Lu-kun, You Need to Restrain Yourself

Chōjirō was somewhat surprised when he heard that. "You... intend to reopen Genryū?"

The Captain-Commander shook his head. "Of course not. This old man no longer has that much time to teach. As the headmaster of the True Spirit Arts Academy, I'm merely filling in for a few classes."

Though he was not reopening the Genryū Academy, the Captain-Commander's answer still astonished Chōjirō. He had not expected the Captain-Commander to be so interested.

By then, the battle in the field had ended. Although Lu Li's overall speed was slower than Yoruichi's, the winner of their Hakuda spar was Lu Li.

"Interesting. The little girl from the Shihōin Clan did not lose to the boy Lu in Hakuda technique."

The Captain-Commander commented, "She lost in judgment."

"Judgment?"

Chōjirō had not watched the battle closely just now and asked curiously.

"Combat is actually like answering multiple-choice questions. How do you counter your opponent's moves? Once you have countered them, how do you attack? And so on. Every exchange is a process of making choices."

The Captain-Commander said, "Chōjirō, tell me—how do you make decisions in battle?"

After pondering for a moment, Chōjirō answered, "Actual combat situations are very complicated. If you break down the process, every move may be a contest of wits. As for me, I simply respond to whatever comes. For example, if my opponent sends a slash directly at me and I judge that I do not have time to counterattack, I will withdraw my sword and defend. If my sword can strike them first, then I will choose to attack a vital point..."

At that, he paused again. "If battle is compared to answering multiple-choice questions, there are simply too many options, and the opponent has many options as well. A change in any one choice can alter everything, so it is difficult to predict. Thinking about it carefully, my judgments are actually all instinctive."

"What an instinct."

The Captain-Commander looked at Chōjirō, making him feel somewhat uncertain.

Chōjirō thought for a moment and added, "In summary, daily training is very important. In battle, muscle memory often makes the judgment for me. Calling it instinctive should not be wrong."

"You are not entirely right, but neither are you entirely wrong."

The Captain-Commander nodded. "That is why a qualified Shinigami should train every day and never slack off. Combat skills carved into one's bones can save one's life in a fight to the death. But..."

Upon hearing this, Chōjirō knew the Captain-Commander was about to get to the heart of it. He adopted a respectful posture and listened intently.

"...Chōjirō, some people do not rely on hard-earned techniques or muscle memory acquired through daily practice when making choices in battle. They rely on... instinct."

The Captain-Commander's aged eyes narrowed further as he watched Lu Li below, who was wiping away sweat with a towel. "Every move he made instinctively chose the optimal answer. So even though the little girl from the Shihōin Clan could suppress him in speed, he could still win."

"Instinct..."

Chōjirō savored the word. Thinking carefully, he truly had no time to consider so much in battle. Even if he had tactics, they were long-term strategies rather than something limited to a single exchange.

In the instant blades clashed, no one had time for unnecessary thought. It seemed the only thing one could rely on was instinct, which could also be understood as the subconscious he had mentioned before.

He looked gravely toward Lu Li. If this young man truly possessed the instinct to make optimal choices in battle, then under equal Reiatsu, would he not be practically invincible?

According to the Captain-Commander, the level of one's combat technique and one's ability to make judgments and choices should be considered separately.

Simply put, if they had equal Reiatsu, Yoruichi could kill ten Hollows with one punch while Lu Li could kill eight, then Yoruichi's level of "Hakuda technique" was higher.

But choosing whether to punch or kick in battle was a matter of decision-making ability. Suppose Yoruichi made the wrong choice and missed her attack while Lu Li made the correct choice. Even if his move was not as powerful as Yoruichi's, he would still have effectively injured his opponent while avoiding the enemy's attack.

Seen that way, the ability to "make choices" in combat might be even more important than combat technique.

Instinct...

"Let's go. We'll come again the day after tomorrow."

The Captain-Commander spoke. This class was already over, and he planned to come teach that arrogant brat a lesson during the next Hakuda class.

"Why do I suddenly feel a little chilled? Did I not eat enough at lunch? Am I lacking nutrition?"

Lu Li had just felt a wave of coldness wash over him, as though some terrifying presence had fixed its gaze upon him. But after looking around, he did not spot anyone particularly frightening.

"Lu-kun, let's go. The next class is Zanpakuto resonance."

Aizen called out to the thoughtful Lu Li. After two months together, they had grown increasingly familiar with each other.

And he had to admit that aside from Reiatsu, the talent Lu Li had displayed in every other aspect was in no way inferior to his own—perhaps even greater.

But what made him feel that Lu Li was squandering his potential was that, in his eyes, Lu Li's progress in Reiatsu had been painfully slow.

By Aizen's estimation, Lu Li absolutely had the talent to cultivate Reiatsu. Yet over the past two months, he had become terribly lazy and no longer trained late at night with him.

It was all Captain Unohana's fault...

Aizen could not really understand why Lu Li was so obsessed with Healing Kidō. In his view, rather than practicing Healing Kidō for use after being injured, it would be better to raise one's strength to an overwhelming level and crush opponents outright, avoiding injury altogether.

And he could sense Lu Li's powerful obsession with becoming stronger, so he could not understand why Lu Li had completely slacked off in Reiatsu training, the most direct way to improve his strength.

Well, calling it slacking off was not quite right. Lu Li still trained diligently in the three Reiatsu cultivation classes each week. The real reason Lu Li no longer trained with him at night was that Lu Li had recently always been "very weak."

Who knew what he did with Captain Unohana every day? Whenever he returned to the dormitory, his steps were unsteady and his face pale. He would lie on his bed, chat with Aizen for a while, then fall asleep, completely neglecting Reiatsu training.

So obsessed with Healing Kidō... could it be that Lu-kun had fallen for Teacher Unohana?

Aizen felt that he might have uncovered the truth. Otherwise, there was simply no way to explain why a battle-crazed brute like Lu Li spent every day practicing only Healing Kidō and not Reiatsu!

Thinking of this, Aizen could not help but say, "Lu-kun, don't you think you should restrain yourself a little lately?"

"Huh? Restrain what?"

Lu Li looked utterly bewildered, having no idea what Aizen meant.

After choosing his words in his mind, Aizen said, "Although I know Captain Unohana is very charming, and doing... forbidden experiments with a female teacher is quite exciting, you leave yourself this weak every day. At this rate, when will you ever achieve Shikai?"

Lu Li: ???

Because Captain Unohana had said that the content of her after-class guidance was to be kept secret, he had never mentioned being cut down every day to Aizen.

Sōsuke, how did you know I was doing forbidden experiments with Teacher Unohana every day?

And did you misunderstand something? I'm not someone with a weird XP system. How could getting cut down be exciting?