Training

Konoha, year 39. Autumn.

[Jinzen complete. Soul strength +0.3]

It was still dark outside. Moonlight slipped through a crack in the paper door, drawing a thin white line across the floor. He sat up and looked down at his hands. They were still somewhat pale, but no longer as "transparent" as they had been a month ago.

[Soul strength: 31]

His soul strength was now more than twice what it had been at the start, making it more effective at suppressing the bloodline disease's encroachment. At least today, although his throat still itched at times, he could hold back his coughs.

He got up, walked to the window, and slid open the paper door. The autumn wind swept in, carrying Konoha's distinctive scents: fallen leaves, cooking smoke, and a hint of something he couldn't quite name... tension.

The Third Shinobi World War had yet to begin. As he recalled, there should have been about ten years of peace between the Second and Third Shinobi World Wars.

There should have been about six years left.

Baiye stood by the window, looking at Hokage Rock in the distance. The First, the Second, and the Third—three enormous faces looked down over the village, silent and imposing.

On the surface, Konoha was still Konoha, the unrivaled hegemon among the Five Great Shinobi Villages. It had the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, known as the Professor of Ninjutsu, and Konoha's White Fang, Hatake Sakumo, who had begun to make a name for himself in the Second Shinobi World War.

It had the Sannin, whose names were renowned throughout the Shinobi World, and Minato Namikaze, who would soon rise to prominence in the Third Shinobi World War.

It had the Uchiha, possessors of the greatest bloodline in the Shinobi World, and the Hyuga Clan, whose potential in war was boundless.

But what about Konoha after the Third Shinobi World War?

The Third would be old, and White Fang would take his own life.

The Sannin would either defect or leave, and even Minato Namikaze would perish in the Nine-Tails' attack.

And without so many powerful fighters, who could continue to keep the Uchiha in check? Would the Hyuga Clan really have no thoughts of its own? And then there was the madman lurking in Konoha's darkness, who fancied himself a savior...

One change could set everything in motion. The storm that would affect the decades to come was only six years away.

Ninja Academy.

Baiye still sat in the last row by the window. It had a good view, a breeze, and it was hard for people to notice him there.

After more than two months, his strategy was gradually paying off.

He never spoke up or showed off, never raised his hand in class, and never gathered with the others afterward. Most of his classmates had already forgotten he existed.

When someone occasionally glanced his way, their thoughts went no further than He's still here?, Sickly weakling, Madman, or Don't mess with him.

Baiye thought that was fine.

"Where the leaves of Konoha dance, the fire burns on... The peace we have today was won through the desperate efforts of all Konoha's shinobi under the Third's leadership..."

The teacher at the front was giving a history lesson. Baiye seemed to recall someone saying that the teacher's father had died in the Second Shinobi World War.

His tone carried a certain pride... If Konoha faced a crisis, he would probably step forward without hesitation to hold off the enemy too, wouldn't he?

Baiye wondered whether he would survive the Third Shinobi World War...

Everything seemed like fate's design. Born in Konoha—or rather, born in the world of shinobi—one was destined to face life and death.

Fate?

When he thought of the roots of it all—the Ōtsutsuki, the Six Paths, Black Zetsu... So-called fate seemed more like the strings those powerful beings used to control their puppets.

He shook his head. It was still too early for him to think about such things.

The growth in spiritual power from Jinzen was slowly suppressing Transparent Release's encroachment. He had also begun using Kaidō on himself. Though he couldn't use it proficiently yet, every flow of Reiatsu repaired his battered body.

It was just a little slow, slower than he had imagined, at least.

Late at night. Shin'ō Academy.

Baiye walked into the classroom and sat down in his usual seat.

Today's lesson was Kaidō.

Over the past two months and more, he had learned the basics of Zankensoki and Kaidō. The teachers for each subject varied. He didn't recognize most of them, though a few had appeared in the story of Bleach.

But apart from Aizen, there were no Captain-level figures.

Thinking of Aizen gave Baiye a headache.

He suspected that the system hadn't completely restrained Aizen, but he had no proof.

After all, Baiye was nowhere near skilled enough yet to read anything from the face of a major villain who had kept himself hidden for hundreds of years.

He even felt that the reason he had grown suspicious was that Aizen wanted him to.

Does Kyōka Suigetsu have a passive effect too?

Fortunately, today's lesson was Kaidō. Aizen had taught Swordplay, Kidō, Hakuda, and Shunpo, but he had never appeared in a Kaidō class.

Kaidō, currently the most important subject to Baiye, had also become his haven.

That lasted until he saw the man walk into the classroom and take his place at the front.

"There's no need to be surprised. I know a little Kaidō too... After all, it's just another application of Reiatsu."

Light reflected off Aizen's lenses, obscuring his eyes, but Baiye couldn't shake the feeling that the remark was meant for him.

Saying something so domineering in the most modest tone possible was just like Aizen, but it shouldn't have been like Aizen as he was now.

He took a deep breath, suppressed all his emotions, and looked up at the front of the room.

"Kaidō is a technique that acts upon the soul. By infusing the patient's soul with the user's Reiatsu, it accelerates the repair of Reishi and fills in the damage. In principle, it's the same as the Hakuda and Zanjutsu you've studied: all are applications of Reiatsu. Only the direction differs."

Baiye began taking notes.

Aizen explained everything in detail: the rhythm of Reiatsu output, how to sense the "shape" of a wound, and how to prevent his Reiatsu from clashing with the patient's. Baiye understood some of it, while some was still too advanced, but he wrote it all down.

Only with a basis for comparison could he appreciate just how thorough this top all-rounder of the Soul Reaper world’s understanding of Reiatsu was.

Baiye wished he could turn into a sponge and soak up all the knowledge.

After class.

Baiye gathered his things, preparing to leave the illusion.

"Gekkō, could we have a chat?"

Aizen's voice came from the front of the room. It wasn't loud, but the other students filed out as though they hadn't heard it.

Baiye stood there, watching Aizen descend from the platform and approach him.

Was he going to lay his cards on the table?

"How is your Kaidō coming along?"

Baiye hadn't expected Aizen to ask that and nearly failed to react.

"...It's all right."

"It really is only all right... I can see that you've used Kaidō on your own body, but the effect hasn't been very noticeable."

Baiye felt a little irritated. The feeling of being seen through was utterly awful.

"There's no need to be nervous."

Aizen's tone was relaxed.

"I'm not here to harm you. Besides, that isn't permitted here, is it?"

Baiye felt a soundless thunderclap explode in his mind. Too startled to hide his expression, he urgently called for the system in his head.

There was no response.

"Relax. I'm not here to harm you. And as long as I bear you no ill will, that mysterious will won't do anything to me either."

Baiye sat back down in his seat, feeling drained in the wake of his shock.

"How did you find out?"

"Do you mean the fact that my memories were altered?"

"Mm."

"Its power is strong and quite unusual... Anyone else might never have noticed that their memories had been tampered with."

Aizen raised his right hand and pointed lightly at his head with his index finger.

"But as luck would have it, I have a rather unique understanding of matters concerning memory..."

So he really was an expert at playing with illusions?

"All right, I only came to say hello today, and to give you a word of warning while I was at it."

"A warning about what?"

"You have a body in the outside world, don't you?"

What!? People who use Genjutsu really are sly. He had said he was only there to say hello, yet he had managed to probe something else out of Baiye.

Apparently reading the answer from Baiye's reaction, Aizen went on.

"Kaidō is ultimately an application of Reiatsu, used mainly to heal the soul. And your problem doesn't seem to be limited to your soul."

"Kaidō can't heal the physical body?"

"I wouldn't say it has no effect, but it actually affects the body indirectly through the soul. With a 'curse' of this magnitude, Kaidō alone certainly won't be enough."

"Do they need to be treated at the same time?"

"Yes. Only by attacking the problem from both sides and eradicating it from the soul and body at the same time can it be resolved."

It seemed he needed to put learning Medical Ninjutsu on his agenda.

"...Thank you, teacher."

"It seems you already have an idea. Has medicine in the World of the Living developed so quickly?"

"Or are you not from the World of the Living that corresponds to Soul Society?"

"...I'll be going back now!"

"All right, goodbye. We have plenty of time ahead of us..."

That old schemer is too dangerous... Baiye forced down the urge to flee at full speed and slowly walked out of the classroom.

He didn't see Aizen wave a hand and pluck something from his body just as he was about to leave.

"No change at all?"

He waved his hand and dispersed that wisp of soul debris. It was something he had fashioned from debris shed by his own soul, and it served no purpose other than silently attaching itself to another person's soul.

But sometimes, no change was a conclusion in itself.

A training ground outside Konoha.

Baiye stood in a clearing surrounded by tall trees. Fallen autumn leaves rustled underfoot.

He drew his Tachi and tightened his grip.

Shunpo.

His body vanished from where he stood and appeared beside a tree ten meters away. The tip of his blade left a shallow mark on the trunk.

Not fast enough.

Again.

Shunpo—fifteen meters this time. His footing was unsteady when he landed, and he stumbled.

Again.

Shunpo—twenty meters. Steady.

Baiye caught his breath and wiped the sweat from his forehead. His body was still too weak; a few uses of Shunpo left him winded. But he was much better off than he had been a month ago.

He began practicing Hakuda. A punch, a kick, a turn, an elbow strike. His movements weren't fast, but he put a little Chakra into each blow along with his Reiatsu.

Unlike in the Soul Reaper world, where he existed as a pure soul, in reality, using Reiatsu alone produced lackluster results, whether for Shunpo or Hakuda. But adding Chakra made the results completely different.

Chakra was a remarkable form of energy. It could incorporate the power of Reiatsu to a certain extent. Unfortunately, he still had too little Chakra, so he had to precisely control his Reiatsu output to keep it from bursting the Chakra apart.

After practicing for a while, he stopped.

Not because he was finished, but because he sensed someone coming—or rather, sensed a soul. It wasn't particularly powerful, but it was sharp enough, like a needle.

He turned and saw Kakashi at the edge of the training ground.

His silver hair reflected the sunlight, and his black eyes were fixed on Baiye as though watching prey.

"How did you find me?"

"What do you want?"

"Your health seems to have improved quite a bit."

Kakashi walked over. His steps were unhurried, but his straight course carried a hint of pressure.

As expected of a genius who graduated at five and became a Chunin at six, he was a born fighter.

"So what exactly are you trying to say?"

"I want to fight you and see how strong the person my father called extraordinary can be."

"Your father? Lord White Fang? He gives me too much credit... But I'm not interested in fighting you."

"Everything they teach at the Ninja Academy is too easy. I'm planning to apply for graduation this year rather than waste my time at school."

Kakashi didn't stop walking.

"And before I graduate, I have to fight you."

"What for?"

"To become the undisputed number one."

Kakashi's fist had already arrived.

Baiye tilted his head, letting the fist graze past his ear, then used the motion to retreat two steps and open up some distance.

"But I told you, I'm not interested."

Kakashi didn't stop. Instead, he instantly threw three Shuriken.

They weren't wooden.

"Ah..."

Sensing Kakashi's determination, Baiye had no choice but to draw his sword.

"Clang, clang, clang."

Baiye knocked the three Shuriken away, then turned and blocked Kakashi's Kunai.

As expected of White Fang's son, even without a short blade in his hand, Kakashi's attacks put Baiye under considerable pressure.

"Clang!"

Straining to recall what he had learned in Swordplay class and relying on the powers of observation his strong soul gave him, Baiye gradually recovered from his initial disarray and gained some initiative. With one strike, he knocked Kakashi's Kunai away.

"You've got some skill, but if that's all you have, you're bound to lose."

Kakashi stepped back several paces and drew another Kunai as though nothing had happened. Watching him, Baiye could feel his own body nearing its limit.

What an arrogant brat!

"Here I come!"

Kakashi kicked off the ground and charged straight at him. He too had noticed Baiye's strength gradually weakening. And as he had said, physical training was also part of a shinobi's strength!

But Baiye thrust the tip of his sword into the ground, raised his left hand, pointed his index finger at Kakashi, and swept it to the left.

"Bakudō number one, Sai!"

Kakashi's arms were forcibly twisted behind his back, and his Kunai fell to the ground.

Hand-seal-free Ninjutsu?!

Shocked, Kakashi watched Baiye leisurely slide the blade into its sheath and prepare to leave. Kakashi let out a roar and, fueled by anger, broke free of the invisible restraints.

"It's not over yet!"

"I surrender."

"What?"

"I'm out of strength. Even if you come at me again, I won't fight back. Go ahead and beat me to death if you can."

At some point, night had fallen. Kakashi watched Baiye walk away into the distance, feeling none of the joy of victory.