Although Shiro's Grandmother was already white-haired, her soul was only a little over a hundred years old, counting from her birth in the World of the Living.
Hyakume-ki Seikyo had spent over two hundred years in Soul Society as this duplicate. If they were really talking about respecting the old and caring for the young, he was the older one.
He entered the shabby but spotless house and sat down on the tatami without the slightest reserve. When he saw the plate of peaches Shiro's Grandmother brought over, he simply grabbed one and started eating.
But this infuriated Shiro, because that peach had been brought back by Momo Hinamori the last time she visited. He'd been saving it and hadn't dared eat many!
Seikyo paid no attention to Shiro's fury and simply asked, "Shiro, how's your control over your Reiatsu? Does it still run wild without you realizing it?"
At that, Shiro finally grew serious, though his tone remained nonchalant. "It's so simple. Who couldn't learn it?"
"Don't just talk! Show me!" Seikyo tossed the peach pit in his hand to Shiro. "If you can't do it, Shiro, you know what'll happen!"
What would happen? Obviously, he'd get a spanking!
For Shiro, whose pride was as strong as could be, that punishment was utterly unacceptable.
But it was also what drove him to show off his talent.
At that moment, Shiro focused his Reiatsu on the peach pit he disliked, then sent it flying around the room according to his will.
After making the pit circle a few times and return to his hand, Shiro proudly raised his chin at Seikyo.
Seikyo praised him without hesitation. "Well done! You're much better than those idiots in my squad. Those guys can cut themselves with their own swords."
Shiro grew even more smug at that.
"But you're still nowhere near as good as your childhood friend!" Seeing his expression, Seikyo changed tack and put him down. "Your friend Momo is already famous for her extraordinary talent in Kidō, even though she hasn't graduated yet. Several divisions have already invited her to join them. She's the one choosing a division, not the other way around. Every graduate in her class envies her."
"Compared to her, you've got a long way to go!"
As he spoke, Seikyo watched Shiro's expression, and sure enough, he saw the determination to work even harder.
As expected, Shiro's weakness was Momo Hinamori!
Although Seikyo thought little of Momo Hinamori's lack of a mind of her own, she was very useful for motivating Shiro.
And once he'd finished putting him down, he could build him back up!
"But if you complete all my training, I can get you straight into the 11th Division! The work in the 11th Division is easy, and you can return to Rukongai anytime. That'll solve your worries about leaving your grandmother without anyone to look after her."
Seikyo painted a lovely picture for Shiro, and he couldn't help longing for it.
If he hadn't been worried about leaving his grandmother without anyone to care for her, Shiro might have enrolled in Shino Academy in the same class as Momo Hinamori!
Seikyo hadn't told a single lie. He really did have that authority.
After all, the 11th Division was a combat division, so its casualties were quite high. If it relied only on Shino Academy graduates to replenish its ranks, the other divisions would never get any new recruits!
That was why the 11th Division was the only one allowed to recruit powerful souls directly from Rukongai.
As it happened, Seikyo was the only one among the 11th Division's top five Seated Officers who had graduated from Shino Academy. Everyone else had come straight from Rukongai.
That included the captain, Zaraki Kenpachi.
It was pretty funny!
After all, Seikyo was a spy for Hueco Mundo. Yet simply because he had graduated from Shino Academy, he had become a genuine power broker in the 11th Division.
Managing the entire division had become his job.
If Seikyo wanted to destroy this strongest combat division right now, all he'd have to do was send his real body a signal and set a trap. Apart from a few high-ranking Seated Officers, the entire 11th Division would be wiped out.
Seikyo had even received a secret order from Central 46 to keep a closer eye on the movements of Zaraki Kenpachi, that unstable element...
Honestly, every time Seikyo thought about it, he wanted to laugh.
If he ever really went after Zaraki Kenpachi, it seemed he'd have a perfectly good pretext!
In that case, Seikyo could try spreading his influence to other divisions as well.
His real body hadn't placed any restrictions on him, after all. Seikyo could do whatever he wanted.
Take Shiro, for example. He could bring him into the 11th Division first. No matter which division Shiro was transferred to later, he'd still be Seikyo's disciple.
And there was also Renji Abarai, who would be joining the 11th Division after graduating soon. Seikyo could train him in Madarame Ikkaku's place, too.
After staying at Shiro's house a little longer and eating three peaches in one go, Seikyo finally left before Shiro could explode with anger.
"I'll bring you a watermelon next time!"
Laughing loudly, Seikyo left Shiro's home.
But as soon as he stepped outside, he saw a busty female Soul Reaper standing there.
Rangiku Matsumoto, a woman who made people lower their heads involuntarily.
But compared to the wavy hair she'd have later, her short hair made her look like a girl... if only her figure did, too.
What a coincidence. He'd just covered for Gin Ichimaru, and now he'd run into Rangiku Matsumoto.
But she probably wasn't here because of Gin Ichimaru... Was it Shiro?
"So you're the little guy's teacher?" Rangiku Matsumoto asked in a teasing tone. "He wasn't lying, then. He really does have a Soul Reaper for a teacher."
Her teasing manner was partly because she was an easygoing person, and partly because of her Zanpakuto.
"Hey, beautiful! Aren't you going to introduce yourself first?" Seikyo looked Rangiku up and down. "You take good care of your nails!"
"Nice eye!" Rangiku Matsumoto cared for her nails even more than the two generous mounds on her chest, though most people would have a hard time noticing.
One remark was enough to give Rangiku Matsumoto a very good impression of Seikyo.
"I'm Rangiku Matsumoto, Fourth Seat of the 10th Division!"
"What a coincidence!" Seikyo said with a smile. "I'm Hyakume-ki Seikyo, Fourth Seat of the 11th Division. So, Fourth Seat Matsumoto, are you interested in my disciple? Don't tell me he's your illegitimate son?"
The good impression Rangiku Matsumoto had just formed of Seikyo vanished with that one remark.
Was that any way to talk to a young woman?
Rolling her eyes, Rangiku Matsumoto said irritably, "I came to see who was holding back that white-haired brat's future."
The first time Rangiku met Shiro, she'd noticed his extraordinary Reiatsu and realized the people around him were afraid of him. She'd wanted to persuade Shiro to study at Shino Academy.
But Shiro had stubbornly insisted he already had a teacher and didn't need to go.
His teacher was there when he needed him and nowhere to be found when he didn't. Very convenient.
Rangiku Matsumoto hadn't entirely believed him, so she'd often stopped by to make sure no con artist was taking advantage of him.
A Fourth Seat of the 11th Division... He probably wasn't a con artist!