Compromise

"Are you out of your mind...?" asked Tatsuki, staring at Ohta in disbelief while Karin performed stretches off to the side.

"What...?" asked Ohta. "You asked me the best method of developing mental, spiritual, and physical energy from scratch, and this is what I came up with based on personal experience and feedback from people who have lived for hundreds of years. If you could become superhuman with ordinary methods, it wouldn't be very 'super,' would it?"

"Yeah, I get that, but still..." said Tatsuki, nevertheless uncertain. As someone who competed at the national level, she was well-acquainted with the dangers and pitfalls of overtraining. Ohta's training method was tantamount to asking them to break themselves and simply push through it...

Flipping onto the tips of her fingers, balancing herself in a modified crow pose, Karin said, "The more you question the method, the less effective it is. It's also a major distraction, so if you're going to complain about every little thing, you should leave..."

Furrowing her brows, Tatsuki looked like she wanted to chastize Karin but ultimately decided against it. Instead, she started performing stretches of her own, determined not to lose to a brat who exposes her spats at every opportunity...

Before leaving Tatsuki to Karin and moving on, Ohta waited for them to finish their warmups before addressing the former, advising, "Make sure to utilize your power without restraint. If you collapse or injure yourself, Orihime can even restore limbs. And if you die, we can return your spirit to your body or set you up with a Gigai. Fear and hesitation have no place in the world you're attempting to enter, so if you want to become strong, 'be' strong..."

Ensuring that Tatsuki would suffer quite a bit, Ohta punctuated his words by giving her a deep and passionate kiss, grabbing and squeezing her ass for good measure. By the end of it, Tatsuki's cheeks were completely red, but Karin had a deadpan expression, staring at the older High School girl with a cold glimmer in her eyes. The procedure Aizen put her through had modified her ability to experience emotions like fear and anxiety, so while she wasn't a true psychopath, she often gave the impression of one...

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After flying to the opposite end of the underground chamber, a section populated by spiritual trees, plants, and a large, waterfall-fed spring filled with black and white koi fish, Ohta found Ichigo seated atop the statue of a turtle, silently meditating beneath the waterfall's cold stream in a white robe.

Touching down next to the one-armed, incredibly buxom woman who shouldn't be in the Human World but came over when Yoruichi informed her he needed a favor, Ohta asked, "How is it? Any hope he'll regain his power...?"

Staring up at Ohta with her grey-green eyes, Kukaku adopted a toothy grin as she replied, "Takigyo is a purification ritual that helps bring the mind, body, and spirit into harmony. Luckily, he didn't fully actualize the final Getsuga. If he did, we'd need to resort to more 'drastic' measures..."

Before Ohta could respond, Kukaku adopted a marginally more serious expression as she asked, "What I'm curious about is, why did you 'waste' your favor asking for something like this? Are you trying to get Isshin and his family more involved with the Soul Society...?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Ohta replied, "You know I'm not the scheming type. I just plant seeds and watch how they develop..."

"It's a shame," mused Kukaku. "When Yoruichi first reached out to me, I thought you would ask for my help 'removing' that seal on your forehead. With my options being you, Isshin, his brat, or one of the back-stabbing cunts responsible for my family's downfall, you're near the top of my list of men suited to 'breed' me..."

"Is that why you came personally...?" asked Ohta, maintaining a relatively neutral expression despite Kukaku's fairly 'audacious' words. Yoruichi had proposed having him become the interim Head of the Shiba Clan to boost his status and strengthen the tentative alliance between the Shihouin and Kuchiki Clans, so he wasn't particularly surprised.

Instead of answering Ohta's question in a more 'roundabout' manner, Kukaku pulled the left side of her provocative red robe, exposing one of her voluminous tits as she said, "If Yoruichi and I both give birth to sons, your progeny would be the head of two of the Great Noble Clans. Better yet, neither the Shihoin nor Kuchiki Clans could force you to give up your name or submit to their laws. You could even get that old fart Yamamoto to address you respectfully..."

Though he wasn't moved by the first half of Kukaku's proposal, his languid gaze lingering on her perky pink nipple, Ohta's brows perked up when she mentioned Yamamoto addressing him respectfully. The problem was that if he accepted her proposition, she would become his first wife, not Rukia. This would satisfy one of the requirements to have his powers unsealed, but becoming the Head of a Great Noble Clan was the last condition Ohta expected to fulfill. Assembling ten Captain-Class Apostles and becoming the ruler of Hueco Mundo seemed more practical than helping reestablish a Clan that was almost universally hated by other Nobles...

As if she could see through Ohta's thoughts, Kukaku fixed her blouse as she said, "We only have seventeen to eighteen months before you know who is scheduled to appear. At your current level, grooming ten Captains and taking over Las Noches in that timeframe is impossible..."

"How convenient for you..." replied Ohta, resisting the almost instinctual urge to roll his eyes. He knew that 'Yhach' was an even more dangerous threat than Aizen, but he didn't like having the circumstances leveraged against him for someone else's benefit. He admittedly benefitted quite a bit from this 'exchange,' but the expense was what little remained of his integrity...

Before Kukaku could say or do anything to piss him off, Ohta ran his fingers through his hair and said, "Since she isn't here right now, I'm assuming you already reached an 'agreement' with Rukia. But before I accept, I also have some conditions of my own..."

"Not surprising," replied Kukaku, adopting a wolfish grin as she added, "Let's hear them."

"I want you to teach some of the Shiba Clan's techniques to that girl that looks like she could be your direct descendent, Arisawa Tatsuki," said Ohta. "I'm planning to make her one of my Apostles, so I need her at the level of a Captain before the fighting starts..."

Losing her smile, Kukaku crossed her arms as she remarked, "That's a difficult request. It's not impossible, but she would need to have a seal placed on her mind to prevent her from leaking our techniques or having her memories extracted. Then there's the issue of time, but we can work around that thanks to your pocket healer's ability to reject phenomena..."

Without waiting for Ohta's response, Kukaku regained her smile as she looked up at him and said, "Very well. I will teach her some of the Shiba Clans' techniques, but only after you've fulfilled your role. If I remember correctly, the longest break humans have from modern schools starts in late July. That gives you around six months after your return to the Soul Society to get the deed done. After that, you'll have around six years to prepare before we announce your status as the interim Head of the Shiba Clan..."

"Six years...?" questioned Ohta, somewhat confused as he had been informed that native souls gave birth after the standard nine months.

Shrugging her shoulders, Kukaku casually explained, "It takes more than producing offspring to take over as the provisional Head of a Great Noble Clan. Accidents happen, and there are a lot of congenital defects that can manifest in the children of Noble families. Thus, until the prospective heir reaches five years old, they aren't considered 'viable.' That's why I can't have Ganju or his children take over as my successor. He's become a lot healthier, but he was born with a heart disease and needed to consume a lot of expensive medicines just to reach his current level..."

Though he was tempted to ask if that was how she became indebted to Kisuke and the Shihoin Clan, Ohta wisely decided against it. Instead, he remarked, "In other words, I might have to knock you up multiple times..."

Causing Ohta to tense slightly, Kukaku used her prosthetic hand to grab his junk, grinning mischievously as she replied, "That depends on you. It usually takes several attempts, but you managed to knock up that cat in a single go. If you can absorb my Reiryoku and adapt it as you did hers, our children should be pretty damn exceptional..."

Punctuating her statement with a wink, Kukaku released her hold on Ohta's dick, turning around and walking away as she said, "Anyway, I'm going to go check up on that girl you said looks like my descendant. I imagine it would be more 'convenient' for you if I offered to train her of my own accord, right?"

"You're not wrong..." replied Ohta. Tatsuki would probably protest if he suggested she train under somehow else, but if Kukaku approached her while she was frustrated with Karin, the odds of her agreeing increased exponentially.

Adopting a toothy grin, Kukaku teased, "You might not be a schemer, but you sure as hell act like one..." before turning around and raising her hand casually, her form disappearing moments later. Her comment caused Ohta to feel slightly annoyed, but so long as Sake wasn't involved, he was more than confident he could get 'even' with her in the bedroom...

Turning his attention to Ichigo, Ohta strained his senses until he detected a faint trace of Reiatsu in the ginger's abdomen. It was like a tiny flame or a drop from a pipette, but it was definitely present. This might not sound all that impressive, but considering monks and other 'spiritualists' spent decades reaching a similar level, often attaining it only after they were old and approaching death, it wasn't an exaggeration to say his progress was monstrous...

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Before heading off to do his own thing, Ohta made one last stop in the underground chamber, an isolated area that stood out because it was surrounded by a large, pagoda-shaped orange barrier. There, he found Orihime in her Shihakusho, sweat dripping from her brows as she was the one maintaining the barrier under the supervision of a 257cm tall giant of a man with pink hair, tanned skin, and a distinctive mustache.

Noticing Ohta's arrival, the man, Ushoda Hachigen, instructed Orihime to create a door within the barrier, an exceptionally difficult task as it risked destabilizing the glass-like construct, causing it to implode. Fortunately, while Orihime was nowhere near a 'master,' she had a remarkable affinity for producing barriers, allowing her to create a small, fist-sized opening that gradually expanded to the size of a door.

Clapping his hands together, Hachigen said, "Well done, Ms. Inoue. Your talent is truly remarkable."

Completely ignoring Hachigen, Orihime beamed from ear to ear, eyes glistening as she asked, "Did you come to check on me~?" once Ohta was in casual speaking distance.

"That's right," replied Ohta, shifting his gaze to the realistic beams and supports forming the barrier's structure as he asked, "Isn't this Bakudo #40? You're improving rapidly..."

While Orihime responded with an embarrassed "Ehehehhee~" Hachigen explained, "The structure is similar, but if it were the real Bakudo #40, you wouldn't have found us so easily."

Feeling deflated due to Hachigen's words, Orihime lost focus, causing the barrier to crack. Before it could, Hachigen slapped his hands together, his expression briefly becoming fierce as he shouted, "Barrier release...!" in a booming tone. As he did so, Orihime's barrier promptly shattered, splitting into countless shards that disappeared before the energy forming it could collapse and implode.

Regaining his usually gentle demeanor, Hachigen smiled and said, "This is an excellent opportunity for a break. I shall go and prepare tea while you and Ohta-dono converse."

Without waiting for Orihime's response, Hachigen cupped his hands and bowed respectfully toward Ohta before promptly excusing himself. In his wake, Ohta gave Orihime a pat on the head before inviting her to rest in the shade of a nearby Bodhi tree, the only vegetation in the area. There, even though it wasn't strictly necessary, he explained the situation regarding Kukaku, unsurprised to learn that she had already heard about the matter from Rukia...

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(A/N: Ohta isn't the schemer. He's just going with the flow of everyone else's machinations xD...)