Chapter 673 Admiration Is The Emotion Farthest From Understanding

Five years later, Kuchiki Hisana passed away from illness.

Because the Kuchiki Clan's higher-ups had initially opposed Byakuya marrying a commoner woman from the Rukongai, Hisana's funeral was not given much pomp or grandeur.

Those who came to pay their respects were few and far between, most only coming out of deference to the Kuchiki Clan's prestige.

Many of the Seireitei's high-ranking figures, to avoid taking sides and offending the conservative faction within the Kuchiki Clan, didn't even show their faces.

But to everyone's surprise, Captain of the 7th Division, Busujima Saeko, personally came to pay her respects, accompanied by a group of female division members.

She wore her Captain's Haori, with the Shodai Kitetsu at her waist. Behind her followed the Kocho sisters, Hiyori, Darkness, and a host of other gallant female Shinigami. The group stepped into the funeral hall in silence.

Byakuya, standing at the side of the hall in his pure white mourning attire, his perpetually icy face revealed a rare flicker of surprise.

Saeko held a bouquet of white chrysanthemums and walked up to Hisana's portrait. "Lady Hisana was a good person. We wanted to see her off on her final journey."

A barely perceptible trace of gratitude crossed Byakuya's frozen face.

He stepped aside slightly, clearing the space for Saeko to lay her flowers.

Saeko gently placed the white chrysanthemums before the portrait, clasped her hands in prayer for a moment, then rose and stepped back.

Kanae, Shinobu, Darkness, and the others each took their turn to offer flowers.

As she looked at Hisana's black-and-white portrait, Hiyori muttered to Shinobu in a low voice, "Five years of marriage and no kids?"

Hiyori served as the Third Seat of the 7th Division, not because she was weaker than Lieutenant Kanae, but because she didn't want a higher rank with more work.

"Hey! Keep it down!"

Shinobu jabbed her with her elbow.

If someone heard that in a funeral hall, it would be a disaster.

Hiyori stuck out her tongue and said no more.

But she was already thinking to herself.

When she got back, she needed to have a child with her dad as soon as possible.

At least if something happened to her, he would see the child and remember her.

A year later, the Shin'o Academy welcomed another batch of new students.

Rukia, Abarai Renji, Kira Izuru, Hinamori Momo...

And around the same time as these new students enrolled, a rather surprising piece of news quietly spread within the Gotei 13.

Many division members noticed that the new student named Rukia bore an uncanny resemblance to Byakuya's recently deceased wife, Hisana.

The first thought that crossed Hiyori's mind upon seeing Rukia was that Byakuya now had a replacement.

But surprisingly, Byakuya once again defied his family's will.

Rather than taking Rukia as a concubine as many had speculated, he adopted her as his younger sister.

…

Five years later.

During a practical exercise in the Living World, Renji, Kira, and Momo encountered several high-level Gillians that had already gained intelligence.

The number of Hollows far exceeded the exercise's safety limit. The three were gradually separated and surrounded in the fierce battle. Against opponents of this level, their current strength was no match.

Fortunately, 5th Division's Captain, Aizen and Lieutenant Gin arrived in time to provide support.

Aizen reached out and gently rested his hand on Momo's head, saying in his usual gentle voice, "Don't worry. Leave the rest to us."

Moonlight poured down, falling perfectly on Aizen's profile, casting his features in sharp relief.

In that moment, Aizen's figure was forever etched into her heart.

After the incident, Aizen said he would stay behind to clean up the battlefield and had the students return to the Seireitei through the Senkaimon.

As the Senkaimon's light glowed, Renji helped the injured Kira step through first. Momo walked last, and just as the Senkaimon was about to close, she summoned her courage and called out, "C-Captain Aizen! I will definitely join your 5th Division in the future!"

Her face was red to the roots of her neck, but her eyes burned with a newfound determination.

Hearing this, Aizen smiled and nodded at her.

When the Senkaimon fully closed and Momo and the others disappeared, a silent rift tore open in the space behind Aizen.

A figure stepped slowly out of the Garganta.

Makoto's bone mask glowed coldly under the moonlight of the Living World, his tone carrying a hint of teasing, like a debt collector: "This time, you owe me one."

Aizen didn't turn around. He replied half-jokingly, "They were only the lowest-level Gillians. You're being a bit stingy, Makoto-kun."

Those Gillians were, of course, 'borrowed' by Aizen from Makoto.

Hueco Mundo had no shortage of Gillians. Picking a few with decent intelligence and sending them to the Living World to put on a show cost Makoto next to nothing.

The goal was for Aizen to leave an unforgettable impression on Momo and the others, so that as they grew within the Gotei 13, they would naturally become Aizen's most loyal followers.

Makoto laughed, his gaze sweeping over the direction where the Senkaimon had vanished: "Leaving the two guys aside, that little girl is completely smitten with you."

His tone carried a hint of teasing. "Are you going to sleep with her later?"

Hearing this, Aizen was caught off guard and nearly choked on his own saliva.

After a moment, he changed the subject, trying to sound casual: "Admiration is the emotion farthest from understanding."

Makoto shrugged and didn't press further.

A year later, Renji, Kira, and Momo officially graduated from the Shin'o Academy. Because of the practical exercise the previous year, all three chose to join Aizen's 5th Division.

This was an extremely rare occurrence in the recent history of the Shin'o Academy.

After decades of development, Saeko's 7th Division had become a truly all-female division, with most female graduates choosing it upon graduation.

But Momo had chosen the 5th Division.

And in that same year, the Shin'o Academy welcomed another new student.

His name was Hitsugaya Toshiro.

Like Gin and Byakuya before him, Toshiro took only a year to meet the graduation standards.

During his studies, he also met and befriended another outstanding student who was about to graduate, Kusaka Sojiro.

Coincidentally, the two of them awakened their Zanpakuto almost simultaneously shortly after meeting.

Even more coincidentally, these two Zanpakuto possessed the exact same abilities and name... the Strongest Ice-type Zanpakuto, Hyorinmaru.

When the news broke, the entire Seireitei was shaken.

According to intelligence from the Royal Guard, Hyorinmaru was the Strongest Ice-type Zanpakuto, capable of rivaling the Captain-Commander's Ryujin Jakka.

The simultaneous appearance of two such blades was unprecedented in the Soul Society's history.

Upon learning of this, Central 46 quickly made a decision: the graduation examination for these two students would be decided by duel.

The winner would become the true wielder of Hyorinmaru and would join the Gotei 13 directly as a seated officer.

The loser would have to forfeit their right to use Hyorinmaru, with the blade to be personally destroyed by the 2nd Division's Onmitsukido.

As soon as this decree was issued, it sparked considerable debate within the Gotei 13.

Inside the 4th Division's courtyard, Captains Unohana and Saeko sat facing each other in a pavilion.

A few maple leaves had fallen onto the chessboard between them.

On the table was a chess set from the Living World.

"This is a game from the Living World, isn't it? Surprisingly interesting."

Unohana smiled gently, picking up a knight between two fingers and placing it lightly on the board.

"I used to play this with my husband too."

Saeko smiled as she moved a rook, her tone carrying a hint of casual nostalgia. "He said that games between masters were the least interesting. It's the games between beginners that are more entertaining."

Actually, Makoto's original words had been, 'Watching two scrubs play is the most entertaining'. Two rookies fumbling around could produce a hundred different ways to lose, far more interesting than the steady, balanced games between masters.

But in front of Unohana, Saeko didn't phrase it so crudely.