"Araki! You mustn't fall into depravity like this! Lord Genryūsai has placed great hopes in you!"
Chōjirō Sasakibe spoke to Araki anxiously.
It seemed that Sasakibe, who considered himself Araki's close friend, was even more worried about Araki's health than Araki himself was!
Sasakibe feared that Araki would indulge in women all day, lose all ambition, waste the tremendous talent sleeping within his body, and ultimately disappoint Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni's high expectations of him!
"You say I've fallen into depravity? Sasakibe, are you kidding me?! Do I look like the kind of person who doesn't know moderation?!"
"The reason my eyes have turned out like this isn't because of what you're talking about. It's because of another, far more important reason..."
Araki frowned slightly when he heard that.
After shooting Chōjirō Sasakibe a glare, he spoke irritably.
"Well..."
Chōjirō Sasakibe hesitated slightly upon hearing that.
His mouth opened a little as he looked at Araki, seeming to want to speak but holding himself back.
"I really do think you're the kind of person who doesn't know moderation."
In the end, Sasakibe chose to follow his heart and nodded at Araki.
"Hehe..."
"I get it. You came here looking for a beating!"
Araki laughed outright at that.
Sasakibe's words had made him laugh in anger...
Thus, Araki pointed at Chōjirō Sasakibe's nose with a smile on his face and spoke coldly.
"Uh, how should I put this?!"
Chōjirō Sasakibe froze for a moment.
"Araki, your wording isn't quite accurate! I didn't come here looking for a beating!"
"I came to the 11th Division to seek your guidance, so that I can improve myself further..."
"After your discussion with Lord Genryūsai in the meeting room that day, Lord Genryūsai seemed to become a completely different person!"
"Since then, no matter how busy he was, he always set aside at least two hours every day to train in 'slash,' 'fist,' 'step,' 'demon,' and even the use of his Zanpakuto!"
"Watching Lord Genryūsai continue to improve, I clearly realized that I could no longer keep wasting away like this!"
"Otherwise, before long, I might no longer be worthy of standing behind Lord Genryūsai as his right-hand man!"
"Therefore, I hope you can help me, Araki!"
"Help me become stronger, so that I may be worthy of being Lord Genryūsai's follower!"
As Chōjirō Sasakibe explained the purpose of his visit to Araki, he also corrected Araki's misunderstanding.
Indeed, ever since Araki had offered his advice to Old Man Yama at the Captain's Meeting, Old Man Yama had seemingly driven Araki out of the 1st Division Barracks because of Araki's incessant chatter.
He had even issued an order that, without his permission, neither Araki nor Unohana could enter the 1st Division Barracks.
It was practically an explicit ban on Araki's return...
Yet in truth, Old Man Yama had taken every word Araki said to heart.
Not only had he listened, he had even been secretly training for several months, simply waiting for the Quincy to arrive so he could teach them a proper lesson~
"Haha..."
Araki merely smiled faintly at that.
He did not seem surprised in the slightest that Old Man Yama had taken all his words to heart.
"So, in short, Sasakibe, you want me to train you and help you grow stronger, right?"
Araki looked at Sasakibe and asked.
"Yes!"
Sasakibe bowed slightly to Araki in respect.
"Hehe, I understand!"
"Since you're asking me so sincerely, it would be rather unreasonable for me, as your 'close friend,' not to help you properly~"
"However, my training is extremely grueling. I hope you can endure it..."
Araki chuckled at Sasakibe's earnest attitude before continuing.
"I understand!"
"Don't worry. No matter how painful it gets, I'll persevere."
Sasakibe spoke to Araki seriously.
"Very good..."
"Just as I said before, training you and making you stronger isn't fundamentally all that different from beating you up."
"If you want to learn how to hit people, you must first learn how to take a beating!"
"Come! Let's have a proper spar right now..."
"As it happens, Retsu and her squad members should have already cleared out the place we'll be using for our spar~"
As Araki spoke, he walked to Chōjirō Sasakibe's side, grabbed his shoulder, and led him toward the door of the 11th Division Captain's Office.
"Huh?!"
Sasakibe froze slightly at Araki's words.
He felt that something about Araki's words was not quite right, but he could not figure out what it was in such a short time.
By the time Araki brought Sasakibe to a large open area outside the 11th Division Barracks, Sasakibe finally realized what the problem was...
"Araki, this open area didn't exist in the 11th Division before, did it?!"
Sasakibe looked over the clearing and carefully asked Araki.
"It was prepared specifically for you."
Araki had no intention of deceiving Sasakibe and answered truthfully.
"Specifically for me?! How did you know I would come looking for you?"
Sasakibe was stunned upon hearing that.
What followed was a wave of confusion.
Sasakibe could not understand how Araki had known that he would come to visit him.
"I already told you. The reason my eyes are so red is because of something else..."
Araki merely smiled faintly.
When he turned his gaze back, scarlet lightning seemed to stretch from his eyes into long, slender threads.
In order to gain the initiative in the possible event of Yhwach's invasion, Araki had never once stopped using the future sight granted by his advanced Observation Haki~
Compared to when he possessed third-class Spiritual Pressure and could only foresee a mere dozen seconds into the future, Araki, whose Spiritual Pressure had now risen to second-class, could even see several minutes ahead!
Therefore, Araki had foreseen this before Sasakibe arrived.
He had arranged for Unohana Retsu to prepare the training ground and meet Sasakibe outside...
And the unfinished business in the 11th Division that Unohana had mentioned to Sasakibe earlier...
Was also because time had been too tight, and the site had not been cleared thoroughly enough.
So, while Araki and Sasakibe were speaking, she used her Zanpakuto to clean up the open area outside the Swordsmanship Dojo once more.
"Uh..."
When those words reached Sasakibe's ears, countless beads of sweat immediately appeared on his forehead.
He felt as though he had fallen into an enormous web, controlled by Araki through invisible threads.
"Araki, you really are as terrifying as ever! Lord Genryūsai truly did not choose the wrong person!"
Sasakibe smiled helplessly.
Deep down, he admired Genryūsai's decision to choose Araki as his successor more and more.
Had Lord Genryūsai truly seen long ago that Araki was someone outstanding in 'heart,' 'skill,' and 'body'?!
"Enough, Sasakibe. Stop dawdling and attack already~"
"Let me see how much you've improved after a hundred years!"
"Of course, if your improvement doesn't meet my expectations, you'll be getting beaten up! Prepare yourself mentally~"
Araki ignored Sasakibe's praise and crooked a finger at him, signaling for Sasakibe to attack without holding back.
Araki's training plan for Sasakibe today was very clear.
He was going to train Sasakibe's ability to take a beating.
After all, Araki still remembered how Sasakibe had been instantly defeated after the Quincy stole his Bankai during the blood war.
Araki would not even mention Sasakibe's 'slash,' 'fist,' 'step,' and 'demon' for now!
Just in terms of endurance, Araki considered it Sasakibe's greatest weakness!
Sasakibe's Bankai might be powerful, but when it came to taking hits, it could not compare at all to HInamori Momo, the future vice-captain of the 5th Division...
Ahem, ahem...
"Then I won't hold back!"
After hearing Araki's words, Sasakibe no longer hesitated.
He directly drew the Zanpakuto at his waist and pointed it at Araki.
"Pierce through him, Suzumebachi!"
As Sasakibe softly uttered the release command, a rapier appeared in his hand.
"Watch out!"
The moment Sasakibe released his Zanpakuto, he was already standing before Araki.
"Hehe."
Araki merely smiled faintly at Suzumebachi, which resembled a rapier in Sasakibe's hand.
Then, with one hand, he grabbed Suzumebachi's slender blade.
"What?!"
Sasakibe's expression changed drastically at the sight.
Bang!
Before Sasakibe could recover, Araki had already raised his leg and kicked toward Sasakibe's abdomen.
"Damn it!"
By the time Sasakibe came to his senses, it was already too late.
He could no longer evade Araki's attack.
Bang~
With a soft sound, Sasakibe was sent flying by Araki's kick.
"If this is all you're capable of right now, Sasakibe, then I'm truly rather disappointed!"
"Against the current you, I might not even need to use this Zanpakuto."
Araki looked at the flying Sasakibe, untied the Zanpakuto at his waist, and casually planted it into the ground.
"Do your best to force me to draw my blade, Sasakibe..."
Araki looked at Sasakibe, who had fallen to the ground, and spoke calmly.
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