Chapter 146
"Mmm~"
Ayaka said nonchalantly:
"Because the team is pretty relaxed, and I'm just a useless ninth seat, so there aren't any tasks assigned to a newbie like me~"
"The troublesome work was completed long ago by both Captain Kyōraku and Lieutenant Yadōmaru."
The Eighth Division is an intelligence unit.
The nature of the job dictates that it takes time for new employees to integrate and be assessed.
"Where are the Nanao?"
Haruto asked casually.
"Nanao has already secured six seats right from the start!"
"And I never realized before, but Little Nanao is a huge fan of Lieutenant Yadōmaru. She's only just joined the team and she's already eager to take on more work."
"I see..."
Perhaps because of Haruto, Nanao seems to have grown up much faster now than she was in my memory.
"Ayaka, you didn't just come here to chat, did you? What interesting information have you prepared? Don't keep it to yourself."
"Hey, A-Qing, how did you guess?"
"Intuition."
"... Boring."
Ayaka tucked a slightly longer purple streak behind her ear.
"Isane secured Fifth Seat in the Fourth Division."
"As expected, after all, the Fourth Division's Seated Officer is judged by their ability to Kaidō state, Isane already has a family background in this area."
With her stable Sixth-Class Spiritual Pressure and amazing talent for Kaidō, if it weren't for her lack of experience, Isane could easily have secured the Fourth Seat or even Third Seat. Being placed in this position can be seen as a recognition and test from Captain Unohana.
"Fifth Seats are a piece of cake for her."
"NoNoNo~"
Hearing Haruto's evaluation, Ayaka proudly wagged her finger.
Did I say something wrong?
"A family tradition of learning!"
"... Did Kiyone hold us back?"
"That's right!"
Ayaka nodded affirmatively.
"Kiyone is the only one among us who hasn't obtained a high-ranking Seated Officer!"
Ayaka felt no burden whatsoever when talking about Kiyone's embarrassing moments.
"I heard that on his first day in the team, he was assigned to the sixth ambulance squad, and right now he's cleaning Seireitei with Hanatarō, who's in charge of the fourteenth ambulance squad!"
"... Well, Kiyone has had quite a few misfortunes."
Those who can join the Fourth Division include not only Soul Reaper with the talent to Kaidō the source of death, but also students whose grades are just good enough to graduate.
As for Captain Unohana's reason for being so generous in recruiting people, it is largely due to the nature of the Fourth Division's work: in addition to being responsible for the medical care of the Gotei 13, they are also responsible for the cleaning of the entire Seireitei.
In other words...
Captain Unohana really needs a less talented Soul Reaper to handle the sanitation work.
Kiyone's talent is sufficient.
However, if the Kotetsu sisters were appointed as high- Seated Officers immediately upon joining the squad, it would inevitably have a negative impact on the atmosphere of the Fourth Division.
That's why Kiyone had no choice but to compromise.
"You've only just joined the Eighth Division, yet your intelligence work is already quite thorough?"
Hehe~
Ayaka pouted, pretending to be serious.
"We haven't been apart for long, let's end our reminiscing here."
Haruto averted his gaze from Ayaka.
"If I don't speak up, are you not going to introduce the person next to you?"
To her side and slightly behind.
The Grim Soul Reaper, sporting blonde hair, dark skin, a classic sexy look with a cropped pleated skirt, black stockings, and bubble socks, had been waiting for a long time.
"Ah..."
"Cough!"
Ayaka cleared her throat and took a step back, saying:
"I told him I was coming to the Thirteenth Division to find you, and this guy insisted on coming along after hearing that... Why don't you introduce yourself?"
"Hello, Fourth Seat Haruto!"
A peace sign paired with a wink—that's definitely not how people greet each other in Soul Society.
--Not only is her skin darker than Ayaka's wheat color, but she is also much more severely affected by the poisoning from World of the Living high school girls.
"I am the 8th Seat of the Eighth Division, Yayahara Yuyu!"
Please take care of me!
"Yayahara Yuyu extended his right hand and said."
"... Please take care of me."
Haruto lightly grasped her hand and then immediately let go—her character role overlapped with Ayaka's, her CC proportions were stronger than Ayaka's, but she wasn't particularly outstanding in other areas. Her only advantage came after receiving supplementary information from Isane...
It's not as tempting anymore.
That's why Haruto can remain so calm.
Incidentally, this person is the first choice to become Lisa Yadōmaru's vice-captain after she becomes the captain of the Eighth Division: she is definitely not lacking in strength, and she seems to be very good at special Hakuda techniques.
What do you need me for?
No~
"I just want to see what kind of person Ayaka's lover... the rookie of the Thirteenth Division who eliminated Adjuchas is."
"..."
You finally said what was on your mind!
"What were your thoughts after seeing it?"
Haruto asked casually.
As expected of the Eighth Division Seated Officer, his intelligence-gathering ability is quite formidable... although it seems that he has only made significant contributions in the field of gossip so far.
"Um..."
Yayahara Yuyu twirled the end of his highlighted blond hair, pondered for a moment, and said:
"He's the kind who's killed a lot of people, not my type."
"!"
Haruto was momentarily taken aback by this statement.
"... Is that so?"
However, he quickly regained his smile.
"I thought I was quite popular... but it seems it will be difficult to become as universally loved as the Captain Kyōraku."
The Ayaka came and went quickly.
Although she said she didn't have any mission, she was actually there to say goodbye to Haruto: Ayaka and Yuyu about to go to the World of the Living as liaisons for the Eighth Division to gather information about Quincy.
The information obtained by the 11th and Thirteenth Divisions has been verified and there are no problems.
Since Haruto was in the Thirteenth Division, Ayaka originally planned to ask him if he was interested in going to the Haruto World of the Living to carry out a mission.
This way, she can bring her older brother, Zennosuke Kurumadani and also see her parents, who haven't been back to Soul Society in a long time.
Certainly.
Most importantly, it provides a private dating space where no one can disturb you, and it also satisfies your long- World of the Living desire for shopping.
However, Ayaka's little scheme--
"There are no plans in that regard at the moment. I'll ask Captain Ukitake when I have some free time."
-- Haruto used this excuse to refuse.
After leaving a letter for Captain Ukitake, Haruto set off under the pretext of training Kidō.
East Rukongai.
This isn't exactly an excuse.
Haruto still has two high-level Kidō he hasn't practiced. Neither Kurohitsugi nor Shisō Kekkai are techniques that can be used in the Seireitei. The Thirteenth Division is so poor that they don't have the money to build a decent high-defense training ground. Even the Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō that he just used is only something he has "barely" mastered.
There's still a lot of work for Haruto to learn.
Not to mention...
He has already unleashed his Zanpakuto, and it will take a lot of time to develop Seisen's abilities.
Zankensōki.
With his Reiatsu reaching a new level, Haruto's potential has been raised significantly once again, and filling that potential won't be something that can be done in just one or two years.
"Whoosh."
Half an hour later.
Yoshiwara, East District 45.
A distance that took several days to reach a year ago can now be covered in less than half an hour; at this speed, Haruto could reach the farthest point in any direction of Soul Society in just half a day.
Only Captain-level could achieve this level of efficiency when going on a mission alone.
"It's definitely different in broad daylight."
Before setting off, Haruto bought a set of ordinary ready-made clothes at Seireitei. He also managed to put Seisen into the Kukai Box (Zanpakuto's strong protests.
Certainly.
The glasses Byakuya sent to him by Ginjiro were definitely not meant to be worn; the security guards and young ladies at the geisha district shop were all incredibly sharp-eyed.
"They are all respectable people doing business."
Haruto certainly remembered the location of the Ichihara store, but at this time, the storefront sign clearly indicated it was a legitimate flower shop.
All kinds of fresh flowers are available.
Haruto even saw the thriving Azure Moon Grass and Mirror Lotus at the entrance—the people of Rukongai certainly didn't need these things, and the nobles wouldn't make a special trip to Rukongai to buy flowers; after thinking it over, it could only be that the Great Magistrate's personal interest.
"But..."
Haruto quietly dispersed his senses from Kakushitsuijaku.
After reaching the Fifth-Class Reii, the semi-permanent static perception range, which was originally only used to defend against sneak attacks, has expanded more than tenfold:
All targets within a 500-meter radius will be within Haruto's "field of vision".
"There aren't many people in the store?"
"No..."
Haruto frowned thoughtfully.
"The density of all the entrances in Yoshiwara Rukongai is much lower than last time I was here, and this has nothing to do with whether it's day or night."
"Was there a feint attack here?"