The back courtyard of the Ninth Division barracks.
Yan Si lay in a wicker chair, eyes half-closed, a cup of warm tea in his hands.
He was on the third steeping. The flavor had faded, but he couldn't be bothered to get up and change the leaves.
So he lay there, taking an occasional sip and watching the shadows of the trees creep across the ground.
Word of Twelfth Division Captain Hikifune Kirio's promotion had spread throughout the Gotei 13.
Most captains had known for some time. The Seat Officers had only begun hearing about it over the past few days. Ordinary division members didn't quite understand what promotion to Squad Zero meant; they didn't even know Squad Zero existed.
But every Seat Officer with a little ambition understood: an opportunity had arrived.
The higher a Shinigami's Spiritual Pressure Level, the longer he lived.
Captains with First-level Spiritual Pressure commonly lived eight hundred or a thousand years. Lieutenants and Senior Seat Officers with Fourth-Class Spiritual Pressure could live for centuries too.
That meant every post had an occupant, and positions rarely opened up.
Worse, geniuses kept appearing: Gin Ichimaru, who had graduated in two and a half years, and Kuchiki Byakuya, who had reached Third-Class Spiritual Pressure while still young.
Whenever such geniuses appeared, they took up space on an already narrow path to advancement.
So the vacancy at the head of the Twelfth Division was a rare opportunity for every ambitious Seat Officer.
Take Yamagane Tetsu, Third Seat of the Ninth Division.
Didn't he want to be lieutenant?
He had mastered Shikai and excelled at division affairs. His speed and accuracy with paperwork ranked among the best in the division.
But his Spiritual Pressure Level was stuck at fifth class. He couldn't push past it.
His only hope was