Chapter 125
At the Second Division training grounds.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Kaelith stood in the center of the arena, dressed in his Shihakushō.
"...In conclusion! From this day forth, Kaelith is officially appointed as a mber of the Second Division, an Onmitsukidō operative, and a personal guard directly under the Corps Commander!"
"Additionally, he will assu the position of Third Seat of the Second Division!"
With Marenoshin Ōmaeda's booming announcent, Kaelith transitioned from a Shin'ō Academy student to an official Shinigami of the Gotei 13.
Although his appointnt seed like a "rocket promotion," none of the squad mbers were surprised.
As part of the Onmitsukidō, they had a natural talent for intelligence gathering.
Long before this day, they had heard countless tales of Kaelith's impressive feats.
If nothing else, his role as the examiner for the Ninth Division's new captain was proof enough of his abilities.
For soone of his caliber, being directly placed as a Vice-Captain wouldn't have been unreasonable. Third Seat? That was barely worth ntioning.
The Gotei 13 valued strength over seniority.
Especially in these turbulent tis for the Soul Society, the more capable individuals like Kaelith who could be parachuted into positions, the better.
Among the crowd, Soifon clapped expressionlessly, though she had a strong urge to punch Kaelith.
Last night, this guy had dragged Lady Yoruichi out drinking and hadn’t returned all night.
If it weren’t for her quick thinking—heading out before dawn to search the usual places—they might not have had been here for either the star of today’s ceremony or its witness present.
anwhile, Kisuke Urahara genuinely smiled and applauded for Kaelith.
Now that this guy had an official Shinigami job, Urahara figured Kaelith wouldn’t have as much ti to squeeze him dry.
The thought of finally escaping the hell of ga console developnt made Urahara beam with joy.
That joy lasted until the evening.
As the sun set, Urahara stretched, ready to enjoy a hearty al at the ss hall.
Halfway there, he was intercepted by an Onmitsukidō operative.
"Kisuke Urahara, you have new orders."
Hearing this, Urahara straightened and adopted a serious deanor.
"From this day forth, Kisuke Urahara is relieved of his duties overseeing trainee squads and reassigned as a mber directly under Third Seat Kaelith."
"All actions will be under Third Seat Kaelith's command."
"That is all."
After delivering the orders, the Onmitsukidō operative nodded and disappeared.
Kisuke Urahara: "..."
Watching the direction the operative vanished, Urahara collapsed to his knees like a defeated boxer, unable to rise.
---
Although officially a mber of the Second Division and a Shinigami, Kaelith felt his life hadn’t changed much.
Thanks to Yoruichi’s indulgence, his workload was light.
Most of his ti was spent sparring and training with Yoruichi in the Second Division.
In their free ti, they’d head to Rukongai for drinks.
After drinking, they’d team up to prank Soifon.
Life was harmonious.
When not in the Second Division, Kaelith was usually with Aizen.
Whether it was having soone to share research with or the excellent materials brought back from Hueco Mundo, Aizen’s experints were progressing at an astonishing pace.
Just the other day, Aizen finalized an experintal conclusion.
By integrating modified Hollow Reishi, a Shinigami's strength could be significantly enhanced.
This had already been tested on over thirty rebellious Shinigami, with remarkable results.
Weaker individuals could leap from ordinary Shinigami to lower-ranked seated officers.
Stronger individuals could even jump from mid-ranked officers to high-ranking ones.
The only downside was that the process was irreversible.
So far, all Shinigami who underwent the enhancent eventually experienced uncontrollable Reishi destruction, ultimately losing their sanity and strangling themselves in the incubation tanks. The sight was unsettling even for soone like Kaelith.
Lately, Aizen had been fully engrossed in uncovering the mystery, to the point where he had even put aside studying Kaelith’s Zanpakutō.
Recalling the ani’s lore about the Hōgyoku, Kaelith couldn’t help but look at Aizen with sympathy.
If things went as expected, Aizen would fail to solve the problem of Hollowfication on his own. All this effort would ultimately be in vain.
But on second thought, Kaelith found it understandable.
Scientific research was built on layers of futile efforts.
The process itself was often the true treasure for the researcher.
Aizen, no doubt, found joy in the journey.
Compared to Kaelith’s leisurely life, the Soul Society was in turmoil.
After the death of his grandson, Senzo Tsunayashiro had completely lost his mind.
At the Central 46 eting, he desperately tried to rally neutral noble families to exact vengeance on the Kuchiki family.
However, the Kuchikis had been well-prepared, rendering his efforts futile.
Seemingly overwheld by grief, Senzo abandoned diplomatic asures.
Under his orders, rogue swordsn defying the Gotei 13 began appearing across the Soul Society like mushrooms after the rain.
Yamamoto imdiately dispatched teams to suppress the unrest.
But the Soul Society was vast.
The East, South, West, and North each had eighty districts.
Even if each district were the size of a small town, together they ford an enormous entity.
With only four to five thousand Shinigami, it was impossible to manage everything.
To say nothing of Aizen's lab in the 79th District of the West, which had remained unnoticed for so long—it was a testant to the lax governance of Rukongai.
Amid the waves of rebel attacks, Rukongai descended into chaos.
Even districts that had previously been relatively peaceful began enforcing curfews.
The Second Division naturally bore the brunt of the turmoil.
Seriously injured comrades were brought together for treatnt within the Second Division.
Those who couldn’t be handled there were sent to the Fourth Division.
Kaelith personally led several groups to deliver injured operatives to the Fourth Division.
Seeing the Onmitsukidō mbers lying on stretchers, their bodies mutilated and bleeding, Kaelith couldn’t help but frown.
At this rate, the entire Soul Society would fall into disorder.
After pondering for a long ti, he turned and left.
---
"Sensei!!!!"
A loud voice rang out in the First Division barracks.
Chōjirō Sasakibe’s eye twitched, his blood pressure rising slightly before gradually subsiding.
He was used to it.
Inside the barracks, Yamamoto was holding a brush, writing on a sheet of paper.
Seeing Kaelith rush in, Yamamoto frowned.
"Fool! How many tis must I tell you to conduct yourself with composure?"
Kaelith shook his head, ignoring the remark.
He rushed up to Yamamoto, his expression serious.
"Sensei, I have an earnest suggestion."
Under Yamamoto’s puzzled gaze, Kaelith raised a thumb.
"In my observation, Senzo Tsunayashiro is definitely plotting so massive conspiracy!"
His expression grew grave as he made a throat-slitting gesture with his thumb.
"To prevent being caught off guard, why don’t we just take action and finish him off first?"
Yamamoto: "???"
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