Chapter 285: What Is Your Plan?
"What! What did you say!"
Yoruichi descended from the sky behind Satoru and landed beside Byakuya.
With a sinister grin, she reached out and pinched Byakuya's cheek, pulling it back and forth.
Byakuya had intended to dodge using his footwork, but his skill was like a child crawling compared to Yoruichi's—utterly ineffective.
"You little brat, Satoru can turn into a cat too, so why am I the only one called a cat?"
"Satoru is different from you!"
"Oh? How is he different?"
"...J-just different!"
Byakuya swung his bamboo sword and, taking advantage of Yoruichi releasing her grip, quickly escaped her clutches and hid behind Satoru.
Seeing that Yoruichi didn't pursue him, he smirked triumphantly and stuck out his tongue.
Yoruichi narrowed her eyes and flashed a cold smile.
She was about to teach this brat a lesson about the cruelty of the world when she suddenly noticed something and stopped.
Gazing behind Byakuya, she curled her lips into an expectant smile.
Just as Byakuya was reveling in his victory over the cat, a voice came from behind him—
"Have I ever taught you to be rude to guests?"
Hearing the voice, Byakuya nearly jumped out of his skin.
He instinctively stood ramrod straight and turned around.
There stood Ginrei, draped in his silver-white scarf, slowly approaching.
"Yo, old man Kuchiki, have you eaten?"
Satoru raised a hand and greeted him with a smile.
Ginrei nodded slightly. "Thank you for your concern. I have already had breakfast."
"And Sōjun?"
"Follow me."
Hearing their conversation, Byakuya was momentarily stunned.
"Grandfather, didn't Father go to the division?"
Ginrei hesitated, as if considering how to respond.
Observing their reactions, Satoru seemed to understand something.
Before Ginrei could speak, he gently patted Byakuya's head. "You come along too."
"Mm-hmm!"
Byakuya nodded eagerly.
Ginrei frowned slightly, as if wanting to object.
But after a moment's thought, he said nothing and simply began leading the way.
Under Ginrei's guidance, the group arrived at Sōjun's room.
Even through the door, the scent of medicine was palpable.
Satoru opened the door and saw Seinosuke bustling inside.
Unlike his freshly graduated self, the current Seinosuke exuded a more composed demeanor, no longer as sharp-edged.
His years working in the Fourth Division had taught him much.
Seeing Ginrei enter the room, Seinosuke inclined his head slightly in an elegant and appropriate gesture of respect.
But when he spotted Satoru following behind, his composure shattered.
A habitual mocking smile curled at the corners of his mouth.
"Satoru, I heard you were forcibly dragged off to work?"
"Yeah, summoned by the Kuchiki Clan to obediently treat someone."
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If he hadn't been holding something, he would have lunged at Satoru right then and there.
As the two were exchanging personal attacks, another person entered the room accompanied by a servant.
Aizen walked in slowly, exuding an air of refined elegance.
Unlike Satoru who came empty-handed, he carried a paper bag filled with fruits.
He first bowed to Ginrei, then handed the fruits to the servant.
Looking at Aizen, Ginrei felt somewhat emotional.
Among Sōjun's friends, Satoru was undoubtedly the most dazzling.
But when it came to reliability and inspiring trust, it was this young man named Aizen who stood out.
The trio from Shin'ō Academy exchanged glances and approached the bedside together.
They saw Sōjun lying on the bed, sleeping quietly.
Satoru looked at Seinosuke.
The latter nodded understandingly and slightly pulled back the covers from Sōjun's body.
To be honest, Sōjun already had delicate features, and with Seinosuke pulling back the covers, there was a slight sense of anticipation.
Bah, what was there to anticipate?
As the covers were drawn back, they saw that Sōjun's body was wrapped in extensive bandages.
Large areas of the bandages were stained with spread-out blood marks.
Seeing this scene, Byakuya showed a shocked expression.
"Father?!"
He hurried to the bedside and let out an exclamation.
Smack!
Satoru reached out and slapped him on the head: "What's all the shouting about? He's not dead yet."
Byakuya snapped back to reality and quickly apologized to everyone.
But immediately after, his attention returned to Sōjun.
Satoru also looked toward Sōjun.
Recently, almost all of Seireitei's forces had been mobilized around operations concerning Wandenreich.
Under Yamamoto's orders, Seireitei had once again launched tracking investigations into the Shadow Space.
As a result, the frequency and strength of patrols in Rukongai had been reduced.
To compensate for this, Sōjun had volunteered to assist with Rukongai patrols.
Originally, as the noble-exclusive division, the Sixth Division didn't need to handle such "dirty or tedious work."
Because of this, although the members of the Sixth Division had decent basic stats, their combat experience was generally lacking.
During the patrol, the squad led by Sōjun encountered a Hueco Mundo invasion incident in Rukongai.
While protecting civilians, Sōjun was injured by a Hollow.
His body was already relatively weak, usually sustained solely by his Reiatsu. This injury allowed the Hollow's filthy Reishi to mix into his body, disrupting his physical balance and causing him to fall into a coma.
Just as the squad was about to be wiped out, Gin arrived with his team, eliminated all the Hollows, and rescued Sōjun.
Satoru used his Gigai power to investigate and confirmed that it was only severe injury-induced coma, not fatal, then slightly relaxed.
"Yoruichi, I'll take Sōjun to the hot spring for treatment later."
Yoruichi nodded readily: "No problem. Isn't that exactly why we built the hot spring in the first place?"
After discussing with Yoruichi, Satoru comforted Byakuya.
Using a bathroom break as an excuse, he left the room with Aizen.
"Sōsuke, the Hollow that attacked Sōjun...?"
"It was my test subject. Originally released in the Menos Forest to test new abilities, but unexpectedly encountered spatial fluctuations and broke into Soul Society."
Aizen knew what Satoru wanted to ask and answered directly.
"I sensed the test subject's Reiatsu appear and immediately sent Ichimaru to handle it as a precaution."
"My apologies. My mistake nearly cost your friend his life."
Hearing this, Satoru looked at Aizen with interest.
The latter found his gaze somewhat strange.
"What is it?"
"Nothing... Just feeling a bit emotional. That cold, ruthless Sōsuke would actually apologize for something like this. It's kind of amusing."
"Instead of joking about me, you should hurry up and take him for treatment."
Aizen interrupted him irritably.
Satoru nodded.
In fact, he really was feeling somewhat emotional.
Without surprises, the reason Sōjun died in the original work was likely due to a similar incident.
After all, during the era he was active, Soul Society no longer had large-scale wars.
The only thing that could have caused his death would be Hueco Mundo invasions.
Ordinary Hollows wouldn't find it easy to injure Sōjun.
Although Sōjun's physical condition wasn't great, his combat ability was considerable—just one step away from captain-level.
The ones that could kill him were most likely Aizen's modified Hollows.
Fortunately, for various reasons, Aizen in this world wasn't completely cold-blooded and ruthless.
At the critical moment, thanks to him sending someone, Sōjun was spared from death.
Hmm... Sōsuke's credit, in other words, is actually my credit.
Satoru felt a surge of pride.
After obtaining Ginrei's permission, he took Sōjun to the secret hot spring base and performed a complete treatment on the latter.
Due to Sōjun's special status, both Ginrei and Seinosuke accompanied them.
Watching Sōjun soaking in the hot spring, with jet-black Hollow Reiatsu continuously dissipating from his wounds while his injuries visibly healed at a remarkable pace, Seinosuke couldn't help but shine with excitement.
The therapeutic effects of this hot spring completely outclassed the Fourth Division's medicines.
If the Fourth Division could construct several such hot springs, the casualty rate among its members would undoubtedly decrease significantly!
He approached Satoru and shared his idea.
Hearing this, Satoru fell into deep thought.
If the hot spring belonged to him, it wouldn't be an issue.
However, in the Soul Society, the intellectual property rights to the Hell Hot Spring belonged to Yoruichi, and he had no authority over it.
As he pondered, Yoruichi's voice came from nearby:
"Approved! I agree!"
"In a few days, I'll send Tessai to the Fourth Division to assist in building several Hell Hot Springs."
"But let me make this clear—only professionals who have thoroughly memorized the usage guidelines may operate them, or accidents could easily occur!"
Although the Hell Hot Spring was highly effective, its side effects were equally potent.
The hot spring she and Satoru regularly used was already a weakened version compared to the original, yet improper soaking times still risked flesh corrosion.
Seinosuke turned to Yoruichi and bowed in gratitude.
As a doctor who frequently interacted with nobles, he understood well how highly nobles valued their assets.
Especially for something like the Hell Hot Spring—a special tool that helped maintain noble authority—sharing it was truly an act of magnanimity.
...
...
As the sun set in the west, Ginrei once again expressed his sincere gratitude to Satoru and Yoruichi.
According to Seinosuke, Sōjun was now out of danger and, barring any complications, would awaken within the day.
Taking his son, Ginrei left the hot spring base and returned to the Kuchiki Clan.
Seinosuke also bid farewell and departed.
After everyone had left, Satoru and Yoruichi sat atop a small hill near the hot spring, watching the sunset in the distance.
"The Soul Society is truly beautiful," Yoruichi said with a smile.
Satoru nodded.
"If we're just talking about the scenery, it is indeed beautiful."
Hearing his words, Yoruichi turned to look at him.
"Satoru, you're preparing to do something big, aren't you?"
"Something that will change many things, even the current structure of the Soul Society."
Satoru's expression remained unchanged as he turned to face Yoruichi.
Under his gaze, Yoruichi smiled. "Surprised at how I figured it out?"
"It's simple—the aura about you has changed from before."
"Aura?"
"Yes."
Yoruichi nodded.
"When I first met you, you carried yourself more like a noble than I did."
"Despite being from Rukongai, you were carefree and detached from everything around you, as if viewing the world from a higher perspective than others."
"But... gradually, a sense of heaviness began to settle around you."
"Though I don't know what you've encountered, it's not hard to guess."
"After all, the Soul Society has long been rotten to the core—just witnessing a fraction of it is enough to weigh anyone down."
"Most Shinigami go through this."
"However, everyone eventually compromises and tacitly accepts it."
"After all, they've already climbed out of the mire through their own strength, no longer needing to interact with such filth and corruption. Just focus on doing their own job well... even captains ultimately can't help but think this way."
"I originally thought you'd end up the same."
"But in recent years, I've felt you've found a new goal."
"That soaring spirit of striving for an objective and steadily improving is shining brightly within you."
Hearing Yoruichi's words, Satoru was genuinely surprised.
Even most members of his own division who frequently interacted with him hadn't noticed this, yet Yoruichi had detected it.
Seeing the astonishment in Satoru's eyes, Yoruichi revealed a triumphant smile.
"What, surprised?"
"Don't underestimate a cat's intuition!"
Satoru placed his hands behind him, supporting himself on the ground, and looked thoughtfully at Yoruichi.
Gazing into those warm golden eyes, he grinned.
"Indeed, I'm working on something extraordinary."
"Perhaps I might even do something unpleasant to you in the future."
"Miss Shihōin, do you have any good strategies to counter this?"
Yoruichi snorted.
"Mr. Satoru, I have more tricks up my sleeve than you imagine."
"If you encounter obstacles in what you're trying to accomplish, when you reach difficult hurdles, don't forget to ask this lady for help."
"That would be greatly appreciated."
Satoru nodded with a smile.
Then, he wiped the smile from his face and spoke again in a serious tone:
"Thank you, Yoruichi."
"Fool, why so formal? It's embarrassing!"
Yoruichi raised a hand and slapped his shoulder with a smack.
Under the setting sun, both of them smiled together.
That evening, Sōjun awoke.
Ginrei personally visited the Eleventh Division to thank Gin for his assistance.
After experiencing the bandit's den atmosphere of the Eleventh Division firsthand, Ginrei felt somewhat overwhelmed.
Although the Eleventh Division had always been called the barbarian squad, it had never been this extreme before.
Satoru... truly was a man who defied conventional thinking.
Watching Satoru sitting on his large animal skin throne, drinking and laughing with his subordinates, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
...
...
After lunch, Aizen left the Fifth Division barracks and headed toward the Eleventh Division.
As he walked, he suddenly sensed something and paused slightly.
Then, he continued forward.
After entering the Eleventh Division, the faint feeling of being watched finally dissipated.
Aizen narrowed his eyes, revealing a somewhat displeased gaze.
Such blatant surveillance… was it a warning?
If he had actually done something and someone had noticed, tracking and warning him, Aizen wouldn't be angry—he might even feel a sense of pleasure at having met a worthy opponent.
The problem was, this time he had done nothing, yet he was inexplicably targeted.
His own captain must have Satoru in his head…
While lost in these random thoughts, he heard a voice calling from afar:
"Vice-Captain Aizen! Good afternoon! Have you eaten yet!"
Seeing Isshin grinning widely, waving as he walked over, Aizen crossed his arms and looked at him as if he were a punching bag.
"Shiba, go practice sword swings. Ten thousand times."
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