News that Yoshio had eliminated the parasite-ridden Third Squad Captain seemed to have spread throughout the Seireitei. He didn't even need to think to know the mastermind was Aizen.
Of course, Yoshio had no objections.
He should be loudly promoting his highlight reel!
Yoshio and Rangiku agreed to go out drinking that night; Rangiku headed to the Fourth Division while Yoshio went home. He activated [Child of Kirin] and prepared to train.
He planned to use this month-long break to become much stronger. At the very least, he needed to make himself worthy of a Lieutenant's position, right? Among Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Shunpo, and Kido, he focused mainly on Shunpo. As for Zanjutsu, he didn't need it that much. Hakuda was even less useful. He had multiple other abilities that served as better options than Kido. So he only needed to grind Shunpo, and beyond that, raise his spiritual pressure.
He trained from morning to afternoon. Around six, Renji and the others came by again. They'd also heard about the disappearance of restless souls at the academy, knew Yoshio was involved, and came to check on him.
"I heard Senior Yoshio killed a Menos Grande. Maybe he'll become a Lieutenant soon!" Hinamori Momo said with open envy. "Working under Captain Aizen must be amazing, right?"
Amazing?
Yoshio's mouth twitched, but he could only nod and say, "Yes."
"But I'm pretty lazy, so I hope Captain Aizen won't work me too hard."
"So you've always been just an ordinary Squad Nine Seat, Yoshio?" Hitsugaya said coolly from the side.
"You should call me Senior Yoshio." Yoshio gave him a glance, then added, "And not an ordinary Squad Nine Seat—just a Squad Nine Seat. I'm a permanent officer of the Fifth Division."
Yoshio rubbed his stomach as he spoke and said to the four of them, "Forget it, I haven't eaten much today. Want to go out for a bite? I happen to have dinner plans with Miss Rangiku."
"I've got class tonight," Renji said regretfully. "Hitsugaya, you?"
"Same," Tōshirō Hitsugaya said indifferently. "Besides, I want to graduate early, so I won't have much time later."
"Graduating early?" Hinamori looked at Hitsugaya curiously and couldn't help asking, "Shirō, why do you want to graduate early?"
"The stuff they teach at school isn't hard."
"Graduating early is fine, actually," Yoshio said. "With Toushiro's talent, he'll master the academy's curriculum quickly." Then he added, "By the way, you three should be close to graduating, right?"
"…Yeah." Kira nodded. "We're in sixth year—less than half a year left. When the time comes, let's join the Fifth Division together."
"Good. Keep it up," Yoshio encouraged.
After seeing the four off, Yoshio and Rangiku drank together until late at night.
The next month was more or less the same. Training by day, going out at night. Besides Rangiku, he'd occasionally drink with Kyōraku Shunsui, and later Iba Tetsuzaemon from the Eleventh Division joined them. At this point Iba was still in the Eleventh Division and had not transferred to the Seventh Division to become Lieutenant.
His Souls Ability was ["All-rounder."]
["All-rounder: All of your abilities become balanced."]
The effect was to make all abilities equalized. That is, once you used this ability, even if you only used Shunpo, when you used other abilities they would gain some of Shunpo's enhancement—but at the same time, other aspects would drag Shunpo down to some extent.
For example, if Yoshio's Shunpo stat was 100, Kido 60, Zanjutsu 40, and Hakuda 20, then once he used this skill, the four values would become (100+60+40+20)/4 = 55.
How to describe this ability…
Sometimes it could be useful; other times, not so much.
Yoshio felt that rather than becoming a balanced fighter, it was better to pursue an extreme style. Unless you were like Aizen—pushing every aspect to the peak and becoming a top-tier all-rounder. Otherwise… balance also meant mediocrity.
About half a month later, Shuhei was discharged smoothly.
During those two weeks, besides drinking, Yoshio often went to the Fourth Division at night. Not just to see Shuhei, but to get close to the Fourth Division's seated officers. Unfortunately, despite going so many times, he never once saw Retsu Unohana. He did, however, see the lieutenant Kotetsu.
Isane Kotetsu's Souls Ability was ["Don't Want to Grow Taller."]
["Don't Want to Grow Taller: Can halt physical size changes for oneself and others."]
This ability seemed useless on the surface, but it made Yoshio's eyes light up. After all, many people had abilities that caused gigantification—for example, the Wandenreich Elite Guard's M, Gerard Valkyrie, whose power made him grow gigantic when injured. There was also Espada No. 0, Yammy, who grew bigger the angrier he got. If this ability could be used on them, perhaps it could limit their power.
However, since Kotetsu Isane was a Lieutenant, Yoshio had too little interaction time with her. Still, his favorability with the rest of the Fourth Division had basically maxed out. Most had risen to level sixty. The offensive abilities he now possessed had increased a fair bit, giving him a strong sense of security.
Within a month, Ichimaru Gin was officially confirmed as Third Squad Captain, and Kuchiki Byakuya became Captain of the Sixth Division. Yoshio was appointed Lieutenant of the Fifth Division and would attend the captains' meeting with Aizen on his first day.
Yoshio was a bit excited. At the captains' meeting, while he wouldn't see the captains of every squad, he'd at least see the Lieutenants.
…
At dawn, Yoshio followed behind Aizen toward the First Division.
"I'm actually a little sleepy." Yoshio yawned and couldn't help saying, "Captain Aizen, you really shouldn't have made me a Lieutenant. I'm kind of an embarrassment like this."
"You'll get used to it." Aizen chuckled. "Becoming a Lieutenant less than six years after graduating—Yoshio-kun's promotion speed is enough to be recorded in history."
"…Sounds like a hassle," Yoshio sighed.
Following Aizen to the First Division, he happened to see Rangiku. Next to her stood a middle-aged man wearing a captain's haori with the kanji for "10" on the back—Tenth Division Captain Shiba Isshin.
Shiba Isshin's Souls Ability was…
["Final Zanpakuto Fusion": Upon use, you can merge with your Zanpakuto, entering a state of "Man-Blade union."]
["Note: This skill is extremely dangerous. If you have not permanently acquired this ability, using it will cause all your spiritual power to disappear!"]