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The following days, Ishikawa's life could basically be summarized in four words:
Early to bed, early to rise!
Every day, he would primarily complete accepted commissions and make friends; work at the Comprehensive Relief Station and make friends; work at the Maggot's Nest and make friends...
In any case, no matter what he did, he would seize the opportunity to make friends.
And besides that, the Supervisory Team, the Shinigami Research and Development Institute, the Image Hall... all sorts of surveillance were in place.
Leaving the other two departments aside for now, the Supervisory Team did ask Ishikawa if he wanted them to try and obstruct these departments' surveillance of him, but Ishikawa sternly refused!
How could he let them obstruct it!!
Although being under surveillance meant many things had to be temporarily stopped and there were many inconveniences, being monitored 24/7 by the entire Seireitei was also a form of protection.
Anyway, once a certain someone's plan began, they probably wouldn't have much energy left to focus on him, and by then... he wouldn't have to worry about being quietly eliminated.
For these last few years, he would honestly run his Everything Store under surveillance.
If there was any regret...
It was that Ishikawa had been completely put in the cold by Soi Fon... Although she hadn't revoked the authority she granted him, no matter how many times Ishikawa visited, he was turned away; even if they met by chance, she wouldn't even look at Ishikawa, acting as if she were sulking with someone.
Exactly with whom, Ishikawa wasn't too sure, but it definitely wasn't with himself.
Because he wasn't that important in Soi Fon's eyes... and although his favorability hadn't increased, it hadn't decreased either. Her attitude, rather than being directed at him, seemed to be directed at someone else through him...
Today was no different...
After finishing his work at the Maggot's Nest, he went to visit Soi Fon, and was then turned away.
After completing the routine, Ishikawa didn't go to the Supervisory Team, but instead walked directly out of the Second Division. He still had a lot of work to do that afternoon.
However, just as he reached the main entrance of the Second Division, a figure chased after him from behind.
"Ishikawa-sama."
Ishikawa turned his head and saw Kiyohara Tsumugiya running from a distance. After stopping in front of him, she slightly gasped and said, "The Quincy you asked us to keep an eye on has died."
"The Quincy died?"
Ishikawa was startled, "Which Quincy... Hmm? That old man?"
"Yes, it's the Quincy old man you were interested in more than a year ago." Kiyohara Tsumugiya nodded, then continued, "Although you haven't paid attention since, Nagano Kasyuu has been fulfilling your order, occasionally checking on that aging Quincy."
"And today was the same, but for some reason, we suddenly couldn't receive surveillance feeds related to the Human World. According to Nagano Kasyuu, it might be that the Shinigami Research and Development Institute cut off our connection."
"It wasn't until we received a distress signal from the Shinigami Research and Development Institute that the surveillance feed returned to normal, but that aging Quincy had already died. After his death, the Fifth Division Squad Members who received the distress call only then arrived at the scene."
"His soul was escorted by Natsuhiko, the Tenth Seat of the Fifth Division, and has now arrived at Rukongai West Borough 3."
Ishikawa nodded upon hearing this, not paying much mind to it.
Because research on Quincy had already stopped a long time ago, he thought the Supervisory Team had stopped their surveillance. Yet, Nagano Kasyuu had actually kept an eye on that Quincy old man for over a year because of his words.
"Don't worry about him."
Thinking of this, Ishikawa shook his head, "Those lunatics from the Shinigami Research and Development Institute have probably already moved out by now. There's no need to provoke them."
Kiyohara Tsumugiya nodded, then shook her head again, saying, "Ayame, the chief of the 'Research Material Capture Department' of the Shinigami Research and Development Institute, has indeed led people to the west, but... at this moment... your big brother..."
Big brother?
Ganju?
Ishikawa was slightly startled, not understanding what this had to do with Ganju.
But then his expression became a bit strange, because if he remembered correctly...
This morning, the commission Ganju snatched from him was precisely work in West Borough 3. He had gone early in the morning with a few subordinates to help Granny Yuzu harvest tobacco leaves.
Granny Yuzu was the owner of the tobacco shop in West Borough 3 and had always taken good care of Ishikawa's business. Moreover, Kukaku was her regular customer, and it was Granny Yuzu who introduced Ishikawa to Kukaku in the first place.
"You're not going to tell me that Ganju was with that Quincy old man, are you?"
"Hmm..."
Kiyohara Tsumugiya's mouth twitched slightly, "Well, actually, when that Quincy arrived in Soul Society, he was already controlled by Twelfth Division Squad Members who were waiting there in advance. But when they were escorting him back, they passed by the tobacco fields."
"As usual, your big brother, upon seeing the Twelfth Division Squad Members, immediately blurted out, 'Why are these damned Shinigami here?'... Then, a conflict broke out between them, and as a result, the Twelfth Division Squad Members were beaten so badly they ran back to Seireitei with their heads in their hands."
...Can't that guy change his lines?
Ishikawa's mouth twitched slightly. He had heard similar words countless times before.
Other lines included things like, 'As long as I'm here, no Shinigami shall step foot in West Rukongai.' If Ishikawa remembered correctly, in the future, when he met that certain protagonist, this guy's lines would also be these meaningless words.
"Thanks, I'll go check it out now."
Ishikawa shook his head and directly used Shunpo to head towards the Byakudo Gate.
Although Ishikawa wanted to help Ganju clear up his misunderstanding about hating Shinigami, he really didn't know how to help.
As a young child, he had personally watched Rukia carry his older brother's bloodied body back and claim that she had killed his older brother. Just this one incident made it impossible for Ganju to have any good feelings towards Shinigami.
To resolve his emotional knot, only Rukia, who had left such a huge shadow on him, could personally explain the circumstances.
And those Shinigami who were meek in Seireitei but arrogant and overbearing in Rukongai further deepened his hatred for Shinigami.
Of course, not all Shinigami were bad people as he thought, although... even among those who claimed to be good, the vast majority of them didn't treat Rukongai residents as human beings.
But the ones who would run to Rukongai to show off were definitely the worst-tempered scoundrels among them, otherwise, the residents of Rukongai wouldn't hate Shinigami so much and wish all Shinigami would die!
In Ishikawa's opinion, those Shinigami deserved to be beaten up by Ganju.
However, Ganju was very careful with his blows. Although he often beat up Shinigami, he never caused casualties, only inflicting some superficial wounds. The Seireitei, on the other hand, completely ignored these conflicts, pretending not to know.
This wasn't because of Ishikawa; even without him, the Seireitei wouldn't bother with such conflicts. As long as no one died, they could fight as much as they wanted.
Finally, Ishikawa simply stopped trying to persuade him.
Anyway, with Ganju's strength, he wouldn't suffer any losses. Not to mention ordinary Squad Members, even Low Level Seated Officers of the Gotei 13, and even some High Level Seated Officers, would still be beaten up by Ganju.
But the Shinigami Research and Development Institute was different...
Ishikawa could be said to be one of the people in the entire Seireitei who understood the Shinigami Research and Development Institute the most.
On the surface, it was the Shinigami Research and Development Institute, but in reality...
Most of them were lunatics who came out of the Maggot's Nest, including the Director!
So it was better to go and check it out.
...
"Old man, do you even know how to do this?!"
Ganju held his hands, which were covered in black liquid, and looked at the old man bending over to work with dissatisfaction, "Be careful. If you mess up this commission, and Granny Yuzu complains to my big sister, I'll be in big trouble."
...
The old man, whose white clothes were stained with black liquid, twitched his mouth slightly. He really couldn't understand why he was here harvesting tobacco leaves with someone else.
Do I know how to do this?
What a joke. As a pure-blooded Quincy, and one who held the medal symbolizing the strongest Quincy, of course... it was just a symbol. Due to the inevitable aging of the human body, both his Reiatsu and his physical body were no longer what they used to be... otherwise, he wouldn't be in this predicament.
But no matter what, he was still a pure-blooded Quincy. How could he do such dirty work?
Ishida Soken hesitated for a moment, then said, "Um... young man..."
"Who's your young man!?"
Ganju retorted impatiently. In Soul Society, appearance was not the standard for judging age.
Ishida Soken looked old, but his actual age was at most 70 or 80, or even younger. And among Ganju and the others present, the youngest were already over fifty years old. In reality, Ishida Soken wasn't much older than them, so there was naturally no talk of respecting the elderly or loving the young.
Moreover, in Soul Society, no one cared about age at all. In family allocations, brothers with age differences of nearly a hundred years were commonplace.
"I was trying to say..."
"Finish the work first, then talk."
Ganju replied without looking up, "I've already wasted a lot of time just now trying to save you from those Shinigami; help me finish the work on time, and I'll give you some money later. You can go wherever you want, no one will bother you, but right now you have to help me finish the work."
...
Ishida Soken was silent for a moment, then finally bent down and continued to harvest tobacco leaves.
Although this kid spoke harshly, he had to admit that he had indeed saved him.
Although he still had spiritual power in his body, using Quincy techniques with a Spirit Body was not something he could do in a short time. If it weren't for this impolite kid in front of him, he would have already been captured by those Shinigami.
"Hmm?"
However, just as he bent down, he stood up again, frowning slightly as he looked to the east.
"What's wrong with you now?"
Hawk, who was beside him, stood up with a dissatisfied expression and said, "Ganju-nii told you to work, so just obediently..."
"Shut up."
Ganju suddenly interrupted him, first looking at Ishida Soken with some confusion, then said to Hawk and the others, "You guys step back. Those Shinigami are back again."
Upon hearing this, Hawk and the others' expressions immediately changed.
Ganju then walked directly out of the tobacco field and stood on the road, waiting for the other party to arrive, to avoid accidentally damaging the tobacco field if a conflict broke out.
Not long after, several figures appeared at the end of the road.
Leading them was a woman dressed in a white lab coat with coattails. The woman had a voluptuous figure, a beautiful appearance, and long, deep purple wavy hair that covered her left eye, giving her an extremely strange beauty that made Ganju and his four subordinates present stare in a daze.
DuangDuangDuang—
Especially when she walked closer, the faint sounds that emanated made Ganju and the others involuntarily swallow.
The woman stopped in front of Ganju and the others, glanced at Ishida Soken, who was shielded behind Ganju, and a captivating smile appeared on her beautiful face: "Hello, may I ask if you can hand over the old man behind you to me?"
"Uh... can... uh, no."
Ganju subconsciously was about to nod, but then his expression changed. He looked at the Shinigami behind the woman with a wary expression and said, "Unless you tell me why you want to capture a soul who just arrived in Rukongai."
"It's not capturing, oh."
The woman heard this and moved a few steps closer to Ganju, smiling sweetly as she said, "I just want to invite him to the Shinigami Research and Development Institute for a visit. The Shinigami Research and Development Institute is a paradise-like organization. There, he will experience a happy life that he could never get in Rukongai."
"Shinigami Research and Development Institute!?"
However, what the woman didn't expect was that upon hearing the words 'Shinigami Research and Development Institute,' Ganju's expression became even more wary.
Having often heard Ishikawa talk about things in Seireitei, he naturally knew what kind of organization the Shinigami Research and Development Institute was. He had originally thought it was just a few scoundrel Shinigami bullying someone who had just arrived in Soul Society, but he didn't expect it to involve the Shinigami Research and Development Institute.
"Chief Ayame, why waste so much time talking to him? If he dares to obstruct us again, just take care of him too!"
Behind the woman, several Shinigami with bruised faces glared angrily at Shiba Ganju.
"Don't argue. This matter is inherently your fault. Do not offend the young master of the Shiba family."
The woman called Ayame smiled slightly, took a few more steps forward, and whispered, "Young master of the Shiba family, please hand over that old man to me. Otherwise, it will be difficult for me to explain when I go back. Once this matter is handled, I will definitely pay a visit, oh."
Her highly seductive words, combined with her ample bosom, made Ganju involuntarily swallow again.
Whoosh—
Just then, a pure white whip-like shadow suddenly appeared before his eyes.
A fierce gust of wind blew across his face.
Damn it!
The attack came too fast, leaving Ganju no time to react, he didn't even see what was attacking him.
Just as he thought he was about to be hit, his vision suddenly blurred.
"Bakudo #8: Seki."
With a soft shout, a figure appeared beside Ganju, covering Ganju's face with the back of his right hand.
Bang—
The next second, a dull thud echoed.
The two collided, separating instantly.
"Ishikawa... Hmm?"
Ganju looked at the suddenly appearing Ishikawa, first with joy, but then his expression became a bit strange.
Whoosh—
A whooshing sound echoed as the pure white whip-like shadow struck again, leaving trails of afterimages in the air as it continuously assailed Ishikawa.
But Ishikawa blocked them one by one with the repulsion barrier on the back of his hand.
Bang, bang, bang...
For a moment, the sounds of collision were incessant.
This offense and defense continued for nearly half a minute before ending. It wasn't because Ishikawa launched an attack, but because the other party voluntarily stopped.
...
When the attack stopped, Ishikawa subconsciously shook his hand, not because it hurt...
And Ganju, behind him, had a somewhat strange expression and whispered to Ishikawa, "Why don't you just let her hit me? Don't meddle this time."
...If you want to die, no one's stopping you.
Ishikawa looked up at Ayame, his mouth twitching slightly, "The lethality in her attacks isn't low. If that last blow had really hit you, you'd be unconscious by now, and your facial bones would probably be shattered."
"Uh... but her weapon..."
"That's just a weapon!"
Ishikawa's face darkened, and he subconsciously shook his hand again. He suddenly regretted not bringing his sword out.
Although he had known for a long time that the Shinigami Research and Development Institute were all lunatics, he never would have thought that these people could be so insane as to modify their own bodies to this extent!
Isn't that just too crazy?
join p atreon.com/KeyofStars and become a Sequence 9: Reader for advance chapters | Every 100 powerstones = 1 extra chapter | Report issues @discord.com/GVBdncd9Wr