…"

 Yoshio gave a mysterious smile. "Maybe I'm just more talented in this area."

 "If I ever get tired of the division, maybe I'll transfer to the academy and teach."

Hitsugaya gave him a long look. He felt Yoshio wasn't telling the truth—didn't look like it either.

There was something deeply hidden about him. Though Hitsugaya hadn't met many Shinigami, Yoshio gave him a very particular impression.

Still, Yoshio had led him to become a Shinigami. He believed Yoshio wasn't a bad person.

Maybe… he just doesn't want the spotlight.

Hitsugaya hadn't come tonight for coaching—he wanted to thank Yoshio—but during the evening class, he was shocked to find that under Yoshio's instruction he improved massively!

Most things he learned as soon as they were taught.

It was… frightening.

That only strengthened his earlier impression: Yoshio definitely wasn't the ordinary Shinigami he claimed to be!

The other three didn't overthink it; they just trained hard.

 Yoshio's favorability with them rose steadily. He felt that as long as he spent a bit more time with Renji, he could permanently acquire Renji's "Star Chaser."

After tonight, though, he couldn't keep doing these private lessons.

His "Strict Teacher Produces Outstanding Students" state was about to expire. Without it, he couldn't teach others effectively.

That night, Yoshio saw the four off.

Tomorrow he wouldn't have to patrol the Rukongai; he'd be free for a while to train properly at the division.

And he'd make nice with Tanimoto Toru, too.

 [Special Beam Cannon] was powerful—he'd blown out Metastacia's brain with it—a very aggressive technique.

Much better than a Hollow's Cero.

And the more reiatsu he poured in, the stronger it got. He liked those scalable offensive skills.

…

The next morning, Yoshio headed to Fifth Division quarters bright and early.

He could hardly wait to train.

 [Child of Kirin], once activated, lasted three days, then needed a one-day cooldown before it could be used again.

A bit inconvenient, but fine—call it a rest day.

Beyond Zan-Hak-Ho-Ki, he was most eager to boost reiatsu, and with Hitsugaya's talent blessing, he felt his absorption of ambient spirit particles was extremely fast.

He'd only been transmigrated for three days, but he felt he'd already reached seated-officer level.

Without counting soul abilities, he was about eighth or ninth seat.

 "Yoshio-kun, quite diligent."

While training, he suddenly heard Aizen's voice.

He turned quickly and saw bespectacled Aizen approach with a gentle smile.

 "Captain Aizen!"

 Yoshio bowed respectfully. "I have to. My Shinigami talent is too weak, so I need to work harder than others."

 "Very good. If every member of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads had your mindset, the Seireitei would be unassailable."

 "I don't deserve that," Yoshio said modestly. "I just want to revive my family—no grand ambitions."

Aizen gave him a thoughtful look, then suddenly asked, "Yoshio-kun, are you interested in becoming a seated officer?"

 "Hm?" Yoshio blinked.

 "A seated officer? But… the division…"

 "Minamida-kun was attacked by a Hollow last night," Aizen sighed, looking pained. "His seat is now vacant."

Minamida—the Fifth's Ninth Seat—attacked by a Hollow?!

 Yoshio couldn't help but think Aizen had arranged it.

Hey, you know losing a seated officer means I lose a potential ability, right?

Oh, you don't? Then never mind.

Though his mind raced, outwardly Yoshio beamed. "Then thank you very much, Captain Aizen!"

 "It's just… with my current strength, am I really fit to be Ninth Seat?"

 "It's alright," Aizen said softly. "I believe you'll work hard to become a qualified seated officer."

 "I'll redouble my efforts!" Yoshio said loudly.

Some nearby Shinigami looked on enviously. See? That's the benefit of showing your best in front of the boss.

Captain Aizen shows up, sees someone training hard, and there's a vacant seat—who else would he promote?

After Aizen left, Shinigami gathered around, congratulating him.

 "Congrats, Yoshio! You're our Ninth Seat now!"

 Yoshio didn't care much for these small fries without soul abilities—but who could say whether they wouldn't grow strong later and gain one?

So he set his life goal: "Make friends widely, avoid enemies."

No matter who they were, he'd befriend them—collect as many friends as possible!

 Yoshio said, "We have to thank Captain Aizen for the promotion. Tell you what—tonight drinks are on me!"

 "Whoooa!"

The place erupted. A free meal and drinks were real benefits.

Some seated officers who'd just arrived heard the cheers, asked what was happening, and, learning Yoshio had become Fifth's Ninth Seat and was treating everyone, were happy for him.

Before transmigrating, the original Yoshio was a friendly nice guy and got along well with the division.

Seeing him become a seated officer, most felt envy or genuine happiness; few felt jealousy.

All the more since he'd said he was treating the division to drinks.

That wasn't cheap!

The Thirteen Court Guard Squads had about six thousand members; a division averaged four to five hundred. Even with absences and missions, at least a hundred would show.

Treating a hundred people wasn't something even a high-ranked seated officer could afford—unless, like Yoshio, you came from a minor landed noble family with some assets.

But if it bought goodwill…

For Yoshio, that was the best deal.

Already, he could see many favorability bars spiking upward.

Chapter 14 The Fifth Division Officers’ Abilities

Third Seat soul ability: ["Hard Worker"]

 ["Hard Worker: After using it, you'll be more driven while working."]

Fourth Seat soul ability: ["Sleep On Command"]

 ["Sleep On Command: Fall asleep instantly after using it."]

Fifth Seat soul ability: ["Fireball"]

 ["Fireball: Can create a fireball in the hand."]

Sixth Seat soul ability: ["Special Beam Cannon"]

 ["Special Beam Cannon: Releases a black destructive beam from a fingertip. The beam ignores defenses and pierces through the opponent's body parts."]

Seventh Seat soul ability: ["Game Master"]

 ["Game Master: You pick up and master games very quickly."]

Eighth Seat soul ability: ["Looks Upgrade"]

 ["Looks Upgrade: Improves your appearance."]

Tenth Seat soul ability: ["Painful Yet Joyous"]

 ["Painful Yet Joyous: You feel pleasure when stimulated by pain."]

These are the abilities of the people in the Fifth Division. You could say many abilities are very useful, while some are basically useless.

Useful ones include [Special Beam Cannon] and [Fireball]; useless ones would be something like [Sleep On Command]…

So it's not that the stronger you are, the stronger your soul ability will be. This thing purely depends on your personal traits and the composite tendencies of your future.

There's something else: after his own strength improved, Yoshio discovered he actually possessed a soul ability too.

His soul ability is ["Safe House."]

 ["Safe House: Designate a house as your safe house. The safe house is indestructible, immune to any damage, and within it you are immune to all surveillance."]

Damn—so it knew I have no sense of security and gave me a safe house? All right, all right.

Because this is his own soul ability, Yoshio, of course, acquires it permanently.

He plans to set his home as the safe house so he can avoid others' prying eyes.

These past few days had him on edge, mainly because he knows the Seireitei is basically one huge sieve—anyone can pop over and take a look!

Not to mention Aizen Sosuke right by his side.

Quincy hidden in the shadows of the Seireitei can monitor it.

The Monk of the Eyes up in the heavens can monitor it.

The Tsunayashiro, one of the Five Great Noble Clans, can monitor the Seireitei through the Projection Hall.

And that pervert Mayuri Kurotsuchi of the Twelfth could well be monitoring the Seireitei too.

It's one giant strainer!

Even if most of these people couldn't care less about him, just knowing you're under surveillance is enough to make you break down, right?

 Yoshio doesn't want his every move monitored by others.

This safe house doesn't make him completely unobservable, strictly speaking. Rather, it generates fake footage—others won't think anything's off; they'll just assume he's doing perfectly normal things.

When in reality, he might well be up to something shady.

He's very satisfied with this ability. It doesn't make him invincible overnight, but it's extremely functional and powerful.

At the same time, since he was promoted to Ninth Seat today, Yoshio's work also changed.

Officers have their own offices in the squad, and they can be assigned a house. Not far from the Fifth Division barracks there's even an Officer Street.

Even though Yoshio already owns a house, he was still assigned a nice one.

His pay also went up—from 200,000 a month to 300,000.

He no longer needs to go out on patrol every day—just one routine patrol a week. The rest of the time he'll handle office work.

Of course, officers still lead teams out if there are missions.

…

That evening, Yoshio took squad members to a tavern. About half the officers came; the rest were busy or couldn't make it.

Even Aizen and Ichimaru Gin showed up, which left the squad both flattered and a bit uneasy.

Though Aizen is "amiable," he's still their superior. Drinking with a superior always feels a bit awkward.

Luckily, Aizen left after a short while. Though Gin stayed, everyone relaxed a lot.

Yoshio was drinking with several officers when Rangiku walked in from outside.

Seeing Yoshio, she happily called out,

 "Yo, Yoshio!"

Riding the high of the moment, Yoshio jolted when he heard the voice.

 "Miss Rangiku?! What are you doing here?!"

 "What do you mean what am I doing here?" Rangiku came over and said, "I'm here to drink, of course—and I just happened to run into you."

 "Eh? Gin, you're here too?"

She noticed Ichimaru Gin sitting to the side.

Yes, Aizen had left, but Gin hadn't.

Gin looked a bit surprised—he seemed not to have expected Yoshio and Rangiku to know each other.

 "You know Lieutenant Ichimaru?"

 Yoshio said in "surprise," "You really know a lot of people, huh."

 "Of course!" Rangiku laughed. "Is this some kind of event your squad's hosting? So many Fifth Division folks here drinking."

 "Yoshio-kun was promoted to Ninth Seat, so he's treating everyone," Ichimaru Gin said with a squinting smile. "Rangiku, want to join?"

 "There's such a good thing?!" Rangiku said with delight. "Hey, now that's more like it! Look at our squad—no one's like Yoshio. Maybe I should just transfer to the Fifth!"

 "Captain Shiba wouldn't forgive me for that," Yoshio said with a bitter smile.

 "Who cares about him." Rangiku pouted, then made herself at home at their table.

With Rangiku joining, their table got even livelier. After all, when a table full of drinking men suddenly gets a woman, the men naturally get excited.

Especially since Rangiku's no shy little girl—she's open and playful, so no one had to tiptoe around her being a woman.

The Fifth Division also has a female officer, but she couldn't come due to a mission.

Not long after Rangiku arrived, Ichimaru Gin left—he's not really one for drinking.

 Yoshio noticed that when Gin left, Rangiku didn't say it out loud, but she was disappointed inside.

She must be confused now. They grew up together in the Rukongai, but one day Gin suddenly decided to become a shinigami, and everything changed.

Gin became more and more mysterious, and she increasingly couldn't read what was on his mind.

All Yoshio could do was sigh.

Then he thought of something else.

Could the soul fragments produced by [The Animals] ability repair the damage Rangiku suffered from Aizen taking part of her soul?!