Bang!
Shiro struggled to swing his sword and block the attack, but was sent flying again.
Even though his Reiatsu could barely hold out, he was still far behind in every other area.
Especially in physical strength and combat experience.
Even when Shiro managed to find an opening and circle behind his opponent, the man could unnaturally draw his sword from under his arm, nearly stabbing Shiro instead.
Shiro had already made plenty of craters in the ground with his body, but Aoto showed no sign of calling a halt.
Why stop? He hadn't even been cut yet!
Whenever Shiro's opponent started to tire, Aoto would have one of the other two take his place.
So Shiro's opponents not only kept changing their fighting styles, they also remained in peak condition.
It made Shiro grit his teeth in fury.
Is this really my master? He's worse than an enemy.
Biting down hard on his lip, Shiro used the pain to rally himself once more. He leaped out of the crater he'd made... and dodged his opponent's thrust.
The fight continued, and as Shiro's condition kept deteriorating, he began to suffer injuries.
He wanted to pass out, but the wounds on his body kept stimulating his mind, making it impossible for him to lose consciousness.
It was an excruciating ordeal.
When Shiro was sent flying again, he lay in the hole, clearly unable to get back up.
Seeing his subordinate preparing to continue the attack, Aoto finally showed some mercy. "All right! That's enough!"
The man obeyed at once, pulling back the attack he'd been about to unleash.
But the moment he sheathed his sword, he felt a chill wash over him.
The heat that had been surging through his body from the fight rapidly faded.
Across from him, Shiro had somehow gotten back to his feet.
Shiro's eyes were glazed over, but he still locked onto his opponent and swung a deadly strike!
A torrent of cold erupted!
A visible, ice-blue attack swept toward them.
Before the attack could even reach Shiro's opponent, the cold had already severely reduced his mobility. Even the strength in his grip on his sword was rapidly ebbing away.
As a result, caught in that torrent of cold, he seemed to forget to defend himself. He did nothing as the attack bore down on him.
Just having his face enveloped by the cold was enough to make it start freezing over! It was frightening to imagine what would happen once the torrent completely engulfed him.
But none of that would happen.
Aoto had already stepped into the path of the torrent, blocking its way.
He swung his Zanpakuto, and the torrent vanished completely, as if it had never appeared. The temperature here warmed up in an instant!
Amazing. He could unleash an attack like that without even using his Zanpakuto?
Just how eager was Hyōrinmaru to come out?
Looking at Shiro, who had collapsed on the ground, Aoto tossed a package to the three sparring partners, and they left on their own.
No pointless chatter—that was exactly how Aoto liked it.
Shiro had lost consciousness completely. Feeling his spiritual pressure begin to rise toward the seventh rank again, Aoto decided the time was right.
He could bring him into the 11th Division!
If he didn't give Shiro a Zanpakuto soon, once his spiritual pressure rose naturally to the fifth-rank, Vice-Captain-level, the cold of Hyōrinmaru would start harming Shiro himself!
Aoto hoisted Shiro onto his shoulder and took him back to his home.
But before he reached Shiro's house, Aoto sensed a massive Reiatsu there.
The only people whose Reiatsu could feel massive to Aoto were captains.
Sure enough, when Aoto arrived at Shiro's house, he saw not only Rangiku Matsumoto but also a man wearing a Captain's Haori.
Isshin Shiba—young Isshin Shiba—was talking to Shiro's Grandmother, and he seemed quite approachable.
He wasn't scruffy or bearded; he actually looked quite handsome!
Isshin Shiba was Shiba Kaien's uncle, which made Ichigo and Shiba Kaien cousins. No wonder Rukia thought they looked alike.
And since Aoto was friends with Shiba Kaien, that made Isshin Shiba his senior, too.
What a headache.
Damn Rangiku Matsumoto. You just had to make trouble.
Isshin Shiba had been dragged here by Fourth Seat Matsumoto today.
He was so easygoing that even a Fourth Seat could "bully" him like this.
At first, Isshin Shiba had only intended to indulge her and come see what sort of promising talent she'd told him about... though he hadn't expected any particularly gifted Soul Reaper to need a captain to come personally and recruit him.
But seeing the child carried back by a Fourth Seat of the 11th Division, and sensing his seventh-rank spiritual pressure, Isshin Shiba had to admit that the boy was an enormous temptation.
It was just that Shiro's master, Aoto, would be a problem!
Isshin Shiba knew Aoto. Not only because Aoto was friends with Kaien, but also because when Aoto had been in the 10th Division, Isshin Shiba had been its captain. At the time, though, Aoto had been an ordinary member of the division and had had little contact with him.
There wasn't even a decent excuse to take his disciple from him.
Aoto first set Shiro down and propped him against a pillar. Then he greeted Isshin Shiba. "Good afternoon, Captain Shiba. I didn't expect to see you here. What brings you here?"
Isshin Shiba usually had a pretty thick skin, but after Aoto asked him that, he found it hard to answer.
Should he just say outright that he'd come to steal Aoto's disciple?
Even a Menos Grande wouldn't be this shameless!
Rangiku Matsumoto tried to speak, but Isshin Shiba stopped her.
But even though Isshin Shiba had nothing to say, Aoto did. "Since you're here, Captain Shiba, I'd like to ask you for a favor!"
"Go ahead. As long as it doesn't violate any principles, I can agree to it."
At last, Isshin Shiba had found an opening. He silently breathed a sigh of relief.
Aoto smiled and continued, "I'll take my disciple into the 11th Division. But after he gains some combat experience, I'll have him transfer to another division! The 10th Division would be a good fit. I hope you won't refuse when the time comes."
Huh? Was there really such a good opportunity?
But why did it feel so unreal?
"Why would you have him transfer?" Isshin Shiba didn't understand. "Do you think he's too young?"
"It's because his Zanpakuto is a Kidō type. The 11th Division would reject that kind of Zanpakuto!" Aoto rubbed his forehead, showing how much of a headache it gave him.
Zanpakuto?
Isshin Shiba and Rangiku Matsumoto looked at the sword in Shiro's hand... but it wasn't an Asauchi, either.
How could Aoto tell what type of Zanpakuto it was without an Asauchi?
Once they were closer, Aoto lowered his voice and said, "Because it's a Zanpakuto that appeared in Soul Society in the past!"
He glanced back to make sure Shiro hadn't woken up, then quietly told Isshin Shiba the name.
"Hyōrinmaru!"