Bleach: From Rugum to Thousand-Year Captain

Tengetsu Chosai secretly gave Shihōin Sennatsu a thumbs up: "Oh, it would be wonderful if the Shihōin family could send some supplies to our Gotei 13. After all, our Gotei 13's duty is to protect the Seireitei. It would be reasonable for the Shihōin family to sponsor us."

Disgusting! Absolutely disgusting! Both Shihōin Sennichi and Tengetsu Sussai were singing in unison, and even Shihōin Kenichirō's composure was starting to crumble.

However, Shihouin Kenichiro thought that since things had come to this point, it could be an opportunity. He waved his hand and the servants left the guest hall one after another.

“It’s not impossible for the Shihōin family to sponsor the Gotei 13, but have you two considered what the other noble families would think? If I were to sponsor your Captain-Commander Yamamoto, what could I possibly offer in return? After all, the Shihōin family isn’t a charity. I support so many people in my family and I have to consider their interests. Without a suitable excuse, how can I explain this to my clan?”

Here we go, finally getting to the point! Tengetsu Sussai still wore a fake smile, his mind racing as he analyzed the task Yamamoto had given him and the price the Shihōin family could offer.

However, while Shihōin is open to negotiation, Yamamoto's mission must be completed, so no matter how much Tengetsu Sussai plans for profit, he must first offer his bargaining chips.

"Captain-Commander Yamamoto is willing to hand over the Second Division to the Shihōin family for hereditary succession."

"What?!"

Tenzuki Sukusai's bombshell left Shihouin Kenichiro somewhat dizzy, but Tenzuki Sukusai's next words brought him back to his senses.

"But there are conditions!"

.......

Chapter 43 Responsibilities and Obligations

"The head of the Shihōin family seems quite pleased? Forgive me for not finishing my sentence yet, but please allow me to continue."

"Please continue..."

After calming himself down, Kenichiro Shihouin paused for a moment before continuing.

"Captain-Commander Yamamoto, considering that Shihōin has worked tirelessly and made numerous contributions to the Gotei 13 over the past few days, and out of respect for Captain Shihōin, has granted the Shihōin family some preferential treatment."

"The appointment of the captain and vice-captain of the Second Division can be inherited by members of the Shihōin family and its affiliated families. The Second Division will be converted into the Covert Force for intelligence work, and the intelligence it obtains can be shared by the Gotei 13 and the Shihōin family."

"The specific organizational structure of the team is divided into the Xingjun, Jinglu Team, Jianli Team, Candidate Team, and Liting Team. These duties of guarding the court will be handed over to the captain of Shifengyuan and the head of Shifengyuan in the form of appointment letters. The captain of the Second Division also serves as the captain of the Xingjun."

"Here I would like to congratulate Shihouin on taking over the family headship. In some aspects, the Shihouin family will have unique advantages. The right to supervise the Gotei 13 and the entire Seireitei is unique and far ahead of other great noble families."

Kenichiro Shihouin was immediately thrilled upon hearing this. This level of delegation of power was practically a superpower surpassing that of the other four noble families. Of course, he wasn't blinded by greed. At the previous meeting of the Golden Seal Nobles, everyone was still criticizing the Gotei 13 and even considering replacing the captains of each squad with family captains.

However, if they didn't handle that right, it could easily lead to their own destruction, just like Yamamoto Shigekuni. So they were still missing a suitable opportunity to do that. But unexpectedly, Yamamoto Shigekuni made his move before them and directly won over the Shihōin family on his own.

Kenichiro Shihōin knew this was Yamamoto's open scheme: by binding the Shihōin family to the Gotei 13, the five great noble families would no longer be a unified force. Did Kenichiro Shihōin not know this? Yet, the Gotei 13's structure was approved by the Soul King and was an absolute necessity to be implemented and established.

"Better to sacrifice a friend than myself." If the Shihōin family doesn't seize this opportunity, it would be a huge disservice to their clan. Once the Gotei 13 is established, the Shihōin family will be the legitimate surveillance family of the Seireitei, forever at the top of the aristocratic power hierarchy.

Agreed! Absolutely must be agreed upon!

Kenichiro Shihōin remained calm. "So, Lieutenant Tengetsu, what is the price?"

Tengetsu Sussai knew that Shihouin Kenichiro had completely taken the bait, and the initiative was entirely in his and Shihouin Senhi's hands. As long as Shihouin Senhi didn't say anything or object, he could make any demands, ask for whatever he wanted, and then negotiate the price down to the last penny, pocketing most of the money himself.

Shihōin Sennatsu is truly amazing. His destructive power as an inside man is astonishing. From Yamamoto Shigekuni's perspective, Shihōin Sennatsu is a member of the Shihōin family, and he doesn't care what conflicts Shihōin Sennatsu has with the Shihōin family.

No matter what the price was, it was an internal transaction between Shihōin Sennichi and the Shihōin family. But now it's Tengetsu Sussai, and Tengetsu Sussai is taking all the profits without caring about Yamamoto Shigekuni's business.

For Yamamoto Shigekuni, what more could he ask for after getting things done? Talking about interests with the nobles was definitely a thankless and exhausting task.

Tengetsu Sussai dared to do this because he was certain of Yamamoto Shigekuni and Shihōin Sennatsu's attitudes. Even if the matter were to reach Yamamoto, would Yamamoto hold him accountable? No, because Yamamoto hadn't given any specific instructions on how to cooperate; he only needed the organization to be completed.

Will Central 46 punish him? No. Because the Shihōin family won't let Tengetsu Sussai get into trouble. Having gained such a huge advantage, they won't just refuse to remove Tengetsu Sussai; instead, they'll protect him and keep him quiet.

As for secretly killing Tengetsu Sussai? Let's ask Shihōin Senhi and Yamamoto Shigekuni first. Shihōin Senhi and Tengetsu Sussai's visit to Shihōin Kenichirō was backed by Yamamoto Shigekuni, so there's no way the nobles would have an excuse to do this to his people.

The problem has circled back to Shihōin Sennatsu; ultimately, it was only when this step went wrong that there was room for maneuver.

"What I discussed before was the rights of the Shihouin family after their hereditary Second Division appointment. Now, I will discuss their obligations, so please listen carefully, Head of the Family."

"First; although the Shihouin family has hereditary control of the Second Division and shares intelligence responsibilities, the Second Division is first and foremost a member of the Gotei 13 and cannot neglect that. The Second Division must prioritize completing its Gotei mission without error; this is Captain-Commander Yamamoto's bottom line."

"I can accept this." Kenichiro Shihouin breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that the Shihouin family's power in the Second Division was not enormous, but it was still far ahead of the other four noble families and countless lower-ranking nobles.

This actually provides an excuse to deal with the other four noble families, preventing them from being besieged.

Next came the stage for Tengetsu Quesai to ask for exorbitant prices. Afterwards, Yamamoto Shigekuni didn't give any instructions to Shihōin Sennatsu, so he could do whatever he wanted. Asking for more money from the landlord was a sure way to make a killing.

The Shihōin family might feel that the price is too low and that they should spend more money.

"Secondly, the Shihōin family needs to provide certain financial assistance, which will be accepted by Captain Shihōin and used to establish the Second Division of the Gotei 13. What do you think, Head of the Shihōin family?"

"Providing funds is simple. Not only does our Shihōin family own considerable mineral resources, but our affiliated Ōmaeda family also possesses numerous businesses. You don't need to worry about our Shihōin's financial resources. How about we set the first batch of aid at 10 billion rings? There's no need to provide aid to the Second Division; our Shihōin family can provide the funds, manpower, and resources themselves, so Vice-Captain Amaterasu needn't worry about that. This 10 billion rings of aid, Vice-Captain Amaterasu..."

"10 billion..." Tengetsu Sukusai was secretly dumbfounded, shocked by the wealth and power of the Shihōin family. However, after thinking about it, he realized that this amount of money was nothing to them, as they were a great noble family that had stood in the Soul Society for millions of years.

It seems the head of the Shihōin family is trying to bribe him to shut him up and prevent him from talking nonsense to other nobles.

The landlords should be exploited severely; if not now, when?

"I understand... Okay! If there's a shortage of funds later, I'll have Captain Shihouin put in a word..."

"No! You can just come and say hello, don't make me come to Shihōin." Shihōin Chinri was eager for the Shihōin family to bleed money, and except for this time, he was secretly laughing to himself.

"Secondly, I would like to ask the Shihouin family for advice. The most pressing issue for the Gotei 13 is housing. My colleagues in the Gotei 13, including myself, have nowhere to live..."

Shihōin Kenichirō laughed heartily, pulling Tōtsuki Susuzai out of the guest hall while instructing the servants outside: "Go! Call the first detachment of the garrison. This matter is a trivial one for Vice Captain Tōtsuki."

"The so-called garrison troops are..."

Tengetsu Sussai, puzzled, patiently explained to Shihōin Kenichirō.

"This unit has a total of 5 squads, each with 100 people. They are all composed of high-level spiritualists with huge spiritual pressure and extremely fast recovery ability. Each squad member is selected and trained by our Shihōin family to be a talent proficient in house construction. In addition, the Shihōin family's spiritual output tools for house construction make them a pretty good construction unit. My family repairs houses and changes their style every year, so they are quite useful for building houses."

"Oh, you might ask, wouldn't it be extravagant to use high-level spiritual energy to build houses? Of course! Everyone who learns about the garrison for the first time is surprised. In fact, they do have high spiritual energy, but their spiritual particles are mixed and difficult to control, so they don't have much combat ability."

"Neither outputting spiritual particles nor wielding a Zanpakuto will suffice; only with the spiritual particle output devices made by our Shihouin family can they truly shine. How about that? Don't you think our Heavenly Gift Weapon family is pretty cool? You know, those are Heavenly Gift Weapons, they're divine artifacts!"

Kenichiro Shihōin looked smug and arrogant, while Tengetsu Sussai turned around with a forced smile and glanced at Sennhei Shihōin behind him. Sennhei Shihōin shrugged and spread his hands in response.

Tengetsu Sussai could only think to himself, "No wonder they're all from the Shihōin family, their expressions are all cut from the same mold, aren't they?" (Yoru's face: QAQ)

.....

Chapter 44 Spirit Particle Cluster Device

Kenichiro Shihōin is happy, Tengetsu Sussai is happy, and Senri Shihōin is secretly smiling. Everyone is happy, and all four are overjoyed.

After a conversation between Tengetsu Sussai and Shihōin Kenichirō, the 100-man garrison no longer belonged to the Shihōin family but was placed under the leadership of Shihōin Sennatsu. However, in reality, they were still under Tengetsu Sussai's command. Even if the men were given to Shihōin Sennatsu to command, he would not want to take on the task.

According to Tengetsu Sussai, the garrison forces need to build the Gotei 13, which involves the construction of secret buildings. This garrison force must be separated from the Shihōin family to ensure their safety.

Kenichiro Shihōin didn't care about this at all and handed over the first squad to Tengetsu Sukusai. After they went out, Tengetsu Sukusai and Sennatsu Shihōin looked at each other. Behind them were 100 guards and 10 billion rings piled up like a mountain.

Tianyue Quezhai gestured towards the mountain of gold worth 10 billion rings; "What did Captain Sifengyuan say? After all, everyone who sees it gets a share, how much do you want?"

"Oh dear, logically speaking, shouldn't all 10 billion rings be mine? Why does Vice Captain Tianyue have designs on them?"

"It's all yours? OK! Let's see how Captain Shihōin transports this mountain of gold back."

Yeah, there's no way to hide 1 billion rings of that kind of money. If we take it back to the Gotei 13, the Captain-Commander will find out sooner or later. Then the money won't belong to the two of them, but to the Second Division or even the Gotei 13 themselves.

Seeing Tengetsu Sukusai's amused smile, Shihouin Senji shrugged; "Well, I was just bluffing you. Don't worry, take this 10 billion rings and let's see what you do with it... huh?"

He saw Tianyue Quezhai instantly appear in front of the golden mountain, wave his hand, and the ring coins disappeared as soon as they touched him, as if they had never existed. Soon, 10 billion ring coins vanished.

Those ring coins have already been added to Tianyue Quezhai's system inventory and turned into a string of numbers.

"Captain Shifengyuan, we're all in cahoots. What's yours is mine, and what's mine is yours. Don't be shy when you want to take money."

Tengetsu Sussai was in a good mood upon receiving the money, which, with a little manipulation, became his own capital. This money could be used for various purposes, whether it was to build up the Fourth Division of the Gotei 13 or to buy things in the system shop; buying supplies from the system shop would be very cost-effective.

As for the fact that his methods would be exposed by Shihouin Senhisa, there's really no need to worry too much. Shihouin Senhisa isn't the type to blabber, so even if he did, do you think anyone would believe him? Besides, this is the Soul Society, not the cultivation world. Otherwise, Mayuri Kurotsuchi's inventions would have been divided up by the nobles long ago. In the Soul Society, strength and power are the most real things.

"These methods... I really can't see through you, Vice Captain Tengetsu..."

"Please continue to guide me in the future... Captain Shihouin!" The two exchanged knowing smiles. This visit to the Shihouin family was a worthwhile one for both of them. Because of the Second Division, Shihouin Senji's influence in the Shihouin family would be much greater. It was a kind of triumphant return home, though Shihouin Senji wouldn't care too much about it.

"Don't worry, I'll report to Captain-Commander Yamamoto. I'll keep quiet about the money and the garrison. But it's a deal: when I need money for alcohol, you can't be stingy. Also, I just find it strange that you could have asked for even more, so why didn't you continue to squeeze more out of Shihouin Kenichiro?"

Tengetsu Sussai shook his head; "Kenichiro Shihōin is such a shrewd person, he knows how to weigh interests too well. In his mind, he will weigh the benefits of the conditions offered by Captain-Commander Yamamoto. The more I say, the more mistakes I will make. If he pushes his luck, I will be in a very passive position. Besides, Shihōin only has money and divine weapons. I don't really need them. Money is easy to hide, but these 100 people are living people and can't be hidden from the Captain-Commander. Just report the truth."

"Alright, as long as you know what you're doing. Oh, and one room should be finished today, right? Let the garrison build a barracks for the Second Division. I don't want to sleep in Rukongai."

"no problem!"

After nodding, Shihouin Sennhei turned and left using Shunpo. The further away he was from the Shihouin family's messy affairs, the freer he would be. Getting closer to the Shihouin family would bring countless troubles and misfortune upon him.

While the noble status was indeed prestigious and provided for a life of comfort and ease, the rules and constraints were too numerous, like a mountain weighing down on Shihouin Senhi. If he had to live this kind of life for the rest of his life, he might as well just die in battle.

Tenzuki Sukusai turned to the guards and instructed them, "Now you should all know your current status and position. You have left the Shihouin family and joined the Gotei 13, which belongs to the 2nd Division of the guard force."

"Your leaders are no longer the head of the Shihōin clan, but the Second Division Captain, Shihōin Senhi, and myself, the Fourth Division Vice-Captain, Amaterasu Sussai. You must obey the Second Division Captain's orders first. If the Second Division Captain has no questions, you can ask me."

"You've become Shinigami of the Gotei 13. Due to the special status of this garrison unit, you don't need to carry swords or fight. Now, come with me to the Second Division and begin your work. Oh, and who is the squad leader of your squad? Come out and talk to me directly!"

One of them stepped forward and said, "Lord Death, my name is Izawa Shido, and I am the squad leader of this garrison unit. What are your orders?"

Amatsuki nods; "Let's talk as we walk. It's quite far from where the Gotei 13 is. Let's try to get back to the 2nd Division tonight."

Midway through their journey, Tianyue Quezhai and his group became interested in the 'divine weapon' in the hands of the garrison troops and couldn't help but ask about it.

"Izawa Shido, is that thing you're holding also a 'divine artifact' made by the Shihōin family?"

"Oh, you mean this? This kind of thing isn't exactly a divine artifact for the Shihouin family. At most, it's just a spirit particle converter and output clusterer. Its principle is that when we start using the converter and turn it on, it uses a certain technique inside the machine to actively absorb and mobilize the spiritual energy in our body and release it out."

"The spiritual energy we output is also different. The spiritual energy of our garrison troops is vast, complex, and profound, making it the most suitable for building houses. There are several output modes, including stone, bricks, and wooden planks. We can simply switch modes to produce whatever shape we want to create."

As he spoke, Izawa Shido activated the Spirit Particle Cluster Device and demonstrated it to Amatsuki Susuzai. Amatsuki Susuzai saw that after Izawa Shido activated the Spirit Particle Cluster Device, the spiritual power within Izawa Shido's body was constantly dissipating, which reminded him of the spiritual pressure limiting eye mask that the researchers of the Twelfth Division had made for Kenpachi Zaraki.

Izawa Shido adjusted a mode, and the spiritual particles overflowing from his body gradually arranged themselves in front of the spiritual particle clusterer, just like a tile being clustered and manufactured in 3D printing.

It has to be said that the Shihouin family's technology is quite advanced; they've even mastered 3D printing. No wonder they're called a divinely gifted military force. Using spirit particles to create objects isn't surprising, since everything in Soul Society is made of spirit particles. With the right ideas and technology, what can't be created?

Tengetsu Chōsai played with the spirit particle cluster device in Izawa Shidō's hand for a few moments before losing interest.

They traveled through the night, passing through mountains, rivers, jungles, and endless open spaces. It was late at night, when the crescent moon was about to set, that they finally arrived at the territory of the Second Division.

Tenzuki Sukusai gestured towards the ground with his chin; "Thank you all for your hard work! Let's build a smaller barracks for the Second Division so Captain Shihouin can stay. After that, we'll rest and then make arrangements for you."

"Yes!" Izawa Shido accepted the order without any complaints.

......

Chapter 45: I'm a contractor in Soul Society?