Gentle as Water, Unohana

The Kaido instructor wore an expression as if he had seen a ghost.

The white mouse jumped off the table, scurrying away from the crime scene with high spirits.

He watched the mouse escape, then turned his stiff expression toward the innocent-looking Kisaragi Akira.

"It died?"

Kisaragi Akira nodded.

"And then it came back to life?"

Kisaragi Akira nodded again.

The Kaido instructor stood frozen, unable to process a fact that shattered his worldview.

The other students stared blankly at the two, confused by the bizarre conversation.

Because they had all been focused on practicing their own Kaido, they had no idea what had just transpired.

Meanwhile, Aizen, sitting beside Kisaragi Akira, lowered his gaze, a strange light flickering in his eyes.

Although he had little interest in Kaido.

With his exceptional talent, even his perfunctory attitude toward learning allowed him to easily crush the other students, and even the instructors.

Death, rebirth?

The essence of Kaido was to stimulate cells to achieve healing.

The more powerful an individual was, the more difficult they were to heal.

By the same logic, for a test subject as weak as a white mouse, a Shinigami with immense Reiatsu and profound Kaido mastery could indeed bring it back to life at the very moment of death.

After all, it was weak to the extreme.

But Kisaragi Akira possessed neither of those two key requirements.

Could it be...

A once-in-a-century Kaido genius?

Thinking of this, the corners of Aizen's mouth curled upward slightly.

It seemed that the more he interacted with this guy, the more he felt that countless secrets were hidden within him.

It was like a thick fog so dense one couldn't see their own hand.

You never knew what kind of scene would be revealed in the mist the next moment.

It truly fills one with curiosity, Akira!

"Damn it, how could such an absurd thing exist!"

The Kaido instructor's eyes were bloodshot; he reached out, snatched Aizen's white mouse, and slammed it down in front of Kisaragi Akira.

"Student Kisaragi Akira, please demonstrate it again!"

Kisaragi Akira blinked, his fingers flicking as he snapped the white mouse's neck with ease.

Immediately after, a glow of Kaido flared from his right hand, enveloping the stiffened body.

Because his Reiatsu had already reached the level of a seated officer, even continuous casting of Kaido caused Kisaragi Akira no burden at all.

The Kaido instructor held his breath, eyes wide, refusing to miss a single detail.

Reiatsu circulation traces, deviations, errors!

Technique standards, three fingers changed to two, the distance was too far!

A perfectly good basic Kaido was being butchered by Kisaragi Akira into something unrecognizable.

Yet, even so.

The white mouse, which had its neck snapped and lost all signs of life, still came back to life after three seconds.

Could it be that Kisaragi Akira's Kaido was the true standard?

"Impossible!"

Unable to believe the facts before him, the Kaido instructor turned around, gathered the white mice from all the students in the class, and roared through the room:

"Again!"

Snap, snap, snap...

The continuous sound of breaking bones seemed to form a symphony, leaving the students numb while forcing the Kaido instructor to face the truth.

It was confirmed.

The kid simply hadn't memorized the details and essentials of basic Kaido, and his mistakes were never the same twice from start to finish.

Just when you thought you had seen Kisaragi Akira's limit, he would always come up with something new.

Dozens of white mice danced repeatedly on the edge of death.

From initial clumsiness to later proficiency, and finally, to effortless ease.

Watching Kisaragi Akira perform Kaido actually gave one the illusion that "I could do that too."

Just as the Kaido instructor was putting this misconception into practice, the little white mouse stopped breathing forever, devoid of any remaining vitality.

"I, I suddenly have something to attend to..."

The Kaido instructor was plunged into gloom; cradling the dead mouse in his hands, he stumbled out of the classroom.

"That will be all for today's Kaido lesson..."

Watching the retreating figure in the hallway, the students turned their heads in unison to look at Kisaragi Akira.

For a moment, they revered him like a god!

Nighttime, temporary dormitory.

Two youths huddled together, secretly digging into the anomalous Kaido performance.

Kisaragi Akira was well aware that this was the effect of the exclusive entry [Miraculous Hands].

Yet, what the essence of it truly was remained a source of great curiosity.

However, even after the two of them took knives to themselves to personally experience the wonders of Kaido, they still couldn't uncover the real reason.

In the end, Aizen could only attribute it to differences in individual talent.

There would always be strange geniuses in this world—like him, like Kisaragi Akira, like Unohana Retsu of the Fourth Division...

Fourth Division barracks.

Captain's office.

"Captain, that is the situation."

Kawai, responsible for teaching Kaido, stood there with a bitter expression, reporting what he had seen and heard today to his superior.

"Resurrection of the dead—no matter how you look at it, it's impossible."

"Yet that kid managed to do it, and with such non-standard, basic Kaido, no less."

After listening to Kawai's account and complaints, a glimmer of intense interest flickered in the depths of Unohana Retsu's eyes.

Her impression of Kisaragi Akira was still stuck at the level of him being determined and lecherous.

Oh, and one more thing: he was extremely poor.

The medical fees from last time were still on credit.

Who would have thought that such a brat would possess such talent in Kaido.

"How about this, Tenth Seat Kawai."

Unohana Retsu said softly, "I will take over the next Kaido lesson."

Hearing this, Kawai immediately looked troubled: "Ah, this, but..."

Before he could finish, an intensely cold, bone-deep killing intent suddenly enveloped him, and the temperature in the room seemed to plummet to freezing point.

Kawai shivered, his teeth chattering as he looked in terror at the Captain, who was wearing a gentle smile.

"Do you have any other objections?"

Unohana Retsu smiled at Kawai and asked softly.

Kawai shook his head like a rattle, not daring to have any other opinions.

At this moment, he deeply realized the terrifying nature of the Captain.

It was no wonder so few people dared to cause trouble in the Fourth Division.

If nothing else.

Those who caused trouble had likely been hacked to death by the Captain.

The next morning, temporary dormitory.

"I came here specifically to thank you."

Looking at the gentle black-haired youth who had suddenly appeared before him, Kisaragi Akira rolled out of bed, frowning as he looked him up and down.

"That shouldn't be."

"How could there not be even a trace?"

He was not surprised by Kuchiki Sojun's visit.

What puzzled him was Kuchiki Sojun himself.

In Kisaragi Akira's impression, anyone who used an authentic amulet from the Nikkotsu Shrine would leave behind at least some trace of the One-Eyed Great Deity's spiritual pressure.

Looking at Kuchiki Sojun, however, there wasn't a single trace.

He was still the same as he had always been.

If anything, he was even weaker than a normal Shinigami.

Feeling his skin crawl under that gaze, Kuchiki Sojun hurriedly interrupted Kisaragi Akira's behavior with a sheepish laugh, before stating the second purpose of his visit:

"Actually, I wanted to ask, do you have any more of those amulets like the last one?"

Hearing this, Kisaragi Akira's eyes lit up instantly, and he grinned.

"Those amulets cost me a massive amount of time, effort, and energy!"

Kuchiki Sojun was taken aback, and before he could even react, he heard Kisaragi Akira's resonant, decisive voice:

"It's going to cost extra!"

Thanks to book friend 20190305015109981 for the generous tip.