How Did He Fly Those Five Meters?

Three days after returning from the Shihoin House, Lin Nan and the others received the funding sent by the Shihoin family. Naturally, for the sake of confidentiality, the money was temporarily held by Captain-Commander Yamamoto. The group only received a message delivered by Chojiro on Yamamoto's behalf.

"You currently possess no real power. Lord Genryusai has instructed that under any circumstances, you must prioritize your survival above all else. Caution is paramount." Before leaving, Chojiro gave this earnest advice.

"Sigh! Not a single coin in my pocket, how am I supposed to survive? They couldn't even spare a hundred or eighty rings?" Lin Nan grumbled under his breath, watching Chojiro leave alongside Kyoraku and Ukitake.

Ukitake's eyes were filled with a touch of melancholy: "I was hoping to see with my own eyes what ten thousand rings looked like."

Kyoraku waved his hand: "It doesn't matter. The money is safe as long as it's with the old man anyway. Who in the Seireitei would dare steal from Captain-Commander Yamamoto?"

Lin Nan looked at Kyoraku with pity: "You never received any New Year's money as a child, did you? You clearly don't understand the basic principle of parents 'holding onto' your money for you."

Kyoraku blinked in confusion: "What does that mean?"

Having received no cash, Lin Nan was in no mood to explain. He asked directly: "When will the investigation end? School has been in session for seven days, and I haven't learned a thing. Is there a class today?"

Ukitake recalled in his mind: "I heard the investigation regarding the first-year group was completed yesterday—thanks to the small number of students. If the teachers have no other business, there should be a Zanjutsu class today."

Lin Nan wore an "it's finally here" expression, rubbing his hands together impatiently: "Finally, I can learn something proper."

Seeing his excited look, Kyoraku and Ukitake exchanged glances, both involuntarily recalling the scene where Lin Nan had effortlessly drawn his Asauchi.

It seemed he hadn't even realized what he had done himself.

Checking the time, it was nearly time for class. The three of them tidied up and, filled with the aspiration of becoming great swordsmen, headed toward the classroom for their first Zanjutsu lesson.

However, in this first Zanjutsu class, everyone simply followed the teacher and spent the entire period practicing suburi—which meant standing in place and repeating swinging motions with wooden swords.

By the end of the class, Lin Nan and Kyoraku were nearly driven to despair.

After sticking with the teacher's rhythm for twenty minutes, Lin Nan simply couldn't continue. With the growth bonus provided by the Playback Room, his speed in grasping techniques was ten times faster than others, and his body control was at least a tier above the rest.

To him, this kind of repetitive practice was only worth doing for twenty minutes at most. Continuing any longer was just a waste of time.

As for Kyoraku, he had absolutely no resistance to such boring and mechanical, repetitive lessons. He couldn't even last ten minutes before checking out entirely.

Ukitake, on the other hand, was very diligent, constantly refining himself with every movement.

"You two are slacking off a bit!" Ukitake complained during the break. "As disciples of the Gen Style, shouldn't Zanjutsu be the first thing we master? Even if it's tedious, you have to find a way to overcome it..."

Kyoraku lay on the ground with his eyes squinted, his mouth curling up: "You're right, Ukitake, this stupid way of teaching is indeed boring... so I plan to just sleep through the next class."

"The next class... is still Zanjutsu, and it's more suburi practice." Ukitake said helplessly.

Kyoraku rolled his eyes: "Just swing me to death then."

Lin Nan sighed: "If I had known this was how the class would be, I wouldn't have even brought my Asauchi today. It's just a nuisance hanging at my waist."

Ukitake advised him earnestly: "The Zanpakuto is the foundation of a Soul Reaper, at any time..."

"...at any time, one must not abandon it." Lin Nan interrupted. "Ukitake, it's not that we aren't working hard. It's just that this kind of repetitive curriculum is truly unnecessary for us."

Ukitake blinked, failing to understand.

Kyoraku rolled over on the ground and gave Lin Nan a thumbs-up: "Only a genius can understand a genius!"

Less than ten minutes into the second class, Lin Nan and Kyoraku, who had been passive during the previous session, were unsurprisingly called out by the teacher.

This elderly teacher with a thick handlebar mustache, Tanida, was furious after hearing the reason for their laziness.

"Unnecessary?! Let me see what kind of ability you have to say that in front of me!" Tanida was so angry his mustache twitched. "You don't even know what a blade line is, do you?!"

Kyoraku said lazily in a low voice: "The blade edge must point straight in the direction of the strike, otherwise it affects the cutting effect..."

The teacher hadn't expected this curly-haired kid to answer, let alone answer correctly. With his pent-up frustration having nowhere to go, he asked sharply:

"Just because you know one thing, you can slack off? Huh? Can you beat others in a duel? With such a sloppy attitude, what is your name, and whose house are you from?"

Kyoraku remained nonchalant and casually stated his family name.

Upon hearing that Kyoraku came from a high-ranking noble family, the mustache-wearing teacher's expression faltered slightly, and his constant scolding paused for a moment: "You..."

He hesitated for a moment, still not knowing what to say. He simply shifted his focus to Lin Nan:

"Whose house are you from? What is your name?"

Lin Nan answered honestly: "No house. I'm from the Rukon District."

Tanida's expression instantly turned ferocious, venting all the anger Kyoraku had provoked onto Lin Nan: "You're from the Rukon District and you still dare to slack off in my class?!"

As he spoke, he pulled two wooden swords from his side and threw one to Lin Nan: "Catch! I will make you understand what it means to say, 'If you deceive Zanjutsu, Zanjutsu will deceive you'!"

A wooden sword is not like the bamboo swords used for daily practice. It is harder and has sharp edges, making it significantly more dangerous.

All the students went quiet, preparing to watch the show. It seemed the teacher was going to get serious with Lin Nan.

Ukitake looked toward the front of the classroom with a face full of worry, but he couldn't stop it.

Only Kyoraku looked completely relaxed. Seeing Ukitake's expression, he shook his head with a grin and mouthed the words: "It's fine."

As a partner who had fought alongside him and brawled with him before, he knew Lin Nan's durability well. As long as real weapons weren't used, ordinary strikes couldn't touch him.

Besides, this guy had actually crossed blades with Unohana. The students spreading rumors might have overlooked that, but the matter had been tacitly approved by the Captain-Commander!

"Don't say the teacher is bullying the small. You can defend and counterattack! But if you are defeated or even injured by the teacher, don't complain!" The kendo teacher glared, gripping the wooden sword tightly with both hands, having already taken his stance.

To ensure his authority among the students and maintain his teaching image in front of the noble families, he had to make an example of Lin Nan today!

Lin Nan glanced indifferently at the wooden sword in his right hand and began to explain: "Teacher, I..."

"It's too late for regrets!" Before Lin Nan could finish his sentence, the teacher had already seized the initiative, raising his wooden sword high and swinging it directly toward Lin Nan's forehead.

The wooden sword sliced through the air with a dull, whistling sound, descending with the thunderous momentum of something capable of piercing through everything!!

A few students among the crowd let out soft gasps, as if they had already foreseen how miserable the consequences of this strike would be. Some of the more timid ones even turned their faces away.

Lin Nan watched the descending wooden sword, his brow twitching.

Teacher, are you playing for real?

"Crack!" "Bang!"

"Thud!"

In an instant, a series of sounds erupted in succession. The next moment, the teacher's wails echoed through the air.

The students who had previously turned away looked toward the sound, only to find the wooden sword in the teacher's hand snapped in two, while the teacher himself lay rolling on the ground five meters away.

Everyone's eyes were practically popping out of their sockets. Even Kyoraku could hardly believe his own eyes, looking at Lin Nan as if he were staring at a monster.

"My mistake, my mistake..." Lin Nan gave a sheepish smile. Ever since his body had been tempered by Kirinji's hot springs, he hadn't quite grown accustomed to his own strength.

"I was just going to ask him how much force he was using... but when he swung at me, I just reacted on instinct..."

The first-year Kendo class at Shino Academy ended right then and there.

The instructor had withdrawn from class due to injury, with the date for resuming lessons left TBD.

"I've suddenly thought of a plan."

Standing in the hallway amidst the somewhat awestruck gazes of passing classmates, Lin Nan suddenly spoke to Kyoraku and Ukitake.

"What kind of plan?" Kyoraku hadn't yet recovered from the shock of that strike. "--How exactly did you pull off that move earlier?"

"It was just as the teacher explained, as long as the 'blade path' is correct..." Lin Nan explained with a straight face. "The plan I'm talking about is how to better complete that mission."

Kyoraku understood the words, but still couldn't believe it: "I still don't get it. Even if the blade path is perfect, it shouldn't send a man flying five meters! How did Teacher Tanida fly that far?"

Ukitake, whose physical stamina was slightly weaker, had a strong desire to master Kendo. At this moment, his brows were tightly knit, his eyes flickering as he replayed how Lin Nan had executed that strike over and over in his mind.

"Stop thinking about it, Ukitake. You can't figure this guy out. He's fought with Kenpachi and lived to jump around. Teacher Tanida only breaking an arm today is already lucky."

Kyoraku waved a hand in front of Ukitake's eyes to break his deep contemplation, then asked Lin Nan: "The other students have mostly left. Tell us your plan."

Lin Nan rubbed the hilt of his sword and said slowly: "The consequences of this missing Zanpakuto incident, and when those consequences might arrive, are all still unknown. Therefore, we must gather information as quickly as possible to avoid potential danger."

Kyoraku blinked, expressing some dissent: "We're just helping to scout for information, is there really a need to be this urgent? The Soul Reapers are already handling the official work, aren't they?"

"What if the missing Zanpakuto poses a threat to your brother?" Lin Nan countered. "What if the crisis affects Rust Face or the Kotsukotsu District?"

His unwavering gaze swept across their faces: "I simply don't want the danger to spread to us."

Kyoraku's eyes flickered for a moment before he nodded: "Go ahead, we're listening."

"We need to establish a persona."

"A persona? What does that mean?" Kyoraku and Ukitake were utterly confused. This was the first time they had ever heard such a term.

"It's the first impression people have when they think of us. For our purposes, it's the mask we'll wear while investigating," Lin Nan leaned in close to the two of them and whispered, "We transform ourselves into someone else to conceal our true intentions."