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."