In Soul Society, I Only Want to Coast into Retirement

But Yamabuki Chidori knew that a truly powerful army was not trained—it was forged in battle. An army that never experienced real combat could never become true elite troops.

When they arrived at the training grounds that morning, Yamabuki Chidori did not reveal the day's training in advance. Instead, he had everyone hand over their wooden swords.

"Today, we're done playing with wooden swords! Everyone, switch to real blades!" With a wave of Yamabuki Chidori's hand, two trainees brought over a neat row of Zanpakuto, one for each person!

Many of the trainees were touching real swords for the first time and were extremely excited. Were they going to use real blades in sparring matches?

"Today, we're doing something real. No sparring matches. We're going straight to the battlefield!" Yamabuki Chidori swept his gaze across the trainees. Their reactions varied: some were terrified, some calm, some excited, and some were trembling!

"Hollows have been spotted in the third northern district of Rukon District. I'll take you there to hunt them. Remember, I won't step in unless it's absolutely necessary. Form teams of five. Bring a Hollow corpse back to me after killing it—that is today's assessment!" Yamabuki Chidori said. "All right, move out!"

The many trainees arrived in the northern Rukon District.

Public order here was relatively chaotic. There were not only many Hollows, but also plenty of thugs.

These thugs were not the idle street punks of modern society. They were genuine swordsmen carrying real blades.

Quite a few thugs had their eyes on the two girls in the group, greed gleaming in their gazes. However, seeing how numerous the group was and that they were all armed, they did not dare approach.

But there were always those reckless enough to defy heaven. In the end, several thugs could not suppress the urges in their hearts and tried to abduct the two girls from the group.

However, they had greatly underestimated the strength of Gotei 13 members. After half a month of hellish torment, even ordinary members were far beyond what these thugs could compare to. The two thugs were knocked to the ground in just a few moves and dragged before Yamabuki Chidori.

"Instructor, these men tried to attack us. How should we deal with them?" Hachisato asked.

Yamabuki Chidori looked coldly at the thugs. Ever since Hanako had been kidnapped, he had held no goodwill toward people like them. It was simply that they were too short-handed right now. Once the Gotei 13 had enough manpower in the future, they would have to clean up public security in Rukon District.

Yamabuki Chidori casually drew his Zanpakuto and cut off a man's head in a single stroke!

At the sight of such a bloody scene, half the members screamed in terror.

"If you encounter people like this again, deal with them the same way. No need to report to me!" Yamabuki Chidori said.

From that moment on, Yamabuki Chidori's image in the members' hearts changed completely. Though he trained them with harsh methods, he was usually like a kind and approachable older brother!

But at that moment, that kindly image shattered instantly.

Yamabuki Chidori casually flicked the blood from his blade and said to everyone, "All right, groups of five. Split up and begin hunting Hollows. Every team must bring back one Hollow corpse. Finish before nightfall."

Yamabuki Chidori said coldly, "Hachisato, your strength has improved as well. I want you to hunt a Hollow alone. No problem?"

"Of course not."

"Good. Begin!" Yamabuki Chidori shouted.

After everyone had left, Yamabuki Chidori took a small piece of Hollow Lure from his clothes and lightly flicked it into the air, where it exploded.

He had controlled the dosage carefully. It would only attract some weak trash. After all, his goal was to temper this team's fighting spirit, not get them all wiped out. If any Hollows appeared that the trainees could not handle, he would step in immediately.

Catching the scent of Hollow Lure, Hollows gathered from all directions.

Most of these rookie members were quite confident. It was five against one, after all, and they had trained for so long. There should not be any problem!

But when the first Hollow descended, the members realized that real combat was nothing like ordinary training. One moment of carelessness meant death or injury!

Faced with genuine Hollows, many were seized by fear and could not even bring out half their strength.

The Rukon District in this area immediately fell into chaos.

Yamabuki Chidori sensed every trainee's Reiatsu.

He knew that casualties in battle were unavoidable. But they were not true warriors yet, only trainees. If anyone truly suffered a fatal blow, he would definitely intervene to help.

However, the facts proved that Yamabuki Chidori had underestimated his students.

They might have been afraid at the start of the fight, but once these members accepted the premise of either you die or I do, they gradually began to perform steadily and learned how to coordinate with one another.

With their current strength, they might not even be at a disadvantage against these trash Hollows one-on-one. Having five of them fight one was already Yamabuki Chidori going easy on them.

Very soon, the first team returned. The five of them were covered in blood, carrying a Hollow corpse with proud expressions on their faces.

The second to return was Hachisato. His strength far exceeded that of ordinary members, and he had successfully killed a Hollow alone.

As time passed, more and more members returned. Naturally, quite a few were injured as well. After all, this had been their first true battle.

Yamabuki Chidori used Kido to treat their injuries.

In the end, only one team had yet to return.

It was already dusk.

Yamabuki Chidori closed his eyes and sensed the Reiatsu of those five people. Suddenly, one of the five Reiatsu signatures vanished.

Yamabuki Chidori abruptly opened his eyes.

What was going on? Why had they suffered a casualty?

"Hachisato, take the others back first," Yamabuki Chidori shouted. Then he used Flash Step and rushed toward the five trainees.

Before he had gone far, Yamabuki Chidori saw the trainees. They were covered in blood, and two Hollow corpses lay on the ground.

The most seriously injured was a girl. Her chest had been pierced straight through. She lay on the ground with her eyes tightly shut, completely motionless.

Yamabuki Chidori's brows knitted together. The thing he least wanted to see had happened.

"What happened?" Yamabuki Chidori shouted.

One of the boys choked out, "We had already completed the mission and were on our way back, but a Hollow suddenly ambushed us... Reiko, she... she..."

Yamabuki Chidori hurriedly checked the girl's injuries. Half of a Hollow's bone blade had entered through her back and protruded from her chest. If she was not saved quickly, she would be dead within minutes at most.

Emergency Treatment

Seeing the girl's injuries, Yamabuki Chidori frowned deeply. Although he had learned Kido from Tenjirō Kirinji, this was his first time treating such a severe wound.

Furthermore, the human body was far more complicated than a fish. Treating her would undoubtedly be much harder than treating a half-dead fish!

What if he brought her back to Seireitei?

She would probably die on the way and would never make it back to Seireitei.

At this point, he could only treat a dead horse as though it were alive.

Yamabuki Chidori decided to perform emergency surgery on the spot. He drew a short blade and cut open the girl's upper clothing. A pair of soft, white breasts sprang free. Under normal circumstances, he definitely would have taken a good look, but this was a matter of life and death. How could he spare the thought?

"What are you staring at? Turn around and stand guard! Was the lesson just now not enough? As a warrior, you can never let down your guard at any time!" Yamabuki Chidori shouted.

The other four boys in the squad looked ashamed.

Indeed, after completing the task their instructor had assigned them, they had relaxed. They never expected something like this to happen!

Yamabuki Chidori looked at the bone blade lodged in the girl's chest. It had to be pulled out, but the moment it came free, she would definitely bleed heavily. He first had to use Kido to repair the blood vessels around the wound. Then, the instant he pulled out the bone blade, he would use high-level Kido to heal the girl's wound.

Kido was not a video game healing spell that could restore someone instantly. This type of Kido healing took time. A fatal injury like this would take at least one or two minutes to heal completely. Whether the girl could endure those two minutes depended entirely on her own willpower!

Sweat slowly seeped from Yamabuki Chidori's forehead.

I knew taking rookies was nothing but trouble! Honestly!

He gently pressed the skin around the wound, first cleaning away the blood before partially repairing the damaged flesh and blood vessels to reduce the bleeding when the bone blade was removed.

"You have to hold on!" Yamabuki Chidori took a deep breath, gripped the bone blade, and yanked it out. Then he immediately activated Kido.

The instant the bone blade came free, blood sprayed out with it. Though he had already treated the wound beforehand, the amount of bleeding was still terrifying.

Yamabuki Chidori ignored the expenditure of Reiatsu entirely and healed the wound as fast as he could. About a minute and a half later, the injury on the girl's chest had completely healed. Yet her eyes remained shut, and she still looked to be in great pain!

Cold sweat continued to pour from Yamabuki Chidori's forehead. With the amount of blood she had lost just now, whether she could pull through remained unknown!

And in this era, there was no way to test blood types. It was far too late to arrange an emergency transfusion.

"Cough, cough! Cough, cough!"

Just as Yamabuki Chidori was burning with anxiety, the girl suddenly began coughing violently. She spat out two mouthfuls of bloody foam and weakly opened her eyes.

The burden hanging over Yamabuki Chidori's heart finally lifted.

He immediately took off his outer robe and draped it over the girl, then carried her and used Flash Step to race toward Seireitei.

The four boys followed closely behind.

Yamabuki Chidori burst into Tenjirō Kirinji's home carrying the blood-covered girl. Tenjirō Kirinji had already learned the general situation from Hachisato. He had prepared a barrel of hot spring water, had the girl soak in it, and added all kinds of medicinal ingredients.

After the two of them spared no effort in treating her, the girl finally regained full consciousness at around three in the morning.

Because her wound had healed, she did not feel any pain. She simply had no strength left in her body and lay there lazily, not wanting to move.

She wore only a very thin white shirt as she soaked in the warm water. Once the white shirt got wet, it was practically no different from wearing nothing.

"You're awake?" Yamabuki Chidori had been watching over the girl the entire time. Seeing her awaken and knowing she had completely escaped danger, he was finally relieved.

The girl looked blank. Only after a long while did she remember what had happened. A Hollow had apparently attacked her and pierced through her chest. She had not expected to survive something like that!

She wanted to reach out and touch the wound on her chest, but she did not have even a trace of strength.

"Don't move. You lost too much blood and need time to recuperate. I'm giving you leave. Return to the unit after you recover." Yamabuki Chidori said, "Learn from this experience. Let's see if you dare underestimate the enemy and act carelessly again!"

The girl nodded with difficulty.

Yamabuki Chidori bent down and lifted the girl from the water. Only then did she notice that she was nearly naked, and her face flushed red with embarrassment.

"You're embarrassed already? When I gave you emergency treatment, I tore your clothes right open. I didn't expect that, despite your young age, you were so well-developed!" Yamabuki Chidori joked, hoping the girl would not be left with any psychological trauma.

Hearing her instructor say that, the girl's face turned even redder.

"Hanako, please take care of her. I'm going to rest first." Yamabuki Chidori was exhausted in both body and mind. Now that the girl was finally out of danger, he could sleep peacefully.

"By the way, I still don't know your name." Yamabuki Chidori asked.

The girl said shyly, "My name is Katoru Chimu, Instructor... I-I'll repay you someday."

Yamabuki Chidori's heart jolted. Katoru?

That was quite a rare surname!

When people had signed up before, he had been so busy he had not paid attention to the trainees' names at all.

"Is there someone in your family named Katoru Hatsunoya?" Yamabuki Chidori asked.

Chimu looked astonished. "Instructor, how do you know my sister's name?"

Your sister?

The first-generation captain of the Gotei 13's 8th Division was your sister?

Yamabuki Chidori recalled Katoru Hatsunoya's appearance. Judging from the outside, she truly did seem like a quiet, refined young lady.

So she came from nobility, and high-ranking nobility at that.

Both were noble-born young ladies, so why were some gentle and elegant while others were like wildcats?

As for exactly who he meant, there was no need to name names here.

But when the Gotei 13 had recruited members, why had Katoru Hatsunoya not come?

Based on intelligence from a thousand years later, although Katoru Hatsunoya usually looked like a quiet young lady, her boldness when cutting people down was no less than Hanako's. One swing, one victim!

Could there be some hidden reason behind this?

It seemed he would have to make a trip himself.

"How about this? To keep you from having any more accidents, I'll personally take you home tomorrow," Yamabuki Chidori said.

The old man's interest was not in the wine. Rumor had it that Katoru Hatsunoya was huge—no... that she was very strong. As the Gotei 13's Chief Strategist, how could he pass up a chance to recruit talent?

If he recruited her into the unit, he could look at balls every day—no, ahem, spar every day. It would be relaxing and good for both body and mind!

It was decided!

Katoru Hatsunoya

The next day.

When Yamabuki Chidori took Chimu home, he specially arranged a carriage. Chimu had lost too much blood and needed to recuperate slowly. She had no strength to walk at all.

It would be rather embarrassing if he carried her on his back.

Of course, Chimu was the one who would be embarrassed.

Yamabuki Chidori could grit his teeth and endure a little hardship and exhaustion for the sake of protecting his trainee.

In the end, Yamabuki Chidori had Chimu sit in the carriage behind him while he drove them to the Katori Family.