Master made it sound so easy, and Shiro was at a loss for words.
But Shiro knew his master really did think that way.
He'd managed to coax thirty different forms out of the Zanpakuto he'd inherited... It was practically like having thirty different Shikai, letting him choose a different ability to fight each enemy. It was incredible.
But it wasn't something just anyone could learn.
Still, his master's advice had given Shiro an idea.
He was right. Heavenly Weather Manifestation could affect more than just the moisture in the air.
It was just that Hyōrinmaru let him control the moisture in his surroundings so easily that he'd instinctively ignored other forces.
If he really could call down lightning whenever he wanted, that would certainly be a tactic entirely different from freezing his enemies.
And apart from lightning, what else could he control among the forces of the weather?
Shiro began to ponder.
Watching Shiro, Aoto smiled, stood up from the bath, and walked out. "I'm heading out first. Don't soak until you pass out!"
"Mm..." Shiro replied instinctively.
Aoto smiled as he left.
It would be hilarious if the wielder of Hyōrinmaru actually passed out in the bath!
Abarai Renji hadn't expected to be sent to the 4th Division right after reporting to the 11th Division, before he'd even changed into his Shihakusho.
He'd never even known that the two divisions were connected.
His injuries weren't serious, but with both arms hurt, he couldn't even pick up chopsticks, let alone a sword.
What he hadn't expected was to see someone he knew while waiting for treatment.
Kira Izuru had been his classmate at the Shino Academy.
He'd even been the top student!
Had he joined the 4th Division? Wasn't the Fifth Division his first choice?
"Hey! Kira, over here!"
Hearing someone call his name, Kira Izuru, who was walking alongside some other squad members, was surprised to spot Abarai Renji.
After explaining the situation to the squad members, Kira Izuru came over. "Abarai, what are you doing here? How'd you get hurt?"
Generally speaking, although the 4th Division was a medical division, it didn't treat ordinary residents of Rukongai. It only treated Soul Reapers.
But Abarai Renji wasn't wearing a Shihakusho.
"Don't ask!" Abarai Renji said, raising both arms. "I joined the 11th Division. But as soon as I got there, they put me through a Hakuda test... and then I ended up like this!"
His left arm was broken, and his right had been frozen into a ball of ice... The ice had melted, but his arm had still suffered frostbite and needed treatment.
"Man, that's rough!" Kira Izuru said sympathetically.
"What are you talking about?" Abarai Renji said proudly. "I won!"
"You won?" Kira Izuru sensed the Reiatsu still lingering on Abarai Renji's arms. "But the Reiatsu on both your arms is already at the sixth level! Abarai, are you saying you beat a high-ranking Seated Officer?"
Sixth level???
Abarai Renji thought of that little kid and felt as though everything he knew had been turned upside down.
No wonder he'd felt that one punch would kill him if he took it head-on!
His instincts had been right.
The lingering Reiatsu quickly drew a female Seated Officer from the 4th Division, who treated Abarai Renji.
She was a petite, cute Soul Reaper, and Abarai Renji didn't even dare look at her.
After she finished treating him and left, Abarai nudged Kira with his eyebrows. "The 4th Division's great! Looks like you'll be the first of us to get a girlfriend, Kira."
Kira's lips moved. He wanted to tell Abarai how uninhibited that adorable Seated Officer was in private... Even from a doctor's perspective, openly discussing all the different parts of a man's body was terrifying.
Kira hadn't been in the 4th Division long, but he already wanted to transfer... Otherwise, he had a feeling that one day he'd end up as a model, showing the other squad members what those body parts really looked like.
Looking at Abarai Renji, Kira Izuru suddenly remembered something.
"Abarai, you went to the 11th Division, right? You're sure it wasn't the 13th Division?"
Abarai Renji had no idea what Kira was getting at, but he had a feeling his thoughts had been found out.
But... they'd been classmates for so long. Who wouldn't know what Abarai was thinking?
His eyes were always on Rukia. You'd have to be blind not to notice.
"I heard the 13th Division's recruiting more people soon! They're announcing it today! Apparently, the population in the World of the Living is growing rapidly, and the 13th Division doesn't have enough people to handle it. So everyone else in our class who's still waiting for news will get an invitation from the 13th Division..."
Kira hadn't even finished speaking when Abarai Renji went rigid.
Everyone else could join the 13th Division?
Then why had he worked so hard to choose the 11th Division?
Abarai Renji wanted to join the Gotei 13 not only because it had been his goal for years, but also because Rukia had joined the Kuchiki Clan and become a noble. She'd even recently been admitted to the 13th Division without taking the entrance exam.
The only way Abarai Renji could earn a status worthy of hers was to join the Gotei 13!
But because he'd been too impatient, he'd lost his chance to join the 13th Division directly.
Abarai Renji lost most of his energy in an instant and flopped limply onto the bed.
Seeing Abarai react like that, Kira was satisfied that he'd gotten to indulge his mischievous side.
But he hadn't been lying. The 13th Division really was expanding!
And they weren't just recruiting this year's students. They were accepting students from previous years, too.
Maybe the division with the most squad members would soon be the 13th Division instead of the 11th!
After Aoto had suggested expanding the 13th Division to Shiba Kaien, he discussed it with Captain Ukitake, and they agreed that it made a lot of sense.
Since the 13th Division handled all kinds of work in the World of the Living, its number of squad members needed to grow along with the population there.
And in the future, the area each Soul Reaper stationed in the World of the Living was responsible for might change as well.
They also needed to increase the frequency of patrols so they wouldn't discover another massive group of Hollows during their next patrol of the World of the Living.
What a pain.
Shiba Kaien, who was about to get married, felt like he'd made trouble for himself.
No, he could blame that Aoto fellow for it.
Aoto might have been very far-sighted, but that didn't stop Shiba Kaien from taking it out on him.
Besides the work in his division, Shiba Kaien now had something else to worry about.
The adopted sister of Byakuya Kuchiki, head of the Kuchiki Clan, had been sent to the 13th Division.
Shiba Kaien really couldn't understand what Byakuya was thinking.
When he'd first seen that she looked exactly like her older sister, he'd assumed Byakuya wanted to make her his second wife!
After all, this younger sister was a Soul Reaper. She wouldn't die from the abundant Reishi in Seireitei like Hisana had.
But now it seemed Byakuya was raising her as his actual younger sister.