Investigation of Duan Mu

"This place is really extravagant."

As Natsuhiko followed the dean into the 2nd Division, he couldn't help but be stunned. Unlike other divisions, the 2nd Division's barracks were luxuriously decorated, shimmering with golden light everywhere, adorned with rare bonsai trees, and the courtyard was filled with various expensive-looking ornaments.

"It's quite normal," the dean in front of Natsuhiko said with emotion. "After all, the entire barracks was funded and built by the Omaeda family."

"The Omaeda family, huh..."

Natsuhiko nodded in understanding. Upon hearing the name 'Omaeda,' he immediately grasped why the barracks were so opulent. The surname 'Omaeda' in Seireitei was practically synonymous with 'millionaire.'

Just then, a masked Punishment Force member approached them.

"Excuse me, are you Dean Kujo from the Soul Reaper Academy?"

"I am," Dean Kujo replied.

"Please follow me. The Vice-Captain has been waiting for you for a long time." The masked Punishment Force member politely led the way.

Dean Kujo nodded and whispered to Natsuhiko behind him, "Stay close to me, don't wander off. This isn't our academy."

Natsuhiko quickly nodded. Even though the barracks were extremely luxurious, it couldn't hide the true nature of the Punishment Force. This was arguably the place all Soul Reapers feared the most.

The 2nd Division occupied a vast area. After walking for quite some time, they finally arrived at a set of barracks.

The structure before them was less like barracks and more like a grand hall. At the head of the hall sat a massive chair, which was currently empty.

At the lower end, a fatty with a topknot and a gold chain was seated, constantly eating a large pile of snacks.

"Vice-Captain."

The masked Punishment Force member said respectfully, "Dean Kujo has arrived."

"Vice-Captain Ōmaeda," Dean Kujo and Natsuhiko said in unison respectfully.

They were not unfamiliar with this unassuming fatty. Not only was he the Vice-Captain of the 2nd Division, but he was also the captain of the Onmitsukidō Second Division Patrol Unit, and the security work for their Soul Reaper Academy was under his responsibility.

Crunch, crunch, crunch...

Marechiyo Ōmaeda, while stuffing potato chips into his mouth, grabbed a file from the coffee table and tossed it to Dean Kujo, saying impatiently, "This is the file for that kid running the Yorozuya in West District 38. For the specifics, you can ask the Punishment Force member next to you."

After saying that, he paid them no further mind and continued his battle with the snacks in his arms.

Dean Kujo, understanding his personality, didn't mind and opened the file, carefully perusing it.

Seeing this, Natsuhiko eagerly leaned closer to take a look.

The reason they were here this time was precisely because of this file.

It seemed that for about half a year, students from the Soul Reaper Academy would inexplicably go to Rukongai together during their holidays. And among those who went to Rukongai were not only students from Rukongai but also students who had lived in Seireitei for a long time.

Initially, the academy didn't pay much attention to this. After all, during holidays, students were free to do as they pleased.

However, as time passed, they noticed that students who went to Rukongai during their holidays would show some improvement in their academic performance after returning to school.

Upon discovering this, the academy realized something was amiss. But the answers they received after questioning those students greatly surprised all the teachers at the Soul Reaper Academy.

A Soul Reaper cram school specifically for 'Soul Reaper Academy' students!?

It wasn't unheard of for students' parents, who were Soul Reapers, to tutor their children at home.

But Natsuhiko, having been a teacher at the Soul Reaper Academy for nearly two hundred years, had never heard of a 'cram school' that charged fees to teach students. After all, the Soul Reaper Academy wasn't like a private school in the Human World; not everyone could teach what was taught there.

When he first heard this news, Natsuhiko's immediate thought was that the students had been scammed. However, the progress those students had made was undeniable.

Furthermore, through in-depth investigation, he discovered that although the knowledge the students learned from the cram school was all basic, the person who tutored them had 'refined' these basics countless times, making it easier for students to understand and better control them.

There was even some knowledge that gave him, a seasoned teacher, a feeling of enlightenment.

If the 'Soul Reaper Academy' were like the private schools in Natsuhiko's memories, then the existence of such a cram school would naturally be a good thing.

But the 'Soul Reaper Academy' was not a private school, nor was its purpose to teach and nurture talent. It was a training base for 'Soul Reaper reserves.'

Simply put, if the Thirteen Court Guard Squads were a company, then the Soul Reaper Academy would be the training base for new employees of that company.

And this suddenly appearing cram school...

While it appeared to have some benefits for training new employees, who knew if the person behind it had other motives, or if they would use it to infiltrate spies into the Thirteen Court Guard Squads.

Therefore, upon learning of this, the Soul Reaper Academy immediately notified the Onmitsukidō, who were responsible for such matters.

"According to our investigation, the subject's name is 'Duan Mu.' He suddenly fell from the sky into Rukongai four years ago..." the masked Punishment Force member reported.

"Fell from the sky?" Dean Kujo interrupted.

"Yes. When we received the report, our Onmitsukidō went to investigate. The investigation results were all normal, and it was confirmed that he was just an ordinary soul. It was judged that after dying in the Human World, he was sent to another location due to the disorder of the reishi channel. Later, after inspection by the 12th Division, it was found that there were indeed traces of disorder in the reishi channel at that time."

"According to the case records at the time, upon his arrival in Rukongai, his own Spiritual Pressure was extremely weak, no different from an ordinary 'Menos.' Four years later, judging by the Spiritual Pressure he exhibits, it is only equivalent to that of a Soul Reaper Academy student."

"However, according to our investigation, he possesses extremely rich knowledge in areas such as Kido, Zanjutsu, Shunpo, and Hakuda, and is also very skilled in manipulating reishi. Putting other things aside, even in Hakuda alone, he is not weaker than us Punishment Force members who specialize in 'Hakuda'."

"It can be said that the only gap between him and us Punishment Force members is in Spiritual Pressure."

"How is that possible!?" Natsuhiko exclaimed.

A soul from the Human World, starting from knowing nothing to being on par with Soul Reaper members in the four essential Soul Reaper skills of 'Zan, Ken, Ki, and Ho' in just four years—this could only be described as 'genius.'

"According to our investigation, Duan Mu is very familiar with the 'Shiba main family' residing in Rukongai. He visits the Shiba main family almost every week. Due to the special nature of the Shiba family, we were unable to conduct a thorough investigation, but perhaps the knowledge he possesses was learned from the Shiba main family."

"The Shiba Clan?"

Natsuhiko and Dean Kujo exchanged a glance upon hearing this.

As the Shiba Clan, one of the former 'Five Noble Clans', they naturally couldn't have not heard of them. Even in their decline, it couldn't hide the fact that the Shiba Clan had produced several Captains and Vice-Captains for the Thirteen Court Guard Squads.

Furthermore, the Shiba Clan didn't just have their main family in Rukongai; they also had branch families. The previous Captain of the 10th Division hailed from a Shiba branch family, and even now, many members of Shiba branch families were within Seireitei, though few knew about it due to the Shiba Clan's decline.

If that were the case, it wouldn't be so hard to understand why the other party possessed more theoretical knowledge than the teachers at the Soul Reaper Academy.

As if seeing through their thoughts, the masked Punishment Force member said, "Theoretical knowledge can be force-fed, but whether one can master it depends on individual talent. I wasn't saying his theoretical knowledge is on par with ours in the Punishment Force, but rather that in a face-to-face fight, his Hakuda could completely contend with ours."

"The only pity is that his Spiritual Pressure is too weak."

The masked Punishment Force member shook his head. Unlike the four techniques of 'Zanjutsu, Kidō, Hakuda, and Shunpo', Spiritual Pressure could also be strengthened through training, but there were also naturally gifted individuals who were born with extremely strong Spiritual Pressure. Or rather, those who could become truly strong were mostly these people.

Those who cultivated step by step were actually rare, and their positions mostly stopped at Lieutenant-level officers.

However, it wasn't entirely impossible to become strong. For example, Shuhei Hisagi, who was recently promoted to Vice-Captain of the 9th Division, was an example of someone with ordinary initial talent.

It was said that he had even failed the entrance examination at the Soul Reaper Academy twice because his talent was too poor. Yet, he eventually worked his way up to his current position through his own efforts.

But such examples were ultimately few. In most cases, initial talent basically determined a person's limit.

The four techniques of 'Zanjutsu, Kidō, Hakuda, and Shunpo' could only be said to be techniques for utilizing Spiritual Pressure. The strength of Spiritual Pressure was the foundation of a Soul Reaper. Without a strong Spiritual Pressure base, even with excellent four techniques, one could not become strong.

Conversely, when a person's Spiritual Pressure reached a certain level, even if they weren't particularly skilled in the four techniques, they could still become a Captain.

The greatest example was Kenpachi Zaraki, the Captain of the 11th Division. It was said that he defeated the previous Captain of the 11th Division solely with his astonishing Spiritual Pressure and chaotic Zanjutsu, without even knowing Kidō or having released his Zanpakuto.

"Then why doesn't he become a Soul Reaper?" Natsuhiko asked, somewhat confused. If, as the Punishment Force member said, the other party could become a member of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads and even graduate early from the Soul Reaper Academy based on the four techniques alone, even with poor Spiritual Pressure talent.

"It's probably because of the Shiba Clan," Dean Kujo said suddenly from the side.

"Huh?" Natsuhiko blinked.

Dean Kujo didn't answer his question but looked at the Punishment Force member and asked, "Then, what's next..."

"We'll send people to learn from him. Based on the investigation during this period, he has no other motives besides 'making money' when interacting with students, nor has he instilled any strange ideas in them. The only slightly strange thing... is his extreme enthusiasm for 'female students'."

"However, there have been no inappropriate actions. He's just more attentive when teaching, provides free food, offers help without compensation, and privately chats with female students like friends. He's quite indifferent towards males."

"We will dispatch female members in batches to interact with him. If he exhibits any inappropriate behavior, we will be notified immediately."

"That's good then," Dean Kujo nodded. "If that's the case, I won't stop students from going to learn from him."

The reason he had been feeling nervous earlier was simply because he feared the person might have some ulterior motive.

Since there was no ill intent, he naturally wouldn't prevent those students from going to learn from him.

"The Patrol Unit's suggestion is the same."

The masked Punishment Force member said, "According to the information reported from Rukongai, the person under investigation is very helpful. The Yorozuya he runs is extremely famous in West Rukongai."

"And the person under investigation didn't deliberately seek out students. The initial few students approached him for commissions through the introduction of the Jurin'an Tavern owner, thinking 'it seems interesting.' Later, as the news spread, his 'Yorozuya' added the 'Soul Reaper Tutoring Class' as a service."

"Currently, he does not pose a threat to Seireitei. Of course, to avoid any accidents, the Supervision Team's supervision will continue, and the dispatched Punishment Force members will have their members rotated annually. Once it's confirmed that there's no need for 'special supervision,' they will be withdrawn."

Dean Kujo nodded, "Then I'll trouble you all."