Bleach: I Love Making Friends

In truth, the Seireitei does possess a ritual or special spiritual technique known as the "Unity of Man and Sword."

However, this technique is considered a forbidden art among forbidden arts, and it is impossible for a Shinigami to use it.

In the history of the Seireitei, there was once a member named Meigen who used this forbidden technique to fuse his Zanpakutō with his soul. However, the immense power was too much for a Shinigami-level soul to handle.

The excruciating pain drove Meigen into a frenzy, and he ended up killing sixty-three of his comrades, including the vice-captain.

Following this, the Gotei 13 dispatched several captains to capture him, but he managed to kill two of them before the remaining captains joined forces to seal him away.

This was the consequence of recklessly using a forbidden technique!

The Unity of Man and Sword is not a realm that Shinigami can reach. If one forcibly steps into this realm, their body cannot withstand it, and they will inevitably go mad!

However, through Shiba Isshin's ability, Haruki could directly enter this realm.

But this ability is only useful if Shiba Isshin's favorability reaches 80. If it doesn't, using the ability will drain all of his spiritual power.

Just like Ichigo Kurosaki, who became an ordinary human after defeating Aizen.

Haruki definitely didn't want to end up like that.

So, building a good relationship with Shiba Isshin was crucial.

"Hey, Haruki!"

Rangiku greeted Haruki as soon as she saw him. "You really became a vice-captain! That's amazing!"

"Not at all, it's just Captain Aizen's favor," Haruki smiled. "I'm still far from being worthy of the vice-captain position."

Shiba Isshin, standing next to Rangiku, stroked his chin and looked at Haruki curiously. "So you're Haruki Murakami. I've been hearing about you from Rangiku lately. You're the one who ended the Hollow disappearance case. You really live up to your reputation."

"You flatter me, Captain Shiba," Haruki quickly replied modestly. "Captain Shiba comes from a prestigious family and has been a captain for a long time. I'm nowhere near your level."

"Too much humility can come off as pride," Shiba Isshin laughed, then turned to Aizen. "Sōsuke, congratulations on discovering another genius."

Aizen smiled and nodded. "Haruki-kun is indeed a genius."

Haruki felt a bit embarrassed by the praise from these two. He followed behind them silently, while Rangiku chatted about random things.

Eventually, Aizen Sōsuke and Shiba Isshin entered the First Division's office, while the vice-captains waited in the adjacent room.

Haruki and Rangiku walked in and noticed a few people already inside.

Judging by the armbands, they were the vice-captains of the First, Fourth, and Sixth Divisions. It seemed they had arrived early.

The vice-captain of the First Division was Chōjirō Sasakibe, a veteran who had been around for two to three thousand years. He had been by Captain-Commander Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni's side even before the Gotei 13 was established.

Chōjirō Sasakibe's soul ability was Permanent Scar.

Permanent Scar: Releases an attack that leaves a permanent scar on the enemy.

Hah, it's no surprise that this ability comes from the ultimate background character. His soul ability is derived from the scar on Yamamoto's head.

One of the two intersecting scars on Yamamoto's head was left by Chōjirō Sasakibe.

So, is this the origin of soul abilities?

It's a bit absurd, to be honest.

The vice-captain of the Fourth Division, Isane Kotetsu, had the soul ability Don't Want to Grow Taller, as mentioned earlier. The vice-captain of the Sixth Division was currently Ginjirō Shirogane, whose soul ability was Glasses Designer.

Glasses Designer: Can design various styles of glasses. By infusing different spiritual pressures and abilities, the designed glasses can possess corresponding traits.

Ginjirō Shirogane was the vice-captain of the Sixth Division before Renji, and he was one of the rare members who managed to "retire" from the Gotei 13.

The Gotei 13 is an organization that doesn't allow members to "leave." Shinigami who try to leave are captured by the Stealth Force and thrown into prison.

However, once you reach the captain level, a Shinigami's status skyrockets, becoming worlds apart from ordinary Shinigami.

What ordinary Shinigami can't do doesn't mean captains can't. Retiring is no big deal as long as you surrender your Zanpakutō.

It just goes to show that there's a reason people strive to climb the ranks. Those at the bottom are stuck as mud-legged peasants, unable to even dream of escaping that fate.

At this point in time, the members of the Gotei 13 weren't very familiar with each other, so the vice-captains' room was quiet, with almost no one speaking.

Haruki and Rangiku entering didn't disrupt the quiet atmosphere, mainly because Haruki didn't want to break the "rules" on his first day.

Today was his first day on the job, so he decided to lay low and get familiar with everyone first.

Even the usually lively Rangiku wasn't saying much.

After a while, the vice-captains from all the divisions had arrived.

The vice-captain of the Thirteenth Division was Shiba Kaien, whose soul ability was Resembling Face.

Resembling Face: Designate a person and transform into a similar appearance to them, including spiritual pressure and abilities.

This was somewhat expected, as Shiba Kaien's most notable feature was his face, which looked almost identical to the protagonist, Ichigo Kurosaki.

The vice-captain of the Twelfth Division was Nemu Kurotsuchi, whose soul ability was Artificial Soul Modification.

Artificial Soul Modification: Permanently sacrifice a portion of your soul to permanently enhance a part of your body.

This was also a reflection of Nemu's nature, as she was an artificial soul created by Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi of the Twelfth Division and the most perfect creation of the "Sleep Project."

The vice-captain of the Eleventh Division was Yachiru Kusajishi, whose soul ability was Zanpakutō Manifestation.

Zanpakutō Manifestation: Split your Bankai and give it a physical form with a corresponding name.

Note: If favorability is below 80, the split Bankai cannot be reclaimed.

Well, Yachiru Kusajishi herself was a manifestation of Kenpachi Zaraki's Zanpakutō's Bankai, so it made sense for her to have such a soul ability.

The vice-captain of the Second Division was Marechiyo Ōmaeda, whose soul ability was Special Combat Power.

Special Combat Power: Upon activation, you can break the fourth wall and see higher-dimensional comments. You can also achieve something that higher-dimensional comments claim you can do.

"?"

When Haruki saw this ability, he had to admit he was stunned for a moment.

Then he was filled with shock.

What...

What kind of ability is this?!