A few days later...
Jin'emon pushed open the door to the captain's office and respectfully announced, "Captain, Kōga Kuchiki of the Sixth Division is here to see you."
Kazuma was right in the middle of drinking with Saitō and Shunsui.
Hearing the news, he looked up and smiled. "Oh? He can get out of bed after just a few days? That kid's recovery is pretty impressive. Hurry up and let him in."
Shunsui leaned over, his curiosity piqued. "What's that kid doing here? Did he not get beaten enough by you a few days ago?"
"Get lost! Go drink on your own."
A moment later, Jin'emon led Kōga into the captain's office.
The moment he stepped through the door, Kōga dropped to his knees with a heavy thud, his voice resolute.
"Master Kazuma, I've come to receive your teachings."
"Huh?"
Batsu'unsai, Saitō, and Shunsui were all stunned, their faces completely blank.
They hadn't expected the proud Kōga Kuchiki to suddenly kneel and call Kazuma "Master."
The three of them turned to look at Kazuma in unison, their eyes demanding to know what exactly was going on.
Seeing this, Kazuma quickly laughed, scratching the back of his head.
"Hey, when Kōga and I sparred earlier, we made a little bet. If he lost, he had to become my disciple."
"Haha..." Batsu'unsai couldn't help but laugh out loud.
She clapped Kazuma on the shoulder and teased, "Kazuma, I'm not trying to criticize you, but you, a master? Are you trying to make me die of laughter?"
As Kōga scanned the Seventh Division captain's office from his kneeling position, he realized the situation inside was highly unusual.
Besides Kazuma, there were three other people in the room.
Two were women he didn't recognize, and the other was Captain Shunsui Kyōraku.
What surprised Kōga even more was that the female Shinigami wearing glasses was the one handling the mountain of squad duties.
Normally, if the Captain wasn't handling these affairs, Vice-Captain Jin'emon should have been in charge.
Yet, it was this unfamiliar woman handling the paperwork, which made Kōga deeply suspicious.
He secretly wondered, 'Could it be that this female Shinigami's status in the Seventh Division is even higher than Vice-Captain Jin'emon's? Or does she have a special relationship with Kazuma?'
Kōga decided to quietly observe the situation before making any further judgments.
Seeing Kōga looking around like a curious child, Kazuma decided to introduce the others.
"Kōga, that Shinigami with the eyepatch over there has a pretty big connection to your Kuchiki clan."
Kōga tilted his head in thought. "A connection to my Kuchiki clan? Could she also be from my clan? But why have I never seen her before?"
"Kazuma, stop teasing him," Saitō said nonchalantly, pouring herself another cup. "Kid, I am the first Captain of the Sixth Division, Furōfushi Saitō. You tell me if your Kuchiki clan has a connection to me."
Kōga had a sudden, terrifying realization. "So it's Captain Saitō! Forgive my rudeness. I only knew you were the founder of my division, but I had never seen your portrait."
Kazuma started complaining loudly, "I'm calling foul, Kōga! You weren't this respectful when you first met me. Why the change of heart the moment you see Saitō?"
Suddenly, Batsu'unsai stood up and slammed her hands on the desk, the crack echoing like a gunshot.
"Satou Kazuma, you shut your mouth! Saitō is a great shinigami of the Gotei 13. It's only right for Kōga to show her some proper respect!"
Kazuma flinched in fright, shrinking into himself and looking as wronged as a several-thousand-year-old baby.
"Oh, I get it. Batsu'unsai, don't be angry."
"Pfft."
Kazuma's comical, utterly defeated appearance made Batsu'unsai unable to stifle her laughter.
"You... I'll deal with you later."
Kōga was genuinely startled by Batsu'unsai's sudden outburst and muttered to himself, 'Who on earth is this woman? Why is even my monstrous master so afraid of her?'
He quickly looked at Kazuma, signaling with his eyes for an explanation, but Kazuma was currently curled up like a frightened quail, not daring to move a muscle, completely ignoring the silent plea.
Seeing this, Batsu'unsai spoke up, adjusting her glasses. "Kōga, don't be afraid. I am the first Captain of the 8th Division, Katori Batsu'unsai."
Hearing this, Kōga understood the gravity of the room and hurriedly replied respectfully, "Forgive my rudeness."
Although still somewhat puzzled, Kōga understood that the woman before him held an extraordinary status, perhaps even more formidable than Kazuma.
Thus, he decided to remain incredibly humble to avoid angering her.
After all, a person even his overpowered master feared was definitely not to be trifled with.
Batsu'unsai looked at the tense young man, realized her expression might have been too stern, and quickly adjusted her demeanor, revealing a gentle smile.
"No need to be so formal, You can just call me.... Mistress."
Hearing this, Kōga's heart skipped a beat.
The image of Kazuma's cautious, fawning behavior immediately surfaced in his mind, and he couldn't help but think, 'Captain Batsu'unsai is my master's wife? That's terrifying! It seems my invincible master is completely whipped!'
Kazuma noticed the look in Kōga's eyes growing stranger by the second, and his heart tightened.
He knew Kōga must have misunderstood something.
He quickly sat up straight, cleared his throat, and said in a serious, commanding tone, "Kōga, since you're here to become my disciple, we should still have a proper ceremony."
At this, Kōga snapped back to his senses and stood respectfully before Kazuma, ready to perform the discipleship rite.
Kazuma smiled and nodded, indicating that he could begin.
Kōga took a deep breath, solemnly performed three deep bows, and offered Kazuma a freshly poured cup of tea to express his respect and gratitude.
After taking a sip from the disciple's tea, Kazuma said, "Kōga, from this day forward, you are my disciple. I'm a pretty lazy person, so I don't care much for rigid rules. You just need to remember one thing: as a Shinigami, you must bear the responsibilities on your shoulders and uphold the balance of the Soul Society. This is my only requirement for you."
Hearing this, Kōga secretly rolled his eyes. 'Rules don't matter, yet you made me go through this whole formal kneeling and tea ceremony?'
Still, he answered solemnly, "Master, i understands."
"Mm, that's good. Kōga, do you know why I wanted to take you as my disciple?"
"I saw that you have great talent, you're a genius, having learned Bankai at such a young age. But it's precisely because of this that you've become incredibly arrogant, even looking down on everyone around you. You must know that there's always someone better, a higher mountain to climb. No one dares to claim they are truly the strongest."
"Furthermore, with the unique ability of your Zanpakutō, Muramasa, it's dangerously easy to go to extremes. I decided to take you in to prevent you from going down the wrong path, and so the Soul Society can gain another top-tier asset."
Kōga understood this well.
"Actually, even without you saying it, Muramasa does indeed affect my state of mind at times. I wonder if Master has a way to solve this?"
"That's simple. I'll use my Domain to temporarily seal your Muramasa's psychic influence and then temper your mind. Once your will is strong enough, suppressing Muramasa's whispers will be no difficult task."
Kōga looked unconvinced. "Master, isn't your Zanpakutō lightning-based? I'd believe you if you said you'd use a high-level Kidō to help me seal my Zanpakutō, but using your Shikai to seal it? You're not trying to trick me, are you?"
Kazuma was dumbfounded. "You brat, who told you my Zanpakutō was lightning-based?"
Kōga immediately retorted that if it wasn't lightning-based, how could it have summoned a massive lightning dragon to strike him?
Kazuma unleashed a verbal torrent. "So you only saw the lightning, did you? Did you completely forget the phenomenon of my Release, the false night sky, and the stellar Reishi? Sealing your Zanpakutō is a piece of cake for me. Highly condensed stellar Reishi creates a localized gravitational Domain that can be used for absolute suppression and sealing, you get it?"
Kōga really hadn't understood the mechanics of the Domain until Kazuma laid it out for him.
"Oh, i got it now. Thank you for your teachings, Master."