The only player in the world of Bleach.

Chapter 332, Section 329: An Old Married Couple

Matsushita Ryoka leaned her head closer.

"Dad! Can you hear me?"

It's a little blurry—but mostly correct. It seems the signal quality is still different from that within Soul Society.

After a brief whispering, the voice on the other side suddenly rose a notch.

"I can hear you, Rinka. How are things on the other side of the world?"

Having confirmed the establishment of a communication relationship, Matsushita Rinka breathed a sigh of relief and plopped back down on the bed.

"This isn't fun at all! Dad, that super strong guy you were talking about—he's not that strong at all!"

Matsushita Hikari said, gesturing wildly.

"They all entered Hollow form like me, but that's about it—if it weren't for the barrier's inability to withstand it, my Cero would have swallowed him whole!"

"So you're holding back a bit?"

"Of course! After all, you said we should give way to others to some extent—I'm still very obedient!"

The girl seemed quite smug, and then slightly raised her head, making a gesture as if she were exhaling through her nostrils.

Although he couldn't see her expression, Yusuke Matsushita on the other end of the phone seemed to be able to understand the girl's feelings.

"Hmm, well done—you'll get a reward when you get back."

"hey-hey----"

"Now, getting back to the main point, what do you think of Ichigo Kurosaki's potential?"

When the topic turned to business, Matsushita Hishika, who had initially shown a disdainful expression, rolled her eyes and then said in a low voice.

"Actually—it's alright."

She lay on the bed, spread-eagled, and added thoughtfully.

"Because it was his first time Hollowfication, he didn't have any particular combat experience to refer to—in other words, he was just fighting me instinctively. It's actually quite difficult for him to do that."

after all----

"Even those guys in Hueco Mundo couldn't do that, right?"

Faced with his daughter's boasting, Matsushita Yusuke pondered for a moment on the other end of the phone before speaking in a slightly subtle tone.

"No—maybe you could do it if you moved up from No. 3? Everyone's been getting stronger lately, so you'd better not..."

Too confident.

"Really? Aren't they all rotten apples except for Uncle Stark?"

"—You know, confidence is a good thing, but don't get too arrogant. Everyone's strength is gradually increasing, especially you—when you first started learning how to fight, didn't you often get beaten up by your mother and cry?"

"That's because Mom hit too hard! How can she beat me like that? It's like she thinks I'm not her daughter—"

"That's for your own good. After all, once you're on the battlefield, no one will care about your age or your feelings."

"I understand that, but I don't want my mom to be so mean to me—"

"Ha, I'll tell her later."

Soi Fon's education leans towards business, while Yusuke Matsushita's leans towards relaxation.

The different educational approaches of the two sides are, in themselves, a form of indirect guidance for Soi Fon.

As for how far the girl can grow, that depends on her own performance.

Closer to home.

"When will I be back?"

"Keep a little attention on Ichigo Kurosaki's development. After all, you just said yourself that his potential is pretty good, right?"

On the other end of the phone, Matsushita Yusuke's tone carried a hint of teasing, and he spoke in a way that was neither a smile nor a laugh.

"If Ichigo can grow stronger, he'll definitely surpass you in the future—why don't you observe him a little longer and see if you can learn something from him?"

"ha?"

Matsushita Ryukaku raised her eyebrows slightly and grinned, seemingly revealing a rather disdainful expression.

"That guy surpasses me? How is that possible? -- Dad, even if you're going to say something to scare me, please think it through before you speak next time. That kind of thing is simply impossible."

The girl is very confident.

But this is normal.

After all, during her years of activity in Soul Society, apart from Yusuke Matsushita, there were very few people who could completely suppress her.

"High aspirations but low abilities" is a phrase often used to describe someone who is not competent enough but is extremely confident and complacent.

However, this doesn't apply to Matsushita Hikari, since she was indeed extraordinary.

"Um—Dad, let me make this clear from the start."

She started counting on her fingers.

"When I was even younger, you told me not to underestimate captain-level figures, but in reality, neither Uncle Zaraki nor Uncle Gin were a match for me—you said that both of them were above average, right?"

Therefore.

"My strength should only be greater than theirs, shouldn't it?"

Yusuke Matsushita was speechless.

He did say similar things in the past to deflate this arrogance, but now it seems that it was somewhat too idealistic.

When Matsushita Hikari is in full play, she can draw upon three powers. When they are used in fusion, even a high-ranking captain would not be able to gain the upper hand against her.

certainly----

Because of his young age, he couldn't perform at a high enough level.

"Everyone is just being lenient with you; it's not like they can't do anything about you at all."

"I don't care! Anyway, the only ones who can beat me are you, Dad, and Old Man Yama. Also—well, Uncle Aizen probably counts as one."

Bar!"

But despite saying that, the person involved seemed rather unconvinced.

"But Aizen's methods are really annoying—he always likes to use confusing and deceptive methods to toy with people, and sparring with him is the most boring thing ever!"

"Ha—if your Aizen uncle heard this, he'd probably burst into tears."

Amidst these reflections, the topic returned to the present moment.

"Half a month, Rinka. Stay for another half a month—if you have time during this time, give that guy some guidance, and then you can come back."

"Tsk."

"Don't talk back to your old man like that. Do you want a good spanking when you get back?"

"Sorry! That's all for now!"

Snapped.

The sound stopped.

Looking at the rippled arc in front of him, Matsushita Yusuke understood that this was a sign that the information had been interrupted.

He leaned back slightly, his facial muscles twitched slightly, and finally managed a helpless smile.

In fact, he didn't know what to do with his daughter.

While the Soul Society isn't exactly a world where strength reigns supreme, someone like her, who was strong enough to crush most people from the moment she was born, coupled with such a high level of teaching staff—it's reasonable that she could make such progress.

Although I've wanted to make her suffer a little, honestly, I haven't had much of a chance yet.

After all, those who can beat her generally won't stoop to the level of a girl.

dong dong dong.

There was a knock on the door. Yusuke Matsushita leaned back slightly, looked up, and spoke.

"Come in."

The door was pushed open, and Soi Fon, with her new short hair and usual attire, strode in.

She examined the file in her hand, muttering short, incoherent words to herself.

"The Second and Third Divisions want to conduct a joint exercise, and during this time, we need to send a portion of our Eleventh Division members to serve as practice subjects—take a look, and if there are no problems, sign it."

"Oh, is that it? — Old Man Shan mentioned it before. Just let them carry it out directly without worrying too much."

Similar incidents are not uncommon for the current Gotei 13.

Yusuke Matsushita glanced at it briefly, then looked up and smiled.

"At this stage, the main task of the Gotei 13 is to constantly rehearse and mobilize for future wars, so that everyone can remain calm and composed in case of emergencies, and at the same time organize resistance forces—that would be good."

In fact, this is also a project that the parties involved have been promoting over the years.

The reason is quite simple.

Based on the content shown in the original work, when the Gotei 13 suffered heavy losses during the first invasion by the Wandenreich, the lower-level Shinigami were also confused by this sudden war.

Matsushita Yusuke's goal was to enable these people to rediscover something from their past.

That's it.

After all, it's enough if the lower levels don't fall into chaos; the most important thing is the actual performance of the high-end combat forces.

"Send this to your men, I approve of it—Also, this time let Zaraki lead the team, although..."

Although he may not seem very bright in everyday life, he won't make a mistake when it comes to serious matters. I believe he'll be fine.

Soi Fon nodded slightly, took the documents, but did not leave.

Yusuke Matsushita had originally planned to deal with other matters, but he noticed something was amiss and now he took the opportunity to look up.

They made eye contact right then and there.

"W--what's wrong?"

"And then you ask me what's wrong—where's my daughter? Where's Linghua?!"

Soi Fon raised her chin and looked at him with a look of anxiety.

"How old is that girl that you're sending her out? So what if she's more capable than others? In the end, she's still just a kid her age—she should be studying hard at this age, at least learning what she's supposed to learn first!"

Snapped!

Soi Fon pressed her hands on the table and shouted, her eyes bloodshot.

"I don't want to argue with you—when is Linghua coming back? Give me a straight answer!"

It's easy to see that Soi Fon is clearly very anxious about this matter.

But this is not hard to understand.

After all, it's normal for parents to feel anxious about education. As long as you have a child, you'll subconsciously compare her to others.

Other people's children have learned a skill and also understood some different principles.

Just realizing this is enough to cause agonizing anxiety about education.

We cannot fall behind others.

Matsushita Yusuke had considered this as well, but he clearly didn't feel the same level of anxiety as Soi Fon. He offered a few words of simple comfort, then rubbed his cheek with a helpless expression.

She wasn't like this before.

So, after having a child, will the role change from wife to mother?

"Soi Fon hasn't checked up on me in ages —"

However, to be honest, I haven't really gone back to rest much.

So should I ask her out for a meal and drinks, and try to rekindle our relationship?

While pondering this, Matsushita Yusuke suddenly looked up and said.

"Want to go out for a drink tonight?"

"————?!"

Soi Fon, who had initially looked disgusted, suddenly changed her expression.

She instinctively took a half step back, her expression turning somewhat surprised.

What are you doing?

"No—why are you so surprised?"

I'm a little sad!

"I just felt like I'd been too busy lately and hadn't had much time to talk to you—but I finally finished up what I was working on these past couple of days, so I was able to find some free time."

Yusuke Matsushita carefully considered his words while observing Soi Fon's changing expression.

"This is a rare opportunity, I'd like to go out for a meal with you — um, that's it."

'

Silence is Cambridge tonight.

After a while, Soi Fon turned her head away, crossed her arms, and let out a barely perceptible hum.

Her cheeks flushed slightly.

"At least you still have some conscience—I'll wait for you to get off work—no, I'll go home first."

"—Are you leaving get off work early? What for?"

"Idiot! Shouldn't you put on makeup before going out?!"

"Ah—right, right, I'm sorry, I forgot about that."

Soi Fon doesn't even wear light makeup normally, since she comes from an assassin family and pays very little attention to such things.

But in other words...

For Soi Fon to put in the effort to do her makeup, it's a testament to her true skill.

"Hey, Yusuke."

Why are you suddenly calling me that?

The person looked up and saw Soi Fon standing behind the desk, scrutinizing him with a slightly subtle look.

"————What's wrong?"

"When will Linghua be back?"

"It will probably take at least a week."

"Understood, then that's settled."

I thought she would get angry, but surprisingly Soi Fon seems to be very easy to talk to now?

While his expression showed slight surprise, Matsushita Yusuke seemed to vaguely hear some whispers.

What does "It's okay if you don't come back tonight" mean?

"Then we—"

Soi Bee tilted her head back and slightly raised her right hand to wipe the corner of her mouth.

Are you drinking tonight?

"Would you like some?"

"Yeah, let's go to that izakaya, the one we went to on our date before, the one with really strong shochu."

"Then I'll make a reservation."

"I'm going to do my makeup now — remember to contact me if anything urgent happens."

Soi Fon stopped at the doorway, seemingly considering her options, then turned her head slightly and spoke in a somewhat subtle tone.

"Let me make this clear from the start: I'm really looking forward to tonight."

Snapped!

The door closed, and Yusuke Matsushita, sitting in a chair, clicked his tongue.

Suddenly, I burst out laughing like an idiot.

I never imagined that an old married couple could have such a unique and interesting relationship.

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