On Kido

The Royal Special Forces, also known as Zero Division, served the royal family directly. After the Thirteen Divisions were established, they withdrew from the public eye and would not appear unless something exceptional happened.

There were only three members at present, and each possessed tremendous strength. It was said that their combined strength rivaled that of the entire Thirteen Divisions!

Moreover, every one of them had made an enormous contribution to the Soul Society. In fact, only those who had made such a contribution could join Zero Division. For example, Nimaiya Oetsu had invented the Zanpakuto, while Kirinji Tenjiro, whom Ichiro was about to meet, was believed to have invented Kaido.

Of course, Ichiro couldn't let the captain know he was familiar with this information. Knowing that Zero Division existed was the limit of what his current position allowed. He really had seen vague records of them in the library, which was why he dared to say as much. Anything more would raise questions.

Still, Ichiro was quite surprised to be meeting someone from Zero Division so soon...

"Is he very good at Kaido?"

"Yes, very. He taught me Kaido, so he should be able to help you quite a bit with reforming it. I'm almost done taking care of things here. There's no time like the present, so let's go now. Is there anything you still need to do?"

"Huh? No, Captain. I'm ready whenever you are."

"Good. Let's go." The captain smiled gently and walked ahead, heading out of the barracks.

The captain's decisiveness caught Ichiro slightly off guard, but he quickly hurried after her.

After all, you couldn't just meet someone from Zero Division whenever you wanted. Even when the Soul Society had faced such a massive crisis in the original story, few people had managed to meet them. It was clear that the captain had gone to considerable trouble over this...

A little while later, Ichiro and the captain stopped in front of a huge estate in the nobles' district.

Just as Ichiro had expected, they weren't going to the Soul King Palace. It was clearly easier for Kirinji Tenjiro to come out than for Ichiro and the captain to go in.

"Knock, knock."

"Creak~"

The gate slowly opened, and a maid came out. She bowed slightly and said respectfully, "Captain Unohana? Lord Kirinji is waiting at the training ground. Please follow me."

"Thank you for your trouble."

On the way, the captain glanced back when Ichiro still hadn't asked her anything. Seeing that he looked curious but had no questions, she smiled faintly.

She had forgotten that Ichiro hadn't been born in the Soul Society. His maturity was nothing like that of students his age, and she couldn't treat him like a child.

A little while later, Ichiro and the captain followed the maid to an enormous training ground. It was so huge that Ichiro gaped at it...

It was at least the size of two or three soccer fields!

What kind of extravagance was this? This was the middle of the Seireitei! Wait, the middle of the Seireitei?

Ichiro suddenly realized that the entire middle of the Seireitei was only about twenty soccer fields across. The Four Great Noble Houses probably didn't each get that much land. Could the captain of a single Zero Division be so special that he outranked the Four Great Noble Houses as a whole?

Ichiro calmed down and examined the training ground carefully. At last, he spotted a tiny trace of spatial Kido...

But he didn't study it for long. His gaze was soon drawn to a broad-shouldered man with a pompadour, digging a hole with a hoe. It was none other than Kirinji Tenjiro.

Perhaps because he was digging, Ichiro could faintly sense the terrifyingly immense spiritual pressure radiating from him. Ichiro guessed that the hole he was digging was meant to be a replica of one of the two hot springs in the Soul King Palace, or something similar.

"Lord Kirinji, Captain Unohana is here."

"Mm. You may leave." Kirinji stood up, both hands resting on his hoe. After dismissing the maid, he said, "So this is the genius you told me about, Retsu? That spiritual pressure... His strength seems a little lacking."

"Talent for Kido has nothing to do with spiritual pressure."

"True. Well then, kid, tell me what you're thinking. Retsu gave me the gist of it, but I want to hear your ideas. The more detail, the better." Kirinji leaned on his hoe, a hint of anticipation on his face as he watched Ichiro.

Ichiro glanced at the captain. After she gave him a nod, he stepped forward slightly and began, "Well, I had one idea for the Kaido incantations, but after the captain's guidance, I found another path."

"Two paths? Interesting. Let's hear them."

"The first is what the captain suggested: to sense the incantations in the world around us, just as we do with Kido. Of course, we can no longer sense them now, so we can draw two basic conclusions: one, our method is wrong; two, the world has changed.

"I personally lean toward the second possibility: the world has changed. If so, there are two ways to address it: one, adapt to the world; two, change the world.

"Adapting to the world doesn't mean compromising. It means finding a new way to sense incantations in this new world. We don't know where this path will lead. It may bear fruit, or it may not, but it's worth continuing to explore.

"As for changing the world, that would mean finding the cause of its transformation and then changing it back. There are too many factors involved, and deciding whether that's necessary isn't something one or two people can do. We can still start by investigating."

"Change the world, huh? Heh. What an interesting idea. You're getting more and more interesting. That's the new approach. What about the original one?"

"Compared to these two ideas I just came up with, the original one is more likely to work, but it's much more complicated. It would involve repeatedly breaking down and analyzing the existing incantations, understanding the power they hold within Kido, and then adapting that power for use in Kaido. It would be a huge undertaking, but it would also be enormously significant for the development of Kido itself.

"Just hearing me talk about it might not give either of you a clear idea, so I'll demonstrate. Lord Kirinji, may I use a Hado here?"

Kirinji held out his right hand. "Go ahead. Just don't hit the hole I'm digging."

Ichiro nodded and moved to one side. He raised his right hand, palm facing forward, and said, "First, a Hado spell with Incantation Abandonment, similar to the Kaido we use now... Way of Destruction No. 31: Shakkaho!"

In an instant, an orange-red fireball formed in Ichiro's palm. Since he was demonstrating, he didn't suppress its power and simply let it fly at full strength.

"Boom!"

"That was Incantation Abandonment. Next, I'll use the regular incantation. I'll slow down a little. Captain, please sense it carefully..."

"Ye lord! Mask of flesh and blood, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of man! Truth and temperance, stir upon the southern wall of dreams! Way of Destruction No. 31: Shakkaho!"

"Boom!"

A much larger fireball shot out with a roar, causing far more destruction.

The simple comparison made Kirinji and the captain's expressions change dramatically. With the complete incantation, for the first time, they sensed a rhythm they had always unconsciously overlooked—and that rhythm was precisely what caused the difference in Kido's power!

But Ichiro wasn't finished. He kept his palm aimed forward and began chanting again, but this time...