Chapter 9: Genryuu and Shigekuni Yamamoto
" Mahiru, I'm here."
Matsumoto Rangiku looked at the new star of the Lingshu Institute, who was sitting cross-legged on the sofa, stroking his Zanpakuto with both hands, unable to hide her excitement, but soon a look of confusion appeared on her face.
Although Mahiru had only had his Zanpakuto for less than a day, their relationship was extraordinarily good, so good that she felt it was a bit subtle.
She knew that Mahiru had always wanted a Zanpakuto, and she also knew that Mahiru would be inseparable from it once he got one.
But she racked her brain and still couldn't figure out how a Zanpakuto could make Mahiru so infatuated!
" Mahiru, did you ask me to come here just to see this? I'm going to get angry!" She puffed out her cheeks in a huff and reached out to pat Mahiru's face.
This old lady is standing right here, even though she hasn't fully matured yet, that's no reason for you to go flirt with a blade!
As if to make this suddenly appearing vixen stay away from Mahiru, she deliberately sat in Mahiru's lap.
"My dear, you like me, right?"
"…I really didn't expect it. Beneath Senbonzakura's pure face and conservative clothes, there's such a graceful figure. It's truly wonderful… Ah, that's right, Matsumoto Rangiku, I like you."
Mahiru, who had been muttering in a daze, suddenly jolted, his wandering eyes immediately became firm, and his hands wrapped around Matsumoto Rangiku's slender waist.
" Mahiru, you didn't do anything excessive to the Zanpakuto, did you? A Zanpakuto is an extension of a Shinigami's Souls, and they are one in body and mind!"
Matsumoto Rangiku gave Mahiru a disdainful look.
"Of course, I know, but Senbonzakura's situation is a bit special…"
"Special? What could be so special? Isn't the relationship between a Shinigami and a Zanpakuto always like this?"
"I don't know how to explain it either. I can only say that she is not me."
Nonsense!
Matsumoto Rangiku couldn't accept this statement at all, as it was completely different from what was in the textbooks. She gritted her teeth and said:
"You're not trying to find an excuse for your strange behavior, are you? Don't think I don't know, you're full of lies. You used to trick me into saying you were going out to collect debts, but you were actually going to see the lady next door!"
"I promise what I'm saying this time is the truth. I have a bottom line, okay?" Mahiru patted his chest, indignantly saying, "After all, doing that kind of thing to myself, no matter how you think about it, is too weird."
Matsumoto Rangiku looked suspicious, then seemed to realize something and froze there.
An unbelievable thought surged in her heart…
If this Zanpakuto is independent, could she really…
Impossible, what can a Zanpakuto without a physical form do? Is Mahiru not afraid of pain?
Mahiru extended two fingers and poked her forehead, comforting her:
"Alright, if you can't figure it out, don't think about it. Even I haven't figured it out yet. Just focus on cultivating. Look at how lazy you are every day, not exercising, and you're not growing taller."
Matsumoto Rangiku slowly leaned on Mahiru, her small hands holding him tightly, their bodies pressed together inextricably.
A subtle sense of urgency emanated from her heart, and she suddenly wanted this body to grow up faster.
Watching the increasingly solemn expression on Matsumoto Rangiku's face, a chill suddenly rose in Mahiru's heart.
...…
In Seireitei, at the Squad One Barracks.
The Headmaster stood in front of the main gate, with an excited heart, explaining his purpose to the guards.
A Shinigami entered the Squad Barracks to report, and after a short while, invited the Headmaster inside.
He had been the Headmaster for several centuries, but the Squad One Barracks was not a place he could just enter at will.
Although Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto was the chief instructor of the Genji School and the first Headmaster of the Central Spirit Arts Academy, the Lingshu Institute is now an educational institution independent of the Gotei 13 and does not belong to the First Division.
On the way to the Captain's lounge, patrolling First Division Shinigami could be seen everywhere.
Occasionally, a Lieutenant Team messenger from the Second Division's Fifth Squad would suddenly appear and then disappear.
As the Headmaster walked, the Shinigami along the way would salute him, and he would nod back with a stern face.
Most of the Shinigami in the Gotei 13 were graduates of the Central Spirit Arts Academy; these Shinigami could all be considered his students.
The Headmaster walked through the courtyard, took off his shoes in front of a room, and stepped onto the wooden floor inside.
He walked to an entrance, cleared his throat, and loudly said:
"Captain-Commander, Keito Sato, Headmaster of the Central Spirit Arts Academy, requests an audience."
"Come in." A powerful and solemn voice came from inside the room.
"Forgive my intrusion." The Headmaster respectfully nodded, pulled open the door, and entered.
It was a small room, with swords hanging on the walls, and a wooden tea table in the center, on which various exquisite tea sets were placed.
Behind the tea table, an old man, composed and slightly benevolent, sat quietly.
His squinted eyes opened a slit, revealing a head with two long scars on the forehead, sporting the same hairstyle as the Headmaster, dressed in death god robes, with a large white haori draped over it, the lining of which was Kyoto purple.
Inside the diamond-shaped black thick-lined frame on the haori was a large character for "One".
This old man was precisely the Captain of the First Division, the Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13, the strongest Shinigami in a millennium, Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto!
"Captain-Commander!"
The moment he saw the old man, the Headmaster immediately knelt on one knee without hesitation.
Only Shinigami of his age knew how ruthless this seemingly benevolent old man had been in his youth.
"What is the purpose of your visit?"
"I have discovered a genius in the Central Spirit Arts Academy, a very exceptional genius. He completed his Shikai on the very first day, and his spiritual pressure level reached Sixteenth-Grade Spiritual Power."
The Headmaster specifically emphasized the words "exceptional," and took out a document from his Arms and handed it to Yamamoto.
"This genius is named Aozaki Mahiru. This is his information."
Soon, accompanied by the sound of turning pages, the Headmaster's heartbeat quickened.
"Is he willing to graduate early and join the Gotei 13?"
Upon hearing this, the Headmaster was slightly stunned.
Why would the Captain-Commander ask such a question?
Aozaki Mahiru had only been enrolled for two days and had his first class today. Although his talent was extraordinary, basic training hadn't even begun yet, so it was too early for him to graduate.
The Lingshu Institute mainly teaches skills and knowledge, which are not things that can be learned naturally just by having high spiritual pressure.
If he were to graduate early now, no matter how much of a genius Aozaki Mahiru was, he would still be a blank slate, and it would be difficult for him to learn all the necessary knowledge and skills once he joined the Gotei 13.
After all, the duties of the Gotei 13, to put it plainly, are a professional job where you get paid to do things.
Every Shinigami has their own work to do, and no Squad member can teach students as dedicatedly as the teachers of the Lingshu Institute.
Unless you are a noble, receiving elite education from a young age, whether it's managing a family, Shinigami skills, or power struggles, you learn everything you should and shouldn't, so early graduation wouldn't have an impact.
Fortunately, his centuries as Headmaster were not in vain. He had done his homework before coming, having already considered all sorts of questions.