Teaching the Three Little Ones

'Ascend to Godhood: You Shall Become a Divine Being'

For Sosuke Aizen, a man whose author-certified trait is "god," this ability seemed to be within expectations.

Gaoyu was naturally fervent about this ability, eager to possess it without delay. But Sosuke Aizen was a man even more dangerous than Gin Ichimaru.

Gin Ichimaru's favorability toward him was at least in the single digits, while Sosuke Aizen's favorability toward him was...

Zero!

It could be said there was no favorability at all.

Favorability could be negative; he had also seen someone who rather disliked him, with a favorability of -20 toward him.

But Sosuke Aizen neither loathed nor liked him—just a flat zero.

Like a god paying no heed to mortals, no matter how kind his exterior, he wouldn't stir any emotional waves toward you.

Because to Aizen, he must be nothing more than an ant, right? He was far inferior to Renji, Kira, and Momo—at least those three would make Aizen think, "They have value to exploit."

As for him, he was like an ant, utterly unworthy of Aizen's attention.

For someone like that, getting his ability was far too difficult.

But Aizen's ability was truly powerful—using it could make him a god. How mighty must that ability be? How tempting?

No, he had to find a way to befriend Aizen!

Soul Society has wronged you; I'm joining Aizen's faction!

Gaoyu sank into deep thought.

As for the other seated officers, even if they had no names in the original work, they all had their own abilities.

Gaoyu naturally wanted those abilities too, so after training for a while, he sought out the Sixth Seat, who was in charge of their group's training, for a chat.

The Sixth Seat was named Toru Tanimoto, and his ability was "Destruction Death Ray."

"Destruction Death Ray: Releases a black destructive beam from the finger; the beam ignores defense and pierces through the opponent's body part."

This ability was exactly the offensive power Gaoyu needed most right now, and since Tanimoto was his squad leader and they had a decent relationship, Gaoyu just chatted with him for a while, raised his favorability to sixty, and then snagged the one-time Destruction Death Ray.

When his shift ended, he returned home in high spirits, stopping by to buy some sake.

Gaoyu's family had once been lower nobility, so the house was still large, with a huge front yard planted with two trees. One was...

Well, both were persimmon trees.

Though the house was big, only Gaoyu lived there.

He carried some food and drink home, then turned on the lights in the room.

Even though it wasn't dark yet, turning on the lights was absolutely necessary.

Because in the shadows of Seireitei lurked a group of Quincy who spied every day. While it was highly unlikely the Quincy would bother with a small fry like him, the thought of being watched still made Gaoyu feel unsafe.

So he made a habit of walking where there were no shadows, and after getting home, he turned on the lights to ensure no darkness remained around him.

From today on, he would even sleep with the lights on.

Back home, Gaoyu took out a book on Kidō techniques and began reading.

As a noble descendant, his original self had wanted to revive the family, but his talent was simply limited—no matter how hard he tried, he remained too mediocre.

Still, his home had plenty of study materials.

About half an hour after he got home, Renji arrived with Kira and Momo. Gaoyu warmly welcomed them.

"Come, come, I just bought a bottle of sake—let's drink together."

Gaoyu cheerfully brought out the sake and snacks he'd bought, then said to Momo, "Momo, if you don't drink sake, I specially bought 'Torii Monaka' too."

"Torii Monaka?" Momo Hinamori's eyes lit up. "Wow, that's a very expensive treat. Senior Gaoyu, isn't this too extravagant?"

Torii Monaka was a popular snack in Soul Society, similar to liquor-filled chocolates. The filling inside Torii Monaka was made from sake lees, using top-grade lees.

Though it tasted delicious, the alcohol content was high—if one had poor tolerance, a single piece could get them drunk.

"Senior Gaoyu is pretty loaded, Momo, no need to worry about him," Renji said bluntly. "But isn't it a bit bad to train after drinking?"

"Of course, so I'll start by giving you all some pointers."

With that, Gaoyu activated the ability "Strict Teacher, Talented Student." While it was active, he could easily see how others should improve.

Moreover, those he taught would gain a powerful learning buff. The ability lasted three days, and Gaoyu believed that during this time, he could surely win the friendship of Momo and Kira.

Gaoyu led the three to the yard and began instructing them.

"Zanpaku-tō, Kidō, Hakuda, Shunpo are the basic skills of a Soul Reaper, but as Soul Reapers, everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. Renji, I know you best, so I know Kidō isn't your forte."

He first said to Renji, "So, I'll start by teaching you how to improve your swordsmanship."

"You two can watch too. Though everyone has their own way to improve, stones from other hills can polish jade—there's plenty you can learn from what I teach Renji."

The three nodded excitedly. Renji drew his Zanpakuto; since he hadn't learned Shikai yet, it was still in its most ordinary form.

After activating the ability, Gaoyu immediately spotted some flaws in Renji's stance and began teaching earnestly.

Under Gaoyu's guidance, many things he hadn't understood at school were finally resolved. Only then did Renji realize that this senior officer he patrolled with was actually quite 'unfathomable.'

Even the teachers at school who had originally been seated officers couldn't pinpoint his problems so accurately!

Renji's Favorability: 73

In a short span of time, Renji's favorability had already broken past seventy. Gaoyu was secretly thrilled and began teaching with even more enthusiasm.

After Renji came Izuru Kira and Momo Hinamori. Izuru Kira was first in Class 1, a rare 'All-rounder' who excelled in every area.

So Gaoyu taught him the four abilities of Zanpaku-tō, Kidō, Hakuda, and Shunpo, while Momo Hinamori focused mainly on Kidō. Gaoyu also taught her some Kaidō on the side.

And in the process of teaching, Gaoyu discovered that not only were his three students improving rapidly, but he himself, as the teacher, was also benefiting greatly from his own instruction!