Yoruichi still wanted to keep playing, but Ethan was no longer willing to indulge her.
The testing of the outfit was over, and overall, Yoruichi was very satisfied, directly ordering a large batch in various styles.
"Don't you want a few?"
"I'll pass."
"Didn't you say the shihakusho was troublesome during combat?"
"It's fine. It doesn't affect me much anyway."
Ethan firmly refused. After Yoruichi said a few more words, she stopped persuading him and turned to discuss the Department of Research and Development with Kisuke.
The Department of Research and Development was newly established and did not have many members. At present, it was mainly Kisuke as the first director and the specially recruited Mayuri who were busy. The remaining members of the Twelfth Division were called researchers, but they were more like assistants. Even the lieutenant, Hiyori Sarugaki, could not provide much help.
Under such circumstances, the Department could only create small gadgets for now. To truly expand and become an indispensable division within the Gotei 13, it would take time.
So there was not much to see at the Department. The visit ended in half a day. Aside from Yoruichi taking a pile of new clothes, there were no other gains.
"How can you say there were no gains? Didn't some Twelfth Division members express their desire to transfer?"
Although Kisuke's restructuring of the Twelfth Division was not necessarily a bad thing, not all Shinigami were willing to engage in research and development. After realizing the Twelfth Division would be completely different from before, some had already begun considering transferring.
The Tenth Division, which lacked manpower, was a good choice. Although its daily duties involved patrol and guard work with relatively long hours, joining now might even earn them a seated officer position or a promotion.
"Even though Kisuke didn't say anything, didn't you see Lieutenant Sarugaki's expression? If we had stayed any longer, she would have rushed up to beat me."
Hiyori regarded the Twelfth Division as her home. With the former captain Kirio Hikifune as a mother figure and the members as siblings, she could not tolerate Ethan's behavior of poaching people, even if those members wanted to leave on their own.
"Hahaha, she wouldn't."
Hiyori might seem short-tempered and difficult, but the only people she actually hit were Shinji Hirako and Kisuke.
The former was because they were too familiar and roughhousing was normal. The latter was her own captain, so it did not matter how she acted.
Although Hiyori always seemed annoyed with Kisuke, as a lieutenant she always carried out his orders properly. Even if she felt unhappy running errands for Mayuri, she still did it seriously and never let personal feelings affect her work.
Moreover, through their constant bickering, their relationship gradually improved. One could tell from Kisuke's reaction later when he thought Hiyori might be in danger.
"It won't just be Twelfth Division members applying to transfer to the Tenth Division. You'll receive many applications soon."
Besides those transferring because of the Twelfth Division's restructuring, there were also members from other divisions who felt promotion was difficult in their current posts.
Although the Gotei 13 undertook dangerous missions and many Shinigami died each year, there were always capable individuals who held certain positions for decades or even centuries. There were also cases where someone qualified for a higher seat was firmly suppressed by colleagues.
Such situations led members to consider transferring. In fact, many internal transfers happened because there were no available promotion positions in their current division. They transferred to gain advancement. Many lieutenants had transferred divisions before being promoted.
Compared to that, someone like Ethan, who joined the Fourth Division after graduation and only changed divisions upon becoming captain, was rare.
"I just finished dealing with a mountain of files. Am I going to drown in paperwork again?"
Ethan sighed. Soon, he realized his premonition was accurate.
Transfer applications piled up like snowflakes. After reviewing them quietly for several days, a frustrated Ethan waved his hand and approved them all. As long as the captains of their original divisions agreed to release them, he would accept every single one into the Tenth Division.
The Tenth Division had massive vacancies anyway and required many members, so his actions did not cause much controversy.
Even Isshin thought it was fine. Although the sudden influx of new members might cause temporary chaos, it was better than having no one available.
"In any case, let's build the framework first and adjust slowly."
He originally wanted to say he would eliminate those who were not up to standard, but then remembered the Gotei 13 had no expulsion mechanism. Those who performed poorly would at most be assigned insignificant tasks and could not be dismissed. Rather, there was no need to dismiss them. In such dangerous work, the incapable would eventually be eliminated naturally.
"In that case, we should consider resuming normal patrol and guard duties."
Previously, without members, other divisions handled the Tenth Division's responsibilities. Now that many Shinigami had joined and the structure was restored, the Captain-Commander would naturally require them to resume operations.
"How was the original patrol system arranged?"
Isshin explained the general working mechanism. Ethan had already read the documents, but those dry regulations were far less detailed than Isshin's explanation, which also included optimization measures implemented by previous captains.
In general, the Tenth Division divided the Seireitei into numerous areas. These were usually organized around several fixed nodes where Shinigami were permanently stationed, and patrol teams were assigned to specific zones.
Besides patrol and guard duties, several teams remained stationed at the division barracks as support units to handle emergencies. If there were Shinigami fights, drunken disturbances, murder cases, or similar incidents, they would be dispatched immediately.
"Except for the defense of the Inner Court, basically all matters within the Seireitei fall under the Tenth Division."
The defense of the Inner Court belonged to the Seventh Division, also known as the Inner Court Guard. When necessary, they had to confront even rebellious divisions. Therefore, the captain of the Seventh Division had to be approved by both the Captain-Commander and Central 46.
For example, the later captain Sajin Komamura was absolutely loyal to Captain-Commander Yamamoto Shigekuni, which was one reason he could hold that position.
"The defense of the Inner Court has nothing to do with us. We only need to focus on patrol and vigilance throughout the Seireitei."
As for guard duty, most of the time it was more symbolic. The Shinigami stationed at various nodes mainly served as alerts. If something serious happened, the entire Gotei 13 would respond. Usually, these posts were manned by Tenth Division members.
"Are these guard posts assigned to one person?"
"Some have one, some have two."
Ethan rubbed his chin and made a decision.
"From now on, at least two people will be assigned to each post."
Once transferred personnel and new graduates arrived, manpower would not be an issue.
As for patrols, they had always been conducted by teams of two or more. Ethan would not adjust that much. At most, he would adopt a system where veterans led new recruits.
"How should the patrol and support teams be organized?"
Previously, a rotation system was used. All squads took turns handling patrol, guard, and support duties. However, Ethan knew that this vague distribution easily led to members being able to handle a bit of everything but mastering nothing.
Especially the support teams dealing with complicated incidents required high professional competence.
"This needs to change."
His approach was simple. He would gather experienced veterans into a small team similar to a major crimes unit, specifically responsible for difficult cases. Minor incidents would be handled by the first patrol squad to arrive, allowing them to resolve matters quickly while gaining experience.
If a squad felt incapable, they could request their superior to take over.
"Let's arrange it this way for now and observe the results."
As Ethan built up the Tenth Division, his daily life gradually became ordinary.
After new graduates joined, manpower was sufficient again. Once they adjusted to the rhythm of work, his schedule became relaxed and regular.
Aside from reviewing reports from subordinates, there was little else to handle. Incidents in the Seireitei rarely required captains to intervene personally.
Even Isshin did not have many opportunities to step forward, so Ethan dragged him into daily sword practice.
"This is tradition."
"With all due respect, the Tenth Division doesn't have such a tradition."
Ethan held a bamboo sword. Even using pure swordsmanship without overwhelming spiritual pressure, he was enough to make Isshin feel pressured.
"I didn't say it was the Tenth Division's tradition."
Why Unohana always liked dragging him into sword practice, Ethan now somewhat understood. Bullying others was addictive.
It was just a pity that his lieutenant was a handsome young man, not yet the rugged figure of the future. It would have been better if it were Rangiku instead.
However, Rangiku's whereabouts were still unknown, so he could not trouble her for now. Unexpectedly, Ginrei suddenly visited and brought Ethan a target.
(To be continued.)