Chapter 268: Your Entire Division is Vice-Captain Level??
"Report! Abnormal Reiatsu detected in East Rukongai District 48!"
"Reiatsu level seven, waveform... blue!"
"It's a Hollow!"
"Patrol unit has arrived on scene!"
"Tenth Division Ninth Seat, Yamagishi Hōki, engaging in extermination!"
"Report! Extermination failed, three Shinigami severely injured, Ninth Seat Yamagishi forced to retreat!"
The Twelfth Division's Disaster Monitoring Department erupted with consecutive shouts.
Hearing the reports, a seated officer present turned pale.
Reiatsu level seven—this was no ordinary Hollow anymore.
Sending random reinforcements would likely lead to another squad annihilation!
Frowning deeply, he raised his voice:
"Quickly check! Which patrol unit is closest to the scene?"
"It must be one led by a high-ranking seated officer!"
Hearing this, several Shinigami sitting in front of the screens began typing rapidly.
A dozen seconds later, one shouted:
"Report! It's the Eleventh Division, Eighth Seat, Ichimaru Gin!"
"They're in District 46, closest to the scene!"
Ichimaru Gin?
Hearing this name, the seated officer felt as exasperated as if he'd been kicked by Komamura.
He had heard of this name.
A prodigy from Shin'ō Academy, he graduated early with perfect scores in less than a year.
After graduation, he ignored invitations from various divisions and directly joined the Eleventh Division.
Under normal circumstances, he would hold such a person in high regard.
But... when facing emergencies, these young geniuses often proved unreliable.
Many young Shinigami performed excellently during training and exams.
Yet the moment they stepped onto the battlefield, a single roar from a Hollow would make their legs go weak.
To prevent this, Shin'ō Academy arranged simulated combat for students in their fifth and sixth years.
The teachers would capture Hollows for the students to hunt.
Even so, many graduates still panicked in real combat, needlessly losing their lives.
Someone like Gin, who graduated early in under a year, definitely hadn't participated in simulated combat.
Who knew if he'd piss himself in fear when facing a Hollow?
Moreover, the Tenth Division's Ninth Seat had already been defeated. What use was an Eighth Seat going to be?
After pondering for a few seconds, the seated officer opened his mouth, preparing to ignore Gin and have his subordinates find someone else.
But before he could speak, his subordinate reported:
"Report! Ichimaru Gin's patrol team is rapidly heading to the scene!"
"What?"
The seated officer was stunned.
Gin was in District 46, yet he detected the anomaly in District 48 so quickly?
He hurriedly said: "Quick, have other nearby units rush to support!"
"Notify the Fourth Division to prepare for receiving large numbers of casualties!"
For a moment, the department became bustling.
...
...
"ROAR!!!"
The beast-like Hollow let out a piercing roar.
Some souls who couldn't run away in time were struck by this Reiatsu, their legs immediately giving way as they collapsed to the ground.
The Hollow's nose twitched, as if smelling these souls.
It spread its mouth full of pale white teeth and crawled toward one of the souls.
Such invasions frequently occurred in the Soul Society.
Compared to the Seireitei, the space in Rukongai was unstable.
Some Hollows wandering in Hueco Mundo would accidentally fall into the Dangai and emerge from Rukongai.
The closer to the borders, the more frequent these invasion incidents became.
Having one occur in the forties districts, like today, was relatively rare.
Because of this, the souls living here had no experience evading Hollows.
Watching the Hollow crawl toward her, the female soul turned pale and screamed.
"NOOOO!!!!"
She raised her arms, covering her face with her sleeves, eyes shut in despair.
The Tenth Division's Ninth Seat, Yamagishi Hōki, lay on the ground, watching this scene with shock and fury.
He desperately tried to get up, but a massive wound on his waist prevented him from doing so.
Due to his violent struggling, some intestines had spilled out.
"ROAR!!"
The Hollow opened its large mouth, leaning down to begin devouring the soul.
Suddenly, a voice came—
"Shoot to kill, Shinsō."
A silver flash cut through space, whooshing as it pierced the Hollow's head!
"?!"
Yamagishi Hōki turned his head in surprise, looking toward the direction the flash came from.
He saw a silver-haired youth standing in the distance, raising his arm while gripping a Zanpakutō.
The silver light was emanating precisely from its hilt.
As the glow faded, he finally discerned it was the youth's blade.
Despite being dozens of meters away from the Hollow, the blade effortlessly extended and pierced through the creature's skull.
Without a doubt... this was a Zanpakutō release!
Holding the hilt, the youth revealed a faint smile.
With a gentle pull backward, the blade instantly retracted, shrinking back to the length of an ordinary wakizashi.
The impaled Hollow then dissolved into black ashes, vanishing into the air.
Returning the Zanpakutō to its sheath, Gin slowly approached.
"Are you unharmed."
He smiled, looking at the woman lying on the ground.
She was stunned for a moment, then quickly nodded.
"Th-thank you for your help!"
Hearing this, Gin shook his head gently.
"No, don't thank me."
"If you wish to express gratitude, please direct it to my captain, Satoru-san."
"If it weren't for the captain, I wouldn't have become a Shinigami, let alone possess such power."
"It is precisely because of the captain that you were saved today."
"So, please sincerely thank Captain Satoru."
Seeing Gin's smiling yet serious expression, the female soul instinctively nodded.
"Y-yes... Thank you, Captain Satoru!"
Satisfied with her response, Ichimaru Gin nodded.
He walked over to Yamagishi Hōki, the Ninth Seat of the Tenth Division, who was lying on the ground.
"My, these are quite severe injuries."
Kneeling down, he examined the wound on the other's waist and sighed.
Yamagishi endured the pain: "Thank you... Are you from the Eleventh Division? That move earlier was truly impressive!"
"Mm." Gin nodded. "I am the Eighth Seat of the Eleventh Division, Ichimaru Gin. Pleased to make your acquaintance."
Ei... Eighth Seat?
Hearing Ichimaru Gin's introduction, Yamagishi couldn't help but freeze.
For a moment, he even forgot the pain in his waist.
He had been deeply shocked witnessing Gin release his Zanpakutō and instantly obliterate that powerful Hollow.
With such strength, he should undoubtedly be a high-ranking seated officer.
He wouldn't even be surprised if Gin were a vice-captain.
Yet he was only the Eighth Seat?
What was going on with the Eleventh Division? How could such a powerful individual be placed as the Eighth Seat?
Unconsciously, the image of Satoru's back flashed through his mind.
According to rumors, that Captain Satoru seemed to be an eccentric.
Although personally formidable in combat, he wasn't skilled at managing his division.
It was said that because he was poor at division management, he had even asked former colleagues from the Second Division and the vice-captain of the Fifth Division for assistance.
Previously, he had thought these rumors were somewhat absurd.
But after seeing it today, they seemed to be true...
As he pondered this, Gin's voice suddenly rang out:
"Ninth Seat Yamagishi, my captain is not acting recklessly."
"The captain selects officers after comprehensive consideration of all aspects."
"Moreover, in terms of strength alone, the seniors in our division are no less capable than I."
"The captain's choices are absolutely never wrong. Please remember that."
Feeling the sudden pressure emanating from Gin, Yamagishi couldn't help but swallow.
Good grief, he had only thought about it without speaking aloud, yet this guy had detected it?
This Ichimaru Gin was terrifying!
Before long, the Fourth Division's rescue team arrived.
Upon reaching the scene, the leader assessed the situation and immediately began treating the injured Shinigami of the Tenth Division.
A lightly wounded Shinigami, concerned, spoke up:
"Fourth Division, could you take a look at the Eleventh Division members as well?"
Hearing this, several Fourth Division members chuckled.
"Don't worry, when the Eleventh Division is led by a seated officer, they never get injured."
...
...
In fact, just as this Fourth Division member said.
In recent years, whenever an Eleventh Division seated officer was present, any incident would be resolved with ease.
Missions that previously required multiple seated officers and incurred casualties were now handled as effortlessly as eating and drinking.
Gradually, a rumor began to spread within the Gotei 13.
"All seated officers of the Eleventh Division are at vice-captain level!"
It sounded rather absurd, but considering various eyewitness accounts, it did seem somewhat credible.
As time passed, an even more outrageous claim emerged.
The high-ranking seated officers of the Eleventh Division were all striving to achieve Bankai.
Some of them might have already succeeded!
Captain Satoru was playing a grand game of chess.
Once all his subordinates mastered Bankai, that would be the day he raised the banner of rebellion against his mentor.
Then, heaven and earth would be overturned, rivers of blood would flow, and Seireitei would witness a complete changing of the guard!
"Is there any truth to this?"
In the First Division dojo, Yamamoto, bare-chested, looked at his rebellious disciple.
Satoru was similarly bare-chested, his Captain's Haori casually discarded nearby.
Initially, Yamamoto would discipline him for this disrespectful behavior.
Over time, he grew accustomed to it.
Once during sparring, Yamamoto removed his haori and nearly tossed it aside casually too.
Realizing what he almost did, the old man flew into a rage and thoroughly beat his wayward disciple.
Hearing Yamamoto's question, Satoru erupted in fury.
"Rumors! Pure rumors!"
"Master, you know exactly what the Eleventh Division was like."
"Before I took over, the Eleventh Division was completely destitute! Forget vice-captain level—we didn't even have many competent seated officers!"
"Some of the lower-ranked seated officers didn't even have tenth-class Reiatsu!"
"What could I, Satoru, possibly accomplish with such a poor squad, no matter how talented I am?"
"To be perfectly honest with you, my vice-captain still can't even achieve Shikai... sob sob, a vice-captain who can't use Shikai!"
"When my Eleventh Division has fallen to such miserable state, instead of transferring some talent to us, other divisions spread such slander about me!"
"When will the Eleventh Division ever stand up straight?"
"I'm shaking with anger and cold!"
Watching the muscular Satoru lying on the ground weeping dramatically, Yamamoto felt his blood pressure rising.
He wasn't entirely clear about the Eleventh Division's specific situation.
But he had a general idea of their overall level.
That claim about "all members being vice-captain level" wasn't exactly a joke.
Originally, he had planned to have Satoru transfer some subordinates to bolster other divisions.
But seeing his rebellious disciple throwing this tantrum, he couldn't help rolling his eyes.
How could he possibly bring it up now?
However... upon reflection, the brat did have a point.
Back when he assigned Satoru to the Eleventh Division, it was partly to keep him occupied, but mainly because the Eleventh Division truly had no capable personnel left.
From the vice-captain down to the seated officers, all were incompetent.
No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't produce a new captain.
Satoru arrived when the Eleventh Division was at its most desperate.
After all these years of effort, they had finally reached their current state.
If he intervened now to poach personnel from Satoru, what kind of message would that send?
Thinking this, Yamamoto felt both pleased and irritated.
He cracked his neck, producing several popping sounds.
"Enough nonsense, boy. Get up, training begins!"
"Let this old man see if you've neglected your training while busy with division affairs."
"If you can't satisfy me, I'll send you under the waterfall for ten years of cultivation!"
Hearing this, Satoru tilted his head.
"Um... what would count as satisfactory?"
Yamamoto chuckled.
What, was this grandson planning to adjust his strength according to the requirements?
"Who gave you such confidence? Was it Satoru's uniform factory?"
The old man grinned, half his face shrouded in shadow, revealing a bloodthirsty beast-like smile.
"Since you've said so, then go all out and let this old man see."
"Whether I'm satisfied or not is for me to decide."
"Of course, if you can directly defeat me, it would be even simpler—I'll grant you permanent satisfaction."
Satoru thought for a moment, then nodded seriously.
"I'll try."
Ho!
Yamamoto's grin widened even further.
Did you hear that? "I'll try"!
This kid really thinks he can win!
Yamamoto's hands itched with anticipation, craving to teach his disciple a lesson.
At his command, both of them moved simultaneously.
After some tentative exchanges, Yamamoto nodded slightly.
Not bad. Never mind techniques—just in terms of Reiatsu, Satoru's progress was remarkable.
Perhaps due to his growing age, his Reiatsu was increasing at a faster rate than before.
At this pace, surpassing Kyōraku and Ukitake was already a certainty.
Thinking about having picked up such a treasure, the wrinkles on Yamamoto's face relaxed somewhat.
However... it would be even better if he showed improvement in techniques too.
Currently, all the techniques this kid used were ones Yamamoto himself had taught him.
The only special ability was a unique technique achieved through his Zanpakutō.
When would the day come that this kid could stir up some real trouble on his own? That would probably be the time when this old man could finally sit back and enjoy some peace.
Just as he was thinking this, Yamamoto suddenly felt a jolt of alarm.
In an instant, he sensed an extremely dangerous aura emanating from Satoru's direction.
Double Impact?
No... this intense sense of crisis was far beyond Double Impact!
His gaze fell upon Satoru's fist.
The way it was clenched was subtly different from usual.
A strange rhythm was pulsating between the knuckles.
Could it be...?
Considering one possibility, Yamamoto's eyes lit up, revealing an excited expression.
Creeak!!
The muscles all over his body swelled, and his aura surged layer by layer!
"Kid, come at me!!"