Time flowed quietly, and in the blink of an eye, over a month had passed.
The midsummer sun hung high and fierce, and sunset arrived much later than usual.
In the evening, Toshiro finished his daily duties and left the Tenth Division barracks alone. He did not return to his quarters; instead, he turned onto a secluded path outside the barracks and vanished in an instant.
This fleeting ripple of movement was clearly sensed by two people in the courtyard of the administrative office.
Shiba Isshin finished the tea in his cup, his gaze following the direction where Toshiro's Spiritual Pressure had disappeared, a characteristically casual smile still on his face.
"Out again, I see..."
Matsumoto Rangiku rested her cheek on one hand while the other absentmindedly toyed with the long golden hair cascading over her shoulder.
"It's been like this lately. As soon as evening hits, he's nowhere to be found."
She turned her head toward her captain, her tone tinged with concern and curiosity.
"Captain, aren't you going to ask? Toshiro is still young, after all. If he overtrains and hurts himself, or wanders onto the wrong path—"
Isshin laughed heartily and waved a hand.
"Don't worry about that. Toshiro may be young, but his character is steadier than many veteran Shinigami. He knows what he's doing."
He paused, setting his teacup down on the table.
"Do you remember how, just a month after joining the squad, he used nearly all of his salary to buy a Denreishinki?"
"You mean... Tsukasa?"
Rangiku blinked, then realized.
"Who else could it be?"
Isshin leaned back in his chair, his tone relaxed and full of sentiment.
"That boy Tsukasa is a talent even the Head Captain personally guided. Toshiro training with him can only be beneficial. Moreover, the paperwork Toshiro has been handling lately is far more meticulous than when he first joined. That, most likely, is Tsukasa's influence as well."
"With Toshiro in the squad, I finally don't have to worry about the Tenth Division Captaincy having no successor."
"Wait a minute! According to rank, the next Captain should be me, shouldn't it?"
Rangiku sat up straight, her hair tossing with the movement. It wasn't that she harbored a deep desire for the captaincy—she was perfectly content with being Lieutenant—but she was surprised that Toshiro, who had only recently graduated, held such high esteem in Isshin's eyes.
"What are you talking about! If someone like you became Captain, the Tenth Division would be finished!"
Isshin glanced at her sideways, his lips curling into an unabashed smirk.
"You don't actually think that in a little more time, you'll still be a match for Toshiro, do you? If it weren't for me being sentimental, your ranks would have to be swapped soon. You should be grateful, Rangiku!"
He deliberately elongated his words, his eyes flashing with mischievous teasing.
"Captain!"
"Hahaha!"
As Rangiku glared at him huffily, Isshin had already laughed and stood up, making a quick getaway.
Underground Training Ground.
Toshiro appeared by the stone slab at the entrance, expertly descending with it. At first, he came every two or three days, but lately, he showed up almost every evening. The underground training ground had become his most familiar location in the Seireitei besides the barracks.
His figure dropped naturally from the ceiling. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he saw Tsukasa over by the vegetable garden.
Tsukasa was not wearing his Shihakusho; he wore a plain, simple robe with sleeves rolled up to his elbows, a hoe in his hand. Seeing Toshiro arrive, Tsukasa looked up and smiled.
"Toshiro, you're here."
"Yeah. What are you planning to plant today?"
Toshiro walked forward, placed his Zanpakuto on the stone table, and picked up a custom-made hoe from the corner that was sized perfectly for him.
"I got some medicinal herb seeds from the Fourth Division. I want to see if they can survive here. With such a large space and such dense Reishi, it would be a waste not to grow more things."
Tsukasa pointed the tip of his hoe toward several plain white cloth bags at the edge of the field.
It had to be said that the two original owners of this place were excellent at site selection, leaving a blessing for those who followed. The underground space had high Reishi concentration, constant lighting, and an almost completely sealed environment. There were no seasons, no day or night, and no pests could survive here.
Tsukasa only needed to use Hikari (Dawn Light to adjust the light intensity and spectrum to simulate different seasons, allowing him to precisely control the flowering and fruiting times of the plants. With proper management, he could achieve a continuous year-round harvest.
"I'll help."
Toshiro nodded and said no more, picking up a shovel. The two worked side-by-side in silence, one tilling the soil and the other sowing seeds.
Half an hour later, the bags of seeds were all planted. Tsukasa walked to the head of the rows and hammered in several carved wooden markers, carefully labeling them with the names of the herbs and the planting dates.
Then, he raised his hand, and a faint golden shimmer appeared in his palm. The light spread out like a thin veil, forming a nearly transparent curtain of light over the furrows. The light stabilized, and Tsukasa withdrew his hand.
"Now we just need to water them regularly and wait for them to sprout. Come on, let's go get some water!"
"Okay."
The two walked one after the other toward the nearby pond, where bamboo buckets sat by the water's edge. The pond water was drawn from a deeper underground vein; it was crystal clear and rippled with a golden luster.
As Tsukasa dipped a bucket into the water, he remarked, "For the first few days after I finished this pond, the water was still murky. It took a long time for it to settle into this."
"How long did it take to dig such a large pond?"
"Dig? This wasn't dug."
Tsukasa lifted the full bucket, a mysterious smile playing on his lips.
"I used Hado #57: Daichi Ten'yō (Upturned Earth Dance)."
Toshiro paused, his hand gripping his bucket frozen. "Upturned Earth Dance? Isn't that—"
Tsukasa took over the conversation, his tone light. "It's a Hado used to control soil and rock for attacks. The ingenious uses of Kido depend entirely on the mind of the user. At the time, I needed a pond and didn't want to spend ten days digging, so I thought of using Kido to spin the ground directly into a large pit."
"Impressive..."
Toshiro imagined the scene: Tsukasa standing by the edge, his Spiritual Pressure reaching into the ground like invisible hands, the earth vibrating as a massive pit was hollowed out. He marveled at the thought. This praise was genuine; the focus of Hado instruction was always on how to maximize destructive power. No one had ever mentioned that Hado could be used this way.
The two carried the water buckets back to the field and began to irrigate carefully. After watering the last row, Tsukasa straightened up, his eyes brightening as a good idea struck him.
"I'm planning to hollow out a few cellars later to store herbs and supplies. I'll draw up some blueprints for you later; consider this your evening assignment after today's sparring."
"Alright, leave it to me!"
Toshiro was eager, a light of excitement burning in his eyes. His voice was full of anticipation for the new challenge.
Looking at his high spirits, Tsukasa couldn't help but chuckle.
"Such motivation! Good, very good. Keep it up!"
The two returned to the small hut, where Tsukasa took out paper and pen to meticulously sketch the structure he had in mind, detailing the key points for the construction and the release of Kido.
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