Chapter 241: Everyone Sells Themselves
Watching the man approaching step by step from not far away, Rangiku's pupils trembled violently.
He had long, wild hair, his clothes were tattered and covered in dust.
His eyes gleamed with a bloody light, and his snarling smile seemed to reveal rows of sharp teeth.
He held a long sword as if it were a toy, its blade full of nicks and gaps.
If she were cut by that, it would probably take months to heal!
Instinctively, Rangiku quickly hid behind Satoru.
Seeing her reaction, Zaraki frowned.
"What's wrong? Step forward and cross blades with me!"
"Who would ever cross blades with a monster like you!"
Rangiku was completely distraught.
Zaraki showed a puzzled expression.
Last time, Satoru went to Rukongai to capture someone and ended up bringing himself back.
He was quite a fighter.
After that, Satoru went to Rukongai again and brought back Komamura Sajin.
Although his strength was average, this guy had immense physical power. As long as he held back a little, their sparring sessions were quite enjoyable.
In his view, every time Satoru went to Rukongai to capture someone, they were bound to be formidable fighters.
Why was it different this time?
He voiced his dissatisfaction, "Those who don't fight have no right to join the Eleventh Division!"
So I've been saying, who wants to join your stupid division anyway!
Rangiku felt like crying but had no tears, only daring to complain inwardly.
This tall, lean man who resembled a demon had an overwhelming intimidating presence.
In front of him, she could even temporarily forget her grievances with Satoru and hide behind him.
Satoru waved his hand dismissively:
"Don't rush, Kenpachi."
"Rangiku is still young, not ready for fighting yet."
"Wait until she grows up a bit more and masters some skills, then she can spar with you."
Hearing this, Zaraki scratched his head.
Growing up... how long does it take for a person to grow up?
Too troublesome to calculate.
After thinking for a moment, he looked at Satoru and showed his grin again.
"If she won't fight, then big brother, you fight me instead!"
Zaraki raised his sword, pointing the serrated blade toward Satoru.
"I've been eating a lot lately, feel much stronger than before—I'm sure I can win this time!"
Satoru chuckled. "Talk to me about being full when you reach 170 pounds."
Having lived in Rukongai for many years, Zaraki was tall but extremely thin.
When he first joined the Eleventh Division, despite standing two meters tall, he weighed only 130 pounds.
That such a skinny guy could unleash monstrous power in battle... one could only say talent was utterly unreasonable.
Satoru's requirement for him was to eat voraciously, ideally until he reached 200 pounds.
He wasn't worried at all about Zaraki becoming fat.
This guy spent every day from morning till night challenging division members to fights—his calorie consumption was enormous.
Then, one Shinigami after another came to greet Satoru, offering salutes.
Watching this scene, Rangiku was somewhat stunned.
This guy called Satoru... could he hold a high position among the Shinigami?
While she was still marveling, a figure suddenly descended from above, landing in the courtyard.
Spiky white hair, plus a white haori with the sleeves cut off to bare his arms.
Ninth Division Captain, Kensei Muguruma!
Seeing Kensei, Rangiku was startled.
Though she came from Rukongai, she'd heard that the strongest Shinigami were called Captains.
The mark of a Captain was the white cloak worn over their shoulders.
Was this white-haired man one of the strongest Shinigami?!
Should she kneel and pay respects?
Under Rangiku's gaze, the moment Kensei landed, he raised his hand toward Satoru with a wide grin.
"Commander Satoru, long time no see!"
Long ago, both he and Third Division Captain Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi had served under Satoru's special operations team.
Since then, both often referred to Satoru as Commander.
Seeing Kensei, Satoru looked at him with curiosity.
He wondered how many "cars" worth of strength Kensei possessed now.
During their last mission to the living world to handle Quincy issues, this guy—despite being a Captain—got tricked by a Quincy, drained of energy, and collapsed on the spot.
Utterly shameful.
He wondered if Kensei had been training diligently since returning.
If his strength hadn't improved much, still at just one or two cars level, then he'd have to take severe measures.
Depending on the situation, he might even detain this guy in the Eleventh Division for several months of hellish training...
While thinking this, he raised his hand in return greeting and said with a laugh:
"Kensei, since you rarely visit the Eleventh Division, how about a spar?"
"Eh?"
Kensei was momentarily surprised, then his eyes lit up.
"Sure, no problem!"
"But wait a moment... I brought something with me."
Saying this, Kensei took out a neatly folded white garment from the bag he was carrying.
"Oh... the new one's finished already?"
Satoru reached out to take it, snapping it open with a flick.
It was precisely a white haori.
On the back was a black diamond-shaped frame.
Inside it were written the characters for "Eleven."
Looking at his new haori, Satoru nodded in satisfaction and swiftly put it on.
The weather was cold—every extra layer counted.
Watching Satoru put on the haori and speak with Kensei, Rangiku blinked.
Huh?
Satoru... was also a captain?!
That white-haired guy had a "Nine" written on his back.
Satoru had "Eleven" on his.
Seeing how respectfully the white-haired guy treated Satoru, did that mean the higher the number, the stronger they were?
So, this guy Satoru was stronger than ten captains?!
Was he really that powerful?
Rangiku's young mind had suffered countless shocks in just half a day.
It felt as if her entire worldview had been overturned...
Satoru had originally wanted to test Kensei himself, but when Zaraki heard there was a fight to be had, he immediately volunteered.
Kensei was also quite interested in Satoru's newly recruited lieutenant.
The two hit it off and headed to the training grounds.
Meanwhile, Satoru suddenly remembered the girl he had brought back.
He called for two female squad members to take Rangiku to bathe and change into warm clothes.
Incidentally, these two female members made up half of all the female members in the Eleventh Division.
Before being led away, Rangiku looked nervously at Satoru.
"What exactly do you want me to do?"
Hearing this, Satoru tilted his head. "Become a Shinigami."
Rangiku was confused. "Become a Shinigami... What does that have to do with selling myself?"
Satoru chuckled. "In this line of work, aren't we all selling ourselves to the Seireitei? When it comes down to it, everyone's selling something."
No way!!
Rangiku didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
This man was utterly baffling.
But... she had to admit, watching him laugh like that gave her an inexplicable sense of reassurance.
...
...
As the sun was about to set, Aizen arrived at the Eleventh Division.
After asking a squad member where Satoru was and hearing that he was alone in his study, a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.
Satoru, alone in his study?
That was even stranger than test subjects delivering themselves to his doorstep.