A week!
Shiro had needed only a week to complete the cleaving-steel exercise.
During one especially exhausting bout of chopping, he had suddenly learned to turn the Reiatsu protecting his wooden sword into Reiatsu meant for attack.
In that instant, his spiritual pressure had risen straight to the eighth level, and he had cleaved a thick iron block in two.
But the sensation had been like a sudden burst of power. Shiro had spent another week training over and over before he finally mastered that way of attacking.
The attack had been far more powerful than he'd imagined, and Shiro's confidence had soared. He pointed his sword straight at Aoto and challenged his master to give him some pointers.
So Aoto had picked up a wooden sword too and shattered Shiro's Reiatsu-coated blade with one strike. The remaining sword force even sliced off some of Shiro's hair.
By "some," that meant a strip shaved right down the middle, leaving him with a bald spot.
Since his scalp hadn't been hurt at all, Shiro hadn't noticed at first. He only realized what Aoto had done when his head started feeling cool and a mass of hair came tumbling down.
When he felt his smooth crown, Shiro dropped his wooden sword and ran back inside.
"Come on out! We're not done yet!" Aoto said, shamelessly hauling Shiro out of the house. "If you're going to challenge your master, you'd better be ready to pay the price! I haven't shaved you bald in front of Momo yet!"
Well, that was true.
Grandma was taking a break, so besides his master, nobody else had seen...
Just as Shiro was about to reassure himself, he spotted Rangiku Matsumoto in the nearby woods, clutching her stomach and laughing herself to death.
Aaaaaah!
Clutching his head, Shiro looked ready to cry.
This little brat might've been short, but his pride was off the charts!
Aoto had to lay a hand on his forehead and use the healing arts he'd learned in the 4th Division.
As it turned out, Aoto's healing arts couldn't treat any kind of bleeding injury or restore anyone's Reiatsu. All he could do was treat external problems like hair loss, baldness, and ringworm.
That was why he'd left the 4th Division.
Only later did Aoto realize that treating hair loss and baldness might actually earn him more money!
The mysterious clinic that opened only now and then on Seireitei's shopping street was his business.
It was devoted to helping spirits with troubles they couldn't talk about.
Since nearly all his clients were noblemen who came in secret, Aoto earned even more than he did as a Soul Reaper.
Who said women, the elderly, and children were the only ones easy to make money from? Find the right business, and men were even easier.
Now, after Aoto's "treatment," Shiro's hair had grown back.
It was still much shorter than the hair on either side, but at least the bald spot wasn't nearly as obvious!
Only then did Shiro's sulky mood finally begin to fade.
Rangiku Matsumoto was still dead set on stealing Shiro away. The more he progressed, the more determined she became.
But she'd realized that she couldn't pull it off by herself.
So, over the past few days, she'd gone to fetch her division's captain.
The unreliable captain had agreed to come, but she had no idea when he'd actually show up.
Rangiku felt that if he waited a few more days, Shiro would join the 11th Division.
There was no reason to object to a spirit with eighth-level spiritual pressure joining the Gotei 13 directly.
The 11th Division, in particular, would have no problem with it.
And a spirit with eighth-level spiritual pressure at such a young age?
Any Soul Reaper with a little experience could tell that he had boundless potential.
That only made Rangiku more anxious.
Things were more or less as Rangiku had imagined.
At this point, Shiro had all the basics he needed to become a full-fledged Soul Reaper.
He was only missing one last thing.
Real combat experience!
So Aoto took Shiro to West Rukongai District 80!
It was the place in Soul Society farthest from Seireitei, where the Soul Reapers' power had the hardest time reaching.
Back when Seireitei was first established, the Gotei 13 had swept through this place, and the "First Kenpachi" had slaughtered every spirit who could be called a "great villain"... At least, that was the version told around Soul Society.
And it wasn't too far from the truth.
Anyway, there were basically no Captain-level spirits left here... though you might still find one or two Vice-Captain-level spirits.
With no Soul Reapers around to restore order, the spirits here fought each other over food. Even a place like this could breed Vice-Captain-level fighters.
Madarame Ikkaku and Ayasegawa Yumichika had both come from places like these.
Aoto wasn't sure what conditions were like in District 80 on the other three sides, but there wasn't a single Vice-Captain-level spirit left in West Rukongai District 80!
Aoto often came around to check on things, and he'd driven off all the "great villains"!
Thanks to him, some semblance of order had returned to the area.
"Come here!"
At Aoto's call, more than a dozen figures leaped in front of him.
"Boss Hyakume!"
The men looked like hideous villains to Shiro, yet they greeted his master with great respect.
Each of them held a sword. They weren't Soul Reaper Asauchi, but they were plenty sharp... One man's blade was still dripping blood.
"Good." Aoto nodded. "Anyone with eighth-level spiritual pressure, stay. The rest of you, go back!"
Without another word, three men remained while the others left.
Aoto pointed at Shiro. "This is my disciple. He's young and talented, but he's never seen blood! Take turns and show him what real combat is like!"
The three men exchanged glances, and the one in the middle stepped forward first.
Shiro was astonished by Aoto's words.
But before he could say anything, the man was already swinging his sword at him.
Shiro's training hadn't been for nothing. He instinctively raised his sword to block the attack.
But the difference in strength still sent him flying.
And... the wooden sword in Shiro's hands shattered!
His Reiatsu wasn't strong enough to protect the wooden sword from being chopped apart in a fight against someone of the same level.
"Catch!"
Aoto tossed Shiro the sharp blade he'd prepared earlier.
It still wasn't an Asauchi. It was an ordinary forged sword, like the one his opponent carried, but it was every bit as sharp as an Asauchi!
The first thing Shiro noticed when he caught the real sword was its weight!
It was far heavier than a wooden sword. His little arms couldn't possibly swing it with ease.
But while Shiro hesitated, his opponent attacked again!
For people who made a living in a place overrun by great villains, holding back was never an option.
He didn't care that Shiro was a child. To him, Shiro was an opponent of the same level.
He was determined to carry out the task Boss Hyakume had given him.
That was the least he could do to repay Boss Hyakume for bringing them such a good life!