The two hit it off and immediately got to work.
The Katori Family was a major clan, and it moved fast.
Before long, they found a storefront in eastern Seireitei. The building was ready to use and needed only minor renovations. Finding a site for the workshop was harder, but they eventually secured a secluded plot on the far eastern edge, near Rukongai.
The Katori Family could handle hiring workers and putting up the buildings.
After ten days of work, Yamabuki Chidori's store finally opened.
Quality products alone would not be enough. The store needed publicity, too, and Yamabuki Chidori had the perfect poster girl in mind.
"You want me to stand outside your store wearing this stuff and draw in customers? Just stab me to death instead!" Saitō Fubōfu handed him her sword, looking utterly defeated.
I'm the Captain of the Gotei 13's Sixth Division, and you want me to be a poster girl? What about my dignity?
"Ah, forget it! Some people just can't stand losing. I'll ask Katoru Hatsunoya instead. She has a better figure, she's prettier, and she's gentler..." Yamabuki Chidori said with a sigh.
"Hold it right there! Who says her figure is— Ahem. Fine, I admit her figure's better than mine. But she's not necessarily prettier or gentler. If she can do it, why can't I? Give me the outfit!" Saitō Fubōfu had always favored a wild look. Now she was going to wear a maid outfit and play poster girl. Just thinking about it was a thrill!
"Let's agree on a time limit. I can't stay there forever," Saitō Fubōfu said.
"Thirty days, then. Work thirty days and you're free! How's that? Fair enough, right?"
"Fine! Thirty days it is!" Saitō Fubōfu gritted her teeth and changed into the outfit. Unexpectedly, she looked rather cute!
And so, amid all the bustle, Yamabuki Chidori's store finally opened.
The result was predictable: business boomed on the first day. Whether everyone had come to buy something hardly mattered. The store drew a huge crowd, and within a day, all of Seireitei knew a different sort of apparel store had opened there.
The Ultimate Poster Girl, Saitō Fubōfu
People needed a way to unwind.
Entertainment was the best way to do it.
But a thousand years ago, even nobles had few ways to amuse themselves. Walking birds, playing with dogs, or lying around in a daze might have been their best options. So they came to the Yamabuki Apparel Store to see what the fuss was about.
In an instant, it was as though a whole new world had opened before them.
Standing there to greet customers with a stiff smile was none other than Saitō Fubōfu, dressed as a maid in white stockings!
"Captain Saito? What are you doing here? Did you get a part-time job?" asked one Gotei 13 member who clearly had a death wish.
"You've got the wrong person! I'm not Saito!" Saitō Fubōfu was about to die of embarrassment. One of her own subordinates had recognized her. There was only one solution: silence the witness!
"No roughing up the customers, Captain Saitō Fubōfu!" Yamabuki Chidori called from the side, plainly enjoying himself.
Crack!
What was that sound of something shattering?
Just a young woman's composure. Nothing to worry about.
"It really is you, Captain! Why are you dressed like this? You're so cute! You look nothing like your usual scary self!" The member, still oblivious to the danger, even tugged at Saito's skirt.
Saito fought down the urge to kill her subordinate and smiled a smile that could make an evil spirit cry. "Say one more word, and you won't live to see tomorrow."
"..."
The young nobles had not come just to watch the spectacle. Their spending power was astonishing, too. They cleared out the entire stock in barely an hour, largely because Saito looked so adorable.
Some young women liked the outfits and bought one for themselves.
Some men bought one for their wives.
Katoru Hatsunoya smiled until her eyes curved into crescents. The better business was, the more her family earned.
Yamabuki Chidori had also earned his first real money through his own efforts. He was so excited when they divided the profits that evening, he could have woken up laughing from a dream.
Still, his main job was serving as the Gotei 13's Chief Strategist. He could not lose sight of his priorities. Making money was not his ultimate goal.
He left the store's day-to-day management entirely to Shūtara Senjumaru and carried on going to work and coming home as usual.
Speaking of home, he was still staying with the Shihōin Clan.
It was time to buy a place of his own.
The next day, Yamabuki Chidori took the money he had earned and set out to buy himself a small house.
As luck would have it, he ran into Tsunayashiro Fūka.
"Buying a house? Chief Strategist, you should've told me! I have a few lovely courtyards. Take one and live there for now. If something better comes along, I'll find you a new place." Tsunayashiro Fūka opened with a tempting offer.
Yamabuki Chidori politely declined.
No matter how large or small the gift, accepting it would leave him owing a favor. If Tsunayashiro Fūka later asked him to do something, it would be hard to refuse.
Money he had earned himself was much easier to spend.
In the end, he bought a modest courtyard house on the edge of the noble district.
It was spring, and tender green grass covered the ground. A cherry tree bloomed brilliantly in the courtyard. Before long, he might even hear cicadas. Now that he had a home, he had truly put down roots in this world.
And now... it was time to put his plan into motion.
That night, Yamabuki Chidori began digging. He went more than a hundred meters down, reinforced the tunnel, and started carving out a vast underground training ground.
Some of his abilities could not be seen by outsiders. He had to train them in secret.
Fortunately, his control over Reishi was exceptional. In just a few days, he opened up a huge space underground, with plenty of room to do as he pleased.
And tonight was dark and windy—the perfect time to make his move.
Dressed in black, Yamabuki Chidori slipped through the night until he reached Tenjirō Kirinji's clinic.
With no patients to see, Tenjirō Kirinji had already gone to bed. Yamabuki Chidori quietly snuck into his home.
My first burglary. This is exciting! Yamabuki Chidori was there for Bone Hell and Blood Pool Hell, of course. Inventing something from scratch might be difficult for him, but copying it? Please. He was practically born to copy.
All he needed was a little water from each spring. He would soon be able to analyze their composition and reproduce them perfectly.
Kirinji, I'm sorry. I swear on my biceps I'll never share the secret recipe. I won't tell a third person. You have to believe me!
Crash!
As Yamabuki Chidori thought this, he accidentally kicked a medicine jar. It fell to the floor and shattered.
"Who's there?" Delia called.
It was Yamabuki Chidori's first burglary, and he had no experience. He looked for somewhere to hide, but the room was bare. In the end, he could only climb onto a ceiling beam.
Delia arrived just then, holding an oil lamp and looking around in confusion. "Nobody's here. Huh? Why is the window open? I remember closing it before bed!"
Still puzzled, Delia muttered to herself as she shut the window. She checked it twice more before leaving.
Yamabuki Chidori breathed a sigh of relief.
He carefully climbed down from the beam. He remembered Tenjirō Kirinji pressing some sort of button to open a passage in the floor, but how was he supposed to find the button in the dark?
He crouched on the floor and pressed around at random. At last, he found an odd button. He pressed it gently, and the floor gave a piercing creak.
Perfect!
Yamabuki Chidori slipped down and found Bone Hell and Blood Pool Hell, just as he had hoped. He filled two small bottles he had brought with spring water, one from each pool, then hurried back out. But when he looked up, Tenjirō Kirinji was staring coldly at him.
"You've got some nerve, coming here to steal from me!" Tenjirō Kirinji attacked in an instant. His nickname was Swift Thunder Tianshirō, and with his formidable Reiatsu behind the assault, he immediately put Yamabuki Chidori on the back foot.
Worse, he was the one in the wrong for sneaking in to steal. To hide his identity, he could not use his Zanpakuto or reveal his Reiatsu. All he could do was throw out moves at random.
"You came for Bone Hell and Blood Pool Hell, didn't you? That's the most advanced technology around. Even if you take it, you won't be able to master it. Surrender quietly, and I'll let this go," Tenjirō Kirinji said.
I'm the Gotei 13's Chief Strategist, and I've been caught stealing! If word gets out, I'll never live it down!
Yamabuki Chidori seized an opening and ran for his life!
As long as he was not caught red-handed, he would deny everything to the bitter end!
Tenjirō Kirinji moved to block the exit and threw a punch. Yamabuki Chidori did not even try to defend himself. He would take the hit if it meant getting out the door!
Bang!!!
The Birth of the Captain's Haori and Shinigami Uniform
The punch landed squarely on Yamabuki Chidori's eye socket.
It hurt so badly that tears nearly spilled from his eyes. That bastard did it on purpose, didn't he? He went straight for my face!
But he had escaped by taking that punch to the eye. Behind him, he heard Tenjirō Kirinji shouting, "Get back here, you little brat! Don't think I don't know who you are!"
Hmph. As long as he didn't catch me red-handed, I'll deny it to the bitter end!
There aren't even any surveillance cameras in this era. What can he do to me?
When Yamabuki Chidori went to work the next day, he wore a large pair of sunglasses to hide his bruised eye.
Chōjirō Sasakibe came over, curious. "Brother Yamabuki, why are you wearing sunglasses?"
"Don't you think they look cool? Here, you can have a pair too!" Yamabuki Chidori pulled another pair from his clothes and gave it to Chōjirō Sasakibe.
"Thanks, Brother Yamabuki!" Chōjirō Sasakibe happily put them on.
But as soon as Yamabuki Chidori entered the division headquarters, he saw Tenjirō Kirinji standing there, watching him with a smile that did not reach his eyes. Feeling guilty, Yamabuki Chidori gave him an awkward smile.
"Ah, my house wasn't secure. A rat got in last night. Did you hear about it, Chief Strategist?" Tenjirō Kirinji asked icily.
"N-no."
"That rat was fast. I punched it once, and it scampered away. But never mind. Nothing was missing from my house, anyway." Tenjirō Kirinji suddenly tossed him a small bottle of medicine, which Yamabuki Chidori caught.
"What's this?"
"Medicine for bruises," Tenjirō Kirinji said flatly.
Cold sweat broke out across Yamabuki Chidori's back. "Why are you giving me bruise medicine?"
"You're the Chief Strategist, yet you're going out on assignments with a black eye. You might not mind embarrassing yourself, but the Gotei 13 does. Find somewhere private and apply it. And one more thing..." Tenjirō Kirinji paused. "The technology behind Bone Hell and Blood Pool Hell may be mature, but it must never fall into the wrong hands. Otherwise..."
"Ahem. Understood." Behind his sunglasses, Yamabuki Chidori's eyes darted away.
Fewer than ten people in the entire Gotei 13 knew about Bone Hell and Blood Pool Hell, and all of them were Captain-level. Besides Yamabuki Chidori, no one else had shown any interest in them.
Just then, the Captain Commander walked in.
Everyone obediently fell silent and waited for the Old Man to speak.
"Yamabuki told me we may face a major war in the future. We don't have nearly enough people as we are, so we need to recruit more. The first time, we recruited only from Seireitei and the nearby parts of Rukongai. This time, we'll extend our reach to all four regions and all 320 districts of the Soul Society," Yamamoto said.
The appearance of the Quincy was a serious matter. Yamamoto had already told the Captains about them, and they had begun to suspect that a brutal battle lay ahead.
"Starting tomorrow, I'm asking every Captain to travel across the Soul Society, spread the word about the Gotei 13, and recruit people along the way. As Captain Commander, I'll lead by example. Yamabuki, I'm leaving the defense of Seireitei to you for now... Hm. I'm not entirely comfortable leaving you here alone. Saitō Fubōfu, Gen'en Kinra, you two will stay and guard Seireitei as well," Yamamoto said.
In this era, three Captains working together were almost unstoppable.
"Don't worry. Leave it to us," Yamabuki Chidori said solemnly.
"Good. Get on with your work," Yamamoto said.
The Quincy's appearance had certainly put Yamamoto on guard, but it had not made him nervous. He had absolute confidence in his strength. Quincy King or not, let him stand in front of me and take one swing of my sword.
Expanding their ranks would greatly increase the resources they needed, especially Zanpakuto and clothing. Yamabuki Chidori alone was responsible for deciding these logistical matters.
That's it!
An idea flashed through Yamabuki Chidori's mind. Why not use this opportunity to standardize the Shinigami Uniform and have his store produce every outfit? It would solve the clothing problem and earn him a tidy sum!
I really am a little genius!
He immediately put the proposal to the Captain Commander!
Yamamoto had been thinking along the same lines. Standardized clothing would make the organization look more official, but he had never had the right opportunity. Now that Yamabuki Chidori had a clothing workshop of his own, they could settle the matter.
"Good. I'll leave it to you. And we won't have you take a loss on it—the nobles are paying, after all," Yamamoto said generously. It was not coming out of his own pocket, so he was happy to be generous!
Yamabuki Chidori had long since decided what the Gotei 13's uniform would look like: the famous Shinigami Uniform.
The Shinigami Uniform had almost no practical use, though. Some called it armor with barely any defensive power; others said it was a tool for gauging a Shinigami's Reiatsu.
For example, when Kurosaki Ichigo transformed into a Shinigami, the Shinigami Uniform appeared on him automatically.
The more of his outfit he lost, the more Reiatsu he had expended. For ordinary members, though, such functions were practically useless.
After returning to the workshop, he told Shūtara Senjumaru about it. She patted her chest and assured him she could handle it. No problem.
Before you continue