Demon Slayer: The Journey That Began When I Became Yoriichi's Sister

Chapter 706 Hot Pot General

But for Long Gui, this is the only way to become stronger.

That's not entirely accurate. If it's just some weak Hollows or Shinigami, a person with a high level of Breathing Technique can put up a fight against them.

However, once the spiritual pressure of a Shinigami or Hollow reaches a certain level, even a low-ranking Shinigami, can pose very little threat with pure breathing techniques, let alone a Captain or a Hollow-level monster.

Now, even Chad and Orihime, Ichigo and the others, possess abilities at the level of a seated officer. Ichigo and Ishida even have the strength to contend with or even defeat the captain.

Yuko's idea was actually very simple: as long as it could make her stronger, any method was worth trying.

With her guidance, even if Long Gui isn't trained to the point where he can fight against captains, at least his position as a seat officer is guaranteed.

After leaving the dojo, Yuko stopped by a nearby supermarket to buy groceries for the day.

After buying groceries at the supermarket, Yuko was on her way home when she suddenly received a call from Kisuke Urahara.

"Go over there?" Yu Zi looked down at the ingredients in the plastic bag. "I need to go home and cook lunch."

"Hmm? Hot pot? Sure. Do you have enough ingredients? I happen to be at the supermarket entrance."

"Prepare one more serving? Okay."

Yuzi hung up the phone and went back to the supermarket to buy all the groceries.

……

Inside the Urahara store, Yuko walked in carrying two bags of groceries in each hand.

"Couldn't we have discussed this yesterday?"

Kisuke Urahara came out to greet her, waving his fan with a smile: "Oh dear, Yuuko, what are you saying? Even if nothing's wrong, can't we at least get to know each other better?"

"And we have a special guest today!"

“Sorry, I don’t have any feelings for you.” Yu Zi replied expressionlessly at first, and then said, “If you’re trying to be mysterious, you’ve fooled the wrong person.”

"How cold-hearted~" Kisuke Urahara clicked his tongue twice and shook his head. "We were fighting side by side not long ago."

"Fighting side by side?" Yuko raised her eyes slightly, pondered for a moment, "Kosho Aya?"

The child's words were normal; after all, she could finally play with Yoruichi, whom she liked.

To be honest, these two are actually a couple, right?

...I just don't know Yoruichi's attitude towards Kisuke. Is it really for Kosho Aya's sake, or will he kill this guy?

"...No." Kisuke Urahara shivered inexplicably, feeling as if someone was whispering in his ear from behind.

"Is that Sister Hua?" Yu Zi guessed with a bored expression. "Sexy pink? Old geezer? Someone with connections?"

"...What is all this nonsense?" Kisuke Urahara's eyes twitched. "These random nicknames, even if I guessed them right, I wouldn't know if I was right or wrong."

"That's all." Yu Zi was too lazy to waste words with him and went to the kitchen with the ingredients.

On the way to the kitchen, the paper door in the corridor was pulled open, and a tall figure came out from inside. It was a man with long, fiery red hair, dressed in human casual clothes.

"Hmm? Yu...Miss Yuko?" Renji Abarai noticed Yuko beside him.

Yuko said expressionlessly, "Ah, so it's you."

"what?"

What do you mean, "you bastard"?

"Give way."

Ikuko walked past him without any change in expression, leaving Renji completely bewildered.

……

A short while later, at the dining table.

The group sat down around the hot pot, the steaming white mist filling the small living room, accompanied by the bubbling sound of boiling, and the unique sweet and salty aroma of sukiyaki filled their nostrils.

As the food cooked, Yuuko looked at Renji and asked, "So, instead of being a good vice-captain in Soul Society, what are you doing in the Human World? Where's Rukia?"

Renji struggled to look away from the food and looked up, saying, "Rukia is still recuperating. I am... cough, I was sent here to carry out a garrison mission."

"A garrison mission?" Yuko picked up her chopsticks and took the first slice of lotus root. "Has Soul Society finally realized that Karakura Town is a high-risk area? But sending you here alone feels like throwing good money after bad, a one-way trip."

"Hey! Ms. Yuko! Although I respect you, these words are really hurtful! I've become much stronger now!" Renji protested, but his voice was clearly weak.

It's not that I lack the confidence to fight... well, I don't even have enough confidence to fight, but what I lack even more is... my verbal skills.

After all, he had witnessed it firsthand in the Soul Society.

"Alright, alright, let's eat first," Kisuke Urahara said, smoothing things over as he poured a plate of freshly sliced ​​beef into the pot. "Yuko bought top-grade Wagyu beef, you know. It would be a waste not to eat it."

Upon hearing about the top-grade Wagyu beef, everyone's eyes lit up, and they stopped chatting and focused intently on the hot pot.

Just wait until the beef is cooked...

Everyone looked up at each other.

enemy.

Suddenly, Jin Tai spoke up: "Hey, Mr. White Food, could you please get me your drink? It's right next to your feet."

"Free food first..."

Renji was stunned for a moment before realizing that the person was talking about him. He gritted his teeth, picked up a drink from the side, and handed it to Jinta, feeling a little embarrassed.

Xiaoyu muttered to herself, "This is too much! Even a freeloader deserves to enjoy delicious beef."

Sweat beaded on Renji's forehead, and his gaze at the hot pot became somewhat blurred.

Kisuke Urahara added, "Everyone, don't say that. 'Mr. Freeloader' sounds like a homeless person who freeloads off others. It's really unfair."

Renji trembled all over, even the chopsticks he was holding shook, and he unconsciously put them down.

Great! One done!

A glint of light flashed in everyone's eyes.

Finally, just as the Wagyu beef was about to be cooked, the first person to pick up their chopsticks was...

"Do you think I'd be shy?! This is top-grade Wagyu beef! Even if it means getting a free meal, I'm not giving it up!"

Renji Abarai laughed wildly as his chopsticks shot out like lightning.

"what?!"

Everyone was shocked.

They're clearly not ripe yet...

No! It's not that it's not ripe!

Urahara Kisuke's eyes sharpened.

This guy!

They probably wanted to control the cooking time of the ingredients, using the steam from the hot pot to cook the last bit of flesh and blood!

What precise control!

This guy is... truly...

Hotpot General!!!

"Innocent."

Just as Renji Abarai's chopsticks were about to touch the fragrant Wagyu beef, a clear, cold voice seemed to come from the underworld, gently drifting into his ears.

Immediately following was a very faint, crisp sound of wooden chopsticks colliding.

Snapped.

The sound was short and powerful, like a peerless swordsman drawing his sword at that moment, a flash of cold light passing by.

Renji felt a numbness in his hand, and the chopsticks in his hand seemed to be bounced away by an irresistible force. The originally precise trajectory was instantly deviated, and the chopsticks stuck straight into the boiling clear soup pot next to him, picking up a lone piece of baby bok choy.

"what?!"

Renji's smile froze. He turned his head and saw Yuko slowly lifting the beef into the air. The beef, having just been bathed in steam and broth, was perfectly cooked, pink with a hint of white, and the juices dripped slowly along the grain.

"The so-called precision means giving the enemy no chance before the prey is swallowed up."

Yuko tilted her head slightly, and in her seemingly lazy, lifeless eyes, a red light flashed that sent chills down Renji's spine.

That's the look of a predator, a gaze of absolute dominion over its prey.

"Also, when wild dogs fight for food, their movements are too exaggerated, leaving many openings."

"You're the same, Yuko! You're full of openings!" Yoruichi's low voice rang out, and her chopsticks pierced out like daggers, knocking the beef out of Yuko's hand.

"That's mine!" Shen Tai shouted as he stood up, reaching for the air with his chopsticks.

Xiaoyu also stood up.

Shen Tai's eyes sharpened, and he quickened his chopsticks: "You're still far from good enough!"

Xiaoyu remained silent, but her hands moved faster.

Just as the two were struggling to decide who would win, a voice came from below.

"They've taken the bait."

The two subconsciously looked down and saw that the bowls of the group were already filled with Wagyu beef.

"what!!!"

Jinta let out a scream, and the Wagyu beef in his hand was snatched away by Xiaoyu.

"Hehehe..." Renji revealed a sinister smile, "Fighting over a piece of beef, this level of battle is still too early for you kids, go home."

These guys somehow teamed up without anyone noticing!

Shen Tai was greatly alarmed.

“We already determined the amount of beef when it went into the pot; it was enough for four people,” Kisuke Urahara said, pulling down the brim of his hat.

Yoruichi continued, "In other words, those of you who failed to grasp this point are the losers."

After saying that, she put the beef into her mouth without any hesitation, and even deliberately made a pleasant chewing sound, squinting her eyes with a satisfied look on her face.

"Damn it!" Shen Tai slammed his fist on the table in frustration.

Without participating at all, Tsukasa Rinko silently took out two plates of Wagyu beef from the ingredients on the side.

"Aren't there two more left?"

Everyone instinctively looked at Yuko.

Yuko paused for a second: "...I forgot."

"..."

So what the hell is this "hot-blooded" nonsense?

……

After having enough wine and food.

Yuko was sitting at the dining table, holding a cup of hot tea to aid digestion. Renji, on the other hand, took the initiative to do the dishes and pay the rent, making a clattering noise in the kitchen.

Xiaoyu and Jinta also went to help Tsukabishi Tessai organize the goods, leaving only Yuuko, Yoruichi, Urahara Kisuke, and their cat at the dining table.

"So, let's get down to business." Yu Zi blew on the steam rising from her teacup, her eyes clearing slightly. "What are you up to now, sending that red-haired idiot to wash the dishes?"

Kisuke Urahara's smile faded slightly as he adjusted his hat brim, a glint of light flashing on his glasses.

“Miss Yuko is indeed perceptive. Actually, I would like to ask you for a favor.”

"No," Yuko replied crisply.

"Huh? I haven't even said what it is yet!"

Yu Zi said calmly, "Anyway, what comes out of your mouth is definitely not a good thing."

Yoruichi rolled her eyes: "So you still came, didn't you?"

They call others arrogant and tsundere, but they're no different themselves.

Yu Zi calmly sipped her tea: "I just have so much money I don't know what to do with it, so I'm here to help out you homeless people."

Yoruichi yawned, having nothing more to say.

Kisuke Urahara said seriously, "It's about Aizen."

Yuko was taken aback: "Huh? He's going to attack Soul Society?"

“…Not yet.” Kisuke Urahara paused for a moment. “Even Aizen, after obtaining the Hogyoku, couldn’t immediately control it.”

"However, we need to prepare special training for his arrival."

"Do I need special training? I just need to meditate."

Yoruichi retorted, "Is that some kind of all-powerful meditation training method you're using?"

You know what, she'd never actually seen this guy do any training.

Even when he was training as a Shinigami in Soul Society, most of the time he was just maintaining the rhythm of physical combat with them.

Many substantial results were quickly realized, even the so-called Bankai, which at first was just something Ikuko couldn't understand about her own heart.

Could this guy really be a genius?

Kisuke Urahara said solemnly, "I mean, Kurosaki and the others."

Yu Zi paused for a moment, then said, "You're not going to make me give them special training, are you? I still have lesson plans to write."

Yoruichi's lips twitched slightly: "You really are a good teacher."

Yuko realized what was happening and pointed to the kitchen with a puzzled look: "If it's just normal training, there shouldn't be any need to hide it from that guy, right?"

“You’ve hit the nail on the head.” Kisuke Urahara covered his face with a fan. “This is actually a special training exercise specifically for them.”

“I think you’ve sensed it too, Yuuko, haven’t you? The strange spiritual energy wandering around Karakura Town.”

Yuko blinked: "Strange spiritual power? No, there isn't any."

Yoruichi covered her face with her paws: "You're being far too lax."

Kisuke Urahara closed his folding fan: "Although we still can't determine what it is, it's always good to be prepared."

"Are you unaware, or are you lying again?"

Kisuke Urahara froze for a moment, nearly dropping his fan. After a flustered moment, he caught it and protested, "W-how could that be?"

"Yuko, you're overthinking it~"

"How could I possibly be that good?"

Yu Zi slowly picked up her teacup, took a sip, and then looked at him coldly: "I don't know if you're powerful or not, but if you talk to me like that again, you'll die a horrible death."

“…Ahem, actually I can’t be 100% sure yet, but if I had to say…” Urahara Kisuke said seriously, “it should be the Bount family.”

Yuko paused, her hand holding the teacup still. "Bavent? Is it related to Barrett?"

"How could there be any connection!" Kisuke Urahara swayed and almost fell over.

"You mean Barrett... Bount?" Yoruichi was almost misled by Ikuko, squinting at Urahara Kisuke. "Are you sure?"

"Not sure, but it's pretty close."

Yuko didn't react much, resting her cheek on her hand in boredom: "So, what exactly is that Barrett?"

“It’s Bount,” Kisuke Urahara corrected.