Death's Hidden Mobile

"Hello, teacher."

Xia Yan approached Tsuruno Hidetoshi, unsure of how to begin.

Natsuhiko came to tell Tsuruno Hidetoshi about joining the Second Division. He had been learning Kido from Tsuruno Hidetoshi, but only if he didn't choose where he would go after graduation.

Now that Xia Yan has chosen the Second Division, he must be told that he may not be able to learn Kido from him, but Xia Yan is unwilling to deceive his teacher who has placed high hopes on him.

Seeing his expression, Tsuruno Hidetoshi couldn't help but ask, "What happened?"

Xia Yan replied, "I have already chosen the squad I will join after graduation."

Choosing a squad means you won't join the Kido Clan.

Hearing this, Hidetoshi Tsuruno felt a little regretful, but he wasn't angry. He simply said, "This is a good thing. It proves that you have good potential."

Xia Yan said with a face full of apology, "Teacher, I'm sorry."

The other party taught him the way of the demons, hoping that he would join the demon sect, but now he has made his choice ahead of time.

"What's there to be sorry about?"

Upon hearing Xia Yan's apology, Tsuruno Hidetoshi waved his hand and said, "It's your freedom to choose what you want to do. There's no need to apologize to me."

Hidetoshi Tsuruno smiled and asked again, "Which squad did you choose?"

Xia Yan replied, "Second Division."

"Second Division?"

Tsuruno Hidetoshi frowned and couldn't help but ask, "Why did you choose the Second Division?"

Natsuhiko recounted his meeting with Soi Fon to Tsuruno Hidetoshi, who, after listening, said, "So it was Captain Soi Fon who personally recruited you. But are you sure you understand the significance of the Second Division? Do you really want to join the Second Division? Perhaps other divisions would be better for you."

Xia Yan nodded and said, "I've made up my mind."

Hidetoshi Tsuruno nodded and said, "Any squad can protect Seireitei. You must do your best."

Xia Yan quickly replied, "I will."

Tsuruno Hidetoshi asked with a smile, "You came here just to tell me your own choice?"

Xia Yan replied, "Yes, after all, I made an agreement with the teacher."

Hidetoshi Tsuruno smiled and said, "Alright, I understand. Go ahead."

Xia Yan turned to leave, and just as he reached the door, Tsuruno Hidetoshi said, "By the way, starting tomorrow, don't forget to find me after school, and I'll continue teaching you Kido."

"teacher?"

Xia Yan thought that their private tutoring had ended when he made his choice, but he didn't expect that Tsuruno Hidetoshi would still be willing to teach him.

Hidetoshi Tsuruno continued, "However, you only have six months before you have to go to the Second Division. I can only teach you for six months. After I teach you the basic Hakudo and the basic Binding, I can only teach you a few representative intermediate Hakudo and Binding."

In the previous six months, Xia Yan mastered the first twenty Hadō and the first fifteen Bhādō.

The remaining six months are not enough for him to master intermediate-level ghost arts.

But Xia Yan was content as long as he could continue learning.

Xia Yan said excitedly, "Thank you, teacher."

"It's okay, just go ahead."

Tsuruno Hidetoshi waved his hand, and Natsuhiko turned and left, gently closing the door behind him.

Knowing that he wouldn't join the Ghost Path Cult, Xia Yan was still willing to teach him, which made him very grateful.

However, Xia Yan's time for cultivating the Demonic Path is destined to be very short, because he will be heading to Rukongai for an internship.

Chapter Twenty-Six: Soul Burial

"Quiet. Anyone who talks, stay here."

On the platform of the interdimensional gate, three sixth-grade students stood side by side, and the one who was speaking was the young man in the middle.

As he shouted, all the students in Class 1 of Grade 4 in front of the interdimensional gate fell silent. Xia Yan stood among them, staring intently at the interdimensional gate.

This day is for the soul to be buried in the mortal world. They will arrive in the mortal world to perform the soul burial.

“My name is Qingyan, the one on the left is Bailu, and the one on the right is Yidong. The three of us will be your guides on your journey to the mortal world. If you encounter any danger in the mortal world, call out our names.”

"Qingyan shouted loudly. He was a tall young man with his arms crossed and his Zanpakuto on his back.

Bai Lu is a tall, slender girl with a cold and aloof expression.

Ito, on the other hand, was a bespectacled young man who was not tall and looked harmless.

No one dared to speak loudly in front of these three people. These sixth-grade students not only took on the responsibility of being teachers, but also of protecting them.

Every sixth-generation student who can serve as a vanguard is an elite student, and each of them has the ability to kill Hollows so that they can save them if they encounter Hollows.

Seeing that they had quieted down, Qingyan said, "Now let's tally up the list. You all drew lots at school. People with the same nameplate are in a group of three. Now find your group members."

Upon hearing Qingyan's words, everyone gathered together. Xia Yan's sign featured a black cat, while the other two people with black cats were Sanada Ryoji and a student named Nozawa Keizo.

"What a coincidence." Sanada Ryoji smiled and put his arm around Natsuhiko's shoulder.

"What a coincidence."

Xia Yan's lips twitched. He knew perfectly well that Sanada Ryoji had taken someone else's name tag and joined his group.

After Xia Yan and the other two finished their calculations at Bai Lu's place, they gathered together and waited for the interdimensional gate to open.

Beside the three, three Hell Butterflies fluttered. Hell Butterflies are insects that live in the Soul Society and have the function of communication and guidance. In particular, they are needed to guide people when going to the Human World and returning to the Human World in order to enter the proper path.

Qingyan stood in front of the interdimensional gate and said, "Follow the people in front of you. Once you enter the gate, run forward. Don't be afraid, and don't fall behind. Got it?"

"remember."

A loud shout rang out, and everyone lined up.

Qingyan drew his Zanpakuto, inserted it into the Chukaimon Gate, and with a gentle turn, the Chukaimon Gate slowly opened.

Then Qingyan said, "Come with me."

He jumped down first, while Bai Lu and Yi Dong stood outside the door and shouted, "Enter in order."

The remaining people quickly entered the portal. Once inside, they found themselves in a long passage. Unlike the Dangai Passage that Kurosaki Ichigo used to travel to and from Soul Society, there was no barrier. This was because they were carried by Hell Butterflies, which allowed them to travel to the Human World via a stable path.

Even so, Xia Yan didn't dare to slack off and quickly ran forward, following Qingyan who was at the front.

The passage between realms wasn't long; in about a minute, they reached the other end and, with a whoosh, entered the real world.

"Is this the present world?"

Sanada Ryoji asked a question, for he was born in Rukongai, not a dead soul.

In Soul Society, souls can marry and have children, but the number of souls born is extremely small, far less than the number of souls that die during the transformation process between the three realms.

If the number of souls in the three realms becomes problematic, forced intervention will be implemented, such as killing souls in Rukongai, to achieve balance.

Therefore, while Death maintains the balance of the three realms, countless lives also exist in secret.

The place where Xia Yan and his colleagues were interning was a small town with clean streets, but not many tall buildings.

Qingyan said, "Using the location of the interdimensional gate as the center, move within a radius of 0.1 spirit mile around it, search for lone souls, and perform soul burial on them."

With Qingyan's words, the crowd scattered, and Sanada Ryoji shouted, "Let's go find the soul!"

The three formed a group and headed east. It was nighttime in the present world, and there were no pedestrians on the streets, but there were still some wandering souls.

These spirits included children with blood-covered faces, elderly men, and bewildered young people.

They remained rational and made their own judgments. When they saw so many people around them, they were initially curious and even touched them with great interest.

They touched the physical objects and saw them pull out knives and walk towards them, which terrified them so much that they scattered and fled.

Sanada Ryoji saw an old soul and chased after it.

But the other party was so frightened that it fled and drifted away into the distance.

"Hey, don't run away! We're not bad guys!" Sanada Ryoji shouted as he chased after them.

"Then put the knife down!" the old spirit cried out.

Sanada Ryoji shouted, "How can I transcend you without a sword?"

Upon hearing this, the aged spirit trembled in fear and cried out, "So you really are going to kill us after all."

But at that moment, Xia Yan flashed and appeared in front of the other party, blocking his way.

The aged soul crashed into Xia Yan, landing hard on its backside. The next moment, the hilt of Xia Yan's sword had already struck the other's forehead.

When Xia Yan sheathed his Zanpakuto, the character "魂" (soul) appeared above the opponent's head, and along with the appearance of the character, a black circular hole appeared behind the aged soul.

A circular hole appeared, and the aged soul was sucked into it. A butterfly flew out from behind Xia Yan and followed the aged soul into the circular hole.

Without the guidance of the Hell Butterfly, these souls cannot be sent to the transfer station in Rukongai. After the Hell Butterfly sends them away, it will return again.

After Xia Yan finished the soul burial ceremony, Sanada Ryoji and Nozawa Keizo ran to his side. Sanada Ryoji said, "That simple?"

Xia Yan nodded and said, "It's not difficult at all."

"It's my turn."

Sanada Ryoji immediately gave chase to one of the spirits, but his tall stature, ugly face, and the knife in his hand caused most of the spirits that saw him to scatter and flee.

Sanada Ryoji put in a lot of effort to catch one, but he couldn't succeed no matter what he did, and he was puzzled and couldn't find the reason.

"The force was too great; didn't you see him constantly crying out in pain?"

Xia Yan watched helplessly as Sanada Ryoji kept smashing the other man's head with the hilt of his sword.

"Again." Sanada Ryoji tried several times and finally succeeded in sending the opponent into Soul Society.

"Haha, I succeeded!" Sanada Ryoji looked at the vanished soul and laughed triumphantly.

But the instant Sanada Ryoji turned his back, a white claw pierced through his chest and appeared in his groin.

"what!"

Sanada Ryoji froze, staring at the claw on his chest stained with his own blood, his face filled with despair.

Behind Sanada Ryoji, a Hollow, more than half the height of a human, slowly emerged. It lay there like a giant lizard, with a hard shell and a long tail, its forelimbs piercing through Ryoji's body.

"Ryoji."