There's No Reward, Compensation, or Time Off, but You Can Start Work Right Away

"Why are you so loud?"

Wang Chuan covered his ears and stared speechlessly at the two shocked people in front of him.

"Captain Ōmaeda."

"Yeah?"

"Do I get a reward or something for dealing with this mess?"

"A reward? You get military merit."

"Just military merit?"

"No, there'll also be some extra money and supplies as a reward."

"What about time off or something?"

"Time off? I don't think so. After fighting off an invasion of this scale, people usually have to stay with the Fourth Division for a while."

After saying that, Ōmaeda looked at Wang Chuan strangely.

If Wang Chuan hadn't brought it up, he wouldn't have remembered: the guy who claimed to have killed six Hollows and two Gillians was from the Fourth Division. He was a medic!

When Ōmaeda said that time off meant staying with the Fourth Division for a while, Wang Chuan could only feel that the whole of Soul Society was far too dark.

Time off required an application to the captain or lieutenant, and his own application definitely wouldn't be approved. Come on, how many years has it been since I last had time off?

It was one thing not to be able to take leave, but there wasn't even a fixed period of rest after a battle. Without a fixed provision for it, given his relationship with Unohana, it was basically impossible for him to get an application approved.

The Gotei 13 desperately needs human rights!

Wang Chuan looked like he had nothing left to live for as he waved a hand at Ōmaeda.

"All right, the Garganta has already disappeared. You and the Twelfth Division can reconstruct exactly what happened. I'll submit a Fourth Division report to headquarters later. If there are any questions, we can discuss them then."

With that, he ignored Ōmaeda and the other Second Division members and left with Sugimoto.

Wang Chuan remained under a dark cloud all the way back. When they were almost at the barracks, he slapped his forehead and turned to ask Sugimoto, "I almost forgot. How are the others?"

"Asakura and I took Mizuno and Kobayashi back to the barracks, but I was worried, so I turned back. I ran into the Second Division halfway and led them here, so we came together."

"Thanks for your hard work, Sugimoto. If I become captain, I'll definitely make you my lieutenant."

"Oh, so our hero Mr. Wang Chuan wants to become captain? How nice."

A voice that unmistakably belonged to a mature older sister came from behind Wang Chuan, saying words that made his hair stand on end.

Beside him, Sugimoto gave a respectful bow. "Captain."

"Sugimoto, you can go back first. I need to have a good talk with Wang Chuan about what happened today."

"Yes, Captain."

Sugimoto didn't hesitate for a moment. He even dodged Wang Chuan's hand as it reached for his shoulder, looking nothing like a Fourth Division member.

The captain specifically asked Senior Wang Chuan to stay behind. It looks like those rumors weren't entirely baseless.

Well, he was another gossip.

Meanwhile, Wang Chuan roared inwardly, Sugimoto, don't go! What am I supposed to do if you leave? Someone's going to die!

Noticing Unohana watching his slightly twisted expression with interest, Wang Chuan put on a smile in an instant. "Captain, there's nothing much to say about today. A few Hollows suddenly showed up, and I dealt with them. It really was no big deal. I got a little hurt, so I'd like to get some medicine from the dispensary first. I won't keep you company."

He prepared to leave as he spoke, but Unohana pressed a hand down on his shoulder. She slowly approached from behind him and said quietly, "Recently, I heard an interesting rumor about the two of us. I wonder if you know about it."

Unohana's tone was mild, carrying a mature composure, but listening to her left Wang Chuan drenched in sweat.

If Unohana had felt like an evil spirit to Wang Chuan at first, she was now an asura among ghosts. Though she showed neither killing intent nor murderous aura, a chill rose from the bottom of his heart.

I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'm going to die.

"Come on. Let's talk in my office."

"Yes, Captain."

Wang Chuan followed Unohana away with a certain resignation, looking rather as though he might never return.

—A dividing line cut by a Zanpakuto—

After arriving at Unohana's office, Wang Chuan sat there, feeling somewhat ill at ease.

It wasn't that he was afraid of Unohana. All right, he was afraid.

Having the courage to swing a sword and being afraid were two different things. Swinging a sword to kill a Gillian and swinging one to satisfy his captain's desire to fight, only to get beaten up, were also two different things.

Unohana, sitting across from him, had been preparing a Japanese tea ceremony, but Wang Chuan didn't understand the first thing about it.

"Drink." Unohana handed him a cup of tea.

Wang Chuan was rather apprehensive, afraid his captain might take it into her head to poison the water.

After seeing his captain drink hers, Wang Chuan slurped his down too.

"This is..."

Wang Chuan looked at the little cup in his hand. A little tea remained inside. No, it should have been called medicinal tea.

Besides the medicinal ingredients in the tea, Unohana had also used healing Kidō on it.

Although using healing Kidō on the medicinal tea had no effect, Unohana had infused it with a high concentration of Reishi.

After he drank it, his whole body relaxed. Although it didn't completely heal the injuries the Cero had caused Wang Chuan, it greatly alleviated his symptoms. As for the rest, they could only be treated slowly with healing Kidō.

"You've just been through an intense battle. Your body and mind are both too tense. Relax, and tell me what happened."

Phew—

Wang Chuan let out a long breath, coming down from his post-battle exhilaration.

"Captain, this incident isn't simple. There are too many inexplicable things about it."

"Tell me what you think is suspicious."

"First, the Garganta. It's not that one can't open in Soul Society, or that it can't open in the sewers, but it happened to open in a place large enough for a Gillian to crawl out. That's too strange."

"Go on."

"Second, when I faced the Gillian, he didn't move at all at first, then suddenly attacked me. When I nearly split his mask open, he didn't run away but used Sonído. Then there was the second Gillian. Two Gillians came out together. I find it hard to believe no one was pulling the strings in secret; the chances of it happening naturally are too small."

"Anything else?"

"No, just those three points for now."

"Asakura told me Kobayashi wanted to take some time away from the division. He said the Hollow this time had frightened him."

"Captain, do you mean..."

Unohana said nothing, taking a sip of tea instead.

The sight left Wang Chuan with black lines all over his forehead.

Where's Batman? There's a Riddler here! I hate Riddlers the most!

"Should we bring him back for questioning?"

"Even if it really is him, he's probably just at the bottom of the ladder. He wouldn't be much use."

Unohana shook her head.

Wang Chuan understood what she meant. If Kobayashi really was the person who ensured the Garganta opened precisely in the sewers, he would only be a low-level operative. No one would put much effort into a newly graduated recruit, and it would be hard to get any crucial information out of him.

He couldn't have masterminded the plan either, because he was too weak. He might even have been caught up in it without knowing anything at all.

And moving against him would reveal their suspicions within the division, signaling the mastermind behind the scenes and causing him to retreat into his shell.

Thinking of someone hiding in his shell, wasn't there one in the Gotei 13?

Aizen!

He had always been probing the Gotei 13's defensive weaknesses and exploring the power of Hollows. He also happened to have a position that let him move around the Gotei 13 without arousing suspicion, so he could make a move against a newcomer without leaving a flaw.

Although Wang Chuan didn't know whether Aizen had done it, he pinned the blame on him for now and planned to slash him a few more times if he got the chance.

"What are you thinking about? You're so absorbed." Unohana handed him another cup of medicinal tea and spoke when Wang Chuan didn't take it for a while.

"Nothing, just a bunch of random things."

"Then let's talk business. You've achieved Shikai, haven't you?"

Pfft—

Wang Chuan turned his head and spat out a mouthful of tea.

"Cough, cough. Captain, don't make things up. I'm just a weak and helpless ordinary division member."

"Gillians aren't that easy to deal with. Some lieutenants and Third Seats would get knocked about when they encountered one."

As she spoke, Unohana looked him up and down, indicating that Wang Chuan should take a look for himself.

Apart from the damage to the lower legs of his shihakushō, caused when he was pressed into the ground while blocking the Cero, the rest of it was almost untouched.

"Captain, let me talk my way—explain. I was just lucky."

"Was the huge increase in your Spiritual Pressure good luck too?"

Checkmate!

Unohana took a small sip of tea with a smile, leaving Wang Chuan there, unable to defend himself.

Unohana put down her cup. "What are your plans from here?"

"What do you mean, plans?"

"You can't keep your Shikai a secret. And your Kidō is basically all at an intermediate level. As a Fourth Division member, your talents are somewhat wasted."

"Captain, you think too highly of me. I had to use Shikai just to handle a Gillian. If I ran into an Adjuchas or a Vasto Lorde, I'd drop dead on the spot. Besides, I only just achieved Shikai. I'm too weak; I don't even have Bankai. The Fourth Division suits me better."

She knew Wang Chuan considered himself weak, and that wasn't actually wrong. But that was compared to the powerhouses of all Soul Society, or even the whole world. And facing the whole world, who would dare say they were truly invincible?

But within the Gotei 13 alone, a person who could use Shikai to deal with two Gillians on his own could hardly be called weak. Nor did every member of the Gotei 13 with a Shikai possess the combat strength to face a Menos Grande alone. Some people's abilities leaned more toward support and healing, such as her own Shikai, though she could easily deal with a Gillian without relying on it.

"The Captain-Commander may not allow you to stay in the Fourth Division indefinitely."

What a joke. Letting someone capable of defeating two Gillians serve as a medic in the Fourth Division was a waste no matter how you looked at it.

"I believe you can do it, Captain."

As he spoke, he gave Unohana a bright smile.

"You can serve as Eighth Seat for now. It's time you moved up. Heal yourself before reporting back to me."

"Thank you, Captain."

Unohana then waved a hand and let Wang Chuan return.

Walking back to his room, Wang Chuan was in a good mood. Sister Unohana making him Eighth Seat meant she had tacitly agreed to let him stay in the Fourth Division.

And only by continuing to stay—no, hide—in the Fourth Division could he better avoid the notice of Aizen, the ultimate boss. Who would pay attention to a member of the medical team?

But if this really was Aizen's doing, he should already have entered his field of vision. It seemed a spar with the captain was unavoidable. At present, there were only a few true top powerhouses in the Gotei 13.

Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai, Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13

Retsu Unohana, Fourth Division Captain

Shunsui Kyōraku, captain of the Eighth Division

Kenpachi Zaraki, captain of the 11th Division

And the Fifth Division Captain—Aizen!

Tōshirō Hitsugaya had not yet become a captain at this point; Isshin Shiba was still the captain. Presumably, the time had not yet come.

Jūshirō Ukitake and Byakuya Kuchiki were already captains, though. He didn't know whether there was anyone named Rukia Kuchiki in the Gotei 13, but there was someone named Kaien Shiba. He'd heard Kaien's younger sister, Kūkaku Shiba, was very bold and unrestrained, though he didn't know if it was true.

At present, Retsu Unohana was the only person who had the strength and was on friendly terms with him. She could fight and heal, and she was beautiful too. If he could grow stronger, he'd take the beating.

Before achieving Shikai, he had planned to carry on like this in the Fourth Division, relying on healing Kidō. Now that he had achieved Shikai, he also had to consider how to improve his strength.

Further development of the Gate of Spirit also had to be put on the agenda. Besides that, he didn't know whether an Eight Gates Released Formation tailored to a Soul Reaper's spirit body could be developed, but he could try.

But the most important thing right now was—

Time off!

She had told him to heal before reporting back. Wasn't that a roundabout way of giving him time off?

Hooray, it's a holiday!

Unfortunately, Wang Chuan celebrated too soon.

Less than two days after he recovered from his injuries, Retsu Unohana came to find him.

"The Thirteenth Division is rather short-handed. Go over there and help out for a while."