The Highest Level of Preparation / Shikai

Fortunately, Xuanxin did not disappoint Shigekuni Yamamoto in the swordsmanship test that followed.

His bold, sweeping swordsmanship drew repeated nods from Shigekuni Yamamoto, a master swordsman, finally soothing the old man's nerves after the shock he had just suffered.

After receiving some brief guidance and settling on a plan to come to the First Division for special training every weekend, Xuanxin finally took his leave, relieved.

Watching Xuanxin disappear beyond the courtyard gates, Captain-Commander Yamamoto, who had been struggling to maintain his inscrutable grandmaster persona, finally lost his composure altogether.

He scratched his bald head in frustration and let out a long sigh.

"His swordsmanship is beyond reproach, and he's steady enough in temperament... but this Hakuda of his—how am I supposed to study it to straighten out that bizarre problem of his?"

Just then, Lieutenant Chōjirō Sasakibe walked over from the side, bowed, and said with a smile, "Congratulations, Captain-Commander. You've taken in another peerless talent."

Hearing Sasakibe's congratulations, Shigekuni Yamamoto felt worse rather than pleased.

He sighed, his voice full of helplessness and weariness.

"Chōjirō, counting him, I've taken three disciples so far. Ukitake is steady, gentle, and kind, but his body isn't up to the task. Kyōraku is sturdy enough, but he looks so frivolous and acts so wildly that I can hardly bear to watch."

Shigekuni Yamamoto rubbed his temples and sighed mournfully.

"I thought I'd finally found someone strong-willed and physically tough, a disciple who was 'normal' through and through! And it turns out he's a hopeless Hakuda idiot to the core! Can't I have one normal disciple?!"

With that, the old man shook his head helplessly and walked heavily back to his room, hands clasped behind his back, his head aching as he pondered how to "cure" Xuanxin.

As it turned out, the "physical therapy" of Soul Society's strongest Soul Reaper was exceedingly brutal.

From that weekend onward, the First Division's inner courtyard officially became Xuanxin's "second execution ground."

Old Man Yamamoto tried all sorts of methods to show Xuanxin what Hakuda was supposed to look like, but they had little effect.

Unfortunately, outside instruction was clearly no match for instinct ingrained in his bones.

And so Xuanxin's life fell into a cycle that could only be described as hellish: being slashed by his sword spirit, slashed by Sister Hana, pounded by Old Man Yamamoto, and urged by Yoruichi to turn into a cat.

Thus, amid Retsu Unohana's "gentleness" and Old Man Yamamoto's "strength in his old age," Xuanxin spent his first semester at Shin'ō Academy.

But after the final exams, the atmosphere at the academy turned a little strange.

The headmaster and a group of senior instructors were sitting around a long table, staring at one another over Xuanxin's report card.

The headmaster cleared his throat, set down the report card, and said, "What do you all think about Fujiwara Genshin's second-year courses? Fujimura, as Xuanxin's homeroom teacher, do you have anything to say?"

Instructor Fujimura gave a wry laugh and spread her hands. "Headmaster, what is there to arrange? Making him follow the regular curriculum with his year would be a complete waste of his talent and time!"

Hearing this, every teacher present except the Hakuda instructor voiced their agreement.

After a brief discussion, Shin'ō Academy's leadership issued an unprecedented decision.

Fujiwara Genshin became the first student since the academy's founding allowed to choose his own courses. He was exempt from all mandatory attendance and could ask a teacher to administer an advancement exam for a higher year at any time!

When news of these "maximum privileges" reached Xuanxin, he accepted without hesitation and quickly drew up a new, deliberately unbalanced training plan for himself.

After a full year of hard struggle, Xuanxin had a clear understanding of his strengths and weaknesses.

Zanjutsu? With Captain-Commander Yamamoto, Retsu Unohana, and the sword spirit deep in his soul personally handling his training, there was no one at the academy left who could teach him.

Shunpo? With Yoruichi Shihōin, a Shunpo prodigy, playing cat and mouse with him every day, he was progressing at remarkable speed.

As for Hakuda... even Old Man Yamamoto was close to giving up on treating him, so it was better left unmentioned.

After considering everything, the only subject in which he had no private instruction and had to learn step by step on his own was Kidō.

Thus, in the days that followed, Xuanxin's class schedule became very focused, even somewhat... monotonous.

As the gears of this monotonous yet hellish training regimen spun madly, Fujiwara Genshin completely lost track of time.

Chapter 16: The Highest Level of Preparation

Ever since Xuanxin gained his unprecedented "course privileges" at Shin'ō Academy, the name Fujiwara Genshin had been known to every new student, but his own whereabouts had become increasingly hard to pin down.

Aside from being slashed in the Fourth Division and beaten in the First Division, most of the time even his classmates, including Ōmaeda, had no idea what corner their "boss" was hiding in to train.

To the senior-year instructors' astonishment, however, another "problem student" who had once treated skipping class as an everyday occurrence—Yoruichi Shihōin—had recently become much more well-behaved.

For the first time, she not only began attending those tedious theory classes on time, but even sat much straighter.

Sharp-eyed students soon noticed a change, though: sometimes, when Yoruichi attended class, a snow-white cat would appear beside her.

The cat's fur was a rare silvery white. It was also surprisingly well-behaved, never making a fuss and simply lying there quietly, its eyes fixed on the blackboard at the front.

And whenever an oblivious senior student, boy or girl, tried to reach out and pet the white cat, Yoruichi would swat them away like someone guarding her food, then turn and give the white cat a radiant smile.

In this covert yet entirely open fashion, the two of them honored their "unequal treaty."

Spring passed, autumn came, and time flew by.

The cherry blossoms at Shin'ō Academy bloomed and fell again, and before long, the school year in which Yoruichi and Kisuke Urahara were due to graduate arrived.

As Shin'ō Academy's finest elites, the two should have been preparing for their upcoming graduation exams.

Yet neither Yoruichi, who was destined to join the Second Division, nor Kisuke Urahara, who was regarded as a scientific genius, spared even the slightest thought for their own exams.

A more important "major event" was about to take place.

Fujiwara Genshin was going to attempt to achieve Shikai.

Over these three years, Xuanxin had fought countless desperate battles on the brink of life and death and endured hundreds upon hundreds of real slashes. At last, he stood before the final gate to Shikai.

Although the news had been deliberately suppressed, it still drew the discreet attention of countless figures in high places.

After all, he was that man's third disciple, and his previous two disciples had both become captains of the Gotei 13.

It was no exaggeration to say that Xuanxin's attempt to achieve Shikai had attracted the attention of more than half of Soul Society's upper ranks. Everyone wanted to see what the Captain-Commander's third disciple was capable of.

Of course, while some hoped to witness a miracle, there were naturally others who did not want Xuanxin to succeed.

After all, Xuanxin was no longer merely a Soul Society genius and the Captain-Commander's disciple.

Behind Xuanxin also stood the noble Shihoin family. Word that Seigen had placed his bet on an ordinary commoner picked up from Rukongai had long been spreading among the nobles.

Those people, along with even some nobles subordinate to the Shihoin, were waiting for that opportunity—an opportunity to shake the Shihoin family's foundations.

To guard against the hidden attacks that could come from anywhere, Seigen suggested that Xuanxin move his Shikai attempt to the safest place in all of Soul Society: the First Division, where Yamamoto stood guard.

When Xuanxin conveyed the idea to Old Man Yamamoto, the old man merely gave the disciple he had raised from the ground up for three years a long look, then nodded without hesitation.

Old Man Yamamoto's voice remained as steady and resonant as a great bell. "I'll see to the arrangements for the location. Get out! Don't disappoint me."

With the Captain-Commander's approval, Xuanxin left the First Division, preparing to return to the Shihoin Clan for his final secluded preparations.

The moment Xuanxin stepped through the First Division's gates, the undercurrents running through all of Seireitei began to surge!

Almost as soon as he stepped outside, members of the Stealth Force, directly controlled by the Shihoin Clan, emerged like ghosts from every direction and surrounded Xuanxin in layers of tight protection.

There was no helping it. Far too many people were watching Xuanxin now, and far too many intended to strike early.

In the brief time it took Xuanxin to return to the Shihoin Clan, several small-scale ambushes and skirmishes broke out beyond his sight.

Accompanied by the faint smell of blood along the way, Xuanxin returned safely to the Shihoin Clan.

To his surprise, Shihoin Seigen, the head of the family, did not appear to meet him. He merely sent over everything Xuanxin needed, and even the atmosphere throughout the Shihoin Clan remained as it usually was.

But this was by no means indifference; it was another form of concern.

He did not want his attention to put any pressure on the young man before him, who already had an eighty percent chance of becoming his son-in-law. This was not only for the stability of the family, but also for Yoruichi.

Three days later, the sky was clear and the air fresh.

Xuanxin, having brought himself to peak condition, arrived on time at the First Division Barracks with the other two accompanying him on either side.

By then, the First Division's inner courtyard had been completely cleared.

When the three entered the inner courtyard, even Yoruichi and Kisuke Urahara, who were accustomed to grand occasions, were deeply shocked by the "outrageous" lineup assembled to stand guard.

Besides Fourth Division Captain Retsu Unohana, whom Xuanxin had specifically invited to provide emergency backup just in case, two other important figures had shown up uninvited in the spacious courtyard!

Shunsui Kyōraku and Jūshirō Ukitake.

These two were the first disciples Captain-Commander Yamamoto took pride in, and Xuanxin's senior brothers.

Seeing Xuanxin enter, Shunsui Kyōraku flashed a carefree smile and said, "Hey, little junior brother, you're looking full of energy."

"Hello, senior brothers. Thank you both for coming." Xuanxin bowed slightly to the two men, one in white and one in pink.

Seeing how polite Xuanxin was, Ukitake's eyes filled with even more approval. He had already felt a certain kinship with him because they both had long white hair.

After coughing a few times, Jūshirō Ukitake said, "You must be Junior Brother Xuanxin? It's nice to meet you. We've been busy with division duties and haven't had time to visit you. Since today is the most important moment of your life, we senior brothers naturally had to come and back you up. Cough, cough..."

Xuanxin then silently bowed to the captains who had come to help.

"Begin."

Shigekuni Yamamoto's eyes were half closed, both hands resting on his cane, his voice as deep and powerful as an ancient bell.

Xuanxin then strode to the center of the cleared courtyard and sat cross-legged. He removed the two swords at his waist and laid them across his knees.

A breeze stirred his long silver hair.

Xuanxin took a deep breath and slowly closed his eyes. His breathing gradually grew long and exceptionally steady, while the fluctuations of Reiatsu around him slowly receded until they vanished into complete stillness.

His consciousness sank once more into the world of Jinzen, which was about to undergo its final transformation.

Chapter 17: Shikai

When Xuanxin opened his eyes again, he found the same familiar grassland, the same familiar tree, and the same familiar table.

But as Xuanxin's Jinzen had progressed, the white figure had grown increasingly clear.

At first, the sword spirit had been nothing more than a blurry figure, and only from her incantations when she used Kidō could he tell that she was most likely a female sword spirit.

Since Xuanxin had entered this final stage, however, he could easily make out the sword spirit's appearance. She was beautiful and brimming with confidence. The sword spirit was like a sharp blade with its edge concealed to the utmost, waiting for the day she would make an earth-shattering appearance.

Xuanxin took a deep breath and emptied his mind of useless thoughts. Then he drew the two Asauchi that had always hung at his waist and walked toward the sword spirit.

There were no pleasantries and no preparations.

With a crisp clash of metal, Xuanxin began another attempt.

"Clang! Clang, clang, clang!"

Within the world of Jinzen, the thunder of clashing blades and the sparks flying from their collisions formed the grandest fireworks display in the entire world.

The white sword spirit knew no fatigue and feared neither pain nor death.

Every slash she made carried the resolve to take them both down. After only a few breaths of fighting, several gashes deep enough to expose bone had appeared on Xuanxin's body.

This time, however, Xuanxin held on, and the wounds on his body healed rapidly.

Because this time, he was no longer fighting alone.

While Xuanxin fought the sword spirit, Retsu Unohana began her own "battle" in the outside world.

Ever since Xuanxin discovered that treatment received outside Jinzen would also heal him within the world of Jinzen, he had considered using this method to "cheat" more than once.

But Xuanxin also had no intention of giving up this chance to hone his combat skills, so every battle before today.