In the blink of an eye, nearly half a year had passed since Natsuki joined the round-faced man's group.
After nearly half a year of effort, it was hard to say whether Natsuki was especially gifted at languages or whether living in such a dangerous world had forced him to study hard so he could better understand the truth of the world around him.
His language skills had improved at an astonishing rate.
Especially after he finally remembered what kind of world this was, Natsuki had developed an even stronger resolve to grow powerful.
This was a world of souls.
In this world, there were Soul Reapers and Hollows.
The two clashed with each other. Hollows were driven by instinct to devour souls, while Soul Reapers devoted themselves to maintaining the balance between souls. For these reasons, the two were naturally opposed.
If Natsuki had been in Soul Society, things would have been all right. After all, Soul Society had the Gotei 13, and the Seireitei in particular was said to have never been invaded by a Hollow. The existence of the Shakone Maku also made it impossible for a Garganta to open within the Seireitei.
But this place was Hueco Mundo.
Natsuki had also learned the origins of the people 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 had volunteered to venture into Hueco Mundo and hunt Hollows, most members of the Expeditionary Force were Sinners. They had committed certain crimes, but not serious enough to be imprisoned in Soul Society's Jail. So, in order to atone, they had gone on an expedition to Hueco Mundo. They could return to Soul Society only after fighting Hollows in Hueco Mundo for a set number of years.
By joining them, Natsuki was naturally safer than he would have been alone in Hueco Mundo, but not by much.
Although everyone in the Expeditionary Force was a Soul Reaper,
Soul Reapers varied in strength. Not every Soul Reaper had the combat ability of a Seated Officer. For ordinary Soul Reapers, a Menos Grande was still an extremely dangerous opponent. Hueco Mundo was the Hollows' stronghold, and even though they were on its outskirts, no one could say for sure whether a Menos Grande might suddenly appear while they were dealing with ordinary Hollows.
Just as Jiro had when he rescued Natsuki.
Only after learning the language and communicating with the round-faced man, Watanabe Yuji, did Natsuki learn the name of the man who had saved him. He also found out why Watanabe Yuji had taken him into the Expeditionary Force.
It was because he had awakened the dormant Asauchi and become a Soul Reaper.
Once the Asauchi had awakened and he had gained the power of a Soul Reaper, Natsuki's soul had become more delicious to Hollows than an ordinary soul. Even though they were traveling together for now, there would always be times when he had to fight alone. If the delicious scent of his soul attracted a Menos Grande then, he would truly be in danger.
Therefore, the best way to avoid danger was to make himself stronger.
As long as he was strong enough, most dangers would no longer be dangerous.
Having remembered some details about the truth of this world, even if many of them remained hazy, Natsuki still knew something about its powers. Naturally, he eagerly asked Watanabe Yuji to teach him.
Watanabe Yuji had taken Natsuki into the Expeditionary Force partly because he didn't want to see him get devoured by a Menos Grande while alone in Hueco Mundo, and partly because he valued his talent.
Natsuki had awakened an Asauchi just by taking hold of it, then unleashed a burst of power and killed a Menos Grande. Even if he had done it unconsciously, it still proved his potential. He could undoubtedly become an elite Soul Reaper.
A genius like him was best sent back to Soul Society for training. But if he couldn't be sent back anytime soon, Watanabe Yuji didn't mind training him in the meantime.
So, when Natsuki took the initiative to ask Watanabe Yuji for guidance, Watanabe Yuji readily taught him.
"Besides Zanpakuto, four major skill systems gradually developed over the long ages of the Soul Reapers' history."
"They're called Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Shunpo, and Kido!"
In the desert, the round-faced man explained them to Natsuki.
"Zanjutsu is the art of wielding a sword. It's the combat technique used with a Zanpakuto. Although every Zanpakuto has a unique ability once released, not every sword is suited for fighting. Zanjutsu is different. Even without releasing a Zanpakuto, pure technique and your own Reiatsu can unleash tremendous destructive power and defeat your enemies."
"Hakuda is hand-to-hand combat. It was developed as a way for Soul Reapers to keep fighting if they lost their Zanpakuto."
"Shunpo is a high-speed movement technique unique to Soul Reapers."
"Kido is a form of spellcraft that uses the spiritual power within a Soul Reaper's body. It's divided into Hado, Bakudo, and the highly specialized healing art, Kaido."
Although Natsuki already had some understanding of the power system in this world after recalling certain things about it, he was still happy to listen as Watanabe Yuji explained it all in detail.
After finishing his explanation, Watanabe Yuji didn't tell Natsuki where these abilities had come from.
Natsuki didn't know whether Watanabe Yuji himself was unaware.
Instead, he went straight into teaching Natsuki how to use them.
Zanjutsu and Hakuda were the simplest and most direct to learn. All Natsuki had to do was practice.
He honed his combat skills by sparring with members of the Expeditionary Force, crossing blades with them and fighting them at close quarters.
Some members of the Expeditionary Force were also quite interested in teaching Natsuki.
Some of them hadn't seen the Menos Grande's corpse back then, but they had heard from their companions afterward what had happened there. Naturally, they had taken a keen interest in Natsuki, this uncut gem.
And so, for a while, Natsuki was relentlessly beaten.
In his previous life, he hadn't been athletic at all. He might as well have been gravely ill, so fighting was naturally not his strong suit.
However, Natsuki didn't find it unpleasant. On the contrary, even as he suffered, he could feel himself improving. To him, making progress meant getting stronger.
When he studied the other two skills,
Natsuki found that he seemed to have a talent for them as well.
He mastered the basics of Shunpo very quickly.
He seemed to have a unique gift for using his spiritual power, able to control it perfectly.
Shunpo involved gathering one's spiritual power beneath the feet and setting it against the Reishi in the surrounding environment. This created a counterforce that propelled the body forward at high speed.
After Watanabe Yuji taught him the technique, Natsuki was able to perform Shunpo with ease.
Kido was much the same.
Aside from the incantations, Kido was also a way to use one's spiritual power.
The purpose of the incantation was to use special verses to gather the surrounding Reishi, arrange them according to various rules, then use one's own spiritual power to release the arranged Reishi and create a powerful spell.
Since Natsuki could use his spiritual power perfectly, he mastered the basics very quickly.
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