During this time, Ōmaeda was thriving.
Counting money until his hands cramped wasn’t important.
Because he was already very rich.
Compared to increasing wealth, Ōmaeda hoped to enhance his reputation and expand his influence in the Gotei 13.
To put it plainly…
it was to make everyone look at him with new eyes, and it would be even better if they could be more deferential.
Ōmaeda felt he was not far from this goal.
After all, he had already preemptively conquered the most difficult stubborn elements!
“Heh heh, those bastards from the Eleventh Division initially looked down on my medicine, but now each and every one of them has to force a smile when they see me, just to buy a bit more than others. I thought they were all brainless brutes, but it turns out they can be a bit clever.”
“But that’s good. If they were truly brutes, I wouldn’t dare sell it casually. Only the clever ones know how to keep a secret, making it easier for me to slowly conquer other divisions.”
“When the matter has fully fermented and can no longer be hidden, when Grandpa Ōmaeda is forced to step into the spotlight, I wonder how many people’s eyes will pop out. Even if the business goes bankrupt and I quit, it will still be the biggest news in years. Isn’t fame and popularity just going to come rolling in?”
Just as Ōmaeda was lying on a chair, leisurely basking in the sun and reveling in the joy of becoming a big star of the Seireitei, a cold, clear voice dispelled the warmth brought by the sun and joy.
“Ōmaeda, can you explain to me what this so-called medicine is all about?”
Ōmaeda was greatly startled, directly tumbling from the lounge chair onto the ground, getting covered in dirt, but he couldn’t care less.
“Cap… Captain? Why are you here? No, weren’t you at a meeting?!”
“I was at the Captains’ regular meeting. If I hadn’t gone, I wouldn’t have known you were secretly selling illegal drugs.”
Soi Fon strode over, her face extremely grim.
“What illegal drugs! Misunderstanding, it’s all a misunderstanding! That’s just a simple laxative. I was kindly sharing my homemade folk remedy. Besides, I wasn’t intentionally selling it for money. They forced the money on me to express their gratitude. This isn’t a transaction!”
Ōmaeda nearly peed himself in fear.
He didn’t want to be sent to prison.
“You really are from the Onmitsukidō, aren’t you? You’ve learned your spiritual law well.”
Soi Fon laughed in anger.
“But your excuse might work on others, it won’t work on me.”
Seeing Soi Fon seemingly about to make a move, Ōmaeda’s face changed drastically.
“Wait a moment, Captain Soi Fon.”
Suddenly, a voice interrupted the conversation.
Unohana, accompanied by Isane, appeared before Ōmaeda, coming from the same direction Soi Fon had.
Despite her gentle nature and beautiful appearance.
And bearing the loving responsibility of healing.
Yet, the first thing Ōmaeda felt when he saw Unohana was even more terror.
“Ca-Captain Unohana?!”
“Oh, good afternoon, Lieutenant Ōmaeda. The weather is truly lovely today.”
Unohana’s smiling demeanor was comparable to the sun in its approachability, but this smile made Ōmaeda tremble uncontrollably.
His legs, which had intended to flee, began to buckle.
“Such good weather is perfect for a conversation, so I’d like to understand the source of the medicine from you. I hope you won’t hesitate to enlighten me.”
“…”
Ōmaeda opened his mouth, silently apologizing to Takashi and Ichigo in his heart.
It wasn’t that he wasn’t clever enough, but neither a brute nor a clever person would have the guts to lie at this moment.
Before long, he spilled everything.
“To think it was concocted by two first-year students. This makes things a bit difficult to handle now.”
Outside the Second Division barracks, Isane sighed as she walked down the steps.
Some commotion faintly reached her from behind.
Things like, “Captain, I was doing this to improve the Onmitsukidō’s reputation.”
She pretended not to hear any of it.
“Yes, it’s a bit difficult to handle, but in a way, it’s also something to be thankful for. At least it’s not a serious crime, at most it’s… hmm, a prank?”
Unohana mused.
A prank…
really?
Isane heard the screams coming from the Second Division barracks and couldn’t help but shiver.
This kind of prank was not something an ordinary person could endure.
“Regardless, we must meet those two young people now.”
Unohana looked up; the sunlight, unobstructed by tree shade, was slightly dazzling.
She narrowed her eyes slightly, gazing in the direction of the Spirit Arts Academy.
…
Spirit Arts Academy, training ground.
“Hadō #63: Raikōhō.”
Takashi held golden lightning in his hand.
Electric snakes danced around him, converging into a line that surged forward, piercing through the formation of puppet enemies.
These were specially made Shikigami for the Spirit Arts Academy, which would turn into Katashiro upon destruction.
As they lacked higher combat capability, they were used for students’ practical combat drills.
“Oh oh oh oh!”
Ichigo charged into the enemy formation through the gap.
Hachihara and Rindō were responsible for covering the rear, preventing the enemies from completely surrounding Ichigo.
This way, there would always be an opportunity to retreat unscathed.
But the tactics were perfect, and with their combat power, there was no need to retreat at all.
In no time, they had cleanly annihilated over a thousand puppets.
Under the gaze of other students, who looked upon them as if witnessing a miracle, the four all achieved the best results.
“Takashi’s Kidō has improved too quickly. Is Teacher Aizen’s guidance really that effective?”
After class, Hachihara said with an envious expression.
“Sensei’s guidance is certainly effective, but my progress is still not fast enough.”
Takashi shook his head slightly.
“After abandoning the incantation, the power is still less than one-third of the original… Kidō is indeed difficult to practice. Hakuda and Zanjutsu are more straightforward.”
“That’s for sure.”
Ichigo quipped.
“With your strength, even a Menos Grande would be humbled, and the Sword Arts Instructor looks at you with a complicated expression. The Hakuda Instructor doesn’t dare to spar with you seriously.”
“I think you don’t need any technique at all; just swinging your fist or sword is enough.”
Takashi wasn’t angry at all; instead, he seemed to have gained some insight.
“Hearing you say that, I feel I’m particularly suited for the iai style. Drawing a punch and drawing a sword. The technical content seems quite high.”
“?”
Ichigo was slightly stunned.
To be honest, it made a lot of sense.
“Sigh.”
Hachihara let out a heavy sigh.
“You two are getting stronger, while Rindō and I are still stagnant.”
Takashi glanced at her sideways.
“Isn’t it true? Rindō and I still don’t see any sign of Shikai. If I could master Shikai earlier, I could have given him a good beating that night~”
“That… might not be possible.”
Ichigo’s cheek twitched slightly.
After all, it was a Menos Grande.
He and Takashi both had Reii Level 4, equivalent to a top-tier Lieutenant, and it was only because their Shikai was quite special that they could defeat the opponent.
Rindō also nodded, typing to indicate that being able to help was already his limit.
“Besides, you’re not interested in Zanjutsu anyway. Even if you could achieve Shikai, you wouldn’t be able to utilize your Zanpakutō’s advantages.”
“This… what if my Shikai is a Hakuda type?!”
Hachihara retorted, unconvinced.
“Is there such a type of Zanpakutō?”
Ichigo was momentarily stunned, subconsciously looking at Takashi and Rindō.
He was genuinely unsure, but in Hachihara’s eyes, this was outright mockery.
“Hard to say.”
Takashi’s words somewhat appeased Hachihara.
“After all, my Zanpakutō still glows, so who’s to say it’s not light-based?”
“Mm-hmm, mm-hmm! Takashi is right.”
“???”
“???”
Ichigo was full of questions, and Rindō found it hard to stay silent, but looking at the two people engaged in mutual flattery, he didn’t know what to say for a moment.
“Takashi, your Zanpakutō is definitely the strongest light-based Zanpakutō!”
“Hachihara, your Zanpakutō is definitely the strongest Hakuda-based Zanpakutō.”
Takashi returned to his dormitory with the praise of strongest light-based Zanpakutō, changed his clothes, grabbed his thermos, and headed out again.
His destination was the hillside behind the dormitory.
Because the journey was short and few people came there, it was used by them as a training ground.
It wasn’t that the Spirit Arts Academy didn’t have dedicated training grounds for use, but because many other students also used them, they didn’t want to go there and attract attention.
Besides, it felt bad to constantly damage the training grounds.
Using the barren land, which already had few trees, could also save the Spirit Arts Academy a sum in maintenance fees.
“Hoo…”
Perhaps it was because he had secretly started practicing while Ichigo was out fetching water.
Takashi felt exceptionally good today.
He slightly lowered his body, his hand gripping the sword hilt with just the right amount of force, like a leopard poised to strike, every muscle fiber aligned for optimal power.
His powerful spiritual pressure, far exceeding that of his peers, was deliberately refined and condensed, injected into the sword hilt through the release points in his wrist, and then flowed into the scabbard, forming seven Kidō threads.
At this moment, a mere flick of his thumb on the tsuba would snap the Kidō threads, causing them to shoot out from the opened scabbard, slicing the enemy into pieces.
He had mastered the essence of American-style iai.
Just as Takashi was concentrating, waiting for the moment when his body’s state would perfectly interlock like gears, ready to pull the trigger, he suddenly heard a rustling sound nearby.
In an instant, his thumb reflexively twitched slightly.
But another delicate hand seemed to have anticipated it, covering it.
Or rather, pressing it down.
Preventing Shichisen from being unleashed.