Living in Soul Society, Just Wanting to Coast into Retirement

Yamabuki Chidori slept in a daze, having a whole mess of dreams. The one he remembered most clearly was about himself slacking off, only for the big fish he was slacking with to suddenly open its mouth and swallow him whole!

"Why am I having such weird dreams?" Yamabuki Chidori muttered speechlessly. He had no idea how long he had slept. Feeling hungry, he caught the scent of food and followed it, only to discover that a large cafeteria had somehow been built outside. Many recruits who had just joined the Gotei 13 were eating there.

When the recruits saw Yamabuki Chidori arrive, they hurriedly stood up.

"Chief Strategist!"

"It's fine, sit down and eat!" Yamabuki Chidori swayed over to the serving area and found that Chōjirō and Hanako were helping out in the kitchen.

"Big Brother Yamabuki, you're awake!" Sashō Chōjirō hurried over when he saw Yamabuki Chidori.

"Forget that for now. Give me extra meat! I'm starving!" Yamabuki Chidori said. "How long was I asleep?"

Hanako said, "You slept for a full day and night!"

"When did this cafeteria get built? How come I didn't notice anything?" Yamabuki Chidori asked.

After asking around, he learned that the Five Noble Clans had sent people to help build the cafeteria. The squad members' barracks were nearly finished as well.

Only then did Yamabuki Chidori remember that Soul Society was made of Reishi rather than molecules. In a place like the Seireitei, where Reishi was densely concentrated, building a house was incredibly easy.

Hanako piled his bowl high with meat, and Yamabuki Chidori smiled happily. You really do care about your big brother!

"Hanako, you're playing favorites! I didn't get nearly this much meat the last time I ate here!" Shunshun Shidō's voice rang out as he reached his chopsticks into Yamabuki Chidori's bowl and picked out some meat.

"You bastards! What were you doing while I was working myself to the bone?! Do you know I nearly died from exhaustion?!" Yamabuki Chidori complained resentfully.

Shunshun Shidō's eyes darted around. "Well, we were doing something very important at the time. You'll find out soon enough!"

Something very important?

After eating, Shunshun Shidō took Yamabuki Chidori to Yamamoto's office, then said mysteriously, "Captain Commander, show him that thing!"

Yamabuki Chidori was still curious when he saw Yamamoto pull a box out from under his bed and carefully open it.

Inside the box was... mahjong!

"Wait, so while I was working myself half to death... you were playing mahjong?! I quit! I resign!!!"

Some Questions About the Book

I'm making a separate chapter to address the questions everyone has raised in the comments.

First: Sashō Chōjirō's timeline. This really was my oversight. Sashō Chōjirō had followed Yamamoto two thousand years ago, and I failed to notice that. My deepest apologies. Please stop dwelling on it.

Second: Some people asked whether Hanako was Retsu Unohana.

Answer: No. She is an original character whose role is to move the plot along and introduce Sashō Chōjirō, Tenjirō Kirinji, and Gen'en Kinra. Also, Lady Unohana will be appearing soon.

Third: People have been wondering about Retsu Unohana's setting as an "unprecedented and unparalleled great villain." I don't know what exactly Lady Unohana did either. What do you all think?

If there are any other questions, feel free to discuss them in the comments or send me a private message.

Lastly, thank you all for your support. If you think this book is decent, please bookmark it and vote for it. Thank you, everyone.

Learning Kido

"It won't be that easy to earn my forgiveness! Seven of Circles." Yamabuki Chidori snorted.

"Pong. Don't be angry yet. We really aren't good at clerical work. Seven of Bamboo." Shunshun Shidō said.

"Kong! After giving it much thought, I decided you're the most suitable for this job! Besides, once the Gotei 13 has more members, we can assign more people to help you. Two of Characters!"

"Winning off a Kong! I'm about to win! You'd better watch out!" Saito grinned wickedly.

Yamabuki Chidori drew a tile. Hm? East Wind?

There wasn't a single East Wind tile on the table. Was someone building a Big Four Winds hand?

No, the West, South, and North Winds had mostly been discarded already. At most, it could only be an exposed Kong. Yamabuki Chidori casually discarded the East Wind!

"Win!"

"Win!"

"I won!"

Three wins off one discard!

The flesh on Yamabuki Chidori's face twitched nonstop. Why had all three of them chosen to wait on a single East Wind? Had these three bastards teamed up to screw him over? Why was his luck so terrible?

"Um... how about I owe you for now? I'll pay you back once I get my salary!" Yamabuki Chidori asked.

Shunshun Shidō grinned as he brought over paper and a brush. "Surely the Chief Strategist wouldn't welch on a debt. Come write an IOU."

"..."

Weren't we good comrades who fought side by side?

You actually distrusted me this much!

You saw right through my plan to dodge the debt!

How could you understand me so thoroughly?!

Could we still play nicely together in the future?

Under the coercion of Ryūjin Jakka and the two captains, Yamabuki Chidori wrote the first IOU of his life.

Sigh!

What a damn miserable life!

He had gone into debt before even receiving his salary!

"Oh, right, Captain Commander. I came to discuss something with you." Yamabuki Chidori hurriedly changed the subject.

"Hm? What else is there?" Yamamoto asked.

Ever since Yamabuki Chidori joined the Gotei 13, Yamamoto felt as though his brain had been liberated. Whenever a problem came up, he could just throw it to Yamabuki first.

"It's about the Gotei 13. I think we should establish a unit dedicated specifically to medical care. That would reduce the losses among our members," Yamabuki Chidori said.

Yamamoto nodded slightly. "It's a good idea, but not yet. The Gotei 13 has too few people right now. Altogether, we only have a few hundred. Once we have more people in the future, we will certainly do as you suggest."

Yamabuki Chidori nodded. Indeed, the Gotei 13 had too few members at present. If they split off some specifically for medical care, there would be even fewer people left to fight. They would have to wait until they had more people and greater stability before carrying out that plan.

"Then I'll study medicine with Tenjirō Kirinji first. It should come in handy in the future," Yamabuki Chidori said.

Yamamoto's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. Originally, he wanted to advise Yamabuki Chidori not to learn everything under the sun, but to focus his energy on one field.

If he wanted to practice swordsmanship, then he should focus on swordsmanship.

If he wanted to learn Kido, then he should focus on Kido.

What Yamabuki Chidori was learning now was simply too complicated. After all, a person's energy was limited.

But when he thought of Yamabuki Chidori's terrifying talent... forget it. Maybe he really was a jack of all trades?

"Yamabuki, you are still lacking in unarmed combat. When I have time, I will teach you Hakuda to make up for that weakness," Yamamoto said.

The old man was being so generous? That was rare!

"Thank you, Captain Commander! Oh, right, where did you get the mahjong set? Did mahjong even exist in this era?" Yamabuki Chidori asked curiously.

Shunshun Shidō said with a smile, "It's very popular in the Human World and has gradually spread through the Rukon District as well. I happened to have a set in my collection."

Forget it, he had no interest in asking about such trivial matters. He should go study medicine first!

In Bleach, there were three people with exceptional medical skills.

They were Tenjirō Kirinji, Retsu Unohana, and Yamada Kiyosuke.

Of them, Tenjirō Kirinji's medical skill was the greatest. In particular, the two hot springs he invented could be described as capable of bringing the dead back to life and regrowing flesh on bare bones.

Retsu Unohana had learned medicine from Tenjirō Kirinji. Her skills were already among the very best in the Gotei 13, but unfortunately, in terms of medicine alone, she still could not compare to Tenjirō Kirinji.

The last was Yamada Kiyosuke, who never appeared in the main story. He was Yamada Hanatarō's older brother and served as the director of a hospital that catered exclusively to nobles. His medical skills were no worse than Retsu Unohana's.

Humming a tune, Yamabuki Chidori arrived at Tenjirō Kirinji's residence and found quite a few patients there.

Hanako bustled back and forth, serving as a little nurse.

Only after all the patients had left did Yamabuki Chidori walk in.

"Big Brother Yamabuki? Why are you here? Are you sick?" Hanako asked nervously.

"No, I came to discuss something with Tenjirō Kirinji." Yamabuki Chidori looked at Tenjirō Kirinji, who let out a cold snort.

"Unprompted kindness is either treachery or theft. You definitely didn't come to me for anything good." Tenjirō Kirinji said coldly, "I'm very busy right now. Don't disturb me."

Yamabuki Chidori sidled over with a grin. "Don't be so heartless! We're brothers who have fought through life and death together. I even brought good liquor to see you. How can you be so cold to me?"

"You brought me liquor? Then you must be asking me for something. Go on, say it!" Tenjirō Kirinji naturally knew what kind of person this bastard was. A weasel paying respects to a chicken never had good intentions.

"You're Soul Society's greatest divine physician, healing the sick and saving lives with boundless merit! Why don't you share some of that merit with me?" Yamabuki Chidori asked with a sly grin.

"What do you mean?" Tenjirō Kirinji asked warily.

"I want to learn medicine from you."

"Learn medicine?" Tenjirō Kirinji froze. What was this kid up to now?

"Why do you want to learn medicine from me?" Tenjirō Kirinji asked.

"To hang a healing pot and save the world, to cure the sick and save lives..."

Tenjirō Kirinji silently drew his sword. "Tell the truth!"

"...So it'll feel better when I'm cutting people down! Think about it—when you meet some heinous bastard, what fun is there in killing him after just two slashes? If I understand Kido, I can heal him first, then cut him to death, heal him again, then cut him to death again. I'll make sure he suffers so much that he regrets ever coming into this—hey, hey, hey? Don't push me!" Yamabuki Chidori shouted.

Tenjirō Kirinji's face turned livid. Even Satan would have to call you big brother!

In the end, under Yamabuki Chidori's sincere pleading and relentless pestering, Tenjirō Kirinji agreed to teach him medicine.

"I want you to swear that when you kill people in the future, you won't use the Kido I taught you to heal them. Give them a quick death! Be a decent human being!" Tenjirō Kirinji said with a sigh.

"Mm-hm, mm-hm! I swear." Yamabuki Chidori wore an obedient expression.

Like hell I believe you!

Just look at the people the Gotei 13 had recruited. Was a single one of them normal?

"Then let's start learning Kido right now!"

Fish: "I Am God!"

Tenjirō Kirinji carried over a bucket containing a lively, flopping fish.

"Are we having lunch? Should we stew this fish or steam it?" Yamabuki Chidori asked.

"This fish is for you to practice on." Tenjirō Kirinji shook his head and sighed. Truly, rotten wood could not be carved.

"The most important part of medical arts is Kido, a type of Kido used specifically for healing. Let me explain how it works. Kido does not directly heal a Shinigami's body. Instead, it first stimulates the Shinigami's body to restore Reiatsu, then uses that restored Reiatsu to rapidly repair the body. Do you understand?"

Yamabuki Chidori nodded vigorously.

All buildings and living things in Soul Society were made of Reishi, so this healing system was relatively well-developed.

Tenjirō Kirinji fished out the fish and cut it across the body.

"I'll demonstrate this only once. If you can't learn it, get out immediately! I, Tenjirō Kirinji, never teach mediocrities." Tenjirō Kirinji used Kido on the fish. The unlucky fish had been left half-dead by the cut, but after receiving Kido treatment, it was lively and flopping again within a minute or two.

"Did you learn it?" Tenjirō Kirinji looked at Yamabuki Chidori provocatively.

Kido looked simple, but it was actually extremely complicated. How could anyone learn it after seeing it just once?

Tenjirō Kirinji was deliberately making things difficult for Yamabuki Chidori. Could he say he had not taught him? Of course he had! But if Yamabuki Chidori could not learn it, then that was not his fault.

"Yeah! More or less!" Yamabuki Chidori had seen the Kido activation just once, yet he had already grasped its principles.

Hmph, what an arrogant claim.

Tenjirō Kirinji fished out the fish he had just healed and cut it again!

The fish thrashed desperately on the chopping board, its mouth stretched wide as it opened and closed!

"Will you two please act like people?!"

"If you can heal it, I'll teach you more advanced Kido." Tenjirō Kirinji said proudly.