Bleach: The Strongest Shinigami

"There's really a reward?" Kisuke asked, surprised.

He had thought Akira was just another exploitative bureaucrat, but surprisingly, he actually kept his word — quite unlike the upper officials who never followed through on their promises.

"Of course." Akira clapped his hands and gestured, "You may come in."

Kisuke peered outside the door, curious about his reward.

But before his lips could even curl into a smile, his expression froze.

Stack after stack of documents filled the room until there wasn't even space to set foot.

Seeing the mountain of paperwork, his face turned from white to green with nausea.

He took back his earlier judgment. Akira was worse than those bureaucrats in Soul Society!

No — he was the most evil of them all!

Being long-lived beings, Shinigami typically worked at a leisurely pace. It wasn't unusual for a single task to take weeks to complete.

Kisuke was especially skilled at stretching his work — turning a one-minute task into ten minutes or even an hour.

Of course, he would have been disciplined long ago if not for one thing: his work was always perfect. Given the results, his low efficiency wasn't considered much of an issue.

Kisuke was quite content with this arrangement — after all, taking it easy was how life should be lived.

Until now.

"This much work will kill someone." He groaned, his features twisting until he resembled an anthropomorphized bitter gourd.

"Life is precious, love is priceless." Akira said, patting his shoulder solemnly, "But for freedom's sake, both can be sacrificed. Urahara, you wouldn't want to end up in the Nest of Maggots at such a young age, would you?"

Working in the Onmitsukidō's Kanritai (Management Force/Detention Unit), Kisuke knew all too well how filthy and chaotic the Nest of Maggots was. Simply managing that place was enough to break someone's spirit — let alone being confined there.

But surely with this mountain of documents, taking several months or even a year wouldn't be unreasonable?

"I just calculated." Akira said, "You spent two hours and eight minutes processing the previous batch. This pile is ten times that amount. Adding break time, I'll return to check tomorrow at this time."

Kisuke: "?"

So you do have a proper sense of time! Evil bureaucrat!

Having assigned his new minion the task like a proper NPC, Akira left with Yoruichi.

He had complete faith in Kisuke's abilities.

For ordinary people, this volume of documents would take several months, even with multiple people working together. But for someone like Kisuke, it wasn't an insurmountable challenge.

No matter how troublesome, could it be more difficult than creating the Hōgyoku?

With Kisuke's schedule packed full, he wouldn't have time to research anything like that dangerous artifact. Perhaps this way, Aizen might be spared from committing grave crimes against his colleagues.

He was genuinely concerned about this adopted son's future.

After the two left, Kisuke stared at the mountain of documents before him, his bitter gourd expression slowly fading as he rubbed his face vigorously.

A cold snort echoed through the room.

"Thankfully, I came prepared with a backup plan. Otherwise, I'd be stuck working for an entire day." His mouth twitched as he tried to reassure himself, but the sight of documents filling the entire room left him overwhelmed.

It was simply too much — all the paperwork he'd seen since joining the Second Division didn't come close to this amount.

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With all the work delegated to Kisuke, Yoruichi was now free.

She immediately took Akira to visit various noble houses, focusing on those with the longest histories.

When they first heard the knocking, the nobles were irritated. Who would dare disturb them during this crucial moment of dividing spoils? Didn't they know counting money took priority?

But upon opening their doors and seeing their visitors, their attitudes shifted instantly.

"Ah, if it isn't Lord Kisaragi and Lady Shihōin, such distinguished guests! Please, come in, come in!"

⤬

"Butler, prepare tea, bring out our treasured premium Hōjicha tea!"

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"Regarding secret techniques for internal organs, I'm truly sorry, but our family has never collected anything of the sort."

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After visiting dozens of noble houses, they still hadn't found what they sought.

To Akira's surprise, the nobles they visited weren't nearly as arrogant and domineering as rumored. Instead, they showed impeccable politeness, their etiquette and hospitality beyond reproach.

More striking still, upon hearing their request, these nobles immediately threw open their storage doors, granting the pair free access to browse.

Even when their search proved fruitless, the noble families would escort them to the entrance with profound respect, bowing almost completely horizontal while offering countless apologies.

"These supposedly haughty nobles are quite approachable." He mused, "Not nearly as difficult as the rumors suggested."

Yoruichi: "..."

Clearly, he remained oblivious to his own terrifying reputation in the 6th District.

In this realm, the Five Great Noble Houses reigned supreme. Among them, the Tsunayashiro had been like gods in heaven, nearly divine in their power.

Yet this mighty house lay in ruins, their leader destroyed so thoroughly that not even a complete corpse remained. And the one responsible still walked free.

With him now at their doorstep, what noble would dare show anything but deference?

Did they truly doubt the strength of Akira's fists?

After making their rounds and taking refreshments where offered, the pair finally reached the depths of the noble district, where stood a grand mansion — luxurious yet tastefully refined.

"If the Kuchiki family doesn't have it either, we'll need another approach."

The guard Shinigami spotted them from afar and hurried to announce their arrival.

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Inside the mansion's reception room.

Ginrei Kuchiki sat smiling across the tea table, acknowledging them with a nod. Behind him, his son Sōjun Kuchiki maintained perfect posture, a precise smile on his face.

To be received personally by both the family head and his eldest son was the highest honor possible by protocol.

Yoruichi clicked her tongue, impressed by Akira's influence. Even during her official visits as a family head, Ginrei had received her alone.

Akira wasted no time and stated his request.

Both father and son Kuchiki adopted thoughtful expressions upon hearing it.

From his description alone, they could tell he had come on behalf of Jūshirō Ukitake of the 13th Division.

They were surprised that despite his brief time in the Gotei 13 and limited interaction with Jūshirō, Akira would go to such lengths to help his senior. Such consideration was admirable.

It showed he was worth befriending deeply, frightening rumors notwithstanding.

"We do have relevant secret techniques related to Kaidō." Ginrei said, "Sōjun, fetch scrolls seven and thirteen from the study."

"Yes, father." Sōjun replied respectfully before leaving the room.

He soon returned with two scrolls and presented them to Ginrei.

"These Kaidō techniques can help alleviate organ injuries and diseases, though their effectiveness remains uncertain." Ginrei explained.

"Thank you, Captain Kuchiki." Akira said, accepting the scrolls.

Yoruichi, however, had something else on her mind, "By the way, where is Third Seat Kōga Kuchiki?"

Ginrei hesitated before answering slowly, "Kōga was transferred to the First Division under Captain-Commander Yamamoto for his achievements in suppressing the rebels. He now serves as a Captain in a certain special unit."

Sōjun chimed in, "Brother-in-law is just training in the First Division temporarily, he'll return to the Sixth Division later—"

"Sōjun!" Ginrei cut his son off sharply.

Sensing his father's anger, Sōjun fell silent and gave their guests an apologetic look.

"My apologies, but this involves First Division matters I cannot disclose." Ginrei said diplomatically.

Akira seemed unbothered. After expressing his thanks and copying the Kaidō techniques, he left the estate.

To him, Kōga's fate was irrelevant.

Outside the mansion, Yoruichi mused, "Akira, did you notice anything strange about Captain Kuchiki's behavior?"

"Was there?" He tilted his head, "Something did seem off, as if they were hiding something. I'll ask Old Man Yama later — he should know what's going on."

Yoruichi nodded, "Good idea. For now, let's see if these Kaidō techniques will help."

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2nd Division. Kanritai Barracks.

{T/N: Just to remember again. Yoruichi merged the 2nd Division and the Onmitsukidō.}

The two returned after spending the night studying and analyzing.

The Kuchiki family's secret techniques, while not useless, had limited effectiveness. Though they worked well for treating general injuries and illnesses, they proved completely ineffective against conditions involving Reishi.

Therefore, after careful consideration, Akira decided to implement Plan C.

When a knock came at the door, Kisuke wearily opened it to find the last face he wanted to see.

"Third Seat Kisaragi, Captain Shihōin. Good morning..."

He felt as if his soul might scatter at any moment, completely drained by the mountain of documents, stripped of his usual vitality — a walking corpse.

Noticing the dark panda-like circles under Kisuke's eyes, Akira pondered.

The fact that this guy could still stand and speak meant he must have been holding back on his work efficiency yesterday.

{T/N: Whop-eesh! Work, my minion! Whop-eesh!! Work!!}

Yoruichi casually flipped through the documents and, finding no issues, ordered her subordinates to take them away.

These documents would need distribution to various departments for implementation. If any problems arose later, they could always return to Kisuke for solutions.

"Urahara, you've done excellent work." Akira patted his shoulder firmly, generous with his praise.

Seeing this behavior, Kisuke's nervousness spiked immediately.

This scene felt familiar — just like yesterday.

"Young talents like you with both ability and potential are rare in Soul Society these days." Akira grinned, "To reward your hard work these past two days, I've decided to transfer you to the Eleventh Division as Fourth Seat. What do you think? Though I'm not yet the Captain of my Division, a small matter like a transfer just needs a word with the higher-ups — don't worry about the procedure."

Upon hearing this sudden "good news", Kisuke's heart nearly stopped.

He smiled awkwardly and explained, "Third Seat Kisaragi, I'm actually more suited for administrative work than frontline combat."

He truly couldn't handle this overwhelming favor.

A few more times like this, and he worried he might lose several hundred — or even thousand — years of his life.

"That's perfect then." Akira pulled out his overnight design proposal for organ replacement, "The task of developing this proposal will be assigned to you."

Kisuke was dumbfounded.

Wasn't he supposed to be transferred to the 11th Division? How had it suddenly changed?

Seeing his increasingly desperate expression, Akira reassured him, "Don't worry, I won't make you my sla—ahem, I mean, exploit your labor forever. Once you finish developing this proposal, you can have a good rest."

Kisuke: "..."

What could he do? He was just a powerless low-ranking Officer.

Resistance was better kept as a thought. If he actually acted on it, he might end up on Sōkyoku Hill...

Oh wait, with his current rank he wasn't even qualified for Sōkyoku Hill — at most he'd face an Officer's Execution.

How pitiful...

Watching the two leave, Kisuke was on the verge of tears.

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After assigning the task, Akira went alone to the 1st Division.

Following Yoruichi's reminder, he had become somewhat concerned, especially after realizing the potential threat posed by Kōga Kuchiki.

"Master! Captain-Commander!"

Genryūsai, who had been calmly writing, involuntarily jerked his hand upon hearing this voice, instantly ruining a perfect piece of work.

Veins bulged on his forehead, his face darkened, and his blood pressure shot up uncontrollably.

This impudent disciple was far too reckless, completely ignorant of the meaning of composure, and would surely be the death of him one day!

Akira found his way to the study with practiced ease and yanked open the door.

Seeing the face he didn't want to see, Genryūsai scolded irritably, "Making such a racket every time you come — what kind of behavior is this? You're bringing shame to my reputation!"

Akira smiled sheepishly and properly entered the room, giving a detailed account of his recent actions, with particular emphasis on the matter of Kōga.

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