You are very strong, but my painting style is better than yours!

[Squad 13]

This team is responsible for "purification," which is the aftermath and the removal of karmic obstacles. It is supposed to be a low-level department, but the work is quite tedious.

But the captain of the 13th Division—Jushiro Ukitake—was somewhat different:

He was frail and sickly from a young age. Although he was strong, he rarely used his skills and could not work for long periods of time, otherwise his health would be ruined.

Ukitake himself happens to be an extremely kind person, and he is quite gentle to both his friends and subordinates.

These two factors combined result in the fact that in the 13th Division, the seat commander often has higher authority and can complete some minor tasks on their own without having to report to their superiors.

The vice-captain's position is like half a family in the team. During Ukitake Jushiro's illness, his authority and responsibilities were almost the same as the captain's!

It should be noted that the captains of each team are all ruthless characters with distinct personalities and formidable strength. The vice-captains are merely scribes who handle miscellaneous tasks for them. The special case of the Thirteenth Team is extremely rare in the entire history of Soul Society.

Against this backdrop, the position of vice-captain is naturally highly valued, especially by those high-ranking noble families.

After all, the difficulty of "Bankai" is too great. Apart from the four noble families, almost no other family has multiple captain-level powerhouses.

Compared to the unattainable captain level, there are relatively more scions of prestigious families at the vice-captain level.

If I could become the vice-captain of Ukitake, the influence that would come with it would absolutely guarantee that my family name would not decline for a hundred years!

There is just such a small matter right now:

Jushiro Ukitake's current vice-captain is quite old. Due to years of hard work and some old injuries, he is no longer able to cope with the burden, and rumors of his retirement have been circulating for some time now.

The third and fourth seats in the thirteenth division are not particularly outstanding individuals, and it would be difficult for them to manage the division for Ukitake Jushiro. Therefore, Captain-Commander Yamamoto intends to transfer a capable person from elsewhere to assist Ukitake.

The news spread rapidly within Seireitei, stirring up countless undercurrents of turmoil...

But Ivan never imagined that he would be hit by the waves!

"Didn't she tell you? The higher-ups really admire her and are considering transferring Aizen Yuuki to the 13th Division as the third or fourth seat," Saito said with a drunken grin. "She's finally getting ahead."

"I've never heard of that before..."

Iori frowned: "Is this true? My older sister is still just a student, she hasn't even graduated yet. And to go from a candidate Shinigami to a seat officer, the leap is too big."

"Actually, she could have graduated a long time ago, right? Although I've never met her in person, I've heard people talk about her; she's a rare talent, hiccup!"

Saito sighed and continued, "According to rumors, it seems that the vice-captain of the Thirteenth Division himself made this request."

Iori looked up in surprise: "Is that so?"

"I don't know the specifics, but it seems to be some kind of exam... Oh, don't the senior students in the Spirit Arts Academy have practical training?"

The vice-captain was in charge of proctoring the exam, but problems arose at the venue. In addition to the lowly fodder, a few unusual individuals infiltrated and killed several students.

Fortunately, your sister was also in that exam hall. She not only completed her task but also managed to defeat the special void, ending the incident in time and preventing the disaster from escalating.

Saito stroked his chin: "If things escalate, the vice-captain as the proctor will also have to take responsibility, and he will naturally have to thank Aizen Sōyūhime afterwards..."

I don't know what he was thinking, but it seems like he took a liking to your sister at first sight and strongly recommended her to join the 13th Division, even wanting to promote her to a seat officer.

Judging from their attitude, they want to groom her as their successor.

This matter caused quite a bit of debate among the higher-ups, but the appointment of the board members has always been decided by the captains. After meeting your sister, that kid Ukitake seemed to admire her quite a bit, so there was nothing anyone else could say.

"I see." Iori nodded, initially surprised, but upon reflection, it made no difference.

Isn't he just a banquet official?

My sister has the potential to become a Spirit King!

Regardless of whether Yuuki or Iori ultimately took over Aizen's position, Yuuki's talent is undeniable and currently surpasses Iori's. She could easily be a vice-captain, let alone just a seat officer!

"But what does this have to do with me being ambushed?" Iori still didn't understand. "Those upperclassmen are of average ability and can't possibly be Yuuki's rivals."

"Of course they're not qualified!"

Saito scoffed, "They're just a bunch of pampered young masters who grew up in comfort. They can't even bring out their real swords when they try to ambush others. What future can they possibly have?"

"If it were me, I wouldn't care about the consequences; if I ran into you on the street, I'd just pull out a knife and stab you to death!"

“…If it were someone like you, I would absolutely not leave them alive either,” Iori retorted. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to sleep peacefully.”

"Hahaha~ So you're exactly my type! It would be a waste if you weren't born eight hundred years ago!"

Saito laughed heartily, paused for a long time to catch his breath, stretched his neck and tried to pour out the few drops of remaining wine from the bottle to moisten his throat, before speaking calmly.

"There is indeed someone who wants to compete, I think he comes from some noble family, and he is currently the third seat in the First Division... Everyone knows the situation in the First Division. The positions of captain and vice-captain are unchanged for thousands of years. Old man Yamamoto and his vice-captain will never step down. If the people below want to be promoted, they have to change teams."

That third seat holder is quite strong. Logically, after transferring to the 13th Division, he should naturally be promoted after a few years when the old vice-captain retires. But who could have imagined that a female student would suddenly appear?

"The person who attacked me... was it instigated by the Third Seat? To target Yuuki?"

"Broaden your horizons a bit. Someone who can become a third seat wouldn't do something so tasteless. Especially under old man Yamamoto, if someone were an idiot, they would have been kicked out long ago—the Sparrow Club wouldn't let someone of questionable character get close to the Captain-Commander."

Saito curled his lip: "Those people probably just want to curry favor with the Third Seat. After all, directly attacking your sister would be too easy for people to speculate about, and would damage the Third Seat's reputation, so they targeted you instead."

"If something happens to me, Yuuki might do something unwise while she's emotionally unstable, and then she'll naturally lose her chance to be promoted, right?"

“Clever~” Saito curled his lip. “The Seireitei is getting more and more decadent. Their connections are layered upon layered. A mere seated officer position has attracted so much attention. They’ve put all their energy into scheming and infighting. Their strength is declining with each generation. If another Quincy invasion comes, all of these people will die!”

"I never expected... that I would be used as Aizen Sōyūhime's 'weakness'..."

Iori suddenly felt like laughing.

It turns out that in most people's eyes, the older sister is the main focus of the sibling relationship, and he really is just a "younger brother".

It's annoying~

"And then, is my older sister sure she's going to join the 13th Division?"

“There’s a small problem now. Although Ukitake and the vice-captain have recommended her, your sister is still just a cadet. Everyone, including Captain-Commander Yamamoto, is generally not very confident in her. After all, this position might be filled by someone who will be the successor in the future, and we need to find a reliable and capable person to assist that kid Ukitake.”

Saito tried to recall: "It seems that old man Yamamoto gave your sister a test. In a few days, during the Spirit Arts Academy's anniversary celebration, she must win the grand prize and then go on stage to show everyone her Shikai."

She wasn't required to explain her abilities, since that would be against the rules, but she should at least demonstrate that she could unleash her Zanpakuto.

After all, he's only the fourth seat officer. With his Shikai and outstanding resume, no one will say... Hmm? What's wrong with you?

Why are you looking at me like I'm asking for trouble?

"It's nothing, I just suddenly felt sentimental, please don't mind."

Iori smiled subtly, feeling inexplicably pleased.

To have Yuuki demonstrate her Shikai in front of all thirteen squads? What a brilliant idea!

My brothers and sisters in Seireitei, I wish you good luck!

But I won't join in on this kind of good thing!

Chapter 11, Mayuri Kurotsuchi, open the door!

Having not slept all night and suffering from a hangover, Iori was naturally not in good spirits when he went to class the next day. His haggard appearance caused concern among many of his close classmates, but he brushed them off.

The instructor in charge of teaching demonic arts also noticed this, but merely frowned and then paid no further attention, harboring considerable dissatisfaction:

With dark circles and bloodshot eyes, it's clear he's been up all night. Although I don't know exactly what he was doing, at such a young age, with such a lack of self-control, what future can he expect?

Originally, Shi Fan had a good impression of Iori because he was also from Rukongai, powerless and of average talent. He had gotten to where he was today entirely through his own efforts. He knew how much sweat a commoner student had to put in to get ahead, so he always looked at Iori, who had excellent grades, differently.

However, Iori went too far today. The boy who used to be so serious and self-disciplined, just because he won a duel and was praised a few times, actually acted like he had lost his bearings. It's really disappointing!

As a grim reaper, one should always be vigilant and never let oneself be blinded by temptations. If one cannot persevere in one's efforts, how can one close the gap with the scions of noble families?

With a feeling of disappointment and frustration, during today's Kido practice, when it was Iori's turn to demonstrate, the instructor specifically called out his name and gave him the most difficult question among all the students.

"Azure Flame Fall? That's the 33rd type of Hakudo, which can only be learned in the fourth year!"

The other trainees looked up in astonishment at Iori as she walked into the shooting range, many of them showing either sympathy or schadenfreude.

It should be noted that there are three types of Kido: Hado, Fudo, and Kaido. Although there are about a hundred types of Hado (attack) and Fudo (defense, binding), Kido above number sixty is actually very rare due to the limited spiritual pressure consumption. Only vice-captains can master them.

For ordinary members, being able to skillfully unleash forty or fifty Kido is considered elite, since everyone relies on Zanpakuto for their livelihood, and apart from the "Kido Clan," no one would focus their training on this.

As for the students... let's put it this way, the graduation standard of the Shinigami Academy is "to master at least one Kido (any type) between number 30 and 40".

In other words, the questions that the teacher training college gave Iori were almost equivalent to giving a junior high school student a college entrance exam question—and it was math!

This is no longer a matter of being out of sync with the curriculum; it's clear to anyone with eyes that the teacher training college is trying to put Iori in a bad light!

"The ruler, a mask of flesh and blood, all things, soaring high, bearing the name of humanity, truth and temperance, standing only as claws on the wall of a dream, unaware of sin..."

A series of difficult incantations flowed from Iori's mouth. Her hands opened and stretched forward, the spiritual pressure gathering in her palms compressing and transforming in a mysterious fluctuation, before a dazzling crimson flame was born in the atmosphere—

[Hado 33 - Azure Flame Fall!]

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Iori not only successfully completed the incantation, but also displayed perfect spiritual control. A blazing flame was born in her palm, and then, amidst the surging wind pressure, it was launched far away, expanding into a fireball the size of a head, which directly hit the target twenty meters away.

Bang!

The violent explosion brought everyone back to their senses, and the trainees' eyelids twitched involuntarily.

Then it dawned on him that Iori was different from them; the Kido of Number Thirty-Three might not be difficult for him...

The instructor's expression softened. He saw things more clearly. Iori not only chanted fluently, but also had a smooth grasp of the details of spiritual pressure flow—the incantation was just a guide; the important thing was how to control the spiritual pressure.

It is clear that Iori must have practiced for quite some time, otherwise it would have been impossible for her to master this Kido.

Considering Iori's usual humble attitude and her outstanding performance in ranking among the top in all four categories of the White-Cut Demon and Oni-Walking Demon events, the instructor sighed inwardly:

'That's talent...it's really frustrating.'

"Okay, this one is approved. Next up are two low-level demonic arts."

Teacher Training College stopped making things difficult for Iori and changed the last two questions to those of normal difficulty.

"Let's go with... [Floating Fire (XI)] and [White Thunder (IV)]."

Is it Bai Lei?

Iori was truly exhausted. She had spent the entire night chatting with Saito Kou, and it was also her first time experiencing a hangover in this life. She rushed here to take the test during the day without stopping. Her spiritual pressure was still sufficient, but she was physically and mentally exhausted.

Upon hearing that it was the low-level Breakthrough technique called "White Lightning," which she was very familiar with, Iori, who was in a hurry to go back to sleep, didn't hesitate. She immediately raised her hand, put two fingers together, and released a brilliant burst of lightning, like a winding silver snake hitting the target.

"..."

Ok?

Suddenly, the room fell silent. Iori looked around, bewildered, and only then did her alcohol-numbed brain belatedly realize what was happening:

"It's actually a broken chant!"

"When did this guy learn that? Isn't he from a commoner background?"

"But...but this power...it's unreasonable!"

Iori's eye twitched as she realized that her performance had been somewhat conspicuous.

"Everyone..."

Just as he was about to explain that this was the only low-level Path he could skip the incantation for, a large, broad hand landed on his shoulder.

"Go back to sleep!"

Looking up, I was surprised to see a teacher with an unusually serious expression!

"The Grim Reaper's lifespan is not as short as that of humans. You have a long future ahead of you, so there's no need to be in such a hurry."

Why are you putting on such a serious face? Why am I in such a hurry?

"A regular schedule is also very important. Practicing Kido all night long is something I absolutely cannot do again. Otherwise, not only will my spiritual pressure be depleted, but my body will also be unable to withstand it!"

Iori: "...Huh?"

"I understand. Where do so many geniuses come from in this world? They are all the result of ordinary people working a hundred times harder."

However, it's also important to pay attention to the methods and approaches; you must balance work and rest, understand?

The teacher, speaking with the wisdom of someone who had been through it all, patiently guided Iori, but the boy's face showed mostly bewilderment.

It took Iori a moment to realize:

Do they think that their haggard appearance is due to their arduous practice of the ghost path?

This……

"Go back and have a good meal, take a shower, and get a good night's sleep. This isn't a suggestion, it's an order!"

The instructor nodded to Iori in appreciation, then announced to the students that Iori would be given a day and a half off, and told everyone to learn from Iori and not to be complacent with a little achievement.

Look at them! Not only are they more talented than you, they're even more hardworking!

—Although it wasn't said directly, that's the meaning behind it.