Standing at the edge of the 11th Division's training grounds, Arata unconsciously furrowed his brows as he watched the scene inside.
On the field, several dozen soldiers were divided into two groups, fighting each other with swords.
There were no rules, no order, it was a pure brawl between the two sides.
As blades clashed, blood splattered, and screams echoed one after another as people fell to the ground.
"Ikkaku, is this your daily training?"
Arata turned to Madarame Ikkaku beside him, his tone full of disbelief.
Although he had somewhat expected it, seeing it in reality still made it hard for him to accept.
Ikkaku grinned, his signature bald scalp gleaming under the light. "So, are you feeling excited and jealous?"
Arata looked at a member of the 11th Division whose comrade had stabbed a sword into his shoulder, blood gushing down the blade, yet he was still laughing and kept fighting, and he couldn't help but shake his head.
"This can't even be called training," Arata said bluntly. "I'd rather say that instead of training, you're just wasting your lives."
"Hey, hey, I can't pretend I didn't hear that." Ikkaku patted Arata's shoulder disapprovingly. "For us, strength is everything. As long as we can become stronger, the method doesn't matter."
"Besides, this is a training method personally requested by the captain. Are you saying you're questioning Captain Zaraki?"
The reason Zaraki Kenpachi could train this way was because he was Zaraki Kenpachi, strong enough and born with monstrous talent.
For ordinary Shinigami, training this way was nothing more than a waste of time.
Arata just kept those words to himself and didn't say them out loud to avoid hurting anyone's feelings.
Arata sighed and didn't want to argue with this bald man who had very clear views.
"Yumichika, do you also think this training method is okay?"
Yumichika shrugged: "Honestly, I also think it's a bit excessive. But that's the style of the 11th Division. It's been that way ever since Captain Zaraki joined, and everyone's already used to it."
Looking at the chaotic mass brawl in front of him, Arata suddenly felt a mild sense of boredom.
This kind of training method, aside from producing a bunch of people with no fear and no thought, had very limited benefit for truly improving a Shinigami's abilities.
"Alright then, I'm done here for today," said Arata, clearly unenthusiastic. "This kind of training just doesn't suit me."
"Don't make up your mind so quickly." Ikkaku stopped Arata who was about to leave. "After training, we were planning to go to Rukongai for a drink. Arata, why don't you come with us?"
"I'd rather not..."
Arata had originally wanted to decline, since alcohol didn't really appeal to him.
What he had been "forced" to drink at the Shiba residence that night was only because it was Kūkaku's birthday.
But at that moment, he suddenly remembered a side mission in the system task log—[Sake Hero of the 11th Division].
He only needed to personally get Madarame Ikkaku drunk at the table in front of the entire 11th Division and get him to promise to give up drinking, and he would receive a reward of 200 destiny points.
"Alright, but I'll stay only for a little while. Captain Soi-Fong is expecting me afterward." Arata nodded and agreed.
"Great!" Ikkaku clapped his hands excitedly.
An hour later, all members of the 11th Division, led by Ikkaku and Yumichika, were walking toward the busiest izakaya in Rukongai.
As for why Zaraki Kenpachi wasn't leading them, Yumichika gave an explanation.
"Captain Zaraki is used to taking a nap after morning training, so he won't be coming to drink with us."
It's worth mentioning that this was also one of the establishments owned by the Omaeda family.
The izakaya was bustling with people, and the smells of various dishes mixed with the scent of alcohol filled the air.
Ikkaku and the others were clearly regulars. As soon as they entered, they shouted to the owner: "The usual, one hundred servings of drinks and another hundred of snacks!"
The group found a long row of seats and sat down, while Arata and two others sat in a quiet corner.
Soon, three large bowls of sake and snacks were placed on the table.
"Come on, let's toast first!" Ikkaku raised his cup wide.
"Cheers!"
After the first cup, Arata felt a burning sensation in his throat. The alcohol content in this drink was far higher than he expected.
"You hold your drink well, more!" Ikkaku laughed and refilled Arata's cup to the brim.
Arata quietly activated his spiritual pressure, slowly forcing the alcohol out of his body through his back.
And so the two of them fell into a cycle: pour, drink, pour, drink.
After a few rounds, Ikkaku was already quite drunk, his voice growing louder, and his movements increasingly wild.
Although Arata's face had also reddened from the alcohol, his head remained clear. While responding to Ikkaku's relentless "Come on, more!", he was thinking about how to complete the system mission.
"Hey, Arata," Ikkaku suddenly leaned forward and said mysteriously, "I heard you were already known as a heavy drinker back in the Shinō Spiritual Arts Academy?"
Arata raised an eyebrow and asked, "Who told you that?"
"Sister Rangiku!" Ikkaku grinned. "She said you once tried to drink out an entire izakaya by yourself."
Arata helplessly shook his head. That woman Rangiku really didn't know how to keep her mouth shut. She was even capable of making up such nonsense about him.
Today she says Arata drank out an entire izakaya alone, tomorrow they might say he married all the beauties in the Soul Society by himself?
Utter slander and lies!
Still, Rangiku had done him a great favor with this.
"Ikkaku, what do you say we make a bet?" Arata suddenly proposed.
"Oh? What kind of bet?" Ikkaku was immediately intrigued.
Yumichika, who was quietly nibbling on the side, also looked over at the two with interest.
"A drinking bet." Arata pointed at the pitchers on the table. "Whoever drops first, loses."
"Interesting!" Ikkaku slammed his fist on the table. "What's the wager?"
"If I win, you're not allowed to drink again until you become a vice-captain." Arata looked Ikkaku straight in the eye. "How's that? Do you have the guts?"
Ikkaku was momentarily stunned, then burst out laughing: "Hahahaha, deal! I promise! But if I win, you have to publicly admit that the 11th Division's training method is correct!"
"Agreed!" Arata nodded.
"Boss, more sake!"
Yumichika, who stood off to the side, looked at the two drunkards and could only shake his head helplessly.
"Seriously, you two..."
The duel began, and all the Shinigami from the 11th Division gathered around their table.
Arata drank one cup after another, the redness on his face from the alcohol becoming more visible, but his hand never stopped on the contrary, he drank faster and faster.
The man across from him was also gulping down sake cup after cup, but the more he drank, the more muddled his consciousness and movements became, and his speech more slurred.
"No way, Ikkaku-sama is the man who drinks the most in our division!"
"I don't believe it! How could there be a drunkard more depraved than Ikkaku Sansei? Even Captain Kyoraku would surrender to him!"
Everyone around the table shouted in surprise, shocked by Arata's incredible alcohol tolerance.
"No... impossible... how can you still be drinking..." Ikkaku pointed at Arata with a trembling finger, his eyes full of disbelief.
"Giving up?" Arata asked him with a smile.
"No way! No way!" Ikkaku stubbornly poured himself another cup, but before he could even drink half of it, he dropped onto the table with a thud and completely passed out drunk.
"ding!"
[Fate Mission: Sake Hero of the 11th Division (completed)]
[Type: Side Mission]
[Target: Madarame Ikkaku]
[Mission Requirement: In front of the entire 11th Division, get Madarame Ikkaku drunk and make him promise to give up alcohol in the future.]
[Time Limit: 7 days]
[Mission Reward: 200 destiny points]
As soon as Ikkaku dropped, the system notification sound rang out at the perfect moment.
Arata smiled faintly. The reason he had accepted this mission with such confidence, of course, had its basis.
That night at Shiba Kūkaku's birthday party, he had drawn a type of candy from the roulette called "Urahara Kisuke's Special Wine Candy".
Its effect was simple and brutal as long as you ate that candy, you couldn't get drunk no matter how much you drank.
Arata had already eaten that candy on the way to the izakaya.
———
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