Back when he was watching the anime, Satoru had always been curious—
What exactly was the principle behind Yoruichi's cat transformation?
Was it a Zanpakutō ability, or some kind of secret technique?
Surely some wizard hadn't wandered into the wrong universe and taught her the Animagus transformation, right?
Now that he had the chance, he wasted no time asking.
If this wasn't tied to Yoruichi's Zanpakutō but was instead a learnable skill, he wanted to master it too.
Yoruichi looked slightly surprised.
"You actually know about that… Sometimes I really wonder if you're truly from the Rukongai."
"Transforming into a cat is indeed a secret technique of the Shihōin family."
"But mastering this ability is no simple task."
"Generally speaking, it's considered quite fortunate if even one person in the family manages to learn it over several decades or even a century."
"Even someone as talented as me had to practice from childhood and only became proficient in the past couple of years."
As she spoke, Yoruichi couldn't help but show a somewhat proud expression.
In the history of the Shihōin family, she was the earliest to master the transformation technique, which spoke volumes about her natural gifts.
Hearing this, Satoru scratched his head.
He wasn't particularly worried about the difficulty of learning it.
With the "Aizen-Bind System" cheat at his disposal, he was confident he could master even the most challenging techniques.
However, from what Yoruichi implied, this technique seemed exclusive to members of the Shihōin family.
Out of curiosity, he asked, "Can someone who's not from the Shihōin family learn this move?"
Yoruichi was taken aback. "You want to learn it?"
Satoru nodded—there was no point in hiding his interest.
Upon hearing this, Yoruichi crossed her arms, closed her eyes, tilted her head back, and fell into thought.
The Cat Form technique wasn't all that powerful in terms of combat effectiveness.
Its true value lay in its status as a "secret art."
The fact that no one else could use it except the Shihōin family was what gave it prestige and significance.
Even as the current head of the Shihōin family, she couldn't casually teach their secret techniques to an outsider.
"How about this—you just marry into the family. Given our friendship, I could pull some strings and get the elders to approve. Then you'd have free access to all the Shihōin family's secret arts and divine artifacts~"
Satoru grinned. "With my background, if I tried to marry into your family, the elders would probably tear me to pieces rather than nod in approval."
Yoruichi gave him a surprised look.
"You're seriously underestimating yourself, Satoru."
"Do you even know what your current status is?"
"By now, practically everyone in the upper echelons of the Seireitei knows you've become Yamamoto-sama's official disciple."
"If he hadn't made it clear that no one was to bother you, your doorstep would've been trampled flat by nobles trying to curry favor!"
"If I could get you to marry into the Shihōin family, the elders would probably be laughing so hard they'd cry."
As she spoke, Yoruichi couldn't help but smile at the mental image.
Satoru was genuinely surprised by her words.
The Soul Society's social structure closely mirrored that of feudal Japan.
In the eyes of the nobility, no matter how strong the Gotei 13 might be, they were still subordinate—a "warrior class."
No matter how powerful a warrior might be, they were ultimately tools of the aristocracy, and in theory, nobles owed them no particular respect.
This was the root of the Central 46's condescending attitude and their various idiotic, tyrannical decisions in the original story.
He hadn't expected Old Man Yamamoto to command such respect even among these privileged elites.
Fixing Yoruichi with a solemn gaze, Satoru said, "In that case, I'd be honored to accept... When should we submit our marriage registration?"
"Enough, enough—be serious."
Yoruichi rolled her eyes at him in exasperation.
Satoru chuckled. "I am being serious."
Yoruichi gave him another surprised look.
Then she grinned. "What about your harem plans?"
Satoru jolted. "Ah, I forgot about that."
Yoruichi shook her head with an amused smile.
After a moment's thought, she said, "Alright, joking aside."
"Satoru, do you really want to learn the Cat Form technique? Even if it comes at a cost?"
Satoru nodded.
The ability to transform into a cat was incredibly appealing.
Unless the conditions were too extreme, he very much wanted to learn it.
"Alright, then I'll state my conditions."
Yoruichi extended one finger: "First, if I become the captain of Squad Two, you must join Squad Two."
"Second, unless I leave Squad Two, you cannot leave without permission."
"Third, you absolutely cannot teach the Cat Transformation technique to others."
With a serious expression, she said, "These are the most lenient conditions I can offer, Satoru."
Satoru was momentarily stunned.
The first two conditions didn't matter much to him.
Which squad he joined made no real difference.
After all, with his strength, he could become a seated officer in any squad and live comfortably.
But... not being able to share the technique meant he couldn't ask Aizen to help him practice it.
If even Yoruichi found the Cat Transformation technique difficult to learn, could he master it without Aizen's help?
The moment this thought crossed his mind, his heart suddenly skipped a beat.
Satoru, oh Satoru, how could you have fallen so low?
Just because the system helped you latch onto Aizen's coattails, have you completely abandoned self-improvement?
It's just learning a technique—do you really lack the confidence to do it without Aizen's help?
Satoru took a deep breath.
Under Yoruichi's gaze, his eyes filled with determination: "I can definitely learn it!"
"I accept these conditions, Yoruichi!"
Seeing the sudden shift in Satoru's demeanor, Yoruichi was first surprised, then couldn't help but look at him with admiration.
Truly someone worthy of her attention!
Satoru slightly raised his head, his gaze seemingly piercing through the ceiling to the distant stars.
The system's abilities were, after all, just assistance. How could he rely entirely on Aizen just because the system was powerful, neglecting his own efforts?
Sōsuke, you're just a backup singer!
At that moment, a voice rang in his ears—
[Detected that bound target "Sōsuke Aizen" has acquired a new skill, automatically synchronizing... Synchronization complete!]
[Your understanding of Bakudō has improved. You have successfully mastered Bakudō #8: Seki, Preset Trigger Version!]
Satoru: "..."
Retracting everything he just thought.
Who cares about effort? The system is amazing!
Sōsuke, you're an angel!
Yoruichi could never have imagined the emotional rollercoaster this young man before her had experienced in just a few seconds.
After securing Satoru's promise, she explained the Cat Transformation technique to him in great detail, step by step.
Listening to Yoruichi's explanation, Satoru finally understood why she said this technique was difficult.
A Shinigami's body is entirely composed of reishi.
The principle of the Cat Transformation technique is to disperse and rearrange the reishi that makes up the body.
For a human, it would be like disassembling and reassembling every cell in the body.
Never mind the difficulty of breaking down cells... Even if it were possible, cells throughout the body have different properties—how could they just be randomly rearranged?
How could they just... Huh?
Just as he was marveling at this, Satoru suddenly felt as though he had grasped something.
He raised one hand.
Frowning, he pondered for a few seconds.
Then, he watched as his palm slowly began to change...
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