Yan Si pulled a long face. In front of this old friend, he did not need to maintain a cold and aloof demeanor.
"Ha ha ha! 'Flash God'?" Yoruichi planted her hands on her hips and threw her head back, laughing from her high vantage point. Her purple ponytail swayed in the sunset.
"That title sounds pretty intimidating! But I'm still far from deserving it!"
Although she said that, her grin—so wide that every tooth showed—clearly declared, I really like this title!
After laughing and fooling around, Yoruichi's figure flashed, and she lightly leaped onto the top of the tallest tree on the hill.
Standing on the treetop, she gazed at the sunset on the horizon as it slowly sank below the skyline, dyeing the clouds a breathtaking orange-red.
After a brief silence, she lowered her head and let her gaze fall on Yan Si, who had just arrived beneath the tree.
The teasing smile on her face faded slightly. With a casual toss, the manuscript drifted lightly down toward Yan Si.
"Here. Take it back."
Yan Si hurriedly reached out and caught it. After confirming at once that nothing was missing, he quickly tucked it into his robes, finally letting out a sigh of relief.
But then he looked up at Yoruichi on the treetop in confusion, unable to understand why she had suddenly become so easygoing.
Seeing his puzzled expression, Yoruichi seemed to organize her thoughts, as though there were some things she found difficult to explain directly.
"Listen, Yan Si." Her tone became more serious. "Next time... don't write your books in the Second Division. It isn't 'safe' there."
"Hm?" Yan Si was even more confused. With Yoruichi and Urahara there in the Second Division Squad Barracks, how could it be unsafe?
Yoruichi knitted her brows, seemingly troubled by how to explain.
Although the Second Division was her division, it was also, in essence, a place where various Nobles factions were intertwined.
It contained not only members of the Shihoin Clan, but also people dispatched by other Nobles families, such as the Hachi Clan and the Omaeda Family.
The moment she got hold of the manuscript, she had immediately understood that it was related to the secret behind Yan Si's power, thanks to the Reishi traces on it and its unique "artistic conception."
Yan Si's spiritual pressure had shot up like a rocket over the past two years, long since attracting the attention and speculation of certain interested parties.
There was no guarantee that the Second Division did not contain "eyes" planted by other Nobles families.
That did not mean the Shihoin Clan had lost control of the Second Division. Rather... Yan Si was neither a member of the Shihoin Clan nor affiliated with any other Nobles.
If others wanted to investigate him in private, then so long as they did not cross the line, even she, as the captain, could not openly stop them.
"In any case..." Unable to explain too much, she could only emphasize it again.
"Find somewhere else to write your manuscripts next time. If the Reishi fluctuations in a room of the Second Division suddenly disappear completely, turning it into a 'vacuum' zone, that kind of sensitive location will instead draw exceptional attention. Understand?"
Yan Si first froze, then suddenly realized!
That's right! My machine completely isolates the Reishi inside from the outside!
From a Shinigami's perspective, sensing the Spirit Network, wouldn't that be like a 'black hole' suddenly appearing in the Second Division Squad Barracks?!
He instantly understood Yoruichi's earlier "seizure" of the manuscript as well.
With the captain herself taking action to "teach him a lesson" and chasing him all the way here, anyone else who wanted to investigate would naturally give up.
She's using this method to cover for me!
"...Thank you." Yan Si raised his head and looked at the figure on the treetop, bathed in the afterglow of the sunset, and spoke sincerely.
"Hmph~" Yoruichi gave a soft snort, seemingly unconcerned with his thanks.
The next second, Yan Si felt his vision blur, as though space had twisted for an instant.
When he focused his eyes, Yoruichi's pretty face, wearing a mischievous smile, was already almost pressed against his.
The tips of their noses were less than ten centimeters apart. He could even clearly see his own reflection in her golden pupils.
"It's good that you know how to be grateful~" she said with a smile as radiant as flowers, her tone carrying a hint of encouragement. "So grow up quickly, Yan Si."
At such a close distance, her warm breath made Yan Si stiffen where he stood.
By the time he came to his senses, there was no one in front of him anymore.
Yan Si stood rooted to the spot in silence for a long while.
In the end, he said nothing. He merely turned around and silently headed toward the Ninth Division.
On the way back to the Ninth Division Squad Barracks, Siwei Yan kept reflecting.
I was still a little careless... I hadn't thought things through thoroughly enough.
He had previously been able to write books in secret because no one paid attention to a minor bottom-rank officer like him.
At worst, he could rush to the Forest of Swords, activate his Shikai, unleash his full speed, finish writing in one go, and sneak back before anyone noticed.
But what about now? The moment he left the Forest of Swords and returned to the streets of Seireitei, he immediately sensed faint gazes coming from shadows and corners in every direction.
Tsk, fame really does bring trouble...
If I want to do some private work without anyone noticing, then unless I know that bastard Aizen's "Kyōka Suigetsu" and can fool everyone around me into a daze...
Or possess Yoruichi's level of "Flash Step" and send all these stalkers straight into Rukongai!
My strength... still isn't enough!
With a trace of irritation, he returned to the Ninth Division Squad Barracks. Instead of going to his room, he headed straight for Third Seat Yamagane Tetsu's room.
"Bang—!"
He yanked the door open. As expected, Third Seat Yamagane Tetsu was still sitting behind a desk piled high with documents like a stone statue. Holding a seal in his hand, he was stamping the papers in a strange rhythm—"thump," "thump," "thump"—like an emotionless stamping machine.
Yan Si stared at his broad, silent back, took a deep breath, and then slammed the door shut with a loud smack.
He walked behind Yamagane Tetsu and spoke heavily:
"Old Iron! I want to publish a book!"
Inside the room, the regular stamping stopped abruptly.
After a moment of silence came the faint sound of a brush being gently returned to its holder.
Then the chair scraped across the floor, and Third Seat Yamagane Tetsu's tall body slowly turned around.
His face looked as though it had been cast from raw iron and still showed no expression. He merely looked at Yan Si with calm, placid eyes.
"Do you know," he began, his voice as steady as though he were reciting division regulations, "what procedures you have to follow to publish a book?"
Yan Si immediately sat cross-legged on the tatami before him, putting on an eager-to-learn expression. "Please enlighten me."
Yamagane Tetsu extended a finger and counted off the steps one by one:
"First, you need to submit the contents of your manuscript to our Ninth Division captain, Lord Kensei Muguruma, for review. Of course, given the captain's personality and how much he 'lets you do as you please,' this point may be negotiable—a mere formality."
"Second, and the most crucial step—contacting a printing factory." Yamagane Tetsu's tone grew heavier.
"You need the factory to specially modify a printing press for your book. That means you have to make them willingly set aside a machine for you and suspend all their other orders."
"The largest printing factory in Seireitei belongs to the Omaeda Family."
He looked at Yan Si. "Do you have connections there?"
Before you continue