The quest's judgnt criteria ran on the stricter side, and from the look of things: the final appointnt authority still rested with the old man.
Whatever. Not worth thinking about.
What mattered was the reward.
In hand, that ant it was good.
As the rewards processed, his capabilities shifted across multiple categories. Leaving the squad base, Matsushita Yusuke took a mont to check his panel.
[Reiatsu Level: 28] (current cap: 50)
[Zanjutsu: 45] [Hakuda: 43] [Hoho: 43] [Kido: 60] (total cap: 100)
[Overall Assessnt: Bottom-Rank Captain Level]
The numbers had gone up considerably, but the overall assessnt hadn't changed.
Which made sense. Once you entered this tier, significant improvent took real accumulation. The captain ranks contained no shortage of figures who had been operating for centuries. Surpassing any of them wasn't going to happen overnight.
So Yusuke didn't linger on those numbers. The part he actually cared about was the random Bankai selection.
He had three Shikai: Physical, Elental, and Kido-type Zanpakuto.
The question was which one the random draw would land on.
With a small degree of anxiety, he swallowed once to settle himself, took a breath, and carefully opened the ability panel.
[Zanpakuto Ability Panel]
[Physical: 70]
[Elental: 31]
[Kido: 53]
[Biological: 28]
[Rule: 22]
A large, bold 70 sat there on the Physical line.
Physical was selected.
His feelings about this were, to put it diplomatically, mixed.
On the good side: he could finally shout "Bankai" in front of people and gain so actual style points in the process.
On the concerning side: why, of all options, did it land on Physical, which was currently the most underwhelming of the three?
The honest truth was that Yusuke had a few issues with Kongozō.
As a Physical-type Zanpakuto, it wasn't brutal enough and it wasn't stat-heavy enough. The ability itself also had a sowhat redundant quality to it.
Against opponents who actually needed the ability: they generally weren't going to give Yusuke the sustained contact ti required to get it working.
Against opponents who didn't need the ability: he could probably beat them without any technique at all.
Compared to the other two releases, Kongozō ca up short in almost every practical scenario.
But.
Wait. Isn't that actually just my problem?
Because theoretically: Kongozō, with enough reiatsu behind it, should be able to break through anything. The "penetrate all defenses" principle was sound. The limitation was his current ceiling, not the sword.
The question was: what did the Bankai look like?
He'd need to develop that before the ghost's visit in a few days. Going up against an opponent at that level with pure Kido alone was clearly insufficient. He needed to expand his toolkit.
Matsushita Yusuke started running through possibilities in his head.
Returning to Squad 2, he found Kishinoshin waiting.
"How did things go, Matsushita-kun?"
Yusuke ca back to the present and gave a complete debrief without holding anything back.
"Oh, that much happened? That's actually surprising."
After processing that, Yusuke pulled out the map Sasakibe had given him and spread it across the table.
"Kishinoshin-senpai, I have sothing I need your help with. Hypothetically, if you were the Squad 11 captain, where would you think the best place to rebuild the base would be?"
"Consulting my opinion? You're sharp."
"I'm just a newcor. Soone with your experience in Seireitei matters is considerably more insightful. These things I can really only rely on you for."
"I'm not soone whose ears go soft from a few complints."
He smiled silently and shook his head.
Though he said that, a serious expression followed almost imdiately.
Because Yoruichi's instruction was to help Matsushita Yusuke with everything he had, and this fell squarely within that.
"Let look... does Matsushita-kun have any particular requirents for the squad?"
Yusuke, who had been half-focused on reading through the Bankai ability and working out his strategy, refocused.
"Huh? What do you an?"
"Requirents for the squad mbers. Simple example:"
Kishinoshin raised his hand and mid drinking.
"So squads have a heavy drinking culture. Placing the base near certain areas would make that convenient."
That's not sothing a normal person uses as a base selection criterion.
"Of course, there are also people who prefer quiet and remote locations. Placing the base over here would suit that better. And because it's more remote, the sa budget can purchase more land. Once it's developed and divided into sections, it would co across quite impressively."
Yusuke nodded along, said he would think it over carefully before making a final call.
The urgency of having an administrative mind on his side was becoming impossible to ignore. Just handling these questions on his own would consu far too much of his energy.
He still needed to train. The ghost showed up in three days. After that, Aizen's plans eventually had to be navigated. And a hundred years down the line ca Yhwach, round two.
Very busy. Not sure of the exact order of operations. But busy.
So.
Was there so kind of person who was both free and capable, worked tirelessly for next to nothing, and was available right now?
Yusuke's eyes drifted toward Kishinoshin without any particular expression on his face.
This "hereditary vice-captain of the Shihoin household" was sothing of a find in his own right.
Pulling Kishinoshin across to his squad felt a bit unrealistic. One step down from that: give Marechiyo. Train him for a few years and he should be usable. One more nuclear-powered workhorse on the roster would be sothing else entirely.
But that was only a thought.
The Omaeda household was still nobility, and Yusuke was just a newly-appointed captain with nothing to show yet. There was no reasonable basis for handing over a son that quickly.
So this was a high-level talent that could only be unlocked once the infrastructure was already in place?
Tsk.
So he'd genuinely ended up in a managent ga.
What talent was actually available to him right now?
The thought had barely settled when:
Bang!
The door opened.
A familiar figure walked in, fixing Matsushita Yusuke with a haughty expression.
"Hey. Have you officially beco captain yet?"
"Uh... yes, yes I have."
Soifon raised her chin slightly and placed a letter on the desk in front of him.
"Then I'm applying to be your vice-captain."
Only in that mont did it fully land.
She was with all along. She was right there.
I unlocked a high-level talent ages ago.
***
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