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"Who came up with this title?! It's terrible, take it back and rethink it!!"
"Hey… is the page count for this special feature wrong?! It's missing a page."
"The mail-order catalog is complete."
"Who can go to the Fifth Division? Has Captain Aizen's 'maple leaf's back' column manuscript been sent yet? And why haven't I received the manuscript Captain Kyōraku sent?"
"Look carefully, it's impossible for it not to be there."
"Oh, and the person who goes to the Fifth Divsion to get the manuscript, please also ask Vice-Captain Hinamori Momo when she'll have time to draw illustrations."
"Also, Captain Ukitake of the Thirteenth Division's 'pisces' rejection' has been seven issues behind. Who's going to chase up that manuscript? We can't just leave the page blank, can we?"
"…"
Ishikawa looked at the scene before him, his expression somewhat dazed, suddenly wondering if he had come to the wrong place.
This was nothing like a Squad headquarters; it was practically a publishing house…
No!
This was indeed a publishing house.
The sign at the entrance where Ishikawa was standing read…
Squad 9 Barracks · Seireitei Communication Editorial Department.
Inside the Squad 9 barracks, besides the office building, there was also a two-story building called the 'Seireitei Communication Editorial Department,' which was the building Ishikawa was currently in. The first floor was the printing press, and part of the second floor was the editorial department. Once a manuscript was complete, it could be immediately sent from the second floor to the first for printing and publication.
At the entrance of the editorial department, there was a blackboard listing the daily schedules and work arrangements of the editorial staff.
"It's almost the deadline, so everyone is quite busy."
Hisagi Shuuhei stood beside Ishikawa and said, "I'll have them stop for a moment and introduce you to them."
"No!"
Ishikawa quickly stopped Hisagi Shuuhei: "Don't disturb their work. Introductions can happen anytime."
"But…"
"There are no buts."
Ishikawa smiled slightly: "I also work every day, and I know how annoying it is to be disturbed while working. You just need to arrange a place for me to rest and work. As for the editorial department, you know more about it than I do, so you should continue to serve as the chief editor."
"Ah?"
Hisagi Shuuhei was stunned. He had brought Captain Ishikawa here intending for him to concurrently serve as chief editor, but he hadn't expected to be rejected before he even spoke.
"You know better than I do what is suitable to publish and what isn't. It would be easy for me to make mistakes if I were in charge."
Ishikawa smiled slightly, then continued: "Of course, in exchange, while you are busy with the editorial department's affairs, I will help you handle the Vice-Captain's Squad duties. You don't need to worry about that. I've handled them in the Second Division and Fourth Division, so I'm not unfamiliar with these duties and can certainly help you."
"Of course, if you feel that I, as a temporary Captain, am not suitable to handle Squad duties, that's fine too. I just feel that since I've accepted the commission, I should strive to do my best. That's the most basic principle of the Everything Store I run."
"No, you are certainly qualified to handle Squad duties."
Hisagi Shuuhei quickly shook his head. Ishikawa's appointment was instructed by Commander Yamamoto. Until a new Captain was appointed, all matters of Squad 9 would be decided by Ishikawa, and there was no doubt about this.
In this regard, Commander Yamamoto had given Ishikawa great power, whether it was the Captain's status or treatment…
Although, while enjoying these, Ishikawa absolutely could not stand idly by when the Gotei 13 resisted external enemies.
Ishikawa didn't know if it was fair.
But one thing he knew clearly: if he couldn't make that ruthless old man feel at ease, at a time of external invasion like this, he would absolutely not hesitate to cut him down with a single stroke for peace of mind.
So it was better to work honestly. After the pilgrimage, he would return to his Flower-Fruit Mountain… cough, no, he should return to his Rukongai after the storm was over and continue to be his mountain king!
Of course…
Ishikawa wasn't afraid of him; he was just respecting the elderly and cherishing the young.
Thinking of this, Ishikawa smiled slightly: "No matter what Captain Tosen did, or why he did it, in my heart, he is a qualified Captain. I think you should know this better than I do."
"Everyone has their own management habits, so I will make some reforms to Squad 9 according to my habits, such as re-examining the duty system, adjusting salaries, and streamlining some procedures. But I am making these changes not because Captain Tosen did anything wrong and to negate everything he did, but simply according to my habits. "
"I hope you can understand this."
Hisagi Shuuhei heard this, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.
Although he had heard about Ishikawa from Ōmaeda and from casual conversations among Squad Members.
But only when he truly interacted with him did he realize…
Captain Ishikawa was even gentler than rumored. Normally, what he said wouldn't require his consent at all.
Because each Squad was equivalent to an independent entity, with its corresponding responsibilities. Whether it was reforms to affairs or alterations to the barracks, the Captain did not need anyone's consent.
Moreover, to consider his feelings, Captain Ishikawa had explained his view of Captain Tosen in advance and stated that the changes were not meant to negate everything Captain Tosen had done.
Ever since Captain Tosen's incident, everyone had been careful not to mention anything about Captain Tosen in front of him to spare his feelings; although he was touched, it inevitably made Hisagi Shuuhei feel a sense of pity, which instead made him uncomfortable.
But Ishikawa, the person who had exposed Captain Tosen's actions and had nearly been killed by Captain Tosen, spoke his views without any hesitation, and had no prejudice against Captain Tosen, evaluating him extremely fairly.
So, even though he felt Ishikawa didn't need to do this at all, Hisagi Shuuhei had to admit that Ishikawa's words indeed made the slight resistance he originally had in his heart completely disappear.
Because his view of Captain Tosen was completely consistent with Ishikawa's.
No matter what Captain Tosen did, his contributions within Squad 9, even if only to gain trust, should not be completely erased.
"Of course, for any changes, I will first obtain your consent and explain why the changes are being made."
Ishikawa smiled slightly at Hisagi Shuuhei. Of course, he hadn't intended to stay here permanently, but since he couldn't refuse to take over Squad 9, given Ishikawa's consistent habit of handling commissions…
If he was going to do it, he would do it his best. Being duplicitous was completely unnecessary and could easily lead to that black-hearted old man settling scores later.
Most importantly…
He had just glanced around the editorial department and noticed quite a few female Squad Members. If the reforms were done well, he should be able to earn a lot of experience points from it, not to mention having "Seireitei Communication—" the most popular and famous publication in the entire Soul Society.
During this period, he would try his best to leave a good impression on the Squad Members, so he could pull some strings if he wanted to submit articles later.
"Thank you…"
"Hmm?" Ishikawa was startled.
"Uh, Captain Ishikawa, please follow me. I'll take you to the Captain's Office."
Hisagi Shuuhei said this, somewhat awkwardly: "Because… due to the events of the past few days, some of the Captain's affairs that needed to be handled have been stored in the Captain's Office and haven't been processed, so it might be a bit messy there."
After saying that, he hesitated for a moment and said, "Regarding the Captain's Office decorations, I will order someone to select new ones for you…"
"That's not necessary. It's not something essential."
Ishikawa shook his head and interrupted: "If anyone is going to Nobility Street, please help me buy some dori monaka from Nobility Street. Because of the trouble a while ago, I haven't had any for a long time…"
His words were not false. Ever since Soi Fon forbade him from going to the Second Division, no one had bought him dori monaka for a long time, which made Ishikawa's suppressed craving for alcohol stir restlessly.
Without disturbing the Squad Members in the editorial department, Ishikawa, led by Hisagi Shuuhei, entered the Captain's Office in the office building.
However…
The moment he entered the Captain's Office, Ishikawa subconsciously stepped back, looked at the sign by the door, and fell into silence.
"…Are you sure we didn't go to the wrong place?"
Ishikawa looked at the room before him, his mouth twitching slightly.
It was an extremely spacious room, but the furnishings were extremely simple. Besides an office desk and a sofa, there were no other superfluous decorations.
However, around the office desk, it was completely surrounded by stacks of documents piled higher than a person.
From the doorway, it looked like a small mountain…
"Sorry—"
Hisagi Shuuhei's face grew even more awkward: "Due to Captain Tosen's sudden departure, and my continuous handling of the editorial department's affairs, plus issues with authority, I haven't processed these documents."
"…Is this a few days' worth?"
"Yes."
"…" Ishikawa.
For some reason, Ishikawa suddenly felt a little pity for Tōshirō Hitsugaya.
He hadn't really understood Matsumoto Rangiku throwing her work aside and going out drinking every day, but now it seemed…
No wonder he rarely saw Tōshirō Hitsugaya wandering around Seireitei; it turned out he was busy handling Captain and Vice-Captain duties all day long!!
"How about I handle it instead?"
"It's fine, I was just a little surprised."
Ishikawa shook his head and said with a smile, "It's good to have more work; it will help me understand the situation of Squad 9. As a Captain, even if only temporary, I can't be completely ignorant of Squad affairs."
Although he had handled the affairs of the Supervisory Team and the Comprehensive Relief Station before, he truly hadn't expected the Captain's duties to be so numerous.
But thinking about it, it was normal…
Although he had full authority over the Supervisory Team's affairs, he had Kiyohara Tsumugiya's help, and the Supervisory Team was only one of five sub-Squads, so its affairs were naturally less than a Captain's; as for the Fourth Division, most of the work was handled by Kotetsu Isane, and he was merely assisting.
"You go busy yourself with the editorial department's matters. Didn't you just say the deadline is tomorrow?"
After persuading Hisagi Shuuhei, who wanted to stay and help him, to leave, Ishikawa looked at the mountain of documents, let out a light sigh, then burrowed into the mountain and began processing the documents.
As he held the documents, Ishikawa noticed that the paper was thicker than ordinary documents, and the characters on the paper were noticeably raised.
Ishikawa tried touching them and found he could clearly feel every character on the paper.
Shaking his head, he didn't waste any extra effort on the paper itself and turned his attention to the content of the documents.
Most of these were various applications from residents or organizations within the jurisdiction. There were activity applications, gathering applications, and recruitment applications from various jurisdictional organizations… These affairs, completely different from the Supervisory Team, made Ishikawa feel somewhat fresh, because the Supervisory Team's affairs primarily involved processing, monitoring, and apprehending various people…
Although such work existed, it was handled by Captain Soi Fon and Vice-Captain Ōmaeda of the Second Division and had nothing to do with the Onmitsukidō's Supervisory Team.
And after taking this position, Ishikawa suddenly realized that each Squad, within its own jurisdiction, was like an independent administrative body, responsible for handling various resident disputes, new constructions, urban planning, and all sorts of urban services, as well as managing the residents within its jurisdiction.
Ishikawa carefully reviewed these application documents and managed them in batches with time schedules.
Some were clearly rejected based on the current situation, with reasons for rejection and suggestions for modification provided.
As for urban planning and the like, Ishikawa also meticulously reviewed them, comparing them with the overall architectural map of Seireitei in his mind to check for reasonableness and violations, and then approved them based on his years of work experience.
Ishikawa, once in work mode, was extremely serious. Whether he agreed or not, he would add his own suggestions to the documents, not just simply approve or reject them.
Although he rarely did similar work, Ishikawa's accumulated work experience over the years was incredibly rich. He could instantly pick out unreasonable points and areas needing rectification in any application, so processing them was not difficult at all; in fact, he found it quite easy.
Besides these administrative tasks, there were also many affairs concerning Squad Members, such as salary applications, leave applications, family benefits… These were the most troublesome for Ishikawa, but only limited to males.
Because he had practically memorized the addresses, names, and characteristics of all female Shinigami in Seireitei, and for some, he had even investigated their family situations.
So, the affairs of female Shinigami in these documents also posed no great difficulty for Ishikawa; as for the affairs of male Shinigami, he set them aside to deal with last.
Aside from the two major categories above, there were finally documents concerning the editorial department, which, if broken down, were nothing more than layout planning, funding applications, personnel changes, etc… Although Ishikawa was not very skilled in this area, he still reviewed them carefully, as the most attractive aspect of Squad 9 for Ishikawa was the "Seireitei Communication" propaganda machine.
"Hmm?"
Ishikawa paused in his action of picking up a document, then seriously began to read the novel manuscript in his hand titled "The Rose-Colored Path." The more he read… the more peculiar his expression became.
Because…
Although this novel was labeled as a serialized romance novel, it actually contained many… well, explicit descriptions unsuitable for minors. Ishikawa had seen them in past issues of Seireitei Communication, but he had always just glanced at them and skipped over them, never reading them closely.
But this manuscript was different, because the author listed on it… was not the pen name Ishikawa had seen after publication, but the real name…
—Kyōraku Shunsui!
Ishikawa's mouth twitched slightly, feeling inexplicably absurd, yet upon closer thought, it seemed surprisingly reasonable for Kyōraku Shunsui.
Besides him, Ishikawa also saw many other manuscripts: Ukitake's serialized novel "pisces' rejection—" Aizen's serialized column "maple leaf's back—" and Ishikawa even saw Captain-Commander Yamamoto of the First Division's "The Disadvantages of Western Food" and his Vice-Captain's "Western Food Recommendations"…
How idle were these guys?
Moreover, Ishikawa looked at Commander Yamamoto's manuscript, and then at his Vice-Captain's manuscript.
These two…
One used a pen name to boycott Western food, and the other used a pen name to recommend Western food. How did they get along peacefully for so many years without fighting?
Most, most importantly…
These unnutritious manuscripts, especially Kyōraku Shunsui's inappropriate ones, could all be approved… Why did his own submissions, which he sent every month for several years, all sink without a trace?
Just because these people were Captains?
These sycophantic, fawning guys in the editorial department were truly despicable!
Ishikawa's face darkened. He threw Aizen's "maple leaf's back" into the trash can. He carefully organized the others and then wrote an article about flower arranging on a blank piece of paper, placing it among them.
And on the instruction sheet, he issued an order to replace the "maple leaf's back" column with a column titled "The Smile of the Sun."
He couldn't afford to offend others, but Aizen, who was about to leave, didn't matter.
join p atreon.com/KeyofStars and become a Sequence 9: Reader for advance chapters | Every 100 powerstones = 1 extra chapter | Report issues @discord.com/GVBdncd9Wr