"Huh? You're asking what I'm here for?"
Like a delinquent big sister leading a school club, Yoruichi raised an eyebrow while skillfully patting Naraku Sora on the shoulder.
"Don't tell me you've already forgotten about our engagement?"
"I'm here today to tie you up and take you back to make it an established fact. So, just surrender quietly!"
As soon as she finished speaking, the dark-skinned girl activated a Binding Spell without another word, instantly restraining Naraku Sora. She flipped him over and hoisted him onto her shoulder.
Under the terrified gaze of the nearby guard Soul Reapers, she vanished into the golden sunset.
"This is bad! Lord Naraku has been ambushed by the Captain of Squad 2!"
"Should we inform Ninth Seat Aizen?"
"Let's do it. Lord Aizen has always been good to us, and that is, after all, one of Lord Aizen's few friends."
"But we can't leave our post right now. Let someone else pass the message along."
The guard Soul Reapers called over some idle squad members, described what they had just seen, and entrusted them to tell Aizen.
The overall atmosphere of Squad 5 was quite good. The members were relatively stable—much better than the neighboring Squad 11.
However, the workload was also quite heavy. The messenger had only reached the middle of the barracks when he was called away by a Seated Officer for another task, so he passed the message to someone else.
But the other Soul Reapers also had their own duties. Out of necessity, the message was passed from person to person.
By the time the news reached Aizen, it had undergone a strange and incomprehensible transformation.
"Lord Naraku was beaten to his knees by that woman and then kidnapped!"
Aizen: "?"
...
The Squad 2 barracks were built upon a high mountain. Beneath the overlapping architectural complexes was a spacious training ground where many reserve members were practicing assassination techniques.
Unlike the Gotei 13, most members of the Onmitsukidō began their training as children.
This ranged from the most basic analysis of human pressure points and the fundamentals of Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Hohō, and Kidō, to all sorts of infiltration and assassination skills.
Those who performed exceptionally well usually remained in the Executive Militia as official members or directly joined Squad 2 to become Soul Reapers in the public eye.
Those who performed poorly were usually transferred to other squads or taken in by the Shihōin family and its subordinate lower-tier nobles.
Compared to the learning cycle at the Spiritual Arts Academy, the training period for the Executive Militia was much longer, and members began their training at a younger age.
Because of this, Naraku Sora saw many boys and girls who were even shorter than him performing their training tasks with meticulous precision.
In the Captain's office.
Yoruichi set him down gently and undid the Binding Spell wrapped around him.
In truth, that spell was merely symbolic; it couldn't actually restrain Naraku Sora.
"So, what exactly happened that was worth such a grand display?"
Naraku Sora glanced at the young girl serving tea. He felt as though she harbored some unusual malice toward him.
It was as if some treasure she cherished had been snatched away by someone else.
Although the girl suppressed it well, she still couldn't escape his eyes.
This left Naraku Sora confused. Where had he offended her?
'Could she be a descendant of that old fellow Shihōin Buji?'
"To fulfill the engagement, of course."
Yoruichi looked at him strangely. "What else did you think it was?"
Naraku Sora: "..."
'Is this dark-skinned girl so afraid she won't be able to get married?'
However, upon hearing these words, the girl standing by the tea table like a servant suddenly made a cracking sound as she clenched her teeth.
Naraku Sora gave her a curious look. She felt somewhat familiar, as if he had seen her somewhere before.
Yoruichi took a sip of tea, the smile on her face fading slightly as she said seriously:
"Alright, I actually invited you here for something else."
"If I remember correctly, Sora, you were admitted into the Genryū school a while back, weren't you?"
Naraku Sora nodded.
This wasn't a secret in the Seireitei; in fact, it was widely known.
After all, the commotion that old man Yamamoto made during his lessons was far from small. He would frequently wreck the training hall or release a Reiatsu that nearly covered the entire barracks.
Anyone who wasn't blind could see the importance Yamamoto placed on Naraku.
This was also the reason why, even after the internal strife within the Shihōin family had been going on for so long, the Central 46 had yet to come and interrogate them.
Of course, Yoruichi's explanation was also important.
In a certain sense, Naraku Sora was now considered half a member of the Shihōin family, with one foot already through the door of the nobility.
Naturally, he himself was quite resistant to this.
There were many specific reasons, but the main one was that he didn't want his future actions to drag others down.
"Then I assume you must have learned quite a few of Captain Commander Yamamoto's techniques?"
Yoruichi narrowed her eyes like a cat, her curiosity practically written on her face.
"Well, he taught me a bit of Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Hohō, and Kidō," Naraku Sora told her honestly. "Besides that, there's the Blade Zen of the Genryū and some trivial things like the Way of Genryū and spiritual will."
Hearing this, Yoruichi looked satisfied and then proceeded to detail the issue that had been giving her a headache these past few days.
"The Maggot's Nest under Squad 2's jurisdiction has been experiencing frequent unrest, and there are no Soul Reapers in the squad capable of controlling the situation, so you want me to help train a few?"
Naraku Sora's expression turned strange.
When Yoruichi first started describing it, he thought he was being sent to suppress the Maggot's Nest. He didn't expect it would be to train Hakuda masters.
Seeing that Naraku Sora remained silent, Yoruichi thought he was hesitating and quickly added:
"There are still many genius Soul Reapers in Squad 2, like Shaolin here."
As she spoke, she stood up abruptly and appeared behind the girl who had been staring at Naraku Sora. She thrust her hands under the girl's arms and lifted her up.
"Look here! The genius girl of the Executive Militia, one of my direct subordinates. She completed the entire training program in just two and a half years."
"A direct descendant of the Fong family, and the successor to the title of Soifon."
"Most importantly, she's quite cute!"
Suddenly being picked up by the person she cared about most, Fong Shaolin inevitably fell into a panic. Flustered, her small face turned bright red, and even her speech became stuttered.
"Y-Yoruichi-sama! What are you doing?!"
Upon hearing the name, a look of realization dawned on Naraku Sora's face.
'No wonder this girl was staring at me with murderous intent. So this is the Soifon who is willing to dedicate everything to Yoruichi.'
That made perfect sense.
However, teaching was a bit too much trouble. He hadn't even mastered his own skills yet; teaching others would likely just lead them astray.
'Only a smart kid like Aizen can understand what I mean. Anyone else wouldn't be able to learn a thing.'
After thinking for a moment, Naraku Sora clapped his hands in realization.
"I have a plan!"