"Scatter, Senbonzakura."
Byakuya Kuchiki maintained his usual cool and aloof expression as the Zanpakuto in his hand dissolved into thousands of petals following the release command. These petals converged into a ruthless hurricane, instantly engulfing the 'opponent' before him!
"No matter how many times I see it, it feels amazing!"
"Yeah, as expected of Lord Suzuki's friend."
The surrounding lumberjacks discussed spiritedly among themselves, watching as the tree bark—which previously took them great effort to strip away—was turned into sawdust. The piles of raw logs were transformed into smooth timber at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"Alright! Don't just stand there watching, hurry up and move this timber to the air-drying warehouse!"
"Right!"
The workers began to move the wood one after another, though no matter how hard they tried, their transport speed could not catch up with Byakuya Kuchiki's processing speed. Of course, Captain Kuchiki would appropriately slow down his progress, using the extra time to polish his control over Senbonzakura.
When he first came to help, faced with Byakuya Kuchiki's extremely 'noble' bark-stripping swordsmanship, the person in charge had stopped him with a pained look on his face, expressing that this was simply too wasteful and asking if he wouldn't prefer to take a rest instead.
How could the proud Byakuya Kuchiki endure such humiliation? And so, he—
Very seriously studied the shaving thickness used by the local planing masters, as well as the overall processing of the timber, while simultaneously learning how to distinguish the quality of the wood.
After that, when he used Senbonzakura to strip bark again, he was already able to precisely master the shaving thickness, ensuring that the usable portion of every log was preserved to the maximum extent, and he could even sort them while he was at it.
In fact, during this process, Byakuya Kuchiki had already keenly perceived that his control over the blade fragments of Senbonzakura had made minute but definite improvements. This made him believe Suzuki Makoto's previous words even more: that the other party's level of Reishi control was likely honed slowly in similar helpful scenarios.
Thus, he began to strip bark... even more seriously.
"I originally thought he wouldn't agree."
Looking at the construction blueprints and directing Suzuki Makoto to lay down a new section of the dam, Jeanne spoke with a touch of emotion.
"You know, he looks like an old-school Noble of the Seireitei at first glance. For someone like that, I estimated that just staying here would make him dissatisfied, let alone asking him to help these commoners with their work."
"Otherwise, I wouldn't have made him my 'monitor'. There are still some upright people in the entire Seireitei, after all; otherwise, I wouldn't have joined the Seireitei either."
Suzuki Makoto didn't even lift his head. Based on the requirements for the next section of construction, he began to refine the mass of Reishi he had kneaded together. At the same time, workers were swarming onto the river embankment to begin connecting the two sections of the levee.
"True. The lumber camp has already started considering building new air-drying warehouses. Because Captain Kuchiki's processing speed is too fast, the current warehouses are about to be filled. In fact, even the speed of logging can't keep up with his processing speed anymore."
"It doesn't matter. I've already notified Black Jeanne. She will have the students from the Inspection Team go to the lumber camp to help during their holidays."
"Eh? Do we have to go to that extent?"
Jeanne was somewhat surprised. One had to know that Suzuki Makoto held very high expectations for those Inspection Team members who had entered the Shin'ō Spiritual Arts Academy, even hoping they could replace his and Black Jeanne's functions in the future.
"Working together with ordinary people is actually more beneficial for them to execute their own missions in the future. After all, those teachers come from the Seireitei; subconsciously, they still advocate for the Nobles and the Gotei 13. I don't want to end up merely cultivating a batch of commoner honor students who yearn for the noble life, just making a wedding dress for the Seireitei."
Suzuki Makoto was naturally aware of the current situation at the Shin'ō Spiritual Arts Academy branch campus. There was no lack of people who had received special instructions from the Nobles to intentionally bias things in that direction. However, since they were at least fulfilling their teaching obligations, Black Jeanne hadn't moved against them. After all, the Yellow Turbans' education system started from zero, so this situation had to be tolerated temporarily.
Therefore, Suzuki Makoto attached great importance to this batch of talent. He could allow some people to leave the Rukongai for the Seireitei, but at least the majority of graduates had to stay willingly. This was the foundation of the Yellow Turbans' future; only through these people who had mastered knowledge could the educational network be spread throughout the entire Rukongai.
So, even knowing that Black Jeanne was intentionally or unintentionally spreading a cult of personality around him among these people, he didn't stop it, because sometimes such behavior could increase their willingness to stay.
"In that case, we should be able to speed up again. Once this batch of timber starts leaving the warehouse, the construction of the entire Rukongai can fully begin."
Jeanne calculated happily.
"Thank you, Miss Jeanne."
Suzuki Makoto's gratitude was sincere. After all, this Jeanne d'Arc from the Eastern Branch was a 'member of the International Brigades' who had come to support them in the truest sense. She brought the most advanced management technology and partial knowledge from the Western Branch, and with her outstanding leadership, she allowed the development speed of the Yellow Turbans to advance by leaps and bounds, to a degree Suzuki Makoto hadn't even imagined.
"No need to be so polite, Mr. Suzuki. This is also something I am very willing to do. At least it's much better than staying at headquarters as a mascot. The dragon disasters in the Western Branch aren't frequent nowadays, so letting those young people get more exercise is also beneficial. After all, it's been a long time since we've seen a Fairy Tale Dragon."
"Fairy Tale Dragon?"
"Yes. If I were to use your place for analogy, it should be an existence slightly stronger than a Menos Grande. A Fairy Tale Dragon can destroy a city with its own power alone. However, there aren't many such Fairy Tale Dragons even in the records of the Western Branch—ah, let's start the next phase of construction!"
Meanwhile, at the lumber camp.
"Eh? Brother-in-law? Why are you here?"
Wearing a loose-fitting anti-stab suit that made her look somewhat comical, Rukia stared wide-eyed at Byakuya Kuchiki before her.
"I am here... training. What are you doing here, Rukia? Shouldn't you be in class?"
"It's the holidays right now. Sister Black Jeanne said the lumber camp was short of loggers, so she asked us to come over and help chop down trees."
She happily raised the axe in her hand.
"My Zanpakuto isn't suitable, you know, so I got an axe instead—what about you, Brother-in-law? Are you here to chop trees too?"
"No, I am responsible for processing the trees you chop down."
As he spoke, Byakuya Kuchiki finished processing a log with Senbonzakura.
"What a handsome Zanpakuto!"
Rukia's starry-eyed gaze and spontaneous praise made Byakuya Kuchiki pause. He had never thought he would hear such an evaluation of Senbonzakura.
"Thank you for your hard work, Brother-in-law. When I come back from chopping trees, I want you to process them like this too!"
"Alright."
"Then shall we have dinner together tonight?"
"Alright."
"Then I'll go join my classmates now!"
Watching Rukia happily carry her axe and run toward her classmates, Byakuya Kuchiki felt for the first time that perhaps not bringing Hisana's sister back to the Kuchiki family was the correct decision.
____
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