Faced with Hiyori's provocation, Saitō wasn't intimidated in the slightest.
She sneered, raised her fist, and brought it down hard on top of Hiyori's head!
"This isn't the Seireitei you damn brat! There's no such thing as military rank here!" Saitō barked, glaring down at her.
"You think that bullshit Third Seat title scares me? Let me tell you, even if Kazuma were standing right here, I'd still hit you!"
Hiyori clutched her head, glaring at Saitō with deep grievance.
'I can't believe my brilliant plan to pull rank just got me another beating,' she thought bitterly, obediently stepping to the side. She didn't dare provoke the monster again.
Batsu'unsai stepped in as the peacemaker.
"Alright, let's leave it at that. Hiyori, you stay here. Saitō and I need to buy groceries."
Before leaving, Batsu'unsai placed a hand on Hiyori's back and cast a specialized Kidō, completely sealing Hiyori's spiritual pressure.
It wasn't meant as a punishment, she was simply afraid the girl might run off.
Although Karakura Town was large, if Hiyori accidentally sensed a Shinigami's presence and stumbled upon Shinji's group, it would ruin Kazuma's cover story.
Hiyori scowled.
"If you're going out, then go! Why do you have to seal my powers?! Aren't you afraid I'll run into danger?"
Saitō shook her fist at the girl.
"You hot-tempered brat, just stay inside the barrier and you won't be in any danger. If you dare wander off, I'll break your legs."
Hiyori deflated.
She was hot-tempered, not stupid.
With her spiritual power sealed, she had zero combat ability.
Running into a Hollow outside would be a disaster.
...
While they were out buying groceries, Saitō turned to Batsu'unsai.
"Why did you seal her Reishi? Aren't you afraid a Hollow might actually track her down?"
"Don't forget, Shinji and his group are hiding in this town," Batsu'unsai said softly.
"Is she connected to them?"
"Hiyori is close friends with Shinji and Kensei. If she runs off and senses their corrupted Reiatsu, things will turn ugly. Given her fiery personality, you know exactly what would happen."
"That's true. From that little brat's temper, I can tell she'd charge in screaming and demand answers."
"Exactly. That's why Kazuma and I still haven't told her the truth about their 'treason,'" Batsu'unsai sighed.
On the way back, Saitō asked, "Are we going to hide it from her forever?"
"We'll keep it from her for now. We'll tell her when she's strong enough to protect herself. I only hope she doesn't hate us when she finds out the truth."
The two arrived back at the safehouse. As soon as they entered, they found Hiyori sitting on the sofa, pouting resentfully.
"You're finally back!" Hiyori complained. "I was bored to death!"
Saitō put the groceries down with a smirk.
"Little brat, if you're bored, you can watch TV or play video games. Just don't even think about running outside."
Hiyori tilted her head.
"What's a TV? And what's a video game?"
Seeing Hiyori looking like a curious child, Saitō sat down, grabbed a controller, and began educating her on the wonders of human technology.
...
If there was a pill for regret, Saitō swore she would swallow it immediately.
She never should have introduced Hiyori to video games.
The girl instantly became a massive gaming addict.
And if addiction was the only problem, it would have been fine.
But her hot temper translated perfectly online.
She became a massive internet troll, constantly screaming at humans through a headset and threatening to track them down in real life over the smallest slights.
The next day, sunlight spilled through the windows of the safehouse.
Saitō and Batsu'unsai woke up early and decided to create a proper training environment for Hiyori.
Using high-level Kidō, they carved out a massive, reinforced cavern beneath the house.
The underground space was large enough to accommodate intense combat practice, and thanks to a reinforced barrier, it could withstand Bankai-level impacts without disturbing the humans above.
With the training ground complete, Hiyori's nightmare officially began.
She had originally thought the training would be as relaxed and structured as when Batsu'unsai taught her, but reality dealt her a heavy, brutal blow.
Saitō revealed a side completely different from Batsu'unsai.
She was an unapologetic violence maniac. Every attack carried lethal momentum, striking at Hiyori without the slightest mercy.
Under Saitō's brutal tutelage, Hiyori suffered terribly.
She was constantly knocked down, bloodied, and bruised, but she refused to stay down.
Every time she fell, she quickly scrambled back up, screaming in defiance as she faced Saitō's blade. Though her body ached, her eyes burned with firm determination.
Under Saitō's guidance, Hiyori's Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Shunpo, and Kidō all improved dramatically. Her attack speed, raw power, and technique became sharper.
Saitō also taught Hiyori the dirty, practical methods of war: how to use the environment to blind an opponent, how to feint an injury to secure a kill, and how to survive against overwhelming odds.
To teach Hiyori, Saitō brought out her most treasured and lethal skills.
Although Hiyori often called her a madwoman, she was the first brat in nearly a thousand years whose temperament matched Saitō's own. Saitō sincerely hoped Hiyori could inherit her mantle.
But the main reason Hiyori trained so hard, pushing through the pain, was so that when she finally met Shinji and the others again, she could beat them to their knees and force them to explain why they had abandoned her and betrayed Soul Society.
If Hiyori could eventually master Bankai, she would definitely become a top-tier combatant.
With her current growth, even Kensei might struggle to defeat her.
One day, weeks into their brutal training regimen, Hiyori pointed her wooden practice sword at Saitō.
"Master Madwoman! I want to test my real strength."
Saitō smirked, resting her wooden blade on her shoulder.
"You want a real fight with me? Don't come crying when I break your ribs."
Hiyori gripped her hilt tightly.
"Bring it on! Let me see just how big the gap is between me and a first-generation monster!"
Hiyori attacked first.
Her assault came like a tempest, raining blows down from every angle, but Saitō merely defended with ease, parrying each strike with a single hand.
As Hiyori's offensive momentum began to wane, Saitō's single eye narrowed.
"Hiyori, I'm going to counterattack now."
Saitō swung.
Hiyori managed to block the first blow.
She blocked the second as well, though her knees buckled.
Then came the third.
It was not until the tenth rapid strike that Hiyori's guard finally collapsed. She was sent flying across the cavern by the sheer force of Saitō's slash, crashing into the stone wall.
"Not bad, Hiyori," Saitō praised, lowering her blade. "You took ten of my serious attacks without me releasing my Zanpakutō."
As Hiyori climbed to her feet, gasping for air, she finally understood what a true powerhouse was.
'Is this the strength of the founders?' she thought in awe.
Seeing Hiyori's dejected expression, Saitō offered a rare word of comfort.
"Hiyori, don't be discouraged. You're young, and you have plenty of time. One day, you'll become a monster yourself."
Hiyori looked up and asked a question that took Saitō by surprise.
"Master, you're already this terrifyingly powerful. How strong would you say Yamamoto and Kazuma are?"
"Those two?"
Saitō fell silent for a long moment, leaning on her sword.
"Those two are freaks of nature. Hiyori, you shouldn't even try to compare yourself to them! Forget Soul Society, there's probably no one in all the Three Worlds stronger than them. Maybe…"
As she spoke, Saitō looked up at the ceiling, her gaze seeming to pierce through the earth and aim straight toward the sky.
Toward the Royal Palace.
Hiyori didn't understand what Saitō's gesture meant at that moment.
But one day in the future, she would understand its terrifying significance.