Death: This Death is a bit unorthodox.

Compared to Aozaki Mayuki, the two of them are simply mediocre.

In just a few months, without any guidance, he mastered the basic skills and figured it out on his own!

How long did it take Kyoraku Shunsui to learn the One Bone technique from me back then?

Five years, a full five years!

Yamamoto was first shocked, then overjoyed, and finally fell into deep thought.

He sat behind the tea table for a long while before slowly speaking:

"Aozaki Mayuki, would you be willing to become my disciple and take me as your teacher?"

"..." Aozaki Mazuki stared at the old man Yamamoto in astonishment, somewhat at a loss.

Wasn't the apprenticeship ceremony rehearsed last week quite complicated? How come we've jumped straight to the final step?

Kyoraku Shunsui's eyes lit up, and he quickly gave Ukitake Jushiro a wink.

Jushiro Ukitake immediately understood his meaning and walked over to Aozaki Mazuki with a cup of tea.

"Aozaki-kun, please serve tea!"

"……Oh."

Aozaki Mayuki snapped out of her daze, took the tea, bowed slightly, and respectfully presented it to Yamamoto.

"teacher."

He called out "teacher" willingly.

He knew he had talent, but talent doesn't equal ability; a prematurely deceased genius is nothing.

With Yamamoto becoming his teacher, he would have powerful backers in Soul Society, and few would dare to touch him in the future.

Moreover, having studied under Yamamoto for nearly a year, he had truly learned a great deal and his skills had improved rapidly. He certainly didn't feel that Yamamoto was unqualified to be his teacher.

On the contrary, it would be difficult to find a better teacher in Soul Society than him.

Yamamoto smiled as he accepted the tea, nodding slightly in satisfaction.

At first, Yamamoto had Aozaki Mayuki learn from him mainly to protect him from the harassment and assassination attempts by the nobles.

Now, Yamamoto genuinely wants to take him as his disciple.

This kid's talent is hard not to be impressed by.

He is a rough gem, waiting to be polished, and he may become a great talent in the future.

After spending nearly a year together and observing Mazuki for almost a year, Yamamoto finally confirmed that Mazuki's character was not seriously flawed.

Today, I formally accepted him as my disciple, which can be considered as my wish being fulfilled.

Yamamoto drank the tea, nodded solemnly, and acknowledged Aozaki Mayuki's identity.

After that cup of tea, Aozaki Mazuki officially became Yamamoto's disciple.

Shinjuku wanted to seize the moment and take advantage of the harmonious atmosphere to ask Yamamoto to teach her the Twin Bones technique.

After Yamamoto finished his tea, he said he was going to give him a day off.

From now on, there's no need to come to the team's quarters at fixed times; you can come to him anytime if you have any cultivation-related questions.

Then, he and his two senior brothers were expelled from the temple.

Thinking about how far off the day it would be to learn "Dual Bones," Aozaki Mayuki couldn't help but sigh:

"I feel like I'm not even as good as a student in a cram school as a disciple. I'm starting to regret it."

"The old man is unreliable in many ways, this is just the beginning." Kyoraku Shunsui looked at the clearing sky, his frivolous nature becoming more and more obvious.

“Indeed.” Aozaki Mayuki nodded.

After all, Yamamoto is someone who can use Ryujin Jakka to cook, keep warm, and roast sweet potatoes, so it's normal for him to be unreliable at times.

Ukitake shook his head helplessly, then thought that he still had to say a few words on behalf of his teacher to protect his image.

Turning his head to look around, and making sure no one was there, Ukitake lowered his voice and said:

"Actually, the teacher also has difficulties. The rebels are getting stronger and stronger. Recently, the squads that fought against the rebels have all been wiped out in several battles. The Gotei 13 has suffered heavy casualties."

"We came here not only to witness your apprenticeship ceremony, but also to report to our teacher on the recent situation."

"The teacher is worried that the forces behind the rebels might have used some trump cards that could threaten the safety of Soul Society."

Upon hearing Ukitake's words, Aozaki Mayuki was slightly taken aback.

His first thought wasn't of the Tsunayo family, but of Aizen, whom he had seen on the battlefield.

In the battle to suppress the rebels, the 13th Guards of the Imperial Guard dispatched many high-ranking officers.

Some of these seated officers actually possess spiritual pressure at the vice-captain level, but since the number of vice-captain positions is limited, they serve as seated officers in various teams.

He had a general understanding of the rebels' strength; dealing with the Thirteenth Division of the Gotei 13 without letting a single person escape was almost impossible for them.

Unless the nobles send out a captain-level Grim Reaper, but that's highly unlikely.

With no one surviving, and considering Aizen's actions in the last battle, it was hard for him not to suspect Aizen.

Chapter 31 A Good Solution

Aozaki Mayuki nodded, shifting his gaze away from Ukitake Jushiro.

Looking at Kyoraku Shunsui, as if he had thought of something, he said directly:

"Teacher is busy. Does Senior Brother Kyoraku have time? I remember Teacher said that Senior Brother Kyoraku has also learned the Double Bone technique."

"You mean that..." Kyoraku Shunsui laughed heartily, then suddenly said seriously, "Actually, I don't know how!"

Aozaki Mayuki and Ukitake Jushiro were both stunned for a moment.

Ukitake Jushiro carefully recalled the events, confirming that his memory was correct and that Kyoraku Shunsui had indeed learned the Double Bone technique. He then looked at him with a questioning gaze.

"Chunshui, you don't need to hold back from your junior brother anymore, right?"

"I don't want to keep it a secret, but I really don't know how."

"What do you mean?" Jushiro Ukitake still didn't understand.

After studying for so many years and passing the teacher's tests, how come I suddenly can't remember it anymore?

"Actually, I didn't study seriously at all back then. Practicing some basics was fine, but learning the One Bone and Two Bone techniques was too tiring. I just practiced the stance and then pretended to have learned it to fool the old man." Kyoraku Shunsui lazily shrugged.

"You can pretend to have learned this?" Aozaki Mazuki asked.

Kyoraku Shunsui glanced subconsciously into the dojo, as if to check if Yamamoto had come out, then turned back and whispered:

"The white-hat test back then was completely different from now. The test back then used items enhanced with Kido, and I tampered with the items beforehand, so..."

"..." Ukitake Jushiro stared at him in shock, yet also gritted his teeth in hatred.

You didn't study the things I wanted to learn but couldn't, and even cheated to fool the teacher.

Kyoraku Shunsui, feeling a little embarrassed by Ukitake Jushiro's gaze, scratched his head awkwardly and said with a smile:

"Although I didn't learn it, I still remember a little bit of the theory. I still have a few bottles of good wine stored in the tavern in the first district of West Rukongai."

"How about this, we can talk while we drink. It's close to the Spirit Arts Academy, so Junior Brother can go back and rest after he finishes his drink."

"Or you could go to the Eighth Division. I have a lot of good wine hidden in my room, and Lisa has some nice things in her room too. I guarantee you'll like them, Junior Brother."

"Our Eighth Division is much safer than the Shinigami Academy. We can go straight to sleep when we're tired of playing, without having to worry about encountering any danger."

Jushiro Ukitake waved his hand and quickly refused:

"Let's forget about it. If the method of cultivating the White Fighting technique is wrong, it will definitely cause damage to the body."

"Back then, the teacher's open-hand training method was not suitable for everyone. If one's talent was insufficient, it would damage the body. That's why the Spirit Arts Academy didn't teach the open-hand method that he created."

"Don't mislead your junior brother. Let him go back and rest well. He can learn from the teacher next time."

Kyoraku Shunsui sighed:

"In that case, there's nothing we can do. But if Mayuki wants to join the Eighth Division, I'm always happy to welcome her."

Afterwards, the two bid farewell to Aozaki Mayuki and left the dojo along the corridor.

…………

"In that case, why don't you come to my house?"

Hearing the sound, Aozaki Mayuki looked at the roof beam.

The short-haired girl jumped down from above.

"You've been waiting for me all this time?" Aozaki Mayuki asked thoughtfully.

“That’s right.” Yoruichi Shihouin readily admitted, “Since I had nothing to do anyway, I might as well just wander around the First Division and wait for you to finish class.”

Aozaki Mayuki asked疑惑地问道：“Then why are you waiting for me? Do you want to spar again?”

Yoruichi Shihouin sighed: "Can't I have something else to say to you? This matter would be beneficial to both of us."

Seeing her serious expression, Aozaki Mayuki felt a slight touch of emotion; perhaps this was no ordinary prank.

Yoruichi Shihouin added, "Seriously, don't you think it's troublesome to treat every training injury with medication and rehabilitation?"

Aozaki Mayuki scratched her head: "So, what good idea have you come up with?"

He remembered that in the original work, Yoruichi Shihouin's "playground," which was the underground training ground, should have had a restorative hot spring.

That was a replica made by Kisuke Urahara, imitating the bathhouse of Tenshiro Kirinji. It could quickly heal injuries.

Kirinji Tenshirou, a former Shinigami of the Gotei 13, was promoted to the Zero Division and became a "Royal Agent" for his achievements in creating the return route and medical hot springs.

He invented two types of hot springs: the White Bone Hell and the Blood Pool Hell. The former can squeeze out spiritual pressure and blood, while the latter can replenish spiritual pressure and blood.

Urahara Kisuke said he would build a hot spring, but it's been half a year and there's still no sign of it.

"There are too many people here, it's not a good place to talk about this kind of thing." Yoruichi Shihouin said, word by word, "Go to the Shihouin family home, that's my territory. Find a quiet place where no one will bother you, and I'll tell you slowly."

Aozaki Mayuki remained silent. She knew without a doubt that this was a troublesome matter.

"If you want to cultivate, you must first solve your injuries and illnesses," Yoruichi Shihōin tempted.

After leaving the First Division, Yoruichi Shihouin no longer walked leisurely as she had when she arrived, but instead put her arm around Mayuki's waist.