Restricted Death

Chapter 168 Flower

First team team building.

When Chojiro Sasaki pushed open the door and entered the quiet room, he saw that only Shin was inside, reclining under a low table with his upper body leaning back on the table.

He also looked very tired.

His battle with Retsu Unohana ended very quickly, seemingly without expending much energy, but sometimes fatigue is not physical.

Chojiro Sasaki stared at the other person for a moment before slowly calling out.

"Captain Tachikawa."

Hearing the sound, Xin sat up slightly and looked over.

"Satsube-senpai."

Sasakibe Chojiro said, "Captain Unohana has returned to the Fourth Division. She said... she will keep her promise to the Captain-Commander."

"Ah."

"As for you, Captain-Commander... also expressed his understanding."

"Ah."

Xin tilted his head back again and quietly looked at the ceiling inside the room.

Chojiro Suzaku pondered, "Captain Tachikawa, the Captain-Commander says you can go back now."

"..."

He added, "You can understand the Captain-Commander, can't you?"

Xin smiled faintly and said, "Senior Quebu's words seem to imply that the Captain-Commander has not done something well. Has he done anything wrong?"

Chojiro Sagamatsu sighed softly, "I think if you could... give us a little more trust, there wouldn't be so many misunderstandings."

Xin maintained a faint smile on his face, neither confirming nor denying the matter.

What Chojiro Sasaki said actually makes some sense. If Shin had revealed his entire plan from the beginning, he wouldn't have angered the Captain-Commander so much.

However, doing so will also present other problems.

He can give Captain-Commander Yamamoto his trust, but can Captain-Commander Yamamoto agree to give him enough trust?

For Xin, there are some things that must be done first and reported later.

"The Captain-Commander has had a tough time too," said the Sparrowbeard.

To put it bluntly, many of Xin's actions are a result of being spoiled and pampered.

He is exceptionally talented; at such a young age, he already possesses captain-level strength, making him probably the first person in the history of Soul Society to achieve this.

Therefore, the captain inevitably paid special attention to him and showed him "favoritism," tolerating his actions time and time again.

If it were anyone else, Captain-Commander Yamamoto would never have given them the opportunity to do so.

Many things are reciprocal, and Chojiro Sasakibe also hopes that Shin can live up to the Captain-Commander's "high regard" and become a pillar of Soul Society in the future.

That's how it will be. After several decades or centuries, faith will inevitably mature and become more stable.

Chojiro Sasakibe had always held this thought in his heart.

Shin suddenly sprang to his feet and dusted off the non-existent dust from his haori.

"Then I'm going back."

"..."

As Shin approached Chojiro and was about to pass him, he suddenly heard him say something.

"Thank you."

Xin paused, then turned and looked at him with a beaming smile.

"I did all this not for the sake of saying thank you."

“I know,” said the sparrow. “I’m not just saying this because of myself.”

As he stepped out of the room, Xin seemed to sense something and glanced toward the captain's office, but he could only see through the snow-white walls and wooden doors, and had no idea what was inside.

Perhaps there is someone else watching him through these obstacles.

After leaving the First Division, Shin didn't return to the Tenth Division, but went straight home.

The sudden surge in Unohana Retsu's favorability rating brought him a significant boost in power.

In that instant, Xin could feel that he had become a completely different person.

[Reiatsu Level: Lv61]

Second-class Spirit Might!

The strength of the body has undergone a qualitative change.

The captains of the Gotei 13, due to their excessively high concentration of spiritual particles, cannot return to Soul Society in the form of spiritual particles after death. Therefore, a special soul burial ceremony is held after their death to send the deceased captains to Hell.

Everything in Soul Society is made up of spirit particles, and being in such a space has always given Shin a very strange feeling.

He had been to the human world, where spiritual energy was scarce. Comparing the human world to the Soul Society felt like comparing air to water.

Now, Xin can clearly feel his body becoming lighter and lighter. Nothing around him can hinder him anymore. He has a feeling of being in the world, yet completely independent of it.

The spiritual pressure intensity of a second-level spiritual power is considered rare among the captains of the thirteen teams.

However, Shin estimates that, purely in terms of spiritual pressure, he is still quite far from being on par with someone like Unohana Retsu.

After all, they are people who have lived for thousands of years.

There is an unknown difference between first-class and second-class spiritual power.

However, this was not a problem for Xin; with the system in place, he didn't face any bottlenecks.

All you need to do is keep moving forward.

Besides the increase in spiritual pressure, the unlocking progress of the Zanpakuto has also reached 58%.

Shin is not quite sure whether he can reach the threshold of Bankai after reaching the 60% stage, since he was able to perform an incomplete Shikai when the unlocking progress reached 10%.

The power of this shore and the other shore, when supported by sufficient spiritual pressure, is already excessively strong, and is more than enough for Shin.

Unless Bankai is an even more abnormal power, its boost to faith may not be that significant.

"Stagnation" has essentially put him in a state of immunity to all external harm.

"Retreating" can be used in combat to completely catch the enemy off guard.

He had previously experimented on Soi Fon during their fight in the dungeon.

In today's battle, he was able to succeed by suddenly "reversing" to a certain node in his movement path while moving, so Retsu Unohana couldn't see his actions clearly.

In contrast, using spiritual pressure on others consumes more spiritual pressure, which is similar to healing people.

Shin hopes that his Bankai will bring him a completely new power.

#
The next day was a brand new day.

Shin arrived at the 10th Division early and met Matsumoto Rangiku, who greeted her with a smile.

Matsumoto Rangiku stared at him with a resentful expression.

"Where's Hitsugaya?" she asked directly. "Didn't he take leave and go home?"

"He's been on leave for a few days, he can't just abandon a bunch of team duties and stay home every day!" Matsumoto Rangiku questioned.

Xin said, "Don't you know why he asked for leave? His grandmother at home isn't feeling well and needs to be taken care of. Can't you, as the vice-captain, be more understanding? Stop trying to exploit him. Hitsugaya is so young. What if you wear down his passion too early? I still think he can go much further in the future."

Matsumoto Rangiku retorted, "How come it's all my fault? As the team leader, don't you have any faults? You dumped so much work on me, and I didn't see you all day yesterday. Weren't you on vacation yesterday? What were you doing?"

Shin slowly walked into his office, saying, "I've given you what you're supposed to do. The Third Seat is supposed to be the adjutant, so Hitsugaya's work is naturally your work. As for the captain's work, I've already finished that myself."

These words left Matsumoto Rangiku speechless for a moment.

It seems that this is indeed the case. Her complaints about the heavy workload are actually due to the laziness of the former captain, Shiba Isshin. When Shiba Isshin was in charge, she had a lot of work to do and complained about it. This made her subconsciously think that Shin was also that kind of person.

She is much more relaxed now than before.

However, before Shiba Isshin stepped down, during the period when Hitsugaya Toshiro was the third seat, she did live a carefree life, handing over all the work she could to Hitsugaya.

Now that Hitsugaya is suddenly gone, she's finding it hard to adjust.

The officials below her came to her with one task after another, but when she tried to find Hitsugaya, he had disappeared again.

After thinking it over, a smile suddenly appeared on her face as she leaned closer: "Captain, could I ask for leave this afternoon?"

Xin looked down at the documents on the table and asked without looking up, "What do you want to do with your leave? You asked for leave the day before yesterday, right? To attend your Women's Death Association's team building event."

Matsumoto Rangiku said with a smile, "I just wanted to visit Hitsugaya's grandmother. After all, she's my direct subordinate, so it's only right that I show her some concern."

Matsumoto Rangiku didn't really believe that Hitsugaya's grandmother was unwell. She felt that he was deliberately making excuses to skip work. She wanted to go and see for herself. If Hitsugaya was really lying to her, she would definitely drag him back. But if it was really a problem with his grandmother's health, then she had nothing to say.

Shin said without changing his expression, "I think you want to bring Hitsugaya back, right? Who will take care of his grandmother then?"

Matsumoto Rangiku said angrily, "Captain, how could you think of me like that?! You're so petty!"

"Me, being petty?" Xin raised an eyebrow slightly, giving her a strange smile.

"Who's been talking badly about me in the 10th Division every day?"

Matsumoto Rangiku was suddenly overwhelmed with emotion, and her voice faltered as she asked, "Who is it?"

The letter continued, “Although I have only been the team leader for a short time and have not achieved much yet, I have at least been responsible in my work. Why do people say that I am indifferent to team affairs every day? It’s pitiful that I have just become the team leader and not only have to deal with a lot of work that I have never handled before, but I also have to face the doubts of the team members.”

Matsumoto Rangiku's lips twitched slightly, then she roared angrily, "Who! Who dares to be so bold? I'll drag her out and teach her a lesson! How dare she slander her own captain like this!"

"Her?" Xin smiled faintly. "It seems you know she's a female team member."

Matsumoto Rangiku looked embarrassed. Knowing she couldn't avoid it, she went to Shin's side again, eagerly hugged his arm, and pressed her whole body against him.

"Captain~"

The seductive voice sent a chill down Xin's spine. Feeling his arm being enveloped by something warm and soft, Xin couldn't help but glance to the side out of the corner of his eye.

hiss!
What is that big, white thing?!
Even through the captain's haori and the fabric of the shihaka, Shin could still feel its amazing elasticity and its bone-deep sensation.

"Captain~ I mean well, please say yes~"

Okay, I agree...

What did I promise again?

Xin coughed lightly, then suddenly adjusted his posture and sat up straight.

You should have a lot of work to do this afternoon.

Just kidding, Shin certainly knew that Hitsugaya would suddenly go back, most likely to escape Matsumoto Rangiku's exploitation.

Shin had visited the Hitsugaya family with Hinamori a long time ago and met his grandmother. After Hitsugaya's spiritual pressure stopped interfering with her, his grandmother's health had improved a lot. In Soul Society, people without spiritual power do not need to eat, they only need to drink water, and the probability of getting sick is extremely low.

This is probably also the reason why Matsumoto Rangiku has doubts.

Shin didn't want to let Matsumoto Rangiku continue to be so lazy. As a captain, he couldn't be cleaning up the vice-captain's messes every day, could he?

Upon hearing his response, Matsumoto Rangiku became furious, grabbed the documents on the table, rolled them into a tube, and slammed them hard onto Shin's shoulder.

He said fiercely, "You scoundrel!"

The soft touch suddenly disappeared, and Xin couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. Then he glared at her and said, "Who are you calling a hooligan? Didn't you take the initiative?"

Matsumoto Rangiku left the office without looking back.

That slut!
Xin rested his cheek on his hand, savoring the feeling from just now, and sighed softly.

Whether it's Isane, Rukia, or Hinamori, none of them can compare to Matsumoto Rangiku in this respect.

Another image flashed through his mind.

Come to think of it, my knife should be with her.

As evening fell, the twilight deepened.

As Xin walked out of the office, he ran into several team members who were also preparing to leave.

"team leader!"

"Hmm," Shin replied casually. "By the way, have you seen Matsumoto?"

He only asked this question after not seeing Matsumoto Rangiku all afternoon.

The group all shook their heads, saying they hadn't seen Vice Captain Matsumoto in the afternoon either.

They probably went to Rukongai.

They're so disobedient!

Slightly frustrated, Shin left the 10th Division barracks and instead of going home, headed towards the 4th Division.

The lights were still on in the general medical unit, and the air was filled with the familiar scent of medicine.

Shin hasn't really adjusted to being away from the Fourth Division yet, and coming back here feels more familiar.

At this time, there was hardly anyone left in the Fourth Division barracks.

Xin walked slowly to the innermost courtyard, where only one room was lit.

It is the tea room of Retsu Konohana.

Looking through the open window, I saw a figure still inside.

After pausing briefly in the courtyard, Xin walked over slowly.

He didn't knock this time either. Inside, Retsu Unohana sat in the center, with a vase in front of her and various flower branches around her.

The white haori she wore had a few wrinkles, and her black hair was neatly draped over her shoulders, which made her dignified demeanor appear even more captivating and radiant.

His knife was also placed beside him.

She seemed to have anticipated his arrival, and didn't react much to the sound of his footsteps. She fiddled with the flower branches for a long time, trimmed them to the right size, and placed them in the vase.

Shin stood at the door for a moment before Unohana Retsu finally stopped what she was doing and turned to look at him.

The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop; outside the window, the wind rustled through the leaves.

……

End of this volume

(End of this chapter)