I'm really not the number one slacker in Soul Society.

After all, he really had no reason to refuse.

Since there's no time like the present, and psychotherapy is naturally better the sooner the better, let's set the date for tonight.

Just treat it as going to hear some stories.

After saying goodbye to Chunshui, Mizhen quickly tidied herself up and headed to the vicinity of the housing arranged for the new team members.

To be fair, although the art style of Seireitei seems somewhat primitive, the living conditions are really not bad—after all, it is a place that is like the capital of the eastern branch of Soul Society.

Taking the Gotei 13 as an example, even the lowest-ranking new recruits can be allocated a single room of about 50 square meters. The specific layout varies depending on the squad they belong to, but in general, it is very spacious. In addition, there is the benefit of free food and clothing. The basic monthly salary is enough for a commoner in Rukongai to live comfortably for a year.

Although there is a risk of losing one's head, the security situation in Soul Society is not good to begin with. When ordinary people are killed by bandits and wild Hollows, and nobles have to deal with traitors like Yama and Aizen, no one is completely safe. So this risk is nothing at all.

—Of course, the above only applies to peacetime.

The Quincy War, the pacification of Seireitei, the suppression of various rebel factions... In these large-scale, all-out wars, the Gotei 13's casualty ratio has never been lower than 50%. Every time, a large number of lives had to be sacrificed to achieve a Pyrrhic victory. Under such circumstances, no matter how much money you earn, you have to be alive to spend it.

The upcoming Hell invasion is another example; who knows how many soldiers will perish in the battle?

If he could do it, Mi Zhen really didn't want to see too many sacrifices, which is why he was so actively busy, to the point that even his original salary plan was disrupted.

According to the original plan, Saki's identity had nothing to do with hell at all. Now that this has happened, he has to make major revisions to the plan, and he doesn't know how much more hair he will lose.

After clearing his throat in front of the new team members' rooms, Mima went up and knocked on the door.

.............................................

After some time, he finally finished this long mental preparation and looked up to see that the sky was already beginning to brighten.

Although repeating motivational quotes isn't particularly difficult, giving six consecutive lectures still posed a huge challenge to his patience. Fortunately, there weren't any bizarre individuals among the new recruits who challenged the limits of human decency. As the vice-captain, as long as he lowered his stance and spoke in a kind tone, things would get done directly.

The new recruits he encouraged were all energized, as if they had been injected with several bottles of chicken blood. They couldn't wait to take practical actions to repay the vice-captain's great kindness. So... they could be considered successful.

This left Mima with mixed feelings...

In his past life, he hated bosses who made empty promises, but now he's going to do it himself.

As expected, people eventually become the very thing they hate most.

As for now... all the other people's advice has ended, and all that's left is that mysterious Shutara Ayamaru. At noon, Mima urgently investigated her resume, but after going through it again and again, he couldn't find any problems.

After dying in the mortal world, she arrived in Rukongai. She had a chronic illness, but her talent was discovered by a patrolling Shinigami. Later, she worked hard to get into the Shinigami Academy. Her combat ability was low, but she was very good at clerical work. All her experiences were clean and innocent. The only thing worth noting was that she had no relatives and very few friends, but this was not surprising. At least four out of ten students who came from Rukongai were orphans, so it didn't mean anything.

But the more this was the case, the more Mima felt that the problem was not so simple.

Could there really be such a coincidence? This guy's name is only two characters different from Shutara Senjumaru's. Although they don't look alike and his strength seems weak, suspicion only needs one reason. The name Shutara Ayamaru is suspicious enough.

In addition to the information he had just learned from Room 46, Mima became increasingly convinced that there must be some huge secret hidden behind this newcomer.

After mentally reviewing the questions he wanted to ask, Mima walked towards Nanao's room.

After spouting so much inspirational rhetoric, even the most eloquent speaker needs a cooling-off period. Besides, Qixu was indeed quite frightened today, so it would be really inexcusable not to comfort her.

When they arrived at Nanao's room, the lights were still on.

Mizhen didn't go through the door, but quietly went to the window.

He casually used a ghost technique to unlock the window and poked half his head out.

Nanao sat in the room, holding a book titled "An Introduction to Chinese Ghost Path" and reading it absentmindedly. She would sigh and bite her lip from time to time, and her face didn't look too good. She was obviously still not over the shadow of noon.

Despite Mi Zhen's protection, she still felt the old man's spiritual pressure and killing intent. It was quite remarkable that she wasn't scared unconscious. In fact, several newcomers performed worse than her, a mere girl, to the point of foaming at the mouth, collapsing to the ground, and even losing control of their bladders.

After sighing, Mizhen leaned over the windowsill and greeted them softly.

"Hey, aren't you going to sleep yet?"

She was startled and almost threw the book away, but breathed a sigh of relief after seeing Mi Zhen's face.

"Vice Captain..." Qi Xu stood up, somewhat dejected, and said, "Is there something wrong?"

"Don't be so formal, there's no one else here."

"Okay, Vice Captain."

"..." Mi Zhen rolled her eyes, giving up on correcting him and getting straight to the point, "You don't need to participate in the search mission, so why are you making that face? Kids should be happy."

As he said, Nanao did not receive any mission to participate in or command the search. At most, she could only do some things. Although she was already the seventh seat, the Gotei 13 was not short of people to the point of entrusting a potentially life-threatening mission to a twelve-year-old child. Doing so would be too undignified, and no one could bring themselves to do it.

"That's what they say..."

Nanao pursed her lips, and said hesitantly, "Am I really useless...? If an enemy really attacks, I'll only be a burden to you all..."

"What kind of talk is that?" Mi Zhen shrugged. "You're only twelve years old—do you know what I was doing when I was twelve? I was begging for food in Rukongai. Forget about becoming a seated official like you, I didn't even have the most basic level twenty spiritual power back then. In terms of strength, you are much stronger than me."

“The situation is different.” Nanao said in a low voice, “In this time of crisis, I am clearly the head officer of the Eighth Division, but I can’t do anything… This is really… too humiliating.”

"Huh~?" Mima chuckled, resting her chin on her hand. "Having this intention is better than anything else—if you really want to help, just get stronger quickly, preferably stronger than me, stronger than the captain. Then, it'll be the two of us who need your protection."

"But I... don't even have a Zanpakuto."

"So what? Just like me, my Zanpakuto doesn't add any combat ability to me, but I still got to where I am today through Kido, didn't I? There are many ways to become stronger, why be confined to just one kind of sword technique?"

“It’s not that easy…” Nanao bit her lip, hesitated for a long time before saying, “Vice Captain Watanabe, can I ask you something?”

"So serious?" Mi Zhen raised an eyebrow, feigning surprise, then waved her hand. "Ask away. I'll tell you anything I can answer."

Nanao nodded, a mixture of curiosity and lingering fear on her face: "What the first captain said to me at noon today...do I have some secret? Otherwise, how could I not even be able to use a Zanpakuto, and how could the captain have promoted me so exceptionally..."

As expected, that was the problem.

The setup was successful.

Mizhen's eyes darted around, and she said somewhat ambiguously, "So, what do you think?"

“I don’t know…” Nanao said, her head bowed. “But the captain is wearing the same headdress as my mother… This can’t be a coincidence—Vice-Captain Watanabe, you should know the truth behind this. Please… tell me, at least let me know what I really am.”

"You're really perceptive..."

Mima sighed: "Okay, I do know."

Upon hearing this, Qixu immediately raised her head, her eyes shining with hope.

“But knowing is one thing, but some things can’t be easily revealed to others.” Mi Zhen smiled. “Why do you think the captain didn’t tell you? Is he trying to take advantage of you, or is he trying to harm you?”

"Of course not!" Qi Xu denied instinctively, then lowered her head with an embarrassed expression as if she had realized something.

“The captain and I disagree on this matter.” Mi Zhen’s expression turned serious. “He thinks that keeping it a secret can protect you, but I think it’s ultimately your problem and you should be the one to make the choice—but the way it is now, that won’t work.”

"why?"

“You’re too weak, Nanao, so weak that you’re not even qualified to sit at the table and play chess,” Mima said in a deep voice. “This is a problem that even the captain and I find troublesome. We can’t just do whatever you want—if your strength continues to be this weak, then the captain’s method is actually the right one.”

Chapter 198: A Terrifying Situation

Qi Xu looked as if she had been punched hard on the head, pouting and hunching her shoulders.

...Was I too harsh?

Mima's lips twitched twice, and she was about to say something to salvage the situation when she heard Nanao say in a small but firm voice, "If I'm no longer weak, will that be enough?"

“Of course.” Mi Zhen smiled with some surprise. “As long as you are strong enough, you will have plenty of ways to find out the truth even if you don’t ask me.”

“Then…” Nanao raised her head, clenched her fist, and said loudly, “I will become stronger!”

"Then I'll look forward to it."

..........................................

After getting Nanao's situation on a positive track, Mima finally felt some relief from her distress.

If only everything could be resolved through dialogue...

He walked to Shutara Ayamaru's door and sighed silently.

Hopefully, this guy has nothing to do with that damned secret weapon. The conclusion that "the name is just a pure coincidence" would be fine. Why bother getting involved with those guys from the Zero Squad?

With this wish in mind, Mima knocked on the door.

The lights were still on inside; she probably wasn't asleep.

Sure enough, a few seconds later, a weak voice came from behind the door: "Who is it?"

"Watanabe Yama." Yama introduced himself. "That kind of thing happened on the first day of the new recruits' team. As the vice-captain, I should come and offer my condolences."

The door was opened.

Shutara Ayamaru stood at the entrance, bowed somewhat reservedly to Mima, and said, "Although there's nothing to be afraid of... please come in. The conditions are simple, please forgive me, Vice Captain."

"We're just here to talk, there's no need to be so serious."

Mizhen smiled and went inside, then closed the door herself.

The room is quite empty, with only tables, chairs, cabinets, beds, and a few suitcases. It looks like it hasn't been furnished yet, or perhaps Shutara Ayamaru simply prefers this minimalist style.

She gave a somewhat forced smile and sat down opposite Mima.

Looking closely at her one-on-one... to be honest, this guy looked even more frail than Ukitake, his face so pale he was almost like a dead man, and even the warm candlelight couldn't make him any more alive—with that kind of appearance, he could easily dress up as a ghost and scare people, guaranteed to scare them every time.

“You seem like the kind of person who doesn’t really enjoy small talk, so I’ll keep it brief,” Mima said with a smile. “The aftermath of the battle between the Captain-Commander and the rebels has affected quite a few people. Although I think my spiritual pressure protection is pretty reliable, just to be on the safe side, let me check—are you feeling unwell anywhere? If so, tell me, and I can get you to the Fourth Division for high-level treatment right away. Maybe it can even improve your physical condition.”

"Thank you for your kindness, Vice Captain."

Shutara Ayamaru lowered his head nervously: "I'm fine—as for my physical condition, I already went to the Fourth Division to check it out. They said it's a congenital deficiency, and even Captain Unohana can't help with it."

"Is that so? That's a real shame." Mima sighed.

Shutara Ayamaru replied in a low voice, "This illness only makes it difficult for me to move around. After all these years, I've gotten used to it..."

"Then, Shutara..."

When she mentioned her name, Mima paused deliberately, then smiled and apologized, "Sorry, your surname is quite rare, it reminds me of a certain special term used by the Technology Development Bureau."

The next moment, something completely unexpected happened.

Shutara Ayamaru muttered something incoherently, then shook his head and said with some fear:

“No, I… my surname isn’t Shutara… yes, that’s not my surname…”

"?"

Mi Zhen instantly became alert, but on the surface, she pretended nothing had happened and laughed, saying, "How could that be? Isn't that what your resume says?"

"Resume... no, no!"

She suddenly became agitated and shouted in a slightly hoarse voice, "Those resumes... are fake! My name is ████!"