The Best Way to Deal with Danger Is to Nip It in the Bud!

"Talent is something innate."

Su Feng said calmly, "I never possessed it from beginning to end. It was merely a matter of luck."

"Haha, reaching captain-level in three years."

Shunsui Kyoraku laughed heartily, his dark purple lips especially conspicuous. "How could it possibly be just luck? Talent is what matters most."

Faced with Shunsui Kyoraku, who was both mentor and friend, Su Feng chose to tell the truth.

Unfortunately.

The truth was often the hardest thing to believe.

"Let's not talk about that." Su Feng looked ahead at the captains gradually leaving the courtyard of the First Division Barracks and changed the subject. "As the captain of the intelligence division, you should know the Ninth Division's losses three years ago, right?"

At those words.

Shunsui Kyoraku's expression froze, shifting from frivolous to somber as some of the light faded from his eyes.

"Former Captain Kensei Muguruma, former lieutenant Hiyori Sarugaki, Fourth Seat Heizo Kasashiro, Sixth Seat Shinobu Eishima, Seventh Seat Todaemon Todo."

He paused, as though sorting through his emotions. "Other than you, who had attended the Noble Clan Council at the time, and Fifth Seat Kaname Tosen, all of the former top seven seats met with disaster."

"After that incident, Fifth Seat Tosen also spent nearly half a year recovering at the General Relief Station before he fully recovered."

Though he usually looked frivolous, lazy, and thoroughly unreliable.

Shunsui Kyoraku's professional competence in serious matters was still worthy of recognition.

"Now, I've also 'given' Fifth Seat Kaname Tosen to Captain Komamura."

Su Feng glanced sideways with a smile. "Other than Rangiku and me, there are barely any capable people left in the Ninth Division."

Upon hearing that.

For some reason, a bad feeling suddenly welled up in Shunsui Kyoraku's heart.

Su Feng paid no attention to the change in his expression and simply continued, "If I remember correctly, Nanao Ise has graduated from the Soul Reaper Academy as well, hasn't she?"

He had been thinking about this ever since before the Captain Inauguration Ceremony began.

Knowledgeable, reasonable, gentle, reserved, a bespectacled young woman, and exceptionally skilled at paperwork.

Su Feng simply could not think of a reason to refuse.

"Hey, hey, that's a dangerous thought."

Shunsui Kyoraku raised a brow and adjusted the straw hat on his head, staring deeply at Su Feng as if trying to see through his thoughts. "Don't tell me you want Little Nanao to join the Ninth Division too?"

Su Feng nodded and said seriously, "The Ninth Division is in desperate need of rebuilding. Whether it's the Third Seat or the Ninth Seat, both positions need fresh blood."

Shunsui Kyoraku fell into thought.

At that moment, he was still immersed in the grief of Lisa Yadomaru's misfortune.

In Shunsui Kyoraku's view, if not for his mistaken decision, Lisa Yadomaru would not have fallen into a trap and undergone Hollowfication, resulting in her exile to the Human World without another word from her.

That major failure had caused him to doubt his own judgment.

"I know about that agreement."

Su Feng spoke indifferently. "As for the Ise Family's Eight Mirror Sword, it can remain in your care for now."

Shunsui Kyoraku was not surprised in the slightest.

The Tsunayashiro Family controlled the Great Spirit Book Corridor and the Projection Hall. The Ise Family had no secrets whatsoever before them.

It was only natural that Su Feng knew everything about it.

"Protection has no limits."

He looked toward Shunsui Kyoraku, their gazes meeting in midair. "The best way to avoid danger is to strangle it in the cradle."

"If Lisa had been strong enough, she naturally would not have undergone Hollowfication."

Shunsui Kyoraku understood the implication behind Su Feng's words.

"Just as I said earlier, talent represents a Shinigami's limits."

"Little Nanao is quite gifted in Kido, but she still needs time to grow."

He spread his hands, an helpless expression appearing on his face. "And as for your Kido proficiency, don't flatter yourself too much."

In Shunsui Kyoraku's impression, Su Feng's command of Kido Incantations had been worse than that of beginners.

Although he had displayed exceptionally high Kido mastery in his battle against Kaname Tosen.

In Shunsui Kyoraku's eyes, that was still far from enough.

"People change."

Su Feng raised his right hand, spreading his five fingers flat between them.

A faint glow of Spiritual Power bloomed in his palm, like a brilliant lotus—dazzling and dangerous.

The blue radiance resembled the color of the heavens, and intense pressure spread out with it.

A weakened version of Hadō No. 73, Sōren Sōkatsui!

His perfect control allowed the power of this Kido to be adjusted freely at Su Feng's whim.

Watching the scene before him, which seemed like a miracle, Shunsui Kyoraku's eyes widened in shock before he suddenly fell silent.

There were generally only two ways to cast Kido.

One was to follow the proper procedure, reciting the Kido Incantation and drawing upon one's own Spiritual Power to release the Kido.

The other was an advanced Kido technique: abandoning the Kido Incantation in pursuit of a faster release, known as Incantation Abandonment.

Usually, the latter was one-third less powerful than the former.

However, Shinigami deeply versed in Kido could modify it to varying degrees through their understanding of Kido Incantations.

In Shunsui Kyoraku's memory, only the former Grand Kido Master Tessai Tsukabishi and the former vice commander Hachigen Ushōda had reached that level.

But now...

Su Feng, who had possessed absolutely no talent for Kido, had somehow mastered this method as well.

This was completely different from what he knew.

Before entering the Soul Reaper Academy, this guy had blown himself up just trying to use Shakkahō.

But now...

Not only could he flexibly employ Bakudō and Hadō in battle, he had even mastered different ways of casting high-level Kido.

One had to know.

Not even the current Grand Kido Master dared claim he could accomplish this with ease.

Recalling the past, Shunsui Kyoraku could not help but question his life.

Six years at the Soul Reaper Academy, three years in the Ninth Division.

What exactly had happened to Su Feng during that time?

Could it really have been because of that ridiculous self-disciplined training?

Thinking of Su Feng's daily training regimen, Shunsui Kyoraku's face darkened.

One hundred push-ups, one hundred sit-ups, one hundred squats, a ten-kilometer run...

Even a Shinigami Soldier who had become disabled and been relegated to the rear lines could do that easily, couldn't they?

Su Feng closed his right hand, and all the light withdrew, vanishing completely into the air.

"That should be convincing enough, right?"

He said confidently, "I will wholeheartedly teach Nanao Ise Kido."

"Only great strength can prevent all dangers from ever taking root."

Words alone could not sway Shunsui Kyoraku's thoughts, but with powerful facts added to them.

There was now some possibility.

"That really is tempting."

Shunsui Kyoraku regained his composure and reached up to press down his straw hat again. "In that case, perhaps I can entrust Little Nanao to you."

"I just hope you won't disappoint me..."