What walls were there now? You could see straight inside. Now and then, squads of armed guards patrolled the grounds. According to Yamamoto, they were noble families' guards, there to keep the nobles safe.
Of course, not all nobles were equal. The Five Noble Clans lived at the very center of Seireitei, while those of lower rank lived farther out. If a riot broke out, the Low-Ranking Nobles had to risk their lives protecting the High-Ranking Nobles, or they would lose their noble status.
Yamabuki Chidori looked at the bustling Seireitei, then back at Rukongai, which resembled a refugee camp. He gave a cold laugh.
Knowing the story as he did, he knew exactly what those nobles were like. They were all scum.
Well, he couldn't condemn every last one of them. By "scum," he mainly meant the Tsunayashiro Clan.
The other noble families, at least, had produced a few remarkable people.
Byakuya of the Kuchiki Clan, for instance.
Yoruichi of the Shihōin Clan.
Ichigo Shiba.
But the Tsunayashiro Clan? Scum through and through. They might not be frightening, but they were disgusting!
"Can we just walk in? Won't they draw their swords and cut us down?" Yamabuki Chidori asked.
"What are you afraid of when I'm here? Come on!" Yamamoto led Yamabuki Chidori straight in without a care.
They hadn't taken ten steps before someone blocked their way.
"What are you doing? Stop! You Rukongai scum think you can enter Seireitei? Get lost, or we'll chop you up!" shouted a noble's guard, drawing his sword.
Yamamoto said calmly, "Yamabuki, as the boss, I can't handle everything myself. I'll leave this to you. Go!"
Huh???
Yamabuki Chidori stared at him in utter confusion. So your plan was to fight our way in? And you expect me to do the fighting? Am I really going to be all right following this boss? If it weren't for my retirement plans, I'd run right now!
Still, with my current strength, these small fry shouldn't be a problem, right?
Yamabuki Chidori stepped forward, and his Reiatsu burst out!
Reiatsu. It all came down to Reiatsu!
A Soul Reaper with low Reiatsu felt crushing pressure in the presence of one with high Reiatsu, just like an ordinary pirate facing Conqueror's Haki!
Old Man Yamamoto could incapacitate a Lieutenant-level Soul Reaper without lifting a finger. To an ordinary squad member, a lieutenant was already an unreachable peak!
So when Yamabuki Chidori unleashed his Lieutenant-level Reiatsu, the ordinary guards dropped in a heap!
Yamamoto nodded, thoroughly satisfied. Now that was how a boss ought to do things. If I had no underlings and had to handle everything myself, how would anyone appreciate my stature?
But although Yamabuki Chidori had taken down one squad, another soon arrived. These guards existed to protect the nobles. If anything happened to their noble masters, they would be held responsible. At best, they would lose their jobs; at worst, their lives!
"More of them keep coming. Should we run?" Yamabuki Chidori was getting nervous. The Gotei 13 might not exist yet, but Soul Society surely had no shortage of monsters. How else had the First Gotei 13 defeated Yhwach?
The system a thousand years ago was less developed than it would be later. There were no distinctions like Captain-level or Lieutenant-level. But if a real powerhouse showed up, Yamabuki Chidori knew he wouldn't stand a chance.
As he worried, Yamabuki Chidori spotted a man standing atop the tallest building in the distance. He had dark skin and white hair, and he was watching Yamabuki Chidori with a cheerful smile. Before Yamabuki Chidori could react, the man vanished and appeared in front of him.
So fast! Yamabuki Chidori's pupils contracted.
He had learned Flash Step himself, but compared with this man, his movements were like a child crawling!
"Yamamoto! It's been ages!" The dark-skinned man greeted Yamamoto with obvious delight.
At the sight of him, the surrounding guards looked terrified. They dropped respectfully to one knee, none daring to overstep.
"You don't have to summon me this way every time you visit! It gives me a headache too!" the man said with a grin.
"What about the matter we discussed last time?" Yamamoto asked.
"Joining that Gotei 13 you're founding? That's a tough one. You know, I am the head of one of the Five Noble Clans. Joining an organization of killers..." The man smiled. "Let's not get into that yet. Have you eaten? We can talk over a meal!"
Yamabuki Chidori grew even more astonished. The head of one of the Five Noble Clans? With that skin tone, could he be from the Shihōin Clan?
After all, that complexion ran in the family!
Yoruichi was one of the rare dark-skinned beauties in anime.
Yamamoto led Yamabuki Chidori into Seireitei without a care, all the way to the estate of the Shihōin Clan, one of the Five Noble Clans.
And this dark-skinned man was the clan's current head, Shunshun Shidō.
Yamabuki Chidori remembered the name. Shunshun Shidō was the first Second Division Captain of the Gotei 13.
Shunshun Shidō brought them straight to the main hall, where he had a lavish meal prepared for them.
At the sight of a table piled with poultry, fish, meat, and fresh seafood, Yamabuki Chidori nearly drooled. He had eaten so poorly these past few days. But he had just eaten two sweet potatoes, and his stomach was packed full. He couldn't manage another bite!
Suddenly, Yamabuki Chidori stared at Yamamoto. The old man didn't do that on purpose, did he? He knew we were about to have a feast, so he stuffed me with two roasted sweet potatoes. Now I won't compete with him for food!
Sure enough, Shunshun Shidō and Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto drank and ate to their hearts' content, having a wonderful time!
Between bites of meat, Yamamoto glanced at Yamabuki Chidori. "Yamabuki, there's no need to be so reserved just because we're at the home of one of the Five Noble Clans. Eat and drink whatever you like. Make yourself at home!"
He knew exactly where to twist the knife!
Yamabuki Chidori smiled at his captain, while the tears he couldn't hold back streamed from his mouth.
Though Shunshun Shidō was the head of one of the Five Noble Clans, he looked more like a carefree young wastrel. He lounged on the tatami without the slightest concern for etiquette, doing whatever he pleased.
"Now, where were we? You invited me to join the Gotei 13? I gave it some serious thought. As the head of one of the Five Noble Clans, joining the Gotei 13... actually sounds pretty fun! I like the number two. Save the Second Division Captain's post for me." Shunshun Shidō grinned.
Just as I thought—a nobleman who doesn't stand on ceremony!
He's only doing it for fun!
With that, the Gotei 13's membership had grown by another third. What wonderful news!
"But I have one condition." Shunshun Shidō changed tack. "I want to bring someone into the Gotei 13 with me."
Yamamoto frowned slightly. The Gotei 13 was no playground for nobles. If he let people be brought in so casually, managing them later would be difficult.
"Don't worry! She's definitely crazy enough, and definitely strong enough. I'll call her in right now. Saitō, come in!" Shunshun Shidō called toward the door.
"She's a servant of mine. I picked her up outside not long ago..." Before Shunshun Shidō could finish, a figure shot in from outside, grabbed his head, slammed it into the floor, and ground it against the tatami!
"You dare call me your servant? Are you tired of living?"
The voice belonged to a girl.
Yamabuki Chidori looked closely. She was short, with dark pink hair tied in twin tails, an eyepatch, and a Zanpakuto at her waist!
That appearance... and that strength...
Yamabuki Chidori knew who she was.
The First Gotei 13's Sixth Division Captain, Saitō Fubōfu!
Why on earth had a girl been given a name like that?
"You dare say I'm your servant? You're my servant! Don't drag me into some weird organization without asking! Who are these two, anyway? Why do they get to sit here and eat?" Saitō dropped into a seat across from Yamamoto and stared at him.
Yamabuki Chidori was quietly amazed. This visit had been quite a haul: two Captain-level figures in one go.
Yamamoto remained perfectly calm. He liked troublemakers best! Mediocre people didn't have the nerve to cause trouble. It took real ability to be this arrogant, and he liked the girl's attitude!
"Then tell me," Yamamoto asked, "what would qualify me to sit here and eat?"
"Fight me! Beat me, and you can do whatever you want. I wouldn't even mind becoming your slave!" Saitō leaned her face toward Yamamoto with a crazed look until they were almost touching. "Have you got the guts?"
Yamamoto glanced sideways at Yamabuki Chidori. Yamabuki Chidori sat like a schoolboy waiting for the teacher to call on him, eyes lowered. Don't pick me. Please don't pick me. I can't beat her.
The system's beginner gift had given Yamabuki Chidori Lieutenant-level Reiatsu. But Saitō Fubōfu was one of the First Generation Captains of the Gotei 13 and a comrade of Old Man Yamamoto. Conservatively, she had to be Captain-level. The old man isn't going to throw me out there as cannon fodder, is he?
"Yamabuki, keep her entertained for a while," Yamamoto said.
Damn it!!!
Yamabuki Chidori looked as though he had seen a ghost. Old man, are you serious?
Yamamoto sat up straight, showing no sign that he was joking. Saitō studied Yamabuki Chidori with interest.
"Can this beanpole really do it?"
"Hmph. You haven't tried me, so how would you know I'm a beanpole?" Yamabuki Chidori bristled. Was she trying to insult me? What man would let someone call him a beanpole?
Saitō didn't understand what he meant. The expressions on Shunshun Shidō's and Yamamoto's faces turned peculiar. The brat had actually slipped a dirty joke in!
Yamamoto coughed lightly and pulled an incense stick from his clothes. "Since you believe you're so much stronger than this young man, let's set the limit at one stick of incense. If you can't beat him before it burns out, you'll join our Gotei 13 without complaint."
Saitō loved this sort of excitement. "And if I beat him before it burns out?"
"Then I'll give you the boy as a slave!"
"Huh???" Yamabuki Chidori stared at Yamamoto in terrified disbelief. Did you ask for my consent?
"Deal!" The wager immediately fired Saitō Fubōfu up. She planted a foot on the dining table and gripped the Zanpakuto at her waist. "I don't need a whole stick of incense to handle him. Three seconds will do!"
The moment she finished speaking, Saitō drew her blade. Its flash tore straight through the dining table and the doors. Fortunately, Yamabuki Chidori had been ready. He drew his sword as she attacked, and their blades clashed. He could immediately feel that she was stronger. Her strike blasted him out of the hall, and he landed lightly on the ground.
Shunshun Shidō waved dust away with one hand and followed Yamamoto out of the hall, grinning.
"Keep it up, Saitō! The incense is already burning!" Shunshun Shidō said with a laugh.
Yamabuki Chidori edged backward, his face grim. The gap between Lieutenant-level and Captain-level was enormous!
When Kurosaki Ichigo had gone to rescue Rukia Kuchiki, he had instantly defeated three lieutenants at the execution grounds, even though he had only just reached Captain-level.
Even after Renji Abarai learned Bankai, he was still no match for Kuchiki Byakuya.
The difference in strength between a captain and a lieutenant was an unbridgeable chasm.
How could I possibly hold her off for an entire stick of incense?
The old man's going to get me killed!
I take it back. I don't care about retiring anymore. Is it too late to quit the Gotei 13?
Saitō clearly had no intention of giving him the chance. She brought her sword down at his head!
Her speed and strength were far beyond Yamabuki Chidori's current abilities.
Yamabuki Chidori used Flash Step to retreat. Saitō's blade struck the ground with the force of a high-explosive bomb, blasting it apart and sending a shock wave full of shattered stone in every direction!
Is she even human? Yamabuki Chidori's face contorted. Aside from his Lieutenant-level Reiatsu, the only skills he had were Swordsmanship Mastery and Flash Step.
But everyone knew a Soul Reaper's four fundamentals—Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Hohō, and Kidō—all depended on Reiatsu. Without his monstrous Reiatsu, how could Kenpachi Zaraki have become captain of the 11th Division with nothing but an unawakened sword?
And that bastard system of mine gave me one beginner gift, then vanished without a trace. Brilliant work. How am I supposed to fight this madwoman?
Saitō charged again with a wild grin. Yamabuki Chidori hurriedly used Flash Step to leap onto a wall, then shouted at Yamamoto and Shunshun Shidō, "Do either of you know Kidō? Can you teach me some right now?"
Shunshun Shidō nearly burst out laughing. A last-minute lesson might help in theory, but wasn't this a little too late?
Yamamoto, however, asked calmly, "What do you want to learn? I'm quite proficient in Kidō!"
Yamabuki Chidori rapidly ran through every Kidō spell he knew of. Before he could answer, Saitō charged over with Flash Step. He couldn't dodge this time and had to meet her blade with his own. Their swords collided, and Saitō's monstrous strength sent him flying. He wasn't hurt, though, and after tumbling through the air several times, he landed steadily.
Before he could regain his balance, Saitō charged again.
"You're leaping around like a monkey! Can't you face me head-on like a man?" Saitō roared.
Yamabuki Chidori could only retreat quickly, staying clear of her blade.
"Does either of you know Sekienton?" Ignoring Saitō's taunt, Yamabuki Chidori shouted at Yamamoto.
Saitō approached with her sword in hand, her face full of disdain. "You think learning one low-level Kidō spell will let you beat me?"
"Could you at least wait until I've learned it?"
"I'm not falling for that! Die!"
Yamamoto loosened up his shoulders. "I'll use it once. Watch carefully!"
Hey, hey, hey! How am I supposed to watch carefully right now? If I get distracted for even a second, this madwoman will cut me in half!
Could you please teach me properly?
"Bakudō #21: Sekienton!" Yamamoto called.
Red smoke instantly rose from beneath his feet. It was a low-level Bakudo used mainly to block an enemy's vision and had no real offensive power.
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