"I feel like it's been a while since I properly worked."
In Rukongai's North 24th District, Ishikawa pulled out a thick stack of commission requests from the pocket of his black work uniform. More than a month had passed since the battle with Aizen.
He had returned to Rukongai from Hueco Mundo a few days prior. While Ishikawa didn't report his whereabouts or purpose, he also didn't deliberately conceal them. He even openly lent the Everything Store's Hueco Mundo branch channel to the Shinigami Research and Development Institute's collection department.
Regarding this, the Gotei 13, led by Commander Yamamoto, did not press for details, and Ishikawa did not proactively report. Both sides acted as if nothing had happened, refraining from asking questions.
Anyway, Ishikawa had already resigned from his position as Ninth Division Captain. He no longer held any official position in the Gotei 13, at least not in name. As for the 'Supervisory Team Captain' identity, Ishikawa never actually possessed it from the start, only the corresponding authority.
Soi Fon initially only hired him to manage the Maggots Nest, not the Supervisory Team… She merely suggested that any proposals could be discussed with the Supervisory Team Vice-Captain, Kiyohara Tsumugiya. However, without Ishikawa even realizing it, he inexplicably became an employed staff member 'possessing the authority of the Supervisory Team Captain'.
It was precisely because of this that, even after spending more than ten years in the Supervisory Team, everyone in the Supervisory Team still only referred to Ishikawa as Ishikawa, not Captain.
In short, Ishikawa currently had no obligation to report anything to the Gotei 13. Furthermore, considering the potential resistance and panic among the populace, such matters were not suitable for reporting or questioning. Therefore, both sides tacitly chose not to report or inquire.
Of course, the Central 46 also played a part in this. If Ishikawa wasn't one of their own, even if the Gotei 13 didn't pursue the matter, the Central 46 would have charged Ishikawa with colluding with the enemy.
Soon after Ishikawa returned to Soul Society, Rukia, Renji, and others who had been staying in the Human World also returned to their Squads.
For this, the Gotei 13 even held a special Captains' meeting.
Ishikawa did not receive an invitation to this meeting, and no one even wanted him there. However, Ishikawa still learned the results of the meeting from the Central 46's routine announcement, as well as Rukia's anger during the meeting, and her eventual return to the Kucihki family for confinement by her brother.
Of course…
Being confined at home was merely a formality. Kucihki Byakuya and Ukitake didn't even bother to act. The first day of confinement, and the 'Seireitei Communication' published the next day announced… The Thirteenth Division would hold Rukia's advancement ceremony to Vice-Captain three days later.
Ishikawa had already known about this beforehand, as the application sent to the Central 46 was approved by him.
Although he rarely went to the Central 46, if he had any proposals, Ishikawa would still discuss them with the wise men through secret channels or by personally visiting the Pure Cleanse Tower Forest Residence.
There was generally little disagreement regarding Ishikawa's decisions; most were directly approved rather than undergoing a lengthy review process.
Of course, there were exceptions.
Although Ishikawa unhesitatingly agreed to a advancement application for three Captains submitted by Commander Yamamoto, this matter caused a prolonged dispute within the Central 46.
This was because the three Captains Commander Yamamoto wanted to promote were Shinji, Kensei Muguruma, and Otoribashi Rōjūrō of the Visored.
Ultimately, amidst the endless arguments, it was decided to temporarily postpone the decision and observe them for a period before determining whether to allow three individuals with Hollow powers to become Captains again.
Ishikawa didn't say much, as the final outcome of this application would only be approval.
After all, there were simply too few individuals qualified for Captain-level advancement within the Gotei 13.
Although Abarai Renji and Ikkaku Madarame both possessed Bankai, their actual combat strength was still significantly inferior to Captain-level. Ikkaku Madarame, in particular, concealed his Bankai, insisting on remaining in the Eleventh Division to follow Zaraki.
And with three Squad Captain vacancies, for the stability of Seireitei, they had to be filled quickly. In this situation, the three Visored members were indispensable.
It's worth mentioning…
To expedite the application's approval, Commander Yamamoto even personally contacted Ishikawa, subtly expressing his hope that the Central 46 could approve the application as quickly as possible.
Regarding this matter, Ishikawa naturally agreed wholeheartedly, and then…
He left it for his sworn sister to handle.
Ishikawa didn't want to argue with those people from the Central 46, because they were simply too slow. They would always find ways to shift 'key issues' to'secondary issues', and after listening to them for a while…
Ishikawa didn't even know what the key issue was anymore.
With Rukia's return, Orihime, who had been frequently coming from the Human World to Soul Society over the past month to treat the injured and learn about healing, also returned to the Human World.
Immediately after the battle with Aizen, Orihime came to the Fourth Division barracks, stating, "If I do nothing and just wait for Kurosaki to wake up, my heart simply cannot be at peace…" and requested to assist with treatment.
Unohana, aware of her abilities, did not refuse. Instead, she allowed her to stay in the Fourth Division and even gifted her a Denreishinki, created to mimic a 'mobile phone' from the Human World, for her to contact her acquaintances in the Fourth Division upon her departure.
Upon receiving this news, Ishikawa immediately went to the Comprehensive Relief Station and obtained Orihime's contact information.
Within just one month after the battle with Aizen, Soul Society, which had been in turmoil due to Aizen, had already stabilized.
Ishikawa naturally resumed his old profession, clearing out the backlog of work that had been put aside during this period. Even with his work speed, there were still rooms full of unhandled commission requests.
Originally, Ishikawa had considered whether he should cultivate diligently like other Captains and Vice-Captains.
Because of Aizen, many Captains and Vice-Captains seemed to be stimulated, casting aside Squad affairs to focus on enhancing their own strength.
But in the end, Ishikawa gave up on this idea…
Compared to cultivation, using the experience points earned from work for stat allocation was actually more effective than secluded cultivation.
After all, he had always focused on researching certain things or learning new Kido during his secluded cultivation. And now, Ishikawa had basically mastered all Kido, whether it was Bakudo, Hado, or Kaido… Even Spell Inscription techniques, and various barriers and sealing spells were no exception.
Some of these were learned by Ishikawa from the Shiba Main Family using the token given by Shiba Isshin, while others were learned from the Great Spirit Book Gallery managed by his sworn sister.
It should be known that the Great Spirit Book Gallery is a place that forcibly collects and records all events and intelligence in Soul Society, regardless of the Shinigami's will. It can be said that, apart from the secrets of the Five Great Noble Families and some inconveniently disclosed things, almost everything is recorded there.
And these also got answers from the Shiba Main Family.
So, for Ishikawa now, what he needed was not to cultivate in seclusion like other Captains, but to…
Expand his circle of friends!
…
Name: Ishikawa
Race: Human
Level: First Stage
Physique: Top-tier (910000 / 1000000) (Cannot be increased)
Reiatsu: Top-tier (910000 / 1000000) (Cannot be increased)
Hakuda: Top-tier (280860 / 1000000)
Shunpo: Top-tier (24664 / 1000000)
Zanjutsu: Top-tier (910000 / 1000000) (Cannot be increased)
Zanpakuto: Top-tier (248640 / 1000000)
Current Experience Points: 0
…
Regarding the use of experience points, Ishikawa originally wanted to allocate them not to Zanjutsu and Hakuda, but to the most unstable Zanpakuto.
However, a Zanpakuto is different from one's other abilities; while it is part of one's own ability, this part possesses its own will. Ishikawa was completely unsure whether forcibly allocating points would affect the will of this ability.
So, after some hesitation, he chose the strongest Zanjutsu as his experimental subject.
When he used the experience gained from his battle with Aizen, plus the experience gained in Hueco Mundo, totaling nearly a million experience points, to directly raise his Zanjutsu to 900,000, Ishikawa clearly felt a certain degree of transformation in his Spirit Body.
Although it wasn't as intuitive as adding points to physique, he could still feel the breakthrough of the limit barrier, a feeling as if the lid that had been pressing down on his head, unshakeable no matter what, suddenly became less taut, shaking a few times when pushed.
This made Ishikawa confident that Aizen's previous choice was not wrong; it was just that this method required a huge amount of time and effort for continuous learning!
From this perspective, breaking through the Spirit Body limit that Aizen spoke of did not necessarily require choosing to break the boundary between Shinigami and Hollows.
Captain-Commander Yamamoto and Unohana both proved this point, though it was extremely time-consuming.
Similar examples also included the Squad Zero, which only existed in Ishikawa's memory but had never been seen.
After Zanjutsu, Ishikawa's main focus for adding points shifted to Hakuda.
It was a pity that after squandering all his experience points, it was almost impossible for Ishikawa to obtain such a massive amount of experience again, because almost all the individuals who could provide him with large amounts of experience had already become his friends.
Among the Gotei 13, all female Vice-Captains had already reached maximum favorability with Ishikawa.
Soi Fon and Kotetsu Isane even broke through the 60-point favorability cap, and in Hueco Mundo, thanks to Ishikawa's diligent work, most female Arrancar's favorability towards him also reached between 30-40.
In short…
There were no more targets!
In this vast world, Ishikawa found that he had already met most of the powerful female individuals.
Of course, it wasn't completely impossible.
He could make the existing individuals who had reached maximum friendship value break through further.
However, the number of potential targets was too small.
It should be known that for those who were married or had a loved one in their hearts, the possibility of breaking through the friendship cap was almost zero.
For example, Matsumoto Rangiku, even after Ishikawa fulfilled his promise and had her 'bring' Ichimaru Gin back to the Tenth Division, her favorability towards him remained at max; of course, it wasn't without change… Recently, Ishikawa had a faint feeling that she was treating him like a brother…
Hmm…
Strictly speaking, it should be a best friend.
Similar situations applied to Rukia, Orihime, and others.
After all, not everyone was like Isane and Soi Fon, whose orientations were a bit problematic, and their admired targets were all women…
As for the remaining Vice-Captains, whether it was Ise Nanao, Hinamori Momo, or Yachiru… it was clearly very difficult for their favorability towards Ishikawa to break through.
Therefore, Ishikawa had recently been diligently interacting with several members of the Visored.
And also the Seated Officers and Squad Members of the Gotei 13, such as Gin Miu, Ayame, Sahane… in short, he was circulating among many, many people, not just caring for them but also being meticulous in every detail…
Actually, for Ishikawa, there was one more excellent option.
Kotetsu Isane's younger sister, Kotetsu Kiyone.
Although she wasn't a Vice-Captain, she possessed the aptitude and ability of one, and her favorability towards Ishikawa had also reached its maximum due to her sister.
However…
Ishikawa had recently been avoiding Kotetsu Isane, whose attitude towards him had clearly changed; now, going to try and make her sister like him gave Ishikawa an inexplicable fear, so he also avoided Kotetsu Kiyone as much as possible.
At least until Kotetsu Isane's affection value for him decreased, Ishikawa did not want to have too much contact with Kotetsu Kiyone.
Ishikawa had been trying various methods for this, but none had been as effective as with others.
And it wasn't just Isane; even Soi Fon…
Even though it had been made clear, Soi Fon, whose attitude towards Ishikawa had changed due to his words, did not return to her original favorability.
This made Ishikawa faintly feel that something was amiss, because there were quite a few people, both in Rukongai and Seireitei, whose favorability towards him had broken through 60 into affection, but these had all eventually been lowered through Ishikawa's efforts.
For example, Emiri, who was Jie's foster mother, whose favorability first broke through 60 points, her 69 points of affection had already returned to 60 points of favorability, and there was no need to worry about it increasing further.
Speaking of Jie, that child has now also entered the Central Spiritual Arts Academy to study.
Getting back to the main topic.
It was precisely because of this that Ishikawa concluded that affection values within 65 points were nothing to worry about.
Ultimately, Ishikawa believed the problem must be with himself, not with Kotetsu Isane and Soi Fon; he just hadn't found the right method.
Until he found a suitable method, it was better to avoid them for now.
After a busy morning resolving commissions in the northern Rukongai, Ishikawa did not go to other places but headed directly to Seireitei.
Because the branch store in Seireitei also had many accumulated commission orders, Ishikawa basically worked in Rukongai in the mornings, Seireitei in the afternoons, and in the evenings, he would choose one of four options: the Supervisory Team, the Seireitei Communication editorial department, the Comprehensive Relief Station, or going home to sleep.
His day…
Could no longer be described as merely fulfilling but had become so bloated that Ishikawa was somewhat flustered.
"Hmm? Mr. Ishikawa?"
As soon as he arrived at the Commercial Street, Ishikawa encountered two acquaintances. These two were none other than Nena and Sugishiro Hayaha, Squad Members of the Fourth Division, who were shopping together.
Looking at the two, a smile appeared on Ishikawa's face.
See, these two in front of him were an example.
Nena was a student Ishikawa had known even before entering Seireitei, and Sugishiro Hayaha was the first female Squad Member Ishikawa encountered after coming to the Comprehensive Relief Station.
They were also among the first group of Squad Members whose favorability towards Ishikawa broke through 60 points.
However, both of them, through Ishikawa's efforts, had their affection values return to the maximum 60 points of favorability.
Looking at them, Ishikawa was full of confidence in lowering Isane and Soi Fon's affection values; as long as he found the right method, he would definitely be able to lower their affection.
After a cordial conversation with the two, Ishikawa bid them farewell and continued walking towards his branch store on the Commercial Street.
But Ishikawa didn't know that…
"Indeed, Mr. Ishikawa is always so gentle."
Sugishiro Hayaha looked at the departing Ishikawa and couldn't help but sigh.
"Yes."
Nena nodded in agreement.
"Speaking of which…"
Sugishiro Hayaha hesitated and asked, "Are you really not going to try?"
As roommates, she naturally knew that Nena had a certain feeling similar to her own for Mr. Ishikawa, but like herself, Nena also ultimately chose to give up on the thought in her heart.
Nena smiled slightly upon hearing this: "Mr. Ishikawa is too gentle; I don't want to make him feel awkward."
"And…"
"With Mr. Ishikawa's strength and status, the only people who can match him are probably Captain Soi Fon and Captain Isane."
Hearing this, Sugishiro Hayaha nodded with a somewhat complex expression.
When Ishikawa was first in the Fourth Division, although his status was still noble, it hadn't reached the point where they felt he was unapproachable, but without realizing it…
Mr. Ishikawa seemed to be in two different worlds from them; even though his attitude towards them remained the same as always, that gap still made her feel…
The distance between herself and Mr. Ishikawa.
Shaking her head slightly, Sugishiro Hayaha composed the complex expression on her face and then whispered, "Nena, do you think our Captain Isane can really win against Captain Soi Fon?"
"Didn't they say it was just a misunderstanding?"
"…Who clarifies a misunderstanding by arresting someone for interrogation? It feels more like angry embarrassment…"