Chapter 53: Chapter 53: One Year
Chapter 53: One Year
For a Soul Reaper, time is the most worthless commodity.
The more massive one’s Reiatsu, the slower one ages. Comrades rarely show any significant physical changes, making it incredibly easy to completely overlook the passage of time.
Nearly a year had already passed since the day Yato Uchiha was discharged from the 4th Division.
With the Expeditionary Force of the 11th Division gradually returning to the Soul Society, the Seireitei returned to a state of peace. The various Divisions carried out their respective duties, guarding the One King and the Five Noble Families.
Yato maintained the intensity of his training. While fulfilling his duties as the 3rd Seat, he would also occasionally do some dirty work for Aizen.
Facts proved that he truly had a talent for being a double agent and corporate wage slave.
Over this past year, the 1st Division had awarded Yato commendations on several occasions. Captain-Commander Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto had even unprecedentedly summoned him in person for a face-to-face commendation. Sosuke Aizen had also provided him guidance multiple times, helping to clear up his confusion regarding his training.
Yato’s various abilities steadily improved. While there was no explosive growth, he gained advantage through a continuous, steady stream of progress.
Nowadays, if he wanted to spar, looking for ordinary Seated Officers provided absolutely no training benefit; he was clearly leagues above them in strength.
Therefore, Yato would occasionally head to the Rukongai to find Zaraki and hack at each other. At the very least, his opponents were Byakuya Kuchiki or Hiyori Sarugaki, ensuring he maintained a high intensity.
On this particular evening, at the 12th Division’s open-air training grounds.
"You bastard! You ugly freak!" the blonde-haired Lieutenant with pigtails roared. She leaped into the midair, concentrated spirit particles at her feet to form a foothold, and launched a fierce dive-bomb attack.
"Chop them clean off, Kubikiri Orochi!"
The massive cleaver with its jagged edge swung down. Yato Uchiha wasn’t panicked in the slightest; a dark gleam flashed through the six-pointed star pattern of his Mangekyo Sharingan.
The skeletal arm of Susanoo manifested, firmly grabbing the blade of Kubikiri Orochi and violently slamming it downward!
Boom!
Hiyori was embedded into the rock floor of the training ground. Before she could even crawl back up, she heard the indifferent voice of her 3rd Seat:
"Hado #54: Haien."
A disc-shaped projectile of purple flame ignited Hiyori Sarugaki’s Shihakusho. Sucking in a sharp breath of cold air from the pain, she pushed off the ground with her hands, nimbly flipping out of the arena to voluntarily concede defeat.
Along the way, she also tore off the burning Shihakusho, revealing the white inner garment underneath.
"Ugly freak! Baldy!" Hiyori began cursing loudly once again.
Over this past year, every single sparring session with Yato Uchiha had ended in Hiyori Sarugaki’s defeat, leaving her covered in dirt and thoroughly humiliated.
Of course, Yato still had some bottom lines. At the very least, he hadn’t used Amaterasu to burn her; the most he did was set her Shihakusho on fire.
"Don’t be angry, Lieutenant." Yato’s eyes reverted back to black.
"Honestly, I’ve learned a lot from sparring with you."
"Oh? Like what?"
"I’ve learned how to strip off a Shihakusho quickly and steadily."
"...You... you... you!" The short-tempered blonde girl stomped her feet in rage, her lips trembling.
"Hey, don’t be mad." Yato Uchiha knew when to stop while he was ahead. No longer teasing her, he smiled brightly:
"Want to go out for food? It’s my treat, since I’ve burned so many of your clothes."
"At least you know it! You bastard, Shihakusho damaged outside of missions have to be replaced using our own money!"
"Let’s go, let’s go. Where to? You pick."
"The Kiyoshi Yakiniku restaurant at the west end of Mansion Road!"
"Wow, I remember that place being really expensive."
"Hmph!"
Hiyori Sarugaki smiled smugly and took the lead, marching ahead.
Yato Uchiha followed behind, completely unconcerned about the cost.
He had plenty of money, directly requisitioned from Aizen.
—I’ve tied my life to my waistband to work for you, what’s wrong with asking for a little living allowance?
The "Mansion Road" Hiyori Sarugaki referred to was formally known as Seated Officer Mansion Road. Just as the name suggested, it was a residential area built by the Seireitei exclusively for Seated Officers. Situated along a small stream, it was an elegant and pristine area.
Yato also had a courtyard house here, but as a workaholic, he generally just stayed at the Division barracks.
Because the residents were all Shinigami officers, there were an abundance of businesses located near Mansion Road. Most of them were operated by the families of Gotei 13 members, or were businesses with noble investments. The prices were on the steeper side, but they genuinely offered excellent value for money.
"Lieutenant Sarugaki, 3rd Seat Uchiha!"
The owner of Kiyoshi Yakiniku bowed deeply upon seeing the two, leading them to a private booth to sit down.
"Should we invite anyone else?" Yato handed the menu to the Lieutenant with a smile.
"Don’t hold back, I’m not afraid of getting ripped off."
"Let’s invite Captain Hikifune. I don’t know what she’s been so busy with these past few days. When I saw her this afternoon, she even had dark circles under her eyes."
"Sure." The boy paused for a moment, then uttered a few words:
"Tenteikura."
Watching the other party casually use a high-level Bakudo just to contact their Captain, the corner of Hiyori Sarugaki’s mouth twitched, feeling a bit depressed:
"You bastard... your talent in Kido really is ridiculously good."
"Just practice more, Bakudo isn’t that difficult." After finishing his communication with Kirio Hikifune via Tenteikura, Yato turned to Hiyori:
"Captain Hikifune will be here in a bit. She told us to start grilling first."
"Alright, I’ll order extra flank meat, it’s the Captain’s favorite."
The dishes were served. Hiyori Sarugaki expertly cut the raw meat with scissors and placed it on the charcoal grill. A rich aroma curled upwards, turning into a wispy blue smoke in the air.
"Speaking of which, Yato." The blonde Lieutenant suddenly lowered her voice, acting secretive:
"Do you think Captain Hikifune going missing these past few days has anything to do with the matter concerning the Captain of the 10th Division?"
"Lord Arima?" Yato Uchiha nodded thoughtfully.
"Now that you mention it, that’s highly possible. Captain Shintaro Arima was killed in Hueco Mundo, and they couldn’t even recover his remains; it really is quite strange..."
"Sigh. We need to properly pay our respects to Captain Arima at his funeral in a few days. He was a good man."
"Indeed." Yato Uchiha chimed in softly, his thoughts drifting elsewhere.
In his previous life, when he had read the original Bleach story, he knew the 10th Division Captain of this era had died in the line of duty, perishing in battle. But he had no idea regarding the specific details.
Even now, having served as the 3rd Seat for two years, he had only ever crossed paths with this mysterious 10th Division Captain once.
All Yato knew was that Shintaro Arima originated from the lower nobility, had a close relationship with the Shiba clan, possessed a seemingly fiery and explosive working style, and did not get along with the 6th Division’s Ginrei Kuchiki.
Regardless, this 10th Division Captain had still followed the destiny of the original work, dying in this era.
He wondered if Isshin Shiba would immediately succeed him as Captain. However, judging from his current abilities, it seemed he still required more refinement...
Just as Yato Uchiha was lost in thought, the door was pushed open by the purple-haired female Captain.
"Captain Hikifune!" Yato and Hiyori stood up to greet her. Kirio Hikifune waved her hand, gesturing for the two of them to sit.
She took a deep sniff, her eyes rippling with a smile:
"Smells so good... I can tell at a glance this is little Hiyori’s masterpiece."
This veteran Captain, holding the third highest seniority in the Gotei 13, seemed somewhat hesitant. But eventually, she picked up a piece of meat, put it in her mouth, chewed it slowly, and let out a sigh:
"I don’t know when the next time I’ll be able to eat barbecue here will be... Little Hiyori, little Yato, there’s something I feel I must tell you two in advance."
"I’m afraid I will no longer be able to serve as the Captain of the 12th Division."
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