Yamabuki Chidori slept fitfully, dreaming one dream after another. The one he remembered most clearly was slacking off, only for the giant fish he was fishing 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, but he was starving. Catching the scent of food, he followed it and discovered that a large cafeteria had somehow been built outside. Many of the newly recruited Gotei 13 members were eating there.
The moment they saw Yamabuki Chidori, the members hurriedly rose to their feet.
"Chief Strategist!"
"It's fine, sit down and eat." Yamabuki Chidori staggered over to the serving counter and found Chōjirō and Delia 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 more meat! I'm starving to death!" Yamabuki Chidori said. "How long did I sleep?"
Delia replied, "A full day and night!"
"When did this cafeteria get built? How did I not notice at all?" Yamabuki Chidori asked.
After asking around, he learned that the Five Noble Clans had sent people to help build the cafeteria. The members' barracks were nearly complete as well.
Only then did Yamabuki Chidori remember that Soul Society was made of reishi, not molecules. In a place as dense with reishi as the Seireitei, building a house was incredibly easy.
Delia piled Yamabuki Chidori's bowl high with meat. He grinned happily. You really do care about your big brother!
"Delia's playing favorites! I didn't get that much meat the last time I ate here!" Shunshun Shidō's voice came from nearby, and he even reached his chopsticks into Yamabuki Chidori's bowl to steal some meat.
"You bastards! What were you doing while I was working myself to the bone?! Do you know I almost died of exhaustion?!" Yamabuki Chidori complained bitterly.
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 brought Yamabuki Chidori to Yamamoto's office and said mysteriously, "Captain Commander, show him that thing!"
Yamabuki Chidori was still curious when he saw Yamamoto pull a box out from beneath 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'm resigning!"
Some Issues in the Book
I'm making a separate post to address the questions everyone has raised in the comments.
First: Sashō Chōjirō's timeline. This really was my oversight. Sashō Chōjirō had been following Yamamoto for two thousand years already. I missed that detail, and I sincerely apologize. Please stop holding onto it and roasting me over it.
Second: Someone asked whether Delia was Retsu Unohana.
Answer: No. She is an original character whose purpose is to advance the plot and introduce Sashō Chōjirō, Tenjirō Kirinji, and Gen'en Kinra. Also, Unohana will be appearing soon.
Third: I've been struggling with Retsu Unohana's "unprecedentedly evil villain" setting. I don't know exactly what Unohana did, either. What are everyone's thoughts?
If there are any other questions, feel free to discuss them in the comments or send me a private message.
Finally, thank you all for your support. If you think this book is decent, please add it to your favorites and vote for it. Thank you, everyone.
Learning Kido
"It won't be that easy to get me to forgive you! Seven Circles." Yamabuki Chidori snorted coldly.
"Pong. Don't be angry yet. We really aren't good at clerical work. Seven Bamboo." Shunshun Shidō said.
"Kong! After much thought, I decided you're the most suitable person for this job! And once the Gotei 13 has more people in the future, we can assign you additional staff. Two Characters!"
"Winning off a Kong! I'm about to win, so watch yourselves!" Saito said with a mischievous grin.
Yamabuki Chidori drew a tile. Hm? East Wind?
There wasn't a single East Wind on the table. Was someone building Big Four Winds?
No, the West, South, and North Winds had mostly already been discarded. At most, someone had an exposed kong. Yamabuki Chidori casually tossed out the East Wind!
"Mahjong!"
"Mahjong!"
"Won!"
Three people won 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 colluded to mess with him? 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 cheerfully brought over paper and a brush. "Surely the Chief Strategist won't renege on a debt. Come write an IOU."
"..."
Weren't we comrades who fought side by side?
You actually distrusted me this much!
You saw right through my plan to skip out on the debt!
How could you understand me so thoroughly?!
How were we supposed to have fun 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 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 had joined the Gotei 13, Yamamoto felt as though his brain had been freed. Whatever problem arose, he could just throw it to Yamabuki first.
"It's about the Gotei 13. I think we should establish a dedicated medical unit. That way, we can 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. There are only a few hundred of us altogether. Once we have more people in the future, we'll definitely do as you suggest."
Yamabuki Chidori nodded. That was true. The Gotei 13 had too few members at present. If they split off another group specifically for medical work, there would be even fewer people left to fight. They would have to wait until they had more people and greater stability before implementing the plan.
"Then I'll study medicine under Tenjirō Kirinji first. It should come in handy in the future," Yamabuki Chidori said.
Yamamoto's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. Originally, he had wanted to advise Yamabuki Chidori not to learn everything and to focus his energy on one field.
If he wanted to practice swordsmanship, then he should focus on swordsmanship.
If he wanted to study Kidō, then he should focus on Kidō.
What Yamabuki Chidori was studying now was simply too broad. After all, a person's energy was limited.
But when Yamamoto thought of Yamabuki Chidori's terrifying talent, he decided to let it go. Perhaps this boy really was a genius at everything?
"Yamabuki, you still have shortcomings in unarmed combat. When I have time, I'll teach you Hakuda and make up for that weakness," Yamamoto said.
Old Man was being this generous? That was rare!
"Thank you, Captain Commander! By the way, where did you get the mahjong set? Did mahjong even exist in this era?" Yamabuki Chidori asked curiously.
Shunshun Shidō smiled. "It's very popular in the Human World, and it gradually spread to Rukongai 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 learn medicine first!
There were three highly skilled doctors in Bleach.
They were Tenjirō Kirinji, Retsu Unohana, and Yamada Kiyosuke.
Of the three, Tenjirō Kirinji possessed the greatest medical skill. In particular, he had invented two kinds of hot springs. Calling them capable of "reviving the dead and restoring flesh to bone" would not be an exaggeration.
Retsu Unohana had learned medicine from Tenjirō Kirinji. She was already among the best in the Gotei 13, but unfortunately, in terms of medical skill alone, she still could not match Tenjirō Kirinji.
The last was Yamada Kiyosuke, who had not appeared in the main story. He was Yamada Hanatarō's older brother and served as director of a hospital dedicated to treating nobles. His medical skill was no worse than Retsu Unohana's.
Humming a tune, Yamabuki Chidori arrived at Tenjirō Kirinji's residence and found quite a few patients there.
Delia bustled back and forth, acting as a little nurse.
Only after all the patients had left did Yamabuki Chidori enter.
"Big Brother Yamabuki? Why are you here? Are you sick?" Delia asked nervously.
"No, I came to discuss something with Tenjirō Kirinji." Yamabuki Chidori looked at Tenjirō Kirinji, who snorted coldly.
"Unsolicited kindness always hides an ulterior motive. 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 cold! We're brothers who have gone through life and death together. I even brought you good wine. How can you treat me so indifferently?"
"You brought me wine? So you must be asking me for something. Go on, say it!" Tenjirō Kirinji naturally knew what kind of person this bastard was. When a weasel paid respects to a chicken, it never meant well.
"You're Soul Society's greatest divine physician, saving lives and accumulating boundless merit! Why not share some of that merit with me?" Yamabuki Chidori asked with a sly expression.
"What do you mean?" Tenjirō Kirinji asked warily.
"I want to study medicine under you."
"Study medicine?" Tenjirō Kirinji froze. What was this kid up to now?
"Why do you want to study medicine under me?" Tenjirō Kirinji asked.
"To heal the world and save lives..."
Tenjirō Kirinji silently drew his sword. "Tell the truth!"
"...So it'll be more satisfying when I cut people down! Think about it. When I meet some utterly evil bastard, wouldn't it be boring if I nearly killed him in two slashes? If I understand Kido, I can heal him first, then chop him to death, heal him again, then chop 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 ashen. Even Satan would have to call you Big Brother!
In the end, after Yamabuki Chidori's sincere request—persistent pestering—Tenjirō Kirinji still 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 teach you to heal them. Give them a quick death! Be a decent person!" Tenjirō Kirinji said with a weary sigh.
"Mm-hmm, mm-hmm! I swear." Yamabuki Chidori put on an obedient expression.
I believe you, my ass!
Look at the bunch of people the Gotei 13 had recruited. Was there even a single normal one among them?
"Then let's start learning Kido right now!"
Fish: "I Am God!"
Tenjirō Kirinji brought over a bucket containing a lively 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. This was truly hopeless.
"The most important part of medicine is Kido, a type of Kidō specifically used for healing. Let me explain its principles. Kido does not directly heal a Soul Reaper's body. Instead, it first stimulates the Soul Reaper's body to recover reiatsu, and once the reiatsu has recovered, it allows the body to rapidly restore itself. Do you understand?"
Yamabuki Chidori nodded vigorously.
All buildings and living creatures in Soul Society were composed of reishi, so this healing system was relatively well-developed.
Tenjirō Kirinji fished the fish out and sliced it with a knife.
"I'll demonstrate only once. If you can't learn it, get out immediately! I, Tenjirō Kirinji, have never taught mediocrities." Tenjirō Kirinji used Kido on the fish. The unlucky fish had been slashed and was already on the verge of death, but after the Kido treatment, it was lively and kicking again in only 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 possibly learn it after watching once?
Tenjirō Kirinji was deliberately making things difficult for Yamabuki Chidori. Could Yamabuki say that he had not taught him? Of course he had taught him! But if Yamabuki could not learn it, that was not Tenjirō Kirinji's fault.
"Yeah! More or less!" Yamabuki Chidori had already grasped its principles after watching Kido used just once.
Hmph, what brazen boasting.
Tenjirō Kirinji took out the fish that had just been healed and cut it again!
The fish flopped wildly on the cutting board, its mouth gaping open and closing repeatedly!
"Would you two please act like decent people?!"
"Go ahead and heal it. If you can heal it, I'll teach you more advanced Kido." Tenjirō Kirinji said proudly.
Before you continue