Shiro and Rangiku Matsumoto

Although Shiro's grandmother was white-haired and aged, her soul's age was barely over a hundred years, counting from the time she was born in the human world.

Hyakume-ki Seikyo, this clone, had already spent two hundred years in Soul Society; if one were truly to speak of respecting the old and cherishing the young, he was the elder one.

Walking into the house, which was dilapidated yet kept spotless, Seikyo sat on the tatami mats without a hint of formality. Seeing the grandmother bring over a plate of peaches, he picked one up and started eating immediately.

This, however, made Shiro extremely annoyed, as this peach had been brought back by Momo Hinamori during her last visit, and he hadn't even been able to bring himself to eat it yet!

Seikyo paid no mind to Shiro's frantic state and asked directly, "Shiro, how is your spiritual pressure control coming along? Is it still going out of control unconsciously?"

When the topic turned to this, Shiro finally straightened his expression, though his tone remained indifferent, "Such a simple thing, who wouldn't be able to learn it?"

"Don't just talk! Show me!" Seikyo tossed the peach pit in his hand to Shiro, "If you can't do it well, Shiro, you know what the result will be!"

What result? That would naturally be a spanking!

For Shiro, who possessed a very strong sense of pride, this kind of punishment was completely unacceptable.

Yet, it was also the very incentive that drove him to strive to display his talent.

At this moment, Shiro's spiritual pressure was attached to the peach pit he had been despising, and it flew around the room according to his will.

After controlling the pit to spin a few times and return to his hand, Shiro lifted his chin toward Seikyo with great pride.

Seikyo did not hesitate to offer praise, "Well done! You are much better than those idiots in my division. Those guys can even cut themselves while using their swords."

Shiro felt even more arrogant upon hearing this.

"However, compared to your childhood friend, you are still far behind!" Watching his expression, Seikyo shifted to strike a blow, "That friend of yours, Momo, is already famous for her extremely excellent kido talent, even though she hasn't graduated yet. Several divisions have already sent her invitations. She is the one choosing the division, not the other way around; there isn't a single person among this year's graduates who doesn't envy her."

"Compared to her, you still have a long way to go!"

Seikyo spoke while observing Shiro's expression, and sure enough, he saw the look of someone determined to work even harder.

As expected, Shiro's weakness was Momo Hinamori!

Although Seikyo held little regard for the lack of self-awareness in Momo Hinamori, she was very useful for stimulating Shiro.

And once the belittling was over, it was time to build him back up!

"But as long as you complete all my training, I can let you join the 11th Division directly! Our work in the 11th Division is very relaxed, and we can return to the Rukon District at any time. The concerns you have about your grandmother, Shiro, can also be resolved."

Seikyo painted a beautiful picture for Shiro, making him yearn for it involuntarily.

If it weren't for the worry that his grandmother would have no one to look after her, Shiro might have enrolled in the Shino Academy in the same year as Momo Hinamori!

Seikyo had not told a single lie from beginning to end; he truly possessed this authority.

After all, the 11th Division was a combat division, so the attrition rate was quite high. If they relied solely on Shino Academy graduates to fill the ranks, the other divisions wouldn't get any new recruits at all!

Therefore, the 11th Division was the only one that could directly select powerful souls from the Rukon District to join the ranks.

One must know that among the top five seats of the current 11th Division, only Seikyo himself had graduated from the Shino Academy. Everyone else had come directly from the Rukon District.

Including the captain, Zaraki Kenpachi.

This was quite ironic!

Because Seikyo was a spy for Hueco Mundo. Now, precisely because of his status as a Shino Academy graduate, he had become a true power-broker within the 11th Division.

The management of the entire division had become his job.

If Seikyo wanted to destroy this strongest combat division now, give a signal to his main body, and set a trap, then apart from a few high-ranking officers, the entire 11th Division would be wiped out.

Seikyo had even received secret orders from the Central 46 to keep a closer eye on the movements of the unstable factor that was Zaraki Kenpachi...

Truly, every time Seikyo recalled this, he wanted to laugh.

If he were to ever make a move against Zaraki Kenpachi in the future, it seemed he would have a perfectly legitimate excuse!

However, in that case, Seikyo could actually try to spread his influence into other divisions as well.

In any case, the main body hadn't placed any restrictions on him; Seikyo could do whatever he pleased.

Take Shiro, for example. Pulling him into the 11th Division first—regardless of which division he might be transferred to later—he would always be Seikyo's disciple.

As for others, like Renji Abarai, who would join the 11th Division after graduating, it wouldn't be impossible to train him in place of Madarame Ikkaku.

After staying at Shiro's house a while longer and eating three peaches in one go, he finally left before Shiro could explode with rage.

"Next time I come, I'll bring you a watermelon!"

With a hearty laugh, Seikyo left Shiro's house.

But as soon as he stepped out, Seikyo saw a busty female soul reaper standing outside.

Rangiku Matsumoto, a woman who made one lower their head involuntarily.

However, compared to her future wavy hair, her current short hair made her look quite youthful... though her figure was anything but youthful.

What a coincidence; he had just provided cover for Gin Ichimaru, and now he had run into Rangiku Matsumoto.

But she probably wasn't here for Gin Ichimaru... was she here for Shiro?

"So you're the master of that little guy?" Rangiku Matsumoto's tone was somewhat flippant, "He really wasn't lying; he truly has a soul reaper master."

Her flippancy, aside from her carefree personality, was also due to her zanpakuto.

"Yo, beauty! Aren't you going to introduce yourself first?" Seikyo looked Rangiku up and down, "Your nails are well-maintained, aren't they!"

"You've got a good eye!" Rangiku Matsumoto cherished her nails even more than those two massive mounds on her chest, though most people rarely noticed.

That single sentence gave Rangiku Matsumoto a very favorable impression of Seikyo.

"I am Rangiku Matsumoto, 4th Seat of the 10th Division!"

"What a coincidence!" Seikyo laughed. "I am the 4th Seat of the 11th Division, Hyakume-ki Seikyo. Tell me, 4th Seat Matsumoto, are you interested in my apprentice? He isn't your illegitimate child, is he?"

The goodwill Rangiku Matsumoto had just built toward Seikyo was wiped out by that one sentence.

Was that something one should say to a young woman?

Rolling her eyes dramatically, Rangiku Matsumoto retorted, "I came to see who it was that was ruining that white-haired brat's future."

When Rangiku first met Shiro, she discovered that his spiritual pressure was different from ordinary people and noticed that he was feared by those around him, so she had wanted to persuade Shiro to study at the Shino Academy.

But Shiro had stubbornly insisted that he had a master and didn't need to go.

This master of his seemed to exist only when convenient and vanish when not; truly flexible.

Rangiku Matsumoto naturally didn't believe it entirely, so she would often come by to see if some swindler was deceiving him.

The 4th Seat of the 11th Division... he shouldn't be a swindler!