Chapter 348: Aizen Simmers Satoru in Warm Water
First Division, Captain's Study.
Chōjirō Sasakibe elegantly picked up the teapot and poured black tea into a cup.
"Captain Mikami, please enjoy your tea."
Taking the cup, Satoru looked at the old man.
"Old Man Sasakibe, I'm not like the teacher - I'm capable of taking care of myself. You don't need to attend to me like this."
"With this time, you could pursue your own hobbies, like watering flowers or something."
Hearing this, Chōjirō Sasakibe smiled slightly.
"With Genryūsai-sama currently away from the division, you are the acting captain of the First Division. As the vice-captain of the First Division, it's only natural for me to perform these duties."
Satoru took a sip of tea.
Hmm, the temperature and aroma were both perfect.
Comparable to the craftsmanship of Ryūjin Jakka.
Putting down the cup, he asked curiously:
"Old man, aren't you worried about the teacher?"
"He hasn't shown himself for over a month now. Aren't you afraid something might have really happened to him, that he can't return?"
Sasakibe shook his head with a smile.
"Why worry?"
"If that were truly the case, Captain Mikami would probably be the first one unable to sit still."
Satoru was somewhat surprised.
Old Man Sasakibe, not reading military strategy but psychology now?
Although that might be true, he too couldn't figure out what Yamamoto was up to.
His injuries had long healed, yet he stubbornly refused to return to the Seireitei.
Currently, Yamamoto was in the Living World, staying in the residence Satoru had arranged for him, reading various literary works from the modern world.
He read everything, without any particular preferences.
From literary masterpieces to pulp fiction, he could read anything with printed words for a while.
When tired of reading, he would sit cross-legged in meditation, practicing sword zen.
Occasionally, when in the mood, he would even play LSP4.
Regarding this, Satoru expressed concern and worry.
Was the old guy discovering the joys of slacking off and preparing to abandon all dignity?
If that were really the case, he'd have to start thinking early about how to completely transfer the mess in his hands to someone else.
Uncle Kyōraku was a shrewd old fox - he could help with some work, but trying to dump everything on him would probably make him run faster than a rabbit.
As for Senior Brother Ukitake... better not. He was too kind-hearted to do such capitalist exploitation.
After much contemplation, the figure of Kisuke Urahara once again surfaced in Satoru's mind.
Although Kisuke Urahara was currently just a low-ranking seat officer, far from even being a vice-captain, in the great Seireitei where talent was valued, skipping several ranks to become captain-commander would be perfectly reasonable, right?
Satoru narrowed his eyes and raised the corners of his mouth.
In the Mikami Technical Bureau, Kisuke Urahara yawned while writing system patches for LSP4.
Suddenly, he shuddered all over, as if sensing something terrifying.
...What was that? Had a Satoru started haunting the room?
He looked around in panic, and after confirming no one else was there, grew even more anxious.
If it wasn't a room-haunting Satoru, then it must be that Satoru demon thinking about him again, wanting to exploit his young body.
After thinking for a few seconds, he took a deep breath as if making some resolution.
Standing up, Urahara walked to a cabinet.
Password, iris authentication, intelligence test verification.
The cabinet door opened to reveal an iron box covered with glowing Kidō patterns.
Urahara reached out and pressed his hand against the box.
As his Reiatsu fluctuated and harmonized with the Kidō on the box, the patterns slowly faded away.
Opening this box that seemed to seal away demons, he took out a document and an external hard drive.
This was his carefully prepared lifesaving device, something that would definitely help him escape from Mr. Mikami's clutches.
The game was called "Chronicles of Adam."
This game was an erotic masterpiece he had personally traveled to the Living World to commission, paying out of his own pocket to gather various artists and writers to create together.
Combining elements of pure love, harems, steamy content, non-human characters... it could be called an epoch-making masterpiece!
Most importantly, he had specifically included several charming flat-chested characters, believing this would surely make Satoru obsessed, unable to extricate himself, and forget about exploiting him!
Holding the game drive, Urahara raised the corners of his mouth, revealing a sinister smile like a villain.
...
...
That day, Kyōraku arrived at the First Division right on time for work.
As soon as he entered, he witnessed an unbelievable scene.
Satoru was sitting at the desk, seriously handling official duties.
Kyōraku froze for a moment, rubbing his eyes.
This was bad - he must have gotten up too abruptly, seeing Satoru actually working.
"Satoru?"
Kyōraku entered the room, speaking with some caution.
He suspected his junior brother was gone. What stood before him was an alien disguised as his junior brother, an invader from another dimension.
"Yo, Uncle Kyōraku, morning."
Satoru looked up and nodded at Kyōraku.
Then he adjusted his glasses and continued working.
Kyōraku felt somewhat puzzled.
The person before him, whether in terms of Reiatsu, aura, or tone of voice, was undoubtedly his junior apprentice brother.
But since when did his junior apprentice brother wear glasses?
After a moment's thought, he cleared his throat:
"Satoru, I heard the First Division is changing their meal offerings at noon today. Why don't we take an early break and go see what good food they have?"
Satoru looked up, his eyes lighting up:
"That sounds great, let's go right away!"
As he spoke, he stood up, ready to leave.
But then his expression changed, showing frustration.
"Never mind, Uncle Kyōraku, you go ahead first. I'll join you later."
Saying this, he continued processing the documents.
"???"
Kyōraku was shocked.
Even a meal invitation couldn't move him?
What's wrong with his junior apprentice brother?
The scene shifts to Satoru's perspective.
The glasses he was wearing transmitted everything he saw directly to the distant Technical Bureau.
Aizen sat before the screen, carefully reviewing various reports on the documents.
Then, he provided various instructions.
His voice traveled through the temple pieces of the glasses into Satoru's ears, who then made various revisions on the documents according to his requirements.
Kyōraku approached curiously and picked up the various documents Satoru had reviewed.
Most of these were old files that had been piling up in the First Division—even Old Man Yama rarely bothered with them.
He never expected his junior brother to personally handle such matters.
After examining them for a while, he was even more astonished to find that Satoru's revisions were nearly flawless—not only comparable to his own work but even surpassing it in some aspects.
This was utterly absurd.
He knew all too well what Satoru was usually like.
The Eleventh Division's official duties? Satoru never touched them, leaving everything to his trusted subordinates.
Even if Satoru were diligent and regularly handled his own division's affairs, the First Division's documents were not so easily managed.
It was like asking an ordinary section chief to suddenly take on the CEO's responsibilities—even with experience, shifting mindsets was no simple task.
Kyōraku himself had been the captain of the Eighth Division for nearly four hundred years and had learned much from observing Old Man Yama. Only then could he barely manage the workload.
How long had his junior brother been in this role?
Less than two months.
Could it be… this kid was actually a genius?
Filled with doubt, he sat down nearby, relishing the rare pleasure of watching someone else work.
After a while, Satoru finished processing all the documents on the desk.
"That's it for today," Satoru said.
Aizen, seated before a screen, nodded into the microphone.
Early that morning, he had contacted Satoru, explaining that he needed to review some materials. He asked Satoru to use the remote monitoring glasses under the guise of handling documents so he could examine the files.
Satoru saw no issue with this.
After all, Aizen would never harm him, he didn't have to do the work himself, and most importantly, he could show off in front of Captain Kyōraku. Why not?
Driven by a strong desire to boast, he completely overlooked one thing: if Aizen wanted to see these documents, he could simply use Kyōka Suigetsu to access them when Kyōraku wasn't around. There was no need for such an elaborate scheme.
The next day, Aizen asked him to review another batch of files.
And the day after that, the same.
As days passed, Kyōraku became increasingly convinced that his junior brother's talent for handling critical intelligence far exceeded his own.
With a sense of awe, Kyōraku began shifting his workload.
He handled the more trivial tasks himself, while sorting out the important ones and delegating them to Satoru.
He was thoroughly impressed by Satoru's abilities in data organization, intelligence analysis, and decision-making.
Occasionally, while dining or drinking with friends, he mentioned this.
Everyone was surprised to hear that Satoru had smoothly taken over the First Division's confidential duties—but then again, since it was Satoru, it wasn't all that shocking.
That man was practically synonymous with miracles.
If tomorrow it was announced that the Captain-Commander had stepped back and Satoru was overseeing everything, they wouldn't bat an eye.
Thus, quietly propelled by Aizen's influence, the Seireitei's perception of Satoru gradually shifted from "Captain of the Eleventh Division" to "a competent acting captain of the First Division."
...
…
In the third month of Yamamoto's "disappearance," Kuchiki Byakuya came to visit.
This former half-grown boy had now matured into quite a handsome young man.
Outwardly, he appeared similar to a human of seventeen or eighteen years old.
Standing beside Satoru, they didn't look like uncle and nephew but rather like peers.
In the Soul Society, this wasn't strange at all.
In fact, most of Satoru's contemporaries now appeared to be in their early twenties.
Shinigami grew quite rapidly during their childhood and adolescent years.
Except for prodigies like Tōshirō who possessed exceptional genetic traits, most people could grow from infancy to youth in just a few decades.
Led by Sasakibe, Byakuya entered the Captain-Commander's study.
Upon entering the room, he suddenly froze.
As the legitimate eldest grandson of the Kuchiki Clan, his social status was quite high, and he had visited the Captain-Commander's study twice before.
The study, which originally exuded an atmosphere of scholarly elegance with tea fragrance, had now completely transformed.
The various calligraphy works and paintings hanging on the walls had been replaced with game posters.
On the bookshelves, all kinds of classical texts had been swapped out for figurines.
The most outrageous change, however, was in the center of the room.
The old chair that Yamamoto often sat in had been moved to a corner of the room.
In its place was a large seat covered with tiger skin.
Satoru sat inside, legs crossed lazily, yawning with indifference.
Seeing Byakuya enter, Satoru grinned.
"My good nephew, what brings you here today?"
Byakuya: "..."
This was no longer the Captain-Commander's study—it was practically a bandit's den.
Where was Vice-Captain Sasakibe? Do something!
Are you just going to stand by and watch as the study of your beloved Lord Genryūsai gets defiled like this?
For a moment, Byakuya couldn't help but feel as frustrated as if he'd been through Komamura.
Though he desperately wanted to voice his complaints, he had come today with a request and had to hold back.
Under Satoru's gaze, he showed signs of nervousness.
Snap.
Byakuya closed the door behind him, reached into his robe, and pulled something out.
Satoru raised an eyebrow.
Was he about to present a map of Yan?
Byakuya took out a document and handed it over with both hands:
"Satoru... ahem, Mr. Mikami, please take a look at this!"
Satoru reached out and took it.
After reading the text, he let out an "Oh ho!"
The document was Byakuya's application requesting permission to marry Hizane Mikami.
As a member of a great noble family, getting married wasn't easy—the procedures were numerous and complicated.
The most crucial step, naturally, was to seek the approval of Hisana's adoptive father, Satoru.
Looking at the application in his hand, Satoru showed an amused expression.
He waved the paper:
"Such an important matter, and you come alone, young man?"
"Where's Captain Kuchiki? As the head of the Kuchiki Clan, does he plan to hide and not come to propose?"
Byakuya quickly shook his head:
"I asked Father not to come."
"Father and Satoru... and Mr. Mikami have a close relationship. I wanted this proposal to succeed because of my sincerity, not because of Father's influence!"
"Hoh..."
Satoru stroked his chin.
He had no objections to Kuchiki Byakuya marrying Hisana.
If it were anyone else, he might suspect the boy was acting on a whim.
But as a transmigrator, he knew very well that this young man's feelings for Hisana were genuine.
Still, having no objections didn't mean he couldn't have some fun with the kid.
After a moment's thought, he grinned:
"Little Byakuya, it's not impossible to get my approval."
"As long as you can prove your courage!"
"Courage?"
Byakuya showed a puzzled expression.
Satoru Mikami let out a sinister laugh: "Simple. Challenge any captain, achieve victory, and take their position!"
"If you succeed, I'll agree to let you marry Hisana!"
Hearing this, Byakuya's expression turned serious.
He quickly assessed the strength of all current captains in his mind.
After a few seconds, as if realizing something, his eyes lit up.
"I understand."
"Wait for me, Satoru. I will definitely succeed!"
Without waiting for Satoru's response, Byakuya turned and ran off.
Watching his retreating figure, Satoru felt puzzled.
Where did this kid get such confidence?
It wasn't until that afternoon that he received a report from his subordinates.
Byakuya Kuchiki, the eldest grandson of the Kuchiki Clan, had challenged Kensei Muguruma, captain of the Ninth Division.
Kensei Muguruma readily accepted the challenge, and then in full view of everyone, was defeated by Byakuya Kuchiki.
Satoru: "..."