Yoshio sat cross-legged with the Zanpakutō resting across his lap.
He closed his eyes. Even though he'd drunk quite a bit, his mind was crystal clear in this moment.
Vaguely, he seemed to hear a voice—the voice of his Zanpakutō!
[ "…My name is…"]
The voice came and went, now near, now far—sometimes whispering by his ear, sometimes shouting from a mountain peak down to the ants below.
Yoshio tried to grasp it, but couldn't.
My name is…
Rumble…
As it spoke the name, the sky seemed to thunder; the roaring drowned the name out.
Yoshio slowly opened his eyes.
Though it felt brief, an hour and a half had passed outside.
After all that time, he only felt a step closer to Shikai.
But it's not enough to fully release the Asauchi yet!
In theory, life-and-death battles accelerate this process, but shinigami spend most of their time in Seireitei—where do you find such battles?
Sometimes you notice something odd: before Kurosaki Ichigo arrived, Seireitei barely changed for hundreds or even thousands of years.
Then Ichigo shows up and those captains who hadn't progressed in decades suddenly started power-leveling like crazy.
This isn't strange.
Pure training grows you slowly; orthodox training is far inferior to high-intensity battle.
Especially battles where even your soul risks annihilation.
When a soul faces the crisis of vanishing, spiritual pressure rises easily, so every shinigami grows after a life-or-death fight.
After Ichigo came, the Gotei 13 finally started fighting continuously in the true sense. With each battle, not only Ichigo but the Gotei members progressed.
If Yoshio wants to power up quickly now, he needs to consider battles of that intensity.
Even with the [Child of Kirin] skill, matching Hitsugaya's growth only gives him captain-level reiatsu by the start of the plot.
That's not enough for him.
He needs to become stronger.
And he knows he'll have a chance to go to war.
Aizen, that guy…
Has taken an interest in him.
Yoshio's heart sank.
He was made Ninth Seat today—though not a high seat, it still proves his earlier guess was spot on.
Aizen really has his eye on him.
Metastacia was sent to deal with him, and after he dispatched Metastacia with ease, Aizen's interest only grew.
So he placed him in the Ninth Seat.
Once you're targeted by someone like that, the future won't be smooth sailing.
…
…
But unexpectedly, for several months afterward, Aizen didn't have him do anything.
Which gave him time to grow—first, by building good relationships with people in his squad, then with the Four from Shin'ō Academy and with Rangiku and Shuhei.
As for Shunsui Kyōraku…
He'd told Rangiku and Shuhei about Shunsui. Shuhei was a bit reserved, but Rangiku casually said she'd already had drinks with Shunsui several times.
So later he also secretly invited Shunsui a few times, but favorability rose very slowly. Even now, Shunsui's favorability toward him is only thirty.
So Yoshio stopped counting on that captain. No wonder this old guy has lived for centuries—his heart's walls are thick.
Over these months, he raised Shuhei's favorability to 79—just shy of 80.
No helping it—the higher it goes, the harder it is to raise.
Leaps like Hitsugaya's to eighty are rare.
Just when he thought his peaceful life would continue, at year's end, he received orders at the squad.
"In North Rukongai, District 62 'Kagarashi,' there's been a large-scale disappearance of souls—suspected reappearance of the Soul Disappearance Case from seventy years ago!"
"Ninth Division shinigami have already gone, but the Head Captain is concerned, so our Fifth Division will dispatch another unit."
Sixth Seat Tanimoto Toru patted Yoshio's shoulder lightly. "Don't worry too much. It's your first mission as an officer, but with Lieutenant Ichimaru there, nothing will go wrong."
It's precisely because he's there that I'm worried.
Yoshio glanced at Gin's squinting eyes—he couldn't read what the man was thinking.
To say this mission wasn't arranged by Aizen—who'd believe that?
The Soul Disappearance Case—that's Aizen's handiwork, isn't it?
And District 62—that's where Gin and Rangiku come from, and where Aizen used to collect souls!
Well then, it's coming at last?
Another probe by Aizen—or rather…
A game?
This time, the Fifth Division support team included Lieutenant Ichimaru Gin; the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Ninth Seats; plus more than sixty Fifth Division members.
You could call this a pretty luxe lineup.
But this is to address a case that led to several captains' "Hollowfication" sixty to seventy years ago. Even if it's only a possibility, it's enough for the Gotei 13 to take it seriously.
"Are we departing now?"
Yoshio asked, outwardly nervous.
"Yes," Tanimoto Toru nodded. "Let's go. Lieutenant Ichimaru should already be waiting."
Yoshio followed Taniimoto to the rally point. Ichimaru Gin was sitting on some steps, greeting the arriving shinigami leisurely.
"Don't worry, everyone. With me here, you won't be in any danger."
The Fifth's members collectively sighed in relief. Taniimoto called out, "With Lieutenant Ichimaru here, even if Kisuke Urahara—the mastermind of the original case—were still around, it'd be no problem!"
"Yeah, I hear Lieutenant Ichimaru has already mastered Bankai. As soon as a captain's post opens up, he can take command of another squad."
"Lieutenant Ichimaru's a real genius—they say he graduated from Shin'ō in just a year!"
People chatted excitedly. The Fifth Division adores Aizen, and by extension they also trust the sly-looking Lieutenant Gin.
Yoshio joined in the chatter, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ichimaru Gin squinting with a smile…
Looking at him!