Sasakibe: Is It Still Too Late to Return to the 1st Division?

Gotei 1st Division Barracks, Swordsmanship Dojo...

It was considered the most luxuriously equipped dojo in the Gotei 13. Whether it was the timber flooring or the furnishings within, none of it was comparable to the Swordsmanship Dojo at the 11th Division Barracks...

Yet there were not many 1st Division members training in this spacious Swordsmanship Dojo. Looking around, only one person stood upon the wooden floor, like a tireless machine, endlessly swinging the wooden sword in his hand and scattering sweat...

That person was none other than the captain of the Gotei 1st Division and Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13, Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni! Ever since Araki had warned Yamamoto of the Quincy threat and danger several months ago, Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni, as Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13, had not left this dojo. He had continuously trained and strengthened himself, keeping his body in the best possible condition for battle...

However, a cold Spiritual Pressure swept through the dojo windows meant for ventilation with the breeze! Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni, the Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13 who seemed never to tire as he kept swinging his wooden sword, appeared to sense something. He abruptly halted his relentless swings...

"This Spiritual Pressure... is it Chōjirō's and Araki's?!"

Genryūsai set down the wooden sword in his hand, picked up the towel draped around his neck, and gently wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead. Then he walked to the edge of the dojo and gazed into the distance through one of the ventilating windows.

"Has Chōjirō used Bankai? Still, he'll most likely lose to that brat Araki."

"I only hope Chōjirō can gain something from Araki's help!"

Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni's gaze was sharp as a torch. Looking at the all-encompassing dark clouds hanging over the 11th Division Barracks in the distance, he instantly understood roughly what had happened outside.

Although Genryūsai usually kept his emotions hidden and was exceedingly strict with everyone, he privately thought highly of Chōjirō Sasakibe. He also hoped that Chōjirō Sasakibe could find his own path to becoming stronger...

Meanwhile, at the open ground outside the Swordsmanship Dojo of the 11th Division Barracks.

After Araki disarmed Chōjirō Sasakibe and seized his Zanpakuto, the dark clouds above the 11th Division Barracks, summoned by Chōjirō Sasakibe's Zanpakuto Bankai, gradually dispersed...

"Do you still want to continue?!"

Holding the Zanpakuto he had snatched from Chōjirō Sasakibe, Araki questioned the man lying on the ground.

"No more, no more..."

After hearing Araki's words, Chōjirō Sasakibe repeatedly shook his head.

What a joke. Araki had even taken his Zanpakuto. Without Bankai, what could he possibly use to fight Araki? His hard head?

"You're no good, Sasakibe..."

"After not seeing you for centuries, you're still this pathetic..."

Araki was somewhat disappointed after hearing Sasakibe concede...

Then Araki casually tossed back the Zanpakuto he had taken from Sasakibe, returning it to Sasakibe, who was still sprawled on the ground.

"Pfft!"

The Zanpakuto thrown by Araki spun continuously through the air, tracing an incomparably beautiful arc before plunging into the soil less than five centimeters from Sasakibe's most precious "little brother"!

"Araki, be careful! My brother nearly died!"

Sasakibe stared at the Zanpakuto gleaming coldly in the ground, buried half a foot deep, and his face turned deathly pale with fright.

"What does it matter?"

"You don't use that thing anyway. You might as well cut it off~"

"That way, you can focus more on improving yourself..."

As Araki spoke, he turned and headed toward the 11th Division Barracks.

"Hey! You lot have watched enough. Get back to training~"

Before leaving, Araki did not forget to remind the 11th Division members who had secretly watched his battle with Sasakibe to return to the dojo and train immediately.

"Yes, Captain Araki! Please take care..."

The 11th Division members, who had remained silent since Araki and Sasakibe began fighting, doing their utmost to minimize their presence and pretend they did not exist, scrambled up from the ground upon hearing Araki's words. They straightened themselves and bowed to Araki at a full ninety degrees.

Every one of those 11th Division members bent so far over that they practically formed right angles...

"Mm..."

Araki nodded lightly, stopped looking at the 11th Division members, and headed on his own toward the Captain's Office of the 11th Division, where he took his afternoon naps.

"Araki..."

"Our training isn't over yet, is it?!"

Seeing that Araki was about to leave, Sasakibe immediately grew anxious. He still wanted Araki to train him some more!

"Sasakibe, you're too weak. Even if I trained you, you wouldn't gain much from it..."

"Besides, my fighting style doesn't suit you! If you fought my way, you might die even faster on the battlefield!"

At last, Araki stopped upon hearing Sasakibe's words. Turning sideways, he looked at Sasakibe, covered in dirt, and spoke helplessly.

"Is that so?!"

After hearing Araki's words, Sasakibe froze slightly. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end, all the countless words in his heart became only two words.

Yes, Sasakibe had originally wanted to argue with Araki! He did not believe he could not learn Araki's combat techniques. Even if he lacked talent and had to put in a thousand or ten thousand times the effort, he would learn them and prove it to Araki...

But when Sasakibe recalled how, during their battle just now, he had clearly stabbed through Araki's body with his Zanpakuto, yet Araki remained completely unharmed, he forcibly swallowed the words that had reached his lips. That technique really did seem impossible for him to learn.

No, it could no longer be called a technique. It was practically some incomprehensible Divine Skill...

"Sasakibe, rather than fighting enemies head-on like the rest of us, I think you should maximize the advantages of your Zanpakuto! Use the extreme speed of your Zanpakuto to carry out attacks from behind!"

"Anyway, once the enemy is truly powerful enough to require the 1st Division to join the battle, the frontal battlefield of the 1st Division becomes Old Man Yama's personal stage. If Old Man Yama can handle an enemy, you 1st Division members will only get in his way. If Old Man Yama cannot handle an enemy, then even gathering the entire 1st Division won't be enough to defeat them!"

"So, I think you should take advantage of Old Man Yama drawing fire like the sun, slip around behind the enemy like a shadow, and then use the lightning-like speed granted by your Zanpakuto to pierce straight through their heart! Give them a surprise and a blessing~"

Araki analyzed matters based on the characteristics of Sasakibe's Zanpakuto.

"Slip behind the enemy like a shadow and attack?!"

"I understand! I finally understand!"

After hearing Araki's words, Sasakibe's eyes immediately gleamed. It was as if he had grasped something essential.

Perhaps even Araki himself had not expected that he had merely offered Sasakibe a few pointers based on memories from his past life, only to bring about the birth of Soul Society's greatest backstabbing king.

"It's good that you understand."

Araki nodded slightly as he looked at Sasakibe's wildly confident expression.

"But Sasakibe, you can't neglect training your Shunpo, Hakuda, Kaido, and swordsmanship just because your Zanpakuto Bankai is powerful enough! I think Old Man Yama must have told you that a Soul Reaper's most fundamental abilities do not lie in their Zanpakuto, but in the cultivation of their four foundational skills..."

Then Araki seemed to recall something else and reminded Sasakibe.

"I understand!"

Upon hearing that, Sasakibe recalled the helpless, pathetic state he had been in after Araki disarmed him of his Zanpakuto. He immediately nodded seriously. He decided that from now on, he absolutely could not neglect the training of a Soul Reaper's fundamentals. The next time his Zanpakuto was disarmed, he would never be so miserable again.

"Araki, could you be my instructor for training in Zankensoki? If I could receive your help, my foundational abilities would surely improve by leaps and bounds..."

After deciding to diligently train in Zankensoki, Chōjirō Sasakibe invited Araki to become his instructor for the four foundational skills of a Soul Reaper.

"Not me~"

"But I found you a teacher who's even better than I am~"

"After all, we're good brothers! No need to thank me..."

When Araki mentioned a teacher better than himself, he could not help giving Sasakibe a somewhat teasing, somewhat pitying look...

After speaking, Araki turned around and left without looking back. Araki was kindhearted; he could not bear to see someone bleed like a river. So he simply chose not to watch...

"A coach better than Araki?!"

Chōjirō Sasakibe stood stunned after hearing Araki's words. He truly could not imagine who in the 11th Division could possibly be a better instructor than Araki...

"Oh my~"

"Isn't this Lieutenant Sasakibe? I never expected we would meet again so soon~"

Just as Sasakibe stood there in confusion, suspicion rising in his heart, a gentle female voice slowly sounded from ahead and to his right.

"You are... Lieutenant Unohana?!"

Sasakibe subconsciously greeted the newcomer.

Then Sasakibe suddenly sensed that something was wrong. Alarm bells rang in his heart, and an ominous premonition slowly arose within him.

"Um, Captain Unohana, please allow me to ask you a question! When exactly will the instructor Captain Araki mentioned, the one better than him, arrive?"

In truth, Sasakibe had already guessed what awaited him next.

But deep within Chōjirō Sasakibe's heart, his intense desire to live—his overwhelming survival instinct—made him unwilling to believe that what he had imagined was the truth.

"Oh my~"

"Lieutenant Sasakibe, you must be joking~"

"Isn't the person responsible for training your Zankensoki standing right in front of you?"

Unohana Retsu gave Sasakibe a slightly eerie smile as she spoke...

Unohana Retsu gently untied her coiled hair, and her long, jet-black locks immediately cascaded down over her snow-white neck...

At the very instant Unohana Retsu let down her hair, her entire aura changed sharply. The Unohana Retsu who had once been gentle as water seemed to transform into a blood-soaked demon!

Yes, the one responsible for teaching Sasakibe the four foundational skills of a Soul Reaper was none other than the former Kenpachi, Unohana Retsu.

"Is it still too late for me to go back now?!"

Chōjirō Sasakibe's eye twitched slightly as he looked at the first Kenpachi before him, whose body radiated a murderous aura like blood-dark ink.

All of a sudden, Chōjirō Sasakibe somewhat regretted coming to the 11th Division to seek Araki's training!

"Good luck! Whatever you do, don't die, Chōjirō Sasakibe!"

Meanwhile, after returning to his own Captain's Office, Araki did not immediately lie down on the sofa for his afternoon nap. Instead, he observed a full three seconds of silence for his dear best friend, Chōjirō Sasakibe!

"Why, thank you, Araki!"

Meanwhile, Chōjirō Sasakibe looked at the Sea of Blood spread across the ground before him and forced an incomparably ugly smile.

To be continued~