Soul Transplant

Whose subordinate was this? How could he be so brave? Was he not afraid that once Gin Ichimaru became a captain, Gin would string him up upside down and thump him right back?

Oh. He belonged to Isshin Shiba.

Then it was fine.

Akira's memories from his previous life vaguely recalled that Isshin Shiba had never been a man with much restraint in the first place. It seemed... reasonable for his subordinate to inherit that style.

Just as gentle Lady Unohana's disciple, Akira Morisawa, was also a very gentle young man.

Fortunately, that colleague had not shouted his own name. Gin Ichimaru probably would not remember him.

"Remember this, brat! The Shinigami you just annoyed is Taume Yoshigami, Nineteenth Seat of the Tenth Division! If you dare come back next time, I definitely will not let you off again!"

Under Akira's somewhat dumbfounded gaze, Taume Yoshigami reported his Division, seated officer rank, and name almost without hesitation. He was only one step away from directly reciting the inscription for his own gravestone.

"Hm?"

Taume Yoshigami's footsteps gradually slowed beside Akira. He did not continue chasing. Instead, he glanced at Akira and said, "You are... Fourth Division?"

Akira immediately gave Taume Yoshigami a thumbs-up and praised him.

"What you did just now was truly... bold. I admire it."

"Ahaha, you flatter me. You flatter me."

Taume Yoshigami grinned and said, "Sorry about that. That brat did not bump into you, did he? He is a habitual little thief with spiritual power. Probably hungry, so he runs around everywhere."

Hearing the faint hint of protection toward Gin Ichimaru hidden in those words, Akira's eyes showed a flicker of surprise.

This seemingly shameless man was far from simply chasing Gin as a thief. Instead, it felt as if he had come straight toward Akira to keep him from retaliating against Gin.

After all, although Seireitei had clear rules that Shinigami were not allowed to casually kill residents of Soul Society, a Shinigami with power had countless ways to take revenge on an ordinary Rukongai resident.

So the unit and name he had shouted toward Gin just now had also indirectly told Akira who he was, thereby protecting Gin from retaliation.

Realizing that, Akira deliberately let a trace of gloom appear on his face and said, "True. That kid really was awful. He bumped into someone and did not even apologize."

Taume Yoshigami, acting as if they were already old friends, hooked an arm around Akira's shoulder and said brightly, "Ahaha, no need to care too much. There are plenty of rude brats like that in Rukongai. From your looks, you seem like a new member of the Gotei 13. What is your name? I can take you out for something interesting."

"I am Akira Morisawa," Akira answered.

"Oh, so you are Akira. Listen, I..."

Just as Taume Yoshigami instinctively prepared to lecture Akira in the tone of a senior, he seemed to remember something. His movement stiffened, and he looked at the smiling Akira with a somewhat vacant gaze.

Subconsciously, he said, "You are Captain Unohana's disciple in the rumors? The Akira Morisawa who entered the gynecology department that countless male Shinigami dream of entering?"

"???"

Akira.

Why did he have to specially add the gynecology department part?

What?

And what did he mean by countless male Shinigami dream of entering?

His reputation in Seireitei was completely ruined.

Akira sank inwardly.

"Actually, if I said I was forced to join the gynecology department, would you believe me?" Akira asked, his expression tightening, as if he could somehow repair his reputation.

"Uh..."

Taume Yoshigami looked at him as if he were humblebragging and said, "Would anyone need to force that kind of thing?"

"If a man were not forced, how could he possibly be willing to..."

Akira's voice paused. He decisively cut off the topic, avoiding being dragged completely off course by this shameless man, and changed the subject.

"When will your Lieutenant Shiba return?"

"Why are you looking for our lieutenant, Akira?" Taume Yoshigami asked, staring at him with a look that said, Are you planning to complain about me?

Akira recalled those numb faces he had seen earlier. His professional instinct as a doctor made a trace of pity flash through his heart. With a sigh, he asked, "No. I just want to understand how these residents will ultimately be handled. This area falls under your Tenth Division's jurisdiction, so the final arrangement presumably cannot avoid Lieutenant Shiba."

Taume Yoshigami answered in a tone that seemed unconcerned.

"How else can they be handled? Once it is confirmed that there is no hidden threat to Soul Society among them, they will probably be abandoned. They are all people who will not live long anyway."

Although Taume Yoshigami's tone was light, Akira clearly heard the unwillingness within it.

However, let alone a mere Nineteenth Seat of the Tenth Division, even a captain-class Shinigami would find it difficult to effectively oppose a Seireitei decision.

Moreover, the Tenth Division captain's seat was currently vacant, causing the Tenth Division's voice within the Gotei 13 to fall almost to the very bottom.

Of course, the more important point was that Seireitei currently had no ability to treat this state of soul loss. In Central 46's eyes, the value of barely more than a hundred Rukongai residents was almost negligible.

After a moment of silence, Akira answered in a rather serious tone.

"As a member of the Fourth Division... I will do everything I can to save every patient."

Those words made Taume Yoshigami look at Akira with a little more surprise and closeness.

After that, while Akira continued his examinations, he also began performing emergency treatment on several newly gathered residents.

Akira was very clear that this method treated the symptoms rather than the root. At most, it could slow some of their suffering and bring a trace of warmth back into their numb, despairing hearts.

After spending more than half the day busy, Akira reported all his test results to Retsu Unohana. As Unohana frowned slightly and thought, Akira asked quietly, "Teacher, is there currently no way to treat this condition of soul loss?"

Retsu Unohana came back to herself. Looking at the pure, gentle young man before her, whose expression seemed conflicted and full of pity, she said, "There is, but it is almost impossible to achieve."

"Why?" Akira asked.

Retsu Unohana pondered briefly, then said, "Because it involves soul transplantation. A portion of a normal soul would need to be extracted and transplanted into the missing portion of the damaged soul. Leaving aside whether anyone would be willing to donate part of their soul for someone else, even if it succeeded, the originally normal soul would be left with permanent loss."

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