The Expeditionary Force and the Effort to Grow Stronger!

In the blink of an eye, half a year had passed since Natsuki joined the squad led by the man with the round, flat face.

Whether it was due to a natural gift for languages or the necessity of learning to survive in such a perilous world, his efforts over these past months had been relentless, driven by a desperate need to understand the reality of his surroundings.

His linguistic progress had been nothing short of rapid.

Especially after finally recalling what kind of world this was, a fierce determination to grow stronger had taken root within Natsuki.

This was a world of souls.

Within this realm, there existed both Soul Reapers and Hollows.

The two were locked in perpetual conflict; Hollows acted on the instinct to devour souls, while Soul Reapers dedicated themselves to maintaining the balance between them, making them natural enemies.

If Natsuki had been in the Soul Society, things might have been easier. After all, the Soul Society was protected by the Gotei 13, and the Seireitei in particular was said to have never been breached by a Hollow, thanks to the Shakone Maku, which made the opening of any Garganta within its borders impossible.

But this was Hueco Mundo.

Natsuki had also come to learn the origins of those around him.

They were all members of the Expeditionary Force.

According to the round-faced man—the captain of the Expeditionary Force—aside from a few Soul Reapers who volunteered to hunt Hollows in Hueco Mundo, most of the members were criminals. Because their crimes were not severe enough to warrant imprisonment in the Soul Society, they were sent to the Expeditionary Force to atone for their sins, only allowed to return once they had served a certain number of years fighting Hollows in Hueco Mundo.

Joining them was safer than wandering Hueco Mundo alone, but only marginally so.

Although the Expeditionary Force consisted entirely of Soul Reapers.

Soul Reapers varied in strength, and not every one of them possessed the combat power of a seated officer. For an ordinary Soul Reaper, a Menos Grande remained an extremely dangerous threat. Hueco Mundo was the home base of the Hollows, and even on its outskirts, no one could guarantee that a Menos Grande wouldn't suddenly emerge while they were busy dealing with common Hollows.

Just like the time Jiro had saved him.

It was only after Natsuki learned the language and communicated with the captain, Watanabe Yuji, that he learned the man's name and why he had been taken into the Expeditionary Force.

It was because he had awakened his dormant Asauchi and become a Soul Reaper.

Once a Soul Reaper awakened their power, their soul became far more delicious to Hollows than that of an ordinary person. Even though they were currently traveling in a group, there would inevitably be moments where one had to fight alone. If, at such a time, the delicious scent of his soul attracted a Menos Grande, he would truly be in mortal danger.

Therefore, the best way to avoid such peril was to become strong.

As long as he was strong enough, most dangers would cease to be threats at all.

Because he had recalled some details about this world—even if many specifics remained fuzzy—Natsuki knew of the various abilities that existed here, and he did not hesitate to ask Watanabe Yuji for guidance.

Watanabe Yuji had taken Natsuki into the Expeditionary Force partly because he couldn't bear to watch him be devoured by a Menos Grande, and partly out of an appreciation for talent.

To be able to awaken an Asauchi the moment he touched it and subsequently unleash enough power to kill a Menos Grande—even if done unconsciously—proved that Natsuki's potential was enough to make him an elite Soul Reaper.

For a genius like this, the best course of action was to send him back to the Soul Society for training, but if that wasn't possible in the short term, he didn't mind fostering that talent himself.

Thus, when Natsuki took the initiative to seek his counsel, Watanabe Yuji did not hold back in his instruction.

"Beyond their Zanpakuto, Soul Reapers have gradually developed four essential skill systems over the long passage of time."

"They are known as Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Hoho, and Kido!"

In the middle of the desert, the round-faced man explained to Natsuki.

"Zanjutsu is the art of the sword, the combat technique of the Zanpakuto. While every Zanpakuto possesses unique abilities upon release, not every blade is suited for combat. Zanjutsu is different; even without releasing your Zanpakuto, you can unleash immense destructive power through pure technique and your own spiritual pressure to defeat your enemies."

"Hakuda is the art of hand-to-hand combat, a skill developed to ensure that a Soul Reaper does not lose the ability to fight should they be disarmed of their Zanpakuto."

"Hoho is Shunpo, a high-speed movement technique unique to Soul Reapers."

"Kido is the art of using the spiritual power within a Soul Reaper to cast incantations, divided into Hado, Bakudo, and the highly specialized Kaido."

Although Natsuki already understood the power system of this world after recalling his memories, he didn't mind listening to Watanabe Yuji's earnest explanation.

Once he finished, Watanabe Yuji didn't mention the origins of these abilities.

Perhaps he didn't know them himself.

He immediately began teaching these skills to Natsuki.

Zanjutsu and Hakuda were the simplest and most brutal to learn; they required nothing more than actual combat.

By sparring with members of the Expeditionary Force, both with Zanpakuto and in hand-to-hand combat, Natsuki honed these fighting techniques.

Some members of the Expeditionary Force were quite interested in mentoring Natsuki.

While some hadn't seen the corpse of the Menos Grande that day, they had heard the story from their comrades afterward and naturally took a great interest in this piece of unpolished jade.

And so, for the next period of time, Natsuki was subjected to a grueling, torturous training regimen.

He had never been an athlete in his previous life—in fact, he had been sickly—so he was naturally unskilled in such combat.

However, Natsuki did not feel miserable. On the contrary, while he was in pain, he could feel himself improving. To him, as long as there was progress, it meant he was growing stronger.

As for the other two techniques.

Natsuki discovered that his talent was not lacking at all.

He mastered Shunpo very quickly.

He seemed to possess a unique aptitude for manipulating his own spiritual power, allowing him to utilize it perfectly.

Shunpo was a technique that involved gathering spiritual power in the soles of the feet and creating a repulsive force against the surrounding reishi, thereby propelling the body forward at high speeds.

After Watanabe Yuji taught him the technique, Natsuki was able to perform Shunpo with ease.

The same held true for Kido.

Aside from the incantations, Kido was fundamentally a method of manipulating one's own spiritual power.

The purpose of the incantation was to use unique chants to condense the surrounding reishi, forcing them to arrange themselves according to various rules, and then using one's own spiritual power to release the arranged reishi to form a powerful spell.

Because Natsuki could manipulate his spiritual power perfectly, he mastered the basics of Kido in no time.