In Soul Society, All I Want Is to Coast Until Retirement

"Good, that makes things easier. How about we talk face-to-face?" Yamabuki Chidori asked tentatively.

"There's nothing for us to talk about. You just want to know my name again, you filthy pervert!" The Blade Spirit's haughty voice rang out in Yamabuki Chidori's mind.

"Come on, men being perverts is perfectly normal! Especially when they're being perverts with themselves?" Yamabuki Chidori said with a grin. As long as she was willing to talk to him, he could use his silver tongue to pry her name out of the little girl.

The next second, Yamabuki Chidori was pulled into his inner world. Everything between heaven and earth was transparent, stretching endlessly toward a distant shore. Above his head, a massive Rubik's Cube rotated irregularly, and the Blade Spirit sat atop it, watching him coldly.

"Didn't you call me out because you had something to say? You can say it now!" The Blade Spirit crossed her long legs wrapped in White Stockings and looked down at Yamabuki Chidori arrogantly.

Yamabuki Chidori asked gravely, "Your skirt is so short. Are you wearing panties underneath? Won't you flash someone sitting like that? And you're sitting so high up..."

Before he could finish, the Blade Spirit kicked him square in the face. With his Lieutenant-level combat ability, Yamabuki Chidori clearly saw that she was indeed wearing panties. White ones, at that.

"You bastard, you called me out just to say something like that?" The Blade Spirit viciously ground her stockinged foot against Yamabuki Chidori's face.

"Don't be angry! My body can't handle you rewarding me this way. Let's start with the basics. Tell me, what's your name?" Yamabuki Chidori asked.

The Blade Spirit snorted coldly and suddenly drew the silver Saber from her waist. "You want to know my name? Fine! Entertain me! If you can satisfy me, it's not impossible for this young lady to tell you my name."

Yamabuki Chidori saw there was hope and hurriedly drew his sword, staring at the Blade Spirit.

"You'd better be careful! Life and death can be decided in an instant!" A mocking smile appeared on the Blade Spirit's face. She lightly swung her sword, then sheathed it.

"Huh? What are you doing? Hurry up and come fight me!" Yamabuki Chidori asked curiously.

"Fight? What nonsense are you dreaming about? You're already dead!" The Blade Spirit pointed at Yamabuki Chidori's stomach with a pale, slender finger. He looked down and saw that his abdomen had somehow been sliced open, blood pouring out without stop.

Yamabuki Chidori's pupils contracted sharply. When had that happened? Had she inflicted this wound in the instant she drew her blade? He hadn't felt a thing! So he had guessed correctly—his Zanpakuto's ability was related to speed.

The agonizing pain made him clutch his stomach as he hurriedly used Kido to heal himself. In the blink of an eye, the wound closed. This time, he gave the Blade Spirit no chance at all. He used Flash Step to close in, thrusting his sword at her chest. His swordsmanship maximized its power through the speed of Flash Step, and he had recently learned two-handed swordsmanship, doubling its might.

Just as his blade touched the skin of the Blade Spirit's chest, she suddenly vanished and appeared where he had been standing moments earlier.

Cold sweat slowly beaded on Yamabuki Chidori's forehead. That speed wasn't normal, was it? He didn't dare call himself a master of Flash Step, but even Shunshun Shidō, currently the fastest Flash Step user in the Seireitei, could not possibly move so silently and seamlessly.

"So slow! You skinny little mutt, can you even do it?" The Blade Spirit gently patted Yamabuki Chidori's shoulder. He hurriedly turned and slashed upward, only to miss again.

"Kidō #61: Binding, Six Rods Prison of Light!" Yamabuki Chidori instantly cast Kido. He had learned quite a few practical Kido spells on his own, but he had never expected his first real battle use of one to be against his own Zanpakuto. Six blades of light instantly pinned the Blade Spirit in place, but she cast the same Bakudo as well.

"Six Rods Prison of Light!"

Six blades of light pinned Yamabuki Chidori's body in place as well.

"I forgot to tell you. Anything you can do, I can do too." The Blade Spirit shattered the light blades with her Saber and looked at Yamabuki Chidori smugly.

Yamabuki Chidori also took the chance to break free of the Six Rods Prison of Light. What a joke—he was the Child of Destiny. "Hado #88, Dragon of Thunder!"

"Bakudo #81, Splitting Void!"

The golden-blue beam crashed into an invisible barrier, Reiatsu scattering in every direction.

"Oh, right. Haven't you always wanted to see this young lady's ability? Fine, I'll use it once. Just once. Whether you can master it depends entirely on yourself. If you survive this slash, I'll tell you my name." The Blade Spirit returned her sword to its sheath and assumed a drawing stance.

Yamabuki Chidori grinned savagely. "Your words, not mine!"

One slash. Just one slash. His current strength was already close to Captain-class. Blocking a single slash should not be a problem.

His Zanpakuto was finally going to be released!

The Blade Spirit smiled enchantingly. "Goodbye, my pitiful master!"

Her blade flashed!

Cleaning Up Rukon District

Yamabuki Chidori woke from meditation and clutched his neck in terror!

One slash! He hadn't even managed to block one slash! Most importantly, his ability was not speed-based at all. It was...

No wonder the Blade Spirit had refused to tell him her name. With only Lieutenant-level Reiatsu, he simply could not control that sword.

"Brother Yamabuki, what's wrong? You look awful! Should I get a doctor?" Sashō Chōjirō asked.

"I'm fine. I communicated with my Blade Spirit just now, then she slashed me! That damned girl!" Yamabuki Chidori wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Sure enough, all that flashy nonsense was useless. Increasing his Reiatsu was the true path.

Slashed by his own Blade Spirit? Sashō Chōjirō's expression was quite something. He really wanted to know what kind of stories Brother Yamabuki had with his Blade Spirit.

"Why are you back so early?" Yamabuki Chidori suddenly remembered. At this hour, shouldn't Sashō Chōjirō have been training at the dojo? Had those people been slacking off?

"Brother Yamabuki? Did you forget? We're going to patrol Rukon District this afternoon. Didn't you say before that you wanted to clean up Rukon District's public security?" Sashō Chōjirō asked.

Right, he had said something like that. He had forgotten all about it.

"Fine. Go get ready. We'll head out together in a little while," Yamabuki Chidori said.

Rukon District had always been a chaotic place. Those who died in the Human World would come to live in Rukon District. All sorts of people gathered there, a tangled mess of good and bad. The areas near the Seireitei had some semblance of order, but the farther one went from the Seireitei, the worse things became.

Especially those thugs who thought they had some skill. Robbery and home invasion were commonplace.

Yamabuki Chidori had planned to improve Rukon District's public security for a long time, but he had always lacked manpower.

For now, he could only take a few trainees out to intimidate them and make those loafers cause fewer problems. After all, future Shinigami would still be selected from Rukon District.

Half an hour later, Yamabuki Chidori arrived at the dojo. Aside from himself and Sashō Chōjirō, there were three others, all new recruits.

"Today, we won't be doing combat practice. I'm taking you out on patrol. Once you become official Shinigami, you'll not only protect the Seireitei, but also be responsible for Rukon District's public security. I'm taking you to get a feel for it today," Yamabuki Chidori said.

With that, the five of them headed straight for Gomukui District, the most chaotic district in eastern Rukon District.

If the previous districts still had some law and order, this one was no different from a bandit den. Everyone carried a blade, and people drew swords and hacked each other down at the slightest disagreement. A conflict between two sides might begin with nothing more than a glance, or the attacker might simply dislike the look of someone's face.

Most of the first Shinigami to join the Gotei 13 had been nobles. When had they ever seen such chaos?

When the three new trainees saw bones scattered across the ground, their stomachs churned.

"You can't handle this already? How are you supposed to go to war in the future?" Yamabuki Chidori was actually having a hard time with it too, but he had no choice. He had to show off in front of the new recruits. He had to hold it together! He absolutely could not show a disgusted expression.

Yet after they had only walked a few steps, the five of them were stopped by thugs.

"Kid, hand over all the food you have. And your swords aren't bad either, so leave those behind." A burly warrior grinned. "And this little runt—we'll boil him later. Even crushed bones can be sold as rice!"

Sashō Chōjirō saw the vicious-looking brute glaring at him and shrank behind Yamabuki Chidori in fright.

Only for Yamabuki Chidori to shove him out with a slap. "What are you scared of? Go beat him up! If you lose, just wait and see how I deal with you when we get back!"

Sashō Chōjirō was still only twelve or thirteen, like a bean sprout compared to this thug.

"Brother Yamabuki..."

Yamabuki Chidori directly ignored Sashō Chōjirō's plea.

Seeing some excitement, the idle thugs by the roadside formed a circle and began placing bets on how many moves Sashō Chōjirō could last against the warrior.

Sashō Chōjirō turned around and discovered that Yamabuki Chidori was the one running the betting pool.

"Brother Yamabuki... I used to think your unreliability was just my imagination. I didn't expect you to really were this unreliable! I'm about to get chopped to death, and you're over there opening a betting pool!" Sashō Chōjirō trembled.

The three new recruits also wore strange expressions.

Yamabuki Chidori said indifferently, "Small bets are good for the mood, big bets ruin your health. Place your bets, ladies and gentlemen."

"I bet five moves."

"I bet three!"

"You've got a sword, kid. You should have some skill, right? I bet ten moves."

These thugs did nothing but eat, kill, and gamble all day, and they bet their entire fortunes.

Yamabuki Chidori placed a bet as well.

"I bet one move. My little brother will crush that guy in one move!" Yamabuki Chidori took out a money pouch and tossed it down.

The surrounding thugs burst into laughter. Was something wrong with this man's head? That bean sprout? Crush the other side in one move?

Sashō Chōjirō wanted to cry but had no tears. Brother Yamabuki, aren't you placing far too much faith in me?

"Chōjirō!" Yamabuki Chidori wore a warm smile like a spring breeze. "If you make me lose money... I'll kill you tonight when we get back!"

Sashō Chōjirō could only draw his Zanpakuto.

"You little brat, watch my drawing slash!"

"Pierce through, Genryūmaru!"

Lightning flashed, and then the two figures passed each other.

Sashō Chōjirō panted heavily as he turned around stiffly. The vicious warrior's throat had been pierced through by a sword, blood gushing out.

The onlookers around them were dumbfounded.

What had just happened? They had not even seen the exchange!

Yamabuki Chidori unceremoniously gathered up the money from the ground.

Spiritual Power Level Fourteen made dealing with these lowlifes far too easy, and he had even made a fortune on the side!

Yamabuki Chidori opened his money pouch and poured out a pile of soybeans. Then, with an apologetic expression, he said to the surrounding thugs, "Oh dear, I'm terribly sorry. I took the wrong pouch just now. It turns out I forgot to bring money when I left home."

Damn it! He had scammed them out of their money without putting up a single coin!

The thugs erupted in outrage and drew their swords.

"You want to play rough? Rough is my favorite kind of game! Get them!" Yamabuki Chidori gave the order to his three trainees, and a brawl immediately broke out.

The trainees had undergone grueling training, so dealing with these thugs was easy. In no time at all, they had knocked down a large group of people.

The remaining thugs saw that things were going badly and turned to run.

Yamabuki Chidori did not pursue them. Instead, he continued leading the group toward Kusakashi District, planning to use the same method to swindle people.

By then, the trainees had begun to vaguely feel that their instructor might not be very reliable.

A Mountain of Corpses and a Sea of Blood

After winning, Sashō Chōjirō ran over excitedly. "Brother Yamabuki, I didn't know I was already this strong!"

"You call beating one little thug impressive? Young man, set your sights farther ahead." Yamabuki Chidori led his four trainees to Kusakashi District.

But the moment they entered the district, all the surrounding noise seemed to vanish. The entire district was deathly silent.

A few crows cawed in the distance, their cries especially piercing.

The four newcomers had yet to realize what was happening when Yamabuki Chidori barked in a low voice, "Everyone, stay alert. Something's wrong."

Kusakashi District was also an extremely chaotic district.

Getting those thugs to quiet down on their own was harder than silencing a marketplace. Yet now, the entire district was devoid of sound. There was only the cold wind and the cries of crows overhead.

Where had everyone in this district gone?

Could they have all been eaten by Hollows?

Yamabuki Chidori immediately drew his sword, his face full of vigilance.

The four trainees did not know what was happening, but seeing their instructor on guard, they too drew their Zanpakuto.

"Brother Yamabuki... what happened?" Sashō Chōjirō asked cautiously.

Yamabuki Chidori lightly pressed a finger to his lips, telling them not to speak. Then he looked up and noticed that several crows in the sky were flying in the same direction.

"Follow the crows," Yamabuki Chidori said quietly.

The five followed the crows all the way to the border of Kusakashi District. When they saw the scene before them, they nearly stopped breathing in terror.

Corpses!

Corpses filled the land as far as the eye could see!

This was not merely dozens or hundreds of bodies.

Everywhere they looked were corpses, piled into a towering mountain.

Sashō Chōjirō could no longer hold it in and vomited up his lunch. The other three trainees did not look much better.

But Yamabuki Chidori noticed even more.

Among the corpses were not only residents of Rukon District, but also Hollows. He even spotted Menos Grande and Adjuchas among them.

Judging from the wounds on the Hollows' bodies, they had been killed in one strike during direct confrontations.

The residents of Rukon District had also all been killed in one blow. Looking at the sword wounds on their bodies, cold sweat trickled down Yamabuki Chidori's forehead. What a fast blade.