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The next day, at the Second Division barracks.
"So, you had a fight with a bald guy from the Eleventh Division yesterday?" Ōmaeda asked.
"Hmm."
Ishikawa Katori exhaled softly, turning his palm into a blade. The wood in front of him was instantly cut into perfectly smooth long strips. As he pieced them together, he looked back and asked, "By the way, there shouldn't be a 'need to report my personal life' clause in the commission, right?"
"No, there isn't."
Ōmaeda pulled over a chair Ishikawa Katori had just finished and sat down, pressing down on it a few times. "Oh, it's so sturdy, your craftsmanship is really good… We've been monitoring the Reishi fluctuations around you. The collision of two Vice-Captain-level spiritual pressures, of course, requires a routine inquiry."
"…Can surveillance be so blatant now?"
"You'll get used to it."
Ishikawa Katori: "…"
What the hell, 'you'll get used to it'! He was already so well-behaved, yet these Onmitsukidō guys still hadn't given up on monitoring him. What kind of dangerous person did they think he was?
Ishikawa Katori sighed. "Then do I need to report the reason for the fight?"
"No, you don't. After all, it's the Eleventh Division; the reason isn't hard to guess…"
Ōmaeda shook his head, tore open a bag of snacks, handed one to Ishikawa Katori, then tore open another for himself, eating as he spoke. "Since they've got their eyes on you, it's better to be careful in the future. Everyone in the Eleventh Division, from top to bottom, is a lunatic who looks for trouble." As he finished speaking, Ōmaeda's mouth couldn't help but twitch.
His Onmitsukidō Third Squad, the Patrol Corps, was primarily responsible for patrolling the Seireitei and monitoring the movements of Shinigami. If the Everything Store in Rukongai was the main target of the Supervisory Team's surveillance, then the Eleventh Division within the Seireitei was the main target of the Patrol Corps' surveillance.
Almost every day, members of the Patrol Corps would report to Ōmaeda about the Eleventh Division getting into group brawls with other Squads, certain members initiating duels with members of other Squads, and even things like illegally releasing their Zanpakuto during internal training battles… All sorts of troublesome incidents that annoyed him endlessly!
If it were just ordinary Squad Members, it would be one thing, but the Captain of the Eleventh Division was also an unreasonable Lunatic. Not only did he not restrain his subordinates, but he himself was the biggest troublemaker. Captain-Commander Yamamoto of the First Division had summoned him countless times, but he was never found…
The Squad Member from the Eleventh Division, the person involved, was Ikkaku Madarame, that 'veteran Third Seat'. Ōmaeda was certain that the one who caused trouble was definitely not Ishikawa Katori!!
"By the way, who won between you two?"
Ōmaeda looked at Ishikawa Katori with curiosity. Although Ikkaku Madarame was a Third Seat, all the Vice-Captains knew that his strength could be said to be among the top-tier Vice-Captains. Many people who transferred from the Eleventh Division to other Squads had learned combat techniques from Ikkaku.
While Ishikawa Katori's strength was decent, it still seemed somewhat lacking compared to Ikkaku.
Ishikawa Katori frowned, hesitated for a moment, then said, "In terms of the fight, I lost."
Although Ikkaku Madarame said the fight was a draw when he left, whether it was the initial Zanjutsu duel or the subsequent all-out struggle, he could say he lost.
Especially the Zanjutsu duel at the beginning, that was less of a fight and more of Ikkaku Madarame teaching him how to use a sword…
There was definitely unwillingness, but he was truly convinced of his loss, and his Zanjutsu had made extremely gratifying progress after that battle.
…
Physique: Intermediate (1600 / 10000)
Reishi: Advanced (10430 / 100000)
Hakuda: Advanced (2043 / 100000)
Shunpo: Advanced (864 / 100000)
Zanjutsu: Advanced (1243 / 100000)
…
The system panel hadn't changed much, but his Zanjutsu had increased by nearly 800 proficiency points after yesterday's battle, almost twice the progress Ishikawa Katori made training alone for half a year.
Moreover, when using the sword against Ikkaku Madarame, Ishikawa Katori felt an extremely abnormal sensation.
That feeling was very strange…
Relaxed?
Yes, but not just relaxed.
Joyful?
Indeed, but more accurately, it was a sense of exhilaration from breaking free of restraints.
As he had said before, Ishikawa Katori had always been in a contradictory state.
On one hand, he suppressed his original personality to avoid trouble in order to change; on the other hand, he instinctively wanted to be like those villains, throwing off all restraints and acting purely on instinct and desire.
And yesterday, when he was fighting Ikkaku Madarame with a wooden sword, Ishikawa Katori felt as if he had broken free from all restraints, acting purely on instinct and desire. It was very comfortable… very exciting… he felt as if he had become possessed.
That feeling made Ishikawa Katori somewhat addicted.
But as for where this feeling came from, Ishikawa Katori was a bit confused. When he usually got excited during a kill, he would also feel extremely stimulated, even wanting to kill his own people, but subconsciously, he still had some restraint and could quickly withdraw from that state.
However, in yesterday's battle, if the wooden sword hadn't broken, he even wanted to keep fighting, and his understanding of Zanjutsu progressed rapidly in that state.
This was something he had never experienced in his usual training. Fighting with a wooden sword against someone felt like activating a switch deep within his soul…
Unrestrained and joyful!
There were no other thoughts in his mind, only chop chop chop… chop the bald guy in front of him to death.
It was as if…
A strange glint flashed in Ishikawa Katori's eyes.
A mischievous brat.
Although considering himself a mischievous brat made Ishikawa Katori extremely resistant, the 'himself' at that time gave Ishikawa Katori a feeling… that 'he' was a lawless, unreasonable, annoying… unpredictable, and utterly reckless mischievous brat.
Dangerous and oblivious!
But…
It didn't stop Ishikawa from wanting to beat himself up. Other things aside, mischievous brats really deserved a beating!!
Ishikawa Katori had some guesses about this state, but there was no way to verify if his guesses were correct.
Shaking his head, Ishikawa Katori didn't dwell on it further and turned his attention to other attributes.
The improvement in Zanjutsu didn't surprise Ishikawa, as even he could clearly feel his own progress.
However, the 80 proficiency points increase in Physique was somewhat unexpected for Ishikawa Katori.
But, after carefully recalling yesterday's battle, Ishikawa was not at all surprised by the growth in his Physique.
In yesterday's battle, he had remained in the Shunko state for the entire latter half, even pushing his body to its limit, which resulted in his body still aching slightly in various places now.
Ishikawa Katori withdrew his gaze and thought to himself, "It seems I can use Shunko more often during training in the future. This way, while training other abilities, I can also strengthen my Physique incidentally."
"I see."
Ōmaeda didn't know Ishikawa's thoughts; he just nodded without surprise. But then, as if he remembered something, he scrutinized Ishikawa Katori, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.
He wasn't surprised that Ishikawa lost to Ikkaku Madarame, but rather that Ishikawa could come here to work as if nothing happened just one night after losing to Ikkaku Madarame…
Those people from the Eleventh Division never knew what it meant to hold back. They fought to the death even in internal training battles, so it was basically impossible for them to show mercy to others. Thus, Ishikawa Katori's 'lost' should not have been as understated as he made it sound.
Captain Soi Fon, after seeing this kid fight, also said that he was hiding his strength and that his true power was definitely not as simple as what he showed.
Ishikawa Katori didn't notice the strange look in Ōmaeda's eyes behind him. At this moment, he was rapidly transforming huge logs into tables, chairs, beds, and wardrobes.
From the side, one could only see his hands turn into countless afterimages, as if hundreds of hands were making furniture simultaneously.
This scene left the two guards outside the Maggot's Nest dumbfounded. It was one thing for him to work so efficiently, but what surprised them most was… under such high-intensity work, Ishikawa still had the energy to stuff snacks into his mouth while chatting with Vice-Captain Ōmaeda.
Was he some kind of work machine?
If a furniture factory could hire such an employee, the boss would probably wake up laughing in the middle of the night, right?
"By the way, where's Captain Soi Fon?"
Ishikawa Katori hadn't forgotten his main purpose for coming to the Second Division. He said to Ōmaeda, "I have some things I want to discuss with Captain Soi Fon."
"The Captain has many things to be busy with; she doesn't have that much time to supervise your work."
Ōmaeda had somehow pieced several tables together. His massive body, over two meters tall, lay on them, causing the tables to creak. "The Captain has entrusted all matters concerning you to me. From now on, if you have any questions, you can directly… hmm, tell the Vice-Captain of the Supervisory Team."
I want to make friends with her. Does what the Vice-Captain of the Supervisory Team says count for that?
Ishikawa Katori pouted, ignoring Ōmaeda, and instead pondered how to get Soi Fon's attention. Should he go kill a few prisoners?
Forget it…
Ishikawa Katori was sure that if he killed a few prisoners, Soi Fon would definitely not hesitate to throw him into the Maggot's Nest as well.
"By the way, I really do want something."
"What do you want?" Ōmaeda turned on his side, patting his stomach generously, and showed off the various Kan on his five fingers. "As long as it's something money can solve, it's no problem for me, the great master."
Ignoring the vulgar display of wealth from this money-grubbing scoundrel, Ishikawa Katori stopped his work and said, "I want an Asauchi."
An Asauchi?
Ōmaeda's action of patting his stomach froze, then he shook his head. "I can't help you with that. Whether it's the Gotei 13, the Onmitsukidō, or even the Kidō Corps' Asauchi, they are all uniformly distributed by the Shin'ō Academy. Every Asauchi issued has a record in the Great Spirit Book Corridor."
"There's only one way to obtain an Asauchi, and that's to join the Shin'ō Academy and graduate to become a Shinigami."
Ōmaeda paused, then continued, "Or… like Captain Kenpachi of the Eleventh Division, you happen to pick up a Zanpakuto from a Shinigami who died in the line of duty. However, this probability is extremely low. I advise you to give up on that idea." After saying that, Ōmaeda seemed to remember something and quickly added:
"Whenever a Shinigami goes missing, regardless of their identity or where they went missing, the Gotei 13 will conduct a strict investigation. Once it's confirmed that they were killed, the killer will be hunted down by the Gotei 13 no matter where they escape to."
He was genuinely afraid that Ishikawa Katori would go kill a Squad Member for an Asauchi.
And…
Given this guy's dangerous level, it was entirely possible for him to do such a thing.
"The Asauchi of deceased Squad Members will also be retrieved. Some are sent back to the Shin'ō Academy to be given to other Squad Members, while others are buried with their owners. But one thing is certain… every lost Asauchi, and in whose hands it is, is recorded in the Great Spirit Book Corridor. How this is achieved… and who records it, has always been a mystery."
"But whether it's the Asauchi Captain Kenpachi of the Eleventh Division found in Rukongai, or the Asauchi Captain Tosen of the Ninth Division took from his friend's grave… without exception, they are all recorded. Obtaining an Asauchi is not as easy as you think."
Ōmaeda finished speaking, then silently added in his mind: "Unless you can get the Captain's permission."
The person with the authority to issue Zanpakuto, besides the Shin'ō Academy, was Captain-Commander Yamamoto, the Captain of the First Division and founder of the Shin'ō Academy.
And while the Commander of the Onmitsukidō didn't have this authority, she could obtain Asauchi through other means.
Generally speaking, unless destroyed in Bankai state, Zanpakuto could self-repair through the wielder's Reishi.
But there were no absolute exceptions. When the Onmitsukido assassinated powerful targets, they sometimes borrowed divine artifacts from the Heavenly Garment Brigade to confiscate… or destroy Zanpakuto.
Most of the time, it was confiscation. Only when the target's strength was too great for the divine artifact to confiscate would they choose the path of destroying the Zanpakuto.
And the confiscated Zanpakuto would have their owner's imprint erased, returning to their original Asauchi form.
The prisoners held in the Maggot's Nest had their imprints with their long-standing Zanpakuto erased by divine artifacts, and their Zanpakuto were retrieved and sent to the Shin'ō Academy.
Therefore…
Whether it was the Asauchi of assassination targets or the prisoners' Asauchi, they would first be recovered by the Onmitsukidō and then uniformly sent to the Shin'ō Academy.
If Soi Fon gave permission, it would be entirely possible to manipulate the process to give Ishikawa Katori one, claiming it was lost.
As for the Great Spirit Book Corridor's records, setting aside the fact that very few people were qualified to access them, even if they did, it would only record who picked up the Asauchi.
If someone was lucky enough to pick up an Asauchi, what did that have to do with their Onmitsukidō?
It wasn't like no one had ever picked one up before…
However, this method ultimately carried the risk of exposure, and if Ishikawa Katori were to cause trouble with a Zanpakuto, it could very likely implicate the Onmitsukidō.
Although, Ōmaeda felt that Captain Soi Fon, who took pride in obeying regulations, wouldn't do such a thing either.
Ishikawa Katori nodded. "Don't worry, although I really want an Asauchi, I'm not foolish enough to become an enemy of the Seireitei for one."
Although there was some disappointment, Ishikawa Katori wasn't too surprised by Ōmaeda's words.
If Asauchi were that easy to obtain, then the villains in Rukongai would have had one each long ago, and it wouldn't be that after so many years, only Kenpachi had found a Zanpakuto.
As for the grave-robbing behavior of Captain Tosen of the Ninth Division, Ishikawa Katori hadn't considered it.
Because that method had a prerequisite: a friend had to die first…
And it had to be someone with whom he had such a good relationship that digging up their grave and taking their Asauchi wouldn't be pursued by the Gotei 13.
Of course, Ishikawa Katori felt that the reason the Gotei 13 didn't pursue it was likely because they recognized Tosen's potential and because someone was helping him from behind the scenes.
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