An Unexpected Discovery

The daily affairs of the 11th Division are not actually very busy, as it is a division specialized solely in combat.

Their primary mission is, and always will be, battle.

So-called "division affairs" consist mostly of tallying casualties during combat, arranging medical leave for the wounded, and distributing pensions for the fallen—though in most cases, the pensions cannot be distributed at all.

This is because these men are all without kin or connections; to ensure they have no lingering attachments, they remain unmarried, living their lives as lifelong bachelors.

Beyond that, division affairs include the distribution of combat assignments and the management of logistical supplies.

The workload is not heavy, consisting mostly of trivialities.

Yet, even these trivialities are considered an immense nuisance by the brutes of the 11th Division.

Although Gosu is the Lieutenant and has assisted Kuruyashiki Kenpachi in handling such matters before, this does not mean he is particularly skilled at them. He is simply stronger and more meticulous than the average squad member, and he was never trained as a clerk.

In the past, Kuruyashiki Kenpachi may have appeared unkempt, but when it came to handling division affairs, he was truly diligent.

Azashiro Kenpachi is different.

He ignores these matters entirely.

Except for when a Menos Grande appears, prompting him to take the initiative to engage it, he rarely acts like a division captain.

During this period, the pressure on Gosu has been immense.

Fortunately, with Natsuki here now, his burden has been significantly lightened.

However, Natsuki does not spend all his time helping Gosu with paperwork. After all, he is merely an assistant; the one truly responsible for these matters remains Gosu. Once he has eased the pressure on Gosu, Natsuki leaves the captain's office to devote his time to cultivation.

Beyond cultivation, he also uses the privileges of his position to assign himself some of the more dangerous missions.

In the Soul Society, it is not as if Hollows invade every single day.

But the frequency of their appearance is not low.

After all, this is a world where souls reside, and it contains special souls like Shinigamis who possess high-density Reishi. The vast majority of Hollows are driven by instinct and exist in a state of perpetual hunger. To satisfy this, they crave the consumption of their own kind and other souls. Therefore, aside from fighting in Hueco Mundo, they only have two destinations: the Human World or the Soul Society.

The Human World is deficient in Reishi and holds less allure for Hollows than the Soul Society.

The Soul Society is the primary disaster zone for invasions from Hueco Mundo.

Even if a Menos Grande does not cross the border often, Hollows with Reiatsu approaching that level appear quite frequently.

While these Hollows lack the massive size of a Menos Grande, their danger level is, in reality, higher than that of a Gillian.

For one, while their Reiatsu approaches that of a Gillian, they have not yet evolved to possess such a massive frame. A Gillian may be large, but its movements are clumsy, and compared to ordinary Hollows, they offer little more than the ability to fire a Cero.

While these ordinary Hollows lack a Cero, they often develop strange and peculiar abilities during their birth process. A Cero may be powerful, but it is not necessarily the most dangerous ability a Hollow can possess.

Consequently, Shinigamis often suffer setbacks when facing such Hollows because they underestimate them for not being Menos Grande.

The result is often severe injury, or even death.

Later, the Soul Society realized this, and centered around the Seireitei, they installed numerous devices throughout the Soul Society designed to monitor Reiatsu Waves.

Once a Garganta is detected and the presence of a Hollow is revealed, these devices function to monitor the Reiatsu Wave of the Hollow descending into the Soul Society, thereby classifying the danger level. Because of this classification system, the 11th Division can dispatch the appropriate Shinigamis to handle the crisis after receiving orders.

Natsuki assigns the dangerous missions to himself simply because he is only half a step away from the Shikai of his Zanpakuto. He needs to defeat more powerful Hollows to consume their spiritual power and strengthen himself.

As for the danger, it certainly exists.

But after realizing the nature of this world, Natsuki has no intention of fleeing or fearing; instead, he chooses to fight and to grow stronger.

However, his actions are interpreted differently by Gosu and the other Shinigamis of the 11th Division.

They see Natsuki, as the Third Seat, taking the lead and voluntarily shouldering the greatest risks for the safety of his fellow members.

Such actions have led many members to hold Natsuki in high esteem.

Prior to this, although Natsuki was a seated officer, he was somewhat of an outsider because he did not like to drink. It was only after he defeated Akagi Ryosuke and became the Third Seat that his reputation gradually spread throughout the 11th Division, becoming known to many squad members. Now, these people have a new understanding of Natsuki.

Natsuki is, of course, unaware that his actions are being misinterpreted by others. In the wilderness on the outskirts of the Rukon District, he swings his blade to slay a Hollow, marking the completion of this mission.

Afterward, he passes through the Rukon District, preparing to return to the Seireitei.

The Rukon District is vast, and the location where he executed his mission is in a very remote area, situated at the border of the 74th and 75th Southern Districts. Although the souls living here fare slightly better than those in the final few districts, it is not by much.

Water sources remain scarce here, and essentially every so often, the souls here engage in armed conflict to fight over them.

Thus, the atmosphere here is somewhat fierce.

If Natsuki had not appeared in Hueco Mundo when he first arrived in this world, but had instead come to the Soul Society, he might have ended up in such a district. He might have chosen to apply to the Shino Academy because he could not bear the oppression of life, luckily passed the exam, studied hard for six years, became a Shinigami, and then, step by step, spent many years struggling to become a seated officer.

But Natsuki was very lucky.

While it is true he appeared in Hueco Mundo, finding the Zanpakuto of a deceased Shinigami and meeting Watanabe Yuji changed his fate from the very beginning. A life like the one described above could no longer happen to him.

He is now not only a Shinigami but also a Third Seat.

In the context of a xianxia novel, he is already at the peak of the Grand Perfection of the half-step Lieutenant level.

This time, it was supposed to be just an ordinary return journey.

However, while passing through the Rukon District, Natsuki's incredibly powerful Spiritual Perception allowed him to sense a familiar Reiatsu.

And so, he subconsciously halted his steps and began to pursue the source of this Reiatsu.